Duty Free Alcohol on Allure

[prince34]

Hello,

 

My wife and I will be sailing on the Allure to Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel, leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale in a few weeks. I'd like to know if the Allure will be offering any great deals on purchasing alcohol during our cruise

 

Thanks

 

prince34

[matj2000]

The cruise lines sell discounted alcohol.

 

But not everything is a good deal.

 

Go to your usual liquor store and take photos of the stuff you like with the prices.

 

When you get on the ship compare what you like to what is available.

 

Some things are great deals, many are not.  purchase what you will actually drink.

 

I have stuff in my bar 11 years old just because it was a great deal...……...

 

[taglovestocruise]

22 minutes ago, prince34 said:

Hello,

 

My wife and I will be sailing on the Allure to Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel, leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale in a few weeks. I'd like to know if the Allure will be offering any great deals on purchasing alcohol during our cruise

 

Thanks

 

prince34

They have fantastic bottle sales the last night. Absolute PIA to get the stuff home.  If you are talking about deals toward the end of the week ask any bartender about the 10 drink card.  Usually about $80 for the card, good anywhere on the ship all day up to a $13.00 drink and you can share. If this is your first Oasis class cruise a little tip. Skip windjammer lunch and hit Central Park cafe or better yet go to the Solarium Bistro.  Join your roll call if you haven't already. Happy cruising, Allure is still our favorite ship. 

[lowbass]

2 hours ago, prince34 said:

Hello,

 

My wife and I will be sailing on the Allure to Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel, leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale in a few weeks. I'd like to know if the Allure will be offering any great deals on purchasing alcohol during our cruise

 

Thanks

 

prince34

We sailed on the Allure Eastern 7 day cruise out of Miami on 3/24-3/31. One of the first things we saw after boarding the ship was a liquor sale on deck 5 promenade. We spotted a bottle of liquor that we wanted to buy for a decent price. The sales lady said that this was a "first cruise day sale" and prices were not going to be this low again for the cruise. So I asked her if perhaps there would be lower prices in some of the ports we were going to. She said that the ships low price should be the same or lower than in the ports but, if we did see a lower price in port than to take a picture and show them and they would credit us the difference. So we said fine and we made a purchase. 

 

The next day we were walking around the promenade and saw that they were still selling the liquor but at it's original price which was $10 higher. So we figured we had made a good deal.

 

Our first port was St. Maarten. We went into the first liquor store that we saw and found the exact same bottle of liquor $5 lower than the sell price on the ship. So I took out my phone to take a picture so I could get the credit from the ship. A sales person in the store came up to me and said "NO PICTURES"! I explained that I just wanted to show the ship that the price in port was lower and get a credit. They said that they were aware of the ships practice of matching the port price but they would not allow me to get a price adjustment because the ships lower their price to match the ports price.

 

Sorry to make this so long but I would say that you could probably beat or match the ships price in ports.

Edited May 19, 2019 by lowbass

[FPP777]

If you like bourbon, and you drink it without coke, grab a bottle of Blantons from the shop. The price is the same as you could find at home, if you can find it at home. It is an allocated bourbon. Small supply with high demand.

[cruiseguy1016]

We used to buy booze while we were on cruises but like someone else mentioned, it's a PITA to get it home. I still like to price shop though. I have ALWAYS found a better price in port that what is offered on the ship. We frequently cruise out of San Juan and you can find better prices in the airport than you can on the ship. If you really want to buy booze to bring home with you, don't fall for the ship's "sale" prices.

[matj2000]

9 hours ago, lowbass said:

 

 

Our first port was St. Maarten. We went into the first liquor store that we saw and found the exact same bottle of liquor $5 lower than the sell price on the ship. So I took out my phone to take a picture so I could get the credit from the ship. A sales person in the store came up to me and said "NO PICTURES"! I explained that I just wanted to show the ship that the price in port was lower and get a credit. They said that they were aware of the ships practice of matching the port price but they would not allow me to get a price adjustment because the ships lower their price to match the ports price.

 

Sorry to make this so long but I would say that you could probably beat or match the ships price in ports.

 

Like this person said.  

 

Port prices might even be a little better.

 

I totally forgot to mention that.

 

Different islands sell different things cheaper.

 

In the end, make sure you can get it home safely.....

 

[MixerDave]

1 hour ago, FPP777 said:

If you like bourbon, and you drink it without coke, grab a bottle of Blantons from the shop. The price is the same as you could find at home, if you can find it at home. It is an allocated bourbon. Small supply with high demand.

Being a retired bartender, I know people mix high end liquor with their coke.  I had a customer come to the bar and ask if we had Johnny Walker Blue.  I replied that we did not, but had Black.  He said to give him the black with coke.  I served him the black and a separate glass of coke.  I could not bring myself to mix it. 

 

Also, if you ever get to Kentucky, take a tour of the Buffalo Trace distillery, where  Blanton's  is produced.

[FPP777]

3 minutes ago, MixerDave said:

Being a retired bartender, I know people mix high end liquor with their coke.  I had a customer come to the bar and ask if we had Johnny Walker Blue.  I replied that we did not, but had Black.  He said to give him the black with coke.  I served him the black and a separate glass of coke.  I could not bring myself to mix it. 

 

Also, if you ever get to Kentucky, take a tour of the Buffalo Trace distillery, where  Blanton's  is produced.

Dave,

Planning a trip to Kentucky next April and BT is on the list of distilleries. I am a fan and have several bottles from the BTAC and PVW family.

 

I/m a firm believer in people should drink their bourbon the way they want, I just cant bring myself to suggest it with a 55 dollar bottle. :)

[prince34]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 8:57 PM, lowbass said:

We sailed on the Allure Eastern 7 day cruise out of Miami on 3/24-3/31. One of the first things we saw after boarding the ship was a liquor sale on deck 5 promenade. We spotted a bottle of liquor that we wanted to buy for a decent price. The sales lady said that this was a "first cruise day sale" and prices were not going to be this low again for the cruise. So I asked her if perhaps there would be lower prices in some of the ports we were going to. She said that the ships low price should be the same or lower than in the ports but, if we did see a lower price in port than to take a picture and show them and they would credit us the difference. So we said fine and we made a purchase. 

 

The next day we were walking around the promenade and saw that they were still selling the liquor but at it's original price which was $10 higher. So we figured we had made a good deal.

 

Our first port was St. Maarten. We went into the first liquor store that we saw and found the exact same bottle of liquor $5 lower than the sell price on the ship. So I took out my phone to take a picture so I could get the credit from the ship. A sales person in the store came up to me and said "NO PICTURES"! I explained that I just wanted to show the ship that the price in port was lower and get a credit. They said that they were aware of the ships practice of matching the port price but they would not allow me to get a price adjustment because the ships lower their price to match the ports price.

 

Sorry to make this so long but I would say that you could probably beat or match the ships price in ports.

 

[prince34]

Thank you all for your feedback on our question. Getting the alcohol off the ship sounds like the better option.

Keep on cruising!!!!!

prince34

[alfaeric]

On 5/19/2019 at 9:19 AM, FPP777 said:

If you like bourbon, and you drink it without coke, grab a bottle of Blantons from the shop. The price is the same as you could find at home, if you can find it at home. It is an allocated bourbon. Small supply with high demand.

If you like Blantons (and I'm one, as well), there are a few shops in St Martin that has bottles that you can't get in the US.  I can't recall all of the special editions they have, but one was specifically for Japan.

 

All in all, the best selection for alcohol is amazing in Phillipsburg.

[FPP777]

40 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

If you like Blantons (and I'm one, as well), there are a few shops in St Martin that has bottles that you can't get in the US.  I can't recall all of the special editions they have, but one was specifically for Japan.

 

All in all, the best selection for alcohol is amazing in Phillipsburg.

Thanks. I know the places. I currently have 6 different varieties, but I’ll certainly buy back ups. :)

[MandyMooToo]

On 5/19/2019 at 11:00 AM, MixerDave said:

Being a retired bartender, I know people mix high end liquor with their coke.  I had a customer come to the bar and ask if we had Johnny Walker Blue.  I replied that we did not, but had Black.  He said to give him the black with coke.  I served him the black and a separate glass of coke.  I could not bring myself to mix it. 

 

Also, if you ever get to Kentucky, take a tour of the Buffalo Trace distillery, where  Blanton's  is produced.

 

This may be terrible to say but I love the BT bourbon cream!  I am sure purists shake their heads at that but I do not care for bourbon typically (son and husband love it).

[MandyMooToo]

On 5/18/2019 at 9:45 PM, prince34 said:

Hello,

 

My wife and I will be sailing on the Allure to Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel, leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale in a few weeks. I'd like to know if the Allure will be offering any great deals on purchasing alcohol during our cruise

 

Thanks

 

prince34

Jamaica also has Sangsters rum cream which is wonderful and you cannot get it in the states.  They have a few flavors in addition to the original (coconut and banana come to mind) so we always try to bring some back when we cruise. 

[Sea Dog]

On 5/19/2019 at 10:00 AM, MixerDave said:

Being a retired bartender, I know people mix high end liquor with their coke.  I had a customer come to the bar and ask if we had Johnny Walker Blue.  I replied that we did not, but had Black.  He said to give him the black with coke.  I served him the black and a separate glass of coke.  I could not bring myself to mix it. 

 

Also, if you ever get to Kentucky, take a tour of the Buffalo Trace distillery, where  Blanton's  is produced.

Wish they had some bottles of Pappy Van Winkle in the duty free shop!!

[mongo59r]

As previously noted, travel with booze is a PIA. However, I will add that Jet Bags will make a little less so. They are made for wine bottles, but work fine for similarly shaped bottles.

[mac66]

Used to buy booze on board all the time. In my experience they sell full liter bottles at or less than you can buy 750ml bottles on shore. Our last two cruises the pickings and deals were rather meager however.  We did pick up a couple liters of Bulleit Bourbon at a good (not great price) on our last cruise on the Allure. Ran the same price all week, no better deals.  They did allow us to pick it up Saturday morning however instead of delivering it to our cabin that evening.  We cracked a bottle open for use during that day which was a nice bonus since we didn't have a drink package and weren't flying home.

Edited May 23, 2019 by mac66

[MixerDave]

5 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

 

This may be terrible to say but I love the BT bourbon cream!  I am sure purists shake their heads at that but I do not care for bourbon typically (son and husband love it).

I would not criticize you.  That is in many ways like Bailey's - only with bourbon instead of Irish Whisky.

 

[FPP777]

5 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

 

This may be terrible to say but I love the BT bourbon cream!  I am sure purists shake their heads at that but I do not care for bourbon typically (son and husband love it).

I have about 20 bottles in my collection that come from Buffalo Trace. That includes the BT cream. In addition to straight and in my coffee, I use it in a cheesecake recipe.

 

Don't ever apologize for what you drink and how you drink it.

[MandyMooToo]

3 minutes ago, FPP777 said:

I have about 20 bottles in my collection that come from Buffalo Trace. That includes the BT cream. In addition to straight and in my coffee, I use it in a cheesecake recipe.

 

Don't ever apologize for what you drink and how you drink it.

 

Thanks, I have had it straight and in coffee but now I will have to try it in cheesecake.  Sounds wonderful.

[MixerDave]

On 5/19/2019 at 11:07 AM, FPP777 said:

Dave,

Planning a trip to Kentucky next April and BT is on the list of distilleries. I am a fan and have several bottles from the BTAC and PVW family.

 

I/m a firm believer in people should drink their bourbon the way they want, I just cant bring myself to suggest it with a 55 dollar bottle. 🙂

 

When you tour BT - you will get to taste White Dog - completely unaged - basically moonshine - 125 proof - figure it would work as a paint remover.

[Ubiquitous Cruiser]

Our experience is the best deal is the two 1L bottles for $40 (Crown Royal Black) is a better deal than we could get at home ... 25.99+tax for a 750ml. If you buy one 1L it's $30, which is still a better deal than at home, but much more savings when buying two.

[Mawelch]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 10:12 PM, matj2000 said:

The cruise lines sell discounted alcohol.

 

But not everything is a good deal.

 

Go to your usual liquor store and take photos of the stuff you like with the prices.

 

When you get on the ship compare what you like to what is available.

 

Some things are great deals, many are not.  purchase what you will actually drink.

 

I have stuff in my bar 11 years old just because it was a great deal...……...

 

Highly Agree with this post

[vidsmart]

I always buy Hennessy Pure White Cognac and Sheridan’s Coffee Layered Liqueur (with its two-compartment bottled cream/coffee liq) as they are unavailable in the US. Cheaper in the ports but the ship does price-match. I got a price match once because a woman who I did not know lent me her phone in the ship spirit shop w/ photos from a port shop. My suggestion is try to buy on the ship. Anecdotally I have heard of instances where a purchase was made at the port and the customer was shorted when delivered on the ship.