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SantaCruz
·Hi guys
I have just spent a week in this beautiful part of the world that is also known for its excellent duty free shopping.
I thought I would post my experience here in the hope that some of you might do the same that have ventured this part of the world, whether you have purchased or not.
I initially had planned a cruise to call at St Thomas. I had researched that this was probably the best place to purchase the particular Planet Ocean I was interested in, and make the best savings.
I figured the money I would save on the watch would partially fund the trip.
I made the decision to phone one of the top watch shops on the island, to make sure I would get near the savings I needed to make the trip a viable proposition. Especially to my partner, who I had to persuade to even get the plan off the ground in the first place!
On talking to the manager it became apparent that I would be highly disappointed! The tax and duty free prices had not been even close to the savings I had expected.
By this time I had my heart set on the cruise (not to mention my partner who had also become very keen on my plan). Not deterred, I set about trying to achieve a reasonable discount at home, in the UK. Any savings I made would go towards the holiday and I would have the advantage of having the watch on the start of the trip.
Initially, visits to local ADs proved fruitless. None I visited moved on Omega’s retail prices.
I hadn’t given up though, an AD I had last used over six years ago, near where I lived at the time, had given me reasonable discounts back then. So off I travelled 120 miles to the old AD.
Success! A great discount was achieved that went towards paying close to half of the holiday cost and I had bagged a much loved Liquid Metal and ceramic 8900 PO.
I was more than happy, as was my partner.
The trouble was, when at the AD, I had also seen another PO that had caught my eye.
In fact, at the time, is was real tough deciding which one I wished to part with my cash for.
Anyway, off we travelled to the wonderful Fla. USofA to catch the boat from the wonderful Royal Caribbean cruise line’s fleet.
En route we passed through Heathrow Airport to discover that the duty free Omega prices had come short of the discount I had achieved at the AD. This made me feel rather pleased with myself.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/heathrow-terminal-3.96098/
To my amazement, when on board the ship, I quickly discovered there was a dedicated watch shop with a really nice selection of Omegas. I was like a kid in a sweet shop. Lol
Importantly, it had the other model PO that had caught my eye from my original search.
One of the sales assistants saw my interest in the particular watch. I asked the price and it came up at US retail minus, I think taxes. I told him that I had bought my watch cheaper in the UK, to which he replied that they would price match.
Wow! If they could actually do this, I could potentially be getting another watch.
For two days at sea I struggled with urges to phone home, get the receipt photographed and sent back to me, to take along to the shop. But no, I held fast and persuaded myself to at least wait until I got back home, in order to think about another purchase rationally.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/vacation-with-benefits-edit-2-new-photos.96476/
Day 3, St. Kitts.
We had been on an excursion most of the day, taking in the wonders of this beautiful island.
We arrived back at the port, rather tired, hot and with the effects of the days sun starting to take its toll. Here there was the bustle of hundreds of other cruise passengers hopping from one duty free shop to another.
Making our way to the ship, I noticed one of the jewellery shops had an Omega sign above the door.
I thought I could just nip in and see what they had to offer.
This now brings me to the review;
Colors Jewellers
We had the most wonderful shopping experience here.
For a start, the building was air conditioned. This gave us instant relief from the sun we had been out in all day.
As soon as we started looking at the items (my partner at the diamonds and I at the Omegas) we were greeted by the brothers that run the shop, Bunty and Nick.
They obviously spotted that we were a little exhausted and hot after our day trip. We were offered bottles of ice cold water, followed by large glasses of our preferred drinks of Rum and Coke and Gin and Tonics, on the rocks of course. I can say they went down an absolute treat!
I might add at this stage that neither of us had any intention of buying anything.
Nick was very knowledgable about the watches. He picked up on my interest too. We chatted for quite a while during which time he got out a few Seamasters that he noticed I was looking at. He invited me to try them all on to which I obliged.
In the meantime, Bunty was at the diamond counter showing my partner around the diamond jewellery.
Buy the time I had spotted the model of PO that had caught my eye, I was probably a couple of Rum and cokes down.
Well, Nick used his sales charm well that day. As he was getting to work on me, I was quietly checking Omega’s website to see if the place was an AD. It was.
He had obviously picked up on my desire to own this watch and there was no way he was going to let me leave the store without it. I mean this in the nicest possible way, of course. I must point out that I never felt pressurised at any time whist in the shop.
My partner ended up buying a pair of one carat earrings, and I ended up purchasing the other PO I had fancied.
This, after entering the store without the intention of buying anything.
Yes they were impulse buys, but we were so happy with what we came away with and I had the best purchasing experience I have ever had at an Omega AD.
If any of you good people are in St. Kitts, I thoroughly recommend this store. Friendly, knowledgeable owners, making you feel comfortable, a great selection of watches and jewellery.
But beware! You might end up short of pocket due to the experience! Lol
I have just spent a week in this beautiful part of the world that is also known for its excellent duty free shopping.
I thought I would post my experience here in the hope that some of you might do the same that have ventured this part of the world, whether you have purchased or not.
I initially had planned a cruise to call at St Thomas. I had researched that this was probably the best place to purchase the particular Planet Ocean I was interested in, and make the best savings.
I figured the money I would save on the watch would partially fund the trip.
I made the decision to phone one of the top watch shops on the island, to make sure I would get near the savings I needed to make the trip a viable proposition. Especially to my partner, who I had to persuade to even get the plan off the ground in the first place!
On talking to the manager it became apparent that I would be highly disappointed! The tax and duty free prices had not been even close to the savings I had expected.
By this time I had my heart set on the cruise (not to mention my partner who had also become very keen on my plan). Not deterred, I set about trying to achieve a reasonable discount at home, in the UK. Any savings I made would go towards the holiday and I would have the advantage of having the watch on the start of the trip.
Initially, visits to local ADs proved fruitless. None I visited moved on Omega’s retail prices.
I hadn’t given up though, an AD I had last used over six years ago, near where I lived at the time, had given me reasonable discounts back then. So off I travelled 120 miles to the old AD.
Success! A great discount was achieved that went towards paying close to half of the holiday cost and I had bagged a much loved Liquid Metal and ceramic 8900 PO.
I was more than happy, as was my partner.
The trouble was, when at the AD, I had also seen another PO that had caught my eye.
In fact, at the time, is was real tough deciding which one I wished to part with my cash for.
Anyway, off we travelled to the wonderful Fla. USofA to catch the boat from the wonderful Royal Caribbean cruise line’s fleet.
En route we passed through Heathrow Airport to discover that the duty free Omega prices had come short of the discount I had achieved at the AD. This made me feel rather pleased with myself.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/heathrow-terminal-3.96098/
To my amazement, when on board the ship, I quickly discovered there was a dedicated watch shop with a really nice selection of Omegas. I was like a kid in a sweet shop. Lol
Importantly, it had the other model PO that had caught my eye from my original search.
One of the sales assistants saw my interest in the particular watch. I asked the price and it came up at US retail minus, I think taxes. I told him that I had bought my watch cheaper in the UK, to which he replied that they would price match.
Wow! If they could actually do this, I could potentially be getting another watch.
For two days at sea I struggled with urges to phone home, get the receipt photographed and sent back to me, to take along to the shop. But no, I held fast and persuaded myself to at least wait until I got back home, in order to think about another purchase rationally.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/vacation-with-benefits-edit-2-new-photos.96476/
Day 3, St. Kitts.
We had been on an excursion most of the day, taking in the wonders of this beautiful island.
We arrived back at the port, rather tired, hot and with the effects of the days sun starting to take its toll. Here there was the bustle of hundreds of other cruise passengers hopping from one duty free shop to another.
Making our way to the ship, I noticed one of the jewellery shops had an Omega sign above the door.
I thought I could just nip in and see what they had to offer.
This now brings me to the review;
Colors Jewellers
We had the most wonderful shopping experience here.
For a start, the building was air conditioned. This gave us instant relief from the sun we had been out in all day.
As soon as we started looking at the items (my partner at the diamonds and I at the Omegas) we were greeted by the brothers that run the shop, Bunty and Nick.
They obviously spotted that we were a little exhausted and hot after our day trip. We were offered bottles of ice cold water, followed by large glasses of our preferred drinks of Rum and Coke and Gin and Tonics, on the rocks of course. I can say they went down an absolute treat!
I might add at this stage that neither of us had any intention of buying anything.
Nick was very knowledgable about the watches. He picked up on my interest too. We chatted for quite a while during which time he got out a few Seamasters that he noticed I was looking at. He invited me to try them all on to which I obliged.
In the meantime, Bunty was at the diamond counter showing my partner around the diamond jewellery.
Buy the time I had spotted the model of PO that had caught my eye, I was probably a couple of Rum and cokes down.
Well, Nick used his sales charm well that day. As he was getting to work on me, I was quietly checking Omega’s website to see if the place was an AD. It was.
He had obviously picked up on my desire to own this watch and there was no way he was going to let me leave the store without it. I mean this in the nicest possible way, of course. I must point out that I never felt pressurised at any time whist in the shop.
My partner ended up buying a pair of one carat earrings, and I ended up purchasing the other PO I had fancied.
This, after entering the store without the intention of buying anything.
Yes they were impulse buys, but we were so happy with what we came away with and I had the best purchasing experience I have ever had at an Omega AD.
If any of you good people are in St. Kitts, I thoroughly recommend this store. Friendly, knowledgeable owners, making you feel comfortable, a great selection of watches and jewellery.
But beware! You might end up short of pocket due to the experience! Lol
Edited:
