Availability of condiments

[Tampa Girl]

Are you sure this shouldn't be reversed;)

 

Besides, If I am in the Med, I would never take food off the ship for a much MORE important reason - the joy of eating their very fresh, lovely salads and food. We like to enjoy the culture and are happy to pay the euros for a very enjoyable bite or sip :)

 

My thought, as well. Why would people take sandwiches when they can be enjoying the local foods! I understand that medical reasons might be a reason, however. But other than that, why not sample other cuisine. Surely saving money cannot be a major factor, given the overall cost of a cruise.

[Essiesmom]

This isn't true. A good number of the stores are (rightfully) Dutch.

 

I was not referring to HAL ships. I mentioned Cunard, but many ships/lines sail from ports other than Amsterdam. EM

[sppunk]

I was not referring to HAL ships. I mentioned Cunard, but many ships/lines sail from ports other than Amsterdam. EM

 

Perhaps I misunderstood. I was just saying stores (ie what's loading onto ships) come from all over, not just the UK. :) My apologies if I misinterpreted your meaning.

[cb at sea]

You may NOT take unpackaged foods off the ship. You can take things like sealed cereal, granola, etc....but not meats, cheeses, veggies or fruit. Sorry!

 

Fines can be substantial...or they can reserve the right to arrest you.

Edited August 7, 2015 by cb at sea

[dakrewser]

I was not referring to HAL ships. I mentioned Cunard, but many ships/lines sail from ports other than Amsterdam. EM

 

AS do most HAL ships. And I don't believe you specified Cunard in your posting.

[FLACRUISER99]

It has been mentioned elsewhere that for cruises in Europe the stores all come from the UK, and there is not a problem taking food off. I never asked when I was there. I do remember watching a man making sandwiches at breakfast on QM2 - but we sailed from NYC to the Caribbean. Don't know if he made it ashore with them, but now I realize he was probably accustomed to sailing in Europe where it was not a problem. EM

 

AS do most HAL ships. And I don't believe you specified Cunard in your posting.

Maybe you should try reading it.

[dakrewser]

Maybe you should try reading it.

 

Yes, the OP mentioned Cunard in regards to a Caribbean cruise from NY (not the Med, not Europe, not from the UK). The opening sentence: "It has been mentioned elsewhere that for cruises in Europe the stores all come from the UK" doesn't limit the cruises to Cunard - or any other line. Thus myself and at least one other poster assumed it was referring to ALL European cruises.

Edited August 7, 2015 by dakrewser

[Mary Ellen]

The opening sentence: "It has been mentioned elsewhere that for cruises in Europe the stores all come from the UK" doesn't limit the cruises to Cunard - or any other line. Thus myself and at least one other poster assumed it was referring to ALL European cruises.

 

Add me to those who couldn't tell the post was in reference to specifically Cunard lading stores in the UK. :confused:

[Danni3ll3]

And since this is a HAL forum, I thought the poster was referring to HAL. Guess I need to read more carefully.

[kazu]

Add me to those who couldn't tell the post was in reference to specifically Cunard lading stores in the UK. :confused:

 

And since this is a HAL forum, I thought the poster was referring to HAL. Guess I need to read more carefully.

 

 

the OP was asking about a HAL ship - talk about thread drift ;)

[sail7seas]

My thought, as well. Why would people take sandwiches when they can be enjoying the local foods! I understand that medical reasons might be a reason, however. But other than that, why not sample other cuisine. Surely saving money cannot be a major factor, given the overall cost of a cruise.

 

I agree. Absent a medical reason or extremely hard to please eater, I cannot imagine passing up a lunch ashore in Italy, Spain, Holland, France etc in favor of a sandwich made in Lido snuck off the ship to be eaten hours later. Nothing much sounds less appealing to me. :D

 

A wonderful, fresh, Italian lunch or dried out whatever? :D No contest.

 

[rockdoctor]

Do we go through a customs inspection at each port???

 

It's not a customs inspection but an agricultural inspection. They just look at backpacks and hand bags.

[colbe]

Good luck trying to bring a dried out sandwich into New Zealand. You could end up in the Guiness Book of World Records for the most expensive sandwich.

If you fail to declare biosecurity risk goods, you may be fined up to $100,000, may face up to 5 years in prison, or may receive an instant $400 fine.

[erewhon]

Good luck trying to bring a dried out sandwich into New Zealand. You could end up in the Guiness Book of World Records for the most expensive sandwich.

If you fail to declare biosecurity risk goods, you may be fined up to $100,000, may face up to 5 years in prison, or may receive an instant $400 fine.

 

Just like the person on a TV program the other evening, who received an instant fine of $400.00 for not declaring an apple when arriving into New Zealand by air.

The dog knew the person had fruit in the bag:D

[Lis2065]

Just like the person on a TV program the other evening, who received an instant fine of $400.00 for not declaring an apple when arriving into New Zealand by air.

The dog knew the person had fruit in the bag:D

 

Just a note as to why this occurs in NZ and Aus - which is to avoid the introduction of pests and diseases to the agricultural community here.

 

Please don't take food off the ship, it just isn't worth it - on so many levels.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Just a note as to why this occurs in NZ and Aus - which is to avoid the introduction of pests and diseases to the agricultural community here.

 

Please don't take food off the ship, it just isn't worth it - on so many levels.

 

I agree! NZ and Aus have the advantage of isolation--no land border with another country. So they work hard at controlling their one port of entry, the coast.

 

On our cruise around Australia, before anyone could go ashore in port the Captain read a long and detailed legal message about not taking food off the ship. By the last port, I almost had it memorized. We saw the sniffer dogs in every port,but never saw anyone caught, so people were taking it seriously. But a woman I spoke to one afternoon said the dog had stopped at her tote bag. She swore she had no food in it, and when they searched the bag, they found none. But she used the tote on board, and had carried fruit in it the day before, leaving the scent on the bag. So don't think you can fool the dogs. They WILL find food in your bag.

 

And aside from legal issues, foreign plant matter can bring in disease. And if a new disease finds a host, it can spread and be devastating (leading to an epiphytotic, the plant version of "epidemic"). Dutch elm disease and chestnut blight both came to the US in products shipped from other countries back in the days before agricultural inspections. This spring there was an outbreak of some kind of bark beetle and campers were being asked not to bring firewood with them, but to buy it locally so that they wouldn't accidentally spread the infestation.

 

It doesn't take much to spread plant diseases, so please don't risk it.

[Mary Ellen]

Just a note as to why this occurs in NZ and Aus - which is to avoid the introduction of pests and diseases to the agricultural community here.

 

That is the exact same reason many countries have such laws. ;)

[sail7seas]

When we go ashore in various ports, we are guests in their town, city, country. We should act accordingly and abide by their laws, rules and regulations. They apply to all of us and it is not our choice whether to approve of them or not. If you don't like their rules, it's easy. Don't go there.

[cruisemom42]

When in doubt, don't do it. If you are thinking about taking food of the ship, research whether it's allowed. Sometimes it's difficult to find, but usually I've been able to uncover the info.

 

In most places in Europe, taking food off the ship isn't a problem. It seems to be more of an issue in the US, Mexico, Australia, NZ, and many tropical or semi-tropical islands. Don't know about Canada because I haven't researched it. Kazu, I'd be curious to know where you've found it to be illegal in Europe. I know it is okay in Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Tunisia.

 

I've been on ships where boxed lunches (made on board) were available to take off the ship for lunch. Usually this occurred (not on HAL) when excursions were going to take folks to out-of-the-way places where restaurants were not readily available.

 

I enjoy delicious Mediterranean food as much as anyone, but I'm not going to interrupt a visit to some deserted Roman site to travel an hour back into town to get lunch. DIY food makes a lot of sense on those occasions.

[sail7seas]

Of course.

[Fouremco]

When in doubt, don't do it. If you are thinking about taking food of the ship, research whether it's allowed. Sometimes it's difficult to find, but usually I've been able to uncover the info.

 

In most places in Europe, taking food off the ship isn't a problem. It seems to be more of an issue in the US, Mexico, Australia, NZ, and many tropical or semi-tropical islands. Don't know about Canada because I haven't researched it. Kazu, I'd be curious to know where you've found it to be illegal in Europe. I know it is okay in Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Tunisia.

 

I've been on ships where boxed lunches (made on board) were available to take off the ship for lunch. Usually this occurred (not on HAL) when excursions were going to take folks to out-of-the-way places where restaurants were not readily available.

 

I enjoy delicious Mediterranean food as much as anyone, but I'm not going to interrupt a visit to some deserted Roman site to travel an hour back into town to get lunch. DIY food makes a lot of sense on those occasions.

EU and EEA countries all have virtually identical prohibitions with statements similar to the following:

 

Meat and milk and any items thereof from non-EU countries with the exception of limited amounts from Andorra, Croatia, the Faeroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and small amounts of specific products from other countries

 

This enables a Brit to make a picnic at home, take the Chunnel to Calais and drive to Bruges to enjoy his sandwiches. Consequently, for ships provisioned within the EU/EEA, there is no particular issue for local authorities with passengers taking ashore food that originated from within the EU/EEA. Whether or not a cruise line has a blanket policy of prohibition to prevent confusion amongst passengers is another question. Understandably, confusion can arise when you are told on an east-bound TA that you are prohibited from taking food ashore once you reach the Med, but on your ensuing Med cruise you're told it's OK. And sometimes even make box-lunches for you!

Edited August 8, 2015 by Fouremco

[Essiesmom]

EU and EEA countries all have virtually identical prohibitions with statements similar to the following:

 

 

 

This enables a Brit to make a picnic at home, take the Chunnel to Calais and drive to Bruges to enjoy his sandwiches. Consequently, for ships provisioned within the EU/EEA, there is no particular issue for local authorities with passengers taking ashore food that originated from within the EU/EEA. Whether or not a cruise line has a blanket policy of prohibition to prevent confusion amongst passengers is another question. Understandably, confusion can arise when you are told on an east-bound TA that you are prohibited from taking food ashore once you reach the Med, but on your ensuing Med cruise you're told it's OK.

 

This is exactly what I meant when I posted about the man on Cunard making sandwiches - the post so many misunderstood and took exception to. EM

[jody75]

It's astonishing what lengths some people go to, too save a little cash, I expect these people also cancel their gratuities and put gin in their water bottles.

Edited August 9, 2015 by jody75

[cruisemom42]

It's astonishing what lengths some people go to, too save a little cash, I expect these people also cancel their gratuities and put gin in their water bottles.

 

Wow, a little judgemental?

 

Not everyone takes food off to save cash. See my post #44, last paragraph, for example...

 

I enjoy good food, but my passion is Roman (and the occasional Greek) ruins. When those two things come into conflict, the food loses out every time.

 

I can assure you, however, that I've never put gin in my water bottle.... :/

Edited August 9, 2015 by cruisemom42

[holacanada]

Hello fellow cruisers !

 

I currently listening to Border Security Australia on television. There is precisely the story of a couple from England who made a false statement (the little paper that we filled on the plane before arriving) and they be fined AUS $ 220.00.

Just for non declaration of food !

Dont try this, Please !

 

Holacanada