Would you buy jewelry on a Carnival Ship?

[mikel24m]

He was referring to the diamond ring about the repair...He told us we would have to send it overseas to get it sized - and for any repairs. I didn't look at any watches on board.

 

ahh gotcha.I dont know why the salesman would tell you to send it overseas to be sized , any jeweler can do that really easy and pretty cheap as well.The repairs I get because I assume its under warranty

Edited May 8, 2013 by mikel24m

[422Melissa]

The statement about the Citizen watch models being manufactured for the cruise lines is false, I purchased a current model Eco Drive onboard in April for $270, and list price is $450. Some online prices for comparison: Overstock -$337, Zappos $337, Jared $337, Amazon $337.

 

Model: EM0093-59A

Sophisticated modern styling is the hallmark of this new, classically inspired feminine collection with Citizen Eco-Drive technology. The sparkle of the white dial provides a pleasing contrast to the rose gold tone 35mm case. A 20-diamond bezel, spherical crystal and applied Roman numeral markers add to the unique elegance of Ciena.

I'm happy with my purchase, and I won the Invicta dive watch raffle, too. You will want to price check before buying an Invicta onboard; however. The watch I won had an MSRP of $895 but actually sells for about $75 online.

[LibratPDX]

I have purchased three Citizen (NOT "Sitizen" :p) Eco-Drive watches on cruises and have not had problems with any of them. Just a few weeks ago I purchased one on eBay and it didn't keep the time after being in the dark for 12 hours, so I had to return it to be repaired or replaced. Go figure!

 

I purchased a sterling and simulated opal ring on my last cruise and I know for a fact that I could have gotten a similar ring at a much better price on eBay, but it was part of my enjoyment of that cruise.

 

I bought a few Bella Perlina bracelets (similar to Pandora) and the cruise ship price was identical to the price at the airport (in San Juan) but cheaper than I have found online. However, there are great deals for additional beads (not brand-names) on eBay.

 

I also bought a shell necklace and overpaid for it, even though it was "marked down" 30% or something. I just really wanted it! I found other shell and/or bead necklaces for considerably less in the stores at the ports of call. Bought those too, they made lovely gifts!

 

If you know what you're getting and enjoy the "gold" by the inch or the $10 sales, have fun and buy what you want! One of my $10 cruise watches turned out to be a great dive watch for me!

Edited May 8, 2013 by LibratPDX

[Mulege]

Buying on a ship is like buying from a guy standing on the corner in New York City.

[sanmarcosman]

The gold by the inch is not real so how did it appraise as a good deal

 

The appraiser is as phony as the "gold."

[ADD Boy]

So do the ships acquire the jewelry to sell in the ports of call or load on with all the other supplies in domestic home port?

[gelboydad]

I'm planning on buying a Citizen watch on my next cruise. They were much cheaper on the ship than I've been able to find them online, by a good amount.

 

That's interesting. We just got off the Freedom. My wife needed a new watch. So we looked at the Citizen watches they had. They also had a 40% discount. So we checked one out. But we knew we were going to St Thomas and we always go to a place called Ajanta. (that another story plus many dollars). When we got there we found a Citizen that we liked and bought it. When getting back on the Freedom we went back and check to see if Carnival had a similar watch. And sure enough they had one the only difference was the one we bought was gold and their was silver. So the wife got them to give her their price for the watch. The watch with the 40% discount was 75 dollars more than we paid on St Thomas.

[Detroit Donna]

My husband has a large collection of watches and has purchased several on cruises. He will normally go into the shop as soon as they open and look around at what is available. While at each port we stop at along the way, he will browse the jewelry stores and compare prices. Most times he finds the better deal on the ship and has had no problems with any of his purchases. He has bought several watches while in ports though too. On one cruise he purchased a Tag Heuer for both of us and I wear mine every day - no problems after 2 years of wear.

 

I was eyeing a tanzanite ring on one cruise and while in St. Maarten, purchased a larger one for less money. I had it appraised when we returned to the states and realized I had gotten a great deal.

 

So watches we will purchase on the ship with no regrets but we tend to stay away from the jewels. Like everything, you just have to do your research for a major purchase.

[shipty2]

NO NO NO NO

In the past we have bought our fair share of jewellery both in the islands on onboard different ships with no issues. I really enjoy buying jewellery this way as a souvenir not a bagain.

 

However recently someone close to me bought some"yellow emeralds" from a carnival ship store at considerable expense. He was assured they were genuine "yellow emeralds" and given a litte card to show they were real "yellow emeralds".

 

Long story short is they are actually inexpensiive stone that are properly called golden beryl which is a different color of the same mineral that is aquamarine. ie cheap cheap cheap stones

 

When he tried to return them after having them appraised at 15% what he paid for them they wouldn't take them back saying they are genuine "yellow emeralds". The puncline to this is that the company name is Yellow Emeralds so by description they are real products from a company called yellow emeralds.

[Bostonjetset]

NO NO NO NO

In the past we have bought our fair share of jewellery both in the islands on onboard different ships with no issues. I really enjoy buying jewellery this way as a souvenir not a bagain.

 

However recently someone close to me bought some"yellow emeralds" from a carnival ship store at considerable expense. He was assured they were genuine "yellow emeralds" and given a litte card to show they were real "yellow emeralds".

 

Long story short is they are actually inexpensiive stone that are properly called golden beryl which is a different color of the same mineral that is aquamarine. ie cheap cheap cheap stones

 

When he tried to return them after having them appraised at 15% what he paid for them they wouldn't take them back saying they are genuine "yellow emeralds". The puncline to this is that the company name is Yellow Emeralds so by description they are real products from a company called yellow emeralds.

 

This is a VERY shady practice. In actuality though, emeralds are beryl also. It is the green variety of beryl. Yellow beryl is usually called heliodor; pink beryl is morganite; blue beryl is aquamarine; red beryl is bixbite; etc. Either way, most reputable jewelers in the US would never call yellow beryl a yellow emerald but that may be the trade practice in the country of origin where your friend's stones came from. The cruise ships should not allow this though as it is misleading to those who do not know their jewels. So from a scientific standpoint they weren't actually "lying" but it was not exactly ethical as emeralds are usually the most expensive variety of beryl and thus they clearly banked on the name emerald to extort higher than normal prices.

[Love my butler]

One word comes to mine, suckers.

[Keys2Heaven]

Has anyone bought jewelry (like diamond rings) on a Carnival Ship? I am wondering how reputable they are and if prices are much better. Thanks so much!

 

Are you talking about the Chinese throw-away stuff they hawk during sea days for $9.99 or something like that. Or the EFFY/EPPY stuff they have on board?

 

You know, the one thing I do kick myself over is not buying a Citizen Eco-Drive watch (Blue Angels) edition they had onboard (circa 2006) that they wanted $250 for. Couldn't find it for less than $300 when I got back home.