We always get asked "What do they have at the Duty Free stores?", "Are the any prices good?" and “Can I take it with me on the ship?".

If you’re embarking on your cruise from San Juan (at both the Pan Am pier and Pier 4), you’ll be able to purchase tax free liquor and cigarettes at the pier before you board/reboard the ship. Of course, the employees at the tax free store will tell you that you can carry anything you want onto the ship — they want you to buy at lot. Each cruise line has a different policy on what (if any) liquor you can carry onto the ship, so you’ll have look into the ship’s exact policies and then take your chances with that. The worst case is that they find your "stash" and they take it and hold it for you until your last day on the ship (so you can pack it for your trip home).

When we went on a cruise out of San Juan, we were able to put our tax free purchases in our carry-ons and it all went through the next two check points without anyone confiscating it. This was on Carnival … other ships may be more vigilant. By the end of that cruise, we had so many bottles of liquor in our stateroom that we were begging for the ship to hold some of it for us! For people making a day port stop, there is a smaller liquor store that you can get some tax free stuff.

We were in Old San Juan the other day and came upon a copy of ad for the tax free store at the cruise pier. We’ve scanned it and you can see it below. These were the prices as of March 2009. Those prices may change, but it will give you an idea of what’s available. They have a website that may have the new prices http://www.smtdf.com. I also know they have other wines, soda, a few mixers, and water available for sale at these shops, (I don’t think they have beer), if you want to take that on your cruise. These stores are accessible during your embarkation, but not during your debarkation. I don’t know for sure if the small liquor store on the day in port offers the same prices..though it would be nice!

There’s a different company that operates the duty free/tax free stores in the SJU airport, but we don’t have a copy of their ad (but you can see the specials at www.dufry.com and put Puerto Rico in the “choose a country” link). They offer duty free liquor, perfume and cigarettes after the security check points, and you can bring these items on as carry-ons without the TSA 3-1-1 rule in effect. But this only applies if you don’t change planes, or leave the USA. As these are carry-ons, any time you have to go through another security checkpoint, these bottles will be subject to the TSA 3-1-1 rule and will confiscated.

Just as a new addition- A recent cruiser (8/09) mentioned that during a day stop in port, they were able to take an elevator upstairs at Pier 4 and were able to shop in the large tax Free store (the one with all the great prices and stuff!). Try it!

We are not affiliated with, nor do we represent, the duty free shops at the piers or airport in San Juan. The prices and items in these ads are subject to change.