Shopping in Cozumel

[Pino]

We went on a cruise in December and attended the shopping seminar to make sure we shopped appropriately and in the right shops. Needless to say we got ripped off. We thought we had bought a 14 carat gold ring with a diamond. When my daughter got engaged we took the ring to be sized. We got the shock of our life. It was FAKE. Made of silver and crystal. The store silver paradise. That had signage for the cruise line. I tried getting Royal Media who does all the shopping seminars for RCCL to assist and the could do nothing. We are devastated by what has happened. But please do not shop in that store Silver Pardise. They are a rip off and no one cares. Our daughter is still trying to get over it.  I’m hoping by speaking up I can save 1 person from going through the same issue. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

That's a terrible thing for that to happen.  Sorry to hear about that and for the heads up.  

We stay with the stores on the Port Shopping Map not by the signage on the storefront.  As far as I know, only the stores on the port shopping map are guaranteed by the cruise line.  I don't think your store was on the Port Shopping Map and that is probably why they cannot do anything further for you.  Still really unfortunate though....sorry

[monorailmedic]

First off I'm very sorry that happened - I'd be incredibly frustrated.  I'm not sure if you paid with a credit card but you could try disputing the charge that way.  No matter what it is a lousy situation.

What I would note for you and others reading, is that to be frank, the concept of recommended shops, in my opinion, is a joke.  Most cruise lines do this, and it's 95% marketing 5% service.  Essentially the shops with the deepest wallets pay the cruise lines to be recommended by them.  The cruise lines do verify certain things - but there isn't any significant vetting process going on here - it's a marketing play.  I've heard from others who've got the runaround when it comes to guarantees from the cruise lines (or in some cases third party company that run these operations).  Again, this isn't a Royal Caribbean problem, or a Cozumel problem - it is, in my opinion, a poor practice on the part of many cruise lines.  

The buyer must always use extreme caution, especially when buying jewelry (this is true not just abroad, but domestically).  The industry is founded on manufactured scarcity, which is ripe with opportunity to do people wrong.  Add in a situation where the seller knows that they're not likely to see the customer again and it's very risky.  This isn't to say that plenty of the stores are perfectly legitimate, honest, hard-working people - in fact, I'd wager that the majority of them are.  It's just a flawed industry which is well positioned to take advantage of people.

TL;DR - That stinks.  I'm not a fan of the jewelry industry or cruise lines "recommended shop" programs

[Matt]

16 hours ago, monorailmedic said:

What I would note for you and others reading, is that to be frank, the concept of recommended shops, in my opinion, is a joke.  Most cruise lines do this, and it's 95% marketing 5% service.  

This.

I always ignore the shopping guide, shopping seminars, and anything else RC recommends in terms of where to shop in any given port.  As Billy noted, it's all just advertising/marketing and not based on any kind of real sense of one shop being better than another.

[jce2]

For Cozumel (which I have never been to) I am hoping to have enough time after "SSS&M" to grab a cab and hit the plaza.  Looks like there is a rabbit warren on shops on the back side of it, including a hammock shop that a local Cozumel website recommends.  Also hoping to find a few Guebara shirts but suspect I wont find much

Since I have an hour or so when we first dock before heading to my excursion will probably hit the port stores just to kill time.  Hoping to grab some Tramidol (bad knees) at the drug store and a t-shirt at Margaritaville.  (Yes, I actually have a shopping list!)

 

 

 

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

This.

I always ignore the shopping guide, shopping seminars, and anything else RC recommends in terms of where to shop in any given port.  As Billy noted, it's all just advertising/marketing and not based on any kind of real sense of one shop being better than another.

 

17 hours ago, monorailmedic said:

 

What I would note for you and others reading, is that to be frank, the concept of recommended shops, in my opinion, is a joke.  Most cruise lines do this, and it's 95% marketing 5% service.  Essentially the shops with the deepest wallets pay the cruise lines to be recommended by them.  The cruise lines do verify certain things - but there isn't any significant vetting process going on here - it's a marketing play.  I've heard from others who've got the runaround when it comes to guarantees from the cruise lines (or in some cases third party company that run these operations).  Again, this isn't a Royal Caribbean problem, or a Cozumel problem - it is, in my opinion, a poor practice on the part of many cruise lines.  

 

Good to know.  I have always known that there is marketing involved there but I did not know it was as large a factor.  

I guess I should clarify that in my earlier post I was actually thinking my own jewelry shopping experiences in port.  We are not big into buying diamonds and etc. when cruising but I will confess that I have a huge weakness for David Yurman and Effy pieces.  What we have found over the years is that you can get those pieces at way better prices on the islands than in a Macy's or official store here in North America.  Especially because they are willing to deal there.  So when we do go, we make sure that we a) go online first to see if they have authorized dealers on the islands that we are visiting and b) check it with the port shopping map. 

We never buy any other jewelry when cruising.  I am skeptical of that as well.