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You're certainly correct on your shopping tips. From my personal observations, I find that freepers really don't look on our cruises as extensive "shopping trips". I, myself, only pick up a few inexpensive unique items or native crafts to decorate some nook or cranny in my home. No serious purchases.

From my cabin balcony on past cruises, it always amuses me to look down at the gangplank in port to see tourists huffing, puffing and sweating as they haul cases of liquor and other bulky items back to the ship. Stuff they could get cheaper on sale at Walgreen's when they get home.

One passenger told me she purchased a particular piece of Royal Doulton she wanted in the ship's shopping arcade, and it was less expensive than in St. Thomas.

To me, the ship's the trip, plus the sightseeing and beach fun. But then, I'm not a mall rat to begin with. But I do love to browse the native craft shops in the ports. In Cozumel, I bought 8 light-weight place mats on the cheap (plus easy to pack and take home). They're handpainted with colorful hibiscus and are so eye-catching that my dinner guests exclaim over them. These are the type of things I look for.

Leni

Like you, I can't see hauling 4 or 5 bottles of liquor through customs and then on a plane, just to save 3 or 4 dollars each. It's worth 20 or 25 dollars to me not to have to deal with that. On the other hand, if you are into single malt scotch and cognac, as I am, it suddenly becomes worth it.

Last year, I saved almost $100 on each of three bottles of scotch and over $500 on a bottle of cognac. I think that most people would put up with a little hassle to save $800. You just have to decide what your limit is.

I should also note that cognacs and other French brandies are much cheaper if you buy them on one of the French owned islands, such as Martinique or the French side of St. Martin. But, just keep in mind that you can only bring back one bottle per person, tax free, from islands other than St. Thomas. I buy my single malts on St. Thomas and then buy just one or two bottles of cognac on a French island (my wife declares a second bottle of cognac, if necessary).

Since the French got so snooty about the war in Iraq, I have boycotted most French products. It really wasn't that hard to do, since there are at least moderately acceptable substitutes for most French products. However, nothing in the world comes anywhere close to matching the character of Louis XIII or Richard Hennessy cognac, except a few other very expensive French cognacs. The same applies to champagnes. Therefore, I make exceptions for those two products. After all, there are limits to what civilized people should be forced to endure. :-)