Shopping in vila?

[aussiescouser]

:D The last cruise i was on a gentleman told me that he rates shopping in vila up there with thailand, i was very surprised to hear this. I couldnt imagine shopping in vila to be quite as broad a range of items as in thailand, am i correct ? and what sort of items do ppl mainly buy in vila besides smokes and grog! regards aussiescouser:D

[thunderchaser]

We went to Phuket in August and the shopping was fantastic! We had been to Vila in March- but there is definatly no comparison. We are off to Vila again next month and I havent got any "real shopping" money, we didnt find anything last time except for an overpriced billabong bag, and I am not expecting to find it any different this time.

[qld cruiser]

Hi aussiescouser, as much as I love Vila,

like thunderchaser said...there is no comparison...Thailand wins hands down, but for the Pacific region then Vila is the best.

 

 

kind regards, Lorraine:) :)

[livingstone]

:D The last cruise i was on a gentleman told me that he rates shopping in vila up there with thailand, i was very surprised to hear this. I couldnt imagine shopping in vila to be quite as broad a range of items as in thailand, am i correct ? and what sort of items do ppl mainly buy in vila besides smokes and grog! regards aussiescouser:D

 

I would think that most clothing Items you would buy in Vila would be made in indonesia, china or thailand. I can almost garentee that the shopping in Vilan would not even be close to that of thailand I know this because I have spent extended time in both places.When we were on our honeymoon 17 year ago in Vila, we were told by the locals that when the ships come in the prices go up. We did go out the day a ship arrived and everything was more expensive. so shoppers beware!!

[Ela 2]

Hi aussiescouser, as much as I love Vila,

like thunderchaser said...there is no comparison...Thailand wins hands down, but for the Pacific region then Vila is the best.

 

 

kind regards, Lorraine:) :)

I agree. The range of items available in Vila is limited. There are plenty of sarongs (from $4 to $15), tropical mens shirts, pearls (including rare black pearls), watches, and of course alcohol.

 

If anyone is interested in $4 sarongs, call in at a shop called Phoenix (at the end of the shopping street closest to the ship). Yes, obviously the $12 and $15 sarongs are nicer, but the $4 ones are not bad - well some of them anyway.:)

[LuckiePuris]

I found quite a good variety of designer knock-offs in Vila. Some were the real thing, which you could tell by the detail and pricetag.

 

But I found great replicas of Chanel sunnies as well as Dolce & Gabanna, Gucci Jewellery and also Chanel & Louis Vuitton Hand Bags.

 

Prouds Duty Free and Paris Duty Free had cheap perfumes, but make sure you check the prices here before you buy overseas.

 

Fung Kwei had the best prices I think for alcohol and smokes. They also carried electrical products and I think I saw some dvds too somewhere.

 

Happy Cruising! :)

[LuckiePuris]

Double Post, Sorry :)

[kaseyoz]

some one on our cruise did buy a few dvds which were shown in the teen club eg "I am legend" obviously a pirate copy.

What are the penalties if caught with these at customs.?

We didnt buy any as you can never be sure of the quality.

 

i did buy Dior sunglasses for $30 (most were this price). Other than grog we didnt buy anything at vila. Opps forgot hubby bought an armani tie and cufflinks set which was nice for $20 0r $30,cant recall now and son bought a pack of playing cards. plus we bought a few beers and the local paper to add to the local economy:D :D

[arxcards]

Difficult to buy duty free in Thailand on a Pacific cruise.

 

Asia wins hands down on electrical, but Vila is the pick in the Pacific. We only looked around a few shops before buying our alcohol and some massive Cuban cigars at Fung Kwei. Had a look at some electrical, and almost parted with money for an MP4 player.

[Ela 2]

some one on our cruise did buy a few dvds which were shown in the teen club eg "I am legend" obviously a pirate copy.

What are the penalties if caught with these at customs.?

We didnt buy any as you can never be sure of the quality.

 

i did buy Dior sunglasses for $30 (most were this price). Other than grog we didnt buy anything at vila. Opps forgot hubby bought an armani tie and cufflinks set which was nice for $20 0r $30,cant recall now and son bought a pack of playing cards. plus we bought a few beers and the local paper to add to the local economy:D :D

I believe pirated copies or fakes will be confiscated by Customs on arrival in Australia (if they find them in your luggage). Let's assume that you were not aware they were fakes when you bought them, but just thought you got a great bargain!! After all, I have never heard a seller of fakes or copies actually tell the prospective purchaser that the item is a copy. Because you were not aware that they were fakes when you bought them, I believe you would not be prosecuted. :):)

[Aussie Guy]

Does anyone know what the range of cigars in Vila are like in the duty free shops? I am a huge cigar fan, and if I can pick up a nice box over there saving myself a few hundred I would be so happy.

[arxcards]

Does anyone know what the range of cigars in Vila are like in the duty free shops? I am a huge cigar fan, and if I can pick up a nice box over there saving myself a few hundred I would be so happy.

Big boxes were not obvious where I looked, as they would exceed the tobacco customs allowances.

I bought some individually tubed Romeo Y Julieta Cuban cigars. The Churchill ones were the largest I saw, and I think were $25 each. Also bought some Romeo #1s for around $15 each

[fishtaco]

We holiday in Thailand up to 3 times a year and didnt even buy a sausage in Vila and found the Knock off stuff to be substandard more like Bali stuff.

Mainland Thailand has much better quality stuff than Phuket,but for sombody who has never been to Bali or Thailand Vila may seem like it has some good things on offer but there is absolutley no comparison between Vila and Thailand even in the duty free stakes.

 

Den