HA!...That's funny...Joe has connections at CI and even HE gets his posts censored by Gonz!...No favorites here..LOL...I've never had a problem with any of my shipments at CI but have heard great things about the customer service, especially Ruth (See post titled "Thanks" (or something like that, started by Heg(emonic)

Oh...Before I get accused of threadjacking myself, Joe, I agree with the others here regarding La Casa Del Habanos...I purchased Habanos from La Casa (in Cancun), to enjoy ONLY while I was in Mexico 😉 (yeah riiiight!) and they usually have an excellent selection and impeccable customer service (like C-Bid)...Good luck and have a great time!....Keith

I had know of a couple places in St. Martin. One is a Casa del Habano which is in Marigot. The other was in a gift shop (all I can remember of the name is the word "Lucky") which was in a strip mall on the west end of the island just before the Dutch/French border. They had a certificate showing they were a certified dealer of Cuban cigars. Hope this helps.

In Aruba, there's several "cigar stores" in the shopping centers surrounding the cruise ship dock. Of course, they are the real thing, but you'll probably pay more than necessary. I recommend going to a Souvonier store called Vibes on the second floor of the Royal Plaza shopping center (pink building right across L.G. Smith Blvd. from the cruise ship docks - you'll see Iguana Joe's on the second floor also). Vibes a walk-in humidor with, YES, REAL Cubans, at reasonable prices, including some hard to find smokes, such as Montecristo A's and No. 2's and Ramone Allones double coronas (try this smoke - A POWERHOUSE!). I paid $14 each for the MC No. 2's, $16 for the Ramone Allones, and the MC A's were $25 (out of my league). Also had an excellent selection of Cohiba's, Romeo y Julieta's, H. Uppman's, Hoyo de Monterrey's, Punch's, Sancho Panza's, Diplimatico's, and numerous other obscure Cuban brands I am not familiar with.

Also, they have a website (sorry, I don't have the address, but you should be able to find it with a search) where you can print a 10% off discount coupon.

Also, there's an excellent Cigar bar called Garufa across the street from El Gaucho steakhouse (both of which I highly recommend).

Fakes aren't as prevalent in Aruba as they are in Mexico, but I wouldn't buy any "Cubans" in the international market right along the water front.

Rule of thumb - if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Happy herfing!!!

kmonk thanks for the info I'll try your suggestions.Have you shopped a place called Churchills in GrandCayman??Owned by a great british family.They actually had a Sale section {Hoyo de Moterrey}Le Hoyo du roi cabinet $120.00 a box.

Purchasing real Cubans?? Slavery, my friend, is illegal. 🙂

Buy them at Casa habanos shop in St.Martin.It's located right on the strip,walking distance from the ship.The Cuban cigars are located on the second floor.Every place along the strip has a sign for Cuban cigars and every one that I stopped at had fakes.Stick to the real deal,pay a couple of bucks extra and enjoy.