Nov

6

Cruisin’ for Discount Jewelry

Filed Under Saving Money, Shopping, Travel | Comments Off

souvenir salesmanIt’s day five of my free cruise, and outside of an adventure excursion and a few trinkets, I’ve spent very little money.  I am clear, though, that it’s my disinclination to drinking and shopping that’s saving me.  These are the two things that cost extra on a ship.  My fascination continues as I explore others’ fascination with the the latter.

Are the savings really so great?  What drives people into the shopping frenzy?

I first pose the question to Therese, a Canadian ex-pat working at Diamonds International (the ubiquitous port of call jewelry retailers) in Costa Maya, Mexico.  “Let’s put it this way,”  she says.  “Would you wake up on a Tuesday morning at home and go shopping for a diamond?  It’s part of the cruise experience, and there is a great selection…but no, the prices are really not the best you can ever find.  But people enjoy it, and it gives them something to show when the trip is over.”

I next approached Phil, our charmingly English cruise shopping guide.  “Oh yes,” he said, “the prices really are so much lower, since everything is duty and tax free.”  He recounts the tale of many couples, newly engaged or honeymooning, who are dismayed to find that the rings they just purchased stateside are far less expensive in the islands.  But, he added, it’s hard to compare when your’e dealing with stones.  The proof, he continued, is in the prices of the branded items.  For example, if someone wanted to buy a Breitling watch, they could instead take a cruise, buy the watch in a port, and essentially get the watch for free, based on the list price compared to the actual island price.  I will, when I return home, do a little research on the validity of that statement, and will report back on my findings.

Diane, a frequent cruiser and former jeweler, loves to buy jewelry when she travels, although she is clear that the savings are not all they’re said to be.  But she buys anyway, citing unique designs and uncommon stones as her reason for purchasing.  Anna, another frequent cruiser, agrees.  But for every Diane, Anna and Therese,  there continue to be dozens, maybe hundreds, of uneducated, free-spending travelers who believe that they could never find such bargains anywhere else.

Besides, they say, it’s fun to tell people, when they admire the new pieces, that they bought them in Mexico, St. Maarten, or the duty-free shop on the cruise ship.

Me, I’ll buy a t-shirt.

Back to civilization this weekend, back to the search for Health Insurance on Monday.  For now, though, the jacuzzi awaits.

Meanwhile, for more on discount cruising, click here.


Nov

3

Cost ‘o Cruising

Filed Under Saving Money, Shopping, Travel | Comments Off

Greetings from my very discounted cruise.   Here’s a shot of our “little” balcony.  our little budget balcony(I am lucky.  I am lucky. I am lucky.)  It’s pouring tropical rain as we pull into the dock this morning in Costa Maya, Mexico, but that doesn’t stop the intrepid traveler/shoppers as they stream off the boat into the tiny seaport town.  As I watch them, it occurs to me that it should be called Costa Lot.  For all the shopping hype so far, in only the first day at sea, I can finally see why the cruise industry is able to afford its many low-price fares — they must get a kickback rebate when they sell jewelry, art and liquor.   And judging from the money changing hands and the number of hands reaching for the free junk they give out to lure people into the shopping mode, it’s probably enough to pay for the fuel from Florida to the Caribbean and back again.

I am beginning to realize that one of the reasons I can live well on a budget is that I don’t care about shopping, and I have enough stuff.  What is it about shopping that gets people so excited?  And are there really such great bargains to be had by leaving the US?

My plan today is to ask my fellow passengers why they get so excited about shopping on vacation.  For me, it’s the fun of having something that no one else will probably have, and the excitement of saying, when I get a compliment on the piece, that I bought it in Wherever.  Are the prices really so great that they can’t be matched in the states?  Is the stuff so unique?  Is it status?  I’m truly curious.  Why do people spend so much money when they’re away? How many watches does one person need?

I go ashore to see the country, meet the people, and maybe find some cheap, unique Mexican silver or pottery gifty things to bring home to my friends and family, and a little something for myself, as a memory of this lovely trip. Tomorrow, Belize City.  I wonder what’s available there.