Personal items on excursions

[m&m1]

What do you do with your personal items while on excursions - for instance, one would take their passport when going into Mexico, but what would that person do with it while snorkeling? Same with an extra change of clothing or whatever else you might need to bring - your camera????

 

Cruise addict in the making

[jcruise67]

m&m1,

 

First you need to determine the type of excusion that your embarking on. Then you should prepare accordingly. Consider bringing only neccessities, and nothing of substantial value. If you are with a group off the ship, chances are someone trustworthy will assist in watching your camera or passport while you engage in a little activity. If you decide to embark on an excursion alone or with a significant other, be careful of where you wander off. It helps if you have been there before or you have learned about your ports of call prior to your cruise as well. Most cruise lines put out an itinerary of excursions. It also helps to get to know what you want to do before hand too. No matter what excursion you embark on, always be aware of your surroundings, especially in unfamiliar teritory. If you are aprehensive about your personal items, then I suggest you book your excursions with the cruise line.

 

JCruise

 

CRUIZ'IN & BOOZ'IN IS WHAT WE'RE CHOOZ'IN

 

[Sheffie]

M&M

Hope this helps some:

 

What do you do with your personal items while on excursions - for instance, one would take their passport when going into Mexico, but what would that person do with it while snorkeling?

 

We take our passports, copy them and then shrink them and laminate them. We place these, our ship card and money in a water wallet. I take and loop that around the strap of my swimming suit and stuff it down the front. (Don't want to get strangled.)

 

Same with an extra change of clothing or whatever else you might need to bring - your camera????

 

We take a back pack for our extra clothes and towels. We take disposable cameras, including an underwater one. I think these are cheap enough so that people wouldn't steal them.

 

Michelle

 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

 

Till we sail Splendour of the Seas 3/26/05!

 

 

Century 3/20/04

Horizon 4/03

Golden Princess 3/30/02

Grandeur 4/01

Holiday 3/92

[eshej]

Hi all, my husband and I are cruising for the first time next week. Were can you buy water wallets? Thanks

[Brucemcdou]

Hi, M&M 1 -

 

I absolutely agree with the above posters, to be aware of what's involved on the tour/excursion, and take the minimum amount of personal items with you. If you're going on a water excursion (sailing, snorkeling) my partner and I either take a back pack or a water proof tote. We use sealable baggies (both sandwich size and gallon size) for anything that could be hurt by water, such as a passport or other paper, or a camera. We also use disposable cameras, which are cheap and you can buy waterproof versions. Be aware that you probably don't need to take your passport off the ship, but just a picture ID in order to get back on (ask at the tour desk if you have any concerns about that). On most foreign port stops you've already been cleared by foreign customs based on the ship's information.

 

Also, don't forget some cash, both to tip the tour operators and also to buy some souvenirs if you want. I usually take a $5 and a $10 bill with me, and don't bother to take a credit card. And enjoy!

 

There are never enough days at sea!

[SoBayJake]

eshej,

I picked up the water wallets are REI ( www.rei.com ) for $5 each.

 

They are plenty big, and claimed to have a double seal. While technically correct, I was thinking it would have two of the Ziploc-type seals, but instead it had one, and to form the other seal, you rolled the top part down and velcro-ed it shut.

 

It seems to work ok. I would say any camping/outdoor store would have them.

 

-J

 

Caribbean Princess - 4/17/04

[eshej]

Thanks for the tip J!

[m&m1]

Thanks everyone for your great ideas. Yes, we have cruised once before and are learning about our ports. I understnad Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel can be chancy in different ways. This is the first time we are taking the kids of whom I have full custody, so I wanted to make sure we had our passports with us. Sheffie/Michelle: great idea on shrinking and laminating them. I think I'll do this to my custody papers as well. And we do use disposable cameras which I think are cheap enough that not too many get stolen. I am getting water wallets or beach safes for each of us. Thanks again everyone for your great tips and advice.

 

Cruise addict in the making

[smudge's mom]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I heard someone had their one-use camera stolen. I can't believe anyone would want a stupid one use camera. What in the world would you do with it - take the remaining photos and then pay to get developed a bunch of photos you don't want? Bizarre.

 

I also suggest taking old clothes and shoes to the beach. Besides having no interest for thieves, clothes get really dirty on these excursions and sometimes colors run when clothes get wet.

[imsp]

I went to a scuba shop and bought a waterproof container. It's a little bigger than a cigarette pack and is on a long adjustable string. I just tied it to my swim suit or wore it around my neck. It also floats if it should come loose. I smoke so i used it for cigarettes, liter, ship card and cash. Everything fit perfectly. They run about $8 to $10 dollars. Work great for me. I use it when snorkeling and on float trips. I think I remember seeing them in a shop on the ship too.

[happysinglemom]

How on earth do you laminate a passport? It's a book - right? (Unless things have changed - it's been a while since I had one, and I am now awaiting my new one.) Do you just copy the two front pages?

 

Adventure of the Seas will be our maiden cruise!

[Sheffie]

I made a copy of our passports, shrank it to about the size of a playing card, and then laminated that. I know it isn't the same as the "real thing," but it is an identification that will get you back on the ship, as well as good identification if you need to go see the American consulate for anything, or if you miss the ship and have to fly to the next port (heaven forbid).

[ausbai]

Always purchase your underwater camera prior to your cruise at Wal-mart or somewhere other than on the ship. It is considerably cheaper!

[cb at sea]

We've never needed a change of clothes....wear your swimsuit and shorts/tee or coverup.....get out of the water 20-30 mins. before time to leave and dry off...put your stuff on over your suit....it will do until you get back to the ship! Even if you're stopping to shop...as long as you aren't showing your suit, you're fine.

[SuitCaseBears]

On any swimming-diving-snorkling excursion there is ALWAYS someone from whatever company is running the trip left on the boat, and if they weren't trustworthy they would be out of a job in the blink of an eye. So I've never had a problem leaving my stuff on board.

 

On other types of excursions, like ATVing where you might get wet but you don't have to leave your stuff, I put things in plastic bags in a day pack.

 

The beach is a different problem, but there are usually folks from the cruise who you recognize who'll watch your stuff while you swim. On the odd occasion where we've both wanted to go in the water, we use baggies. DH wears baggie swim trunks with pockets.

 

Of course having a non-swimming spouse is the best solution, but that's not always easy to arrange.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Sorry to burst your bubble' date=' but I heard someone had their one-use camera stolen. I can't believe anyone would want a stupid one use camera. What in the world would you do with it - take the remaining photos and then pay to get developed a bunch of photos you don't want? Bizarre.[/quote']

It's not so much that it's bizarre, more that you've missed the point. I don't think anyone believes that a one-use camera can't be stolen, it's more that it doesn't matter as much if it is.

 

As for the remaining photos, if you think about it, it's possible that at some point in the near future there may be something else they want to take a photo of - another beach perhaps? - so they don't have to fire off the shots at random. Or you can not shoot the remaining pictures and the film will be developed as if it was a shorter film - a 36-exposure with only 20 pictures counts as a 24-exposure film.