What to take on an excursion and what to put it in?

[Living for May]

Howdy All,

We are heading out in a few weeks and are very excited.  I wanted to poll the group wisdom to help educate me!

We will be doing a number of physical excursions and are trying to decide what documents to take with us;  how much cash to bring along and do we bring our credit cards.

Adding to that, what do people take their documents in when they do a physical activity (such as a dolphin swim or underground river tour)?

Thanks for all your sage advice and thoughts!

 

[JLMoran]

Hi there @Living for May, welcome to the forums!

You absolutely must take your SeaPass card, plus your passport (you all got passports, right?) or drivers license so you can get through the port entrance security when returning to the ship, and (if this is an excursion purchased in the Cruise Planner) any tickets for the excursion that were left in your stateroom. That should be it as far as documentation.

Other items you'll likely want to bring would include

• sunscreen
• camera (if you're not simply using your smartphone)
• one credit card for any souvenirs or other larger purchase
• a small amount of cash to tip your excursion guides (they almost all request tips after the excursion) or buy a meal if you have enough time while in port; $50 should be more than enough unless you're a large group
• water shoes if you're going to a beach and you're concerned about rocks under the water (several Caribbean beaches are more rocky than sandy, including Adrenaline Beach at Labadee)
• Also if you're going to a beach or other water-based activity, you may want to bring some towels from the ship with you; you can check them out from the pool deck or as you disembark, then return them when boarding

As for what to carry it all in, I recommend this foldable backpack that I had recommended by long-time member @DocLC; holds a surprising amount of stuff, folds down very small, and also works well as a secondary under-the-seat carry on item for flights.

[JLMoran]

Should note that for dolphin swim excursions, the facility you'll visit will have you put everything into a locker before you go out to the pier area; wear your bathing suits under your regular clothes so you don't have to spend a lot of time getting changed. You're not allowed to bring anything with you beyond sunglasses; if you plan to wear those or need prescription glasses, you may want to secure them with a Croakies strap or similar as the staff will not retrieve any items that fall into the water or get dislodged while swimming with the dolphins.

[TheHobbys]

Also - if going on a water excursion, take a couple of towels (don't lose them) and maybe a change of clothes.  Cram all that into a backpack, along with the list from @JLMoran.