Well I am back!
So in my last blog post I posted about some things that make Caribbean living a little rough and I know it shocked a lot of people that Caribbean life isn't paradise 24/7. But most people had the question of how I got down here..
A cruise ship. My life revolves around cruise ships. I work for a company who's target market are cruisers. We are open when the ship is in and when they leave we leave. I revolve around floating hotels essentially. But what kills me is on an average day about 12,000 tourist come to the island by ship and only about 15% know where they're at or what they are doing. So here are 3 things locals would LOVE it if you knew before shopping.
#1- Know where you are
I cannot stress this enough.. seriously. When you brook your cruise they give you an itinerary and there is this wonderful tool called google. Put it together. I'm not asking you to know each islands history and their currency power. Just know the basics, the first line of google should be enough. When I was living in Grand Cayman (which is owned by the UK) people would constantly ask why we don't offer a military discount. PLEASE know where you are. Understand when you are international and when you are in the US. And if you don't know then just ask, locals are proud and will be happy to inform you. Or just turn on your cell phone and your next bill will inform you.
#2-Know where and when to bargain
Okay so this one may be purely for my sake. When you cruise to the Caribbean and if you are looking to shop someone on that ships sole job is to help you. They're called shopping guides. In order for a company to be listed as a "preferred shopping" they have to follow ethics rules and laws. Stick to these shops if you want to shop with confidence. Go to a ma and pa shop if you want to never hear or see them again once you step back on the boat. I am talking big purchases such as diamonds not just a typical hoodie. We are not all tents outside in Mexico. If you go into one of these preferred stores and try barginning you aren't asking the employee to help save you a couple dollars.. you're asking the employee to put their job on the line. If an employee says no we can't bargain here.. do not push it. Also you look like an idiot when you are buying $40 worth of stuff and are asking for a discount and the person next to you is buying $500 and hasn't asked for a thing.
#3-Don't let the free stuff ruin your vacation
I like free just as much as the next person, but don't waist your entire vacation going into various stores looking for free stuff. Sure it's just a tactic to get you into the stores and occasionally it can turn into a sale, but you would be surprised how many people come in full force demand their free stuff and bee line it right out of there. If you just want free stuff that's fine, but I will be the first to tell you, you are waisting your vacation. Don't pull up a map of all the stores and outline where you are going in order to get the most free stuff. You paid for a good vacation, not for cheap free give a aways. Go enjoy the beaches, culture, excursions, or go see the sights. That's the stuff you'll remember and you'll want to take home memories not free stuff.
I know I am completely biased on this stuff because I live in it. I don't mean to lecture anyone by this blog post some people just don't know. Don't know how to shop in the caribbean so this blog is to just inform you how to get the most of your vacation while picking up some stuff as well. I am all for shopping in the caribbean because well it's what gives me a job. Most people shop in the caribbean to avoid duties and taxes so it's not a bad idea at all to shop! Just be open to advice.
