Had a friend/co-worker who went through hell with a cruise ship purchase. She bought it in for something to her jeweler, I think to get adjusted to fit, and he said the stones were wonderful, and asked where she got it, usual chit chat.

She said something like not a bad price for so many carats, he informed her it wasn't anywhere near that size, that each of the stones they said were some size were just over half that size.

There was much back and forth with them over the discrepancies, they had them pull out each stone and weigh them, it was still way under. In the end she just had the charge reversed, they never came to an agreement over it, and she sent the bracelet back to them.

We were both working for the bank the credit card was from, so there was no issue of credibility when the dispute started, but if it was somebody off the street the outcome could have been quite different.

Every single item on a cruise ship is a profit center. They sell cans of coke for $2.50 each I can get this week at Stop and Shop for seventeen cents. There are no deals on anything you purchase on board, everything is being sold for the sole purpose of adding to the bottom line.