Bringing food aboard

[gsrunyan]

HAL specifically says that you can't bring food on board. I am seriously addicted to Hershey's kisses and my wife is addicted to Werther's caramels.

 

Our transatlantic cruise next spring is 17 days plus 4 days in Copenhagen. Can we bring our sweets on board without being sent off or giving them up to confiscation?

 

Glenn:cool:

[TrolleyGirl]

I have been told by the HAL representatives in the terminal you can bring commercially packaged food on/off the ship. I usually travel with granola bars in my carry on luggage to tied me over on long flights and there has never been a problem with them. Also we bought Mexican chocolate in Cozumel that was commercially packaged and we were allowed to bring it on and off the ship.

[oofroggie]

Have never tried to bring on board but if still in sealed bags it should be OK. Food in question would be fruit etc that might have bugs etc. I bring on 2-3 large bags of cough drops and other hard candy in original sealed bags.

[jtl513]

yes no problem. I notice that world cruisers pick up snacks in ports and bring them back. You can't take fruits etc. off the ship at ports. Also can't bring back sausages etc into US . Buying those candies, if they have them, on board is quite expensive, I think. Now you aren't talking full suitcase full right??:)

[pv girl]

Yes you can. We have always brought on bags of mixed nuts, small candy bars, etc. for in-room snacks. We have brought on foods from ports also - candies, bakery cookies, fruit from farmer's markets, jars of olives, etc. and bottled water and wine (but we now get to pay a corkage on that if the port is checking for it - some do, some don't). Just remember, the frig doesn't get real cold, so be careful of perishables.

[Moriah]

I always bring some kind of snack bar - usually several of them - I have them in my purse for air travel more than for the cruise, but there they are, and I've never even thought about that being in violation of the 'no food aboard' rule! I also brought a box of cashews on my last Veendam cruise.. I think the rule only applies to things like bringing on a burger and fries from a take-out place at your port of call, or something like that...

[catl331]

HAL specifically says that you can't bring food on board.

Where does it say that? I've looked and can't find that stated anywhere on HALs site.

[sail7seas]

You can bring your candy.

We brought smoked sandwiches on board in Montreal and you can be sure security could smell them. :) They pretended they were going to take the big shopping bag full of them but, of course, didn't. We've brought whole lobster dinners, lobster rolls, candy, nuts, fried shrimp....... No problem at all.

 

Edited July 24, 2015 by sail7seas

[taxmantoo]

Our favorite food to bring on board is crushed grapes :D

[take us away]

Absolutely yes you can bring food on board. My DH was a diabetic and needed to eat protein on a frequent and regular basis so we would bring granola bars, almonds for him and I bring Crystal Light individual packets, my Hersey's Nuggets plus non-diary creamer. Now looks like I will also need to bring tea bags..... Have seen people bring their own coffee and coffee maker (the push down kind), special protein shake types of foods, etc. have never heard of anyone being admonished or having the food confiscated.

 

Enjoy your candies!

[Lizzie68]

Another diabetic here, and I always bring a stash of granola bars, almonds, Crystal Light, and rice cakes. And part way through our last cruise of 20 days, we did a grocery shop (:o) and brought chips, bottles of pop and other assorted items onboard. I think as long as the food is packaged you will be fine.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We always bring on dark chocolate for me as I do not like milk chocolate.

Also we bring on packaged snack crackers as we use them for snacks when we have a short time between flights.

And when we have done a few Canada/New England cruises, we have brought back onto the ship Lobster Rolls.

[kazu]

What you can take OFF the ship and what you can bring ON the ship are two different things.

 

Thanks to CC I discovered you can take flowers on the ship and when I get to some of those lovely Med ports or the Carib where there are so many flowers and they are so cheap that is my joy in life.

 

Never taken a sandwich nor a lobster on board and never felt the need but it can be done obviously ;)

 

as someone said to me a long, long time ago on the boards - where do you think the ship gets their food and flowers from. duhh - the light came on :)

Edited July 24, 2015 by kazu

[chefestelle]

Absolutely yes you can bring food on board. My DH was a diabetic and needed to eat protein on a frequent and regular basis so we would bring granola bars, almonds for him and I bring Crystal Light individual packets, my Hersey's Nuggets plus non-diary creamer. Now looks like I will also need to bring tea bags..... Have seen people bring their own coffee and coffee maker (the push down kind), special protein shake types of foods, etc. have never heard of anyone being admonished or having the food confiscated.

 

 

 

Enjoy your candies!

 

 

Wonderful. I am also diabetic and mine is entirely diet controlled so my snacks are key. What about excursions that don't provide meals or snacks. How does he manage those? I'm thinking of ones that go to ruins as opposed to cities or towns where eating is as much a part of the exploration as everything else!

[richarduk]

Our favorite food to bring on board is crushed grapes :D

 

I agree with you. How naughty! We like to think about it as our little game, even after the "policy" change!:D

Edited July 24, 2015 by richarduk

[Cruising Is Bliss]

Our favorite food to bring on board is crushed grapes :D

 

Pretty sure that only works if the crushed grapes are fresh :)

[Sir PMP]

HAL specifically says that you can't bring food on board. I am seriously addicted to Hershey's kisses and my wife is addicted to Werther's caramels.

 

Our transatlantic cruise next spring is 17 days plus 4 days in Copenhagen. Can we bring our sweets on board without being sent off or giving them up to confiscation?

 

Glenn:cool:

 

You can bring food on board like frozen dinners, pizzas etc., but you cannot take it on shore..

[Boytjie]

HAL specifically says that you can't bring food on board

 

Where?! I have never seen that mentioned anywhere, including here on Cruise Critic. I have not seen it mentioned on any of the other cruise lines we have sailed on either.

 

We have taken various kinds of food onboard including cookies, chocolates, nuts, chips, cheese, fruit, salmon (Alaska) and ground coffee. The fruit, cheese and salmon we consumed onboard.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Boytjie

[CowPrincess]

We've taken jars of caviar onboard and the ship provided the toast points etc for us. Arranged through the ship's coordinator, so HAL knew it was coming onboard. They had no issue with us bringing it onto the ship.

[wander]

The crew would be in real trouble if the OP's statement about food was true. In some ports I have been to, even in Hawaii, a nearby Walmart will provide a free shuttle to their store, for crew and passengers. One time I needed to get an OTC medicine for my cabin mate so I took the crowded bus to Walmart. (Two buses continually made the circuit most of the day.)

While there I got a kick out of seeing the grocery carts of many crew and officers. Filled and piled high with things like underwear, shirts and soda, chips, dips, cookies, candy, etc. etc, etc. Some had trouble walking to the ship they had so many bags. (By the way, passengers also brought back goodies and flowers - but certainly not the volume the crew did.)

[erewhon]

One cruise, we were told there were no Kiwifruit available, so at the first port, purchased our supply and took on board.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Many years ago, I brought a lobster roll on board at Bar Harbor. I was with my mother, who was scandalized! All that food on the ship and I had to bring my own lunch back with me???? She didn't care for lobster. Now, if it had been something chocolate, she'd have understood completely (and wanted some!).

 

Much as I loved QE2, her croissants were not good, so when we were in Cannes, I bought some for the next day's breakfast.

 

In a fit of homesickness in Australia, I bought a package of Oreos. QM2's range of cookies is pathetically boring, and after 2 weeks on board, I was desperate for different cookies, so I went to a supermarket in port. I don't even like Oreos that much, but when I saw them I thought "Home!" When I got back on board, I saw that they were made in China.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Those will not be a problem at all , We bring our favorites as well which might weight a pound or two depending the length of the cruise.

[81Zoomie]

Pretty sure that only works if the crushed grapes are fresh :)

 

My husband and I love this ;)

[take us away]

Wonderful. I am also diabetic and mine is entirely diet controlled so my snacks are key. What about excursions that don't provide meals or snacks. How does he manage those? I'm thinking of ones that go to ruins as opposed to cities or towns where eating is as much a part of the exploration as everything else!

 

We pack it up and carry it. Have a cross-body satchel (not a fan of backpacks) and throw in a couple bars, nut packages or whatever (he was on a 2-3 hour cycle so packed up as needed) along with a bottle of water. Worked for us with no issue. Have a great picture of him sitting on a low wall in Ephesus munching on a granola bar surrounded by the cats. Only ports where we needed something extra was in Australia as they are adamant about no food brought off the ship, and they will levy fines and can even arrest you. We bring an MD letter explaining the situation, prepackaged nuts or bars (no zip top baggies), and have never had an issue in their ports - they just read the letter, check the packages while the food and drug dog is bouncing up and down and smile and let us through. So after that we always carried the letter - just in case.