Expert Shopper

[miched]

Does anyone miss them?  

 

I haven’t seen any listed on our last few cruises.  As a rookie cruiser that didn’t know any better we would attend the seminars  to learn where the best deals were, as we all were lead to believe you could buy stuff almost free on the islands because it was duty free and they didn’t know what it was worth.   After a few cruises I learned that the joke was on us.  ( I was a slow learner).   We didn’t know what the stuff we were buying was really worth and most times it wasn’t the great bargain that we thought we were getting and many times over paid.   It had to be a bargain because the expect shopper told us and we were on a cruise where everything was cheaper.  

I asked on the Beyond and was told that Celebrity didn’t think it was right to have them on board telling people where to shop on the islands and  competing with the shops on board 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

[jelayne]

I haven’t seen them in years.  Of course they are like the art auctions, best ignored unless you want to overpay for something.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Generally, if you're at a port shop and they want to see your seapass card it's because the shop is paying X (or any other cruise line) a kickback that you are paying for

[cruisestitch]

I remember that there was a law passed, I believe in Alaska, that these so-called shopping experts had to reveal that they were paid by the stores.  Language to that effect was added to the shopping maps they passed out with the “recommended “stores marked on them.

 

interestingly, royal Caribbean still has these shopping “experts” on their ships.

[miched]

6 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Generally, if you're at a port shop and they want to see your seapass card it's because the shop is paying X (or any other cruise line) a kickback that you are paying for

There is a store where I have became “friends” with because of the high end watches I buy.  I asked why his shop wasn’t listed.   He said that he was paying $500 per cruise ship and sometimes there were 7 ships in the port plus a kickback.  That is why they want you to fill out that ‘“warranty paper” that is worthless.  They just want to know what you buying to make sure that they get their share.   He said that the watches he sold didn’t  need to be promoted as the serious buyers knew where he was.  He didn’t want the people coming in looking for something free or the flippers.   He kept the in demand watches for his best customers.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[markeb]

We haven't noticed them on Celebrity at all. They were common on Royal. Our first couple of "real" cruises were on HAL, and HAL did port talks. They handed out port maps. With tourist attractions (and shopping...). Yes, they had the tanzanite lectures as well. They weren't totally innocent of the racket.

 

Our first Royal cruise was notable for a couple of things. One, the port map was a shopping map. If it had attractions listed, they were pretty much as landmarks for shopping on the map. But the interesting thing on that cruise was on Liberty of the Seas (which at the time normally cruised in the UK) the onboard "port ambassador" (I think that was the title) was something of a rarity. She was an American woman watch geek. On that cruise they had a watch seminar (not really a watch buying seminar; she actually talked about watches) that was a blast. She had her Maurice-Lacroix which was NOT sold on the ship, and a lot of the people in attendance had some significant wrist candy (plenty of non-Rolex). It was actually a lot of fun. Yes, she mentioned shops on the islands, but the overall tone of the event made that feel like an afterthought (which I'm sure it wasn't).

 

Our next Royal cruise had something similar, but it was hosted by the onboard shops. The next one was in the shop, and then downhill from there. Celebrity just does the overpriced pre-owned Rolex thing. Although Equinox had Norqain and Meistersinger in November, which was surprising.

 

As you say, there are a number of shops in the Caribbean that are typically much better than the ones on the flyer. I actually picked up a Panerai strap in St Maarten in 2022 when I looked down and realized one of mine was in much worse condition than I thought. I don't think they were on the list.

 

And far too many people don't realize that it's only duty free because it hasn't been imported into the US yet. You're the importer. If you're over your exemption, duty can bite. Such as that pre-owned gold Rolex that will likely be reported as an onboard sale to CBP and you'll get that wonderful buzz instead of a ding when you leave the ship. Rushing to your 9:00 departure at FLL...

[miched]

36 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

 

Our next Royal cruise had something similar, but it was hosted by the onboard shops. The next one was in the shop, and then downhill from there. Celebrity just does the overpriced pre-owned Rolex thing. Although Equinox had Norqain and Meistersinger in November, which was surprising.

 

As you say, there are a number of shops in the Caribbean that are typically much better than the ones on the flyer. I actually picked up a Panerai strap in St Maarten in 2022 when I looked down and realized one of mine was in much worse condition than I thought. I don't think they were on the list.

 

And far too many people don't realize that it's only duty free because it hasn't been imported into the US yet. You're the importer. If you're over your exemption, duty can bite. Such as that pre-owned gold Rolex that will likely be reported as an onboard sale to CBP and you'll get that wonderful buzz instead of a ding when you leave the ship. Rushing to your 9:00 departure at FLL...

 I have purchased many straps for my Panerai from here 

 

https://panatime.com/watch-straps/by-material/alligator/

 

i wouldn’t touch those pre owned Rolex watches sold on board.  They are over priced for basically a counterfeit.   There is a disclaimer that they are reconditioned by a third party not certified by Rolex with non Rolex parts.   If you ever sent it back to Rolex for service or repair they would destroy it.  It would be hard to resell without taking a big loss.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited January 29 by miched

[markeb]

10 minutes ago, miched said:

 I have purchased many straps for my Panerai from here 

 

https://panatime.com/watch-straps/by-material/alligator/

 

i wouldn’t touch those pre owned Rolex watches sold on board.  They are over priced for basically a counterfeit.   There is a disclaimer that they are reconditioned by a third party not certified by Rolex with non Rolex parts.   If you ever sent it back to Rolex for service or repair they would destroy it.  It would be hard to resell without taking a big loss.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Thanks. I’ll give them a look. Only have a 359. We’re trying the retirement thing, so no new watches for awhile. Too many due for service…

 

Yeah. If you send one of those Roleses to New York or Dallas, or even to your good AD with an in house service, you could be in for a shock!