buy bottles as you board

[glentally]

Went on a cruise from San Juan 2-3 years ago.  We were able to buy bottles of liquor as we wound our way up to the entry of the ship.  Is that still available?

[PhoenixCruiser]

Pan American pier? If so, yes there is a store inside the terminal.

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[glentally]

Thanks, what port does Carnival dock at. Also remember taking the red ribbon off the bottle and sending it through the metal detectors with no problem.

[njhorseman]

4 hours ago, glentally said:

Thanks, what port does Carnival dock at. Also remember taking the red ribbon off the bottle and sending it through the metal detectors with no problem.

Carnival cruises depart from Old San Juan, not Pan American.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Thanks, what port does Carnival dock at. Also remember taking the red ribbon off the bottle and sending it through the metal detectors with no problem.

Not in the terminal however there is a Walgreens and CVS near the Old San Juan pier.

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[palolake]

On 12/26/2019 at 11:19 PM, PhoenixCruiser said:

Not in the terminal however there is a Walgreens and CVS near the Old San Juan pier.

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I just looked at a map that showed a drugstore.  I believe it was the first post in the walking tour topic.

[Garth2]

On 12/26/2019 at 8:12 AM, njhorseman said:

Carnival cruises depart from Old San Juan, not Pan American.

There is also a place in the terminal that sells liquor, among other things.  However, if you bring liquor other 1 bottle of wine Carnival will collect it as you board and hold it until the end of the cruise.

[topazz11]

You can purchase bottles at the terminal but they put a wire tie on my carry on to let them know I had liquor inside.  We stopped in the little corner on the gangway and ripped it off. You can probably cut it off with nail clippers too.

[dctravel]

Carnival does not allow you to bring alcohol on board, except for 1 bottle of wine per adult in a cabin.

[glentally]

16 hours ago, topazz11 said:

You can purchase bottles at the terminal but they put a wire tie on my carry on to let them know I had liquor inside.  We stopped in the little corner on the gangway and ripped it off. You can probably cut it off with nail clippers too.

Thanks Topazz, that was what I did a few years ago.  So even though you had a bottle inside it went through security with no problems?  I'm trying to remember what I did to get it through.

[topazz11]

Yes, just take off the wire tie before you get on

[tallyho8]

I went in the liquor store at the terminal to buy a good bottle of tequila and inquired if they would confiscate it. They told me they probably would but that they already had poured some bottles of it in plastic bags that I could just put in my suitcase and go through. It worked like a charm, no problem getting past security.

 

After we settled in we stopped to have a good drink and discovered that it tasted like rotgut as they had filed it with some type of cheap liquor instead. We gave it away to someone that we warned ahead of time that it was not good. Don't fall for this scam.

[Stinger-pr]

On 1/11/2020 at 2:49 PM, topazz11 said:

You can purchase bottles at the terminal but they put a wire tie on my carry on to let them know I had liquor inside.  We stopped in the little corner on the gangway and ripped it off. You can probably cut it off with nail clippers too.

You are unable to do it this way anymore. When there were larger ships home ported in San Juan (Victory, Valor, Liberty) the gangway was positioned differently than with the smaller Fascination. Used to be that you bought your liquor, stashed it in your carry-on, which would get tagged with a colored zip-tie or ribbon by security at the scanners. you would then wind your way up the un-monitored gangway where you'd cut or hide the marker or shift your booze to an unmarked bag before reaching Carnival security desk where they would confiscate what they found.

 

Now, that Carnival desk is located 15 feet away from the scanner checkpoint and it would be a miracle if they didn't catch you trying to bypass them someway. No chance to cut zip-ties or ribbons since most of the times they have eyes on you as soon as you pick your bag from the scanner. Some have used rum-runners on their checked luggage to mixed results.

 

Not sure how it would work out at the Pan American Pier (RCCL, NCL, Celebrity). At least when I sailed on the NCL Dawn a year ago, they had a security agent right by the Duty Free store on the outside and a desk just before the escalators to the gangway, in sight of the store and the security agent.

[topazz11]

Oh no. That stinks. Thanks for the info