What type souvenirs do you collect?
 

This is not related to just HAL but to any cruise. I know the old saying
" different strokes for different folks " so what are some of the things people bring back from a trip ?
We collect the colorful Caribbean artwork. We have about 50 pcs. we have collected from all over the Caribbean, Central and South America.
On our last cruise a few weeks ago we came back with paintings from Costa Rica, Roatan and Panama. I also collect cups from all the different islands, as well as wood carvings. We just spent the day dusting and working on our " treasures ".
My wife likes to collect soap from different places. Her favorite is soap from Dominica-- one is called Refresh and is made with coconut oil. Another is a greenish glycern soap--- Rub-A-Dub from Belize is another.
We also collect magnets from the different ships and port's-of-call.
So, just wondering if anyone else collects similar things or are we nuts?

I have a huge collection of Santa Claus'. Whenever I travel I always buy a Santa for the collection. :D

For many years I have been a collector of numerous things from Dolphin statues to be an avid collector of Swaorvski Crystal. Recently some of my favorite collected items have been HAL Inaugural items. Although it is simple but I also have to collect a a White milk glass coffee mug from the ship. They have gold lettering with the ship name. So far I have collected 6 of them and looking forward to getting one from the Noordam.[/img]

even if they are over priced, I collect the sail awaydrinking glasses with the cruiseline names on them and hopefully the name of th ship

Memories! They are easy to pack and I don't have to find a place to put them when I get home. Now I am working on keeping the mind going as I get older.

We used to collect beach towels but we got too many of them. Then we collected buttons/pins but after we covered an entire wall in the living room we stopped. Now we collect shot glasses and have special cases for them.

Rather than collect a bunch of one type of item ( other than the shot glasses) we now go for an eclectic hodgepodge of items from different places. It is fun to collect things but I must agree that memories are the best of all.

We're not avid collectors of anything. However, we do like to bring back something from each trip that is made in the areas we visit. It may be anything from a Greek vase to a soapstone carving to a woven basket.

Of course, we LOVE collecting HAL tiles!

of course like many, we usually get a t shirt or two. I will pick up a christmas ornament if it is an angel as that is all we have on our tree. My first love is elephants thus I try to bring one back (no not a real one) from every vacation plus I love earrings. Usually just pick up cheap ones but I still have fun with them. NMnita :-?

always hats, coffee mugs (inc. the dark blue hal mugs with the ship in gold -- i have about a dozen of them), shirts, and a stuffed bear -- my favorite is 'monica,' and you can guess where i bought it!

We're not really avid collectors of anything in particular, but in support of my 2 favorite vices, I always buy a coffee mug and a shot glass ;)

DW always buys some sort of duty free jewelry or perfume.

Tim

Ah. I forgot about that one. DW usually gets one that's representative of each country we visit.

I have a very large collection of book marks.

I began collecting them early on when we first started traveling.

They are all sorts of materials including leather, lace, paper, metals etc and all indicate from what city/country they were purchased.

They're small, lightweight and travel easily. :)

Now you've got the right idea!

Digital photos are also an excellent thing to collect. CDs and memory sticks don't take up a lot of room in the luggage, and then you can just print off the ones you want when you get home.

My problem is that I don't have an awfully big house, and I have so much stuff crammed in here now, I really don't need to be collecting something that I've got to make room on a display shelf for. That's why I think stuff like memories and photos are best ... because, after all, when you're old and gray and no longer able to cruise, those things on a shelf aren't gonna provide nearly as much pleasure as thumbing through a photo album and remembering the great times you had in your travels.

Blue skies ...

--rita

I always buy a cruise hat with the name of the ship on it`. I put them on
the wall , I have a room only for my cruises , such as pictures , hats ,
programs and anything else pertaining to cruising.
sometimes I put on a CD , open a bottle of wine, turn down the lights
and look around my room at the pictures.

I always pick up a coffee mug from the ship and at least one port, and allow myself one piece of nice duty-free jewellery from each cruise. Aside from that, I pick up one memento from the other ports, could be a t-shirt, a keyring, or whatever the local "specialty" is.

I especially like my coffee cup collection, and I love to choose the mug I am going to use each day, depending on my mood!

Bonnie

I used to collect teddy bears but haven't done so much in the last few years. We "downsized" a few years ago so I don't have as much room as I used to. I've done many scrapbooks from our adventures over the years; the grandaddy of them all is from our trip to Australia for the Millenium Celebration, the book weighs 8 1/2 pounds.

My favorite thing to do in foreign ports is to visit a local grocery store.

I was hoping to start a collection of Indonesian cabin stewards and dining room servers, any advise?

MEMORIES
 

I know we all take pictures.....years ago....I decided to choose one picture from each trip....must qualify this....have a realy large family room...and have it enlarged to a 8 x 10....framing the pic and also putting a lable on it with the destination and the year...each time you pass by it brings back memories....and as on the pervious post will enjoy the photo albums when travel is no longer an option....hopefully there will be many years before that happens....

Years ago I bought a large glass vase and put a very large candle in the center. I have been picking up shells or coloured stone on most beaches ever since. The vase also has broken plates from a Greek dance on the island of Crete. The vase is filling rapidly with lots of holliday memories. Thats the only item I collect.

Re: What type souvenirs do you collect?
 

Shot glasses for each ship and port