Want a Rolex? This cruise helps you skip the waitlist

Somewhere in the Mediterranean between Portofino and Monaco, I'm slipping a Cartier Baignoire onto my wrist, deciding whether to buy it. At €9550 ($15,620), the bathtub-shaped watch exceeds my souvenir budget for a four-day voyage. But it might also be my best opportunity to make the purchase while evading the usual waitlist back on land. 'Shall we ring it up?' asks Mayor Baria, the onboard Cartier ambassador, as I picture wearing it to drinks at the ship's open-air Sky Bar. 'Or should we take another look at the Panthère?'