There are only 1-2 stores on board, branded “The Fun Shops” – one store for Beauty, Jewellery and Watches, and another for Tobacco, Confectionery, Liquor, Fashion & Accessories and other souvenirs.
They are only open while the boat is in international waters – of the 176 hours on board Carnival Victory (including in port and through the night) the store was open for a total of 29.5 hours (16% of total cruising time).
Many who had planned purchases (mainly tobacco, some liquor) shopped right at the start of the cruise, however there was a steady flow of shoppers throughout the duration of the cruise.
Although many people had already or planned to shop duty free, this was by no means the focus of their trip.
The main reasons cited for cruising were: it’s fun, to meet people, to get some Winter sun/for a nice short break, and for ease and convenience.
The stores advertise a “Price match guarantee offer.”
10% off all liquor on the first night.
APAC
On the Costa neoRomantica there were 4 duty free shops all within a 100 yards of each other.
The largest shop was the Fashion and Accessories store which carried a selection of clothing, leather goods, watches and jewellery. There was small beauty shop with a balanced range of both Skincare and Fragrance products, there was a watch shop and a final shop with a small selection of Alcohol, Tobacco, Confectionary and a large souvenir section.
Speaking to the store staff the souvenir section was the most popular category in this shop.
The majority of the duty free shops on the quantum were situated on deck 4 where they formed the central luxury boutique shopping boulevard. There was a selection of luxury leather good shops such as Salvatore Ferragamo and Coach, premium Jewellery & Watch shops such as Cartier, Hubolt and Bvlgari and key Beauty brands such as Kiels, Lancome, La Prairie and Clinique.
There was also a duty free store which contained Alcohol, Tobacco, Confectionery and souvenirs – and by far the largest section which was present was Tobacco.
As part as the shopping experience some of the stores set up tables in the main walkway which contained products such as Beauty, Watches, Handbags and Clothing, all of which were on various promotional mechanics to capture the passing traffic.
As with all cruises these shops didn’t open till the ship was in international waters, the products were tax free, if any alcohol was purchased this was taken and then returned to the passenger when disembarking.
