Suggestions on what to bring to Mexican Riviera Cruise

HELLO! I'm leaving on a cruise this week for one week and i need help in deciding what to bring. Anyone ever been on a mexican riviera cruise? should i bring a tripod or a monopod? should i go light because of theft? help me please! thanks!

I am headed on a cruise in June. I plan to bring everything virtually everythin I own, including my tripod. Travel is an important time for photography for me. I've done lots of cruises (no Mexican Riviera however) so I'm past just wanting to sit around and relax. Most of our ports I've been to numerous times. I am looking forward to seeing them thru my viewfinder.

As for the gear: mine is all insured. I will probably leave some in the cabin. I will put what I can fit in the in-cabin safe. The rest will be stored in luggage (as opposed to sitting out in the open). I'm not worried about theft by a cabin steward because their job is much more important to them than what they could get selling stolen gear at a huge discount.

I went on a cruise in November of last year and took all of my gear with me. The safe was reasonably large and fitted all my lenses and my camera body. I also managed to get my laptop in there as well.

There were no problems with theft at all. I got some fairly good photos using my tripod. Highly recommend it!

Carry an extra power strip or two. Your cabin will have only one or two plug points in the cabin and one in the bathroom. We carried two and ended using all sockets on both power strips.

One issue to be aware of is condensation on camera & lens when transporting from "indoor" air-conditioned areas to hot/humid outdoor conditions. On a cruise ship the differences can be enormous as the air-conditioned areas can be quite cold. Take a plastic bag, put your gear in it when heading outside. The air inside the bag will heat up more slowly and allow the gear to warm up & avoid condensation.

As an alternative, try preheating camera & lens with the cabin hair dryer (carefully). I have read this suggestion, but have not had the opportunity to try it myself. Perhaps those with experience using this technique will chime in.

blueM wrote in post #10121521
I am headed on a cruise in June. I plan to bring everything virtually everythin I own, including my tripod. Travel is an important time for photography for me. I've done lots of cruises (no Mexican Riviera however) so I'm past just wanting to sit around and relax. Most of our ports I've been to numerous times. I am looking forward to seeing them thru my viewfinder.

As for the gear: mine is all insured. I will probably leave some in the cabin. I will put what I can fit in the in-cabin safe. The rest will be stored in luggage (as opposed to sitting out in the open). I'm not worried about theft by a cabin steward because their job is much more important to them than what they could get selling stolen gear at a huge discount.

I'm going on my first cruise this July and I've been reading and reading and reading numerous threads on bags. When you go to ports, what's your setup? Do you carry light? What bag do you use? I've been searching the forums for "cruise" tips

I've been looking for a bag to just carry one body, one or two lenses, one flash, and tripod. I have a Travel Angel A-269M8 that came with a carry bag. I've been debating if I should buy another bag to carry everything in or use what I have and carry the tripod separately.

gjman wrote in post #10122537
Carry an extra power strip or two. Your cabin will have only one or two plug points in the cabin and one in the bathroom. We carried two and ended using all sockets on both power strips.

Thank you for that great tip!!!

Carry the tripod separately. Typically, a bag that comfortably holds a small amount of gear won't have room for a tripod and a bag that's got room for a tripod will overwhelm a small amount of gear. And bear in mind that you probably will mostly be leaving the ship during the middle of the day, when the need for a tripod is less, and even then you're likely to be on excursions where you won't have a lot of time to set one up and take it down afterwards. While you're on board, you're probably going to be better off hand-holding as your legs will be able to damp out vibration from the ship's engines better than the tripod will.

I went on a cruise last year and I just brought mt G10. Condensation is a real pain in the ass on cruise ships. I had to wipe my lens off every second. I have another cruise booked for June and I'm thinking about taking my T2i with me. I think it would probably suck lugging around a big camera on the ship and ports and that is the reason I only took my G10 last time. Cruise's kick ass though.

Having done several worldly cruises in the past 4 years (Mexico, Caribbean, Europe, & the Mediterranean), here's my two cents:

- Backpack type of carrying your gear (weight distribution is important to your back/shoulders)
- One wide angle and a good prime (or longer zoom) will suffice nicely
- External flash for evening events and portraiture work
- Grap that CPL filter for your glassware during day excusions (trust me on this one!!)
- I have a Manfrotto travel tripod but rarely used it (mostly used for group shots and such)
- Power strips are invaluable (like gjman said, bring two)
- Use your cabin safe for storing your electronic items
- Bring extra memory cards (and a storage device to download them to DAILY!!!)
- For protection on theft during excusions, just be mindful of your surroundings and use common sense (safety in numbers)
- Excursions offer a great opportunity of photographic endeavors, so try not to stay on the ship
- Have FUN FUN FUN!!! Hehehehehhehe...

Like Kevin (blueM) mentioned, condensation will happen when you suddenly go from an air conditioned environment to a hot and humid one... To be honest, I just wiped the front element with my microfiber clothe to clear it up... In any event, just be aware of those elements... Anyhoo... Enjoy your cruise Marc...

- airbutchie

PS. With the gear that you have, I would bring the 5D2, 16-35 2.8L, 85L, and 580EXII... You can also substitute the 85L for the 24-105 if you want reach... But for sure the 16-35 2.8L... And don't forget a CPL filter too.... Hehhehehehe...

gjman wrote in post #10122537
Carry an extra power strip or two. Your cabin will have only one or two plug points in the cabin and one in the bathroom. We carried two and ended using all sockets on both power strips.

Belkin makes a great powerstrip for travel:

http://www.belkin.com …process?Product​_Id=400738

I like it because it has USB power points as well as regular outlets. It's also surge protected, and takes up very little room in your bag.

The wife and I went on a cruise down the Mexican Riviera for New Year's. Lots of fun (Princess Line). We left out of LA and stopped in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas.

Photos are here if anyone is interested: http://www.flickr.com …n/sets/72157623​475181904/

As for gear, I took my 40D, 3 zooms, flash, G9 P&S, Epson photoviewer for backup, but no tripod. As for security, the cabins on our ship were much like hotel rooms in that you get in using a magnetic key card. Not much chance of theft if you just use common sense. I used a backpack to carry all my gear, but took an extra smaller bag for day trips (more about that below).

WHILE ON THE SHIP, I used my G9 a lot of the time. The reason was that it was much easier to carry and I was less worried about pool water, condensation, kids running with ice cream cones, etc. I don't know what dining program you've signed up for, but if you get the fancy sit-down dinner program like we did, I did not want to lug a DSLR to the table while wearing nice clothes and sitting with other cruisers. The G9 was perfect for that. You will see some specatacular sunsets and sunrises at sea, so be ready for those.

WHILE IN PORT, what you bring will depend on your choice of activity, touristy stuff, or more active things like horseback riding, ATV, zip lines, etc.. In Puerto Vallarta, we took a boat to a remote section of the coastline, and things could get wet. On that trip, I took my 40D, 24-70 lens, and 17-40 lens in my day bag (a LowePro Classified 140AW). Other trips we took were in buses where gear was pretty secure, so no worries there. I preferred to travel light on the day trips because I wanted to enjoy myself and not worry about the gear or have to schlep a lot of stuff I didn't need. I didn't take a tripod because while travelling in groups I did not want to be bothered with it or hold the group up. I'm not even sure if the ship allowed them or not. Keep in mind, the ship also has its own photographers at every event (so you can buy their photos of course!), so tripods may be restricted.

In general, I would recommend you take just your body, 3 zooms, and a P&S. Take a smaller bag for day trips. With that stuff, you'll be ready for anything.

Forgot to mention one important thing.

On your trips off-ship, make sure you bring a pocket full of US one-dollar bills. Often the locals will pose for a picture, but they expect to be provided with a "donation". You should also compensate your tour guides with a tip.

Good thought.

As far as what to take when off the ship - been pretty well answered above.

I will probably lug my 100-400 on my 20D, 24-105 on the 5 & a pocket full of batteries, but I'm a photo Dork & I don't mind the weight.

Awesome tips from everyone!!! Thanks Jon, Organic, airbutchie, blueM and tgara!!!

Jon ... I was actually thinking about PM'ing you since most of the threads I read from searches, had you traveling. Plus your extensive bag collection Your pictures from the Galapagos are awesome!

I guess the general consensus is I could bring my tripod, but there really is no use for it so I'll just leave it at home I might bring my other really small travel tripod for my P&S. Thanks again!