Bringing food aboard

[take us away]

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.)

 

Sorry to say the crew does not get anything to allay the 'munchies' while on board. One weird thing we saw was in Puerto Valletta where the Wal-Mart is across the street from the pier and cabs kept pulling up. Didn't think anything of it until peeked over the rail and it was crew hauling cases of soda, munchies, water out of the trunk of the cab.

[RuthC]

Many years ago, on The Voyage of the Spammed, someone in our party was thoughtful enough to bring along some cans of Spam. The staff served them, (presented beautifully, I might add) at one of the parties we had aboard.

Lots of fun, and could not have been done if bringing food aboard was a no-no. ;)

[kazu]

Many years ago, on The Voyage of the Spammed, someone in our party was thoughtful enough to bring along some cans of Spam. The staff served them, (presented beautifully, I might add) at one of the parties we had aboard.

Lots of fun, and could not have been done if bringing food aboard was a no-no. ;)

 

 

ummm Ruth, sorry but wouldn't chocolate have been better. Sorry, couldn't resist. :p

Edited July 25, 2015 by kazu

[Boytjie]

ummm Ruth, sorry but wouldn't chocolate have been better. Sorry, couldn't resist. :p

 

 

Well, it wasn't The Voyage of the Chocolated. ;)

Edited July 26, 2015 by Boytjie

[Mary Ellen]

We've brought on board our offerings to the Goddess of Chocolate a number of times. Never has anyone from HAL even raised an eyebrow.

[Crew News]

Whenever we stop in St Maarten, we purchase 3-Kg (6.6 lbs) wheels of Gouda cheese at a small store behind the Tourist Information desk.

 

The HAL ship holds the cheese for us in cold storage until the night before disembarkation.

[Keroppi2011]

We are travelling with a 10 year old whose diet is vegetarian, gluten free and casein free. Did I mention she's a kid - i.e. picky? HAL has been very good at working with us to meet her needs but we will still carry a few sealed items aboard to make sure she has some special treats that match the rules.

[sail7seas]

:o I had to google 'casein' as I had no idea what that is. Must be a challenge trying to keep the young lady happy and eating well with those limitations. Good HAL has worked well with you.

 

[Keroppi2011]

Yes, a challenge for sure. No meat, no wheat products, no dairy! Plenty of fruits and vegetables, rice and legumes. Think of the ingredients in each of our favourite HAL specialties. She can't have most of them. But it is well worth the extra effort in order to have such quality time with her.

[pris993]

We always being on food items from ports, pastries/bakery items, street foods to enjoy for lunch on our balcony, nuts, wine, dried dates come to mind. This has not been a problem on any lines except NCL.

[sail7seas]

Yes, a challenge for sure. No meat, no wheat products, no dairy! Plenty of fruits and vegetables, rice and legumes. Think of the ingredients in each of our favourite HAL specialties. She can't have most of them. But it is well worth the extra effort in order to have such quality time with her.

 

I imagine it is challenging at home as well.

 

Quality time ----- Priceless. :)

 

Hope you have a great cruise.

 

[chefestelle]

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.

 

 

That's an excellent idea. I will most definitely get a letter!

[chefestelle]

Well, it wasn't The Voyage of the Chocolated. ;)

 

 

But that would be a great cruise...

[Freckles83]

oh man thank gosh for that..

 

If i can't bring back a couple chocolate dipped key lime pie slices on a stick then what type of vacation would that be? devastating.

 

:p

[DeeniEncinitas]

I always bring my jar of blue cheese stuffed olives on board for my martinis!!

As people have said anything package should be fine.

Denise:)

[Tarpeian Rock]

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

 

 

Bringing frozen dinners onto a cruise ship? Is this an editorial on the MDR?

[3rdGenCunarder]

Did Veendam's Canada/New England a few weeks ago, and I brought back lobster roll in Saint John and in Halifax, no questions, no problem.

 

For the poster who considers "crushed grapes" food, be careful. Although I recognize it as a food group, the ship won't see it that way. When I returned to the ship in Portland, I had a nearly full water bottle in my tote bag. One of the screeners looked into the bag to make sure it wasn't a wine bottle. It wasn't as large as a bottle of wine, and it had a sports cap, which should have been a giveaway that it wasn't wine. But he wanted to see it. So they are looking, at least some of the time.

[Tarpeian Rock]

Did Veendam's Canada/New England a few weeks ago, and I brought back lobster roll in Saint John and in Halifax, no questions, no problem.

 

For the poster who considers "crushed grapes" food, be careful. Although I recognize it as a food group, the ship won't see it that way. When I returned to the ship in Portland, I had a nearly full water bottle in my tote bag. One of the screeners looked into the bag to make sure it wasn't a wine bottle. It wasn't as large as a bottle of wine, and it had a sports cap, which should have been a giveaway that it wasn't wine. But he wanted to see it. So they are looking, at least some of the time.

 

 

 

Similar thing just happened to me on Princess - the clear contents of what was obviously a water bottle were checked to make sure it wasn't vodka or gin. (Senior citizen here - not a party hearty twentysomething....)

[kakalina]

Well, it wasn't The Voyage of the Chocolated. ;)

 

But there's an idea!!! :D

[serendipity1499]

Whenever we stop in St Maarten, we purchase 3-Kg (6.6 lbs) wheels of Gouda cheese at a small store behind the Tourist Information desk.

 

The HAL ship holds the cheese for us in cold storage until the night before disembarkation.

 

Our Friends also get the 3 Kg Gouda, while we try to find the smaller one since DH rarely eats it. Gouda is quite expensive here but I enjoy it..

 

Is there a reason why you ask the ship to keep it in cold storage? I've been told it only needs refrigeration once it's cut open..

Edited September 18, 2015 by serendipity1499

[3rdGenCunarder]

Similar thing just happened to me on Princess - the clear contents of what was obviously a water bottle were checked to make sure it wasn't vodka or gin. (Senior citizen here - not a party hearty twentysomething....)

 

The guy on HAL only looked at mine. Your post struck me funny, because at the time I thought, hey, there's a way to smuggle on vodka or gin. (DISCLAINER: I am not advocating smuggling, or trying to get around the booze rules)

[TiogaCruiser]

Similar thing just happened to me on Princess - the clear contents of what was obviously a water bottle were checked to make sure it wasn't vodka or gin. (Senior citizen here - not a party hearty twentysomething....)

 

The guy on HAL only looked at mine. Your post struck me funny, because at the time I thought, hey, there's a way to smuggle on vodka or gin. (DISCLAINER: I am not advocating smuggling, or trying to get around the booze rules)

 

Same thing here happened with me in Puerto Vallarta. I had a cup or so of water left in my water bottle and port security took it and shook it. Then said I could have it as it really was only water. (Could someone tell me how he could tell? I'm curious- )

[jtl513]

(Could someone tell me how he could tell? I'm curious- )

I wondered too, so I shook a partial bottle of gin and a partial bottle of water. In the gin a whole lot of fine bubbles formed and quickly disappeared. In the water, no fine bubbles. :D

[TiogaCruiser]

I wondered too, so I shook a partial bottle of gin and a partial bottle of water. In the gin a whole lot of fine bubbles formed and quickly disappeared. In the water, no fine bubbles. :D

 

Oh! Thanks, and mystery solved.

[POA1]

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

If they're fermented, with most of the skins removed, they hold up surprisingly well. However, once they are exposed to air, they only seem to last about 90 minutes to 2 hours - mostly depending on how long dinner takes.