I hear lots of sources say the shopping great onboard since it is tax and duty free.  How good are the prices?  Any examples of stuff bought?  Thanks!

From what i've seen on my 5 cruises with Carnival, the liquor and cigarette prices are about the only ones that are obviously better than in a normal state-side store.  Example of the liquor - Cruzan Rum (a BIG bottle!) is around $8.00 or so (more or less depending on if you buy 1, 2, 3 or 4) but the same bottle (but a bit smaller) was $16.00 in a liquor store in my home town.  Same with Absolut Vodka - around $10 per bottle for the BIG bottles.  Also, they have some things on the ship that you can't get in the states.  If you're not sure if you'll like it, they usually have a liquor tasting sometime during the first day or two of the cruise (depends on how long a cruise).  The jewelry and perfume prices aren't that great in my opinion (maybe save a couple dollars, but no huge savings).  Watch out for the "gold and silver by the inch" - it's plate and won't last long!

 Hgilmon;

  On our last cruise I found the alcohol to be a very good bargin. I bought Kahlua in a large, Mayan idol shaped bottle that I could never find in MA and it was only $12.99. I had already bought rum in Grand Cayman, so that was the extent of my alcohol purchases on board. Madame Le Cruiser bought a five carton package of Marlboro Lights for $71.00 - that breaks down to $12.00 a carton - and she pays over $25.00 a carton back home, AND drives to neighboring NH to get them that cheap. We also bought my son's girlfriend a gold bracelet when they had the "gold by the inch" special sale, it's not the greatest bracelet ever but it was nice and it was cheap.
 

I think the deals were pretty good if you know what you are after. If you want Carnival cruise logo wear, do NOT buy it the first day. It will go on sale. As for jewelry, I always wanted a Citizen echo watch and knew they run upwards over $200 in Canada, well the ship had a deal one day, and I bought a beautiful one for only $119 US. I love it. There are different deals on every day, so you just go back to the shops. The carnival capers paper you receive daily in your room usually announces what the specials are of the day.  Happy shopping.

We bought some jewelry. It's hard to find tanzanite and blue diamonds in the states, so we usually browse while we're on the ship. The better deals though are in ports, as long as you go to a place that won't rip you off.

Is the prices really that good cause me and my grandma is going on the victory and every where we go we buy bottles and i buy perfume and jewellery do they have like desinger purses and perfume and gold jewllery i am into white gold or sliver

thank you i know that st marteen and st thomas are duty free pors have a good easter

You have to know what you are looking for. Cigarettes are a great bargain for those who smoke. I'm a watch collector. I had two watches that I took with me on the cruise. One was a Tissot, which I paid around $350.00 for. Retail it would have been around $600.00. They had the same watch for around $500.00 the first day. I went back to see it several times, becuase they had it in a different color. I made sure I dealt with the same sales agent each time or that he knew I was in the store. He dropped the watch to the price I paid my other one for on the next to last day of the cruise. They also had some nice loose gems that were a nice size for a man's ring.

I have purchased perfume, tanzanite and other jewelry on various Carnival ships and have never been disappointed.  I also saw the same Citizen eco-drive watch my husband purchased for me in the states, it was much cheaper on board.  I also found eco-drive Citizen watch very reasonable in the store on the pier in Montego Bay.  We have purchased many pieces of jewelry at one of the shops in Montego Bay and when we returned the next year, they were very happy to make good on the problems.  Beware of "silver" bought in Mexico, make sure it has the proper silver stampings on them.  I have purchased opal and sterling in Cozumel and have been very happy with it.

My husband and I have found many great deals.  Tissot watch here is the states for $600 we got for $345.  Storage Disk for our digital camera 2K for $29.  The perfume not so cheap - they have many daily specials around the boat - you just have to catch them before they run out.

i can't speak for all perfumes, but the one i normally buy here in the states was the exact same price there, so not too sure if the perfumes are a great bargain.

For anyone who cruises in the group with us, I always recommend that folks do lossa research and price whatever you plan to shop for before you leave home and then you will know what is a good price and what is not.

Enjoy your cruise!

Let's talk about both onboard and offboard shopping. 

I bought a 0.87 princess cut tanzanite and 4 - 0.45 princess cut diamonds ring for $1350 after a 40% sale and an additional 20% sale.  There is a guarantee, so I came home and had it checked out with gemologist friend.  I didn't have the nerve to disclose how much I paid, but I was told it is not an excellent stone, but a "good" stone.  It is a  color that I really find attractive and I haven't found anything like it on the web or in stores.  He said to think of it more as a souvenir since I enjoyed the trip and don't worry about the price because they won't do you wrong.  Even so, shop before you go.  I still have buyer's remorse and would gladly send it back if I could find one that I liked nearly as much. 

As for the jewelry stores on shore, I wouldn't trust them.  We were in one without a sign on the front and they claimed to be one that the cruiseline guarantees, but they weren't so we quickly left.  I went to one that the cruiseline did guarantee and they tried to get me to buy a light-colored tanzanite ring for $400 after coming down quite a bit.  For that same price, my roommate purchased a bracelet on board with more gold, larger tanzanites, and more of them with a darker color (more preferable).  If buying, check out the ship's inventory and prices before you go ashore. 

Also note that there is a professional shopper whose job is to keep the passengers happy with buying jewelry onshore.  (She'll do such things as have drawings and you have to go to the various jewelry counters to drop off your entry form.)  When people came back to the boat, they stood in line to talk with her.  One couple supposedly bought their jewelry at the guaranteed stores and she just nodded that their purchases were nice.  After they left, she told me she was pretty sure they didn't buy them at the correct stores.  Beware that you are in the right store.  The sellers see people coming with large wallets and will try to scam you.  Be wary.  The guaranteed stores will not refund your purchase, they will only exchange. 

Also, I had a relative who had traveled quite a bit into Mexico and bought many gold rings.  I inherited her rings and when I took them to get sized, I was told they were "Mexico gold" and that even though they said 14K, they might be 7K and one of the rings even broke while being resized.  

And the moral of the story is simply to do your research before you leave.  Instead of using the trip to shop, shop, shop, have a good time and do an excursion each day.  Be prepared that the areas are very poor and there is not much else to do except for those expensive excursions.  Grand Cayman has the best beach and you can get a taxi there, rent a beach umbrella for $10, and float in the saltwater.  (I've never been able to float in freshwater.)  Rent snorkel gear as there are reefs right next to the shore and the water is gorgeous. 

I hope this helps someone.