USVI-On-Line

Departing in less than two weeks for a return trip to St. John paradise.

On our last vacation there, we stopped by the A.H. Riise stores on St. Thomas prior to departure to take advantage of the excellent duty-free pricing on some high-end spirits. That was three years ago -- preceeding the airline restrictions on carry-on liquids -- and I know that things are more complicated today.

There is a statement in the A.H. Riise brochure which says, "All liquor is packed free of charge in sturdy travel boxes, which are acceptable as checked baggage."

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has done this. How reliable is it? Any problems with breakage or theft?

Thanks so much, and apologies if this has been covered in a recent thread.

Did this just last week. It was our 4th or so time buying from AH Riise and checking it home. Never have had any breakage or theft. This time it did get delayed at our connecting city and American ended up delivering it to our home later that night. I was worried about that either with breakage or theft, but all was good.

American allows one checked liquor box per person free of charge. Also make sure and check with the staff at whatever store you buy from as certain bottles don't fit six to a box (ie: Crown is 4 per box).

There is a store after security that you can buy from and carry your liquor on the plane. They are owned by AH Riise as well, just called Caribbean Host. Prices were the same as the couple stores in town. We ended up buying a bottle from there and carrying it on since it would not pack well in the liquor boxes.

Either way works and I have no apprehensions about checking liquor....at least until something gets broken

we just carried on from the STT airport and it worked out fine. have never been in the AH Riise store but I imagine selection is not as deep in the airport.

Bought bottles at Caribbean host inside the STT airport (past security). They had an ok selection of liquor -- most of the major top shelf brands, plus all the Cruzan rums. If there is a specific, lesser known scotch or whisky you're looking for, it might not be there (e.g. they had Knob Creek and Woodford Reserve bourbon, but not Maker's Mark). They box it up for you as a carry on.

We flew US Air and our case of Cruzan Rum never made it. I know this is far from the norm. We will not bring liquor home from our trip this summer. Our local grocery store carries alot of the Cruzan flavors and it isn't worth the trouble for the little bit of money that we would save.

petepie wrote:Bought bottles at Caribbean host inside the STT airport (past security). They had an ok selection of liquor -- most of the major top shelf brands, plus all the Cruzan rums. If there is a specific, lesser known scotch or whisky you're looking for, it might not be there (e.g. they had Knob Creek and Woodford Reserve bourbon, but not Maker's Mark). They box it up for you as a carry on.

they had makers mark this past saturday

mbw1024..... How much cheaper was the Maker's in St. Thomas than what it cost state side?

jhillss wrote:mbw1024..... How much cheaper was the Maker's in St. Thomas than what it cost state side?

I didn't notice the price sorry to say. We didn't buy it but I did take note of it on the shelf.
We were there for Johnnie Walker Blue so I wasn't paying attention to too many other prices.

If you get it inside security and carry it on, does it count as one of the 2 allowed carry-ons?

I am a big Cruzan drinker, and I find it to definitely be worth my time to bring it home with me. It's at least half price on island compared to prices here. When I told the guy at my local store what I paid for Black Strap on St John, his eyes got as big as saucers.

I like AH Riise. They have good deals and good prices, and they are experts at packing your bottles so they won't break. They also tape a copy of whatever you need from customs on your box.

I have checked liquor twice. Once on Spirit and once on Delta. On both trips, my luggage had to change planes. The boxes always look a little worse for wear, but I haven't gotten a broken bottle yet.

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jayseadee wrote:If you get it inside security and carry it on, does it count as one of the 2 allowed carry-ons?

no

mbw1024 wrote:

jayseadee wrote:If you get it inside security and carry it on, does it count as one of the 2 allowed carry-ons?

no

I will confirm. Wife and I each had carry-ons, and bought two bottles at the store inside security. No problems bringing the box aboard. We flew Continental to EWR.

Now if you connect somewhere after your initial flight out of STT- the extra carry-on could be an issue.

Cruzan Black Strap - Lewes, DE = $11.00 .750L (tax free)

STT Airport...
Customs Agent: "Do you have anything to declare?"
Me: "No"
Customs Agent: "Any pruchases, any rum?"
Me: "No, we drank it all last week."