Cruise Shops
One of the great pleasures of cruising is bringing home gifts and souvenirs. But do you buy on board or in port?
From the minute you step on board your ship, you are tempted to open your purse wide and spend, spend, spend. The photographer snaps your picture and waiters circulate at the sailaway party selling cocktails in souvenir glasses. The ship's newsletter urges you to book your shore excursions and spa treatments quickly, before they're sold out. Then, an hour out of port, the duty-free shops open.
Cruise lines have to make up a significant proportion of their revenue from onboard spending - up to 25 per cent in some cases. And to be fair, passengers seem happy to pay up. But don't be tempted to blow your whole holiday budget on the first day - there are many more opportunities to come.
For the dedicated shopper, it is useful to know how the system works. The shops on a cruise ship are duty free and only open when the ship is in international waters. The vast majority of the duty-free outlets are run by franchisees. Shops on board some 90 ships are run as franchises by Miami Cruiseline, part of the LVMH (Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennessy) group, which owns brands including Donna Karan, Moet et Chandon, Tag Heuer and Parfums Christian Dior. Companies like LVMH also supply wholesale to a lot of the retailers in port, who fight to match the duty-free prices offered on board.
Meanwhile, British-based Harding Brothers supplies the duty- and tax-free shops on P&O Cruises, Orient Lines, Swan Hellenic, Cunard, Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal, among others. This doesn't mean just booze and cigarettes; prestigious brands such as Dunhill, Chopard, Gant, Escada, Gucci and H. Stern are represented on the more upmarket ships, and Queen Mary 2 has a stand-alone Herm%E9s boutique.
But it's mainly on the more luxurious vessels or the smaller cruise lines that there's much variety in the offerings in the onboard shops. Silversea, for example, sells cashmere, sportswear and accessories from Loro Piana - one of its partners - on board its four ships as well as art from Italian Factory, which is also responsible for placing artwork throughout the ships. Star Clippers does a roaring trade in branded clothing. Not only is it of good quality but it's worn to make a statement on deck - such is the passion of Star Clippers' passengers for the product.
Disney Cruise Line, too, has enticing stores on board its two ships. Stuffed with Disney-branded goodies and memorabilia, they're a challenge to any parent who is dragged in by their offspring!
On mass market ships, you can expect competitive duty-free prices in the franchised stores but not a great deal of variety in the other outlets, which may either be franchised or run by the cruise line itself. Veterans of more than one cruise line will note that there are always porcelain figurines, Swarovski crystal objects and mini-globes encrusted with semi-precious stones. And there's always a jewellery shop touting "designer" watches, earrings, necklaces and reels of gold and silver chain, sold by the inch.
During the day at sea, vendors will emerge from their stores and set up tables in the atrium or shopping mall so that the shopping area begins to resemble a Turkish bazaar. And you will realise, as you pass the area for the 10th time, that modern ships are cunningly designed so that you have to keep going through the shops to get practically anywhere else on the entertainment deck.
So should you buy from the onboard shops? There's no doubt that the prices are competitive and many guarantee to match or undercut the shops in port. The eveningwear boutiques on big ships are also a life-saver if you've brought inadequate clothing for the formal night, or forgotten your cuff-links. But there's nothing like the variety you'll find in port, or the fun of souvenir shopping and browsing local art and craft galleries.
In port, cruise lines also maximise their chances of benefiting from your holiday dollar, and who can blame them? You'll notice, particularly on American-run ships, that when you arrive on board, there's a magazine in your cabin full of jewellery advertisements, and "shopping talks" are given on a daily basis. The whole shopping program is set up to steer passengers into certain shops, which pay the cruise lines a commission on what they buy.
Two companies, both American-based, dominate cruise line shopping programs. Onboard Media is another part of the LVMH group and runs the shopping programs for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Crystal and Disney. PPI Group, meanwhile, manages shopping programs for Carnival, Holland America Line, Costa Cruises, MSC and Windstar.
There are supposed benefits in buying from the recommended stores, including a 30-day guarantee. But simply paying by credit card offers you an element of protection, regardless of where you are shopping. The shops in the shopping programs are perfectly good but the fact that they are recommended by the cruise line does not mean that they are better than non-participating shops. So where will you find that one fabulous item which will always remind you of your cruise?
In the Caribbean, the ports are awash with jewellery and electronics shops. The US Virgin Islands, Barbados, St Lucia and Jamaica are great for gemstones and American designer jewellery at amazing prices. Dutch St Maarten is just fantastic for camera gear - the whole of the main street is lined with electronics stores and you can try to haggle. Antigua has some good art galleries close to the dock in St Johns. A lot of the artwork is similar, but will still look bright and cheery when you hang it on your wall at home.
In Nassau, check out Balmain Antiques on Bay Street for vintage maps of the Caribbean. On Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, head for Sunny Caribbean for eccentric spice mixtures and toiletries made from local flowers and herbs. Ligne St Barths is another great locally-made cosmetics line, available on posh St Barths.
Asia isn't as cheap as it used to be, but the advantage in Singapore is that you can haggle in the shops. For vintage items, sari fabrics and brilliantly-coloured shoes, head for Little India, a world apart from the smart, air-conditioned malls of Orchard Road. In Hong Kong, designer clothes are still good value from the factory outlets, although it helps if you're a tiny size.
Europe is comparatively expensive but there are lots of little gift items that are great to take home. Pretty bottles of limoncello liqueur from Italy (particularly Capri and around the Bay of Naples), or anything made from Provencal lavender are always popular. In Venice, look out for handmade writing paper and glass from Murano, which isn't cheap but is lovely even if you only buy tiny things. If your ship calls at any Spanish ports, head for the travelling markets where shoes are a wonderful bargain.
Turkey and Morocco are both a shopper's paradise thanks to the tempting labyrinthine souks in every port. Just remember to allow plenty of time for haggling if you're a serious buyer - at least an afternoon for an expensive carpet - and you have to be ruthless.
Or you could leave it all up to an expert. Seabourn Cruise Line has introduced the ultimate indulgence - your very own personal shopper. The cruise line will fix you up with a limo and a local style guru who will whisk you around the boutiques and ateliers of the finest local designers, craftsmen and artists. Your sizes will be ready and waiting as you arrive at your favourite designer, and the personal shoppers have the inside track on the best galleries, perfume-makers and food stores. At prices ranging from $391 to $1188 this is pure indulgence, but then to the dedicated shopper, it's a serious business.
Written by Sue Bryant, Issue 24 Winter 2006