Carnival ridiculous overpriced merchanise

[Butterbean1000]

10 hours ago, starstruck05 said:

That would be MMK not Guess. Guess has been around for decades and while not high end its not bottom of the barrel. Maybe no one buys it where you work but plenty are sold other places. 

I didn't say no one buys them.  We sell lots of them.  I'm saying they are not a premium brand.  The average price of an MK is $300 to $600+.  Guess is under $100.  We don't put security tags on them.  We don't have a theft problem with them like we do with like a brand like Coach, etc.

[ledges1]

I just bought an 18 pack for 16.99 before tax at the grocery store. The cost was $.94 per can. At $7 on the ship, that is a 700% markup. That is probably higher than the markup in the Fun Shops.

[starstruck05]

39 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I didn't say no one buys them.  We sell lots of them.  I'm saying they are not a premium brand.  The average price of an MK is $300 to $600+.  Guess is under $100.  We don't put security tags on them.  We don't have a theft problem with them like we do with like a brand like Coach, etc.

I wasn't referring to MK. MMK is a subsidiary of MK and is the cheap brand. Cost $25-$100 a bag or less. 

[BrentD]

The fragrances, in my experience, are about the only thing on the ship that are competitively priced vs. land-based retailers. But then again, both places are overpriced for scented water. Jewelry and watch prices printed on the price tags are all manufactured fantasies on and off the ship so salespeople can pull out their trusty calculator and show you what a deal you're getting, even though the items have never been sold once for the price on the tag. Those inflated Invicta watch price tags are probably the worst on a cruise ship. Watches from Invicta marked $300+ you can buy on Amazon for $50, and on the ship they tell you what a deal you're getting at $115 or something.

[Pyrate13]

I agree with many of the others, if you don't like the price then don't buy the item. Pretty simple concept.

[staceyglow]

10 hours ago, Sgwscruiser said:

JUST DON'T BUY IT. 

I have posted this multiple times when people have complained about prices on the ship for things like bottled water, cabanas, etc., but I think this is a little different. Just like the "artwork", it's a little more difficult to determine if things like jewelry and purses are a good deal or not. I am not surprised to hear that they are not. Thanks to the OP for sharing this information. 

[mz-s]

5 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

I have posted this multiple times when people have complained about prices on the ship for things like bottled water, cabanas, etc., but I think this is a little different. Just like the "artwork", it's a little more difficult to determine if things like jewelry and purses are a good deal or not. I am not surprised to hear that they are not. Thanks to the OP for sharing this information. 

 

Most people don't typically buy Tanzanite or fine fragrances, specialty watches etc so folks don't have a frame of reference for if it's a good deal or not. That's a good point.

[Butterbean1000]

22 minutes ago, starstruck05 said:

I wasn't referring to MK. MMK is a subsidiary of MK and is the cheap brand. Cost $25-$100 a bag or less. 

Sorry, never heard of that.

[Butterbean1000]

2 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Most people don't typically buy Tanzanite or fine fragrances, specialty watches etc so folks don't have a frame of reference for if it's a good deal or not. That's a good point.

Working at a department store, I feel like I have a very good handle on what is a good deal on the ship, especially with my employee discount,  so not much.  Also, when I tell the spa folks I work at M***ys, they stop with the sales pitch.

[BrentD]

With the prevalence of actually good wifi on cruise ships now, it's pretty easy to compare prices with the real world on anything but maybe the artwork for sale. But of course you've got to pay the overly inflated price for the wifi to do that, too. Kind of a no win situation there. On my last RCL cruise I found one of the aforementioned Invicta brand watches that I really liked during the "big sale" they had during the week. I looked it up on Amazon on my phone and saw I could get it for about $75 less there than the "sale" price on the ship. So I ordered it right there in the Promenade and had it waiting on me when I got home. 

[nancy1031]

several yrs ago i got a beautiful silver & tourqoise dolphin necklace for under $15 as the ship was going into drydock the following wk & they didn't want to box all the stuff up- had it appraised for over $150!!!! Glad I bought it as i get alot of compliments on it!!!!

[staceyglow]

2 hours ago, BrentD said:

With the prevalence of actually good wifi on cruise ships now, it's pretty easy to compare prices with the real world on anything but maybe the artwork for sale. But of course you've got to pay the overly inflated price for the wifi to do that, too. Kind of a no win situation there. On my last RCL cruise I found one of the aforementioned Invicta brand watches that I really liked during the "big sale" they had during the week. I looked it up on Amazon on my phone and saw I could get it for about $75 less there than the "sale" price on the ship. So I ordered it right there in the Promenade and had it waiting on me when I got home. 

I suppose they don't price match on the ship.

[mz-s]

Just now, staceyglow said:

I suppose they don't price match on the ship.

 

They say they do but I have never tested the policy to have any first-hand knowledge.

[nancy1031]

also thought the alcohol was way overpriced on the ship- bought 4 bottles of absolut vodka in st thomas for $18 each(Oct 2023) - ship was selling it for $50 per bottle- they used to match the prices in the islands for liquor-even with our expensive prices of liquor in clev, the ship was way overpriced- bottle of absolut is $34 +9% tax, and another 1% sin tax, still makes it cheaper then the ship-also if you're interested in the artwork, look at park west website- you can see alot of the same artwork that Park West sells on the ship

[skywalkr2]

56 minutes ago, nancy1031 said:

also thought the alcohol was way overpriced on the ship- bought 4 bottles of absolut vodka in st thomas for $18 each(Oct 2023) - ship was selling it for $50 per bottle- they used to match the prices in the islands for liquor-even with our expensive prices of liquor in clev, the ship was way overpriced- bottle of absolut is $34 +9% tax, and another 1% sin tax, still makes it cheaper then the ship-also if you're interested in the artwork, look at park west website- you can see alot of the same artwork that Park West sells on the ship

it really depends.  Alcohol used to have much better deals, for sure.  But even now sometimes you can get some good ones. Last cruise I got (I think) 3 bottles of Captain Morgan for $30.

[Cruiseman38]

On 4/21/2024 at 11:38 AM, Jkfg said:

You do know that the shops on board are not owed by Carnival, right???  Also, if you don't like the prices, then don't buy anything, simple.

 

 

 

 

[Purvis1231]

On 4/21/2024 at 5:16 PM, Noledad77 said:

This is the same reason a 20oz soda bottle is $5 or more in an airport. You're a captive audience. I do hope you're not shocked by this revelation...

Right, calling overpriced items a scam is not understanding marketing. Most people who buy these goods have onboard credit they need to spend or maybe they just want to buy something. I personally, like buy Rayban sunglass in port for $10.00, 

[cmichael1221]

17 hours ago, Purvis1231 said:

Right, calling overpriced items a scam is not understanding marketing. Most people who buy these goods have onboard credit they need to spend or maybe they just want to buy something. I personally, like buy Rayban sunglass in port for $10.00, 

You beat me to the point about the OBC.  With so much of it floating around these days, I'd bet a lot of it goes to merchandise, for people who don't drink/gamble/etc.

[mikayla73]

We generally consider what they are selling in the shops on the ships to be inflated prices. We were comparing prices on a watch that DH wanted. We were cruising soon, so we waited to see if there were any deals to be had on the ship. It was cheaper on Amazon. Though the watch guy on the ship tried hard to convince us to buy there anyway with some "specials" to spend more money and buy more for the "deal" ... ummm no.

[Butterbean1000]

On 4/22/2024 at 2:03 PM, staceyglow said:

I suppose they don't price match on the ship.

They price match alcohol.   I brought them a picture of rum from port that was a couple $s cheaper and the ship matched it.

[Joebucks]

Breaking news: vacation gift shops are not cheaper than internet retail

[john91498]

18 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

Breaking news: vacation gift shops are not cheaper than internet retail

 

Shocking, isn't it???

[mz-s]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

Breaking news: vacation gift shops are not cheaper than internet retail

 

How many vacation gift shops constantly tell you how great of a deal they are because it's "tax and duty free" etc?

[sredish]

I don't get it...every other tourist attraction (Disney, other cruise lines, gift shops in tourist beach destinations, fake "outlet malls", etc) all have overpriced merchandise you can get cheaper elsewhere and at home.  Why let it bother you so much?  It isn't just Carnival.  Nobody is forcing you to buy it.  If you need a purse that badly, get it at a Walmart in port.

[joe/jack]

On 4/22/2024 at 8:58 AM, Pyrate13 said:

I agree with many of the others, if you don't like the price then don't buy the item. Pretty simple concept.

If you don’t like price than move on 

Simply decision