diamond jewelry

[schnoobie]

I have never been one who bothered with the jewelery at the ports but this time I am actually looking for a diamond ring and it figures that for a change we don't stop at st maarten or at st thomas.... Does anyone know if any of these ports (Grand Cayman, cozumel, or roatan) are good for shopping?

[m steve]

one of the most expensive ports on your cruise. I would not suggest buying diamonds there. I would wait for another cruise and go to STT or STM and what you might save could pay for the cruise.

[ppeckham]

Cozumel would be better than Grand Cayman.

[cruz guy]

I agree with the previous poster. Wait for your next cruise.

 

There will be the usual Diamonds international and of course the "shopping coordinator" from the ship will try very hard to convince everyone that fine jewelry shopping is fabulous in Cozumel, Roatan or GC...but its a sales pitch. On our last cruise, the shopping coordinator tried to convince us that Alaska was THE place to buy tanzinite and diamonds....give me a break.

 

Wait till you go to St. Marten or St. Thomas or go to one of the diamond districts in a major US city.

[LHP]

Cozumel would be your best bet....

 

BUT, I always caution cruisers to "know your stuff" before you go.

 

Price a similar ring here in the US .... know your carats, cut, etc before you go.

 

I have made several purchases at DI years ago, but the "deals" with them are not as good as they used to be.

 

They will offer you 50% off almost automatically....just know they will go to68% on a clearance item (or a repeat customer) and to 70% for the manager's special.

 

BUT any discount (if a percentage off an inflated retail price) will not be a good deal...so you have to price it in the US before you go......

[cruiseblue]

Definitely don't buy in Grand Cayman. Very expensive!

I agree with other posters here...wait until you get to St. Thomas. I found St. Thomas has better price than St. Martin. I do know my 3C's and got my diamond appraised in the US and exactly the quality they said.

[cruiseblue]

Forget Roatan. You are not going find much deals there at all. Only a few diamond stores in the little shopping area and they are EXPENSIVE. I shopped there last year and the prices are ridiculous and not much selection either.

[mpausita]

I love shopping during my cruises and have had some good and bad experiences with jewelry specially with the diamond sellers, either you are an expert and it´s impossible to trick you or you have to believe everything they say about their merchandise.

 

However when there is no question of quality when I have bought jewelry from brands such as Cartier or Chopard, my advise is to find retailers that have brands that can give you an internationally valid warranty.

 

Cozumel is my favorite Port for shopping you can find almost every single name brand in the shops downtown plus they are tax free, enjoy your cruise !