Princess shopping guarantee?

[royal65]

It's been several years since we've sailed in the Caribbean with Princess. But it seems to me they had some kind of program that gave cruisers more assurance re quality/price on purchases. Does such a program exist and how does it work? We'll be on the Royal in St. Thomas on Valentine's Day and I'm considering diamond earrings for Valentine's gift to my wife. Comments about experiences with such a program will be appreciated as I'm a little wary of spending that kind of money with an unknown store. Thanx

[jagsfan]

I have bought jewelry at Cardow, but paid no attention to whether it was one of Princess's recommended stores. I don't think that helps much if you do have s problem. I can tell you Cardow has a good reputation, and I'm happy with everything I bought over the years.

When I mentioned to a friend I'll be in St Thomas soon, she told me to check out Ajanta in Drakes Passage.

She has beautiful jewelry and she said it all came from there over a good many years. I checked reviews, and people were very enthusiastic.

You may be better off going by reviews and personal recommendations than by whether Princess "guarantees" their worth.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[CruisinFinsUp]

Stores that participate in the "gurantee" pay a fee to the marketing company that runs the program.

 

Personally, I would research your prices in advance and research the different stores that are in the ports. Lots of info on the internet.

Best to know what you'd be happy with rather than try to depend on a "guarantee" operated by a marketing company. Just my 2 cents.

[bhopal21]

It's been several years since we've sailed in the Caribbean with Princess. But it seems to me they had some kind of program that gave cruisers more assurance re quality/price on purchases. Does such a program exist and how does it work? We'll be on the Royal in St. Thomas on Valentine's Day and I'm considering diamond earrings for Valentine's gift to my wife. Comments about experiences with such a program will be appreciated as I'm a little wary of spending that kind of money with an unknown store. Thanx

 

Unless you are well versed in diamond quality I would buy such items at home where you know the jeweler and have some recourse in case of problems.

 

I have not read a positive experience about Princess' shopping guarantee.

 

Mike:)

Edited January 25, 2015 by bhopal21

[cherylandtk]

The guarantee does not come from Princess, it comes from the shopping company, Onboard Media. It is for 60 days and covers defects and replacement appraisal value. Appraisals must come from a graduate gemologist not affiliated with a jewelry store, so you would be out the cost of the appraisal if you had a problem. Purchases must be registered with the onboard shopping representative to qualify. https://customerservice.onboard.com/guarantee.aspx

 

I have seen one post where a piece of jewelry appraised for thousands less than the purchase price, the company helped to arrange the return and refund. But any reliable jewelry store at home would allow you to do that.

Edited January 25, 2015 by cherylandtk

[Colo Cruiser]

Costco. ;)

[cflutist]

Unless you are well versed in diamond quality I would buy such items at home where you know the jeweler and have some recourse in case of problems.

 

I have not read a positive experience about Princess' shopping guarantee.

 

Mike:)

 

I agree with Mike here. I hold a Gemologist Diploma from the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and am very well versed in diamonds (even though I retired as a VP in Information Technology). Personally I would not buy a diamond from any vendor in a cruise port. If you compared equal quality, you are better off buying at home. To learn more, go to pricescope.com which is a diamond information website.

Edited January 25, 2015 by cflutist

[Times Prince]

I can't comment on the diamond quality issue, but we had a ring bought at Tanzanite International (part of Diamonds International) that developed a flaw in the ring itself. We revisited the store on our next cruise the same year, and they buffed it, but the problem again came back post cruise. 11 months after the initial cruise (3rd cruise to the same port that year) we showed the ring to the onboard sales guys, and they supported our returning the ring for full refund, which we got - there were no issues from Diamond International on the return - they stood behind their product's quality guarantee.

[caribill]

Appraisals must come from a graduate gemologist not affiliated with a jewelry store, so you would be out the cost of the appraisal if you had a problem.

 

They have tightened up the appraisal rules. Must be too many people were actually finding they had vastly overpaid.

 

Now "The appraisal must come from an internationally recognized gemological laboratory such as EGL (USA) or IGI."

 

For most people this means you will have to ship (at your expense) the jewelry somewhere instead of having a local independent appraiser do the job.

 

EGL (USA) is only located in New York City and Los Angeles. IGI has locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Antwerp, Hong Kong, Mumbai, the Seepz Zone, Kolkata, New Delhi, Surat, Dubai, Bangkok, Tokyo and Tel Aviv.

 

Of course, this must be completed in a reasonable amount of time so that you can make your claim within 60 days of the purchase.

[cflutist]

They have tightened up the appraisal rules. Must be too many people were actually finding they had vastly overpaid.

 

Now "The appraisal must come from an internationally recognized gemological laboratory such as EGL (USA) or IGI."

 

For most people this means you will have to ship (at your expense) the jewelry somewhere instead of having a local independent appraiser do the job.

 

EGL (USA) is only located in New York City and Los Angeles. IGI has locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Antwerp, Hong Kong, Mumbai, the Seepz Zone, Kolkata, New Delhi, Surat, Dubai, Bangkok, Tokyo and Tel Aviv.

 

Of course, this must be completed in a reasonable amount of time so that you can make your claim within 60 days of the purchase.

 

Interesting that EGL is mentioned since EGL graded diamonds have been banned from the Rapnet trading network due to their loose grading standards. http://www.jckonline.com/2014/09/09/rapnet-bans-egl-reports-from-trading-network

 

The top tier respected labs in the industry are from the GIA and AGS (American Gem Society) and not EGL nor IGI.

 

There are also some ongoing lawsuits against Genesis Diamonds who used EGL graded diamonds. http://www.wsmv.com/story/26310387/new-lawsuits-filed-against-genesis-diamonds

Edited January 25, 2015 by cflutist