page_title: Baltic Sea cruiseferries
section_title: Tax-free sales
hierarchical_section_title: Baltic Sea cruiseferries / Eastern Baltic / Tax-free sales
caption_attribution_description: The entrance tunnel to Viking Mariella at Viking Line -terminalen in Masthamnen, Stockholm, Sweden, facing towards the ship.
context_page_description: The Baltic Sea is crossed by several cruiseferry lines. Some important shipping companies are Viking Line, Silja Line, Tallink, St. Peter Line, Eckerö Line and Birka Line.
context_section_description: The expansion of the European Union has limited the growth of the industry as duty-free sales on intra-EU routes are no longer possible. However, as the Åland Islands are outside the EU customs zone, duty-free sales are still possible on routes making a stop at Mariehamn or other harbours on the islands. Another popular destination is Estonia with its lower taxes on alcohol.
  The ferries have been criticized because of the low prices of alcoholic beverages which encourage passengers to become drunk and act irresponsibly. Due to the relatively cheap price of the cruises and availability of duty-free alcohol (which makes it considerably cheaper than on "land" as both Finland and Sweden have a relatively strict taxation of alcohol) many big parties involving vast amounts of alcohol consumption are held on the ships.
  Many Finns also buy snus from ferries as its sale is illegal in Finland due to EU regulations.
caption: Passengers board and depart the ships via walking tunnels connecting the ship directly to the terminal building.
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