Breakfast takeaways?

[BANV]

Hi - some of the off shore excursions start quite early in the morning. If we have a pick up at port at eg 8am & are GS guests - when should we plan to disembark to complete immigration etc? Are we able to get takeaway breakfast with us from coastal kitchen? Do the ships have takeaway boxes? Appreciate any replies 

thanks 

[chengkp75]

Most countries prohibit taking non-factory sealed food from ships, and some don't even allow that.

[crystalspin]

7 hours ago, BANV said:

Hi - some of the off shore excursions start quite early in the morning. If we have a pick up at port at eg 8am & are GS guests - when should we plan to disembark to complete immigration etc? Are we able to get takeaway breakfast with us from coastal kitchen? Do the ships have takeaway boxes? Appreciate any replies 

thanks 

There should be no "immigration" for either shore excursions or DIY walking around -- what port(s) are you thinking of that would have that? 

 

The trick for early ShoreExes is ROOM SERVICE.

[njhorseman]

26 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

There should be no "immigration" for either shore excursions or DIY walking around -- what port(s) are you thinking of that would have that? 

 

The trick for early ShoreExes is ROOM SERVICE.

Not for run of the mill Caribbean island port calls, but you may have to go through an immigration check in many countries. For starters in the USA at your first port call after a foreign port itinerary...for example something as ordinary as your first port in the US after visiting Canadian ports, such as Portland Maine after visiting Halifax Nova Scotia.

Off the top of my head I've had to go through immigration in Russia (obviously no cruises calling there now) and French Polynesia among others that I would have to dredge out of my aging memory.

[crystalspin]

48 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Not for run of the mill Caribbean island port calls, but you may have to go through an immigration check in many countries.

I was speaking of non-Russian Europe, also don't remember any immigration in South America or on a turn-around day San Diego on a B2B Mexico. Certainly at the final disembark but seems like not for "in transit". Haven't yet done Caribbean, or Polynesia!

 

I agree there are some ports that may have immigration even for day visitors.

[Tlbecker1]

Keep in mind that restaurants open early on port days to accommodate folks getting off the ship.  

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

I was speaking of non-Russian Europe, also don't remember any immigration in South America or on a turn-around day San Diego on a B2B Mexico. Certainly at the final disembark but seems like not for "in transit". Haven't yet done Caribbean, or Polynesia!

 

I agree there are some ports that may have immigration even for day visitors.

We've done numerous B2Bs from with turnaround at three different US ports, NY, Los Angeles and San Francisco and there was always an immigration check. In almost all cases not only did we go through immigration, we had to disembark the ship to  do it and were not allowed to reboard until the ship reached a "zero count"...meaning every passenger had disembarked.

 

 I also gave you the example of a common Canada/New England itinerary. Those cruises generally start in NY or Boston, make port calls in Canada...often Halifax NS and Saint John NB at a minimum and then make a port call or two in New England on the return leg at ports like Bar Harbor, Portland, Boston or Newport. There is always an immigration check at the first US port call after Canada. In fact a frequent question on the Canada/New England board is something like "How long does it take to go through the immigration check at (take your pick of ports) because I want to book a private tour."

[Mum2Mercury]

On 5/27/2024 at 6:28 AM, BANV said:

Hi - some of the off shore excursions start quite early in the morning. If we have a pick up at port at eg 8am & are GS guests - when should we plan to disembark to complete immigration etc? Are we able to get takeaway breakfast with us from coastal kitchen? Do the ships have takeaway boxes? Appreciate any replies 

thanks 

- No take-away.  Either order room service or go early to breakfast -- they know what time passengers will be going ashore and will be ready for you.  

- Pack your shore bag the night before and take it to breakfast so you can head straight down to the gangplank.  

- Aim to be in line to disembark at 7:45; that'll put you among the earliest to disembark.  Once the line starts moving, it'll move fast.  

[ARandomTraveler]

On 5/27/2024 at 12:29 PM, crystalspin said:

There should be no "immigration" for either shore excursions or DIY walking around -- what port(s) are you thinking of that would have that? 

 

The trick for early ShoreExes is ROOM SERVICE.

Not true for Asian countries. Sat in hours long lines and had to go through immigration in Vietnam and Japan. But this person is most likely not going to either of those places. 
 

We couldn't take food off the ship on Vietnam, Hong Kong or Taiwan, and they were very serious about it. Had government officials and dogs along with multiple warning signs and plastic food examples of all the things you couldn't bring off the ship. I know some Caribbean ports also say that you can't bring things like fruit or meat off the ship, but it's not as closely monitored as it is in Asia. 

Edited Wednesday at 10:44 PM by ARandomTraveler

[BANV]

Thank you very much for your replies. We are in western Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona & in GS category so I guess room service should be good. Appreciate the feedback 

[Cruise a holic]

As previously stated, restaurants open early the last morning of the cruise.  Plan to eat breakfast early.  If not, the airports have restaurants.

[firefly333]

15 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Not true for Asian countries. Sat in hours long lines and had to go through immigration in Vietnam and Japan. But this person is most likely not going to either of those places. 
 

We couldn't take food off the ship on Vietnam, Hong Kong or Taiwan, and they were very serious about it. Had government officials and dogs along with multiple warning signs and plastic food examples of all the things you couldn't bring off the ship. I know some Caribbean ports also say that you can't bring things like fruit or meat off the ship, but it's not as closely monitored as it is in Asia. 

I've seen fruit sniffing dogs in cozumel. They too are very serious about entering their island and sneaking fruit off. The worry is some kind of insect could have infected the fruit and you introduce it into their ecology. Not always but I've seen it there.

 

Idk its amusing but always see a pile of mixed drinks where you get off the ship. People grab a drink and think they can walk off the ship with it. A bottle of water yes, a mixed drink which often can have something fruity no no.

Edited Thursday at 02:02 PM by firefly333

[gerif]

14 hours ago, BANV said:

Thank you very much for your replies. We are in western Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona & in GS category so I guess room service should be good. Appreciate the feedback 

I always pack some protein bars for excursions (packing right now actually) or maybe some packaged peanut butter crackers.