any suggestions for packing ship lunches for beach ports

[teresad2297]

Hi there -

 

Was pondering this...

 

We're booked on the Summit for 3/27 sailing to the Souther Caribbean... This is a very port intensive trip - 5 of the 6 days are at an island... this means lots of beach time etc.

 

With two young children (ages 4 & 7), we'd rather spend our time playing at the beach rather than hunting down a kid friendly restaurant and sitting at a table minding our manners.:D

 

In the past, we've grabbed a piece of fruit or bagel or something on our way off the ship to snack on during the day. I'm wondering if anyone has better ideas for bringing stuff from the ship to eat for lunch at the port. We're usually late off the ships in the morning - so maybe the sandwich bar will be open? Or can I request a packed lunch? I'm even considering buying a bunch of stuff in San Juan prior to boarding to take for lunches.

 

My husband and I don't mind dining at local eateries and probably will if/when we leave our kids on board and explore by ourselves... it's just such a time intensive hassle to eat out with young kids on a short port call (most are 9-5).

 

Any ideas?

 

-Teresa

[danacline]

Many islands forbid you to bring fruit ashore, and may ban all food. It's easy enough to find people selling bottled pop, chips, burgers, local fruit, and such that you don't really need to sit down and mind your manners. A growing contingent here feels that it's much better to make this small contribution to the local economy rather than bring ship's food ashore.

 

If you insist, just bring some ziplocks and make a sandwich from the breakfast fare...

[hajekfam]

Most ports will not allow you to take any food off the ship including fruit and sandwiches. There could be hefty fines if you are caught doing this. In most cases you can bring prepackaged (by the snack company) snacks ashore.

When we first cruised Celebrity (back in the early 90's), you could buy a boxed lunch to take ashore. They discontinued that when the ports got concerned about the possiblity of contanimation (insects, etc) of their crops and passed laws against fresh foodstuffs.

[teresad2297]

Thanks guys - hadn't thought about restrictions.

 

And I'm all for contributing tourism $ to the local economies - I'm a great shopper of local crafts and shops etc... :D

 

It's all about the hassle factor... We'll probably try to take the kids out for just a few hours to closer beaches then bring them back to the ship then venture out on our own again.

 

-Teresa

[jan and jon]

Anything 'FACTORY PACKAGED' is deemed OK.

We take peanutbutter crackers-cereal bars-small bags of pretzels etc.

Hope this helps.

[greg_atlanta]

Just eat a big breakfast and come back to the ship around 3 or 4 for a late lunch. I know that's not so easy for kids..... but works for adults.

[kitty9]

You can take anything that's factory packaged like cereal boxes, granola bars and things like that. The BIGGEST no nos are fruit, meat, bakery and cheese. The reason why the US has strict laws about bringing anything off the ship when you return home is the reason why other countries have these rules---so as to not have an infestation of foreign "critters".

 

If you absolutely must bring anything, grab a couple of sealed cereal boxes from the breakfast buffet or stop in the on board store and pick up crackers or cookies that you keep sealed until you're off the ship.

[ohiocruisemom56]

We either decide to enjoy the local food, and have lunch at one of the local places....or we get off the ship early and return in time for a late lunch at the buffet, which is usually delightfully uncrowded while the ship is in port. In places like St. Maarten, it's easy to have lunch, then hop the water taxi back to town for afternoon shopping or beach. St. Thomas...shopping right off the ship. Some ports, not so easy...so those are the ones where you should enjoy the local food at lunch.

 

And I also remember the box lunches. We still get them at our vacation place in NH in the summer...nice to take to the golf course and avoid the overpriced "snack wagon".

 

Virginia