I bought a Tissot watch on our cruse that ended Oct 15 to Nassau and Freeport on board Carnival Sensation.  There are signs all over that say that they guarantee the best price and the reciept says "Never Undersold".    I paid $278 plus change for it.  Once we got back to shore and could look it up on Amazon.com the exact model was selling for $189.00.  I called Carnival and was told that they don't run the shops on board. (even though they wear carnival uniforms and the reciept says Carnival Sensation)   The receipt has no phone number so you have to call Carnival to get the phone number to Starboard Cruise.  When you call that number they direct you to a website at Starboardcruise.com/customer.htm.  This site says they will "guarantee to match the price on any identical item...." and at the very end it says  "(Internet pricing excluded from price guarantee)"

 I called and finally got a person and like it says they will not do anything about it. I asked why their reciept didn't state this "no Internet" policy, and was told most reciepts are too small to have things like that printed on them and if I checked the signs on board they "probably" mentioned the internet exclusion on them.  Hmmmmm guess I need to pay for another cruse to check that one out!

 I also called Carnival and was told that they couldn't do anything about it.  I explained my displeasure at finding out I was buying from someone other than Carnival when by all apearances(uniforms, reciepts, etc) you are buying from Carnival.  No mention of another company is made at the store.  I feel this is a very deceptive business practice.

 As I told the representative this entire episode left a bad taste in my mouth for Carnival and I will look to other cruise lines in the future even though I enjoyed the cruise.

The old statement of let the buyer beware holds true with Carnival....and You can burn me once but not twice will be my policy with them.

 Upset in Illinois and avoiding Carnival!

 

you will find the same thing with other cruise lines..... the vendors onboard are contracts... not carnival or what ever other cruise line you might want to go to.  

 

 

There's really nothing to "beware" of.  The concessions (including the spa) on all cruise are owned and operated by independent contractors.  The cruise line is not responsible for them.  The fact that you found your purchase at a lower price on Amazon's website is an everyday occurence.  Internet sites don't have the overhead of a brick and mortar shop so their prices are generally lower (Amazon is one of my favorites).  Most stores and cruiselines will not match the prices found on the internet for just this reason.  It's important to know your prices when you shop thse days so you'll know whether or not you're getting a good deal.  I must say I've never found a good deal on the ship.

We did our research and did get some great deals on the ship. but, there were other things that were not a good deal and this is where the research helps.

Also, watch out for the 'Gold by the Inch' concessions on the ships... I bought my husband a bracelet on my last cruise and within a few weeks it had turned green, was pitted and the surface was badly etched. It's supposedly guaranteed, so I called the company, because I was told that the chains were 18 ct gold alloy- not just gold-plated. Obviously I got nowhere with them.

However, a jeweler I went to told me that it is just cheap gold plating, and would never last. My husband wears a gold chain that has not turned in over 18 years, so he's not one of those people who experiences a chemical reaction that typically turns jewelry green... so as the OP said, let the buyer beware!

 I knew that all those were actually operated by contractors other than Carnival, but thats because I once was looking at job openings on ships and found out that way. Other than that, I might not have ever known this.

We've found several good deals on the ship, but they were mostly on things like liquor and perfume. And I've done plenty of research on those prices, so I knew I was getting a better deal onboard. :) My friend bought a ring during a sale one day and has had no problems with it. There's plenty of things onboard I wouldn't buy though too. I guess maybe sometimes it's just hit and miss.

The only thing I have found is when you buy one of the cheaper watches ($20) they must have very cheap batteries in them.  I have gotten 2 & hubby 1, all of them had to have the battery replaced after we worn them one time.  New barreries are around $3-5 so to me it raised the price of the watches.

as far as the inch of gold I can tell you that Carnival does stand by what it says!!! every year when we go on our Family cruise we take our inch of gold back and they redo it and give us a new one at No charge!!!! SO YES they do stand by it!!!! i always get the white gold!!! it lasts longer the one i have on my ankle I've had on for 3 years and this year i traded it in for a New one FREE!!!!! I have also purchased(my Hubby did) 2 watches on board!!! and the stem fell out of both They were the exact same watch!!! it was AK when I went a few weeks ago I found out that AK has a Life time warranty so i just have to send it back to them!!1 No Biggie!!

Also 2 years ago my hubby bought Me a Beautiful tanzinite and Diamond ring!!!! and I think he paid Like Only 750.00 for it Its has been appraise for more then 3000.00 so I know we didn't get riped off!!

 

KellyJean

mcki96:

I bought a Tissot watch on our cruse that ended Oct 15 to Nassau and Freeport on board Carnival Sensation.  There are signs all over that say that they guarantee the best price and the reciept says "Never Undersold".    I paid $278 plus change for it.  Once we got back to shore and could look it up on Amazon.com the exact model was selling for $189.00.  I called Carnival and was told that they don't run the shops on board. (even though they wear carnival uniforms and the reciept says Carnival Sensation)   The receipt has no phone number so you have to call Carnival to get the phone number to Starboard Cruise.  When you call that number they direct you to a website at Starboardcruise.com/customer.htm.  This site says they will "guarantee to match the price on any identical item...." and at the very end it says  "(Internet pricing excluded from price guarantee)"

 I called and finally got a person and like it says they will not do anything about it. I asked why their reciept didn't state this "no Internet" policy, and was told most reciepts are too small to have things like that printed on them and if I checked the signs on board they "probably" mentioned the internet exclusion on them.  Hmmmmm guess I need to pay for another cruse to check that one out!

 I also called Carnival and was told that they couldn't do anything about it.  I explained my displeasure at finding out I was buying from someone other than Carnival when by all apearances(uniforms, reciepts, etc) you are buying from Carnival.  No mention of another company is made at the store.  I feel this is a very deceptive business practice.

 As I told the representative this entire episode left a bad taste in my mouth for Carnival and I will look to other cruise lines in the future even though I enjoyed the cruise.

The old statement of let the buyer beware holds true with Carnival....and You can burn me once but not twice will be my policy with them.

 Upset in Illinois and avoiding Carnival!

 

Hi,

I've done some research on this myself because I too was interested in a Tissot or Tag watch at the time of my cruise.  They explain it this way: They are "Authorized Dealers" and offer a "Manufacturer's Warranty".  The internet sellers offer their own warranties and not that of the manufacturer.  That's the basic difference.  My way of thinking is that if you are buying a high quality Swiss Made watch you won't have a problem with your watch in most cases.  If the pricing is significantly better on the internet then you may opt to take that chance.  Amazon in particular offers their own 2 year warranty on the Swiss watches that they sell.  Hope this helps.

carnivalcruiser:

We've found several good deals on the ship, but they were mostly on things like liquor and perfume.

Yea, my own findings are the best deals on board, are the items which are heavily taxed on land.  The on-board store might actually be charging more, but without the heavy taxes, it turns out to be quite a bargain.

Walt you hit the nail on the head.  While away try to buy the items that the US charges heavy taxes on.  Basically liquor, but not all brands are cheaper, and cigarettes.