Carnival Fun Shops Jewelry and Watch Price Match, BEWARE of Starboard Services

[LHP]

Just a fair warning to all. On my recent cruise, I purchased a Citizen watch aboard the Miracle in the Jewelry Shop. The clerks in there are actually employees of Starboard Services, who run the shops on Carnival ships. Anyways, I heard the clerks say numerous times, including to me, that "We have the best price, and we will even match it. If you find a cheaper price, for an identical item, ANYWHERE, within 30 days, just print out the price and send it in for a refund check for the difference". So, I came home and found the watch for $80 cheaper on the internet, printed it out as instructed, and sent it in for my refund. Silly me, I actually believed that they would stand by their word. Well, today I got my rejection letter from Starboard Services, telling me that INTERNET PRICING IS EXCLUDED FROM PRICE MATCHING, and furthermore, the price comparison must be made with an Authorized Citizen Dealer for them to match it. Geez, call me old fashioned, but that doesn't sound like ANYWHERE as told by the clerks in the shop. They even said "print it out" which implied to me that Internet Prices were commonplace for price matches. IMO, that is poor business and just plain dishonest and misleading. These clerks would do well peddling used cars when their "careers" at Starboard are over. I should have been more skeptical and asked questions. I'm sure many of you know of this, but it is just an FYI for everyone else that does not. Happy Cruising.

 

 

 

Yes, just like the Spa that is owned by Steiner....the Gift Shops are owned by Starboard and simply lease space on cruise ships...not just Carnival.

[LHP]

I will say that our experience with Starboard was fine.

 

We bought our son an inexpensive Fossil watch years ago. After wearing it 9months, the second hand fell off.

 

We returned it for a full refund...no questions asked.

[D4]

Here's a different opinion. In the last 10 years, I've only bought jewelry in foreign countries (Europe, Caribbean.). I don't buy it for investment value; I buy it to capture the memories of my trips every time I wear each piece. I bought rings in Italy and Greece and wear one of them instead of my original wedding ring every day.

 

Each time I buy a new piece, I bring it and the receipt and documentation to my insurance agent to insure them.

 

Personally, I don't want any jewelry bought locally because it doesn't create the same feelings when I wear them.

[silverpenguin]

We bought a necklace/earring set that I love and don't really care if it was overpriced. We looked at it and decided we were comfortable paying that price. Now, if I found out it was a fake, I would be mad, but otherwise, I'm ok.

 

I have also heard jewelers will under-appraise when you take it to them and tell them where you got it from. They hate cruise ship and out of country jewelry because it cuts into their bottom line.

[Sarah@Sea]

On my first cruise ever my friends wanted to go the shopping discussion, I won the shopping guide, they bought it. :rolleyes: Then at each port they were set on getting every damn free coin or free charm or free speck of a gem because they wanted their $$$ worth for buying that scam of a book. I didn't pay attention to what they said about Key West but I mean it's not duty free for Americans in Key West....but um get out of way I'm heading to the Coach Factory Store...anyway....a few years later one of my students in Miami got an internship with Starboard and it was her job to manage the complaints etc...ie send you the rejection letters. So I never pause a moment at those table sales...again for the sheer fact that if there were an issue who would I really have to deal with? My brother wears/collects Invicta so I know the prices a bit I also know where to find deals on the internet so I've never been interested, not even in the perfume or make-up.

 

However, the booze! Oh cruise ships are the only place I can find a large bottle of Bailey's Coffee and I use that to bake a special cake. :D

[crusinpsychRN]

Wow, after reading this thread bless my $25 Timex I got 14 years ago at a Walgreen's near a cruise port day before a cruise as I'd forgotten my Seiko at home! I've put 2 batteries in the Timex in all this time, runs like a champ!

[Hendricks Clan]

I've had no problems with my experience in buying onboard Carnival. In fact I have purchased 3 Tag Heuer watches...they were the cheapest I found with what I was looking for. I've also purchased another luxury brand watch onboard Carnival. After returning home I wasn't a fan of it not having a battery and needing to be worn daily to stay running. I sent it back no questions asked and received a full refund. Since switching most of my sailings to NCL, I have yet to purchase anything in their stores, as on there ships they are ran by Colombian Emeralds and EFY Jewelers (with EFY taking over the remaining ships this year) and their prices are higher than what I have found in ports or even back home in the states.

[Kreader]

If you are going to St. Thomas or St.Maarten,buy your watches there. Cheaper than on the ship. A little over a year ago I bought a Citizen Eco-drive watch in St. Maarten for $100.00 cash. Still working fine. Kendra

[jenanderic]

I recently bought a Citizen Eco on the Paradise. I would have never bought something like that on a ship, however I was eyeing the exact watch at a retail store so I knew the price ahead of time. Retail $500 I got it for $280 duty free. Very excited to see it that inexpensive.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Sarah@Sea]

Here's a different opinion. In the last 10 years, I've only bought jewelry in foreign countries (Europe, Caribbean.). I don't buy it for investment value; I buy it to capture the memories of my trips every time I wear each piece. I bought rings in Italy and Greece and wear one of them instead of my original wedding ring every day.

 

Each time I buy a new piece, I bring it and the receipt and documentation to my insurance agent to insure them.

 

Personally, I don't want any jewelry bought locally because it doesn't create the same feelings when I wear them.

 

Last year a handyman stole a tote of personal items from me...I was just moving in...he saw there were medications in the tote as it was from my bedroom so it also had some jewelry...all costume, nothing expensive but it did have the $10 necklace I bought from a beach vendor in St. Maarten and I was upset about that, it was so colorful.

[Davey Wavey]

I am SOOO glad to hear that! I just returned from the Carnival Breeze with a $2600 diamond ring. I was about to send it in to have it re-sized and hubby insisted I get an appraisal before I send it in to make sure the same will be returned. Let's just say, we didn't even make it to the appraisal process. The jeweler had me look at it through the microscope and it was riddled with inclusions and not even close to the clarity they has specified. He said unless it is a "Gemological" appraisal, the seller can put whatever they want for the quality of diamonds. I just shipped it back, insured and am hoping to get a refund with out any problems.

 

Hopefully you will have better lucky than me.

 

Read this

 

It took 4 months but eventually CARNIVAL (even though they initially said they weren't involved) sent me a refund because Starboard Cruise Services wouldn't.

[Chmie]

Sorry to read about the poor experiences as a result of purchasing a watch at a Carnival shop. My experience was excellent. I bought a Citizen Eco Drive and my wife bought a Guess watch during our Magic cruise in 2012. I did price check the Citizen at several local jewelers and none were close to what I paid on the ship. Both watches are still ticking.

 

Our next challenge will be to avoid buying another pair of watches this fall. I think 4-5 watches each should be enough :D

[Strmwatch]

I've had no problems with my experience in buying onboard Carnival. In fact I have purchased 3 Tag Heuer watches...they were the cheapest I found with what I was looking for. I've also purchased another luxury brand watch onboard Carnival. After returning home I wasn't a fan of it not having a battery and needing to be worn daily to stay running. I sent it back no questions asked and received a full refund. Since switching most of my sailings to NCL, I have yet to purchase anything in their stores, as on there ships they are ran by Colombian Emeralds and EFY Jewelers (with EFY taking over the remaining ships this year) and their prices are higher than what I have found in ports or even back home in the states.

 

 

Just have to ask, you do know how "Automatic" watches work right?

 

Automatics last longer than battery or solar watches. When the movement isn't wound and running there is zero wear and tear on it.

 

You can also buy a watch winder in case picking up the watch and spinning it around for 10 seconds takes too long.

 

I used to make it a ritual of buying at least one watch on each cruise, I won't do that again because of the mark ups on all of the watches that are sold.

 

St.Marteen had some GREAT watch prices, best I've seen yet aside internet shops.

 

Invictas are the WORST, gaudy over priced hunks of junk. Most of the people buying those are buying them for the "bling" appeal. Yes, I literally overheard an older gentleman on my Dream cruise saying he wanted something with "Bling for his wrist".

 

I wanted to pipe in and tell him that his 40 year younger girlfriend on his arm was probably bling enough.

[navyvet8395]

Wow, after reading this thread bless my $25 Timex I got 14 years ago at a Walgreen's near a cruise port day before a cruise as I'd forgotten my Seiko at home! I've put 2 batteries in the Timex in all this time, runs like a champ!

 

Right.. the 10-20 dollar waterproof watches seem to run forever. I only get rid of them when the battery fails, because it seems to not be very water proofed after the battery gets replaced. So I just get another since the price isn't bad...

[mom2cats]

My Citizen eco drive is like a grown up Timex. It is so reliable!

 

I was at the jeweler getting a battery replaced in an Invicta that I bought at a yard sale for $2 (and sold on ebay for $25) and he told me that my Citizen wouldn't run if I wasn't wearing it. I thought he was telling me it would somehow hurt it to not wear it, but he just wanted me to know I'd have to check the time when putting it back on. I wear it 24/7 so that's not a problem.

[dd2355]

the jeweler ... told me that my Citizen wouldn't run if I wasn't wearing it.

 

Either you have an odd eco drive model or your jeweler thinks it's like an old school self-winding watch.

 

My four year old eco drive Citizen runs just fine without being worn for weeks at a time. Just have to let it have light every now and again to keep it charged; can't leave it tucked away in the dark forever. http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-us/eco-drive-technologies/eco-drive-how-it-works/

Edited May 1, 2014 by dd2355

[joge107]

Let me just say..that after reading this thread...Im so glad that I did not let DH buy that $1800 Tag watch last week that he wanted :D

Adding some perspective here. My wife has bought numerous eco drives aboard Carnival and other cruise ships (all Starboard) and I have bought two. Never found them cheaper in the US on line or anywhere else. On the Miracle in 2009 I bought my Tag Hauer and would pay $800.00 dollars more on the internet. No certainty of quality with internet purchases. When shopping onboard and in port, you must know your prices: however, there are good deals to be made.

[dd2355]

Adding some perspective here. My wife has bought numerous eco drives aboard Carnival and other cruise ships (all Starboard) and I have bought two. Never found them cheaper in the US on line or anywhere else.

 

Just a counter point. I found my Citizen eco drive watch on board (four years ago) but refrained from buying it on the ship due to lack of information on non-ship prices. As it happens I bought it in-store at Macy's a month later for slightly less than the ship price (including sales tax).

 

The ship's pricing was decent, and at least on that model was a decent deal. However it was not nearly as great a deal as the shops wanted people to believe.

 

As you advise, people do their research before boarding. Same for liquor; I brought a price booklet from Total Wine & More and could look up local liquor prices to compare to the ship's shops. Didn't end up buying anything; pricing on some things was a little better aboard, but not enough to motivate us to stock up.

Edited May 1, 2014 by dd2355

[Hendricks Clan]

Just have to ask, you do know how "Automatic" watches work right?

 

Automatics last longer than battery or solar watches. When the movement isn't wound and running there is zero wear and tear on it.

 

You can also buy a watch winder in case picking up the watch and spinning it around for 10 seconds takes too long.

 

I used to make it a ritual of buying at least one watch on each cruise, I won't do that again because of the mark ups on all of the watches that are sold.

 

St.Marteen had some GREAT watch prices, best I've seen yet aside internet shops.

 

Invictas are the WORST, gaudy over priced hunks of junk. Most of the people buying those are buying them for the "bling" appeal. Yes, I literally overheard an older gentleman on my Dream cruise saying he wanted something with "Bling for his wrist".

 

I wanted to pipe in and tell him that his 40 year younger girlfriend on his arm was probably bling enough.

 

Yes, I know how automatic watches work. I'm an avid watch collector. My problems with watches that don't have a battery is they need to be worn daily. I don't wear the same watch every day so therefore when I would want to wear it, it would not be running and you have to change the date and time every time it stopped running. Too much of a hassle for me. Every Omega, Tag, and Breitling I've bought price wise has been compareable on and off the ship. Some brands the price is set by the manufacture and not allowed to go below a certain dollar figure. Therefore if the ship had the style and design I wanted I would simply just buy it from them due to the warranty not only offered by the manufacture but the added warranty offered by the cruise line/starboard.

[EZ4]

Yes, I know how automatic watches work. I'm an avid watch collector. My problems with watches that don't have a battery is they need to be worn daily. I don't wear the same watch every day so therefore when I would want to wear it, it would not be running and you have to change the date and time every time it stopped running. Too much of a hassle for me. Every Omega, Tag, and Breitling I've bought price wise has been compareable on and off the ship. Some brands the price is set by the manufacture and not allowed to go below a certain dollar figure. Therefore if the ship had the style and design I wanted I would simply just buy it from them due to the warranty not only offered by the manufacture but the added warranty offered by the cruise line/starboard.

 

Cheap prices on premium goods devalue the item in the long run. Ray Ban allowed that to happen. It wasn't until Luxottica bought the brand and actually stopped selling them for a while to rebuild the brand value, that they were able to recover the premium pricing and status that the name had once enjoyed. Many companies employ brand protection pricing to keep the value high.

[Strmwatch]

Yes, I know how automatic watches work. I'm an avid watch collector. My problems with watches that don't have a battery is they need to be worn daily. I don't wear the same watch every day so therefore when I would want to wear it, it would not be running and you have to change the date and time every time it stopped running. Too much of a hassle for me. Every Omega, Tag, and Breitling I've bought price wise has been compareable on and off the ship. Some brands the price is set by the manufacture and not allowed to go below a certain dollar figure. Therefore if the ship had the style and design I wanted I would simply just buy it from them due to the warranty not only offered by the manufacture but the added warranty offered by the cruise line/starboard.

 

 

Wow, taking 30 seconds to change the date and time is too much of a hassle for you? I bet you're just a "lovely" person if you have to stand in line for...anything.

 

If you were an avid watch collector like you say, you'd realize automatics are the way to go vs. having a battery die when least expected on top of the constant need to change batteries when they croak.

[Hendricks Clan]

Wow, taking 30 seconds to change the date and time is too much of a hassle for you? I bet you're just a "lovely" person if you have to stand in line for...anything.

 

If you were an avid watch collector like you say, you'd realize automatics are the way to go vs. having a battery die when least expected on top of the constant need to change batteries when they croak.

 

I don't have to constantly change the batteries, they last a pretty good amount of time. Just because my preference is different from yours, and I don't like having to make repeated adjustments to a watch doesn't mean my preference is better than yours and vis versa. I am an avid watch collector and own many, many brands of all sizes and shapes. I bought and tried an automatic watch and didn't like it, thats my choice not yours to make. There is a market for automatic and non automatic watches, same as there is a market for those who like CCL, those who like RCI, and those who prefer NCL. Choice is a good thing if we all liked the same things the world would be a boring place.

BTW: I don't mind nor do I have a problem waiting in lines...spent my fair share in lines at amusement parks, ball games, cruises, etc...

Edited May 2, 2014 by Hendricks Clan

[DonnaMc1]

Hopefully you will have better lucky than me.

 

Read this

 

It took 4 months but eventually CARNIVAL (even though they initially said they weren't involved) sent me a refund because Starboard Cruise Services wouldn't.

 

I had read that earlier and that is what made me worried. I mailed my ring via 2-Day Priority Mail and insured it for the value along with proof of receipt -- the postage was $25. Once I had seen that they had received it, I called the confirm. They said they had received it and gave me a Case Number and told me 4-7 weeks for the refund to process. I called today after a week had passed, gave them my Case Number and asked for a status. They said they have begun the refund process as of 5/6 and I should receive a check in full within two weeks since I used my Sail and Sign card. If that is the case, even allowing for mail time, the turn around will be four weeks.

 

I sent the the Return Authorization Form which includes all the information from our cruise (date, ship, etc.), a copy of my receipt from the gift shop and a copy of their Certification of Authenticity. All in all, it has been a very smooth process.