Can you take food off the ship

[cwccmark]

Do they allow you to take food off the ship for a picnic while at port? First time cruiser, so wasn't sure, but it would work great for our day at St. John's

[wilsonthesecond]

I was wondering the same thing? My sister said they usually have box lunches. But just in case I am bringing ziplock bags and a collapsable cooler. You can order room service the night before and just bag the food!

[Travelgrrl]

I have done this before but strictly speaking, you are not supposed to. (Bringing produce or food from one country to the next, in effect). I have heard of people's cooler's being checked but have never seen it on any line.

 

Now that I have cruised more, I tend to just buy lunch wherever I am, or eat heartily for breakfast and skip (drink!) lunch. For instance, at St. Maarten last month a full plate of ribs, served at my beach chair, was $4.

[pattie63]

Two words -- "Invasive species". Look it up. Bring food off the ship if you would like to potentially compromise the areas ecosystem. I know people do it all of the time but for the most part, it's really an ill advised action on their part . If you must then absolutely no fruits or veggies from the ship. And why not enjoy some ot the local foods?

[DrD]

What about when the ship gives you a box lunch for a tour? This has happened to us several times.

[cwccmark]

Definitely want to do a picnic while were at Sr. John's, but maybe we can find a deli or a grocery store.

[merela]

your backpacks or bags when you disembark. I've seen signs indicating no food allow the ship at some ports, but I don't remember which.

 

Because I have small children, I always fill their sippy cups with apple juice before we disembark. I also fill our backpacks with boxed cereals (from the Horizon Court during breakfast hours) so the kids can snack if they wish. Once in a while I will put a bagel or croissant in ziploc bags (I bring my own ziploc bags). But I've never packed a full sandwich or a complete picnic. If you bring your ziploc bags and glad containers, potentially, you can pack yourself a complete picnic. Try to avoid bringing meat, fruits and vegetables off the ship.

 

Usually, we would either eat our meals before we get off the ship or when we come back to the ship. We have never eaten locally. We did go to Pusser's for a drink in Tortola, BVI.

 

Princess do not offer boxed lunches or picnic lunches for you to take off the ship. What you can do is time your excursions so you can come back to the ship for lunch, then go back out again.

 

If you join an excursion or tour, the tour operators may provide lunch or snack or drinks, but that varies from tour to tour. Most will say in the outset so you will know what to expect. I believe those lunches are eaten locally or packed locally.

 

The only place I did not dare to take any food off the ship is when we arrived back in the US. There is a big sign as we get off the ship that the fine is $150 (or maybe more, I forgot) if US customs finds food in our bags.

 

 

HTH.

[mr green]

Do not take food off, other than a 'boxed lunch'. These are usually so bad however that I would advise eating the box, and feeding the lunch to the birds.:D john P. S. Buy lunch at port, but make shure that it is well cooked, and take bottled water with you. mr g

[critterchick]

Good point, Patty.

 

When you come to California, you can't bring in any produce from out of state. My dad & stepmother were driving from Washington state, and when they were told that they could not bring their apples in, they ate them before crossing the border (fortunately there were only 2 apples:eek: ). Other foods are fine, though. I should think the same rules apply - you can bring canned salmon, chocolate and all sorts of edibles from Canada into the US, just not produce.

 

You would think the cruiseships would mention something about it if it is an issue, though.

[guardhouse]

More specific to the question asked......when we were on The Dawn last year we brought zip lock bags, figured we would order sandwiches from 24-hour room service in the morning and toss them in our bags.

 

At each port, room service for items like this were not available in any form.

 

It was a nice thought!

[spongerob]

When you eat on shore, you help promote the local economy. It also gives the people who live there a reason to want ships to return.

 

It is against the rules in many places. Princess does not provide box lunches, nor am I aware of their ships providing food for local tours.

[Travelgrrl]

Because the cruise lines wish to discourage this, they often won't deliver sandwiches to your room on the AM of port days. People who wish to flout this (not that I'm advocating same) will want to order the night before and put in the mini bar before the cooler the next AM. Just remember to bring back ALL of your debris to dump back on board so at least you're not leaving your invasive species back on the island!

[holidayathesea]

what is this invasive species bit?

[hstrybuf]

That would be bugs or worms or other little critters that you don't see or can't see because it's in the food. They really try to discourage people from taking anything other than pre-packaged food ashore. We prefer to try the local food. It's part of the experience of traveling to another country. ;)

[Readyto go]

we can't throw it out in the islands garbage, but it's ok to serve us the food with the bugs,worms and other critters in it?:rolleyes:

[Ziggy7]

Each Port usually has a home page with customs and immigration information on them, which is always best to check out. We purchased Conch shells from a local vender, brought them back to the ship only to find out it was against Nassau's law to remove star (not sure if thats the correct name) conch shells (they are indangered spieces) from their island! The ship security took them from us, never to be seen again! Good thing we didnt spend much on them! Also we have been warned about food laws at a few Ports by the ship before, dont remember which port, the cruise line was HAL. We did both the Eastern & Western Caribbean cruises.

Also, remember you are a visitor to others country, treat it with respect :)

[cruisingfreak]

When we did the Hawaiian Islands, made sandwiches eat day, from the Horizon Court. The only thing we didn't take off the ship was fruit.

 

 

Minette

[CariBlue]

Eat a big breakfast, skip lunch (you'll be so active on port days you'll forget about eating) and then eat a big dinner. Don't waste your time in port eating! :)

[Coolmama_1]

When you eat on shore, you help promote the local economy. It also gives the people who live there a reason to want ships to return.

 

It is against the rules in many places. Princess does not provide box lunches, nor am I aware of their ships providing food for local tours.

 

 

 

Good point!

[Crowsie]

Just off the Sapphire from Sydney to Bangkok.

 

Each port day there would be announcements saying that NO food could be taken off the ship..including fruit, seeds, beef jerkey, meats or dairy, prepackaged foods of any kind and only commercially bottled water was allowed. i.e. no insulated water bottles filled with ice tea, lemonade etc.

 

And the customs/immigration folks at each port DID check everyone's bags.

 

My MIL had a couple of packages of crackers (commercially prepackaged ) from horizon court in her carryon when we disembarked in Bangkok. They checked, they found them, they took them away and she got scolded big time!

[cwccmark]

I want to thank everyone for the information, which was actually answered after the 2nd reply, but always good to hear different people's take on things. Already looked up information on St. John's and there's a nice little delli right by where we rent the jeep. We are set to go. I will help the economy of the island by purchasing their local food, and I will not miss up their eco-something or thingamajiggy.

 

Again thans for all the help. I love the information you can get from these boards.:)

[pattie63]

These boards are great. I was going to recommend that if people were worried about finding a place to eat at a certain Port, they should post the question on that ports board. The depth of knowledge, particularly when it comes to food, of these CC'ers is amazing. A food question on a port of call board is likely to bring many, many recommendations!

 

If anyone is visiting Limon, Costa Rica, I highly recommend El Faro Restaurant! Wonderful seafood and Arroz con Pollo at a very reasonable price with a terrific band overlooking the harbor. It doesn't get much better than this!