Vancouver places to purchase wine/soda/water

[elsie60]

I haven't been to Vancouver for 20 years. We are staying one night pre-cruise at Pan Pacific. Any suggestions to pick up a couple bottles of wine (or do Canadian taxes make it not worthwhile?) We'd also like to purchase some bottled water.

[martincath]

Local BC Liquor store should be cheapest wine prices - just search the site for a wine you know the price of already to compare relative value. If you're going Princess or other 'X bottles free' lines, it's almost certainly cheaper to pick up a bottle locally; if you're on an NCL-type 'corkage always applies' line then it's only worth pre-buying pricey wine, ballpark $30 and up.

 

Sodas - nearest supermarket/big pharmacies (i.e. no big markups like small corner stores sometimes have) would be Urban Fare or Shopper's Drugmart.

[cruising cockroach]

Cheaper to buy in the U.S., especially if it is cheaper bottles.

[FirstCruiseBeth]

Thanks so much, Martincath, for all your help on here. With your advice on transport, restaurants, things to do and shops I feel I know just how to make the best of my pre and post cruise time in Vancouver in June.

Beth :-)

[elsie60]

Local BC Liquor store should be cheapest wine prices - just search the site for a wine you know the price of already to compare relative value. If you're going Princess or other 'X bottles free' lines, it's almost certainly cheaper to pick up a bottle locally; if you're on an NCL-type 'corkage always applies' line then it's only worth pre-buying pricey wine, ballpark $30 and up.

 

Sodas - nearest supermarket/big pharmacies (i.e. no big markups like small corner stores sometimes have) would be Urban Fare or Shopper's Drugmart.

 

Thank you so much for the awesome info and links!

Lori

[martincath]

You're both very welcome Elsie & Beth.

 

NB: if you are arriving via the US by a travel method that allows liquids to be feasibly transported, 'roach is right - our sin taxes in BC are very high, so if you can acquire the amount of booze you need for the cruise in the US of A you'll undoubtedly save even more.

[Aussie One]

You're both very welcome Elsie & Beth.

 

NB: if you are arriving via the US by a travel method that allows liquids to be feasibly transported, 'roach is right - our sin taxes in BC are very high, so if you can acquire the amount of booze you need for the cruise in the US of A you'll undoubtedly save even more.

 

 

what allowance of liquor is allowed pp coming into Canada ? thank you Aussie

[martincath]

what allowance of liquor is allowed pp coming into Canada ? thank you Aussie

Visitors can bring ONE of the following options Duty Free:

 

A case of Beer (24 355ml bottles; or 8.5 litres);

1.5 litres of Wine;

1.14 litres of Liquor (including fortified wines).

 

If you mix categories, you have to abide by the lower volume category (e.g. one 750ml bottle of wine and a 375ml 'half bottle' of liquor would be OK, but 750ml of each would be over the limit). Oh, and you have to be legal drinking age (19) so you can't use your kids as booze mules;)

 

Bringing more is fine, you just have to pay for it - federal rules are simple, it's $11.696 per litre of alcohol, plus national sales tax of 5%. Unfortunately if you arrive in BC the province adds a metric buttload on top of that - local liquor tax of 10%, provincial sales tax of 7%, and then an annoying 'making sure we don't lose the profit we would have made if you bought it in the provincial liquor store' tax that compares an absolute cost vs. a % of value and levies the lower of the two.

 

I've brought wine in and paid duty etc. on it (ballpark 50% markup in total for wines in the US$15-20 bracket) but not liquor so unfortunately I don't have actual numbers in mind for the latter - if you're seriously considering bringing a lot of liquor in I'll go dig around the local government websites.

[Aussie One]

Visitors can bring ONE of the following options Duty Free:

 

A case of Beer (24 355ml bottles; or 8.5 litres);

1.5 litres of Wine;

1.14 litres of Liquor (including fortified wines).

 

If you mix categories, you have to abide by the lower volume category (e.g. one 750ml bottle of wine and a 375ml 'half bottle' of liquor would be OK, but 750ml of each would be over the limit). Oh, and you have to be legal drinking age (19) so you can't use your kids as booze mules;)

 

Bringing more is fine, you just have to pay for it - federal rules are simple, it's $11.696 per litre of alcohol, plus national sales tax of 5%. Unfortunately if you arrive in BC the province adds a metric buttload on top of that - local liquor tax of 10%, provincial sales tax of 7%, and then an annoying 'making sure we don't lose the profit we would have made if you bought it in the provincial liquor store' tax that compares an absolute cost vs. a % of value and levies the lower of the two.

 

I've brought wine in and paid duty etc. on it (ballpark 50% markup in total for wines in the US$15-20 bracket) but not liquor so unfortunately I don't have actual numbers in mind for the latter - if you're seriously considering bringing a lot of liquor in I'll go dig around the local government websites.

 

thank you for the reply a liter of scotch would be ok pp for us Aussie

[CRUZBUDS]

We had "sticker shock" when we purchased liquor in Vancouver. We had no idea prices were so high there. No wonder Canadians often purchase liquor on the ships. Ship prices tend to be about what we normally pay in California at Costco.

 

We would have been better off to pay $35 for an extra bag and bring our own. A couple of years ago it was over $35 for a litre of Smirnoff a few blocks from the Canada Place -- I can't imagine how much the premium brands cost. :eek: