Guest Author - Lisa Shea

There are all sorts of cool gadgets that you can bring along on your cruise, to make it even more fun. Here is my top 5 list of things I love!

Global Positioning System - GPS
I love GPSs. They tell you exactly where you are - even how high up from sea level you are. With a GPS you can easily trace your route at sea, and track down fun locations on land.

Digital Camera
The glory of digital is that you can take as many pictures as you want - and as long as you have something to dump the pictures into, you can keep taking more. Take 20 pictures of that temple and you'll have a good chance that at least one of them came out wonderfully. Get one that takes short movies, to get the real sound of the native speakers. Which brings me to my next item ...

Laptop Computer
Laptops come in VERY tiny sizes in modern times! You can write your trip notes, store all those digital pictures you're taking, even read an e-book up on deck. You could fit thousands of books in your laptop's memory, and your laptop will weigh far less than the books would!

Waterproof Watch
OK this is more "necessary" than the other items :) You never know when you might get wet, either because you're swimming or because a downpour hits. You pretty much always should be aware of the time, though. Make sure you have a watch that can weather the elements.

Locally Enabled Cell Phone
Carry a cell phone, and contact your provider so it's fully enabled in each port you visit. The rates will be high of course, so don't use it for casual conversation. However, if you run into an emergency, being able to call back to the ship for help might mean the difference between making the ship and having to miss the rest of your cruise.