Bringing a purse/backpack on excursions?

[laur1005]

As I am preparing for my first cruise, I am wondering - do you bring your purse and/or a backpack with your ID,money,waterbottle,etc in it along on active shore excurtions?

 

(I am going ziplining in ketchican, whale watching in juneau, and on a float quest to eagle preserve in skagway )

[Genessa]

As I am preparing for my first cruise, I am wondering - do you bring your purse and/or a backpack with your ID,money,waterbottle,etc in it along on active shore excurtions?

 

(I am going ziplining in ketchican, whale watching in juneau, and on a float quest to eagle preserve in skagway )

 

I have never brought a purse on shore excursions. Sometimes - gasp, a fanny pack - not beautiful, but very practical - hands free.

and dh & I usually bring a backpack. Water bottles, extra hoodie or windbreaker, hat, sunblock. Don't like to put my ID there, though, 'cos then I couldn't actually wear it as a backpack I'd be too paranoid, thus, fanny pack.

[Wormy53]

I always take a small daypack that is water resistant. Some say to put a trash can liner on the inside of it for extra protection.

 

Lots of excursions let you leave things on a locked bus. But I was wondering the same thing about the Glacier Safari excursion, which is a catamaran ride plus canoe and hike. But I did want to take my camera with me! Not sure about the zipline - don't know if a backpack would be in the way.

[cbowler]

While I haven't been on the exact excurions you're doing I can make the following comments:

 

-We did ziplining once before in the caribbean and you were not allowed to zipline with a purse, fannypack, or any type of backpack. We had anticipated this and just took our money/ids/credit cards out of the day pack and put them in our pockets during the actual zipline and left the rest of the stuff in the daypack on the bus. Make sure your pockets have zippers or buttons or velcro! :)

 

-For all other excursions, I never take a purse. It really just gets in the way unless you are just shopping in port. :) What we do is I take a small or medium daypack to accomodate water bottle, snacks, alternate clothings, wallet, etc and my husband takes a backpack style camera bag that will accomodate his hat, sunglasses and other small items.

 

-It's probably not a good idea but sometimes I do just leave my small traveling wallet in the bottom of my backpack while wearing it. It's always at the bottom underneath all the other stuff I'm lugging around so I figure it's a little harder to get at. But more often than not, I simply put my cruise card and id in my husband's wallet and let my husband carry his wallet and pay for stuff.

[wolfie11]

I always carry a backpack with photo gear, clothes, water, etc.

 

They now make something called a "front pocket wallet" that is very slim and designed to be put in a front pantsd pocket. I put my credit card, ships card, and some money for incidentals, tips, etc. in that and it goes in my front pocket (make sure your pants have them when you buy them, as some manufacturers, especially of women's clothes, don't seem to believe in them), or in a zipped jacket pocket. I have a separate "travel" credit card in addition to my main one. I learned from experience that this will eventually pay off (charges on my card in Mexico that I didn't make, credit card and other cards sinking to the bottom of the Whittier Small Boat Harbor, etc). If I lost my wallet I would only be out my "extra" credit card, $20 bucks, and the time it would take to talk myself back on the ship.

[mamypat]

I can't answer for all, but we did the zipline and you are not allowed to bring anything but a camera, not even the camera case. They had a bucket that you put all your stuff in (everyone) and this was taken to the bottom for you to retreve all your belongings. I took my creditcard, ship id and drivers L. and stored in zippered wrist band it worked great. Hope this helps.

 

Pat

[bottom-dragger]

. I took my creditcard, ship id and drivers L. and stored in zippered wrist band it worked great. .

 

cool pat, never seen a zip wrist. clues on where you found yours?

 

for my can't afford to lose, i always carry a neck cache (inside my shirt, can't believe all the boffos that i see w/ all their most valuables on advertisement). money belt w/ the tickets if i'm inbetween safe locations.

 

fanny packs (or bum bags in other english speaking countries where fanny is a totally different part of the anotomy) died a fashionable death in the mid-90's. it really is an advertisement that i'm not from around here and i've put all my very special items in this one special place. we really don't have rampant theivery, but i'd never wear one of these outside of small town usa. one of these days the street kids'll figure out how to approach you holding a sheet of cardboard or newspaper....................been there, done that................