Passport Discount Booklet

[JP7344]

Has anyone ever purchased this booklet they talk about so much on the ship? Just wondering if it has any worth while discounts.

[dougp26364]

The short answer is no, they are not worth it.

 

On our first cruise they made it sound great, so I got suckered in and bought one. The "free" gifts, other than the shopping bag, are all pieces of junk jewelery. None of which could be worn by my wife. The pieces were eithere so pitiful you wouldn't want to put them on or were so shoddy they would break with any usage.

 

The discounts are a little shady also. Try going into a store, making a deal and THEN whipping out your discount coupon. The stores don't like that little trick very much. In other words, you'll get the same great deal without the coupon as you will with the coupon.

 

All of the coupons are on the ships prefered shops list. What we found in Alaska was these were some of the highest priced stores to begin with. To date I have always found something nicer ar more reasonable prices on stores not listed on the prefered shops list. So far everything we've bought has been of reasonable qualtiy. You'll want to keep in mind that we purchase jewelry to were, not as an investment. We want something that looks good, is of reasonable quality (no major flaws) and is reasonably priced. We are not in the market for the Hope diamond.

 

Most of the coupons seem to be for jewelry. At best we'll only buy one piece of jewelry per trip. So for us much of the book is wasted. We did not find much in the way of T-shirt shop discounts or other touristy such items.

 

Essentially, I feel like I got suckered once. So shame on them. If it ever happens again then shame on me.

[JP7344]

my wife wants to get one on our next cruise in December but like you I am not so crazy about the idea of wasting $20 on things we will never use.

[jrm9999]

I agree with dougp26364. He hit it right on target. Save your money for whatever you intend to buy.

[pelletib]

I went to the on board shopping gathering the 1st day it was offered. HUGE waste of time. Could have sat in the cabin, watched the same "stchick" and enjoyed a leisurely room service snack. I looked over the book at the shopping desk and thought it was equal to a Las Vegas freebie coupon book. I found much better places to shop on my own in Alaska and the salespeople were ever so nice and I bought a few awesome pieces for quite a bit less than the other recommended stores ended their high pitch sales techniques. I found a store in Ketchikan that was closing and the owner came out of the back and personally waited on me when after she heard me talking to one of the staffers. I have a very expensive little "hobby". I like to purchase loose stones and work with a goldsmith and design my own custom pieces. She did not have any loose stones, but she had a tray of pieces that she had been holding back, trying to decide whether to keep or sell. They were incredible. She brougt me out a cup of tea and we discussed each piece. I ended up buying 2 pendants from her at close to her wholesale price. She was satisfied that the pieces would be lovingly taken care of and we exchanged email addresses. Lovely, lovely lady. She had relatives in the LA area and when the season up there ends. she's coming down to visit relatives and we're meeting for lunch!!

[cruisetarp]

I agree completely with the previous posters. A total waste of money. In Key West and in Nassau if a salesclerk saw you with the coupons you became invisible. They would do anything rather than wait on you and this happened in more than one shop. I spoke to the shopping director on Galaxy about this and his response was "Oh well". Made me think he had heard this complaint more than once. Save your money.