Do this before you buy anything while on a cruise!

[s2kreno]

Guess I don't have this problem because I'm not that rich, lol! I would never spend $800 on a necklace. Or even consider it for that matter. At most I will probably buy one $20 or less souvenir from each port. The only exception is if the port has a Pandora store. Then if they have an engraved murano unique to that island, I'll buy that. But that's only about $45. I could never afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a souvenir. I would rather save that kind of money towards another cruise! [emoji4]

 

 

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It's not the amount of money per se; it's valid to compare and make sure you really want something before buying, and that you're not getting completely screwed. In my case, I buy very little jewelry and would never wear something mass-marketed. I like to have a signature thing I wear with almost everything, I want it to be unique, and I want it to stand up to heavy wear. Everything I own is that way -- not too many and only what I really love and will use all the time. In the long run, that's cheaper and more satisfying.

 

The colors in that piece were perfect, it was something I'd never heard of or seen, and it would have also served as a nice reminder of the trip. But seeing that I could order the same thing from home for significantly less made me stop and think, and now I'll always step away for a minute and make sure. It's amazing to me how many people do nothing on a trip but eat and shop. Not my thing.

[s2kreno]

This is where I say to each, their own. There are a lot of things that aren't beautiful about capitalism but that is something that definitely is. Everyone can make their own decisions about how and what they buy.

 

I don't worry much about souvenirs, if I really want something and I can afford it then I get it. I've gotten great stuff while traveling, much of which I make use of or have thoroughly enjoyed. If I am happy with the quality of an item and find the price to be reasonable, then I don't sweat it. I like supporting local vendors in my own small way when I travel.

 

I am glad to hear about and if possible to avoid places like "Diamonds International" which I've heard about on this board. I actually don't know what that is but I will try to avoid it if I see it while cruising and I can thank CC for knowing about that.

 

As for cruising, I don't plan to buy too much but if I really want something specific then I will get it.

That's a good attitude. It's hard these days with everything so global to find things that can't be bought from home. And I do like buying from locals. One of my favorite purchases last year was a handful of paper flowers from a woman in Dominica that was for a kid's charity. Kept them in a glass in our stateroom and got a lot of pleasure from them. Twisted them into my hair for the trip home.

[s2kreno]

We never buy any jewelry or electronic items when we cruise or do land vacations.

We do buy something unique for that port/country and/or also get a Christmas ornament.

 

I like the Christmas ornament thing. I do them also, and I have a bunch of those little Mexican wooden animals that I put strings on and converted to ornaments. But you and another poster gave me an idea. So many of us like photos, and others like ornaments, and there are companies that can take your best pictures and turn them into ornaments.

[donaldsc]

That's a good attitude. It's hard these days with everything so global to find things that can't be bought from home. And I do like buying from locals.

 

It is actually really easy - we buy art from local artists. Fine art photography is also a good thing to buy although most people are not willing to pay the price of fine art photography. In some places, locally made stuff is also labeled which helps. When we hang or place the art work, it reminds us of the place we bought it.

 

DON

[jobry]

We buy very little overseas - I don't like to have much stuff on display at home, we're quite minimalist really.

 

So what we do is to save a favourite photo or two from every vacation day or experience in a folder on our computer and have them cycle through as wallpaper and screen savers (I do it at home and work). Just glancing at the computer as I walk past gives me great "oh that was such a terrific day" experiences.

[cruisnpat]

 

So what we do is to save a favourite photo or two from every vacation day or experience in a folder on our computer and have them cycle through as wallpaper and screen savers (I do it at home and work). Just glancing at the computer as I walk past gives me great "oh that was such a terrific day" experiences.

 

That is a great idea, need to have one of the grandkids do that for me.

[George C]

We also have a large collection of Caribbean/bermuda Christmas ornaments , I also collect casino chips either 50 cent or a dollar chips, RCCL has ship names some of the other lines also have ships name, this is cheaper then anything in gift shop

[Dayenu]

I've done a fair bit of traveling and cruising, and even did a Semester at Sea when I was younger, and I've never seen this tip. When you shop onshore or on board, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and of course you want a souvenir. Now, before I buy, I find an Internet cafe onshore and see if what I'm looking at is available online and how much it costs. Then I determine if the object in question is something I'd want enough to order it when I get back home, or if its main attraction is the experience of purchasing it abroad. If it's something I'd want anyway, and the price at the shops is better or at least not much more than I'd pay at home, I'll buy. Otherwise I skip it. The first time I did this, I was in Saint Thomas and wanted a larimar and blue topaz necklace. It was $800 and I had never seen one before and almost bought it. But we had lunch first, and I was poking around on eBay and found many of them for much less. Now I always check.

 

Add shipping cost, insurance, the price of the Internet Café... was it worth it?

[sparks1093]

You can put me in the "if we didn't buy it there then it's not a souvenier" camp. Our souveniers tend to be actual souveniers though- coffee cups with the ship or place name, magnets, etc. If we are buying an item such as a necklace that is outside of the souvenier realm, especially if it is valued at $800, and a little research would be done first.

[BeagleOne]

We simply don't get "souvenirs ! So easy! If you need a photo or trinket to remember your trip, the trip probably wasn't worth it!

 

Maybe true for you, but not true for everyone. I have some souvenirs and hundreds of photos from Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima that are priceless to me, and I certainly remember the trips very well, and they were certainly worth it.

 

I do as the OP did, and have done for years. If the souvenir is something like a magnet, I just buy it. If it's something big, like a camera or expensive jewelry, I either price things before I go, or while I am on the cruise, or both.

Edited May 7, 2016 by BeagleOne

[deladypilot]

I like the Christmas ornament idea. I know that's something my wife will embrace. How cool, have a Bermuda ornament or a St. Maarten ornament (or both. Lol)

 

 

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This is what we do. We love Christmas and each year I have a tree in every room of the house. Some small, some large. 1 tree is filled with ornaments from our travels. We spend quite a bit of time putting that tree up because with each one we spend time remembering that trip, where we went, who we were with, how old our kids were at the time. It has created such a wonderful family Christmas tradition and inexpensive. I always try to find one from a local artisan and not some "made in China" thing. I can always write the year on it when I get home if it is not already there

 

Other than the ornament, we dont buy much in port or on the ship.

[Arzeena]

I've done a fair bit of traveling and cruising, and even did a Semester at Sea when I was younger, and I've never seen this tip. When you shop onshore or on board, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and of course you want a souvenir. Now, before I buy, I find an Internet cafe onshore and see if what I'm looking at is available online and how much it costs. Then I determine if the object in question is something I'd want enough to order it when I get back home, or if its main attraction is the experience of purchasing it abroad. If it's something I'd want anyway, and the price at the shops is better or at least not much more than I'd pay at home, I'll buy. Otherwise I skip it. The first time I did this, I was in Saint Thomas and wanted a larimar and blue topaz necklace. It was $800 and I had never seen one before and almost bought it. But we had lunch first, and I was poking around on eBay and found many of them for much less. Now I always check.

 

I would rather be enjoying the port than "poking" around on the internet to compare prices for a souvenir!

But different strokes for different folks, and all's good! :)

Edited May 7, 2016 by Arzeena