Watch Purchase - Celebrity Constellation

Hi All,

I'd like to purchase a watch on this upcoming cruise (Mar 28 Western Car. Celeb Constellation) and I am wondering if anyone has cruised recently on Constellation and is aware of when they had the best deals during the cruise.

This so much.

PK

The most important thing is to know what kind(s) of watch you want, and what the shoreside/online prices are. EM

Agree that you really need to shop at home and see what the best price is when getting it there. Then you have something in mind. Helps at all jewelry stores.

We bought a watch on the Eclipse when there was a percent off sale during our cruise. Wasn't really shopping for one, but when Dh heard me mumble I had forgotten my "dress" watch, he told me to pick one out during the Citizen sale. We asked if they went even lower later in the cruise, if we could get a credit. We were told yes, but the salesman didn't expect them to be lowered. He was right. So no, there isn't really a particular time to buy. All sales are advertised a lot.

When we got home, I did price compare to a couple spots and it was about 15% less than I would have paid here. Not a big deal. And certainly if I had planned on buying something, especially more costly, I would have done research precruise.

The prices tend to remain the same.

Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. I saw one just like the Citizen I was wearing and the price seemed good. However, it had an inferior wrist band and I would have to have it sized back home. They refused to do so on the ship. Not worth it for me.

Hi All,

 

I'd like to purchase a watch on this upcoming cruise (Mar 28 Western Car. Celeb Constellation) and I am wondering if anyone has cruised recently on Constellation and is aware of when they had the best deals during the cruise.

 

This so much.

 

PK

There is usually some time during the later part of the cruise when they'll have a big sale with $10 watches or something like that. That's probably the best kind of watch to buy on a cruise since you know you're getting cheap stuff at a cheap price.

If you're thinking you can get a good deal on an expensive watch then be extremely familiar with the best prices for them at home before your cruise. You'll probably find that you'll be best off waiting until you get back home.

If you have your heart set on buying a nice watch on the cruise and price matters then ask the people at the shop when the best price and selection is. Ask them if you buy 'now' if you can get the price adjusted if they have a sale with a lower price later in the cruise. I know I've seen ads for watch "unveilings" and special events like that announced in the daily bulletin but never went nor paid too much attention.

Be really careful about buying watches and jewelry on a cruise ship...or, for that matter, in a foreign port. Personally, I've never found a watch on board that I couldn't buy for the same or lower price from an authorized dealer in the US. (note: Amazon is not authorized for all of the watches they sell...be careful there). It's not clear to me that the shops on board are authorized dealers either...they may be but I trust them about as much as I trust the watch dealers in the Caribbean, etc. We have bought watches in Singapore but the only reason they were cheaper is that they hadn't adjusted prices for currency differences yet.

Certainly, if you have a large OBCN and want to spend it rather than trying to figure out a way to get it back in cash, buying a watch is as good as anything....after all, unspent OBCN is lost so why not use it as essentially a discount on a nice watch. Other than that, I'd buy at home.

The other exception is the $10 watch sale ...a cheap watch for a cheap price...no problem with that...I have two of them that I wear when gardening and doing other dirty chores.

There is usually some time during the later part of the cruise when they'll have a big sale with $10 watches or something like that. That's probably the best kind of watch to buy on a cruise since you know you're getting cheap stuff at a cheap price. .

I was thinking that one of the jewelry stores on the ship should be able to replace the battery, but no such luck.

So highly skeptical, I bought a $10 watch, hoping it would just last until we could get to a jewelry store at a port where I could get the battery for my good watch replaced.

Little did I realize that the $10 watch would keep time just fine for the entire cruise with no problem at all, and for quite a long time afterwards as well.

Now we each wear a $10 watch on every trip, whether a cruise or land vacation. No worries about it being lost or stolen, knowing it can easily be replaced if it should happen, without the bother of even needing to file an insurance claim.

Those are the only watches we wear off the ship in ports.

(Okay, I admit that occasionally I may wear one of those fancy, expensive $19 watches instead to make a proper impression on chic or formal nights. ;) )

The only problem we ever had was one time when a strap broke. We just took the watch back to the shop on the ship and they immediately replaced it, no questions asked.

In fact we have stopped bringing good jewelry of any kind along on cruises.

Another advantage is that customs agents take one glance at us and immediately wave us right through without even questioning us, probably figuring it is not worth wasting their time on us. :D

But we also do not travel with expensive luggage, a tip we learned from a customs agent many years ago.

Hi All,

Thank-you for the quickly and helpful replies. The suggestion of research is a good one and I have already begun.

What would be helpful is to know what they are currently carrying beyond Citizen-- any thoughts there?

Thank-you all.

PK

Also are apple watches available?

Thanks,

PK

Be sure to know your prices.

Keith

Hi All,

 

Thank-you for the quickly and helpful replies. The suggestion of research is a good one and I have already begun.

 

What would be helpful is to know what they are currently carrying beyond Citizen-- any thoughts there?

 

Thank-you all.

 

PK

I know they carry Raymond Weill.

It was a citizens, black face like a Movado, I really liked it and price seem right, lOL. I got home and Kohl's had the same watch with discounts that they give, it was $15 cheaper.

Sometime you can find a style that is really hard to find else where, MAYBE lol you can find anything on the internet. PS some times Sam's or Costco have much better prices than cruise ships but limited in styles.

I am something of a watch collector, and I have purchased quite a few in the Caribbean but never one on board a ship. If the OP is interested in a modest watch, Citizen, Weil etc, and has OBCs, a purchase on board probably would be a reasonable deal. But X carries Tags, which are fairly expensive, and Bulgari which are beautiful but very pricey. I can't imagine getting a good deal on a high end watch on any ship even in consideration of OBC.

Authorized dealers are generally limited to discounts of 15% maximum or they could lose their franchise. That discount is probably available in the US, too. Grand Cayman has some wonderful watch shops, Cozumel less so. As others have recommended , know the model you are interested in. I have a bad habit of making unplanned purchases on the spur of the moment. On one notable occasion the price I worked so had to obtain in the Carib was beaten by a shop in my home town, a shop I didn't even know existed until I returned home. Oh, well. Live and learn.

There are online merchants who sell grey market watches at considerable discounts. I have purchased three watches from one of them, two Baume and Mercier as gifts, and a Frederique Constant for myself. All of them were considerably discounted, the two by about 80%, the last by 65%. They're all working fine but there is a bit of risk in it. Bottom line do your homework but don't count on a deal on board.

I know they carry Raymond Weill.

Also Tag Heuer, Omega and Invicta. Celebrity is experimenting with selling previously owned Rolex watches. I know Rolex prices very well and what Celebrity displayed on our last cruise was crazy over-priced.

Hi All,

 

Thank-you for the quickly and helpful replies. The suggestion of research is a good one and I have already begun.

 

What would be helpful is to know what they are currently carrying beyond Citizen-- any thoughts there?

 

Thank-you all.

 

PK

They carry numerous very high end brands (Rolex, TAG, Breitling etc) and some Citizen and then the no name sets that have a watch earrings or watch and pen or watch and necklace. 1/2 way through the cruise they go on 1/2 price sale and on the last sea day they go on sale for about $20.

Also are apple watches available?

 

Thanks,

 

PK

Yes, at the Apple Store on board. The pries are the same as at home with the exception of no tax.

Also Tag Heuer, Omega and Invicta. Celebrity is experimenting with selling previously owned Rolex watches. I know Rolex prices very well and what Celebrity displayed on our last cruise was crazy over-priced.

How true. On the Eclipse they had several gold Rolexes listed in the $20K+ range. Madness.

I have wanted a Citizens Blue Angels Skyhawk for the last few years- On our March 2015 Equinox cruise the ship store had 35% off all Citizen watches, I thought I could do better & in St Thomas I found two stores offering 50% off list. After playing one against the other- they were on the same block- I ended up getting 54% off the list { list price was same as here in the US}. I was happy. :) Charlie

The ship also usually has some relatively inexpensive fashion watches--Anne Kline, Skagen. I bought an Ann Kline watch for the same price as at home ($85). They never went on sale.

Carolyn

Hi All,

Thank-you again for the replies. I will definitely know my prices heading on board with a few prices in mind. The apple option might be compelling as they are never on sale and saving th tax might be nice.

Citizen eco drive or TAG might be a nice every day watch to wear.

Thanks again for your help and any other suggestions would be appreciated.

PK

Hello,

I purchased a Citizen Men's JY0010-50E Eco-Drive Skyhawk A-T Titanium Watch for about 60% of MSRP value on the Eclipse in 2013. It's a fantastic watch. I guess the new ones even figure out what time zone you're in.

Anyway, I used my personal visa (and not the shipboard account) to purchase the watch. Strangely, after the ship arrived in Europe from it's TA, charges from electronics, flower shops and upscale stores in Belgium started to appear on my account. :eek: No harm was done as the charges were caught early. My recommendation would be to use the shipboard account or cash. :cool:

Mike

If your cruise takes you to San Juan, we purchased a Tag at Bareds in Old San Juan 3 years ago at $600 less than we had priced it in the stats. We had researched reliable places to shop before we left.

Thanks all. I think I'll lean to purchasing from the ship and probably stick to TAG or CITIZEN--- if anyone has recommendations on which model between the two I'd appreciate that.

Also has anyone purchased the Apple Watch while on board?

... I used my personal visa (and not the shipboard account) to purchase the watch...

How did you do that? In my experience the ship's stores only do charges to the shipboard account.

Hello, my Hubby brought a rather nice Tag watch a few years ago, however to get the best price we had to wait until the evening whilst sailing and not in port, and the difference was amazing to what he would of had to pay at home, at the same time he brought me a little dainty watch too, a few years on both watches are still working fine, one battery change for the Tag, by a local Tag Heuer supplier, so now hes rather tempted again on our pending cruise, I am after an Apple watch this time if they sell them. :):):)

Be really careful about buying watches and jewelry on a cruise ship...or, for that matter, in a foreign port. Personally, I've never found a watch on board that I couldn't buy for the same or lower price from an authorized dealer in the US. (note: Amazon is not authorized for all of the watches they sell...be careful there). It's not clear to me that the shops on board are authorized dealers either...they may be but I trust them about as much as I trust the watch dealers in the Caribbean, etc. We have bought watches in Singapore but the only reason they were cheaper is that they hadn't adjusted prices for currency differences yet.

 

Certainly, if you have a large OBCN and want to spend it rather than trying to figure out a way to get it back in cash, buying a watch is as good as anything....after all, unspent OBCN is lost so why not use it as essentially a discount on a nice watch. Other than that, I'd buy at home.

 

The other exception is the $10 watch sale ...a cheap watch for a cheap price...no problem with that...I have two of them that I wear when gardening and doing other dirty chores.

I have purchased 2 Raymond Weil watches at duty free shops over the years. Both were priced around the same as they would have been in the states, but they were DUTY FREE. In addition, I have purchased many pieces of jewelry over the years while in "foreign ports", and I have had nothing but good luck. The key is to use reputable merchants, and to know what you would pay for the same purchase if you were home. In any case, sometimes the purchase just adds to the whole memory of your trip! Enjoy.