Sounds silly but whenever I check into a Carnival cruise ship, I’m always curious to see what little freebies they have put in my cabin bathroom.

An amenity basket in every cabin is filled with an odd assortment of  toiletries, free samples and money-saving coupons. One time my daughter Kelly and I got men’s aftershave, some chocolate candy,  razors and bottles of sunscreen.

We ate the candy, my daughter took the aftershave and razors home to her son and we used the sunscreen.

On my most recent cruise, the basket on the bathroom counter had two tubes of toothpaste, two packs of motion sickness pills and some hand lotion. My cabin attendant left me several more tubes of toothpaste throughout my week long cruise.

“It’s our way of saying ‘welcome.’ Sort of a hospitality gift,” said Carnival Magic Cruise Director James Dunn.

It is nice. And the small tubes of toothpaste come in quite handy. Since I take only carry-on luggage, I’m always looking for three ounce or less toothpaste tubes. Just another way Carnival Cruise Lines tries to please its passengers. I appreciate it.

By Jackie Sheckler Finch