BEst Deals

[gwen1019]

I have a travel guide that says you can get the best prices/deals on everything from jewelry to electronics in St. Thomas. But I have friends that just got back from St. Martin and they are telling me St. Martin has the better deals.

 

I will be in Nassau, St. Thomas, & ST. Martin next month and would like to bring back some general souvenirs for friends, some alcohol, I'd like to check on a new digital camera, and my family collects Herend porcelain figurines so I would try and find that as well.

 

Out of these 3 ports, which is the cheapest for such items as I mentioned??? Now I'm looking for a bargain but don't want it to break by the time I get home either!! :)

 

Thanks!

[DiveCruiser]

It all depends if you find the right store and are willing to haggle the price. Both St Thomas and St Maarten are grea for jewelry. We got the best price on a Digital Camera in St Thomas @ one of the stores as you get off the ship. I think it was The RCL store.

 

Bob

[CruisinKelly]

We were told to purchase things in St. Thomas also, we did - next day went to St. Martin - prices were much better, we were disappointed we didn't know beforehand. We purchased jewelry, alcohol, cigarettes, a cam corder and general t-shirts and trinkets on that trip. Going again in two weeks and this time doing my shopping in St. Martin. Have a great time!

[amy2313]

We were told to purchase things in St. Thomas also, we did - next day went to St. Martin - prices were much better, we were disappointed we didn't know beforehand. We purchased jewelry, alcohol, cigarettes, a cam corder and general t-shirts and trinkets on that trip. Going again in two weeks and this time doing my shopping in St. Martin. Have a great time!

 

I was wondering the same thing about where the best prices could be found. Fill us in when you get back if St. Martin is still the best deals after your trip!! I leave at the end of Feb. - can't wait.

[msolberg]

We have purchased quite a bit of jewelry in St. Thomas. They have some really great deals. My DH purchased two diamond rings for me on seperate trips and a gold omega necklace.

 

I wonder if that's why we haven't visited the Eastern Caribbean in a while? :rolleyes:

 

Diane

[redshoe]

How great are the prices? Let's just say for example that a ring normally cost 1500- would the same ring be half ? Are the discounts really big and worth it?

[crisp1]

IMHO, I'd rather buy these items at home. Returns, warrantees and variety. maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think I'd find the exact digital camera I want at a much better savings than I can find on the internet. I just purchased a waterproof digital camera that I can't wait to take to the beach, snorkeling, cave tubing etc, and not worry about it getting wet

[molme]

Last year on our Glory eastern cruise my husband and his brother bought Citizen Eco Drive watches. The same identical watch. One in St Thomas and one in St Marteen. The one bought in St Marteen was about $25 cheaper.

 

Found that booze was cheaper in St Thomas. As for tee shirts and other such things, buy in Nassau.

[toledo]

Be careful when buying diamonds in St. Thomas (or anywhere for that matter ). I bought one in St. Thomas and when I brought it home and had it appraised, it was no where near the color and clarity the St. Thomas jeweler had appraised it at. I was able to return it. The "good" price I thought I had gotten turned out to be about fair market value here in the U.S. I had to wait about two months for a refund because he "didn't have that large of a sum" to send me.

[mame2boyz]

We just got back a week ago and.....

 

I found the prices to be cheaper in St. Maarten on most everything we were looking for.

 

We bought shirts in Nassau and wish we hadn't cause they were cheaper in St. Maarten. On the main strip in Phillipsburg-st. maarten, most stores had things 3 for $10. Like t shirts, nice baseball caps, bags etc.... as far as souveniors and they let you mix and match.

 

Jewelry we found better deals in St. Maarten. I was looking for a 14 KT white gold caribbean topaz ring with diamonds set around it as a souvenior of our cruise and anniversary. In St. Thomas for comparable rings they came down from $500 to $250-$300. In St. Maarten the ring I wanted was originally priced at $550 and I got it for right around $160 w/ sizing and everything.

 

Electronics....I really wasn't shopping for so I can't help you there. Just know what you are wanting and know the price it is here. Plus on stuff like I think I would want to buy from somewhere with a warranty. But thats JMO.

 

:)

Kendra

[SojChindo]

My vote also has to go to St. Maarten. Our first visit to the island was on a CCL cruise last year in which we missed a port and they used St. Maarten as our compensatory port. We had no idea as to what to expect, but we loved it so much that we went back for a week this past November. We have also been to Nassau (somewhat dissapointing for us, although diamond prices were decent) and St. Thomas (did not purchase there, but did browse a bit).

 

I have purchased watches, gold, tanzanite, hot diamonds (a jewelry brand) and pottery (Delft) on St. Maarten. I also priced digital cameras and IPODs, both of which had significant savings over the US. Here are a few "pointers" that I would share:

 

1. Check and see how many ships are in port with you. More ships equates to less willingness to bagain... they assume if you don't buy someone else will. But bargains can still be found.

 

2. If you want to make larger purchases, get off the ship and be in Phillipsburg when the shops open (especially if there will be a lot of ships in port that day). It sounds cliche-ish, but the owners will offer you a better deal as their "first customer of the day". I guess they want to start the day off right.

 

3. It's been said before, but (IMO) avoid the stores the cruise ship recommends. You can look in there, but better bargains are to be found in some of the smaller shops.

 

4. Phillipsburg has better prices than Marigold -- although we bought DH a Citizen watch for $200 that normally retails for $595 in Marigold. Weeks later in the US it went on sale for $395.

 

5. Finally, if you are looking to purchase several larger items see if you can find one store that carries most of what you want. I had found a necklace for $100 and a watch for $185 that I wanted to buy. I initially hesitated at buying both until I was offered both for $200. I continued to price the items even after I made the purchase, and I would not have come close to that price if purchased seperately.

 

Good luck and happy shopping!