islands and liquor sales

[oldmancurtis]

good morning we are hoping to be on the anthem in December .  Are any of royal's regular stops closed to cruise ships?  I remember there was  deal  at St  thomas that if you bought a locally produced rum you were allowed to purchase more?  Not trusting it packed in luggage to fly home, where has been the best deals found.  ON ship or at one of the islands.      thanks for any info

 

 

 

[orville99]

54 minutes ago, oldmancurtis said:

good morning we are hoping to be on the anthem in December .  Are any of royal's regular stops closed to cruise ships?  I remember there was  deal  at St  thomas that if you bought a locally produced rum you were allowed to purchase more?  Not trusting it packed in luggage to fly home, where has been the best deals found.  ON ship or at one of the islands.      thanks for any info

 

 

 

St. Thomas is open - we were there on Allure in August. We always purchase our liquor at Dynasty Dazzlers. They have two locations - one is downtown and the other is at the Havensight Mall (where RCL used to dock). They are great people to del with, and we have been there on so many cruises that the managers know us on sight. If you want to call them before your cruise and check their hours and shipping capability it is 888-255-3935; if you want to call them once you are in port, it is 340-774-6520.

If you buy a litre of USVI rum/per adult, you can bring up to 5 litres of liquor back per adult.  We always sail out of ports we can drive to, so we've never asked them about shipping, and I'm not sure what the customs process is for shipping.

 

[poocher]

Hubby is big on rum, is this a particularly good one?  We will be in St Thomas on our cruise.

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, poocher said:

Hubby is big on rum, is this a particularly good one?  We will be in St Thomas on our cruise.

USVI rum isn't a brand, it's a region -- USVI = Unites States Virgin Islands.  

Since it's a product of the USA, there are different rules for how much you can purchase versus "foreign" spirits.

 

[orville99]

1 hour ago, poocher said:

Hubby is big on rum, is this a particularly good one?  We will be in St Thomas on our cruise.

Cruzan is the brand we always purchase.

[poocher]

Thanks I did understand USVI 😉.  I will look for Cruzan.  Hubby doesn’t drink much, unless we’re on a cruise, but he likes a nice rum cocktail now and then.

[crewsweeper]

A.H. Riise is the other liquor store in Havensight Mall.  Hugh selection. Bottles their own rum. But from Crown Bay you'll need a taxi.   Gourmet  Galley in the Crown Bay marina has a good selection.  There are  a ton of rum types available in the VI.  Cruzan is pretty pedestrian and available in the US.  You hubby should look for something more local and different like  Bones or Sailor Jerry.

[mets123]

You can do better than Cruzan. Its proof is much lower than most brands. The prices in San Maarten and St Kitts are very good (and the varieties as well). Try Foursquare rum if you go to Barbados.

[billslowsky]

You can buy Cruzan at Total Wines.  Same for Foursquare.

 

Check their prices before you go.

[LeeW]

There is a large grocery/wine/liquor store at the marina just to the right (facing land) of the Crown Bay port.  This store services private yachts and the houses on Water Island.  

[DaKahuna]

Barbados is one of my favorite ports for rum.  Mount Gay is made there and the high end rum is great for sipping. 
 

you said your husband preferred cocktails so, just about any rum should be good for that.  

[poocher]

Maybe but we received a bottle of rum from Jamaica and it really elevated our cocktails.  I think the rum does make a difference and so any rum is not necessarily good for that.

[smokeybandit]

8 hours ago, orville99 said:

Cruzan is the brand we always purchase.

That's a cheap rum you can get on any corner liquor store

[DaKahuna]

31 minutes ago, poocher said:

Maybe but we received a bottle of rum from Jamaica and it really elevated our cocktails.  I think the rum does make a difference and so any rum is not necessarily good for that.

Oh, I don’t disagree but you don’t use Ron Zacapa 23 or XO to make cocktails.

[brillohead]

Years ago I took a friend on her first ever cruise, and we had a stop at Grand Cayman.  She bought a bottle of rum called "Big Black <Nickname for Richard that would probably be censored>".  It's named after a pirate, Richard Le Noir.

I was HOPING to get another bottle of it for her when I cruised there in December, but we all know that's not going to happen.  

Has anyone ever seen Big Black Richard rum available for sale on any other islands or port stops in the Caribbean?  Unless itineraries change, I'll be stopping at most of the islands over the course of the next year.  I can't even find if it's still in production....

[billslowsky]

5 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Has anyone ever seen Big Black Richard rum available for sale on any other islands or port stops in the Caribbean?  Unless itineraries change, I'll be stopping at most of the islands over the course of the next year.  I can't even find if it's still in production....

My understanding is no.  There is an online store called Tortuga based in Cayman that offers it; whether it can be delivered to where you live is another matter.

Edited October 8, 2021 by billslowsky

[brillohead]

15 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

My understanding is no.  There is an online store called Tortuga based in Cayman that offers it; whether it can be delivered to where you live is another matter.

I guess I'll just have to cruise more when Grand Cayman opens up again!  LOLOLOL

[poocher]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

Oh, I don’t disagree but you don’t use Ron Zacapa 23 or XO to make cocktails.

Sorry, apparently I am not a big rum connoisseur.

[DaKahuna]

32 minutes ago, poocher said:

Sorry, apparently I am not a big rum connoisseur.

Not a big deal.  Rum, especially aged dark rum is my go to drink.

 

Neat or over a large ball/cube of ice. 

[orville99]

14 hours ago, mets123 said:

You can do better than Cruzan. Its proof is much lower than most brands. The prices in San Maarten and St Kitts are very good (and the varieties as well). Try Foursquare rum if you go to Barbados.

Really difficult to do on a cruise that doesn't go to st Kitts or barbados, and liquor purchased in St Martin would not qualify for the 5 litre limit available in the USVI.

 

BTW, the Cruzan 151 rum is excellent, and we've only found it in the islands.

[orville99]

12 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

That's a cheap rum you can get on any corner liquor store

That may be, but not at the price we pay in the islands. Besides, purchasing a bottle in St. Thomas enables us to purchase the 5 litres of the liquor that we really want for ourselves at prices we can't match in the states.

[poocher]

Ok guys I guess I will add “package store” to my things to do in St Thomas!  Now can I get a Liquor purchases in USVI for Dummies tutorial?  I can bring more home if I buy certain brands?

[zebra36]

Just my 2 cents but if you are going to buy booze on the islands might as well buy good stuff vs saving a few bucks a bottle on swill that you can buy at your liquor store at home. BTW I am aware of various limitations on where in the islands the booze is purchased but I have never had any problem bringing back the full 5 bottle limit regardless of where I bought it when I did not have to worry about schlepping it on a plane or in luggage.

[mpdog42]

Havana Club 7 year, Of course you have to buy it in a foreign port😁

[poocher]

And I WILL have to schlep it on a plane.