Recommended ports for jewelry shopping

[lyndonstation]

We are taking the 11 night Ultimate Caribbean Cruise. We want to buy some nice jewelry pieces and some "fun" lower cost jewelry. But we don't want to shop for items at every port, need to have time for sightseeing and adventure stuff also.

[20pluscruises]

We are taking the 11 night Ultimate Caribbean Cruise. We want to buy some nice jewelry pieces and some "fun" lower cost jewelry. But we don't want to shop for items at every port, need to have time for sightseeing and adventure stuff also.

 

Use to be the last port of call had the best prices/deals.

[kitty9]

Most long time cruisers will tell you that great jewelry deals in the Caribbean aren't that great anymore. Many say that you can find better deals at home.

 

From the name of your cruise, I'm guessing you're on Celebrity Equinox? If that's the case, I'll tell you that I was on that ship and itinerary last year and I'm going again next month. That itinerary isn't known for great jewelry shopping. Grand Cayman has the most choices, but it's also the most expensive. You're not going to find much in Colon or Costa Rica as those aren't jewelry shopping places. Cartagena has Columbia Emeralds, but the real ones aren't inexpensive. And, you really need to know what you're doing, and you need to know your gemstones. And, I've found that stores aren't dealing like they used to 7 or 8 years ago. Plus, no matter where you go, it's the same stores, owned by the same people, selling the same things.

 

If you're interested in silver, then you might find some decent prices in Cozumel. The downtown area is loaded with shops.

[Scrapnana]

Get an idea of prices at home. You may get better deals and guarantees at home. I know some of the big Caribbean jewelry stores give a guarantee but often they are hard to actually utilize if you have a problem.

[marco]

When you say "fun lower cost jewelry"...do you mean locally made unique and unusual costume jewelry? IE: NOT precious stone/gold?

[lyndonstation]

Want mostly silver jewelry and sea glass if they have it.

[CaroleSS]

Please don't purchase expensive jewelry on your cruise! What will you do if you find out there is a problem? What if you find out it's not what you expected?

 

Some people have good luck, but the vast majority find they've been 'had'. Buy the expensive stuff at home....where you can go back to the store if there is a problem.

 

Silver and sea glass are wonderful mementos from your cruise, but just don't think you'll get a 'deal'....they just aren't there anymore. :(

Edited January 7, 2014 by CaroleSS

[PORT ROYAL]

Please don't purchase expensive jewelry on your cruise! What will you do if you find out there is a problem? What if you find out it's not what you expected?

 

Some people have good luck, but the vast majority find they've been 'had'. Buy the expensive stuff at home....where you can go back to the store if there is a problem.

 

Silver and sea glass are wonderful mementos from your cruise, but just don't think you'll get a 'deal'....they just aren't there anymore. :(

 

Excellent point, but for us in the UK the cost of good bling is extortionate, so we have to buy either in the US or the Caribbean. Lucky for my family and friends we buy from a St Martin jeweller who has a shop in London run by his Son.

[sail7seas]

You don't say what ports you are visiting.

 

We can help tell you at which islands you will find the largest selection.

 

Aruba, San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Maarten have a ton of jewelry stores. They do not carry nearly the inventory of higher end pieces they used to carry for many years. The bad economy hit their sales hard and they have lowered their offerings though our last visit I saw they had increased their inventory by a tiny amount.

 

Silver jewelry is all over the place in Cozumel.

 

[sail7seas]

The days of great jewelry buys in the Caribbean are long over.

When we first started cruising, gold chains were selling for $10 - $12 per gram. Not anywhere near that now.

[CaroleSS]

One nice thing about purchasing items in Mexico (or it was that way the last time we bought something) was that you pay for an item by weight.

 

I follow the gold market pretty well and was surprised to purchase a charm in Playa for just above melt.

 

Being educated is the key.

[CaroleSS]

The days of great jewelry buys in the Caribbean are long over.

When we first started cruising, gold chains were selling for $10 - $12 per gram. Not anywhere near that now.

 

I do think that the availability of items on the internet has played a factor in that. Now you can search hundreds of stores from your living room.....so everyone has to be competitive.

[hulamoon]

I picked up fun handcrafted necklaces in cartegena in December. Five dollars. They were three times that amount at other locations. Lol

 

Costa Rica port also had some nice handcrafted items.