Purses on Excursions????

[maloy]

A new question has arisen. During our many talks of wishing our cruise was now; my dw is wondering what to do with her purse and my dd's purse during an excursion? I did some searching but all I could find were threads that talked of those big "shoplifter special" bags. I'm concerned of theft issues, but my dd is going to want to control her spending money, and the dw cant stand the thought of everything being in a beach bag. any thoughts??

[2Cruise4Ever]

Depending on the excursion, I only bring my fanny pack. I don't even bring my purse on the cruise. If we're going to the beach, then the fanny pack goes in the beach bag.

[Caribbean Sunsets]

I bring as little as possible off the ship. I'll only bring what I think I may need for cash and sometimes a credit card depending on the type of excursion we have planned. The cash I'll keep in a water safe around my neck when at the beach. On land type outings, I put some of my money in my backpack and some in my pocket or sneaker.

[dustyroad]

i have a soft lightweight leather bag with a long strap i use for the entire vacation. it is a smaller size just big enough for my slim digital camera, small wallet, and a few toiletries if i need them. the strap goes across my chest for security reasons. it is very handy and i feel comfortable while carrying it.

[KC_fn]

I'm a small-purse girl anyway, so I just take my normal bag on excursions. My purse has a zip closure, which I think is a little safer than a snap closure. I do take only a small amount of cash and leave the rest in the cabin safe; I also leave my CC on the ship unless I'm planning a specific major purchase. I take only what's necessary for the excursion -- money, ID, chapstick, kleenex, hand wipes, small camera -- in order to reduce weight and make it easier to handle.

 

More important than equipment, though, is smart behavior. Your DW should be aware of her surroundings, keep the bag tucked under her arm, not swinging freely, and of course, she should never put it down, even for a second. And for me, if purse-snatching was a serious concern in a given place, I'd think twice about going there at all.

[grandmato4]

A new question has arisen. During our many talks of wishing our cruise was now; my dw is wondering what to do with her purse and my dd's purse during an excursion? I did some searching but all I could find were threads that talked of those big "shoplifter special" bags. I'm concerned of theft issues, but my dd is going to want to control her spending money, and the dw cant stand the thought of everything being in a beach bag. any thoughts??

 

The purse I use on excursions is not the same purse I would use at home on a daily basis. I actually consider several different options depending on the ports we are visiting and what we are doing. First, plan to only take off the ship what you are REALLY going to need and nothing more no matter what kind of excursion you are going on.

 

If we are going to the beach I don't take a seperate purse but use the zippered pocket inside our beach bag to put the few "purse items" I feel are required to take. Normally one of us is not in the water at the same time as the others and in charge of keeping their eyes on things. We do have waterproof pouches that go over our necks to put our sail and sign cards, one credit card, and cash into if all are going into the water at the same time so there is no chance of what is important being stolen. I've always taken my digital camera and left it in the beach bag while swimming and never had any problem but if this was a real concern for me I would take an inexpensive disposable camera to the beach with me and not my digital camera that I would not want to be stolen.

 

Normally for excursions(non-beach) I take a purse with an over the shoulder strap just large enough to hold cash, sail and sign card, ID, port agent information, credit card, tissues, suntan lotion, one water bottle(only if a really warm port), and camera and sunglasses. Beleive me, less is much better than more.

[GORDONCHICK]

Since I am never caught off the ship without my cameras (and lenses), I have a messenger bag that goes across my body (don't like backpacks - makes my back hot and I don't have accessibility). The bag is large enough for the cameras, sunscreen, and I carry little change purse that holds my ID, keycard, credit card, and money, which also goes in the bag. The bag I currently love for the size is actually a diaper bag! It's made by Columbia and is perfect with great pockets. I love that it has a little insulated padding to help protect my equipment. Mine is similar to this but in red:

 

[trish1c]

I ditch the purse & put a very small bag (usually a child's single compartment fanny pack) w/ a few dollars, ID, & a credit card & maybe some lip balm w/ SPF into the beach bag. We have a water wallets for the real valuables. I have never brought a purse on anything but a shopping excursion. I have seen plenty of women toting their regular at-home-hold-everything purse around with them. I generally try not to laugh at them.

[dustyroad]

i am with you on not lugging around my normal purse. the last thing i want to do or worry about while on land or the ship is a purse getting in my way. a small bag that goes across my chest with a zipper is the only way to go.

[Teeara]

I believe it is Magellans which has a waterproof fanny pack which contains a waterproof pouch within a slim fanny pack. Perfect for storing the credit card, Seapass and cash. Used mine cavetubing in Belize and it worked like a charm. Nothing got wet or stolen.

 

Or, you could be a really sweet hubby and put them in a waterproof pouch in your swim trunks. ;)

 

Theresa

[tratc1]

I believe it is Magellans which has a waterproof fanny pack which contains a waterproof pouch within a slim fanny pack. Perfect for storing the credit card, Seapass and cash. Used mine cavetubing in Belize and it worked like a charm. Nothing got wet or stolen.

 

Or, you could be a really sweet hubby and put them in a waterproof pouch in your swim trunks. ;)

 

Theresa

Where can you get these waterproof pouches/bags?

[myrtle0116]

Can pull up Magellan waterproof fanny pack or "The Waterproof Store" to find different items. Some are considerably more expensive than others.

 

Susan

[caymanislandgirl13]

I just got my waterproof pouches in the mail tuesday. They are the lewis n clark brand they have them cheapest at amazon however they take 2-3 weeks to get in then plus shipping time. I didnt have enough time to get them from there so I ordered them from gearlabs. The reviews on them looked good and I tried them out for a while in the kitchen sink and they worked great. They are supposed to be good to at least 9 feet deep. I am going to take them to the pool in a few days to practice snorkeling again and to see how they go. I got two, one for our camera (that you can use for underwater camera) and one for our cash cards and whatever else.

[ohitssunshine]

When going to Disney I had the same issues. I got a Baggallini- it works great as it goes across you and it has a lot of room and is very organized.

 

http://www.baggallini.com/product2.asp?collection=%27eco%27%20&product=%27EMES160%27&Fabric=%27eco%27

[vdarrell]

I bought a travel bag that I love it is light weight nylon bag and has many departments even a water bottle pocket and has many compartments with zippers. Goes across the shoulder.

Check it out of www.ebags.com. I think it is called messager bag.

[CanWeGoYet?]

For on board the ship, a little wristlet to hold my room key, on board account card etc, will be fine. If I'm on a shore excursion I need to bring more stuff. After reading about some accounts of tourists having their purses slashed, I got the pacsafe citysafe200 bag. It's cute, the one I got is a medium brown with a bright blue lining.

http://www.travelsmith.com/jump.jsp?itemID=8363&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C292%2C348&iProductID=8363&sortBy=0

 

 

In any case, I'd be cautious of backpacks or someone getting into your purse from behind you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VENGbZq5DPg

[LuckyStar]

I got a small shoulder strap purse at Walmart for about $10 that was the perfect travel size. It didn't hold a ton of stuff but was small and compact and didn't take up much space. It had a zipper too which is very important in ports.

[amandaepperson21]

I carry a backpack for my needs (primarily because I use my own snorkel gear and towels... germs=eew). We prepay for our excursions most of the time so we don't carry cash on them. If we want to go shopping afterward, we go back to the boat and get $$ then come back out.