Jewelry problem from Carnival ship

Just back from a cruise for 20th anniversary and had decided to buy my wife a wedding band. We have only had our plain gold bands and it was time for her to have a really nice band. We looked in the Fun Shops just to compare before looking in ports. Of course she found a perfect ring, but we still looked at stores in Belize, Roatan, Cayman, and Cozumel. Diamonds Int. said if we picked one, they would have it sized by the time we returned. But she was set on the one on the ship.

The jewelry has a 1 year "return it for any reason" guarantee and a 2 year "defect or loss of gems" warranty. The salesman said it would take 14 days for mailing, sizing, and return...postage and everything would be paid by them. However, they couldn't send it directly after purchase. We would have to do it. He kept saying we could get it done by a local jeweler at home for about $25 if we didn't want to wait the 2 weeks. He didn't mention that the warranties are void though if you don't get all repairs and sizing done by them. But we noticed. So we bought the ring and as a surprise I got a matching diamond pendant.

We got home and pulled up the form and mailing instructions to find that: 1) we had to pay postage and insurance ourselves -- $69 for regular mail and enough insurance to cover the high price of the ring, 2) the wait was 4 months! We called the company to make sure it was really that long and they confirmed 4-5 months for just sizing. So, we used that return it for any reason guarantee and sent them both back at our expense. The good news is now I have to schedule another cruise to find another ring in port. :D

That's crazy........

I've had rings resized "while I waited"!

Although nothing is as nice a "jewelry souvenir" you're really probably better off buying locally......(both for price and maintenance)....unless you really know your stones.

I would never buy good jewelery on the ship or in the ports. Too many horror stories about the poor quality or of the item just being gold plated.

I had the same exact problem several years ago after purchasing an engagement ring on board. Promises of two weeks delivery, resizing and all of it. Was supposed to get the ring by late November and have it as a surprise for my (now) wife at Christmas. Got it in mid-February!

I spent weeks on the phone and got nowhere with anyone until I finally researched the name of the CEO of Starboard (the company that sells jewelry on CCL). Sent him a scathing email. He sent me an apology and a 50% refund. NOT a good experience and will never buy jewelry on a ship again.

That's crazy........

 

I've had rings resized "while I waited"!

 

Although nothing is as nice a "jewelry souvenir" you're really probably better off buying locally......(both for price and maintenance)....unless you really know your stones.

Agree!

I've done a lot of comparison shopping on the ship, in port and various local and online jewlery sources and our local shops almost always have the best prices.

I've done a lot of comparison shopping on the ship, in port and various local and online jewlery sources and our local shops almost always have the best prices.

Exactly. Local jewelery places / trusted online retailers have far better prices and much better quality. I'm not sure why everyone blindly buys stuff on board or in these tourist destination jewelery stores.

I have heard too many problem with buying jewelry at the ports and also on the ships. It's best to get it locally, so you can take it back and also do comparison shopping. If you do plan on buying at the ports and on the ships, just be careful!

I do buy silver jewelry at some ports, but nothing very valuable. Just stuff for my daughter, and it's more for the experience of shopping together. I have no illusions of the quality we are getting.

I am, however, a good bargain shopper.

That being said, I would never buy really expensive stuff at a port or on the ship.

Better to buy expensive jewelry from a local jeweler you have a relationship with.

I would never buy good jewelery on the ship or in the ports. Too many horror stories about the poor quality or of the item just being gold plated.

Spank. Spank. I've been a CC member for more than a decade, and can never recall anyone buying a plated piece of jewelry on board which claimed to be solid gold. Of course, in ports anything goes, but on board??????

Exactly. Local jewelery places / trusted online retailers have far better prices and much better quality. I'm not sure why everyone blindly buys stuff on board or in these tourist destination jewelery stores.

I believe you have hit the nail on the head: TRUSTED ONLINE RETAILERS. In my experience they substantially beat any local prices. Unfortunately, we are not permitted to give a list of trustworthy online jewelers on CC or I would be happy to share my suggestions.

Just back from a cruise for 20th anniversary and had decided to buy my wife a wedding band. We have only had our plain gold bands and it was time for her to have a really nice band. We looked in the Fun Shops just to compare before looking in ports. Of course she found a perfect ring, but we still looked at stores in Belize, Roatan, Cayman, and Cozumel. Diamonds Int. said if we picked one, they would have it sized by the time we returned. But she was set on the one on the ship.

 

The jewelry has a 1 year "return it for any reason" guarantee and a 2 year "defect or loss of gems" warranty. The salesman said it would take 14 days for mailing, sizing, and return...postage and everything would be paid by them. However, they couldn't send it directly after purchase. We would have to do it. He kept saying we could get it done by a local jeweler at home for about $25 if we didn't want to wait the 2 weeks. He didn't mention that the warranties are void though if you don't get all repairs and sizing done by them. But we noticed. So we bought the ring and as a surprise I got a matching diamond pendant.

 

We got home and pulled up the form and mailing instructions to find that: 1) we had to pay postage and insurance ourselves -- $69 for regular mail and enough insurance to cover the high price of the ring, 2) the wait was 4 months! We called the company to make sure it was really that long and they confirmed 4-5 months for just sizing. So, we used that return it for any reason guarantee and sent them both back at our expense. The good news is now I have to schedule another cruise to find another ring in port. :D

PLEASE do your research on Diamonds and Tanzanite International, on CC and on Internet-some(very small % of people) like the deal they got from these two companies, but most feel like they got ripped off:mad: and we are two of them. Also, I picked out a necklace in store and had to leave for our tour and went back to pick it up-I am pretty sure they did a switch on us. Long story short-did not appraise near what they said it was worth or what we paid and the guarantee rules are worse than the ship and almost impossible to use. You sound like a very loving, generous person, so please take time and check around where you live and I bet you will find the perfect gift locally and one, you can return or get repaired.

My son in law bought the wedding set for my daughter while in Jamaica to get married. She had a stone coming loose and they had to mail the ring to New York. It came back with an appraisal of $4000 after he paid $1800 for it in Jamaica.

You can get "name brands" on ships such as Effy or Maralargo...and you can deal with those companies directly when you get home.

However, for "expensive diamonds" I wouldn't trust cruise ships or shops in port. (Expensive is a relative term...if you consider it costly...then it's expensive.)

Jewelry is my avocation, and it always amazes me how little the sales people know about the product.

My son in law bought the wedding set for my daughter while in Jamaica to get married. She had a stone coming loose and they had to mail the ring to New York. It came back with an appraisal of $4000 after he paid $1800 for it in Jamaica.

An appraisal isn't "the value". It's used for insurance purposes....and should be 2-3 times your cost. So, the $1800 is just about right....but not a bargain.

My son in law bought the wedding set for my daughter while in Jamaica to get married. She had a stone coming loose and they had to mail the ring to New York. It came back with an appraisal of $4000 after he paid $1800 for it in Jamaica.

If you bought local or had a local jeweler you could just walk in and have them adjust it. Even if I bought on a ship / in a port I still wouldn't mail it to them..I would go to my local jeweler.

An appraisal isn't "the value". It's used for insurance purposes....and should be 2-3 times your cost. So, the $1800 is just about right....but not a bargain.

Exactly.

You can get "name brands" on ships such as Effy or Maralargo...and you can deal with those companies directly when you get home.

 

However, for "expensive diamonds" I wouldn't trust cruise ships or shops in port. (Expensive is a relative term...if you consider it costly...then it's expensive.)

 

Jewelry is my avocation, and it always amazes me how little the sales people know about the product.

There is a huge turnover at these stores and the only people that seem to stay for any time is the managers.

Bsed on the turnover wouldnt expect the salespeople to become very knowledgable of the stuff they are selling.

Im not buying expensive jewelry on the ship or at the ports, No way!

To many possible problems. Not worth it.

While I agree you have to be careful, not all jewelry stores in port are the same (ie: Diamonds International). My friend is a goldsmith and owns a small jewelry store in St. Thomas where they make everything they sell on-site, so they're very knowledgeable about their product (since they made it!), and have cruise passengers stop in for while-you-wait resizing of rings etc while they're back in port on purchases they made during previous visits.

It's hard to "do your homework" when you're on vacation and suddenly caught up in the moment when you see a piece of jewelry, but I would caution against any blanket statements like "you should never buy from the stores in port."

if you want a good deal then go to Costco or Sam's to get a ring. You at least won't have to deal with the hassle of something going wrong and the quality at Costco or Sam's is as good if not better than what you can get at Diamonds Int. or on the ship.

My wife has bought jewelry on ships if they fit and we have never had issues.

I would never go to a dairy to buy an umbrella so why would I buy jewellery on a cruise ship?

If you want a quality item with quality service then you need to go to someone who specialises in that kind of item

A year ago my husband bought me a new diamond for my engagement ring in St. Maarten. He had done research before hand and knew how much a diamond of that quality and size was worth, and we did end up saving money on it. It was not diamonds international, it was a small store and they mounted the diamond into my setting while we waited for no charge. I have had no problems with it and I think it's gorgeous, and the fact that every time I look at it, it reminds me of St. Maarten makes it even more special.

A year ago my husband bought me a new diamond for my engagement ring in St. Maarten. He had done research before hand and knew how much a diamond of that quality and size was worth, and we did end up saving money on it. It was not diamonds international, it was a small store and they mounted the diamond into my setting while we waited for no charge. I have had no problems with it and I think it's gorgeous, and the fact that every time I look at it, it reminds me of St. Maarten makes it even more special.

I'm not saying you did not have a great experience or get what you pay for but I would definately want to make sure the papers on the diamond were legit before making any purchase.

I bought a beautiful ring and pendant at a recommend store. When I got home to have it reappraised for insurance purpose.... it was GLASS very pretty glass. worth about $15 so said the jeweler. I just did a charge back. I have a very pretty fake pendant and ring My friend bought a diamond ring on the at a recommend store and it was fake too! yep believe it. no more good jewelry for us!