souvenir ideas

[bam23]

I leave tomorrow for my first cruise ever. I wanted to hear about some original souvenir ideas people have come up with to remember their trip. Any thoughts and suggestions would be great.:D

[*Mach*]

Pretty much everyone hangs on to their Sail & Sign cards. They're a great addition to a scrapbook, so I'm told... :rolleyes:

Capers, napkins, post cards from the ship's shops and your ports of call, sand from beaches, and pretty much anything else that's not nailed down!!!

:D

[Aplmac]

For every cruise we ever went on, I end up with a folder full of just 'documentation'

- FunPass print-outs, Final Bill on the last night, all that kinda stuff..including Carnival Capers

which I've always kept!

 

Then of course there's photos taken by the pro's on the ship.

Big decision is whether to buy big frames for the 8 x 10s

or a handy album for all the smaller(and cheaper) sizes.

Last cruise we opted for the latter, and I think that'll be the trend for the future. ;)

 

 

Shop the shops on board -you'll find souvenirs!

The onboard shop also sells great sleep-masks by DesignGO for $9

If you use those things like I do

the DesgnGO masks are waaaay better than the junk they hand out on aeroplanes!

 

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[travelgip]

My favorite "gifts" are fridge magnets. They are inexpensive, usually have something cool to remember your trip or the name of the ports/towns/ship and you can store them on your fridge, at work, any metal object.;)

[Upandadam]

Always get a baseball cap from each new port.

[Joy2Day]

I have a coffee mug with the name of each ship that I've sailed. I didn't even realize it until I moved and was unpacking and sorting ...

[penetangjudy]

From our trips we thought of something that we could always use so we collect shot glasses from everywhere we go, the more unique the better. The best ones are from Pisa, they lean to the left :D

[rjdunn]

We do the fridge magnets as well. The crazier the better. I also have a silver charm bracelet, and I get myself a new charm from each port. It is a great conversation piece and holds all of my special lifetime memories.

 

Have a great time.

[luvscruizing]

We buy the shot glasses too! They are great to put out on a shelf and they come in really handy ;)

[cruzeluver]

We try to find local pieces that we find beautiful. In other words, would I want it in my house if I found it back home?

 

I avoid the t-shirts, key rings, magnets etc. as they would just end up shoved in a closet and eventually thrown out.

 

We've bought a good deal of local pottery, art, blown glass or whatever a port is sort of "known" for.

[Upandadam]

You could launch a message in a bottle from every port and photograph it.:rolleyes:

[Sugar67]

Hubby collects shot glasses, I collect Christmas ornaments. Our 18 year old daughter collects gnomes. This October is her first cruise and she really hopes she can get them in our ports.

[RedbirdFL]

I like to get a Christmas ornament and a t-shirt from places when I travel.

[mytwokidsmom]

We try to collect Christmas ornaments from the ships, and ports of call. They never get to be dust collectors, and they bring back a lot of memories every year when we take them out. :)

[Ron_L]

and pretty much anything else that's not nailed down!!!

 

:D

 

How true... I brought back my very own cocktail waitress! Here she comes with a DOD now! :D

 

I brought home a bottle of hot sauce (or two) from each port. My wife collects hand made pottery.

[Aplmac]

You could launch a message in a bottle from every port and photograph it.:rolleyes:

And then get chewed out by the extreme-environ-mentalists in a thread over three hundred posts long?

- maybe not. :D

 

 

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[misguidedangel]

I keep most of my documents I get. The capers, the island maps, etc. Naturally, the S&S.

 

I buy post cards, key chains, FRIDGE MAGNETS!!!!!!!, anything kitschy I buy!, and TORTUGA RUM CAKES!!!! Damn, they are good!

 

I suggest you buy a fridge magnet of the ship as a memento of the cruise...

[Texarribean Chick]

I always buy a mug from each port along with a beach towel. Every morning with coffee, DH asks me, "where would you like to go today?" Makes for a cruise experience every morning.

We have a pool and every time I pool out my millions of beach towels - I relive each destination.

 

Chick.

[afowler8]

we try to bring back something special from each port-- jerk spices from Jamaica, hot sauce from Cozumel, Conch shells from Grand Cayman, a drawing from a street vendor in San Jaun... sometimes it's just a picture.. like the one in my avatar-- it's us in St. John. I also have it sitting on my desk at work. We just like something that evokes a memory...

 

we also collect unique cigar boxes.. they make for beautiful storage on our book shelf :)

[Aplmac]

We also collect unique cigar boxes..

they make for beautiful storage on our book shelf :)

You hear that, Tim?

Shouldn't be too hard to convince the Mrs. to get with that interior decor program?

 

 

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[Warm Breezes]

My DS (15) uses his vacation money to purchase a miniature model of each ship he has been on. He has them on his book shelf with his S & S card from each cruise next to it. It is usually the only thing he purchases when we go on a cruise.

[ForEternity]

I like to collect things, so I tend to come home with a lot :rolleyes:.

 

Each port I get a t-shirt. I sleep in t-shirts every night and pretty much live in them outside of work in the summer. If you'll actually wear them, this is a great idea since it's hard to find cute, cheap t-shirts at home. If you won't, do waste the money!

 

In at least each country, I get a Christmas decoration. This is a newer thing since I just got my house (and own Christmas tree) last year. I also get something decorative for my house. This could be a vase, clock, pottery...anything that is unique to that country that would look good in my house. When I was still living with my parents, I just got trinket type things. I've been able to display a lot of them on bookshelves, though some are just too cheap looking! Try to avoid those :).

 

My aunt collects hat pins from every port. These can be a little difficult to find sometimes, so the search can be fun.

[SmogMonster]

My DS (15) uses his vacation money to purchase a miniature model of each ship he has been on. He has them on his book shelf with his S & S card from each cruise next to it. It is usually the only thing he purchases when we go on a cruise.

 

I do the same thing. I did not start doing this right away so I had a heck of a time going back and finding models from previous cruises. I was even able to find one of the Queen Mary. So now I have one from each cruise I have been on. By the time I am done cruising, I should have about 150 ships!

[retnuh281]

I like to bring home a stack or two of Benjamin Franklins pictures that i get from the casino. Great for scrap booking.

[amymom2twins]

magnets, t-shirts and coffee mugs seem to be the best for me. We brought back chocolate from our Europe trip and it is all gone. I wish we had got more! I think we will bring back coffee from Jamaica--I hear it is good. Grand Cayman--probably shells. Post cards are great too. My pics never turn out as good as I would like, so it is nice to have the post cards too.

 

Amy