Are you a ship shop shopper?

[RachelD]

Just this past cruise we bought way to much art. There was this great deal on a Thomas Rut and then there were the Peter Max 911 pieces, and don't forget the nice water colors...

 

It wasn't until after we bought them that we thought about where we would find the foom for all of them!!

 

(Actually one of the Peter Max's is to help pay for our kids' college tuition someday!)

[Bholling]

On the ship I may buy a t-shirt or two for hubby or the grand kids, and sometimes one of the colorful $10 wraps (work great to brighten up my solid black or brown winter coats) but while at the ports we like to buy something for our house on each trip...

 

It is interesting to see how "far we've come"...from a primitive (and very cheap) hand carved fish from St Maarten on our first cruise almost 20 years ago, to a really nice marble and cast iron sculpture of a porpoise, stingray, sea turtle and other sea life we picked up last year in Key West...

[txlonestargirl]

I DO enjoy shopping on the ship, but also buy a few things in ports. My mostest fav-OH-rite ship purchases has been several (4!) of those $10 pashmina's they have in a rainbow of colors on every ship I've been on. I'm ALWAYS cold (yes, even in our Texas summers!) so I now keep one at home (for trips), one at work (for conference room meetings), one in my car (for restaurants, movies, etc.) AND one in Sugah Britches (SB) truck (in the glove compartment!). It's a nice, light-weight summer wrap for our heavily air conditioned buildings! Keep in mind I'm cold when it's below 80! :D Someday, I shall go through menopause :eek: and hopefully warm up!!! LOL

 

I've also bought some nice jewelry at good prices on the ships.

 

SMOOCHES!

[mrsred]

The only items I want to buy on the ship are postcards.

 

Every day I write a postcard to us with little quips about what we did that day. Also buy postcards when we go ashore (or just from stops if it is a land-based vacation).

 

It usually takes a while for them to get to us, so usually a week or two after our cruise (or vacation) we get them in the mail. :)

 

I keep them as a diary of our trips.

 

~e

[sweetpea-2]

Hi,

After you have said that 5 times fast:-), tell us about your onboard shopping. Do you find the sizes that work for you? Are you into buying jewelry onboard as a really nice souvenier of your cruise? Or do you just grab a couple of T's for the kids or grandkids?

Host Mama (who generally doesnt have very good luck shopping on the ship)

 

buy most items in ports of call...very few on ship other than a t-shirt, hat pin etc....we do buy lots of t-shirts (give to our 5 kids and also to DH employees for a treat, buy one or two nice pieces of jewelry.....(got a $5200 diamond for $2600 in St Thomas in 2003)....I also plan on buying jewelry of some sort for my DD, and trinkets for family members.....try and limit it our spending to $2500-$3500....

[CarolSW]

Up until last summer, I was a shipboard browser, not a buyer, because the prices always seemed kinda high. I DID always buy the fridge magnet of our ship though. That way I have a mini-vacation in my mind every time I open the door! LOL!

 

Last summer we sailed on one of the last voyages of the NCL Sea before she was sold. To my surprise, all the of the logo-wear they had in the shipboard stores was marked down greatly - between 60% - 90% off listed prices. It was a great opportunity to purchase some neat items for souvenirs for pennies on the dollar. Got some shorts, pj's, jackets, and several of those great fold-up expandable bags to pack for when you bring home MORE than you take. SO, the moral of this story is, any time a cruise line is about to sell one of their ships, and you happen to be aboard for one the final sailings, you just may make out like a bandit in the shopping department!

[judyzoo]

On the ship, I usually buy a few postcards (although I buy most of my postcards in port), magnet showing the ship, possibly a shot glass with the ship’s name, maybe a pot holder or dish towel (that’s for my practical side), sometimes something such as an evening bag or earrings from the Bijoux Terner $10 shop; occasionally a tote bag if it has some distinguishing feature.

 

I’ve also bought a replacement for something lost or broken -- sunglasses that fell overboard, a watch that stopped running. And some one-time type purchases, such as a set of Y2K champagne glasses that were selling for a good price just before 2000; high socks to keep my legs warm on a Transatlantic cruise that was chillier than I expected.; a multi-compartment luggage bag that folds into itself (does anyone understand what I’m describing?); garden decorations made in one of the ports.

 

Other than that, sometimes I’ll buy a gift for someone back home, such as the catsitter, on board if I haven’t seen anything in port that seems right.

 

No t-shirts, which I seldom wear. None of that by-the-inch “gold jewelry.” No art from the annoying auctions.

[ger_77]

Okay, I confess, I'm truly pathetic - I buy lots of stuff from the ship shops. Let's see, coffee mugs, purses, t-shirts, watches, Swarovsky jewelry, earrings, sequinned tops, sweaters, golf shirts for DH, shawls, and costume jewelry. Last trip we were walking through the shop just before it closed and DH spotted a pretty diamond eternity band that looked absolutely perfect beside my diamond ring and bought it for me, so now I can also add good jewelry to my list! When I go on vacation I love to shop, no matter where we are. If we aren't in sight of land, I shop on the ship! Some purchases I keep, others are for gifts - I decide which is which when I get home.

 

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[KK_Cruisin]

I have purcahsed a variety of things on board. I usually get a couple of RCCL logo items. Clothing is hard to come by. The availbility of sizes is totally hit or miss. I need a small or X-small and I noticed that with the nicer cute items like tracksuits or nice tops, they were alwsy out of smalls and mediums. Or they would have the top in my size, but not the matching pants. I do not buy alchool on cruises anymore. It is not worth the $1-$2 you save on it. I do make an excpetion when it is something I cannot find here at home. Like the Banana Rum form the Caymans, or a really nice bottle of wine at 1/3 the cost here at home. I do pick up some random things in port for friends who have requested things and I always buy a keychain.

[GORDONCHICK]

I intended to by a Princess tee in February and never found one I liked. Usually buy postcards on ship and in port. We always let DS pick a magnet of the ship. We also buy Christmas ornaments, not only for our family tree but also for DS's tree. He has a 3" tree decorated with things he's made plus ornaments of where we've been (land and sea). When he's grown, he will already have a good collection of ornaments of his own.

 

One of the strangest things we brought home from a cruise is a hammock chair from Costa Maya. It hangs on our front porch. DH just fell in love with it!

[MrsMoose2001]

Caviargal, what is banana ketchup? Where does one buy this?

 

As for shopping, only had one cruise, didn't see anything really worth buying on the ship. I did buy a "sweater" pullover in cotton no logos or anything, just something you could buy at a local dept store, I like that style of pullover and made use of it on the trip so I bought it. My souvenier of the ship/cruise was a photo album cover thingy, on one side is a picture of the ship, the other side is a photo of DH and the captain and myself in his quarters. It closes and says the name of the cruise line on it and I bought some photos the ship's photographer took like when we got off in Skagway. None of the posed pics with the "fake background", didn't like those and I bouight the one that said "Alaska bound".

 

Sometimes I buy alcohol, but only if it's something I can't buy here where I live and only if going by car. Generally I'm looking for a specific bottle of wine that is hard to get here otherwise no point. We are allowed one bottle each regardless of how we travel (car, plane etc), not worth the effort for the couple dollars saved, it has to be really something special or unusual that is unavailable here.

[scarletine]

I discovered on my last cruise that my regular perfume, which usually costs about $50.00 for a 1.7 oz size at the department store, only costs about $30.00 on the ship. I was just about out, so I was thrilled. Other than that, though, I tend not to spend too much on the ship.

 

Might pick up a CZ and Sterling Silver ring every once in a while if one strikes me though. :)

[JanineM]

I don't like clutter and have no use for souvenirs, nor do I wear t-shirts. But I love to shop so I do look for something to take home. I wish they would stock golf shirts that are cut for a woman (nipped in waist, not too long), and interesting tops (v-neck or scoop neck). I would probably buy tops like that, but they all seem to have the same old same old.

 

We usually buy a couple of golf shirts for DH on the last day at sea (sale day). Last time I bought a fleece top that was interesting and a bit different. We buy bandanas for the dog.

 

My aunt collects spoons, so I am always on the lookout for sterling spoons for her collection. Unfortunately, it is really hard to find nice quality spoons now. They are all cheap stainless.

 

I might buy makeup in the duty free shop. I wear department store brands and know the prices, so if there is something I need, I'll pick it up. The only thing I collect is Swarovski, so I might buy a figurine if I see one I love.

 

We used to buy fridge magnets, but now that we have a stainless fridge, I have no where to display them.

 

When we are at port, I will look for pieces of jewellery, and anything that might be cute to wear around the pool at home. We also usually pick up a bottle each somewhere along the line.

 

I'm glad they have the shops on board, it gives me something to do while DH is having his afternoon nap on sea days!