Bring ship food ashore?

[erdoran]

I know it’s not OK to bring produce ashore - but if I want to bring along snacks from the ship for an excursion, especially one which isn’t going to have time for lunch, what are some thoughts about what to bring?  My specific setup is for an 8 am excursion in the Azores which won’t have time for lunch - if I made sandwiches I think they might spoil.  I’m going to bring along ziplocks, but about all I can think of to bring is plain pretzel rolls & bar mix.  Who has other ideas?  Please share!  Thanks

[CruiseGal999]

The plain pretzel rolls from the buffet?  And do you mean ... you would take the bar mix FROM the cruise ship bar and put it into your zip lock baggies?  I don't believe ANY open food is allowed off the ship or back onto the ship.  Why don't you explore and eat some food at the ports and experience the culture where you are travelling.  

Edited March 31, 2019 by CruiseGal999

[NLH Arizona]

Why not bring some protein bars from home, as they would be great to eat while on an excursion.

[erdoran]

1 minute ago, NLH Arizona said:

Why not bring some protein bars from home, as they would be great to eat while on an excursion.

I am bringing quest bars. Just looking for other options. 

[NLH Arizona]

8 minutes ago, erdoran said:

I am bringing quest bars. Just looking for other options. 

Sorry, I must have missed where you mentioned that.  Just trying to make a suggestion.

Edited March 31, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[erdoran]

Sorry I didn’t say it up front. And i would prefer local but may not have time for that. Just looKing for ideas. 

[Iworktocruiseandtravel]

How about the snack packs that go in lunches??   They have them in pretzels, you may find some with peanuts if that’s what you are going for.   

[Cruise4Twos]

26 minutes ago, erdoran said:

I know it’s not OK to bring produce ashore - but if I want to bring along snacks from the ship for an excursion, especially one which isn’t going to have time for lunch, what are some thoughts about what to bring?  My specific setup is for an 8 am excursion in the Azores which won’t have time for lunch - if I made sandwiches I think they might spoil.  I’m going to bring along ziplocks, but about all I can think of to bring is plain pretzel rolls & bar mix.  Who has other ideas?  Please share!  Thanks

Lunchmeat spoils b4 lunch???  It was created at a time when fridges weren't provided for workers. There's typically dried fruits, nuts, granola at breakfast. Didn't think of the bar mix which is typically tasty - Thanks. 

If there's a unique local cuisine that interests me, I'll try it. I'll pass on the universal overpriced items.

Edited March 31, 2019 by Cruise4Twos
emphasis

[Abm234b]

I would definitely bring protein bars from home but I would also grab some little boxes of cereal at breakfast and bring those along. 

[Cruise4Twos]

3 minutes ago, Abm234b said:

I would definitely bring protein bars from home but I would also grab some little boxes of cereal at breakfast and bring those along. 

Many of the cruise lines eliminated the cereal boxes years ago hence the need for Ziploc bags.

[CruiseGal999]

30 minutes ago, Cruise4Twos said:

Lunchmeat spoils b4 lunch???  It was created at a time when fridges weren't provided for workers. There's typically dried fruits, nuts, granola at breakfast. Didn't think of the bar mix which is typically tasty - Thanks. 

If there's a unique local cuisine that interests me, I'll try it. I'll pass on the universal overpriced items.

 

Did you miss the part where you are NOT allowed to bring open food (food from ship buffet, off of the bar, etc.) in your own baggies ashore?  This is not allowed.  Factory sealed granola bars, chip bags, etc. are allowed off the ship. 

[erdoran]

22 minutes ago, CruiseGal999 said:

 

Did you miss the part where you are NOT allowed to bring open food (food from ship buffet, off of the bar, etc.) in your own baggies ashore?  This is not allowed.  Factory sealed granola bars, chip bags, etc. are allowed off the ship. 

Thanks, kinda what I thought, but i figured doesn’t hurt to ask.

[zqvol]

35 minutes ago, erdoran said:

Thanks, kinda what I thought, but i figured doesn’t hurt to ask.

 

NCL will say that this is true, but often it is not true. You need to check with the appropriate authorities in the Azores to see what you can bring ashore. NCL is not going to stop you, it will be the Azores authorities if anyone.

[OBSESSIVEWORLDTRAVELER]

Factory sealed items in general are allowed off. Nothing from the cruise ship buffets are allowed off. Please be careful as some ports have Customs Dogs that will sniff people at the port checking for food. I experienced that on my Western Caribbean cruise.

[OCruisers]

You're only allowed to take food packaged and sealed by the manafacturer.

Most of the time you'll have enough time to buy food locally.  

[em-sk]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

 

NCL will say that this is true, but often it is not true. You need to check with the appropriate authorities in the Azores to see what you can bring ashore. NCL is not going to stop you, it will be the Azores authorities if anyone.

 

Portugal is a interesting country with lots of local food options.  Not certain why you would bring food from the ship when there are lots of local options easily available.  

[brookie848]

I always bring some snacks from home (pre-packaged) with me since I'm a Type I diabetic.

 

I know it's not allowed, but on our last cruise, we brought leftover La Cucina pizza with us to Jost Van Dyke. We had the early excursion and it was good for a mid-morning snack to go with the Pain Killers. Another couple had sandwiches from the buffet that they brought with them. Later, we all ate at one of the local restaurants, but we had things from the ship just in case.

 

It can be done, even though it's not allowed. As others have mentioned, some ports are more strict than others. You may want to check on the ports boards to see if others have had issues.

[Dagent145]

2 hours ago, OBSESSIVEWORLDTRAVELER said:

Factory sealed items in general are allowed off. Nothing from the cruise ship buffets are allowed off. Please be careful as some ports have Customs Dogs that will sniff people at the port checking for food. I experienced that on my Western Caribbean cruise.

 

Confirmed, there was definately one in Cozumel when I was there 

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, erdoran said:

I know it’s not OK to bring produce ashore - but if I want to bring along snacks from the ship for an excursion, especially one which isn’t going to have time for lunch, what are some thoughts about what to bring?  My specific setup is for an 8 am excursion in the Azores which won’t have time for lunch - if I made sandwiches I think they might spoil.  I’m going to bring along ziplocks, but about all I can think of to bring is plain pretzel rolls & bar mix.  Who has other ideas?  Please share!  Thanks

The answer is “no”, you can not bring your ziplocks full of food from the ship. Others would suggest that it is “o.k.” to smuggle items into a foreign country. Smuggling,,, not so much. 

[sanger727]

Just want to point out that I’ve never had a 4+ hour excursion where there wasn’t a stop someplace where food could be purchased, even if it wasn’t listed in the description. Tour operators generally want you to spend money locally and will take you somewhere and give you time for lunch and/or shopping.

[LrgPizza]

No one is going to starve here. LOL!  There is no need to hoard food from the ship.

[myjillian]

We learned our lesson well....once my husband brought bananas off the ship into Barbados because we were going to the Green Monkey farm....signs all over saying "don't feed the monkeys because they eat special food because their silava (sp) is being used for medicines.  Of course, my husband,( being an adult 10 yr old 5th grader) was feeding the monkeys and of course, the banana peels were being thrown on the ground and... Of course, he wouldn't listen to me to stop and I kept picking up the peels to throw away...and of course, I was caught and thrown out of the facilities and almost arrested😮😥....lesson learned for husband....who almost had to bail his wife out of jail for covering up his "crime"....rules from cruise ships to ports...are not made to be broken !!!

[JamieLogical]

13 hours ago, Cruise4Twos said:

Many of the cruise lines eliminated the cereal boxes years ago hence the need for Ziploc bags.

 

NCL still has the little cereal boxes in the buffet. I always grab a couple of those, pull the plastic bag out and leave the box, and throw the bags of cereal into my shoulder bag for going off the ship. Never had a problem.

[1025cruise]

11 hours ago, brookie848 said:

I always bring some snacks from home (pre-packaged) with me since I'm a Type I diabetic.

 

I know it's not allowed, but on our last cruise, we brought leftover La Cucina pizza with us to Jost Van Dyke. We had the early excursion and it was good for a mid-morning snack to go with the Pain Killers. Another couple had sandwiches from the buffet that they brought with them. Later, we all ate at one of the local restaurants, but we had things from the ship just in case.

 

It can be done, even though it's not allowed. As others have mentioned, some ports are more strict than others. You may want to check on the ports boards to see if others have had issues.

Please don't flaunt the rules/laws. They aren't there to help the economy. They are there to save the agriculture. 

[LrgPizza]

32 minutes ago, myjillian said:

We learned our lesson well....once my husband brought bananas off the ship into Barbados because we were going to the Green Monkey farm....signs all over saying "don't feed the monkeys because they eat special food because their silava (sp) is being used for medicines.  Of course, my husband,( being an adult 10 yr old 5th grader) was feeding the monkeys and of course, the banana peels were being thrown on the ground and... Of course, he wouldn't listen to me to stop and I kept picking up the peels to throw away...and of course, I was caught and thrown out of the facilities and almost arrested😮😥....lesson learned for husband....who almost had to bail his wife out of jail for covering up his "crime"....rules from cruise ships to ports...are not made to be broken !!!

 

You still married to this guy?