Fos purchasing liquor on boat to take home vs st. Thomas

[dis2cruise]

Does fos have sales on the booze during the cruise and if so, how are their prices compared to st. Thomas. Also since we are stopping at st. Thomas can we bring home more bottles then lets say a western Caribbean cruise?

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Does fos have sales on the booze during the cruise and if so, how are their prices compared to st. Thomas. Also since we are stopping at st. Thomas can we bring home more bottles then lets say a western Caribbean cruise?

 

 

Don't forget about flying and the TSA rule of 3 oz liquids. :eek: just sayin.....

 

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[dis2cruise]

We have always put the alcohol in our suitcase surrounded with our dirty clothes as an extra cushion we have never had a problem, thank goodness.

[Trekker954]

I believe the cruise ships have decent prices, but I cannot say in comparison to st. thomas. When shopping in ST. Thomas, your Customs exemption does change quite a bit, but you must follow these regulations.

$1,600 Exemption

If you return directly or indirectly from a U.S. insular possession (U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or guam) you are allowed a $1600 duty free exemption. If you travle to a U.S. insular possenssion and to one or more of the Caribbean Basin, lets say on a caribbean cruise, you may, bring back $1,600 worth of items without paying duty, but only $800 worth of these items may come from the Caribbean Basin or Andean country or countries. Any amount beyond $800 will be dutiable unless you

acquired it in one of the insular possessions. For example, if you were to travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Jamaica, you would be allowed to bring back $1,600 worth of merchandise duty free, as long as only $800 worth was acquired in Jamaica.

Similarly, you may include five liters of alcoholic beverages in your duty-free exemption, but one of them must be a product of an insular possession (i.e. St. Thomas). Four maybe products of other countries.

[nanwel]

The problem will be getting the booze back on the ship - they will keep it and give you a receipt. You claim it in the morning so you cannot put it into your luggage until after you leave the ship and the port, unless you want to open your suitcase in the middle of the warehouse after immigration.

If they can find it, and you do not mind a lenghty wait while people ahead of you find theirs.

It was not organized by number so you could hand them your receipt and get your bag easily last time I cruised, but things may have improved??

It was like a chore they did not want to do so they made it unpleasant for everyone!

Personally - not worth the effort.

[gatour]

Short answer is, yes you can bring back more duty free on a ship that stops in St Thomas

 

The on-board ship are generally comparable to the ports. The advantage is that if you stop in St Thomas, if you buy just one bottle on St Thomas itself, you can bring back 6 bottles duty free no matter if the remaining 5 bottles were bought on St Thomas or onboard shop.

 

 

Does fos have sales on the booze during the cruise and if so, how are their prices compared to st. Thomas. Also since we are stopping at st. Thomas can we bring home more bottles then lets say a western Caribbean cruise?

[Merion_Mom]

There are some EXCELLENT prices to be found on St.Thomas. In addition, you can find some bottles that are hard or impossible to find elsewhere.

[masonpips]

We've found the ship prices to be close enough (on major known brands) to make buying onboard easier. And if you wait until the last night they will let you take to your cabin (in our experience) so you can pack as you pack your luggage. We've also had port shopping delivered to us the night before to make packing easier.

[missymatt]

If you have some onboard credit to use up, buy from the ship. If you buy in St. Thomas go to K-Mart. They have the best prices. Cheaper than the ship and other stores. You can walk it, but take a quick taxi. I bring gallon zip lock bags with some sheets of bubble wrap. Then pack in between clothes. My husband likes the high end scotch and whiskeys and has always found cheap prices at K-Mart.

[bradpole]

Does fos have sales on the booze during the cruise and if so, how are their prices compared to st. Thomas. Also since we are stopping at st. Thomas can we bring home more bottles then lets say a western Caribbean cruise?

 

Personally I've found the prices (on the things I buy) about the same on the ship and St. Thomas. The advantage with buying in St. Thomas is your duty free allowance is a few more bottles than just the one your entitled to from the ship.

 

Also, many of the stores (such as Dynasty Dazzlers and AH Riise) will take your order and deliver your liquor all nicely boxed up to the ship free of charge!

[orville99]

We always buy in one of the port shops (usually Dynasty). While the ships prices generally match the port shops, the port shops have a much wider selection. In our last three trips to St. Thomas on FOS, 8 out of the 10 bottles we bought weren't even available onboard. Also, the port shops deliver directly to the ship so you don't have to lug 10 litres (40+ pounds) of liquid around with you. FOS delivers your liquor to your room the last night before you need to put your luggage out, so packing it is not an issue. However, if you've never watched how they handle luggage onboard, I'd recommend against packing it in the luggage you put out for the stewards. We always keep enough space in our roll-off luggage to accommodate the liquor.

[molly361]

We have found prices in St Martin for liquor even cheaper than in St Thomas. I believe the FOS stops there as well. Not sure if that is still the case. Last time there was 2011.

[ryano]

The ship will match ANY price found on the island on all liquor..........all you have to do is take a picture and show them..........their selection on board is pretty limited though.

[crusinpeg]

The problem will be getting the booze back on the ship - they will keep it and give you a receipt. You claim it in the morning so you cannot put it into your luggage until after you leave the ship and the port, unless you want to open your suitcase in the middle of the warehouse after immigration.

If they can find it, and you do not mind a lenghty wait while people ahead of you find theirs.

It was not organized by number so you could hand them your receipt and get your bag easily last time I cruised, but things may have improved??

It was like a chore they did not want to do so they made it unpleasant for everyone!

Personally - not worth the effort.

 

Is it really true that you don't get your liquor until departure morning? We have always had ours delivered to our cabin in the afternoon the day before departure. Is this a new policy?

[orville99]

The problem will be getting the booze back on the ship - they will keep it and give you a receipt. You claim it in the morning so you cannot put it into your luggage until after you leave the ship and the port, unless you want to open your suitcase in the middle of the warehouse after immigration.

If they can find it, and you do not mind a lenghty wait while people ahead of you find theirs.

It was not organized by number so you could hand them your receipt and get your bag easily last time I cruised, but things may have improved??

It was like a chore they did not want to do so they made it unpleasant for everyone!

Personally - not worth the effort.

 

Is it really true that you don't get your liquor until departure morning? We have always had ours delivered to our cabin in the afternoon the day before departure. Is this a new policy?

 

The only time we've experienced this is on Monarch week-end cruises. We've always received our liquor on the last evening on every other RCL cruise we've ever taken (and we take 5-6 cruises/year).