cost of wine in Hawaii

[jimgev]

I will be on a 16 day circle Hawaii cruise in April on HAL. The rules of HAL allow unlimited wine to be brought aboard but I would just as soon bring only half of what I need and then re-stock in Hawaii. Can anyone give me an idea of the relative costs of bottles of wine purchased in Hawaii as opposed to purchased in California?

Thanks

[beachchick]

Surprisingly, the prices can be comparable, especially for mainland west coast (CA, OR, WA) and Spanish or Italian wines. For US wines, I'm talking mostly about the larger wineries, rather than the boutique/small ones. But we've found that the every day wines are $2 or so more than in our area of CA (central coast wine region, so we get great prices and selection all the time). You'll also find good prices on Australian/New Zealand wines, as well as some of the countries that are "new" to the worldwide wine markets. If you have a Safeway card (or any of the "family" of stores), bring it because it will be honored at the Hawaii Safeways. The larger Safeways have a quite decent selection. Foodland does too. There are also several good wine shops throughout the islands. You should have no problem finding suitable wines for your return voyage.

 

beachchick

[cccole]

We live in California and are also spoiled with wine prices. I find the markets to be fair prices in Hawaii (Foodland), and if you are in Waikiki the ABC Stores (which are on every corner) have some very good prices also.

[jimgev]

Thanks for the information. That is a pleasant surprise to hear that the prices are comparable.