Duty free pre-ordering

[lexdisic]

Has anyone managed to pre-order duty free alcohol for a return flight home, whether it be online or ordering on the flight out? We will be travelling to Naples and returning from Dubai - who don't allow alcohol to be taken ashore/airport. Our previous trip with TUI, the alcohol was sold out on the return home 

Many thanks in advance

[edinburgher]

"returning from Dubai - who don't allow alcohol to be taken ashore/airport "

 

Not sure I understand this.

 

Arriving into Dubai they have a very generous duty free allowance, more than many other countries allow.

 

If flying into the airport they actually have duty free shops for arriving passengers, after bag collection and security. It was very cheap, cheaper than buying in duty free in the UK before flying so we bought on arrival.  You can check pricing on the website and current allowances online. As we were going to a hotel for three nights before boarding, we could drink alcohol in our room, as the restaurant pricing was very, very high.  And you cannot buy alcohol anywhere else you see it for sale without a permit of some kind.

 

We didn't fly home from Dubai, but I would be very surprised if you could not buy alcohol and cigs in the airport duty free if flying out, especially as you can buy it flying in.

 

Not sure I noticed any duty free at all at the cruise terminal, so you would need to find out if there is one and if so, whether you can buy on arrival.

 

What you absolutely must check is the list of prohibited and restricted medications and the rules for bringing in those which are permitted.  The list is VERY extensive with some surprising inclusions, and the penalties for not following the rules are quite severe. There should be threads on the Africa and Middle East Forum on the topic, but check the official lists first.

 

Also note that e-cigs are banned and will be confiscated.

 

Hope some of the above is helpful. If any of it wrong, I am sure someone will be quick to correct it!

 

 

[lexdisic]

3 hours ago, edinburgher said:

"returning from Dubai - who don't allow alcohol to be taken ashore/airport "

 

Not sure I understand this.

 

Arriving into Dubai they have a very generous duty free allowance, more than many other countries allow.

 

If flying into the airport they actually have duty free shops for arriving passengers, after bag collection and security. It was very cheap, cheaper than buying in duty free in the UK before flying so we bought on arrival.  You can check pricing on the website and current allowances online. As we were going to a hotel for three nights before boarding, we could drink alcohol in our room, as the restaurant pricing was very, very high.  And you cannot buy alcohol anywhere else you see it for sale without a permit of some kind.

 

We didn't fly home from Dubai, but I would be very surprised if you could not buy alcohol and cigs in the airport duty free if flying out, especially as you can buy it flying in.

 

Not sure I noticed any duty free at all at the cruise terminal, so you would need to find out if there is one and if so, whether you can buy on arrival.

 

What you absolutely must check is the list of prohibited and restricted medications and the rules for bringing in those which are permitted.  The list is VERY extensive with some surprising inclusions, and the penalties for not following the rules are quite severe. There should be threads on the Africa and Middle East Forum on the topic, but check the official lists first.

 

Also note that e-cigs are banned and will be confiscated.

 

Hope some of the above is helpful. If any of it wrong, I am sure someone will be quick to correct it!

 

 

Hi 

We sailed into Dubai on Discovery last year and customs would not allow alcohol to be taken to the airport for our journey home from the ship, in fact, the ship told us that customs would scan the baggage and told those that had bought alcohol on the ship to return it for a refund.

Yes you can buy alcohol from the duty free at the airport, can/t remember if it was at the cruise terminal, but it cannot be taken off the ship. I don't know if the same applies to arriving by air.

As TUI has very good prices for its duty free, and much better than the airport, I was asking if there was any way of pre - ordering for our return journey as last year they sold out and there was none to be had on the plane back. Thomas Cook do an online pre-order for flights and TUI were supposed to do the same in 2016 but there is no mention of it anywhere on their site. Rumour also had it that you could pre-order on the flight out for the return journey but I have yet to hear of anyone that has actually done that.

We have disembarked in Dubai many times but last years experience with TUI was the first I had been warned not to take alcohol off the ship so I'm not sure if it was TUI being over cautious or that the rules had changed - some peoples interpretation of the rules in the Emirates can be a bit of an over reaction .

 

[edinburgher]

We flew in so were unaware you could not take any off the ship even if going to the airport. It would have had to be put into hold luggage anyway otherwise it wouldn't get through security.

 

Singapore has similar rules. Passengers had to be refunded for alcohol and tobacco they had bought on the different cruiselines (none of which were TUI/Marella). We have ended cruises there, also had it as a port of call, and everything is scanned.  They have no duty free allowance at all for anything tobacco related, and if the ship has come from Malaysia there is no alcohol allowance either. They are very strict, and you have a choice of paying taxes or having the goods confiscated. The booth where you pay tax is only a few steps from the scanners! On those occasions, the shops at Changi airport sold duty free alcohol and tobacco  extremely cheaply.

 

I assumed that given the cheap cost of alcohol and tobacco products in the ARRIVAL Duty Free at Dubai, that similar pricing would apply in the DEPARTURE Duty Free, and that there would be a much bigger choice than you might get onboard the flight, even with pre-ordering.

 

If you cannot buy onboard the flight or pre-order for onboard collection, both Glasgow and Edinburgh Airports (and presumably others) have a "shop before you go and pick up on return" service which might work for you.

 

Onboard Explorer 2 in June the duty free shop had gone completely, and no tobacco products were sold at all, not even in the bars. Yes, all countries visited were in the EU so duty free would not have applied anyway, but I don't know if this means they will disappear for 2019/20 even on "out of the EU" cruises as Tui/Marella make changes to all sorts of things. Once these get underway, passengers who have returned could maybe say.

[lexdisic]

I get the impression that Dubai, Singapore etc, want you to buy from their respective countries simply for the revenue it produces - can't see any other reason as they sell it in their shops. My tipple is Southern Comfort and the last 2 times coming out of Dubai, they were sold out. Over the years, Dubai seems to have been playing catch up with their duty free prices as the bargains are getting few and far between - same as Dubai itself, which is becoming harder for us to stay there for any length of time these days with VAT and tourist taxes coming into play - payback time for the investment they've put in I suppose.

TUI gin (wifes tipple) prices on board the plane are 2ltrs for £24 - bargain - also hoping that the plane sales are regarded as from the EU as opposed to Dubai giving us the option to have a bigger allowance - can but hope.

I will check if Birmingham has a pick up on return service and compare to Dubai - if not - wife will have to go without - I have my SC stash 🙂