Question about the jewelry shops on the ships?

[scrapbags]

We are sailing on the Jewel and I wanted to know if anyone could tell me if they have good prices on their jewelry or can you find better deals on St.Thomas?

[Got Tequila?]

We are sailing on the Jewel and I wanted to know if anyone could tell me if they have good prices on their jewelry or can you find better deals on St.Thomas?

 

Columbian Emeralds is the Jewelry store on the ship. They have some specials that aren't too bad....but they have cruise ship passengers as a captive audience. Going into St. Thomas you have lots more competition which generally means you will be getting a better price....just make sure you know what you are getting.

 

My advice would be to check out the ship's jewelry store the first couple of days and even take a picture of the exact piece you are looking at....then on St. Thomas take the picture and full details of the item to some local jewelry stores and see what they have and at what price they have it at.

 

If your looking at an expensive diamond, you may want to purchase it out of the setting as a loose stone..........so you won't have to pay the taxes when you bring it back through customs.

 

Also, talk with the shopping consultant on the ship......they do recommend only certain stores on St. Thomas (because NCL gets a % of the sales) but they can often lead you in a good direction for stores.

 

*Also know what your local prices are before getting on the ship....just so you have a starting point price wise.

[mommyto2girls]

Colombian Emeralds on board is not a great deal but then they are not on land either.If you are doing the 10 day itinerary you should as said previously scope out what you want but I have always found the better deals in St. Marteen not St. Thomas. I owned a fine jewelry store for many years so I have an advantage but I think in St.Thomas they sort of think..ahhh here they are the bargain hunters!

[CaribbeanBlue]

The best deals go to those who are willing to shop around and barter. The tag price you see is not the be all and end all. Haggle, haggle, haggle. Our company has dealt with the jewelry stores in the Caribbean for 15 years, and we KNOW how they operate. The cruiseline talks about which stores to buy from are PAID for advertsing and yes the cruiseline gets a hefty cut if you buy there. Many of the stores have chosen not to participate in the onboard advertsing. By doing that they can offer lower prices. They may not see the volume but many have been successfully in business for 25 years and have built up a great reputation.

 

Yes, there are secrets to bargaining. Go to http://www.*****.org and just look around. We've compiled a few tips that have done well for many folks.