souvenirs from San Juan, St Thomas, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua, St Kitts

What are some of your favorite souvenirs that you have brought back from these ports? Or what are these ports famous for making/selling? We are sailing on the Carnival Victory next month and I was just curious of special things I need to look for from each of these places. Our first time to all of the places and only our 2nd cruise (of many to come ;))

Barbados too!:D

Cigars....

:D

We usually just pick up a tshirt from those ports, as most of the shops have the same designer names that you can get in the States, altho a little bit cheaper...

Hi there, we usually pick up x-mas ornaments from the different islands we visit or those bottled sands. Enjoy your second cruise, I'm sure you will have lots more!!!!

Van

Sun Princess - 11/28/1996

RCL- Rhapsody o/t Seas - 9/18/1999

Carnival Elation - 12/4/1999

HAL Veendam - 8/27/2000

RCL - Radiance o/t Seas - 10/12/2001

Star Princess - 9/14/2002

Carnival Destiny - 11/17/2002

Star Princess - 5/10/2003

Carnival Paradise - 11/30/2003

Island Princess - 5/12/2004

Celebrity Infinity - 5/28/2004

NCL Sun - 5/3/2005

Carnival Pride - 3/12/2006

HAL Ryndam - 5/3/2006

NCL Jewel - 11/5/2006

Carnival Miracle - 3/18/2007

HAL Oosterdam - 9/29/2007

HAL Volendam - 5/14/2008

RCL - Liberty o/t Seas - 1/24/2009

Diamond Princess - 5/16/2009

Carnival Spirit - Feb. 15, 2010

RCL- Freedom of the Seas - Aug. 21, 2011

Thanks for the replies. We actually went on this cruise back in Oct 09 and have since been on a 3rd!

I guess I am replying for the general benefit of others visiting these places for the first time.....

Not sure if it falls in the category of "souvenir", but.....RUM!! It's fun to tour the Bacardi Run Factory in San Juan and then buy some rum there to bring home....same with the <can't recall the name> Rum Factory in Barbados. Tip - the Bacardi Factory is a long way from the cruise ship dock in San Juan, so if you plan to tour there independently, be sure to allow yourself PLENTY of time. Go first thing in the morning.

St. Thomas.....I ALWAYS bring back a few boxes of Caribbean Rum Balls. They are DELISH!! The larger box comes with a postcard of Charlotte Amalie Harbor and makes a nice gift to bring back for the gang at the office, the house-sitter, etc. They aren't as easy to find as they once were, but I have always been able to find them at the big liquor store at the back of Havensight Mall.

Dominica....not a place to find "high-end" souvenirs, but if you go to the street market you can find some treasures. I found some artsy-craftsy necklaces and such that were quite pretty. We also came across a guy selling hand-crafted wood carvings he did with his own two hands - they were absolutely beautiful and quite affordable. Due to suitcase space limitations I only bought a small fridge magnet (a kangaroo, of all things!) and I just love it. The thing is, the Dominican people are so wonderful and friendly, it is the kind of place where you may find you want to spend some $$ just to support them and the local economy. So my advice there is...it doesn't matter what you buy, but do buy something!

St. Kitt's.....has the Caribelle Batik Studio which creates all manner of hand-done batik clothing and other textile items. I have been there three times and each time bring back a couple more of the absolutely beautiful throw-pillow covers they sell (approx US$20 each). One tip though - if you are planning to go to the Caribelle Batik Studio (many of the tours stop there), try to check the prices IN town first. We found that some items (in particular the aforementioned pillow covers) were much cheaper at stores in town. The selection is much better AT Caribelle though.

St. Lucia.....pick up a bottle or two of banana ketchup!

Hope this helps!

Cathy :)

I usually go postcard hunting when I went on cruises. They update the postcards pretty often and sometimes I'll find that rare postcard of the SS NORWAY that I didn't have before. I pretty much stuck to that and I still have postcards from the islands I visited.