Britannia refit

[Davybe 523]

https://www.bolsovercruiseclub.com/news/po-cruises-britannia-refit/

Interesting that they are going for some "upmarket shops" with "upmarket prices " no doubt.

Personally I have never found many Bargains on cruise ships ,and prices seem higher than ever ,mind you the last thing we booked a cruise for was to go shopping? 

Are you a cruise ship shopper....Davybe

[towny44 197]

I once bought a leather belt from a cruise shop, in the sale, and my wife has bought the odd clothing item, also when in the sale and of course at a price we thought could not be bettered ashore.  But in the main we rarely buy, although, like most women, my wife likes to browse.  However if we have lots of OBC then we do sometimes buy perfume to ensure we spend it all, otherwise we look but keep our cruise cards in our pockets. 

[mitch 315]

i picked up some gift sets on arcadia last nov for xmas pressies, they were very reasonable for the brands they were.

[*Dancing Queen* 390]

If P&O are replacing the shops franchise with the same one as Cunard then it is nothing to get excited about !!! 

When we were on QE earlier this year the Jo Malone shop had very limited  stock and certainly not the more popular fragrances, other perfumes/aftershaves etc were also very limited and had a substantial price 'hike' over previous cruises, gone were the well known brands like Joseph Ribkoff and what little 'designer wear' was on offer was actually 'outdated' stock which you would have been buying from John Lewis 12 months ago !! 

As a smoker I couldn't believe I was unable to purchase B&H Gold ( probably one of the most popular cigarette brands !! )  the same problem with some of the more popular alcoholic drink brands too - as an example a bottle of Baileys which I can buy in Tesco for around £16 was over $30 - not that I tend to buy what is supposedly duty free alcohol as I don't consider it worth the effort of it carrying home when Tesco/Sainsburys can more than price match.

[Davybe 523]

11 hours ago, *Dancing Queen* said:

If P&O are replacing the shops franchise with the same one as Cunard then it is nothing to get excited about !!! 

When we were on QE earlier this year the Jo Malone shop had very limited  stock and certainly not the more popular fragrances, other perfumes/aftershaves etc were also very limited and had a substantial price 'hike' over previous cruises, gone were the well known brands like Joseph Ribkoff and what little 'designer wear' was on offer was actually 'outdated' stock which you would have been buying from John Lewis 12 months ago !! 

As a smoker I couldn't believe I was unable to purchase B&H Gold ( probably one of the most popular cigarette brands !! )  the same problem with some of the more popular alcoholic drink brands too - as an example a bottle of Baileys which I can buy in Tesco for around £16 was over $30 - not that I tend to buy what is supposedly duty free alcohol as I don't consider it worth the effort of it carrying home when Tesco/Sainsburys can more than price match.

"Buyer beware "is always something to keep in mind, when shopping anywhere, mind you with the internet and a smart phone you can price check most things .

I was looking at buying a Tablet (Apple) on a Celebrity ship they were happy to price check against any UK store, and they were cheaper.Sadly the other stuff was not cheaper than I could pay at home....Davybe

 

[mitch 315]

typical i am on the cruise before the refit, that means they will start clearing stuff half way through and if arcadia is anything to go by,they will try to get into southampton early so everything will close early on the last day/night.

the last few days of the arcadia cruise before her refit shops etc started closing down in the last few days, by the last day half the space was empty. as they got into uk waters the casino had to close at 8pm.

bummer!

 

[Davybe 523]

21 hours ago, mitch said:

typical i am on the cruise before the refit, that means they will start clearing stuff half way through and if arcadia is anything to go by,they will try to get into southampton early so everything will close early on the last day/night.

the last few days of the arcadia cruise before her refit shops etc started closing down in the last few days, by the last day half the space was empty. as they got into uk waters the casino had to close at 8pm.

bummer!

 

You may well get some good offer as they try to clear stock.

Years ago you could buy some decent stuff at reasonable prices, but "Milking there cash cow" spot it IMO>.... davybe

[Countrygirl 206]

I purchased a new handbag from a well known department store about 3 weeks before going on Arcadia. So much for duty free shopping onboard. It was the same price on the ship that I had paid. 

[afcandrew 309]

Of course, this is part of the fleet-wide change as P&O give Hardings the heave-ho after many years.  Like many, I have seldom bought things in the on-board shops.  In over 20 cruises, I can count on one hand the number of purchases.  I agree with most of the comments here that there are few bargains.  Its the same situation at airports.  In addition, you often find that the items on sale aboard or on aircraft are "exclusive" so you can't even compare them with standard prices.

[sinbad10 736]

I dont think prices or what is available will change much it just seems to me that the tender to operate the shops onboard Britannia has come up for renewal and Harding's have obviously lost it. The new company have more than likely offered P&O more money for the opportunity to have their shops onboard.