Purchasing watches on a Cruise Ship

[iancal]

4 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

I have an eco Drive watch I purchased on Liberty but some little stones fell out of the bezel and nobody not even Citizen would replace them, so my mantra...no more watches.  But there must be something to it as we have big name watch fans friends who do buy Tags and others onboard.

I purchased an eco drive a few years ago.  Got off the ship. DW wanted to go to Sawgrass Mills SC.  While waiting for her I went into a jewelry store.  Saw the same watch I purchased on board for exactly $1. more.  Saved the sales tax only.

 

Our advice about these duty free sales.....understand your prices.  Pay attention to the product and the net price that you pay.  

 

Two weeks ago we passed through the duty free in Faro, Portugal.  They had a wine for sale @ 17.5e.   I bought the exact same product at a Pingo Doce supermarket the week prior for 5.50e.

Edited July 11, 2022 by iancal

[billslowsky]

12 minutes ago, iancal said:

Two weeks ago we passed through the duty free in Faro, Portugal.  They had a wine for sale @ 17.5e.   I bought the exact same product at a Pingo Doce supermarket the week prior for 5.50e.

With the availability of info from places like total wines, people can get comparative prices before they board, I don't find much of a booze bargain on board unless I want 5 bottles of the same thing.

 

Maybe cigarettes but I'm not in that game.

[rudeney]

I used to dabble in watch repair and would buy used and sometimes non-working high-end watches.  I'd get them cleaned up and working, wear them for a while, sell, buy another, etc.  We were on a ship and I was moments away from pulling the trigger on a new Omega Planet Ocean.  But then I smacked myself and realized what a waste of money that would be - like buying a new car.  I've been buying used late-model luxury cars for 20+ years now and my wife finally came to realize for her last car that's the way to go.  I don't do watch work anymore since I am too old for that fine motor control.  And last year, I succumbed to the Smart Watch craze.  I do still wear a nice Swiss watch occasionally, but it's hard now to give up the benefits of the smart watch!

[DiamondDiva23]

My husband and I are in the watch business so for me when I'm on vacation the last thing I want to do is look at watches lol. He on the other hand loves going in the jewelry store onboard to see which pre-owned Rolex watches they have. We're going on Navigator in Sep with our friends and the husband is also in the watch biz so I know where those two will be most of the time lol

[Seville2Cabo]

1 hour ago, DiamondDiva23 said:

My husband and I are in the watch business so for me when I'm on vacation the last thing I want to do is look at watches lol. He on the other hand loves going in the jewelry store onboard to see which pre-owned Rolex watches they have. We're going on Navigator in Sep with our friends and the husband is also in the watch biz so I know where those two will be most of the time lol

in February, Navigator had 2 ladies date Just - that was the total inventory

[Jingerwoppy]

I've checked onboard prices and they don't seem to be much better than onshore retail if at all. I did buy a Bulova Marine Star onboard because we had $100 in onboard credited placed on our account the last afternoon of a cruise (we asked customer service where it came from and they didn't know so they told us to use it - odd). When I checked onshore later, it was within $1 of Amazon. 

 

My everyday watch is a fairly basic g-shock and has been since about 1985. Currently have one that syncs the time via satellite every night and has all the time zones. The current watch is only my 3rd g-shock and I got it about 12 years ago.

 

[tallnthensome]

Never seen a watch onboard any ship that I couldn't find for less on the grey market and I'm not talking Invictas but Omega, Ulysse Nardin, Rado, Tag , etc. 

[Surfguyxxx]

My FIL thought he'd make a boatload of cash by buying cheap watches onboard and selling them on eBay.  Unfortunately, he passed away before he could make his millionaire dreams come true 🙏.  Guess who still has them 😳!  Anybody want to buy a watch 🤑🤣

[deliver42]

I have 2 words about buying watches on a ship. BUYER BEWARE!

[John&LaLa]

19 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Never seen a watch onboard any ship that I couldn't find for less on the grey market and I'm not talking Invictas but Omega, Ulysse Nardin, Rado, Tag , etc. 

 

I've bought two AquaRacers onboard. A quartz on Carnival for $800, and an automatic on Royal for $1200. Seemed like a good price.

 

Almost bought a grey market Speedmaster several years ago, but wife got a good deal at Omega store in Aruba. Around $3400 and they shipped the giant box home for her. I love that watch. 

[lenquixote66]

On 3/16/2012 at 10:44 PM, mslaabs said:

 

My dad also bought one of those $10 watches, after he wore his non-waterproof one snorkeling :rolleyes: . He still wears it and hasn't had any problems with it. It has sort of become a family joke anytime anyone has a watch issue, he tells them how he has had no problems with his $10 ship watch and the best place to by a watch that lasts is at a cruise ship watch sale.

I have been wearing a Timex watch every day for many years that I bought for $5 .It works great .I would never spend hundreds or thousands for a watch.

[tallnthensome]

2 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I have been wearing a Timex watch every day for many years that I bought for $5 .It works great .I would never spend hundreds or thousands for a watch.

Then you wear a watch versus a timepiece. Horologists appreciate the craftsmanship, automatic movements, and beauty of their timepieces like someone who might collect fine art or someone who enjoys nice jewelry.  You wouldn't understand .....

[loman]

I started collecting watches and stopped at 5 .

After purchasing 2 tags and was going to get a third i realized both my sons 

dont even wear a watch . I figured why burden them with a pile of stuff they dont even want . 

So i bought my wife a top of the line tag carrera automatic .

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Then you wear a watch versus a timepiece. Horologists appreciate the craftsmanship, automatic movements, and beauty of their timepieces like someone who might collect fine art or someone who enjoys nice jewelry.  You wouldn't understand .....

No,I do not understand the need to spend money on jewelry .

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Then you wear a watch versus a timepiece. Horologists appreciate the craftsmanship, automatic movements, and beauty of their timepieces like someone who might collect fine art or someone who enjoys nice jewelry.  You wouldn't understand .....

 

I always wanted an astronauts watch.

 

Bummer is having to manually wind it every day......

[Seville2Cabo]

5 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I always wanted an astronauts watch.

 

Bummer is having to manually wind it every day......

Armstrong wore an Omega Speedmaster.  Swatch (owns Omega) now makes a quartz version for a couple of hundred bucks - different colors too.  

[time4u2go]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I have been wearing a Timex watch every day for many years that I bought for $5 .It works great .I would never spend hundreds or thousands for a watch.

Same here. My $10 Walmart timex works great! 

[John&LaLa]

22 minutes ago, Seville2Cabo said:

Armstrong wore an Omega Speedmaster.  Swatch (owns Omega) now makes a quartz version for a couple of hundred bucks - different colors too.  

 

Sacrilege 😉🤣

 

All the astronauts were assigned a Speedmaster, but they weren't allowed to keep them. Interestingly enough, Buzz Aldrin's watch got misplaced. One of the legends in the watch world

[Seville2Cabo]

9 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Sacrilege 😉🤣

 

All the astronauts were assigned a Speedmaster, but they weren't allowed to keep them. Interestingly enough, Buzz Aldrin's watch got misplaced. One of the legends in the watch world

I thought they found it a couple of years ago

[John&LaLa]

Just now, Seville2Cabo said:

I thought they found it a couple of years ago

 

Maybe, but I hadn't heard. 

[tallnthensome]

1 hour ago, Seville2Cabo said:

Armstrong wore an Omega Speedmaster.  Swatch (owns Omega) now makes a quartz version for a couple of hundred bucks - different colors too.  

Mission to Uranus ...... I couldnt believe the hype and lines for it when introduced. I think the line didn't please the real Speedy owners. 

[DiamondDiva23]

On 7/11/2022 at 4:45 PM, Seville2Cabo said:

in February, Navigator had 2 ladies date Just - that was the total inventory

Most of the Rolex stores here in Chicago have low inventory too. We have a huge stock because we are a pre-owned dealer and the owners go to the trade shows once a month

[Bound4Bermuda]

This is the same scam they pull with the “sales” on the cruise fares and drink packages. They make up a ridiculously overpriced base price so they can tell you they’re giving it away at 75% off.  As an example, this past week on Oasis they were making a huge deal about Casio watches being under $100! Casio watches cost nowhere near $100! 

[steveru621]

I have purchased two Citizen watches on a ship and I'm very happy.  The discount is no longer 40%, but 35%.

 

That said, I've checked pricing, and the ship pricing on Citizen is the best I've found.  Also there are so many Citizen's models, many use the cheapest model price as an example of bad ship pricing.  They are not all the same!

 

At the end of the day, I save at least the 6% state sales tax.

 

The vendor that runs the shops does report the purchase to customs so don't try to hide it.

 

Buy your watch EARLY in the cruise to make sure it works!  They will size it for you.

[steveru621]

2 hours ago, Bound4Bermuda said:

This is the same scam they pull with the “sales” on the cruise fares and drink packages. They make up a ridiculously overpriced base price so they can tell you they’re giving it away at 75% off.  As an example, this past week on Oasis they were making a huge deal about Casio watches being under $100! Casio watches cost nowhere near $100! 

 

Stainless Steel Casio watches cost well over $300, check Amazon.