On board shops

How do you think the shops onboard Ventura, ie, the perfume shop, bags and jewellery compare to the high street.

I have asked about Ventura as that is the only P&O ship I have been on. I am presuming that the other ships will have similar shops and prices.

I bought a book on my last cruise which at home I could have gotten 3 for the price I paid for one.

Ventura is currently undergoing a refit, with new shops being added. I have purchased perfume onboard, but know the prices beforehand. Usually buy a handbag in the sales to get a bargain.

My wife bought a few Pandora pieces on Aurora and they were around £8 cheaper per item.

My opinion? The clothes are terrible. The perfume is expensive and to pay that kind of money for what is often a plastic bag, not leather. I just won't do it. Apart from anything else, I much prefer to shop in the ports that we visit.

I have found that my brand of perfume is always cheaper in Boots than on board.

I always buy my Radley bags from the outlet in Cheshire Oaks because they are usually £30 to £40 cheaper than P&O.

I have bought Pandora charms on board because they are cheaper and when I take into account the 10% Peninsular discount they are cheaper than the shop in Gibraltar.

I would suggest that if you have something in mind check the prices at home before you leave.

The Pandora is something to keep in mind.

We also have a Radley outlet where I live and they always seemed cheaper to me.

The perfume I looked at still seemed to cost a lot more than Boots, but they could have been bigger bottles.

Personally I can't see how the onboard shops would sell much unless they have a sale on.

They mustn't need to sell many of the big price jewellery before they make enough to make those shops worthwhile.

Nobody knows what shops they will have after the refit. The shops all closed down and stock was removed about 5 days before the end of our recent cruise. Apparently Dufray now has the contract

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Nobody knows what shops they will have after the refit. The shops all closed down and stock was removed about 5 days before the end of our recent cruise. Apparently Dufray now has the contract

 

 

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I do hope Pandora is staying on Ventura as I’m going with my friend who has never cruised as an adult. She was looking forward to buying a charm onboard as a momento as they are actually cheaper onboard.

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Nobody knows what shops they will have after the refit. The shops all closed down and stock was removed about 5 days before the end of our recent cruise. Apparently Dufray now has the contract

 

It will be interesting to see whether Dufray can improve the current shops. Shouldn’t be too difficult as in my view, at the moment, most of them are a waste of valuable space. Will they retain the extra special offer tables that regularly appear to sell much of the rubbish they cannot sell at the original inflated prices?

My thoughts entirely. Really poor quality clothes and other rubbish.

Nobody knows what shops they will have after the refit. The shops all closed down and stock was removed about 5 days before the end of our recent cruise. Apparently Dufray now has the contract

 

 

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Is it Dufray or Dufry ? Dufry have contracts for duty free shops in many airports around the world and I remember reading that they were moving on to cruise ships a number of years ago.

I doubt that they will be much different to the old shops as I have never seen much to tempt me to buy in airports.

I always find that some of the stuff in the shops - like the watches - are for people who don't need to worry about how much a cruise has cost! Silly prices. That's just me.

Some of the watches cost more than our holiday !!!

I always think that the shops are a missed opportunity.

The stock is so poor that you see people browsing but seldom see anyone buying much. They must sell something or they would not be there I suppose.

The exception is that there are always hordes round the tat tables, goodness knows why.

The prices are seldom any better than the local high street as others have said.

Hopefully if there is anew contractor they will show a bit more flair and imagination. People are on holiday so would probably buy goods if there was something attractive to buy.

I always think that the shops are a missed opportunity.

 

The stock is so poor that you see people browsing but seldom see anyone buying much. They must sell something or they would not be there I suppose.

 

 

The exception is that there are always hordes round the tat tables, goodness knows why.

 

The prices are seldom any better than the local high street as others have said.

 

Hopefully if there is anew contractor they will show a bit more flair and imagination. People are on holiday so would probably buy goods if there was something attractive to buy.

I often think that the staff in some of the shops must be bored stiff as there are very few, if any,passengers buying anything. Without sounding snobbish, P&O isn't a top end cruise line so why they sell stuff that some of us can only dream about (if it floats your boat) is beyond me.

I often think that the staff in some of the shops must be bored stiff as there are very few, if any,passengers buying anything. Without sounding snobbish, P&O isn't a top end cruise line so why they sell stuff that some of us can only dream about (if it floats your boat) is beyond me.

I have often had the same thoughts but having cruise with several other cruise lines I have come to the conclusion that they all sell the same things regardless of their target market. I just wonder how they make a profit because they don't seem to have many customers other than in the duty free shop where there always seems to be people buy cigarettes and alcohol.

I think most other cruise lines had/have Harding Brothers running the shops so a change to Dufry might be a good move for P & O

I have often had the same thoughts but having cruise with several other cruise lines I have come to the conclusion that they all sell the same things regardless of their target market. I just wonder how they make a profit because they don't seem to have many customers other than in the duty free shop where there always seems to be people buy cigarettes and alcohol.

People expect shops so they have them and what profit they do make is profit to the company that runs them and the cruise company. If there were no shops all that space would have to be filled by something either more seating, tables etc or some other attraction for passengers. I would rather have shops than Burger King or McDonalds.

I'm always amazed how many people buy the gold chain on a roll from the 'sale' stalls that spring up towards the end of the cruise :o;)

Hello,

If I turn left at the end of my road, after about a mile I will get to Harding Bros - who I remember as a general ships' chandler not specialist cruise on-board retailer. Anyway 'Drama Queen' novelty birthday cards are retailed by them for £3.00 - even worse than the $3.00 when retailed on RCI.

If I turn left at the end of my road, after about 1/4 mile I will get to a 'Value' stationers. In that shop the same 'Drama Queen' novelty birthday cards are 50p.

In absolute terms it's not a lot, but in percentage terms it's an outrage.

Regards,

Cublet

[quote=Strawberry field;55661503............

I'm always amazed how many people buy the gold chain on a roll from the 'sale' stalls that spring up towards the end of the cruise :o;)

I have bought several of these chains over many years as necklaces, bracelets and ankle chains, mainly for holiday jewellery, and they are all as good as new! Really good value and no worries about expensive jewellery getting stolen when out and about.....

Saloo brand clothing is sold on the local market much more cheaply. Why don't they theme some of the shops to t h e places visited on the cruise?

I’ve always thought that the majority of products are bought by people using up unused onboard credit, hence the inflated prices.

I've always thought P&O miss a trick when it comes to the shops. As far as the women's clothes are concerned, even if I had a lot of OBC to use up I'd find it hard to choose any of the clothes. A lot of them are jersey, a lot with elastane and as far as stylish goes they are dreadful. Even the Joules clothes which were on Aurora when we were on her for the long 65 nights this year, were a very poor selection. I've got several Joules pieces but the ones they had in the shop were by no means the best choice. Very rarely were there many people in the shops, jewellery or clothes and some of the bags were over £100. The same displays that were on show in January at the beginning of our cruise were still the same in March, nothing had moved. Maybe the new providers will give us something better.

The clothing shops are appalling, nothing elegant or stylish. I am 5’ 9” so everything is far too short. As for the Radley bags, they are cheaper in Jersey evening I chiding our GST.