Souvenirs.....What was I thinkin'?

[celebrity]

In either Panama or Costa Rica I bought an "UGLY as a monkey's armpit" Ocarina! It was made of clay and decorated and the guy that sold it to me was playing Stairway to Heaven on it. I don't play the ocarina. I don't WANT to play the ocarina. And it is too ugly to display. And get this...I bought TWO of them. (gave one away as a joke gift).

 

What is an ocarina?

[How'sBartCruisin'?]

Love the magnets! They don't take up room in the suitcase and i can smack em on the fridge when i get home. Also love coffee mugs. I always buy ones that i can use and not just for decoration, so i can remember the places I have been when i have my morning coffee!

 

Magnets are great!!! The tackier and more idiotic the better!!! :D

[Lionesss]

We always used to bring back sea shells for the aquariums...........some day I will remember where we put them...

Safe travels

Sue and crew

[Happy ks]

My worst purchase was beach towels and T's for the kids on our one and only Carnival cruise. Neither of the kids wanted any memories of that cruise. I think I put them in the Goodwill bag after a couple years of just sitting there. Probably should have cut them up to use as rags.

 

The Royal Caribbean towels we've used for years and we really like them. I've not looked at another souvenir T-shirt since, it was money wasted.

 

What I do like to buy is Christmas ornaments if I find any I like. Artist prints are nice if it's a local artist from the area we visit.

[xray]

Years ago our young Niece wanted sea shells from one of the Caribbean ports. While we were shopping my DW bought a small basket of shells wrapped in cellophane with St. Kitts written on the card inside. When I turned it bottom up it said "all shells collected on the beaches of Gulfport and Biloxi, MS." Biloxi and Gulfport are only 60+ miles from where we live. We took out that card and gave the shells to our Niece anyway. She got the shells and we got a good laugh.

 

XRAY

[misty57]

I will never purchase another Hard Rock Cafe T shirt! Bought our 4 kids ( teens at the time) shirts from Grand Cayman I think or it may have been San Juan... anyway. They refused to wear them. The Del Sol stuff also... not thrilled with the changing color tank tops I brought them.

 

I do have a small collection of wedge wood plates from a few places we have visited, but they are hard to find.

 

The worst purchase we made while on a cruise was in Caracao. We were accosted on the streets by someone who talked us into visiting a time share complex at the sea aquarium. For some unknown reason we bought one!!! Paid in full!!! On the credit card!!!! Nice place, but the maintenance fees were killer. Tried to sell it, tried to give it away. Finally gave it back!! They saw us coming a mile and an ocean away. I tell DH that I still think they slipped something in our drinks :eek:

 

Most of the time all we buy is something we would buy anyway. I bought a beach coverup in key west. We usually buy DH a cruise line T shirt. He does wear them in the summer time and on our winter cruises. Now I know that for us, pictures are the best keepsake to bring home.

[HImom]

I bring back magnets, postcards & Christmas ornaments too. Sometimes I also bring back unusual kitchen condiments. Unfortunately, one of them leaked in my cabinet--EEEK--anchovy paste from the bottom of the tube--double EEK!

 

Mostly, we try to bring back food items that we think folks will like. Once we brought back lots of shortbread, only to find out the local Costco had it in the same brand at much lower price!

 

My mom once brought back little quilted baskets that tied which you could put dinner rolls in. One sister decided to use it as a cover for her wooden bar stool & now all of us have done the same with that same quilted piece (use bar stools daily--eat dinner rolls a few times/year).

 

It does amaze me how many people own tropical and/or Hawaiian clothing...neither I nor my D have much, but H & S do. Bathrobes are also VERY seldom worn in HI--too hot!

[packedandready]

I will never purchase another Hard Rock Cafe T shirt! Bought our 4 kids ( teens at the time) shirts from Grand Cayman I think or it may have been San Juan... anyway. They refused to wear them. The Del Sol stuff also... not thrilled with the changing color tank tops I brought them.

 

I do have a small collection of wedge wood plates from a few places we have visited, but they are hard to find.

 

The worst purchase we made while on a cruise was in Caracao. We were accosted on the streets by someone who talked us into visiting a time share complex at the sea aquarium. For some unknown reason we bought one!!! Paid in full!!! On the credit card!!!! Nice place, but the maintenance fees were killer. Tried to sell it, tried to give it away. Finally gave it back!! They saw us coming a mile and an ocean away. I tell DH that I still think they slipped something in our drinks :eek:

 

Most of the time all we buy is something we would buy anyway. I bought a beach coverup in key west. We usually buy DH a cruise line T shirt. He does wear them in the summer time and on our winter cruises. Now I know that for us, pictures are the best keepsake to bring home.

 

I think you win the prize!!!!

[molly361]

Love the magnets! They don't take up room in the suitcase and i can smack em on the fridge when i get home. Also love coffee mugs. I always buy ones that i can use and not just for decoration, so i can remember the places I have been when i have my morning coffee!

 

Another vote for magnets and coffee mugs. Have so many magnets that they won't all fit on the fridge anymore.

 

PS DH is not all that thrilled with them being there anyway:o

[CntPAcruiser]

A friend of ours has an ongoing competition to find the tackiest souvenir item under a $5 price point (although that probably needs to be adjusted for inflation). So far the reigning champion is a Seaworld refrigerator magnet bottle opener in the shape of a dolphin with little fish and other things floating in blue liquid inside the thing. Aaack! Tacky but useful, and it sticks to the fridge!

[whyrlygig]

I have purchased so many tote bags and t-shirts! I've spent a fortune on stuff that will forever be in the back of the closet. Now I try to stick to post cards, paperweights and small trinkets.

[firstsgtsteiner]

I regret everything from Del~Sol.......EVERYTHING

[celebrity]

I regret everything from Del~Sol.......EVERYTHING

 

That's another big pitch at the port and shopping chats. Never bought anything but curious as to why you regret your purchases?

[referee]

Many years ago, on our first trip to Cozumel, I practcally begged my wife to let me buy a "marble" chess set. She gave in, and I carried it home. It sat on our coffee table for about six months, never used, collecting dust, til finally, it was put into the trash. I hated to admit, she was right.

[gw2fll]

That's another big pitch at the port and shopping chats. Never bought anything but curious as to why you regret your purchases?

Years ago at the Port Shows, they had a book that had coupons in it. One of the coupons was a free tote bag from Del-Sol. It has proven to be handy, but I would not pay $20 for it. That's the only thing they have that interested us. The T-shirts and other stuff just did not interest us.

[CRUISE4JANE]

Another vote for magnets and coffee mugs. Have so many magnets that they won't all fit on the fridge anymore.

 

PS DH is not all that thrilled with them being there anyway:o

 

Ditto. I just have to have a magnet from everywhere I go. Had to take them off fridge because they didn't fit. Still waiting to get a large magnetic board and just hang it in the garage. I like certain cups for coffee and if I see one I like I get it. DH and I always get T-shirts too and then I come home and say, why did I buy ALL these T-shirts? :rolleyes:

[SuzeCruz1]

I always wonder where all the oversized Mexican sombreros that I see some people wearing during debarkation will end up once their new owners get home...

 

 

They give them to their grandkids; then they get hung on the grandkids bedroom wall; then they get put under the beds when the wall becomes a rock star poster collage; then they get used once on Halloween; then they get put into the attic; then they get donated to the thrift store; then they are someone else’s problem. True story :)

[pasodancer]

A friend of ours has an ongoing competition to find the tackiest souvenir item under a $5 price point (although that probably needs to be adjusted for inflation). So far the reigning champion is a Seaworld refrigerator magnet bottle opener in the shape of a dolphin with little fish and other things floating in blue liquid inside the thing. Aaack! Tacky but useful, and it sticks to the fridge!

 

LOVE IT...........am suggesting this contest to our group leader for our upcoming cruise on Allure in Sept! :D

[Lady Chew]

Ditto. I just have to have a magnet from everywhere I go. Had to take them off fridge because they didn't fit. Still waiting to get a large magnetic board and just hang it in the garage. I like certain cups for coffee and if I see one I like I get it. DH and I always get T-shirts too and then I come home and say, why did I buy ALL these T-shirts? :rolleyes:

 

I bought a large magnetic board at Wal-M for all of my magnets. I have a narrow passageway between my kitchen and dining room, and that's where it hangs. Much better than having them on the fridge!

I also buy souvenir shot glasses, but only if they have something to do with what we did in that port. I won't buy a generic "(name-of-Caribbea-island)" glass with a picture of a starfish or sailboat, and of course no duplicates. I have almost 100, and I can remember what we did in every port and why I bought that particular glass!

We like to buy local artwork ... we bought a small (3x5) rug in Turkey to hang on our wall, a large painting from Labadee ... we look through all the on-the-street displays in the ports and have found some wonderful oils & watercolors ...

I like to buy small goodies for my young nieces ... ribbons for their hair, hand-held fans (the old fashioned kind), things like that ... it's sometimes hard finding things that are not made in China, though ... gotta find things that are representative of the country/port and that are made there ... I do the the same for my sons with larger items ...

[kingsgirl]

I love Del Sol's nail polish that changes in the sun. There used to be a shop about 1hr from where I live that sold all the same Del Sol stuff, but it's gone now. I love the nail polish though, and since I can't get it anywhere else but online, I make sure to grab some if there is a shop.

 

The best things I've brought back was a conch shell. You know, the huge ones that are the size of your head? My friends told me, that "eww that's gonna stink on the plane" or "it's gonna break before you get home" but I got it back, and it didn't stink, and I LOVE it.

[tiger belle]

The best things I've brought back was a conch shell. You know, the huge ones that are the size of your head? My friends told me, that "eww that's gonna stink on the plane" or "it's gonna break before you get home" but I got it back, and it didn't stink, and I LOVE it.

 

I just bought one on my last cruise...always wanted one but not sure yet what I am going to do with it here at home...may I ask what you did with yours? where and how you display it?

[reeran]

I had to laugh and I had to post here!!! Hubby and I have a running joke whenever we are away, or even at a festival for that matter...if one of us picks up something absurd, the other says "what were you thinking?" Even when we get ready for a yard sale that expression comes up!!

Ir has saved us hauling home a lot of worthless junk in the last few years!:cool:

[kingsgirl]

I just bought one on my last cruise...always wanted one but not sure yet what I am going to do with it here at home...may I ask what you did with yours? where and how you display it?

 

In our living room, we have these glass shelves that are inset on our wall (wall goes in like it should be a closet sort of, but instead, there are shelves, and I have it on there on the top. I pull it down frequently to hear the sound inside :)

[Langley Cruisers]

The best things I've brought back was a conch shell...

 

I just bought one on my last cruise...always wanted one but not sure yet what I am going to do with it here at home...may I ask what you did with yours? where and how you display it?

 

 

We got one of those on our land vacation to Great Exuma, Bahamas. I use it as a door stop for the bathroom door which tends to blow closed when I have all the windows open upstairs. I also love mine, it is the most gorgeous color, and it does not smell bad in the least.

.

[MORcrzr]

1. In Aruba years ago I bought a shirt that looked like something Bill Cosby would wear. Beautiful, colorful, kind of like native African. My wife told me I would never wear it. Never did. It hung in the closet for years and years and then disappeared.

 

2. I bought a handcarved wooden shark from a kid at the pier in Costa Rica. I watched him finish it up. I thought it was so cool. My wife just shook her head. I put it on the coffee table when we got home. It ended up in my drawer in the bedroom. I kept trying to sneak it out forever and it always ended up in my drawer. One day I went into my office at work and it was sitting on my desk! Everyone in the office knew the story and gave me grief. Eventually it ended up on other desks when they were in the "doghouse."

 

My parents traveled a bunch when I was a kid and took lots of cruises. My all-time favorite gifts were: A steel drum, bongos and one time they brought me home a big wooden head with oxhair growing out of it! I kept it all the way through college . . .