Shopping coupon Books?

[PearlRabbit]

I was just wondering about the shopping coupon books that are sold the day before port days. I was wondering what they cost and if they are really worth it? We are traveling on the Majesty of the Seas to Key West and Nassau, and I'm curious if I should get the coupon books. Thanks so much! Emily

[vmom]

If I remember correctly, they are $20. In my opinion they are not worth it, but others may disagree.

[lovemylab]

When I was on the Explorer last October the coupon books were $20. For us they weren't worth it because we didn't plan on buying jewellry.

[ILoveScotland]

I've seen them for sale on Ebay for starting bid of a lot less than $20.00.

[lv2cruisgrl]

I would say don't bother for the ports you are going to. If you are buying jewelry and going to St Thomas or St Maarten then you may find it useful. I was on Sov in July and I don't think they even sold them as it was only a 4 night cruise.

[ravij9]

I just go off the Sovereign from a 4 night cruise. They sold the "Platinum Passports" for $20. I think that if you are going to do shopping while at ports, they are a good deal. They also include a lot of free stuff. The books will also be good for future cruises.

[irb33785]

I bought one in September and the coupons are good until the end of the year. I thought I could use them on the west coast but they aren't for the Mexican Rivera. If you purchase early in the year, cruise more than once and shop a lot, it might be worthwhile.

[benjidog]

I found it to be a waste of money.:(

[shipknotshore]

I purchased one on the Navigator OTS last year and was told (on this board) that I will be able to exchange it for a current edition when I go on the Jewel OTS next month. If you can keep exchanging them it would be a pretty decent deal. If you buy one and only intend to use a couple of coupons I wouldn't bother.

[honeymoon4life]

My husband and I did too, although we have one leftover from our honeymoon cruise and will be using for our upcoming trip in March. But honestly, if you are not buying jewelry it's not worth it. I remember we stopped one place in cozumel to get a "free" margarita and it was awful! Actually most the things we got with the coupons are sitting in a drawer somewhere and not ever put to good use.

[SA Traveler]

I don't really think they are worth it unless there is something specific you are looking for that has a meaningful discount. I have one DIL gave me that expires in November and I think ther may be a free cigar or appetizer in a port we will visit but probably nothing we would use.

[swscruiser]

Don't do it. You can negociate a better deal than what the discounts are. And the discounts you get can not be used after you have negociated you best price, the discounts are only given off the list prices.

 

Keith

[Leslie K]

I got one on my first cruise. Honestly, I wasn't shopping for expensive gems so there weren't savings there. I felt like a begger going into a store with my "free" coupon not planning to buy an expensive piece of jewelry, and the free things are not worth it. We got a pair of free tanzanite earings - the tansanite is so small you almost need a magnifying glass to see the chip. If you want jewelry, honestly, most ports have coupon books available. I know I picked one up in St. Martin and another in St. Thomas as we were walking off the dock. I think they were as good as the one I bought on board, and they were free!!!

[Merion_Mom]

I was just wondering about the shopping coupon books that are sold the day before port days. I was wondering what they cost and if they are really worth it? We are traveling on the Majesty of the Seas to Key West and Nassau, and I'm curious if I should get the coupon books. Thanks so much! Emily

Emily: In the vocabulary of my wonderful high school students: It sucks.

 

:) :D

[trailhiker]

Total, complete rip-off. Most of the stores were handing out junk and some of them didn't even have anymore junk to hand out. The only halfway decent thing was a totebag from one store.

[dougp26364]

The "free" stuff isn't much more than you'll get out of a Cracker Jack box. Good for giving to little girls who are maybe 10-13 years old but otherwise worthless. The "free" precious stones they give out are of such low quality that they're not worth paying any amount of money to have them set into a ring, neckless or ear rings.

 

As for the discounts on jewelry, if you shop for it at stores other than on the recommended list, you can find better prices and equal quality. ALL stores are willing to make a "deal" (it's overpriced to begin with) if you have the patience to stand there and haggle with them. Those coupons are mostly good for % off the listed price and no one seems to sell for the listed price.

 

Fortunately, the one time we purchased one of those books we actually wanted the Del Sol bag that was free with the purchase of the book. The Del Sol bag retailed for $20 and I don't think they came down on the price of that item (they probably did but I want to believe the didn't). So, for us it was a wash and a lesson to not buy that book anymore.

 

However, having said that each ship seems to sell out of them very quickly on every cruise we're on. Just goes to show you that people are either so used to good deals with coupon books (like the Entertainment books) or, there's not as many people reading these forums as you'd like to think.

 

On our last cruise we did see a fare amount of people with those books going from store to store getting their free gifts and they seemed excited about it. Sort of like a scavenger hunt. I just can't see getting excited about going from store to store picking up pieces of jewelry that's worth maybe $5 to $15 retail one of the stores in the mall built on selling stuff to teenagers when I've reached the age that I am. Junk jewelry just doesn't do it for us.

[Happy ks]

I've seen these books and would never bother with them.

 

Of course, I'm not one to go shopping on vacation, I want to see the sights! I already shop too much at home:o

[BigDogCruiser]

The book isn't worth the $20. In fact it isn't worth the $3.50 I paid on eBay. I did pick up some trinkets in St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Since my cruise was E. Caribbean, I arranged with my Stateroom Attendant to leave my book in the cabin for the next occupants of the cabin. Maybe they can use the W. Caribbean (Ocho Rios, G. Cayman, Cozumel) coupons this week.

[hazeleyes35]

We saved money buying the book on getting free bingo cards, discount on massages, free pearl earrings with purchase of a necklace, free quesadilla in San Juan, free $650 painting and a few other things.

I don't know if I would purchase it again but it wasn't that bad of a deal this time.

[hazeleyes35]

We saved money buying the book on getting free bingo cards, discount on massages, free pearl earrings with purchase of a necklace, free quesadilla in San Juan, free $650 painting and a few other things.

I don't know if I would purchase it again but it wasn't that bad of a deal this time.

[Nurse Daybreak]

Free junk that I gave my DGD but i would not purchase that again, for the $20 I certainly can buy her something nicer.

[sunsoaker]

We purchased our 1st shopping coupon book 4 years ago while on Celebrity. The coupons are only good for 1 year so they expired. Last month I took the 2002 book with us to see if the store personnel would take the expired coupon or not. While leaving the ship a RCI rep standing at the gate saw my book & gave me a new one allowing me to keep the old one too. He explained that you can always trade the old books in for new ones (no additional charge). When we don't book excursions we spend our time going from store to store collecting only the free stuff. Sometimes you can get good stuff: a nice pair of sunglasses, eye glass cleaners, free drinks, nice tote bags, caribbean music CDs, nice large polished stone earrings, and the usual micro genuine diamond/ruby/etc. stone earrings or necklaces. We made use out of the discount coupons too as we had to buy rum cakes, etc. for souvenirs. As with anything you buy, it's what meets your needs. When we have nothing to do in port, or while at a rainy port, we enjoy the hunt for the freebies. We'll take the book on our next cruise just in case.

[2good2b]

I think you get the point that the coupon books are a rip off but I have to put my two cents in on this topic. We bought one while on the Caribbean Princess this past March. We got sunglasses...cheap , guavaberry drink at Kangaroo @ St Maarten...very good, tiny sapphire...worthless, tote bag from Del*Sol...nice, and several other things that were totally worthless. The guavaberry drink and the tote bag were the only things worth having. And yes, you do feel like a begger when you go into their stores with your little free coupon. I would NOT buy another one.:(