Wanting to buy local rum, but I've got questions ....

[pal2pluto]

so what are the rules if I buy some rum in Nassau and go back to the ship?  How many bottles can I buy and bring back to the ship? I think I remember hearing that I won't be able to open/drink it on the ship but must relinquish it until the cruise is over.  If that's so, how do I go about getting it back?

[marci22]

2L as long as one is locally produced. You can buy more, but you may have to pay duty upon return to US. ymmv

 

Ship security will ask you to bring your alcohol to the desk when they see it on the scanner. They will tag and return it to your stateroom on the last night.

[Giantfan13]

Any alcohol you buy off the ship, while in any port, will be collected as you reenter the ship. It will be ticketed and then, on the last night of your cruise, it will be delivered to your stateroom.

 

I was always under the belief, that if you bought local liquor, you could buy and take as much as you wanted, but while in St Marteen in January, I was told that isn't so anymore. PLUS, don't know where you are sailing, but St. Marteen is without a doubt, the best place to buy liquor. If you can stuff it in your suitcase the last night, you can take a lot more than what they really allow.

 

Cheers

Len

[pal2pluto]

2L .... per person or per stateroom??

 

[Eddie Wilson]

We purchased 2 bottles on one of the islands from a distillery we toured.

 

The ship held it until the night before Debarkation, as we needed to pack it in our checked luggage. 

 

In times past, one could carry bottles onto a flight home, Bacardi even had these nice boxes for precisely that.  Like many things of times past, for better or worse, no longer an option.

 

Eddie

[UKWLDCruise]

If you are looking to get one of the rums with a high proof and you are flying 70% is the max they say they will allow.

 

[poocher]

I thought we’d have issues with customs.  Our bags containers 2 1L bottles of vodka, a bottle of Hennessy White 700 ml, 1L of Baileys and a couple smaller bottles of tequila.  Additionally my daughter took 6 bottles of champagne that we were comped.  Nobody said nuthin!

[smokeybandit]

You can take back as much as you want, at least for what CBP cares. The only issue is if you opt to declare anything over the allowance.

 

TSA has a rule of nothing over 140 proof, but I don't know how they'd enforce that.

[steveru621]

15 hours ago, marci22 said:

2L as long as one is locally produced. You can buy more, but you may have to pay duty upon return to US. ymmv

 

Ship security will ask you to bring your alcohol to the desk when they see it on the scanner. They will tag and return it to your stateroom on the last night.

 

15 hours ago, Giantfan13 said:

Any alcohol you buy off the ship, while in any port, will be collected as you reenter the ship. It will be ticketed and then, on the last night of your cruise, it will be delivered to your stateroom.

 

I was always under the belief, that if you bought local liquor, you could buy and take as much as you wanted, but while in St Marteen in January, I was told that isn't so anymore. PLUS, don't know where you are sailing, but St. Marteen is without a doubt, the best place to buy liquor. If you can stuff it in your suitcase the last night, you can take a lot more than what they really allow.

 

Cheers

Len

 

You could never buy as much as you wanted.

 

There are certain islands (mostly USVI) where if you buy one locally produced you can get more.  Please check the CBP website.

 

Having said that, they rarely check anymore.  It's self-reporting.

[marci22]

3 hours ago, poocher said:

I thought we’d have issues with customs.  Our bags containers 2 1L bottles of vodka, a bottle of Hennessy White 700 ml, 1L of Baileys and a couple smaller bottles of tequila.  Additionally my daughter took 6 bottles of champagne that we were comped.  Nobody said nuthin!

Like most things, ymmv. Back when liquor was really cheap onboard, we used to bring home 6-8 bottles between the two of us if we had driven to the port. We did this multiple times, always declared and were only asked to pay duty for the extra bottles one time. It was a few dollars. 

 

This time we decided not to purchase any alcohol because the onboard prices were only a few dollars cheaper than Total Wine for what we wanted.

[ladysail2]

Sure not like that coming into Canada. One is allowed one 40-oz bottle of liquor duty and tax free….but anything extra with alcohol in it is taxed up the ying-yang. Not worth it really…might as well buy it at one’s local liquor store.  Mind you, if you’re lookimg for a particular liquor not sold in Canada, then it’s like you bought yourself a souvenir.