Ventura Watch Shop

[himan]

Booked on Ventura for Canaries cruise October 2020 and wanting to buy a watch when onboard. I am wondering if anyone knows if they are selling Longines watches onboard, specifically the HydroConquest automatic. Thanks in advance for any help with this.

[smj777]

Yes, my wife bought a Longines watch 18 months ago on Ventura. When we checked the same watch in the UK was exactly the same price, so do your research before you go.

 

[Sheep Flavour]

Hi Mate. I am currently on that ship now. If I remember I will pop in and ask. FYI I have seen Tag and pre owned Rolex so far

[himan]

9 hours ago, Sheep Flavour said:

Hi Mate. I am currently on that ship now. If I remember I will pop in and ask. FYI I have seen Tag and pre owned Rolex so far

Thanks very much for that, much appreciated! I did buy a Tag automatic on Independence of The Seas 2/3 years ago but had a few problems with it and eventually had to go for a full refund (personally I think it was due to the so called knowledgable salesman trying to adjust the date when the time was set to where it shouldn't have been, he did this when I was watching but I said nothing as I thought it would be alright. It was also the display model as he lied to me and said it was the last one. Two lessons learned, I would never buy one that is on display and I would never trust the salesperson to set it for me as I am completely anal about my watches. I will hopefully be able to pick one up on the cruise if the price is right. Thanks again and enjoy your cruise.

Edited November 8, 2019 by himan

[himan]

8 hours ago, smj777 said:

Yes, my wife bought a Longines watch 18 months ago on Ventura. When we checked the same watch in the UK was exactly the same price, so do your research before you go.

 

Thanks for that info, I can live in hope that they have the HydroConquest automatic when I am onboard then. I know what you mean about pricing as I bought a Tag automatic on Independence of The Seas 2/3 years ago (see above post for more info) The price saved me about £300 of the shore price but it actually caused me a lot of trouble and spent more time in for repair than in my hands all the time I had it. Think I just got unlucky and it won't deter me buying onboard again, I'll just make sure I retain control of the whole buying and handling experience of any watch I purchase.

[Thejuggler]

Three things you never buy new,  cars, cameras and watches.

[himan]

1 hour ago, Thejuggler said:

Three things you never buy new,  cars, cameras and watches.

Crikey, I've failed on all 3 counts numerous times! 🤣 

[terrierjohn]

Never really understood the desire to buy expensive watches, my £35 Accurust quartz keeps perfect time, probably more accurate even than a Swiss jewelled movement one costing 100 times more, and that's all I want from any watch, perfect timekeeping.

[wowzz]

Can't understand why you want to buy an expensive watch on board- if it goes wrong,  sitting it out can be a reall issue.

I buy my watches from the Amazon pre-used site. The watch I am currently wearing cost £7.99, plus delivery, so less than  £12. 

One of the problems these days, is that wearing an expensive watch just shouts "rob me!". Plus of course, it makes you look like a pimp, or wannabe gangsta!   

[funinhounslow]

If you're going to the Canaries I'm pretty sure the prices quoted in the watch shop will be duty free. And if you are in the Peninsular Club you'll get that discount too.

 

But it should be possible to get close to this price in the UK - with a bit of a haggle you should be able to get a decent discount at a high street jeweller. 

 

Congratulations on your choice btw - I bought a Hydroconquest a few years ago and it is a wonderful watch. The new ones with the ceramic bezels can't be beat at their price imo.

[funinhounslow]

10 hours ago, Thejuggler said:

Three things you never buy new,  cars, cameras and watches.

 

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

Can't understand why you want to buy an expensive watch on board-

 

8 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Never really understood the desire to buy expensive watches, 

 

As a non-drinker I struggle to see the value in a £40/day drinks package but it would be pretty odd if I went onto the "drinks packages and prices" thread and said that wouldn't it?

 

We're all different and like spending our money on different things...

[manonabike]

Pre-owned Rolex? now that's interesting. Can anyone give any more details. The last couple of cruises have been on Aurora so not seen them on sale before. Could be a good use of OBC

[MickD]

Be sure you know about what your buying when looking at pre owned Rolexes.

Royal Caribbean sell pre owned Rolexes and most of them are 20 odd year old Datejusts, that they have put cheap aftermarket diamond bezels on.

They were priced up at about $14000, but reduced to about $11000 to make you think you were getting a good deal, but in reality you could buy the same watch in the uk for about £3500.

You won’t see any sports Rolexes ie submariners GMT’s etc just old overpriced run of the mill ones.

Not saying p&o will be the same, because I’ve never seen them sell preowned before, will def be checking them out on Azura later this month.

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, funinhounslow said:

 

 

 

As a non-drinker I struggle to see the value in a £40/day drinks package but it would be pretty odd if I went onto the "drinks packages and prices" thread and said that wouldn't it?

 

We're all different and like spending our money on different things...

Very true but surely you are not suggesting that opposite views should be banned, that would amount to censorship, which I believe is the reserve of the moderators.

[funinhounslow]

24 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Very true but surely you are not suggesting that opposite views should be banned, that would amount to censorship, which I believe is the reserve of the moderators.

No of course not. Just saying I wouldn’t wade into the drink package forum and tell the people there they were wasting their money, and suggest brandy drinkers look like “pimps” and “gangsters”. That’s all... x

[himan]

3 hours ago, funinhounslow said:

If you're going to the Canaries I'm pretty sure the prices quoted in the watch shop will be duty free. And if you are in the Peninsular Club you'll get that discount too.

 

But it should be possible to get close to this price in the UK - with a bit of a haggle you should be able to get a decent discount at a high street jeweller. 

 

Congratulations on your choice btw - I bought a Hydroconquest a few years ago and it is a wonderful watch. The new ones with the ceramic bezels can't be beat at their price imo.

Glad to hear you are pleased with the HydroConquest, it has caught my eye in the last few days and I will probably go for the ceramic bezel model. I had an Omega Seamaster 300M but sold that earlier this year, wish I hadn't now as the price has jumped a good bit, previously had an Oris Aquis which I really liked apart from the fact it gained about 20 seconds per day. Longines seem to be better regulated so thinking to try them for a change.

[terrierjohn]

25 minutes ago, funinhounslow said:

No of course not. Just saying I wouldn’t wade into the drink package forum and tell the people there they were wasting their money, and suggest brandy drinkers look like “pimps” and “gangsters”. That’s all... x

You would be quite entitled to suggest that in your opinion a drinks package was a waste of money, something on which we agree, and I imagine Wowzz was only being humorous, as well as maybe a bit cheeky with his comments.  

[himan]

11 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Never really understood the desire to buy expensive watches, my £35 Accurust quartz keeps perfect time, probably more accurate even than a Swiss jewelled movement one costing 100 times more, and that's all I want from any watch, perfect timekeeping.

I know what you're saying but it's like cars. Why spend £80,000 on a car when you can get brand new for £15,000. It's personal taste, I also have quartz watches including one that syncs with the atomic clock so is extremely accurate but it's the whole mechanical thing that appeals to me as well as the appreciation of Swiss craftsmanship. I remember the days before quartz watches came out and everything was mechanical movement. 

[himan]

3 hours ago, funinhounslow said:

 

 

 

As a non-drinker I struggle to see the value in a £40/day drinks package but it would be pretty odd if I went onto the "drinks packages and prices" thread and said that wouldn't it?

 

We're all different and like spending our money on different things...

Well said, I completely agree. Thankfully everyone likes different things or we would all be driving around one make of cheap car with one make of cheap watch on our wrist or even better you could save money and just work with the sun.

[himan]

11 hours ago, wowzz said:

Can't understand why you want to buy an expensive watch on board- if it goes wrong,  sitting it out can be a reall issue.

I buy my watches from the Amazon pre-used site. The watch I am currently wearing cost £7.99, plus delivery, so less than  £12. 

One of the problems these days, is that wearing an expensive watch just shouts "rob me!". Plus of course, it makes you look like a pimp, or wannabe gangsta!   

Don't think I agree with the pimp or wannabe gangsta statement, same could be said about most things in life if that was the case. I don't feel anyone should judge anyone else on what they want to spend their money on as everyone has different passions in life, think how boring life would be if we all liked the same thing. I bought an expensive Tag on a cruise which proved faulty as mentioned in my post above and Harding Brothers who ran the shops at the time could not have been more helpful and gave me a full refund. 

[himan]

12 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Never really understood the desire to buy expensive watches, my £35 Accurust quartz keeps perfect time, probably more accurate even than a Swiss jewelled movement one costing 100 times more, and that's all I want from any watch, perfect timekeeping.

Can't argue with that, but I would never feel content with a £35 watch on my wrist, if you want quality you have to be prepared to pay for it. You can always sell an expensive watch a few years down the line or leave it to your family, I don't think I would bother leaving them a bargain basement watch.

[wowzz]

29 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

You would be quite entitled to suggest that in your opinion a drinks package was a waste of money, something on which we agree, and I imagine Wowzz was only being humorous, as well as maybe a bit cheeky with his comments.  

Yes, to be honest I was being a little provocative in  my comnents!

I can see the appeal of a fine piece of understated craftsmanship. It's the "bling" type watches that scream "look at me!" thay I find unappealing. It's like the difference between a black Roll Royce and a gold plated Cadillac. One says class,  one says classless. 

[manonabike]

3 hours ago, MickD said:

Be sure you know about what your buying when looking at pre owned Rolexes.

Royal Caribbean sell pre owned Rolexes and most of them are 20 odd year old Datejusts, that they have put cheap aftermarket diamond bezels on.

They were priced up at about $14000, but reduced to about $11000 to make you think you were getting a good deal, but in reality you could buy the same watch in the uk for about £3500.

You won’t see any sports Rolexes ie submariners GMT’s etc just old overpriced run of the mill ones.

Not saying p&o will be the same, because I’ve never seen them sell preowned before, will def be checking them out on Azura later this month.

$11000 for datejust! I'd want huge diamonds on that! The age of the watches are not an issue, in fact I like the comfort of the old 5 digit models.
Can't imagine boot-sale bargains but if reasonably priced it could be a good use of leftover OBC. Will have to wait for Iona in May 

[Son of Anarchy]

13 hours ago, wowzz said:

Can't understand why you want to buy an expensive watch on board- if it goes wrong,  sitting it out can be a reall issue.

I buy my watches from the Amazon pre-used site. The watch I am currently wearing cost £7.99, plus delivery, so less than  £12. 

One of the problems these days, is that wearing an expensive watch just shouts "rob me!". Plus of course, it makes you look like a pimp, or wannabe gangsta!   

 

My Omega Speedmaster Professional makes me look like Neil Armstrong.

Must get a Tag Heuer Monaco - Then I will look like Steve McQueen!

[terrierjohn]

38 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

 

My Omega Speedmaster Professional makes me look like Neil Armstrong.

Must get a Tag Heuer Monaco - Then I will look like Steve McQueen!

I don't need to wear a posh watch to look like a celebrity, I already look like George Clooney! That is a joke by the way.