Best Caribbean Souvenirs?

[phannapolis]

Hi There,

 

I am traveling on a cruise in January. Looking for any souvenir ideas you may have? Anything you bought that you absolutely love? We are stopping in: Antigua, St. Kitts, San Juan, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Martinique & Grand Turk. Probably looking for items under $100. Thanks in advance for your advice! Happy cruising everyone :)

[cherylandtk]

You can check out the Port Guides for each of those locations here on cruise critic, click on the 'tips' tab to find out the 'best' in each port, including souvenirs. As a quick start, here is the page for Grand Turk

http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=155

[Floridiana]

We bring back Rum from Barbados and from small boutique distilleries on other islands, chocolate from Mexico. I have one t-shirt and one sarong and my husband has one baseball cap, from various islands. Best buy: Beautiful bathing suits from a small store in Philipsburg, St. Marten.

[Guest maddycat]

We usually bring back Sheridan (Irish coffee and cream cordial) and Talia (Italian amaretto and cream cordial). Neither are available in the States. The best prices are in St. Martin and St. Thomas.

 

I also love Kush Kush perfume. It's made in Jamaica but I buy it in St. Thomas.

[Grandma Dazzles]

For many years I purchased Christmas ornaments at each port of call with the name of the island. Brings back many happy memories when decorating the tree.

[prairielily]

my favorite things are my map of the caribbean and my shells.

[brunello22]

We like to bring back local spices and small bottles of cordials. In St. Kitts we visited one of the Batik factories, and bought hand-painted throw pillow covers (easy to pack).

[jmf123]

my favorite things are my map of the caribbean and my shells.

 

My favorite is the USVI map (antique style) that I purchased years ago at maps monde, on St. Thomas. I matted and framed it at a local shop back home- love it!

[tetleytea]

Lots of Mexican vanilla.

 

Stuff hovering for just under $25. I got a Mayan onyx chess set for $25, which even though I didn't need it, it became a white elephant gift the next Christmas (and our white elephant gift exchanges tend to hover around a $25 limit). It was the first present to go off the market--because its value in the States was closer to $80, not $25 (which we paid).

[SuiteTraveler]

We have a swimming pool, so I bought beach towels with the names of each Caribbean Island we visited. Those are probably the souvenirs we have enjoyed the most and each towel brings back a specific memory of our cruises.

[marco]

Memories and photographs. The last thing we need is more "stuff".

[tweetypie_67]

I guess u can't do it so much any more but we always collected a slot token from each ship we were on or casino we went to for my young son. He is now 23 n has a slot token from all the ships we have been on and casinos all over the world!

[Sandy Sails]

I first bought an adorable little turtle in St. Thomas that had the name of the island on it. The next port, I saw another one with the name of that island on it. Then it just exploded. I now have about 100 turtles in different sizes, colors, material, usually with the names of the islands on them.

My husband usually gets a t-shirt or tank top with the island name on it.

Whatever strikes your fancy - each island usually has the same stuff so it you want to collect something, it's easy to do. Magnets, shot glasses, etc.

[Rebel54]

Rum Cake :)

[tetleytea]

Come to think of it, we collect a refrigerator magnet for every place we visit, and we are starting to need another refrigerator.

[Sandy Sails]

Come to think of it, we collect a refrigerator magnet for every place we visit, and we are starting to need another refrigerator.

 

Lol. Or just get a nice piece of sheet metal and hang it on the wall.

[zqvol]

Hi There,

 

I am traveling on a cruise in January. Looking for any souvenir ideas you may have? Anything you bought that you absolutely love? We are stopping in: Antigua, St. Kitts, San Juan, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Martinique & Grand Turk. Probably looking for items under $100. Thanks in advance for your advice! Happy cruising everyone :)

 

I'm sorry but if you have to ask what to buy as a souvenir, you probably shouldn't buy anything. There are certain ports that are known for certain items but I wouldn't consider any of them souvenirs. STT is a good place for liquor, electronics, and jewelry as is SXM. Saba (you won't end up there) is known for hand made white goods, specifically lace.

 

As far as souvenirs the usual made in China stuff is available on all the islands.

 

IMO the best thing you can do to remember your trip is get out and take a lot of pictures.

Edited August 3, 2015 by zqvol

[tetleytea]

I looked on http://www.aliexpress.com for Made in China souvenirs, and it looks like you can buy 24 refrigerator magnets or lapel pins for the same price as you would pay for one in the port shops. And they would ship for free directly to your home. Same price, don't have to carry them in luggage, and hey, 23 souvenirs as gifts. :). All you're doing is cutting the middle man.

Edited August 3, 2015 by tetleytea