Anyone purchase cigars on a Carribean cruise?

[kellzey]

My father is going to

St. Thomas
St. Maarten
Antigua
St. Lucia
Barbados

I'm wondering if it's worth it for him to pick up any cigars while in the islands. Now I'm not suggesting he pick up any cigars that would be illegal to bring back.

So, has anyone picked cigars up on a cruise? And if so, how was the experience/price/authenticity?

Any recommended shops?

Thanks,

K

[contract]

Thet are suprisingly hard to find and are also often fake. I bought fake Cohibas from a large cigar shop with a walk-in humidor in St. Thomas.

[Cigary]

Having been to all of those islands at least once a year I can tell you that even if you find a place for authentic CC's you will pay a tourists price for them. Every port is there to get you to spend your disposable income at their place and cigars are one of those things that people like to spend their money on to show others they have money to burn. Don't take the bait and just bring your own and enjoy smoking what you want without being taken to the cleaners. If you want to talk about other kinds of cigars you can PM me for information. There are places to buy the real thing but as I said you will pay a premium.

[kellzey]

Thanks for the info... I kinda figured on the tourist-trap thing.

K

[jaq6plus]

I have been to three of those islands. The only place where there are decent local cigars is Barbados. It is called the Royal Barbados Cigar Co. Do not buy at the cruise pier shops. The factory and shop is close to the pier AND next to a Rum factory where you can buy good and cheap rum. Having said alll that the cigars are not cheap. They have a web site which is not working too well at present: Sitemap (Royal Barbados Cigars)

[dawglair]

I picked up some Dominicans once on a Carnival cruise. Good stuff.

[JCK]

There is a Davidoff Shop on St Maarten. I've ordered HTF Avos from them before. As for authenticity of their other cigars, I would not suspect they're pawning fakes. Davidoff retailers have a reputation they live and die by, but expect to pay a premium on certain items.

[JCK]

If this helps, this is the Distribution House for Habanos S.A. in the Caribean. You'll find they have a presence on just about every island. A little investigating might put on the right track for respectable dealers.

Habanos Caribbean

[JohnnyFlake]

Originally Posted by kellzey

My father is going to

St. Thomas
St. Maarten
Antigua
St. Lucia
Barbados

Any recommended shops?

Thanks,

K

I have been on 5 Caribbean Cruises over the last 15 years and there are only two islands that I am aware of, where you can purchase quality Cuban Cigars. They are St Martin/St Maarten and Aruba. St. Thomas is part of the US Virgin Islands, so nothing Cuban can be sold there legally. Both Aruba and San Martin have Casa de Habano Shops, owned by the Cuban Government. You can get real quality Cuban Cigars at those shops. They are not cheap but they are the real thing. Any others vendors on any of the other islands are selling fakes 95% of the time.