Valuables while on Shore Excusion

[TexasHikers]

This may be a silly question, but we are sailing on the Koningsdam, March 27-April 7 and plan to take several beach excursions.  What do you do with your drivers license, cash, credit card, etc. if you should snorkel or just swim.  Do the beaches have lockers of some sort or is it safe to just leave your things at your beach chairs you have rented? Not really comfortable leaving things in a beach bag, but perhaps it is safe???  Appreciate any help you might have from your own experiences.

[POA1]

We have Witz See-It Safes. (Link takes you to the page on Amazon.)  If you don't want clear ones, they sell opaque versions as well. The opaque ones are called Witz Keep It Safes.  DW and DSIL swear by these.  If you don't want to order from Amazon, most boat supply stores carry them.

 

 

 

 

We also have a small Otterbox waterproof case that can hold a phone (unless you have a giant phone.)  Ours is red with a little diver stripe on it. It's also from 2003, so it's probably no longer available.  I would never leave my stuff sit in the open on the beach if I weren't with it.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by POA1

[TXCruiser10]

Good question!  Something I struggle with every time we do a beach excursion.  Most of the time, i keep my personal stuff in a zipped bag which I put inside a bigger beach bag and leave on my beach chair.  I try to hide it or put it under my towel.  I always keep an eye on it from where I am in the water.  Recently, however I bought this thing called a body glove.  It is essentially a water tight plastic pouch on a lanyard.  I am able to fit my phone, ID, cash, etc in it and I wear it around my neck in the water.  It has worked out pretty well for me.  

[canadianbear]

We use a dry sleeve which holds our cruise card, drivers license and cash.  We put it on a lanyard and wear around our neck or my husband (when snorkeling) will use a safety pin in his bathing suit pocket and attach it.  So far so good (touch wood).  

[OlsSalt]

All of the above.  They all work. Just make sure it is secure, and does not float away. 

[canadianbear]

10 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

All of the above.  They all work. Just make sure it is secure, and does not float away. 

 

So true about the floating away caution. When we snorkel I wear a high top bathing suit so I can stuff it down the front!   Between that and my underwater camera on my wrist I try to be so careful when snorkeling. 

[Walfam]

We used These waterproof cases  on our last cruise and they worked perfectly. Everything stayed dry.  We will use them again next year, too.

[grsnovi]

I don't take a phone when snorkeling and use a waterproof case (like POA1) shows above for license, keys, credit card and usually some folding money. Only did a snorkeling shore excursion once and we felt safe leaving what we brought with us on board the excursion boat - maybe not the best idea but it worked. We routinely snorkel on non-cruise vacations with the waterproof case solution.

[Dogstar]

19 hours ago, canadianbear said:

We use a dry sleeve ...

 

 

I know where I’m going shopping on lunch break today. Thanks @canadianbear. 👍🏻

[canadianbear]

2 hours ago, Dogstar said:

 

I know where I’m going shopping on lunch break today. Thanks @canadianbear. 👍🏻

Ha ha!  Glad I could help.  We love that store-found a travel crib board to bring too plus a large Nano XP dry bag.  

[POA1]

As far as floating away is concerned, you definitely want something that has a little buoyancy. If something gets away, I'd rather swim after it than have to dive for it.

 

Another tip:  Find an inexpensive, obviously cheap-looking watch and put it on the strap of your beach bag or tote. We use an inexpensive digital watch with a rubber strap. If you're in a port and don't expect to need your smartphone, just leave it on the ship.  We'll also bring beach towels from home if possible. That way we look a little less like tourists. (This isn't practical for most people who are flying in to meet their ships though.)

[TexasHikers]

Thanks so much for all the helpful information.  We will invest in one of these.

My phone is not a necessity for calls while we are cruising, but for pictures.

 

[POA1]

If you want to invest in something with some staying power, a larger version of the ones that @canadianbear posted about are a good idea. You can get one big enough to hold a phone, camera, wallet, map pages (Remember those?) or anything you want to protect from sand or moisture,

[canadianbear]

We leave our phones in the safe on the ship.  We have an underwater camera each (luckily through Air Miles points) that we prefer to use.  

 

For our cruise in February our son purchased a waterproof contraption for his iPhone 8 and  he also has a GoPro that attaches to the snorkel mask.  He’s used the GoPro before but should be interesting if the iPhone case works well for taking photos.

[mcrcruiser]

We have had a water proof floating bag for a long time ;which can carry all the items we need when in the water snorkeling  or swimming  

 

 I also have a water proof camera  I take along to take those amazing underwater shots of the  sea creatures 

[the2ofus]

On 11/13/2018 at 4:54 PM, Walfam said:

We used These waterproof cases  on our last cruise and they worked perfectly. Everything stayed dry.  We will use them again next year, too.

Seems like these would be good protection against sand and grit even if you didn't plan to snorkel or swim.

[*Miss G*]

11 hours ago, POA1 said:

Another tip:  Find an inexpensive, obviously cheap-looking watch and put it on the strap of your beach bag or tote. 

 

This may be obvious to some but... why?

[POA1]

21 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

This may be obvious to some but... why?

So you don't have to carry a phone to tell the time. Also, a cheap watch on a bag handle telegraphs the message that there's nothing valuable to be had. We read it in a Hawaii guide book a few years ago.