What would YOU like to see the gift shops carry?

[20pluscruises]

The old school mouse traps to place under all the towels of the chair hogs. :D

[shipshape sam]

Yes, yes! This! A selection of sizes. And stuff for men, too. While Tommy Bahama is nice, how about something under $125?

 

 

How about Tommy Bahama camp shirts discounted?! I find those bargains pretty often here in the states. :)

 

I love TB, but it is very rare I want to/will pay full price for one. Did do it once in Nassau for my still favorite TB camp shirt.

Edited January 15, 2014 by shipshape sam

[shipshape sam]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'd like to see Celebrity's gift shops offer most anything OTHER than what they currently offer. Over the past few years, I've never seen a collection of such undesirable junk - especially the Celebrity logo items. I always go into the stores, eager to spend, and always walk out thinking "what a bunch of terrible stuff". Well, it's actually other words, but I cant say them here :)

 

 

That sounds like me on our last few cruises. Trust me, I would have spent some good money if I could find something. :)

 

You would think this is a no brainer for Celebrity to increase their bottom line. One can only guess that some one is buying and in sufficient quantities that they keep stocking the shelves with this stuff.

[wvufan]

We have been at sea for over half a year, but I don't think we spent over $50 total at the shops. One of the reasons is that we really don't need most of that stuff and the other reasons are that the prices are so ridiculous that we resent them. I want to feel like a customer not a victim.

 

So, what would I like? Well, I know folks will laugh at this, but I would like at least a small area with vending machines that would take sea pass cards. Sort of like a refreshment center at a rest stop. In addition to candt and beverages, small items like chap stick etc could be offered. Of course, the price would have to be reasonable.

 

I think they have actually done something related to that concept with soda pop for those with soda packages, but don't remember the specifics.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[badtwin]

Some nice items for scrapbooking. We did not get a glossy brochure with photos and such on our last cruise so I had to really struggle to find some nice things for my cruise album. I would like to be able to buy some X themed paper or even better, something for the specific ship (I really miss deck plans to mark our room), a couple of different photos of the ship (even nicer postcards or notecards would have helped) and maybe some tasteful stickers or the like.

 

I went to the scrapbooking classes on board and will use some of the hand outs, but found most sort of tacky and not Celebrity specific.

[Christine Frances]

Keep the Guess bags please! Always a better price than in Canada.

[4cats4me]

I'm certainly not qualified to answer any question that is geared towards the seasoned cruiser... but I now have a completed cruise under my belt, and i feel that I have a small voice :D PS... I only have 1 cruise, and it was on Royal Caribbean, but I truly believe that this company (Royal, Celebrity) would really benefit from having a Pandora Jewellery store! They are highly collectible! And range from very in-expensive to very high priced.. they have stores everywhere, and I was surprised to not see them on the Explorer.. perhaps they are on other ships?

 

They have Pandora knock-offs during the "blowout" sale and I bought several

On last cruise.

[gblotter]

Speedos, candles, coffee pots, ground coffee, tea pots, clothes irons, rum runners.

 

+1 for the clothes irons.

[CanWeGoYet?]

nylon stockings, and bras. Stretch bra, anything. I don't know how but both bras I packed had the underwire break - never happened before to me or since. I didn't have time to get to a department store on the port days so I bought mole skin from the infirmary & tried to patch it so the wire would quit stabbing me. :( It actually worked, much better than the tape & band aids I was trying to mend the fabric with until I could get home & buy new.

[luvbermuda]

I would be very disappointed if they took away the shops! Many of us really enjoy going thru them.

The jewelry selection is usually good but they need to have a better selection of clothing and more of it - not just tee shirts. When we were on the Solstice in Europe a few years ago, they had some better clothing and that was great. It would be nice to have other items, other than with the ship's logo, to buy to take home if you had a gift to buy.

You should be able to buy something you forgot- like toothpaste, hairspray, etc.- at a normal price also!!

If they priced these things more fairly, people would buy them there instead of lugging all those extras in their suitcases!!:)

[Lsimon]

From my perspective all I really am interested in is basic souvenir items such as shirts and hats and maybe a coffee mug.

 

I always go to look for T-shirts or a hat and usually don't like the ones they have. I like the ones that are branded with the ship and the itinerary if the design is nice but usually these are too basic; for example many are a basic print on a white fabric. Most of the times when they have had t-shirts I've really liked they haven't had them in my size (either a generous XL or XXL) as it seems these sizes are very popular and they don't stock enough of them.

 

Some of my favorite T-shirts have been the ones that I've found among the cheaper items they bring in for the "clearance sales" (obviously not the same quality or type of the items sold in the ships which don't go "on sale"). But these "sales" are generally crazy crowded free for all's that I avoid and often have inadequate quantities of popular sizes anyways. Very frustrating when I see a T-shirt I really like in a table that is a totally scrambled unorganized mess with tons of people around and I can only find about 200 size smalls and no XL or XXL.

 

Another suggestion for the full price logo items would be for more creative and varied shirts. A great example would be the selection of shirts you see at a Hard Rock Café store where there is always a nice varied selection of T-shirts with basic logos, creative designs, with some (but not all) tailored to that store's location. Also always a few more expensive designs such as nicer button up camp shirts.

 

As for a more expensive item: I'd love to see an nice Tommy Bahama style embroidered shirt with a Caribbean theme on the back, maybe showing the ship you're on sailing in the background with or without a slogan such as "Cruising the Caribbean" or "Cruising on the Eclipse" or something like that.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Lsimon

[Doctor24]

I would like to see more of a selection for their baseball caps and the biggest thing would be scalable versions of the Soltice and millennium class ships. By that I mean all 9 ships ranging from mid-size to large replications of them no matter what ship you are sailing on.

[WestLakeGirl]

Thanks to all who posted on this thread....we have printed out most of the relevant answers and will pass on to ship mgt on Conatellation Eclipse and Solstice. Might not make a difference, but who knows?

[wf083145]

Like so many of the cruising aspects, the gift shops have sort of dumbed-down since our first cruises. On Crown Princess (1992) and Horizon (1993) they had really nice men's and women's clothing at reasonable price/quality points. DW actually got an evening gown that went on 2 other cruises with us.

 

Now, all of the gift shops pretty much look the same. Just change the logos from 1 cruise line to another. JMO but there seems to be more size given to the high-priced watches, jewelry, Lladro, glass globes, etc than is justified based on the few purchases I actually see being made. So I'm guessing their profit must be huge.

[upwarduk]

JMO but there seems to be more size given to the high-priced watches, jewelry, Lladro, glass globes, etc than is justified based on the few purchases I actually see being made. So I'm guessing their profit must be huge.

 

I couldn't agree more!!!!:eek:

[20pluscruises]

nylon stockings, and bras. Stretch bra, anything. I don't know how but both bras I packed had the underwire break - never happened before to me or since. I didn't have time to get to a department store on the port days so I bought mole skin from the infirmary & tried to patch it so the wire would quit stabbing me. :( It actually worked, much better than the tape & band aids I was trying to mend the fabric with until I could get home & buy new.

 

Unfortunately, they would have to carry so many sizes....my guess is that would be too many inventory skew numbers for them to handle...but not a bad idea if they could handle it.

 

I have a friend who is VP of the perfect company for Celebrity if they ever consider it. His company has also come up with a great way to take up less display space. (some of the sizes he carries can be quite large) I'll pass on theidea...not sure who he would contact?

[upwarduk]

I'd love to see a Kindle store onboard. I don't think there are any, but on board a cruise ship would be perfect. It could sell Kindles and allow users to buy and download books.

 

I don't think you would be able to download, due to the slow speed of the wi-fi.

On our Infinity TA, it took me all my time to download emails, certainly couldn't send links to pictures and we were advised not to update to IOS7 ( the iLounge manager couldn't wait to reach Miami, so that he could update his iPhone)

 

Personally, I would have liked to have bought a sim free iPhone in the Apple store.

They were selling iPads, but had trouble registering them. Not the same problem on Eclipse Southern Caribbean in March 2013; we must always have been closer to the satellite.:rolleyes:

[PatC]

While we will "cruise" the shops on board we are just about done with them.

 

I do buy the Christmas ornament of the ship but even they are now "tacky" and not at all different. I have them right from the Horizon up and they are so much nicer.

 

If I'd like anything they could bring back it would be the ships pins also. I could care less about the clothes, way to expensive and itty, bitty sizes. No more t-shirts please but these pins are my one collectable that I have kept over the years and put on the Celebrity visor I bought years ago on Summit. Sounds corny probably to many but this is the only item I would buy again in any of the stores. I even have the original Captain's Club pin and every time we board someone makes a comment about still have that.

 

One other item I might consider is, as has been said, the perfume! What's with those? No more variety there, makeup either.

 

Other than that, I'll spend my money elsewhere.

 

Pat

[Fouremco]

I don't think you would be able to download, due to the slow speed of the wi-fi.

Most e-books are quite small, a meg or two, so downloading isn't an issue. Also, many Kindle models come with free 3G networking, so downloading while in port it free and easy. My older model also has a rudimentary internet browser that I could use to check for e-mail over the 3G networks.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

On the Caribbean/hot weather sailings I think a partnership with an American clothing company called "Fresh Produce" would make a lot of women very happy! Their clothing is make in the USA, is made from lightweight cotton, is very stylish, varied and moderately priced. Prior to our last cruise I had a wonderful time shopping at their store on Las Olas Blvd in Fort Lauderdale on Black Friday nonetheless...Oh, I was in my happy place! :D

 

Yes! Fresh Produce!!! They could even get them to design some shirts specific to Celebrity.

[Corgis mom]

I would like to see some classic jewelry, gold earrings I can wear every day. Not yellow diamonds. Or sterling earrings. I purchased many in years past, but nothing lately.

 

Yellow diamonds, Really? Ever see them at home to compare prices? Would anybody but you know they are diamonds?

[Onessa]

A selection of fine crafts from the ports upon which the cruise will call. Not the made in some third-world country halfway around the world from the port.

 

5x7 to 8x10 limited edition prints by local artists. Locally sourced jewlery, pottery, etc. For original works, they could even work out some sort of consignment arrangement.

 

If I buy a key chain, I'd really rather not have something made from plastic randomly stamped "Venice" and made in Pakistan. My keychain is a locally cast bronze Venician mask. Still rather random and touristy, but I saw the guy making them when I was on the island.

[20pluscruises]

I would like to see some classic jewelry, gold earrings I can wear every day. Not yellow diamonds. Or sterling earrings. I purchased many in years past, but nothing lately.

 

Yellow diamonds, Really? Ever see them at home to compare prices? Would anybody but you know they are diamonds?

 

Canary diamonds?

[ccruisequeen]

not being a smarty hear , but what about a little shop like a 7/11 or something like that.

they could carry magzines and other lines that your average 7/11 stocks, price the products at a reasonable level give celebrity 20% of the profits,and were all done.

just like a little general store, I'd bet it would do a roaring trade.

 

Like! Candy, books, OTC meds at cheaper prices.

 

 

 

 

 

[islandgirlejfan]

Yes! Fresh Produce!!! They could even get them to design some shirts specific to Celebrity.

 

I LOVE Fresh Produce!! They have some really fun clothing! :)