DONT SHOP FOR DIAMONDS

DON'T SHOP FOR JEWELRY!  Even though Carnival SAYS they will back up your purchases if you buy from places that are on the Carnival map.  We even went with Lacey and Amy - Carnival's "personal shoppers"....Well guess what?  We got ripped off at Milano Jewelers in Grand Cayman - One of the recommended jewelers.  The owner - Andy did not give us a certificate of authenticity.  My husband and I each thought he gave it to the other person and we didnt find out until it was too late.  We had the ring appraised at home and our $900 ring is only worth $500-$600.  Very disappointing.  So now it is the holiday weekend and we can't do anything until Tuesday.  I hope Carnival sticks to their word and backs us up.  For now, I am keeping my ring safely in the box.  As always - BUYER BEWARE.  Go have fun and sight see but DONT MAKE ANY BIG PURCHASES.

That was the only bad thing.  The cruise itself was WONDERFUL!

dkslmac:

our $900 ring is only worth $500-$600

One of the things I've found is that US jewelers are extremely jealous of Caribbean jewelers.  If you tell your appraiser going in  that you got [whatever] on Cayman, St Tom, Cozumel [etc] they're going to come back with a low appraisal.  If you tell them that you got it in another state while visiting relatives, or just don't say anything at all, they'll give a decent appraisal.

How do I know?  Because I've never told any US jeweler - even the ones I like and trust - where I've gotten anything they're looking at, and they always give good appraisals ... until ... I tell them it came from Cozumel or Cayman.  Then they immediately pick it apart and find faults and drop the appraisal by about 1/3 to 1/2.

Same thing happened to my mother with a ring I got her.  3-stone mother's ring - 4.5 total carat weight of stone, from St Tom.  She had to get it resized.  I told her "Do NOT tell the guy where it came from."  I paid $450 for it.  Jeweler said it was worth $1100-$1300.  Then she said her son got it for her on St Thomas.  He immediately found faults and ammended his appraisal to $600.

Get a second opinion, and keep your mouth shut.

dkslmac:

DON'T SHOP FOR JEWELRY!  Even though Carnival SAYS they will back up your purchases if you buy from places that are on the Carnival map.  We even went with Lacey and Amy - Carnival's "personal shoppers"....Well guess what?  We got ripped off at Milano Jewelers in Grand Cayman - One of the recommended jewelers.  The owner - Andy did not give us a certificate of authenticity.  My husband and I each thought he gave it to the other person and we didnt find out until it was too late.  We had the ring appraised at home and our $900 ring is only worth $500-$600.  Very disappointing.  So now it is the holiday weekend and we can't do anything until Tuesday.  I hope Carnival sticks to their word and backs us up.  For now, I am keeping my ring safely in the box.  As always - BUYER BEWARE.  Go have fun and sight see but DONT MAKE ANY BIG PURCHASES.

That was the only bad thing.  The cruise itself was WONDERFUL!

Just think of who the jeweler has allegiance to.  Is it you the one time customer buying a big ticket item or Carnival who sends him virtually thousands of potential customers each and every week?  I'm as guilty as the next guy.  We walk into the jeweler.  Some even offer you free liquor (much different than the treatment I get in New York), then show you something the wife points out.  Then out comes the calculator and "LET THE GAMES BEGIN".  It's like dealing with a used car salesman.  And as I said, I'm just as guilty because we typically will cruise during our anniversary month of September. 

This time I told myself no jewelry purchases but who knows?   The wife did offer last year to buy me a Tag Heuer watch that I had been eyeing the whole cruise.  We played it smart though and bought it online for about 70% of the asking price in Nassau at one of the "recommended" jewelers. 

Our cruise is just one week away now.  Looking forward to the rest and relaxation and hopefully NOT the shopping.

Well, I can tell you this.....  I am NOT a stupid consumer.  We dd not have any drinks and only went shopping becaue the stores were so "highly recomended" AND cause Carnival said they would back us up.  Well I contacted Carnival 1 week ago about the value of my ring and they have not gotten back to me.  In the mean time - ONE OF MY DIAMONDS FELL OUT!  It has not even been two weeks. I'm telling you Carnival is going to have a  huge problem with negative talk if they do not come through for us.

The only place i buy diamonds is from Diamond International

dkslmac:

Well, I can tell you this.....  I am NOT a stupid consumer.  We dd not have any drinks and only went shopping becaue the stores were so "highly recomended" AND cause Carnival said they would back us up.  Well I contacted Carnival 1 week ago about the value of my ring and they have not gotten back to me.  In the mean time - ONE OF MY DIAMONDS FELL OUT!  It has not even been two weeks. I'm telling you Carnival is going to have a  huge problem with negative talk if they do not come through for us.

I know it doesn't help when someone else tells you where THEY shop.

I don't believe you would have gotten much satisfaction in all honesty regarding the appraised value of your ring since appraisals are so subjective.  You do have recourse in so much as your jewelry purchased lost a diamond.  It obviously wasn't as well made as they presented it to be.  I hope you get satisfaction.  Good luck.

tremendaboricua:

The only place i buy diamonds is from Diamond International

I'm sure that really helps our friend here who feels that she has been cheated.

Sorry was not my intention to be sarcastic, Im just letting her know where I buy my diamonds, Diamonds is the only diamond store that I trust, they even fix my Blue Diamond for (august 22,10 cruise)even that I bought it in 2007 in St Thomas, as a consumer before im making a purchase of that magnitude I do my homework

Dont think you are safe at DI either,  CARNIVAL WILL NOT BACK YOU UP!  One month later and still no certificate of authenticity and no help from Carnival.  Their soultion is a 20% restocking fee for a refund......on a ring that I only wore for days and the diamond fell out?????  BAD BUSINESS!  SHAME ON YOU CARNIVAL!  DI shopper - you better read the fine print and keep your money in the states.  Also read the fine print - Carnival gets a promotional fee when the stores rip us off.  Seriously - read it.  It is true.  I dare someone from Carnival to comment on this!

Just my opinion. On all our 14 cruises we have found the best value is on the ship.We have always looked in the ports for price,but the value is on the ship. We have purchased ,Topaz,Blue diamonds, pearls and watches as well as alcohol. and by far the best value for your dollar is on the ship. Again just on couples opinion.