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What is cheaper on the ship than off?

moonvine

By moonvine,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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moonvine

moonvine

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I'm trying to figure out what I should be trying to buy on shore vs on the ship. Liquor really seems to be a better deal on the ship than off, from what I can tell. What about jewelry? I'm interested in Caribbean Topaz and Tanzanite, but both seem to be quite expensive.

 

I also like sterling silver jewelry, which the ship doesn't seem to have at all.

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Texas_Diver

Texas_Diver

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We didn't find a good selection of silver jewelry either. One two nights, there was a display set up outisde the gift shop which sold custom-cut chains. Just be careful on the sizing! I had to get a refund on mine due to wrong sizing.

 

:)

 

D.

 

PS- We're from Austin too!

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moonvine

moonvine

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Where are you going to be?

 

Sorry, I should have specified. My next trip is going to be to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and hopefully Cozumel. I'm booked on the Conquest on 10/15 with S&S II. One day after my 40th birthday, so I'm looking at saving up some money and buying myself something special:)

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moonvine

moonvine

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How is the perfume/cosmetic prices compared to land prices? I didn't really notice the first time, except my mother got me a Chanel #5 perfume....mmmm.

 

I don't know... I have SO MUCH of that stuff I don't need anymore:)

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moonvine

moonvine

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We didn't find a good selection of silver jewelry either. One two nights, there was a display set up outisde the gift shop which sold custom-cut chains. Just be careful on the sizing! I had to get a refund on mine due to wrong sizing.

 

:)

 

D.

 

PS- We're from Austin too!

 

Hi there!

 

Hate to bring this off topic, but where in Austin do you recommend getting certified to dive? I keep saying I am going to do this as soon as I get a spare minute (who knows when that will occur).

 

I did Discover Scuba in Cozumel and loved it...

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Sue L

Sue L

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I bought a beautiful pairs of carribean topaz studs, the dark color, they come in three shades. A sunrise which is orangey colored and light color one and the dark which is what I have. If you are wearing something blue they look bluish, something green, then more green and the same with purple. I bought them on the ship they are 4 carats ( 2 each ear) studs and they were 150. In cozumel and grand cayman I didn't see anything as nice or for such a good price. this cruise I want to get carribean topaz loop earrings. I wear the others all the time because they go with everything. The prices on the jewelry on the ship are really good, but on the islands you do see more unique designs. If you see something on the ship though buy it...you can get a full refund if you see something you like better on the islands. My best advice is to do your homework at home so you have an idea what you want and a general price range.

 

Sue

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Texas_Diver

Texas_Diver

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Hi there!

 

Hate to bring this off topic, but where in Austin do you recommend getting certified to dive? I keep saying I am going to do this as soon as I get a spare minute (who knows when that will occur).

 

I did Discover Scuba in Cozumel and loved it...

 

Scubaland North is good. I did my advanced and rescue training with them.

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Bunkie103

Bunkie103

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I found perfume to be quite reasonable on the ship. My only problem was the lack of variety of fragrances they carried this year on the Valor. When we were in Roatan (of all places) there was a duty free store and I was able to find it there MUCH cheaper than at home :eek:

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cheshyrkat

cheshyrkat

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I'm trying to figure out what I should be trying to buy on shore vs on the ship. Liquor really seems to be a better deal on the ship than off, from what I can tell. What about jewelry? I'm interested in Caribbean Topaz and Tanzanite, but both seem to be quite expensive.

 

I also like sterling silver jewelry, which the ship doesn't seem to have at all.

 

The only liquor I saw that was cheaper off the ship (I don't like to hassle with all that lowest price guarantee stuff so I just buy it where it's cheaper) was Kaluha. In Coz you could get a big bottle of it for like $10. There might be some kind of local favorite that the ship doesn't carry that you might want to keep your eyes open for.

 

I have gotten both the Caribbean Topaz and tanzanite in Cozumel. I never bought anything on the ship. I found the prices to be a little high. I don't scour the sales, though so it's hard to say if onshore is a better "deal" or not. The tanzanite is pretty expensive everywhere but they tend to have prettier stones available both on the ship and onshore than what I typically see around here. I don't recall even seeing the topaz on the ship. The topaz isn't ghastly expensive where I've looked in the US and I don't know if the price is any better or worse in port, but again, I found the colors to be much prettier and there was a much wider variety of styles to choose from in port.

 

I didn't see any sterling on the ship. Be careful of the "by the inch" chains because they aren't solid gold and some have had problems with tarnishing, etc. You can find a lot of silver in Cozumel just be careful that it's marked with the .925 otherwise you might end up turning green!

 

I find that Grand Cayman is terrible to shop for anything...quite expensive! They jack up prices when the ships come in. (not even kind of kidding, here I've seen it done!) I have bought a diamond ring in Jamaica but I don't know that I'd consider that any kind of shopping mecca or anything. It was at a jewelry shop near the ship and I just wanted it. Wasn't searching for anything.

 

Hope this is helpful to you!

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Timmys_mom Great Review Rare

Timmys_mom

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Shopping is a lot better in Cozumel in my opinion. The dollar is weak in Grand Cayman. I don't buy anything there.

OMG! Don't let AVC see this. He will start blathering on about how much his mac-and-cheese cost him on Grand Cayman. :D

 

The Cayman Islands are expensive, period. I didn't do any shopping outside of Margaritaville in Jamaica, so I can't comment.

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irishgirl

irishgirl

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I was on this cruise October 2004, so here goes.

 

I found Jamaica (Montego Bay) to be more expensive than Ocho Rios. I couldn't even get a litre of Appleton Dark Rum for under $10, so I didn't buy any. We went to the shopping center, Taj Mahal and they wouldn't even bargain. Then went over to an independent vendor area, where I got beaded necklace and ankle bracelet for $3/set, that's a bargain.

 

Grand Cayman, everything is expensive here. I did find my Appleton Rum here at Big Black Dick's for $7 a litre so I bought it. Jewelry is more expensive here than anywhere else, IMO.

 

Cozumel, If you go downtown and stay away from the piers, you can find smaller stores (down side streets) that have better bargains. Main street can be quite expensive and the prices will vary for the same item from store to store. I think our friends got Kahlua for $9 a litre. The next store had it for $7. There are probably a hundred jewelry stores in Cozumel, or it seems that way. I guess if you are looking for a particular piece of jewelry, just keep looking in every store until you find the price you want to pay. They will bargain here, so name your price and see what they do.

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