Are original pill bottles required.

I have friends cruising tomorrow who asked me if they could just bring their pill box instead of individual bottles? Is that correct?

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Fine

No worries....bring the pill box.

Original pill bottles aren't necessary

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We only bring the individual bottles for controlled substances. Your OTCs and average prescriptions are fine in a pill box.

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Thanks- that's what I thought, BTW how would 'they know what is controlled" or not.I happen to be married to a pharmacist and I know he could tell the difference but wonder if most people would know

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pre/post cruise will they be crossing a border? I'll assume the meds are not controlled in the country they will be entering and not pain killers.

Travelling internationally I always have my prescription meds in original bottles. Usually take twice what I'll need in two separate bottles, re-using the most recently emptied one, and packing in different carry-ons. No one has ever given more than a glance when passing through a checkpoint but I don't want a delay or chance losing and having to figure out replacing. Might question the old bottle but explainable with the current one. In theory a new prescription written legibly that includes the actual drug name should be carried but I never gone so far as to ask my doctor to write clearly :)

If they are just driving to the port and not taking them ashore in a foreign land would not be concerned if not in original packages for most meds.

They are going to Hawaii

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No they are not required.

Thanks- that's what I thought, BTW how would 'they know what is controlled" or not.I happen to be married to a pharmacist and I know he could tell the difference but wonder if most people would know

 

 

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Most people won't be able to tell the difference between controlled and non controlled medications. I would take controlled substances in the original container simply because I wouldn't want to confuse it with other meds I may be taking. I take two Rx meds that aside from the numbering look exactly the same. I would HATE to confuse them [emoji37]

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Thanks- that's what I thought, BTW how would 'they know what is controlled" or not.I happen to be married to a pharmacist and I know he could tell the difference but wonder if most people would know

 

 

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The Drug Dogs sure do know.

One stopped D.W. at the gangway during embarkation, till it found her brand new pain pill prescription still in the original bottle.

Thanks- that's what I thought, BTW how would 'they know what is controlled" or not.I happen to be married to a pharmacist and I know he could tell the difference but wonder if most people would know

I doubt the inspectors can distinguish. My maintenance meds on the pill box have always been on my carry-on, and an equal number in a ziplock in my personal bag, in case one or the other gets lost, have never been put out from the bag for scrutiny.

It might be OK with NCL but federal requires anyone carrying a prescribed controlled substance to have the prescription as well. I usually peel the prescription off of the original pill bottle and reattach it to the bottom of my pill box...just in case.

NCL don't care about your medication. However if you are going through border/customs inspections it's a good idea to have original packaging.

I use CVS pharmacy and my pharmacist said that if I have their app, it will show the prescriptions and I would therefore not need to carry the pill bottles with me. Not sure how authorities would feel about that, but it sounded legit. Who is to say Someone doesn’t put Prescription A in the Prescription B pill bottle.

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If you have the prescription information sheet that usually accompanies your order, that's supposed to be sufficient. However, if you have schedule drugs like pain killers, the bottle is safest. But if you are carrying blood or or cholesterol medications or something similar, the sheets are fine.

In New York now, there is a new law that all prescriptions must be sent electronically from the doctor to the drug store. No paper prescriptions are used.

I guess the pharmacy's app would have to be accepted.

I take a lot of medications for various issues, and have never had a problem taking just my seven-day pill box. However, it's a good idea to take a list of the medications, dosages and prescription numbers. My BIL once lost his pill case when we flew down to Miami the night before sailing, but we were able to get seven days worth of replacement meds before we boarded the next morning at a local CVS because he had the prescription info with him.

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I was one of the "lucky" ones that had my card ding when leaving the cruise ship, which meant I was subject to customs doing an extensive search on all of my belongings. When I asked why I was chosen, they told me they always pick about 5 rooms per cruise to search--just my luck. I had my weekly (by the day) pill box with me and no prescription bottles. The customs agent basically told me I was lucky they were letting me go--that you always need to have your prescription bottles with you as they cannot determine just looking at the pills what they are.

The Drug Dogs sure do know.

One stopped D.W. at the gangway during embarkation, till it found her brand new pain pill prescription still in the original bottle.

Where was this?

If you are searched by an official while traveling (police, TSA, customs, etc); and they find pills on u they have to deal with them. It is illegal to possess controlled substances without a prescription. If you have a controlled substance your doctor/pharmacist should make you aware of it. These are the things that only you can pick up from the pharmacy: all narcotics, some psych meds like xanax and Valium, things like that. If you have a valid prescription it's your duty to prove that. Many people do this by carrying the bottle which stands as your proof.

Every pill that's produced commercially can be identified on sight by the color, shape, and markings on it. The screener may recognize the pill if they have identified it before. If they see pills they don't recognize but want to check on there are online sites/phone numbers where they can describe the pill and have it identified. Best to carry those in their original bottles or with a prescription and be upfront about it.

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