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alcohol for purchase in port merchants on the ship


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13 hours ago, Sooner10504 said:

I will be travelling on HOTS come June 3. Just curios as to the brands of whiskies and other liquors available for purchase on the ship.

Not much selection. I was just on Ovation of the sea.  They have Johnny Walker Black, red and mostly Blue.  Then there's 3 bottle of the Chivas Royal Salute 21 which were decent price.  The rest of it is just basic alcohol. which I can get it at home area with about the same price.

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19 minutes ago, Geezer Of The Seas said:

Limited selection on Wonder, Jewel, & Mariner as well. Seems to be all the same popular brands and of course nothing larger than  750ml. I took particular note of DiSorrano Amaretto, a favorite of ours. $5 less than the same size at Costco. Not really worth the weight in the luggage to me..........

Yes, not like a big saving to carry back home.  Unless if they have limited edition that I can't find it somewhere else, then I will get a bottle of it.  Anything else, I would just buy it back home.  

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my experience is that the booze on board is usually 1 liter bottles for the same or cheaper price than the same booze back home in the 750ml bottles.  Same with buying it in the ports...usually more for less. They usually have the usual bourbons and scotches. Sometimes port prices are cheaper, sometimes not. Other stuff, I don't know, I don't drink rum or vodka or other stuff.

Since covid the deals aren't as good as before but we bought 2 1 liter bottles of bourbon for  $50 or $59 for what we pay $39+tax for one 750ml bottle back home. On board and in the ports they don't charge tax.

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I was able to get a good deal on Baileys and son got Hennessy White for a friend back home.  Then he added 2 bottles of tequila & 2 liter bottles of Ciroc vodka on board.  DD took home 6 bottles of champagne left in our rooms (driving).  I was very surprised we got that much booze through customs and did not go over weight on luggage flying home.

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"Prices back home" vary greatly depending on here you live...Some places impose extremely high liquor taxes and you avoid those on the ship...

HOWEVER, for us Californians, the prices onboard are a joke...I stopped by the store onboard Symphony of the Seas a couple of weeks ago while cruising in the Med...and it was really amusing what they were charging.  For example, a liter of Kahlua was $24.99.  At the Costco near me, it's $17.99!  Pretty much everyting for which I knew my local price, the ship was about 20-25% HIGHER...

And, of course, with current air travel rules, buying ANY liquid becomes difficult.  Since you can no longer carry it onboard a plane, you need to put it in checked baggage...Which likely makes your suitcase go over the 50 pound limit...and you risk breakage with the luggage handlers...And all that to POSSIBLY save a few bucks?  My advice is ONLY purchase alcohol you CAN'T find at home...or have delivered to your home via the internet.  On our recent trip, we purchased a couple of bottles of liqueurs in Europe that aren't available at home (aren't exported to the US and can't be delivered to the US due to various restrictions.  I was able to carry them home only because I was allowed TWO checked bags on my air ticket and my second bag was well under 50 lbs.  If you are just buying something you can buy at home, just spend a little more and buy it at home.

Only exception to that, for me, is when cruising out of my local port (for me, Los Angeles) where I'm just driving home...and, even then, unless it's something unobtainable in California, why deal with the hassle? 

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We purchased it from a port shop in Costa Maya for $70 for 700 ML. It was $65 if you bought 2.  My large bottle of Baileys was $32.  At home it would have been at least $45.  As I said, we packed 2 bottles in each of our checked bags, wrapped in 2 plastic bags each and nestled in the dirty laundry. All of it, along with half a dozen breakable items, made it home safely.

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3 minutes ago, Gilley said:

Do you think the price will vary according to which ship you sail on.  If I’m on an older ship the price may be cheaper than being on newest ship.

upcoming cruises: Liberty, Anthem, Visions and Icon.

liquor and tobacco prices are constant between ships

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