Shopping on-board?

[FrankieJayIII]

What kind of shopping should we expect on board?   

 

What are the items that you like to buy? 

 

What items are there to buy? 

 

What kind of stores/merchandise are available? 

 

What are the prices like?

[DUCHESSRN]

Depends which ship you are on , we were just on Discovery and shops not great . Ruby Princess had much better shopping and sales.

[avonlady6390]

The shops are effy for jewelry a watch shop general shop with clothes and assorted gift items the celebration shop sells liquor chocolates sundries is also in that shop.  There is also a fragrance and cosmetic shop too.

[rnr4thatsme]

10 hours ago, DUCHESSRN said:

Depends which ship you are on , we were just on Discovery and shops not great . Ruby Princess had much better shopping and sales.

What sorts of products did they have on Discovery?

[Cruise Raider]

11 hours ago, FrankieJayIII said:

What kind of shopping should we expect on board?   

 

What are the items that you like to buy? 

 

What items are there to buy? 

 

What kind of stores/merchandise are available? 

 

What are the prices like?

There are several options available onboard:

 

Perfumes and cosmetics

Watches (I like their citizen watch sales) 

Fine jewelry and some cheaper jewelry 

Clothing, purses and souvenirs 

Snacks and candies 

Liquor and cigarettes/cigars 

Toiletries and such 

Very limited electronics 

 

Pricing on clothing go from some good deals but some not so good deals.  
I think the jewelry is kind of overpriced but I do like their watch sales .. and it is duty free (with a limit)!  
Snacks and candies are outrageously priced.  

Their liquor and smokes are priced well .. we don’t smoke but many staff members do so sometimes we will get them cigarettes as a gift.  I know they are way cheaper onboard than on land.  
Toiletries and meds are way overpriced but heck, if you need them while onboard, it’s nice they sell them. You could do much better while buying the same items in port.  
Their perfumes and cosmetics are decently priced.  I don’t wear perfume but do use Clinique products and since we get 10% off (elite discount) and there is no tax, they are a pretty good deal.  You can do just as well at home around Christmas, though.  
 

We aren’t much for souvenirs but you may find a deal on something you like.  
 

one more note … I’ve bought a few clothing items over the years when I’ve had extra onboard credit.  They sell many quality items and have had several pieces for years and years.  I’m not sure about the quality of the cheap T-shirt’s they sell, though, they just aren’t my thing.  
 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by Cruise Raider

[sttopmh]

Don't forget the Stanley the Bear plush animal.

[Kellyansapansa]

On our first ever cruise, on Diamond Princess in 2014, there was a big sale event held in one of the main dining rooms. There were thousands of items on sale, including clothing, accessories and souvenirs. It felt like they had decided to clear out a warehouse of old stock. There was some really random stuff but also some treasures to be found. It was a fun way to spend a couple of hours on a sea day, pawing through the piles of stuff. We've never seen this on a cruise again, and I never knew if this was a one-off event or something that happened fairly regularly on selected ships and itineraries. 🤔

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, Kellyansapansa said:

On our first ever cruise, on Diamond Princess in 2014, there was a big sale event held in one of the main dining rooms. There were thousands of items on sale, including clothing, accessories and souvenirs. It felt like they had decided to clear out a warehouse of old stock. There was some really random stuff but also some treasures to be found. It was a fun way to spend a couple of hours on a sea day, pawing through the piles of stuff. We've never seen this on a cruise again, and I never knew if this was a one-off event or something that happened fairly regularly on selected ships and itineraries. 🤔

We had this sort of event on a Panama transit. The ship was positioning to Alaska, and I imagine they were just getting rid of all the Caribbean tee shirts etc. The whole event was like a glorified garage sale.

[coo359a2]

It had been on all our cruises up to the Covid pause.  Hasn't been on any of our cruises since the restart - might have been on other ships though.  Always picked up tee shirts for future cruise ports for us and grandkids at this sale

[Ombud]

@Cruise Raider our Chicos (women's clothes) has closed down. Is it still onboard? (Was in December but things change fast). Also Lauren brand onboard. And most t shirts are made by Gildan. 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by Ombud

[Cruise Raider]

1 minute ago, coo359a2 said:

It had been on all our cruises up to the Covid pause.  Hasn't been on any of our cruises since the restart - might have been on other ships though.  Always picked up tee shirts for future cruise ports for us and grandkids at this sale

We’ve been on se are different Princess ships since the restart and have not seen it either,  

they do have t-shirt sales on the Royal in the area in front of the shops.  
sometimes it is T-shirt’s, scarves, etc , sometimes, watches and sometimes, it is liquor 

[Cruise Raider]

1 minute ago, Ombud said:

@Cruise Raider our Chicos (women's clothes) has closed down. Is it still onboard? (Was in December but things change fast). Also Lauren brand onboard

hmmm?  I don’t know the answer to that. I have to admit, I’m not a huge shopper.  
I’m going again next week so will try to look into that.  
 

[stevenr597]

In respect to Jewelry, cameras and watches, I usually compare the price offered on the ship or port to what I could obtain from either Amazon or Costco.  In most cases, I wind up buying from Amazon Costco.   

Good example:  On the  Discovery Princess I  saw a beautiful Titanium Bullova Curve Watch.  Saved $200.00 buying from Amazon. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by stevenr597
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[Ombud]

40 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

43 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

It had been on all our cruises up to the Covid pause.  Hasn't been on any of our cruises since the restart - might have been on other ships though.  Always picked up tee shirts for future cruise ports for us and grandkids at this sale

We’ve been on se are different Princess ships since the restart and have not seen it either,  

they do have t-shirt sales on the Royal in the area in front of the shops.  
sometimes it is T-shirt’s, scarves, etc , sometimes, watches and sometimes, it is liquor 

I haven't seen it since 2022 ... it was on my 2021 cruises but only those. Ppl grabbing armfuls and each individual purchase over $100 given an entry ticket to a later drawing. For a gift cert to be used on that voyage. .... insane

[DUCHESSRN]

Discovery has far less stuff to me ,expensive clothes Love Boat Clothes ,Gildan brand .

Pandora charms ,big beauty era as usual . They had a few Louie Vittan ,I did not see people buy much .I heard guests requesting souvenir cups for Soda and Model Ships , none to be had and no Stanley Bears.

We went on the Majestic and there was the biggest watch shop you have even seen ,never saw anyone in there either .

None of the $10 sales on our last few trips .

T Shirts sold outside the Buffet on one day ,that was in ,I may have seen the inch of gold also.

[donaldsc]

2 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

Snacks and candies are outrageously priced.  

Their liquor and smokes are priced well .. we don’t smoke but many staff members do so sometimes we will get them cigarettes as a gift.  I know they are way cheaper onboard than on land.  
Toiletries and meds are way overpriced but heck, if you need them while onboard, it’s nice they sell them. You could do much better while buying the same items in port.  
Their perfumes and cosmetics are decently priced.  I don’t wear perfume but do use Clinique products and since we get 10% off (elite discount) and there is no tax, they are a pretty good deal.  You can do just as well at home around Christmas, though.  
 

We aren’t much for souvenirs but you may find a deal on something you like.  
 

one more note … I’ve bought a few clothing items over the years when I’ve had extra onboard credit.  They sell many quality items and have had several pieces for years and years.  I’m not sure about the quality of the cheap T-shirt’s they sell, though, they just aren’t my thing.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

Really??  Buying cigarettes as gifts??

 

DON

[1emerald1]

I was so disappointed on my last Discovery cruise in October, the shelves were bare.  I like to buy Lancome in the beauty store, none, and hardly any other brands.  Totally pushed the "Real Love Boat" branded items, but nothing related to the Discovery.  No ship specific souvenirs, in fact hardly any souvenirs at all except for the cheap Mexican fare that you are bombarded with as soon as you step off the ship.  I had a lot of OBC and nothing at all caught my eye.  And I really have enjoyed browsing the shops on all of my prior cruises.

 

I reported it on my survey, suggesting they need a new purchasing manager.

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, 1emerald1 said:

I reported it on my survey, suggesting they need a new purchasing manager.

Aren't the retail outlets all operated by outside concerns,  and therefore not under the direct control of Princess  ? 

[cr8tiv1]

Princess has changed shopping vendor post pandemic.  Out went the Elite Discount too.  MDR $10 sale has not returned.  Occasionally, you will find a good bargain.  Not so much anymore. 
 

Are you looking for something in particular?

[cavecreekguy]

9 hours ago, sttopmh said:

Don't forget the Stanley the Bear plush animal.

I was so happy to find Stanley Bear on Sky Princess a couple weeks ago. They seemed to have plenty.

[c-boy]

7 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Really??  Buying cigarettes as gifts??

 

DON

 ya cause, not all peoples live by the same health standards as Americans.  

[SCX22]

Duty Free shopping isn't what it used to be.  All the department stores have sales that will discount most everything being sold onboard that's not Princess logo merchandise, including cosmetics and fragrances.  (Macy's, for example, has 15% off cosmetics and fragrances every few months and you get a gift with purchase sometimes.)  Costco and BevMo have better prices than the ship with their alcohol sales.  Effy jewelry is overpriced for what you're getting; Effy, Princess, and the sales associate have to to make money and that cost is passed down to the purchaser.

 

Aside from the logo merchandise, I don't really find worth shopping on the ship.  You can buy the same stuff at home for the same price or cheaper and don't have to worry about lugging it home.  

[Kellyansapansa]

I really liked the Pandora inspired bracelet they launched earlier this year. You get the bracelet for free when you buy the first bundle of three charms for $20 I think it was, and then another six charms were released gradually along the way. Sadly the clasp on the bracelet is very poorly designed and I don't wear it because it comes open and the charms fall off. I'm not sure if I just got unlucky with a faulty one, or if they are all like this. The free Effy bracelet and charms are also a bit of fun to collect and make a nice souvenir.

 

[Cruise Raider]

On 3/22/2023 at 9:58 AM, donaldsc said:

 

Really??  Buying cigarettes as gifts??

 

DON

 

 Only if they request them.  I never like to promote smoking but the crew have a tough job and if this is their one outlet, so be it.  

[jeromep]

I purchased a Citizen Blue Angels Navihawk watch on a cruise a long time ago.  Great watch.  I'd had a previous version of that watch and loved it, too.  Both still work, but the one I purchase on the cruise has Citizen's solar charging system, so it has never stopped running.  Just keep it in the light and it goes and goes, and it sets its own time from the radio broadcast atomic clock.

 

Anyway, I've never liked the Effy jewelry, or rather my wife never has, too gaudy, not a good value, really.  It is better than costume but not as good as the product I can purchase at one of my small town local jewelers.  As for the watch, at the time I knew my watch prices, and that Citizen was about $200 less expensive than at my local jeweler and I didn't have to pay sales tax, so I jumped on it.

 

Biggest recommendation I have for buying anything on board, know your prices, especially for standardized stuff like watches (which can be purchased at any dealer of that brand), alcohol, cosmetics, clothing.  If the price doesn't feel right, pass and buy from somebody local when you get home.

 

Even in past "better" years, I've never really been impressed with onboard shopping.  And I do recall there being "yard sales" and clearance tables put out about midway through the cruise on nearly all of my past cruises.  Nothing really struck my eye.  We were cruising with my in-laws a few years ago and the yard sale tables went up and my father-in-law ended up buying a number of trinkets.  I think he purchased 8 souvenir mugs and gave them to my wife and I, my parents, my brother-in-law, and kept a couple for himself.  The mugs were all ship related, Star Princess.  I'm actually very glad he got those for us considering that it was a great cruise and the Star is no longer in the fleet.  It is a happy memory in the morning when I'm getting my coffee.