Beware purchasing jewelry from on-board ship stores!

[Threesun]

I had a very unfortunate experience after buying a piece of jewelry while on the Norwegian Encore in February 2023. I bought an attractive simple tanzanite ring that had a channel of small diamonds in the setting. I bought it on the last day of the trip and enjoyed it for less than two weeks and noticed two of the diamonds fell out. I am retired and there definitely was no hard wear. Of course I questioned the quality of the piece after having issues so soon after buying it. I believe I deserved a refund because I considered it defective. The shipboard services did not agree. They only offered a repair. I understand this is their policy to do repairs only if not defective. I believe they are not prepared to give a refund in any circumstance. I also never received my Certificate of Authenticity for the ring as promised. With weeks of emails and telephone calls, I was constantly told it was coming but just delayed. It took twelve weeks to get my ring repaired and returned to me. And also 12 weeks just to get my Certificate of authenticity. I still have no confidence in the quality of my ring and having to constantly follow up on promises has left me vowing never to buy jewelry on a cruise again. My advice, buy a trinket while on a Norwegian Cruise for the memory but do not assume you are getting a bargain and that the jewelry is of quality or that the service department will provide prompt service for a satisfactory resolution! Buyer beware! 

[luv2kroooz]

Wow, sorry to read about this. We've always found the onboard stores reps to be hustlers, and this confirms our belief. Hopefully, this will help someone who is considering a purchase from the onboard stores.

[schmoopie17]

I would think buying jewelry on board is about the same as buying art from the Art Shows.

 

No, thanks.

Edited August 2, 2023 by schmoopie17

[SimplyAlbert]

I had an issue several years ago with buying a ring onboard (but it was RCCL, not NCL).  The ring needed to be sized and I was told I could send it in for free sizing.  When I sent it in after I got home I was told the ring couldn't be sized because of the stones in the band.  I needed a whole new ring!  They refused to send me one in the right size.   I ended up getting the original ring back and brought it to a local jewler who was able to size it for me, but, of course, I had to pay for it.  I'll never buy jewelry on the ship again.

[mjkacmom]

They are vendors that lease space on cruise ships.

[9tee2Sea]

50 minutes ago, Threesun said:

I had a very unfortunate experience after buying a piece of jewelry while on the Norwegian Encore in February 2023. I bought an attractive simple tanzanite ring that had a channel of small diamonds in the setting. I bought it on the last day of the trip and enjoyed it for less than two weeks and noticed two of the diamonds fell out. I am retired and there definitely was no hard wear. Of course I questioned the quality of the piece after having issues so soon after buying it. I believe I deserved a refund because I considered it defective. The shipboard services did not agree. They only offered a repair. I understand this is their policy to do repairs only if not defective. I believe they are not prepared to give a refund in any circumstance. I also never received my Certificate of Authenticity for the ring as promised. With weeks of emails and telephone calls, I was constantly told it was coming but just delayed. It took twelve weeks to get my ring repaired and returned to me. And also 12 weeks just to get my Certificate of authenticity. I still have no confidence in the quality of my ring and having to constantly follow up on promises has left me vowing never to buy jewelry on a cruise again. My advice, buy a trinket while on a Norwegian Cruise for the memory but do not assume you are getting a bargain and that the jewelry is of quality or that the service department will provide prompt service for a satisfactory resolution! Buyer beware! 

At least you got it fixed, AND received your Certificate of Authenticity.  Sometimes things take a bit longer than expected.  And yes, I agree, always be skeptical when making a big onboard purchase.  Think of this as a live and learn experience.  Hope you keep enjoying the ring ( you enjoyed it enough to buy it, don't let the delay sour your taste of the ring)

[laudergayle]

54 minutes ago, Threesun said:

My advice, buy a trinket while on a Norwegian Cruise for the memory

My DH laughs at me when I get super excited about the faux jewelry (read: cheap date) …like the 1 for $25 or 2 for $40 rings.  While I have very nice jewelry, I am too lazy to take it out of the safe.  And, I don’t like to travel with items that could be lost, stolen or left behind.  So these cheapies make me smile and remind me of different cruises.😊

[MsTabbyKats]

The one time I bought something that cost multiple thousands of dollars they had to size it and change the gold color on the setting.  It was done well.  But that was from the Turkish Diaspora company; I have seen them on cruises for quite a while.

 

They can get away with "nonsense" because they're never gonna see you again.....

 

[graphicguy]

I know the watches they sell are covered by the manufacturers’ international warranties.  Not sure about the Bulova, Ctitizen and Invicta watches, but the Swiss brands offer that.  Jewelry?  That’s a whole other kettle of carp.

 

Generally speaking, don’t disembark without having your jewelry sized correctly.  That way, any issues can be taken care of on board, or you can get a refund.  Once off the ship, aside from the stones being fakes or the metals not being what was advertised, they can claim the jewelry was abused, or it was somehow damaged by the wearer.  Whether that be true or not, it’s not like you can march down to your nearest local jewelry store and get restitution.

 

Not saying it’s right.  But, the ship’s jewelry store can just say “hey, that jewelry was inspected by the buyer before S/He left out store and agreed it was fine.”

 

Have said it before….buy jewelry (Including watches) on board because you like them, not because they’re a “deal”.

 

The one store on board you can get serviced at any of their land based stores is Tiffany, which is on some of the Celebrity ships.

Edited August 2, 2023 by graphicguy

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

My DH laughs at me when I get super excited about the faux jewelry (read: cheap date) …like the 1 for $25 or 2 for $40 rings.  While I have very nice jewelry, I am too lazy to take it out of the safe.  And, I don’t like to travel with items that could be lost, stolen or left behind.  So these cheapies make me smile and remind me of different cruises.😊

Those are probably the smartest jewelry purchases you can make on the ship.  If they end up breaking, you’re out very little once you get home.

 

Jewelry, regardless of where you buy it, is rarely, if ever, a bargain.  

Edited August 2, 2023 by graphicguy

[Cruising Lynne]

2 hours ago, Threesun said:

I had a very unfortunate experience after buying a piece of jewelry while on the Norwegian Encore in February 2023. I bought an attractive simple tanzanite ring that had a channel of small diamonds in the setting. I bought it on the last day of the trip and enjoyed it for less than two weeks and noticed two of the diamonds fell out. I am retired and there definitely was no hard wear. Of course I questioned the quality of the piece after having issues so soon after buying it. I believe I deserved a refund because I considered it defective. The shipboard services did not agree. They only offered a repair. I understand this is their policy to do repairs only if not defective. I believe they are not prepared to give a refund in any circumstance. I also never received my Certificate of Authenticity for the ring as promised. With weeks of emails and telephone calls, I was constantly told it was coming but just delayed. It took twelve weeks to get my ring repaired and returned to me. And also 12 weeks just to get my Certificate of authenticity. I still have no confidence in the quality of my ring and having to constantly follow up on promises has left me vowing never to buy jewelry on a cruise again. My advice, buy a trinket while on a Norwegian Cruise for the memory but do not assume you are getting a bargain and that the jewelry is of quality or that the service department will provide prompt service for a satisfactory resolution! Buyer beware! 

Glad it worked out. Too bad it was such a hassle. I worry about items getting lost in shipping and probably would have just brought it someplace local to get fixed on my own dime. I am the kind of customer the cruise line jewelers would like. I do a good job of avoiding the jewelry store though, unless I hit big in the casino.

 

[MsTabbyKats]

20 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Those are probably the smartest jewelry purchases you can make on the ship.  If they end up breaking, you’re out very little once you get home.

 

Jewelry, regardless of where you buy it, is rarely, if ever, a bargain.  

Truth be told, I got some "junk" on ships that looked great and blended in with "the real stuff".  And some other "junk" that to this day remains unworn!

 

Bottom line....don't spend more than you can afford to lose and don't buy things as investments.

[schmoopie17]

Our one and only jewelry purchase on a cruise was at a highly rated and reputable jewelry store in St. Thomas. We decided to upgrade Mrs. Schmoopie's wedding set. This was in 2011, and to this day the set looks fantastic and shimmers beautifully. We had it appraised when we got back from the cruise and it actually appraised for more than we paid for it. The store was recommended by fellow cruisers and they were right. I remember walking in and the guy in the store said, "Would you like a free beer?" Two hours later we walked out with a new piece of jewelry. That was the most expensive "free beer" I've ever had.

 

We're going back to St. Thomas on a December cruise and Mrs. Schmoopie is already looking to upgrade her upgrade while we're there. I'm sure they'll offer me another "free beer".

[PatJim]

4 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

I would think buying jewelry on board is about the same as buying art from the Art Shows.

 

No, thanks.

😂 So true!  I would never buy good jewelry from a cruise ship store, as items are waaaaay overpriced.  As an example, I have several nice pieces of Larimar (the medium blue stone discovered in the Dominican Republic), set in silver.  Bought them at a jewelry store in St. Martin, as well as diamond pieces, because the prices were good, and the business has an office in NYC, where I live.  (Had a ring resized here, at no additional cost.)

 

The jewelry shop consignments on board NCL always carry Larimar.  Their prices were at least double what I paid at the time of my purchase.

[Barb Nahoumi]

To avoid any hassles with Jewelry purchases, buy from your local jeweler.  

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

To avoid any hassles with Jewelry purchases, buy from your local jeweler.  

To avoid any hassles with Jewelry purchases, don't buy Jewelry.  

All jewelry is a rip off.

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

We had it appraised when we got back from the cruise and it actually appraised for more than we paid for it.

Very common for jewelry purchases to appraise for more than you paid for it.

Now, get an appraisal and the see if  appraiser will buy it for the appraised price.

[pcakes122]

Buying jewelry or anything of significant value online is another reason to invest in getting Wi-Fi.  Even in their duty-free perfume shops, what they say is a deal may not even be a deal. Just a few months ago I was on the Getaway and was actually surprised to see that their onboard store was selling Tom Ford perfume (and if you know Tom Ford perfume, it would be awesome to find it at a discount.) The same bottle they were selling for $325 was $295 on Sephora! So even with the tax savings, I would still have paid more. Another woman saw me on my phone looking up prices in the store and said "you know, that's very smart I never thought of that!" So I looked up her items as well and four out of five of them were more expensive on the ship!

 

As far as jewelry, I have purchased some pieces on the ships BUT - and this is a big but - ONLY with OBC that the casino has given me. I've purchased a few Effy diamond and gold pieces with OBC and ALL of them were more expensive than on the Effy website - and twice as expensive as comparable pieces at other stores! But thanks to Wi-Fi I knew all of this at the time of purchase.

 

This is not the 1970s and '80s when shopping was a big focus of cruising because you really could get awesome diamond and gold bargains in the islands. It's all a scam and a gimmick now.

 

But definitely -  before you drop any real money on jewelry or anything on any ship - invest a few bucks in Wi-Fi to ensure you can do adequate comparison shopping before handing over your card.

Edited August 2, 2023 by pcakes122

[Monica887]

It's definitely not the place to assume you're getting good stuff. I once bought a name brand watch which died within weeks. I was able to bring it into the brand's store on land and they replaced it for free. 

[LauraAnneC]

Does the same apply for some of the stores on a lot of the Caribbean islands and Mexico? Thinking of Diamonds International and the like. 

[MsTabbyKats]

@pcakes122Hate to tell you, but Effy should be 1/4 of the marked price to get to FMV.  In addition, their diamonds are very low quality....J color and inclulded.  I got a glympse of the tag once.

Effy is a master in marketing.........

I'm not saying I would never buy an Effy....but never on a ship or in the islands.

I got into a semi-heated discussion with a sales rep once when she was telling about "their quality"....I pointed out the info on the tag, and told her she should review the 4 Cs. 

[pcakes122]

Just now, MsTabbyKats said:

@pcakes122Hate to tell you, but Effy should be 1/4 of the marked price to get to FMV.  In addition, their diamonds are very low quality....J color and inclulded.  I got a glympse of the tag once.

Effy is a master in marketing.........

I'm not saying I would never buy an Effy....but never on a ship or in the islands.

I got into a semi-heated discussion with a sales rep once when she was telling about "their quality"....I pointed out the info on the tag, and told her she should review the 4 Cs. 

Agree! That's why I never would NEVER spend my own money on Effy - on a ship or otherwise. Probably shouldn't say this here, but I buy the pieces with the OBC that the casino gives me on the last night and then I put them on eBay when I get home & I make a few bucks! 😉

[MsTabbyKats]

5 minutes ago, pcakes122 said:

Agree! That's why I never would NEVER spend my own money on Effy - on a ship or otherwise. Probably shouldn't say this here, but I buy the pieces with the OBC that the casino gives me on the last night and then I put them on eBay when I get home & I make a few bucks! 😉

I have a place where I get 75% off....brings it down to normal price!

I like their styles but not their stones........

 

[pcakes122]

6 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I have a place where I get 75% off....brings it down to normal price!

I like their styles but not their stones........

 

For me, not really my style, but they sell great on eBay (especially brand new with all packaging, "authenticity" certificate, etc.) I've been able to get generally $875 to $1,250 per ring for pieces with diamonds, and then I use that money to buy things I actually want. 😊 For anyone wanting to use this idea, new digital cameras sell well on eBay, too! Sometimes I buy those as well with the casino credit. 😉

[BohJang]

I just buy T shirts on a cruise ship.  I wish people would not buy jewelry on the ship or in the port.  Stay away from Diamonds International and the other jewelry stores in the port.  It's just not worth it.