Lunch box from the ship?

[Wordzz]

Hi all,

 

Cruising Vancouver to Whittier this summer, and have arranged some independent tours on port days. In Juneau we have two tours arranged, morning and afternoon, with not enough time in between to go back to the ship for lunch. Would we be able to request a lunch box from the ship to take with us, or do we just need to find somewhere in port ourselves?

 

Thanks for any advice!

 

W

[rkmw]

Hi all,

 

Cruising Vancouver to Whittier this summer, and have arranged some independent tours on port days. In Juneau we have two tours arranged, morning and afternoon, with not enough time in between to go back to the ship for lunch. Would we be able to request a lunch box from the ship to take with us, or do we just need to find somewhere in port ourselves?

 

Thanks for any advice!

 

W

 

hi, i dont know in your part of the world but on our aussie ships no food is allowed on or off the ship....we have to buy something in port or wait until we get back to the ship.....if you skip lunch it wont matter

 

they even have the sniffer dogs in some Australian ports to make sure the paxs do not take off any food off

 

rkmw

[shushu]

you are not allowed to take ashore any food items from the ship. and they don't prepare any lunch boxes.

[Toto2Kansas]

You will have to find a place on shore to grab something for lunch. Princess does not supply box lunches or snacks for passengers when they go ashore.

[sirwired]

FYI, this is not some mean policy exlcusive to Princess. Many nations restrict the entry foreign agricultural items becaues of the danger of pests. Yes, you are unlikely to trigger a famine because of a ham sandwich, but it is far easier to simply prohibit the importation of all food by cruise pax, as screening is timeconsuming and expensive.

 

SirWired

[paul929207]

Best to just look or a place in town. The ship does not make box lunches since it is illegal to bring some food items into ports.

[Wordzz]

Thanks all for the heads up. This is our first time cruising, so a bit green, and all info is greatly appreciated!:)

[BobT172]

There are alot of eateries in Juneau within a few minutes walk of the ship. Should not be a problem if you have adequate time between tours.

[Ula]

Alaska has some really nice places to eat. It is fun to visit a port and find a nice place to eat. Alaska also has some nice local beers.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes, you are unlikely to trigger a famine because of a ham sandwich

 

How so? :eek:

[1 HappyCruiser]

Just have a large breakfast & pack some packages of cereal & a few danish to tie you over.

[Appygirl]

Princess docks in Juneau right by the parking lot where all the tour kiosks are set up and most of the tours let the passengers on and off. It seems to me that if you don't have time between tours to run back inside the cruise ship for a bite to eat, you probably don't have time to run up the block to a restaurant. Does one of your tours stop anywhere to let you wander around for awhile where you can pick up a snack? I'd say pack some chocolate bars in your luggage so you can bring them with you on shore excursions for times like this when there's not enough time to stop for a meal.

[Pam in CA]

As has been said, many countries strictly forbid bringing food off the ship; the U.S. is one of them. Technically, when you board the ship, you've left the U.S. and even though you've sailed from one U.S. port to another, you still may not bring food ashore other than packaged food.

 

A suggestion is to bring several health or snack bars that are packaged and sealed with you for a snack between tours. You are allowed to bring those. You can either pack them in your luggage before leaving or they have some (haven't a clue what kind) in the ship's store. If there are packages of cereal in the buffet, you are also allowed to bring those.

[dickwho]

In Rio de Janiero a number of years ago, a gentleman from Europe was presented with a very hefty fine by Bazillian Agricultural Agents, for taking a piece of fruit off the ship in his back pack. It was several hundred dollars, and money up front thanks.

 

An expensive banana.

 

And...we were told too.

[LadyPandora407]

Just have a large breakfast & pack some packages of cereal & a few danish to tie you over.

 

Don't forget to pack some ziplock bags and a backpack cooler ;)

[Cruisin' Chick]

Don't forget to pack some ziplock bags and a backpack cooler ;)

 

The danish would be a violation of taking food off. Generally the only exception would be prepackaged foods and bottled drinks. I pack some Balance Bars or Power Bars in my suitcase so I'll have something with me in port just in case my energy flags. Since they are sealed, they are considered okay.

 

As someone who lives near enough an agricultural area and have been through some sprayings for pest (eg. medfly), I can see why many countries are very careful.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Don't forget to pack some ziplock bags and a backpack cooler ;)

I never do.

[mcnuss]

When we've cruised in the past, I have always brought my soft cooler & ziplocks. I then order a room service lunch for each of us before we leave the ship and pack it along with some bags of ice to take with us to the beach or wherever. I've NEVER been told that this is any kind of violation and I've never hidden what I was doing. I think I did it in Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

[Pam in CA]

When we've cruised in the past, I have always brought my soft cooler & ziplocks. I then order a room service lunch for each of us before we leave the ship and pack it along with some bags of ice to take with us to the beach or wherever. I've NEVER been told that this is any kind of violation and I've never hidden what I was doing. I think I did it in Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

Mexico and Grand Cayman are probably two places where your food won't be taken and thrown away or you taken away by Customs officials. Agriculture isn't their main industry that could be destroyed if something entered the country. Brazil is probably another one.

 

If you were disembarking in Chile, for instance, you would enter the terminal building and all passengers lined up on either side of a hallway. You put everything in your hands on the floor by your feet. Two military with machine guns and a dog with handler then walk up and down the lines with the dog sniffing out any foodstuff. They take it VERY seriously. Likewise the U.S. I've told this story before but several years ago, I was flying from Rome to Boston after a cruise and as I was waiting for my luggage, a dog and handler from Customs casually sniffed everyone's carry-ons. The dog stopped next to the woman beside me and sat down. The Customs guy politely asked her if she had any fruit in her carry-on. She said, "No." He asked again, and again, she said, "No." He then asked to examine the carry-on... and there was an apple she'd taken from the plane. He waited with her to get her luggage and then led her away. If you cruise to HI, you have to be very careful when buying plants and disembarking in LA.

 

The point is that I'd be very, very careful when carrying unsealed food off the ship.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Years ago we took an one-day cruise roundtrip from San Diego to Ensenada to see if I can take cruising. Since my bf (now hubby) feels the need to keep his blood sugar level, he packed a small cooler with fruit and soft drinks for us. When we returned to SD, we went through customs and were asked if we had any food. Hubby had forgotten to check his cooler before leaving the ship -- he had a banana in it. He was so embarrassed. Fortunately, the customs officer saw that it wasn't intentional, but he could have taken hubby away for that. California does take the matter very seriously. That was also the case on our Hawaiian cruise. Everyone's purse and backpack were checked getting off the ship in each port.

[Toto2Kansas]

I can't remember which port in Mexico we were at, but as the tenders pulled up to the dock, and each passenger climbed out, every purse, backpack and bag was searched for any fruit taken ashore. There was a warning in the Princess patter, there were announcements made on the ship, but many paid no attention. At the end of the day, the dock contained three 55 gallon drums full of fruit that passengers were trying to take a shore for a snack. What a waste that was!

[janina]

You can't get a box lunch, but the ship is right there. I wouldn't think that there would be any lines to get back on at lunch. If not there are eateries right on the main drag including Red Dog Saloon, which is interesting.:)

[Red Hat Cruise Cat]

I can't remember which port in Mexico we were at, but as the tenders pulled up to the dock, and each passenger climbed out, every purse, backpack and bag was searched for any fruit taken ashore. There was a warning in the Princess patter, there were announcements made on the ship, but many paid no attention. At the end of the day, the dock contained three 55 gallon drums full of fruit that passengers were trying to take a shore for a snack. What a waste that was!

 

Zihuatanejo, Mexico had the military and sniffing dogs and they were looking for foodstuffs

[Langley Cruisers]

I then order a room service lunch for each of us before we leave the ship... I've NEVER been told that this is any kind of violation and I've never hidden what I was doing.

 

 

How about now that you know it is a violation - does that make any difference? The rules apply to everyone. The rules are also well stated, well posted, and adequately posted. We knew about it from our very first cruise.

[2Oregonians]

I just have to share a story about what my cheap...er...frugal sister-in-law did. She, my brother, and their two pre-teen and teen boys were going to be out and about in whatever port for pretty much the whole day, and she knew they'd be missing their "free" lunch aboard ship. Somehow, and I don't know if she got them from the buffet that morning, the night before, or asked their waiter in the dining room the night before, but she got a hold of four steaks. From the buffet, she got breads, fruits and cheese. She made my brother schlep all that stuff around in his backpack, and as it turned out, with the huge breakfast they had (they are all thin people), and the package of cookies they bought in a gift shop, nobody ate any of it. They ended up ditching it in a garbage can 100 yds from the ship as they were returning from their day.