Duty free liquors on board ship.

[lloyd2050]

When arriving in Sydney Australia after our 36 day cruise ,can we buy duty free liquors to take into Australia as we are travelling around for 1 month.

[Hlitner]

I believe that Australia allows you to bring in 2.25 liters (per person) of duty-free alcohol. But this is old info...so it might have changed.

 

Hank

[paul929207]

The limit was 2.25 liters per adult when we arrived on the Ocean Princess earlier this month.

[Gunner22aa]

I'm sorry but I can't comment on the amount that you can bring in. I can however comment on a cost comparison that I just did within the last week as to where to buy duty free.

 

My daughter and son in law took care of our dog so I wanted to buy them a bottle of their favourite as a gift. Costs were as follows for a 1 ltr bottle.

 

Canadian airport of departure $34.00

American airport of arrival $31.00

On the Golden Princess $26.00

[Colorado Kat]

My daughter and son in law took care of our dog so I wanted to buy them a bottle of their favourite as a gift. Costs were as follows for a 1 ltr bottle.

 

Canadian airport of departure $34.00

American airport of arrival $31.00

On the Golden Princess $26.00

 

For $8 difference, I would just buy it at home. Bottles get heavy to carry.

[OVgirl]

For $8 difference, I would just buy it at home. Bottles get heavy to carry.

 

But those prices are all at Duty Free shops, so one would still have to pack it in the checked luggage on the way home.

[Underwatr]

If US arrival airport means where you get off the plane, you can't shop duty-free there IME.

[Hlitner]

For $8 difference, I would just buy it at home. Bottles get heavy to carry.

 

We agree! But everything changes as you get into more expensive items. Unfortunately, I have developed some pretty expensive taste when it comes to booze as I enjoy good single malt scotches and have a passion for good Cognac. Buying expensive booze in the right places (especially St Maarten and St Thomas) can often save me over $50 per bottle when compared to prices at home. On my last trip to St Maarten I bought 6- 1 liter bottles of Courvoisier XO and paid $62 per bottle. This same item would cost over $130 for a 750 ml bottle so my savings were quite dramatic. It is the same with good scotch where I can usually save at least $30 a bottle and often a lot more.

 

 

 

Hank

Edited November 26, 2013 by Hlitner

[navybankerteacher]

We agree! But everything changes as you get into more expensive items. Unfortunately, I have developed some pretty expensive taste when it comes to booze as I enjoy good single malt scotches and have a passion for good Cognac. Buying expensive booze in the right places (especially St Maarten and St Thomas) can often save me over $50 per bottle when compared to prices at home. On my last trip to St Maarten I bought 6- 1 liter bottles of Courvoisier XO and paid $62 per bottle. This same item would cost over $130 for a 750 ml bottle so my savings were quite dramatic. It is the same with good scotch where I can usually save at least $30 a bottle and often a lot more.

 

 

 

Hank

 

Were your savings that dramatic after paying duty on all the bottles which exceeded your 1 liter limit? Or were you just lucky enough to sneak them in?

[Colorado Kat]

On my last trip to St Maarten I bought 6- 1 liter bottles of Courvoisier XO and paid $62 per bottle. This same item would cost over $130 for a 750 ml bottle so my savings were quite dramatic. It is the same with good scotch where I can usually save at least $30 a bottle and often a lot more.

 

Oh, when it gets explained that way it makes a lot of sense. That's quite a dramatic amount. Thanks.....

[Hlitner]

Were your savings that dramatic after paying duty on all the bottles which exceeded your 1 liter limit? Or were you just lucky enough to sneak them in?

 

Nope. Did not pay a penny duty and here is the reason. Those cruises (we have done quite a few longer Caribbean cruises) all stopped in St Thomas as well as St Maarten (the best place to buy booze). As you are probably aware, the US Duty Free Allowance for St Thomas is 4 liters per person plus an additional liter if its made in St Thomas. Although we do not buy all of our booze in St Thomas (we buy some) we simply fill out the Declaration Form and I itemize every single bottle. The CBP folks just glance at the form and send us on our way.

 

I should add that we are sometimes over the Duty Free booze limit but we really could care less if we get assessed duty. I believe the amount is no more then 10% of the purchase price so we would still be ahead by $40 plus per bottle even if we pay duty. But the dirty secret about dealing with CBP is simply being honest. Most of the time they prefer to not do all the paperwork (there is a form they need to complete for each bottle) to collect a few dollars. But it is their call and we would not be upset if a duty was assessed.

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

Oh, when it gets explained that way it makes a lot of sense. That's quite a dramatic amount. Thanks.....

 

We also drink our share of less costly booze (lots of inexpensive Vodka gets used in our home and DW loves her Amaretto but we do not bother buying this relatively inexpensive stuff out of the country. I should have added that sometimes we get amazing deals on Princess cruises. They will sometimes have a booze sale early in the cruise and we also get an additional 10% off since we are Elite with that line. But that is the exception to the rule....since we usually do a little better on the islands and the selection on cruise ships leaves something to be desired. But if Princess wants to give us a good price on Remy Martin XO (often sold in the US for over $150 a bottle) who are we to argue :) We have seen it as low as $89 (less 10% on some Princess cruises).

 

Hank

[Talisker92]

Some time ago I had 5 liters of scotch. Before disembarking I went down to the customs agent and declared all 5. Two were duty free, and the duty on the others was $2 each. The lady explained they can waive duty under $10.

As I went through customs after getting off the ship, I was asked how many I had, and I said 5. He looked at my declaration and sent me on my way.

[Hlitner]

We are just amazed at the number of folks who worry about the Duty on alcohol. So to make it clear, the Duty Free Allowance of 1 Liter (up to 5 liters if purchased in St Thomas) does not mean you cannot buy more then 1 liter. In most cases the Duty is assessed per liter and not even based on the actual cost of the bottle. And that Duty is generally about $2 a bottle. So when we are saving over $30 a bottle it is silly to be concerned about having to pay another $2. And as to the other Duty rules, for those of us in the US it is just not a big deal. Even if you go over the Duty Free limits, the assessment will generally be 10% of the overage. So heaven forbid you spend $200 over the limit.....and will have to pay $20! And its very possible that the CBP folks will simply waive those smaller Duty amounts because its not worth their time (or the paperwork).

 

Hank

[Colorado Kat]

This makes sense. Thanks for explaining it as well as you have.