Favorite Cruise Souvenirs?

[SA Mom]

We set sail on our first cruise next month. What have been some of your favorite souvenirs? Besides alcohol, what items are particularly good deals? Items you've treasured for years? Things teenagers purchased and still enjoy?

 

I have visions of us coming home with a bunch of cheap crud and thinking, "Why did we buy this?"

 

Our ports are Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth.

[theminnow]

We usually try and purchase a Christmas tree ornament from each of the ports as well as one of the ship we are sailing.

 

Craig

[temple1]

It is like shopping on any vacation, we have all come home with trinkets we wonder why we purchased them. :)

 

Like theminnow posted, we purchase an ornament from each ship and port we visit. Over the years, the ornament is not necessarily a traditional round ball - but something local to the area. Plus in the ports you are visiting - Cozumel - look for local pottery. I bought some very nice pieces at Discover Mexico's gift shop (one of the Royal Caribbean tours).

 

In Falmouth you will be shopping in the port - go through the shops - there was one that featured local art - look for pieces that you like.

 

I've not done much shopping in Georgetown. A lot depends on the tour you take.

 

Shopping for teenagers? That is a whole different ballgame, good luck. My only thoughts are to find local jewelry.

Edited June 1, 2015 by temple1

[trev71]

I like to collect a few postcards from each port of call I go too. Or something with the name of the port on it. (nothing in particular).

[SA Mom]

Thanks to all. I just wasn't sure if there was anything specific to look for in each port (like glass in Venice or lace in Brugge). We were in Montego Bay for our Honeymoon many years ago and the only thing we brought home were coffee and booze. I'm hoping to branch out this trip.

[Doug S]

Not really a shopping item, but the main thing that really stays with us and brings back good memories are the pictures. Mostly taken ourselves, but a few bought from the cruise photo dept. Keep them on FB or scrolling on my screen-saver library and actually see them fairly often.

 

I'd say most of the t-shirts, trinkets and doo-dads wind up in the trash or Goodwill box a few years later.

 

One exception may be a few drink/shot glasses we keep at the pool bar.

[Scotty G]

We set sail on our first cruise next month. What have been some of your favorite souvenirs?

 

We have the ship models from each of the ships we have been on.

[Jan_In_Maine]

I always buy a Christmas tree ornament, a painted tile, and a print of the area we have visited (I have a cruise room with all the prints on the walls).

 

Also:

 

Cozumel - I always pick up vanilla - also for my son that plays chess I got him a lovely chess set.

 

I hope you have a wonderful adventure on your cruise. Jan

[MCC retired]

Ship Logo coffee mugs .

[cincicruisers]

I take home a souvenir each cruise.....

 

5-6 pounds!!!:eek:

[dacsmom]

I usually bring home a Christmas ornament from each port, and a keychain from each ship. Sometime a mug, and of course I have a set of almost every drink glass sitting on shelves collecting dust. I am still glad I got them even though I never use them.

The best thing I took home from Falmouth was Jamaican coffee, boy is that good. From Cozumel it was the tequila, and I am not a big tequila fan but they have many flavors.

[cruznlion]

We have the ship models from each of the ships we have been on.

 

We also collect the ships models.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

We have the ship models from each of the ships we have been on.

 

I also do this.

[DFWJean&Bill]

We get currency from each place we visit. We just got back from this same cruise. The paper money in Cayman Islands is beautiful! And we bring it back to our elementary age grandkids. They have quite a collection. Christmas ornaments are fun, we just ended up with too many. We also try to take a photo of both of us at some site specific to the area, or with a unique person (you will see these on every port!).

 

Just ask for local money exchange when you buy something in the market area (bottled water

[gatour]

In Cozumel, we usually stop at Los Cinco Soles. It has a lot Mexican handicrafts. At the very least I pick up a bottle vanilla extract from there.

 

In Grand Cayman, there is a touristy shop, but it sells T-Shirts that help support the local animal shelter. My wife always buy a t-shirt from them. It has an image of a cocker spaniel and reference to the animal shelter. One of my wife's former pets was a cocker spaniel.

 

I am a cat person, so whenever I go to new port, I look for some type of local handicraft, that incorporates a cat.

[foxgoodrich]

Probably the neatest thing we've bought was something we found several years ago on the occasion of our 30th anniversary. We were in Grand Cayman, and we stopped by the first jewelry store by the tender pier and looked at shipwreck coins, as we were thinking this could be a neat anniversary gift to give each other. They were expen$$ive! Like about $500 each for a coin made into a pendant. So we passed and walked on down the street…

 

We happened on a small local shop called Artifacts. This little shop had lots of neat small antique items, including salvage from ship wrecks, plus a large collection of shipwreck coins. We found matching Spanish one real silver coins made into simple pendants for $220 and $240. (one coin weighed a bit more than the other, so the diff in price is due to the silver, either in the coin or the pendant setting) Our coins were salvaged from the wreck of the Santa Maria de la Consolacion, which went down in 1681 near Santa Clara Island, off the coast of Chile. Each came with a certificate describing the coin and signed by the salvage diver.

 

DH wears his on a silver chain, and I put mine on a chain made with tiny pearls. We've really enjoyed them, and we've had lots of people comment on them and ask about them.

 

We have totally bought our share of local souvenir type stuff and Christmas ornaments at many ports, but we both agree that our shipwreck coins are the best purchase from all of our cruises. (Well…DH says he is somewhat torn…he got some Johnny Walker Blue in St Martin a few years ago for $85/bottle…but since that's long gone I maintain it doesn't count.:p)

 

Judy

[Robinola]

I still like my license plate cover: my other car is a cruise ship.

[1ParticularHbr]

Add us to the list of Christmas ornament collectors. When we get home, we put the date on the ornament with a Sharpie marker. Every year at Christmas we enjoy unpacking the ornaments and recalling the memories from each port. The other thing we've started getting is beach sea glass. My sister is a jeweler and makes me a custom sea glass pendant, set in sterling silver, from our cruises.

Edited June 2, 2015 by 1ParticularHbr

[krazy4kruisin]

Refrigerator magnets. WE have collected them for years. They are not on our frig though. We are planning on taking an old large frame and putting a piece of sheet metal on the back to display the magnets in our office or rec room.

[Bowmanvilletravel]

I collect a tiny bit of sand/soil from every where is have gone and put them in tiny jars in a case. They look amazing altogether and so different!

[GiggleBee]

on my very first cruise on the Independence I brought a teddy bear with 'Independence of the seas' wrote on his jumper (it's a much smaller one of the one which appears on the shelf in the 'once upon a time' show) and he has come on all the cruises with me since.

 

I swore I wouldn't buy anymore teddy bears on the ship as Jack-pot (yes, he has a name haha! I had to name him after one of the cruise staff due to us mixing up his name!) was special as it was my first time on a cruise ect. Anyway, on my most recent cruise also aboard the independence, we were looking around the shop and at the bears and we found one with a hole in its leg and its leg also sat at a funny angle and by the last day of the cruise it was still sat there and I just kind of felt sorry for it as I didn't think anyone would want to buy a broken bear, so I gave in and brought him (Yes I know I'm sad for feeling sorry for a stuffed toy :p) So yeah, now I have two cruise bears and they're one of my favourite things I've brought on a cruise.

Edited June 2, 2015 by GiggleBee

[JimAOk1945]

Besides frig magnets, we always buy T Shirts from each ship and at least one from a favorite port visited on each cruise.

 

We usually wait until the last sea day to buy the T shirts since sometimes there is more of a variety than what you see in the onboard shop during the week.

[cymru cruiser]

We always buy a ship logo t shirt for my father in law and two ship logo mugs one for us and one for my mother in law.

[nelblu]

Shipshape t-shirts & hats. Still have a bunch of Shipshape dollars that I haven't spent--waiting for a good buy on RCL. LOL

[Alohaaloha]

We try and collect a pin featuring the ship we are on. The only one we missed was Voyager. We put them on our sea pass lanyards.

 

 

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