My husband and I have taken many many cruises over the years.... Without a doubt Carnival heavily promotes their "recommended vendors". they do this with undertones of safety issues and basic fraud threats if you use other vendors...."Only Carnival Recommended Vendors Offer Genuine Guarantees of precious metal and stone purchases". We have always knew it was a "kick back" kind of thing.....Therefore we usually always grab a cab at port and head somewhere else to be able to experience the area. I encourage all passengers to explore the areas of Port; to stay in the Cruise ship gates, you might as well stay on board.....