Are port talks just infomercials?

[Maplemoose]

On NCL, port talks are nothing but shilling for the shops offering kickbacks to the cruise line. No other useful info is given. I am pretty sure Carnival would be the same but I would love to be told I am wrong. Anyone?

[joepeka]

I have not attended one of those port talk sessions on Carnival in several cruises with them but in my opinion, yes, they are geared toward the preferred vendors in the ports ("infomercials" if you will). I'm not saying those sessions are totally worthless but they definitely highlight the vendors that have a mutual relationship with Carnival. Perhaps someone who attended one recently can give better, more current feedback.

ETA: It's also the same on the other main stream cruise lines that we've sailed.

[A&Jfamily]

Carnival is pretty much a sales thing for excursions, shops etc. The only time you will find something different is if it is advertised as being held by some expert say in Alaska.

 

 

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[billslowsky]

You get to hear that "this is one of my favorites" for ten excursions on a 7 night cruise. And maybe if you sit up front you'll win a snorkel.

[firefly333]

yep a lot of people go to sitt middle front to catch free stuff being thrown out by the person reading the talk.

 

but like they said its just a list of where not to shop.

 

We also had a naturalist onboard Alaska who gave talks, those were good ... not to be compared to the shopping talks.

[Micahs Grandad]

Unless your going to Hawaii or Alaska boring stupid and a waste of time as my son used to say about school

[dmdiver]

They're pretty much a waste of time that you could be spending by the pool. They also air them on the tv if you want to check it out in your cabin. Yes, they do have a few freebies. Got a bottle of del sol nail polish once. It went on clear, then turned red in the sun. That would have been fine, if it had been a nice even coat. Unfortunately, it looked terrible.

[coevan]

Like the shore excursions, Carnival uses their "fear factor" on where to shop. If you shop at Carnival sponsored stores, you won't get ripped off. Some people are not comfortable going off the grid, same with shore excursions. We like to live a little on the wild side.

[Micahs Grandad]

Like the shore excursions, Carnival uses their "fear factor" on where to shop. If you shop at Carnival sponsored stores, you won't get ripped off. Some people are not comfortable going off the grid, same with shore excursions. We like to live a little on the wild side.

 

And do not forget to stock up on gold by the inch. Guaranteed to turn your skin black.

[coevan]

And do not forget to stock up on gold by the inch. Guaranteed to turn your skin black.

 

 

and try returning them with your "life time guarantee" Caveat, they due tell you it is plated and not real

[Mikew0805]

Yep... Also don't be afraid of non sponsored stores. It could just mean that they are not giving CCL a kickback. Just do your research.

[Micahs Grandad]

Yep... Also don't be afraid of non sponsored stores. It could just mean that they are not giving CCL a kickback. Just do your research.

 

Bear in mind this is not a local jewelry store looking for a customer who will be coming back. As a result they will look to get what the traffic will bear and the quality might not be what you think it is or told what it is.

 

Never understood why people will buy expensive jewelry from people they will never see again.

[RWolver672]

On our first cruise, the CD told us not to shop at the stores right at the pier in St Thomas. He said the prices are sky high like what you would pay at an airport shop. After wandering through the recommended stores, we decided to go through the shops at the pier. In some cases, their prices were lower than what they were in the recommended stores. Lesson learned.

 

One port talk that you definitely need to go to is if you are stopping in Cuba. It is very informative and they don't try to push any stores. They tell you what to do and what not to do. They explained how customs work, how to exchange our money into theirs, what the rate of exchange is etc. We stayed there overnight and they told us what time we had to be back on board the following morning. If you are ever going on a cruise that stops in Cuba, that is one port talk not to miss.

[ray98]

Yes.....

[Purvis1231]

On NCL, port talks are nothing but shilling for the shops offering kickbacks to the cruise line. No other useful info is given. I am pretty sure Carnival would be the same but I would love to be told I am wrong. Anyone?

 

I am not sure what a shill is but

I hope that everyone going on a cruise realizes that everything is about marketing, selling, and making money. I thought that was the American way. The cruise lines make certain deals with shops to provide services and in the case of Carnival provides certain guarantees of quality. Waiters are rewarded for pushing certain drinks, taxi drivers are paid for bring people to

certain resorts, and so on. The key is knowing what you are buying and following the age old axiom-

Caveat emptor.

[Micahs Grandad]

I am not sure what a shill is but

I hope that everyone going on a cruise realizes that everything is about marketing, selling, and making money. I thought that was the American way. The cruise lines make certain deals with shops to provide services and in the case of Carnival provides certain guarantees of quality. Waiters are rewarded for pushing certain drinks, taxi drivers are paid for bring people to

certain resorts, and so on. The key is knowing what you are buying and following the age old axiom-

Caveat emptor.

 

Looking at all the people in the Diamond International's of the world do not think that many people realize what is going on.

[LMaxwell]

On NCL, port talks are nothing but shilling for the shops offering kickbacks to the cruise line. No other useful info is given. I am pretty sure Carnival would be the same but I would love to be told I am wrong. Anyone?

 

You're not wrong. There is nothing of historical or cultural value offered at these talks. They tell you where to find tanzanite, bamboo sheets, and other stuff you generally only seem to hear about on cruise vacations at the cruise line approved shops. Here's a map. You can get a free trinket.

[deadmoney]

You could always look at the port talks as a heads up on where not to go.;p

[Purvis1231]

Looking at all the people in the Diamond International's of the world do not think that many people realize what is going on.

 

Well, maybe the marketing works. I do hope before anyone would buy a high price item, they would seek out some free wifi and investigate the product and the store.

 

The most expensive thing my family has ever purchased was some titanium wedding bands. We had researched the price before we sailed so we knew what to pay. Even with that, we did not get a great deal but we bought them anyway.

[evandbob]

Actually, almost anything that comes out of a CD's mouth is pure shilling, maybe except for the time to be back on board. As soon as a CD says "This is something you will not want to miss" I know whatever follows is an advertisement, infomercial, paid commercial attempt to get more money for the cruise line and I can safely tune it out.

 

This is true for any of the mass market lines, not just Carnival.

[lasekeye]

I have mixed feelings about the “port talks”.

Yes, I think the host is trying to sell and they do have silly give aways, but I always go to the talks. (DH waits in the casino ;p).

The reason I go, is because I have picked up maps that weren’t handed out at the gang plank. I’ve also learned about free shuttles to Diamonds International...never, ever will I step foot into that store, but the free ride to town and back is wonderful.

[cruisemom67]

Yes. Yes. Yes. The cruise loses money on you if you don't buy drinks, or pictures, or spa services, or art, or shore excursions ...or spend money in their shops, or lose money at the casino....bingo...etc. they also get kickbacks from the places they tell you to shop at port.

 

We went to them on our first couple cruises. Haven't been since. The only time I would go is if I didn't know anything about the island at all. But do a little research before your cruise and skip the port talk.

[IPlayWithString]

Like the shore excursions, Carnival uses their "fear factor" on where to shop. If you shop at Carnival sponsored stores, you won't get ripped off. Some people are not comfortable going off the grid, same with shore excursions. We like to live a little on the wild side.

 

I'd rather be a little bit safe and know that if something goes wrong on an excursion, I can go back onboard and talk to somebody about it right then and there and not have to wait until I get home several days later to have the issue resolved. I also like the fact that even if the excursion is late getting back, the ship WILL wait for us because we are on a Carnival excursion.

 

We've had one excursion (through Carnival) go incredibly sideways and every time we go to Montego Bay, the bus ends up being at least an hour late getting back no matter what excursion we go on EVERY SINGLE TIME. We know that's going to happen and we kind of expect it at this point, tbh.

 

You wanna go "off the grid"? You do your thing then. For us, "going off the grid" isn't really an option. When you're travelling with an autistic person (as we are, with our son), you more or less have to tightly control every single element of your cruise (whether onboard ship or on shore in port) to the greatest extent possible. Because one thing going wrong can cause a massive meltdown and that's not something that's fun to deal with ANYWHERE. Least of all when you're in the middle of the jungle and there's literally nowhere to take them to calm down and get away from the rest of the group because it's too hot, too bright, too cold, too noisy, too much scent from plants, animals and perfumes/colognes. We try our best to AVOID it happening by preparing him as much as we can beforehand by talking about it, explaining what we're going to do, watching videos on Youtube (if they are available and generally they are), that sort of thing. Travelling (whether it is on a ship, on land, whatever) is a tightly controlled delicately orchestrated form of chaos for us and people like us with kids/family members on the spectrum.

[Micahs Grandad]

I'd rather be a little bit safe and know that if something goes wrong on an excursion, I can go back onboard and talk to somebody about it right then and there and not have to wait until I get home several days later to have the issue resolved. I also like the fact that even if the excursion is late getting back, the ship WILL wait for us because we are on a Carnival excursion.

 

We've had one excursion (through Carnival) go incredibly sideways and every time we go to Montego Bay, the bus ends up being at least an hour late getting back no matter what excursion we go on EVERY SINGLE TIME. We know that's going to happen and we kind of expect it at this point, tbh.

 

You wanna go "off the grid"? You do your thing then. For us, "going off the grid" isn't really an option. When you're travelling with an autistic person (as we are, with our son), you more or less have to tightly control every single element of your cruise (whether onboard ship or on shore in port) to the greatest extent possible. Because one thing going wrong can cause a massive meltdown and that's not something that's fun to deal with ANYWHERE. Least of all when you're in the middle of the jungle and there's literally nowhere to take them to calm down and get away from the rest of the group because it's too hot, too bright, too cold, too noisy, too much scent from plants, animals and perfumes/colognes. We try our best to AVOID it happening by preparing him as much as we can beforehand by talking about it, explaining what we're going to do, watching videos on Youtube (if they are available and generally they are), that sort of thing. Travelling (whether it is on a ship, on land, whatever) is a tightly controlled delicately orchestrated form of chaos for us and people like us with kids/family members on the spectrum.

 

Makes all the sense in the world to do as you do.

[Tiger0613]

I don't shop at the recommended shops except for Del Sol. I get a shirt from there in each new port. I don't go back to Del Sol on repeat visits to that port.