Anyone use cross body purses or backpacks when going ashore for sightseeing?

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

Another vote for PacSafe cross-body purses. I ALWAYS travel with mine and LOVE it.

 

[Aanna]

I just had a lightbulb moment. As a student in NYC, I wore a backpack everywhere, including on very crowded transportation. Whenever things got at all crowded, my friends and I would take off our backpacks and hold them down between our legs. At the time it just seemed a matter of etiquette (impolite to smack people with your bag or take up precious upper-body level room in a crowded train). On reflection, it occurs to me that it would make it a lot harder for a pickpocket to surreptitiously take anything out if they need to stoop beneath your legs to get at your bag.

Nowadays, I wear a flap-top, leather, cross-body bag. It's second nature for me to keep one hand on it at all times, my valuables are in a zippered pocket far enough inside/off the bottom that any slash that could get through the leather would liberate nothing more than my tissues and a small water bottle.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Something that happened to my DMIL in France many years ago - my in-laws were travelling with 4 other couples on a European tour. One night, they were at a restaurant in Paris, I think, and they all had a big table in a corner. The ladies put their purses on the ground in the corner, with the men sitting in front of them. They didn't worry, as there was no way for anyone to get back there to get near their purses. Sounds great, right? By night's end, the purses were gone and the men were in trouble. DMIL said there was a very adept crew that would target tourists like that. They had a large stick with a hook on it and were able to slide the purses from behind the table without anyone noticing.

 

[Aanna]

Something that happened to my DMIL in France many years ago - my in-laws were travelling with 4 other couples on a European tour. One night, they were at a restaurant in Paris, I think, and they all had a big table in a corner. The ladies put their purses on the ground in the corner, with the men sitting in front of them. They didn't worry, as there was no way for anyone to get back there to get near their purses. Sounds great, right? By night's end, the purses were gone and the men were in trouble. DMIL said there was a very adept crew that would target tourists like that. They had a large stick with a hook on it and were able to slide the purses from behind the table without anyone noticing.

Wow, impressive.

Just to be clear, even when I have/had my backpack down, I have always held onto a strap. I had a friend who put her big, heavy backpack on the seat next to her only to have it snatched -- even though she was paying attention. It only takes one incident like to learn to never let go!

 

[mrp4352]

https://www.ebags.com/product/travelon/anti-theft-travel-bag/132640?productid=10267517

I use this one - it's got all the anti-theft protection, my camera and wallet fit inside and it will hold a bottle of water in each of the outside end pockets!

 

[Shellyred8]

I use a small PacSafe cross-body. It's very light weight and I use it whenever I travel. It has a pretty long shoulder strap, so it can be adjusted to whatever length you need. I love being hands-free and this bag allows me to do that and still feel like my stuff is safe.

 

[Dug720]

Something that happened to my DMIL in France many years ago - my in-laws were travelling with 4 other couples on a European tour. One night, they were at a restaurant in Paris, I think, and they all had a big table in a corner. The ladies put their purses on the ground in the corner, with the men sitting in front of them. They didn't worry, as there was no way for anyone to get back there to get near their purses. Sounds great, right? By night's end, the purses were gone and the men were in trouble. DMIL said there was a very adept crew that would target tourists like that. They had a large stick with a hook on it and were able to slide the purses from behind the table without anyone noticing.

Yep. And people have used that technique in other places too. I was talking to a movie theater employee here and she said there was a guy who would go up and down the stairs during movies and use a cane/wire to reach under the seats and slide bags and purses out and steal them.

 

[millie]

I just use a small Vera Bradley crossbody for my sunglasses, cell phone, etc. but then cash, credit card, and passport is in a travel neck pouch. DH will wear a waist belt under his clothes.

 

[karenfm]

I have a small anti-theft cross-body bag made by Travelon. I purchased it on ebags.com. Using it now to "break it in" and am pretty happy with it.

 

[eva]

Something that happened to my DMIL in France many years ago - my in-laws were travelling with 4 other couples on a European tour. One night, they were at a restaurant in Paris, I think, and they all had a big table in a corner. The ladies put their purses on the ground in the corner, with the men sitting in front of them. They didn't worry, as there was no way for anyone to get back there to get near their purses. Sounds great, right? By night's end, the purses were gone and the men were in trouble. DMIL said there was a very adept crew that would target tourists like that. They had a large stick with a hook on it and were able to slide the purses from behind the table without anyone noticing.

Crazy isn't it?!? We were just in Barcelona for a few days after a DCL Med cruise . We sat at an outdoor cafe and the waitress warned me to keep my purse in my lap with a hand on it or the strap around my arm. I thought it was strange since we were a couple tables back from the walkway. But sure enough a kid ran through the tables and grabbed a bag laying on a table. He was gone faster that you could blink an eye.

In Rome my DH was almost a victim. We were at Trevi fountain in the early evening. I needed to use the restroom and just left DH for a few minutes. I come out to see him taking a picture of two extremely attractive Italian girls and two guys were just approaching him from behind. You could see the whole thing playing out. I just walked right from behind and put my arms around him. The guys actually saluted me for thwarting their plan. They wouldn't have gotten much DH only had a room key and a few dollars in his front pocket. Still makes me laugh.

 

[kiford]

I'm a cross body gal. At home, when I travel, everywhere. I just feel they are more secure. Pacsafe make bags with a wire in the strap that a PP mentioned. They also have a clip mechanism for the zippers that makes it much more difficult for someone to open your bag without you realizing it and RFID blocking pockets for credit cards and passports.

I use a Pacsafe cross-body bag as described by Pens Fan. It's small enough not to get in the way but large enough to carry everything I need. It fits fairly flat to the body and I'm able to carry: small wallet, smartphone, sunglasses (and DH's when he takes his off), small tube of powdered sunscreen, nail file, earbuds, pen, small aspirin bottle and a few other small items. They have them in many other different sizes and configurations. I like that it has the clip on the zipper. It's easy enough to open with one hand if you are the carrier but relatively difficult for anyone else and because it's cross-body - they'd have to be almost in your face to do it. I travel with it because it's also compact and squishy enough to be jammed into my carry on if I want so that I'm not carrying two bags or it can fit across my body comfortably while I'm carrying the carry on. I even use it in WDW because it's secure on rides where you don't need to take it off and even on some where you have an overhead restraint, if it's not too full, it can be slid forward to rest in between the bars so you can keep it on and it's soft enough not to be uncomfortable.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Are you using this bag on the plane as your personal item? Do you have a picture/model of this bag? We are heading to Barcelona for the WBTA in September, and I saw a PacSafe bag that would fit my dSLR camera with an attached lens and a spare lens along with some other essentials, but I think the size of it would qualify it for the carry-on and not personal item. I have a crossbody bag for my dSLR right now that looks like a purse, and I also have a much smaller camera that I could take instead. I don't want to be carrying a huge bag around the city.

For my trips into NYC, I carry a normal small crossbody bag; but I am also not taking photos and bringing my camera with me.

If you can fit it under the seat, that's the only restriction on personal items. My backpack can fit under the seat, and it's more than big enough for my dslr. But I usually take my smaller camera- I don't like carrying my dslr, too heavy for lots of walking.

 

[mmouse37]

Are you using this bag on the plane as your personal item? Do you have a picture/model of this bag? We are heading to Barcelona for the WBTA in September, and I saw a PacSafe bag that would fit my dSLR camera with an attached lens and a spare lens along with some other essentials, but I think the size of it would qualify it for the carry-on and not personal item. I have a crossbody bag for my dSLR right now that looks like a purse, and I also have a much smaller camera that I could take instead. I don't want to be carrying a huge bag around the city.

For my trips into NYC, I carry a normal small crossbody bag; but I am also not taking photos and bringing my camera with me.

I am using it as my personal item. It is a Travelon.
TravelonAnti-Theft Classic Crossbody Bucket Bag - Exclusive Colors

I have been using as my daily purse for the last 2 weeks to get used to all the pockets and figure out what I want to put where.

Here is a link. I have the cranberry one. I love the water bottle pockets on the sides.

https://www.ebags.com/hproduct/trav...Wu2fSBjPAvphdXUfJQC1rqsGOBIiNMkzuQaAjIQ8P8HAQ

I apologize in advance if the link is wonky. Sometimes it brings you to the bag I bought and sometimes it brings you to something else. If it doesn't bring you to the bag use the description above at the ebags site.

MJ

 

[Chirple]

I am using it as my personal item. It is a Travelon.
TravelonAnti-Theft Classic Crossbody Bucket Bag - Exclusive Colors

I have been using as my daily purse for the last 2 weeks to get used to all the pockets and figure out what I want to put where.

Here is a link. I have the cranberry one. I love the water bottle pockets on the sides.

https://www.ebags.com/hproduct/trav...Wu2fSBjPAvphdXUfJQC1rqsGOBIiNMkzuQaAjIQ8P8HAQ

I apologize in advance if the link is wonky. Sometimes it brings you to the bag I bought and sometimes it brings you to something else. If it doesn't bring you to the bag use the description above at the ebags site.

MJ

Thanks, MJ! That looks like a really nice bag, and it weighs less than 1 lb empty. I think it would fit my smaller camera and my iPad along with our passports and other documents. I might purchase it and see what I can fit.

 

[laceltris3]

I used that exact same Travelon Crossbody Bucket Bag on our recent Baltic Cruise. I normally use a really roomy Vera Bradley crossbody for travel, but I wanted something more secure and that was small enough I could make sure I wouldn't have to check it in any of the museums. It was the perfect bag for Europe, and was quite secure.

The Vera Bradley I use for domestic travel is the Cargo Sling. It is the *best*. It is lightweight, but has a ton of room without being bulky.

 

[DL1957]

Wowsers!! Great advice and thanks for sharing. We are actually booked on the transatlantic next fall, thus some of my questions.

We are also on the WTA next fall!

 

[happytime]

We are also on the WTA next fall!

Very excited for this cruise. It will be our first time in England and sailing across the Atlantic! How about you?

 

[traveln4fun]

You can find good brands of crossbody bags at Marshalls. Look in the travel section, not the purse section, that's where they keep the brands that you would be more interested in with safety features. I use a crossbody every day and when I use a sweater or jacket, I keep it inside so that hands can't get to it. You have to be aware of your safety at all times. While my daughter and her 3 friends were in Rome, they went to bed for the evening and my daughter and friend on the second floor made sure the window was locked before turning in (the next morning, she was thankful for a paranoid Mom who told her to lock everything before going to bed), her friends on the 3rd floor left their window open thinking it was fine on the 3rd floor with just a ledge outside. When they woke up the next morning, someone had been in her friends room while they were asleep and they took both purses! Luckily, hotel employees found the purses in the trash even though all of their money was gone. They were told that the thieves are trained from very young how to steal and they just go after cash. Just the thought that someone had entered their room while they slept and they had no idea, scary world we live in.

 

[happytime]

You can find good brands of crossbody bags at Marshalls. Look in the travel section, not the purse section, that's where they keep the brands that you would be more interested in with safety features. I use a crossbody every day and when I use a sweater or jacket, I keep it inside so that hands can't get to it. You have to be aware of your safety at all times. While my daughter and her 3 friends were in Rome, they went to bed for the evening and my daughter and friend on the second floor made sure the window was locked before turning in (the next morning, she was thankful for a paranoid Mom who told her to lock everything before going to bed), her friends on the 3rd floor left their window open thinking it was fine on the 3rd floor with just a ledge outside. When they woke up the next morning, someone had been in her friends room while they were asleep and they took both purses! Luckily, hotel employees found the purses in the trash even though all of their money was gone. They were told that the thieves are trained from very young how to steal and they just go after cash. Just the thought that someone had entered their room while they slept and they had no idea, scary world we live in.

Wow! You would think the 3rd floor would not be a problem. Good news for your daughter to remember to lock up the window. Yes, very Scary! Just down right creepy, too!

 

[3Down1Up]

Where do you get the crossover purses (bag)? Amazon? Money belts?

We bought money belts through Rick Steves' website. I also have a Travelon for my travel cross body - I have the "classic" model without the water bottle holder which was fine (and cheaper LOL). Used it for a 12-night med cruise with DCL and it was much roomier than I had imagined.