Where do you Shop? - Page 2 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

mango · 12-13-2006, 07:48 PM

I usually check out the stores that sound interesting.
I don't spend much time in the Jewery stores.
I usually just wander and check out what stricks me.

Texashorselady · 12-13-2006, 08:23 PM

We always shop for that one special item on each cruise. I don't get a lot of trinkets. And we almost never find that one special item at the shops the ship recommends.

Last week we got a cuckoo clock in Germany at a really great place that's been making the clocks for hundreds of years...run by the same family. It's being shipped...can't wait for it to get here!

canarymoon · 12-15-2006, 11:48 AM

Actually, I rarely shop when we cruise... It's not an activity that I generally enjoy.
That is not to say I NEVER buy anything, but I don't SHOP.
Some cruises, I don't come home with anything extra at all.
Occasionally, I will bring home something I saw in passing a roadside vendor... But I don't even make it a point to pass roadside vendors. If it happens, it happens. If not, I didn't need whatever it was they might have been selling.

Red Sonja · 12-15-2006, 07:56 PM

It seems to me that the cruise lines only recommend high-priced jewelry stores and tourist trap shops. I love something authentic, so we try to wander off the beaten path a bit to find local goods.
That said, I do stop in at least one touristy shop on our trips to pick up your standard souveniers for folks back home. There's always someone that wants a shot glass!

Dandylyon · 12-17-2006, 01:59 PM

Except for del Sol, that shop that sells things that change color in the sun, I avoid all cruise line recommended shops. I feel that they are deceptive in their recommendations because they neglect to tell you that the cruise line itself has a financial stake in the shop or that the shops pay a commission or have other financial arrangements with the cruise line. I count having a line in very small type on the ship brochure that some shops may have paid a fee to be mentioned as being deceptive because it is too small or almost hidden for most people to notice.

cruisin dave · 12-18-2006, 01:45 PM

Actually my answer is none of the above or maybe a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

canarymoon · 12-18-2006, 01:54 PM

Really cute Christmas avatar, Crusin Dave!
Don't forget to visit (and post on) the "holiday Avatar Contest" thread to get yours entered!

mechcc · 12-18-2006, 09:08 PM

While we may go through the ship recommended stores, we rarely buy anything at those stores. Actually, I want to see a cruiseline recommend a store that sells the Coach knock-offs in Mexico and it is advertised as such or recommend the pharmacies for the lowest price drugs. Then recommend the best store for shot glass selection and price and the best place to get the t-shirt from that port. I honestly think most cruisers are looking for souviners from the places they visit and not for some special expensive jewelry.

LuLu · 12-18-2006, 11:36 PM

Interesting replies!

Gosh, I don't really "go shopping" on cruises. If I happen to past a vendor or an interesting store and see something I like, I buy it....

canarymoon · 12-19-2006, 10:54 PM

Find it interesting that, of the people who have voted so far on this poll, most DON'T go to the ship recommended stores.

Yet, those places always seem crowded...