Change in Vendor for Onboard Shops

[ellieanne]

There's an Oprah shop? I've never seen one.

 

There was one on the Zuiderdam in December/January. There were some things I would have considered buying if they had not been marked with the Oprah logo. It took years for me to find a copy of a book that did not have the Oprah's Book Club logo on it, I was not going to buy a water bottle, pashmina, or travel journal with the stupid logo on it no matter how nice they were.

[ithaca gal]

There was one on the Zuiderdam in December/January. There were some things I would have considered buying if they had not been marked with the Oprah logo. It took years for me to find a copy of a book that did not have the Oprah's Book Club logo on it, I was not going to buy a water bottle, pashmina, or travel journal with the stupid logo on it no matter how nice they were.

 

 

Exactly how I feel. They are free to have their Oprah branded merchandise and we are free not to want anything to do with it.

[ithaca gal]

In my opinion, having ship specific logo items are something that I would be much more likely to buy than generic HAL stuff. Having destination identified items for my cruise would also tempt me to spend some dollars. And, what about post cards? Relatives and friends of mine still like to receive these even if I have have returned days/weeks before they arrive.

 

I send postcards from every port. It would be so much easier to buy them on the ship and address them and have them ready when I get to the various ports then having to get them on land. On our cruise last month, the only cards they had were for Half Moon Cay and there isn’t even a post office there anymore!

[adrift@sea]

Huh. I am going pay attention next cruise! I had no idea. Unless it just wasn't on the Koningsdam. And, trust me, I did try to find something to buy.

 

 

 

Most definitely on the Koningsdam.

 

 

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[3rdGenCunarder]

Most definitely on the Koningsdam.

 

 

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Really? Where is it? I thought I wandered through all the shops last month. Didn't buy anything, but I looked. Some nice clothes, particularly the Chicos items, but nothing I "needed" at those prices.

 

As for t-shirt sizes, I've found they run small, so some designs are sold out of the larger sizes while the smaller ones remain.

[idiebabe]

Exactly how I feel. They are free to have their Oprah branded merchandise and we are free not to want anything to do with it.

 

Exactly! When we were on Oostie a few months back the Shops were really quiet (unless they had a Raffle going on) and no one seemed interested in "O" Wear (including me). We saved some money on that Cruise and HAL lost! ;)

[*Miss G*]

Really? Where is it? I thought I wandered through all the shops last month.

 

Oh thank God. I was starting to question my sanity. lol

[sail7seas]

There was one on the Zuiderdam in December/January. There were some things I would have considered buying if they had not been marked with the Oprah logo. It took years for me to find a copy of a book that did not have the Oprah's Book Club logo on it, I was not going to buy a water bottle, pashmina, or travel journal with the stupid logo on it no matter how nice they were.

 

 

Thanks for the warning :eek: The llast thing I would b uy anywhere let alone on a c ruise ship is "O" logo merchanise . The more I think aabout it tthe more offensive I find this whole' O' lliason with HAl.. I think it in appropriate and unwelcome.

[bobpatj]

The shops were opened on Westerdam while we were onboard, recently. I got a nice Westerdam polo shirt, but most of the shops seemed to sell the same old - same old. It was annoying to have to walk through the shops to get to the MainStage on deck 3, before 10:00 pm. They had a fairly good supply of drugstore items, though.

[TrolleyGirl]

Regarding the "O" shop...

 

Not everything in the area carries her signature O. I found many items that did not, specifically items that her on her favorite things list. The audio pets speakers, bath & body type products, a beautiful travel cape, a casual lounge outfit, etc. The prices for these items were the same as on land with the benefit of being duty free. So even if you don't care for Oprah or her branding you may find something nice in this area. Wander through the area, you may be pleasantly surprised.

[ithaca gal]

Regarding the "O" shop...

 

Not everything in the area carries her signature O. I found many items that did not, specifically items that her on her favorite things list. The audio pets speakers, bath & body type products, a beautiful travel cape, a casual lounge outfit, etc. The prices for these items were the same as on land with the benefit of being duty free. So even if you don't care for Oprah or her branding you may find something nice in this area. Wander through the area, you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

I must admit that you are correct -- the travel capes were lovely! However, I am so "allergic" to Oprah that I just won't patronize anything with her signature O ..... or anything on her favorite things list.

 

For those who don't have such an aversion to Oprah, and those willing to shop with an open mind (lol), there are some lovely things under her "umbrella"!

[adrift@sea]

Really? Where is it? I thought I wandered through all the shops last month. Didn't buy anything, but I looked. Some nice clothes, particularly the Chicos items, but nothing I "needed" at those, so some designs are.

 

 

Deck 3-Promenade Deck, starboard side, opposite balcony level of the Queens Lounge (B.B. King). The Oprah items share about half of ‘The Shop’.

 

 

 

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[3rdGenCunarder]

Deck 3-Promenade Deck, starboard side, opposite balcony level of the Queens Lounge (B.B. King). The Oprah items share about half of ‘The Shop’.

 

 

 

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Thanks. I did walk through there, but didn't notice the "O" items. Or maybe I just ignored them and forgot about them.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Those who know me know I love ship logo wear, but nice stuff. Yes, maybe once in a while a t-shirt but mostly nice golf type shirts with the ship logo. But I also do not want to wear mens sizes being I am short. There was a time 10+ years ago that Tom and I would spend several hundred dollars in the shops on HAL. The last several cruises it has been horrible. We just got off the Oosterdam on the 11th and I knew that by the lack of sellable merchandise it appeared HAL was finally getting rid of Starboard Cruises that operated the shops on board HAL for quite a few years now. I am being told by a reliable source that Princess that operates and manages their own shops on board will be taking over all of HAL's shops on board their ships. This makes total sense and I have to say I cannot be happier. :D Our last Princess cruise Tom and I each came home with numerous logo wear items and other items from the Diamond Princess. Their clothing is excellent, fits great and is of very high quality. I get complimented all the time on the shirts I purchased in October. I have always felt Princess by far had the best shops at sea, I am now excited to see what they will do for HAL(y)

[Roz]

I was on the same cruise as Lisa, and couldn't even find a postcard to buy in the onboard shops. In Mexico the stores wanted $1 each for postcards :eek: so I was sure I could buy nice ones on the ships for less. No luck.

 

Roz

[sail7seas]

Regarding the "O" shop...

 

Not everything in the area carries her signature O. I found many items that did not, specifically items that her on her favorite things list. The audio pets speakers, bath & body type products, a beautiful travel cape, a casual lounge outfit, etc. The prices for these items were the same as on land with the benefit of being duty free. So even if you don't care for Oprah or her branding you may find something nice in this area. Wander through the area, you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

 

I'f I wanted anything on her ' list, ' Amazon works just fine for me I do not 'fall' for her recommendations. :)

[ithaca gal]

I was on the same cruise as Lisa, and couldn't even find a postcard to buy in the onboard shops. In Mexico the stores wanted $1 each for postcards :eek: so I was sure I could buy nice ones on the ships for less. No luck.

 

Roz

 

I was surprised the first time I went to Cozumel that the going rate was $1 per card. I send fewer cards at that price!

[sail7seas]

That is flat out too much to charge for a post card. That is greedy and int he end they outsmart themselves. At $1, few people will buy any cards. Charge a moer sensible price and they could sell 100 or more per day a ship is in. Make a little less on each card but make a proffit on manf cards. It is simple arithmetic.

 

Nutty the ship didn't offer any post cards for sale.

[ithaca gal]

That is flat out too much to charge for a post card. That is greedy and int he end they outsmart themselves. At $1, few people will buy any cards. Charge a moer sensible price and they could sell 100 or more per day a ship is in. Make a little less on each card but make a proffit on manf cards. It is simple arithmetic.

 

Nutty the ship didn't offer any post cards for sale.

 

On some cruises that offer the Eastern Caribbean one week and the Western Caribbean the next, I have found post cards that have the ports from the LAST week's (or NEXT week's) cruise but none for the CURRENT one. To have a stocked postcard stand would be a very nice service for passengers.

[Sea girl 23]

Why're people so surprised that stuff on a cruise(even postcards)are expensive. Don't they usually have a few post cards in each stateroom?

[Roz]

There were no postcards in my cabin, but what I was looking for were postcards related to the ports we visited. I've never paid $1 for a postcard, even on a cruise ship, let alone in Mexico. I live in a tourist town, and you can walk into any Walgreen's and buy 3 or 4 for $1.

 

Roz

 

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[3rdGenCunarder]

There were no postcards in my cabin, but what I was looking for were postcards related to the ports we visited. I've never paid $1 for a postcard, even on a cruise ship, let alone in Mexico. I live in a tourist town, and you can walk into any Walgreen's and buy 3 or 4 for $1.

 

Roz

 

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It's been a couple of cruises since I've seen postcards in the shop. The last time I saw any they were all cards with HAL ships on them. No destination cards.

 

There used to be postcards of the ship in your cabin. On recent cruises I noticed they were generic--On Zuiderdam, it was a Vista, but with the name blanked out so that the card could be used on any of the 4 Vistas. And this last cruise, There were 2 postcards that looked like a HAL ad. There were 4 small pictures--a tree frog, a flower, a close up of a steward's uniform, an aerial shot of a ship at HMC. And in the center, it had the HAL logo and savor the journey. NOT a postcard I would send to anyone. (I did paste one into my journal, which is why I know what was on it.)

[ithaca gal]

Why're people so surprised that stuff on a cruise(even postcards)are expensive. Don't they usually have a few post cards in each stateroom?

 

We are not discussing the cost of postcards on a cruise ship. We are talking about postcards in Cozumel that cost $1 each. Don't know what the cost is on the cruise ship because they didn't have any destination postcards in the shops.

 

The few post cards in the room are not what I would send to my friends and relatives. l want to send them a card from a port I visited, to show them I was thinking of them while in (fill in the port). Not interested in sending generic freebies.

[ithaca gal]

Yeah..just pointing that out to people who think paying more than a dollar is too expensive. Y'all are too picky(and not just about postcards but that's off topic, so..)

 

It is certainly okay for you to pay more than a dollar for a postcard but it appears that most of us are unwilling to pay an inflated amount for something that can be found elsewhere at half or less than half that price. Don't quite understand how you can make the quantum leap from that to the statement of "Y'all are too picky (and not just about postcards).

 

LOL

[luvn2cruzzz]

The most tasteful items I have seen on a cruise ship recently were on the Koningsdam and they were part of the Oprah collection. Looks like some of you are going to miss out Too bad.

 

 

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