Bring Your Own Snacks?

[gooselace]

This may sounds nuts -- nuts, that's a good idea -- but there have been a lot of messages about bringing beer, wine, and sodas on board, so I was wondering about bringing some low-carb snacks. Since I can't seem to get information on the carbs in the sf desserts, I would like to bring some packaged low-carb treats that I could enjoy after dinner in my cabin if I decide not to chance any of the dessert offerings. Any prohibition or rule that any food eaten in the cabin has to be served on board? Don't suppose I could do like the people with their special wines and give a supply to my dining room waiter to be brought out when my tablemates get their desserts.

[Charliesmom]

We've never had a problem on any ship bringing our own snacks on board. I am allergic to milk, so I always bring my own almond or soy milk and we have purchased snacks in port to bring on board for a party with no problem at all bringing them back. I think it is a good idea to bring special needs snacks with you. That way you'll have what satisfies you without wrecking your diet.

Gone are the days when the ship would do special shopping for you to satisfy your special needs. (We actually had this happen on our first trip on the Radisson Diamond in 1992, but not in 1997).

Roberta

[jima53]

Yes be sure and bring your own snacks. The Zaandam had one little shop that sold snacks and other personal items. We did miss what we would normally have at home in the evening. Instead we brought back some nice pastries several nights. A case of being one deck down from the Lido and now have to walk it off.

Jim

[DJP]

We are packing for our Zaandam cruise this Saturday (our 8th cruise) and we always bring snacks because they are so expensive on board. We bring cashews, chips (Pringles because of their packaging), pistachios (good for low carb), chocolate :-), and sodas for our mixed drinks in the cabin (the small 6-8 oz. cans of coke and 7-Up are great now for those). We have flexible flasks that we bring rum and whiskey in that we pack in our luggage, too.

[CaptData]

Make sure they are pre-packaged ones. ie not zip lock. You are not allowed opened food just packaged. I'm diabetic and always carry something in case my sugar drops on me. I only had problems once at the US boarder (I'm Canadian). The guy contacted his supervisor and they let me keep it. The Guard was a newbie.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The snacks sold in the boutiques is expensive. We have never bought any on board. But one time we standing next to a couple of kids who bought some packages of ships. When they opened the packages, the chips were all broken and stale.

As long as you bring your snacks in their original wrappings, there won't be any problems. So always bring some in our carry-ons - never pack them in a suit case - so that we can throw a couple packages of crackers into the back-pack for long tours where lunch isn't provided.

[xeena]

last DEc i baked my Atkins muffins and brought them. i am low carbing and do not like eggs, so i brought 2 to breakfast each day without problem.

i also never trusted the carb count (told to me by our waiter) in the desserts... sugar free jello would have been fine, but they did not have any. the last day our waiter said he found sugar free jello, but i did't believe him so i passed. DH and traveling companions say i am a carb-freak, but since i lost the 40 pounds i dont want to put them back on. the low carb lifestyle did not hinder my enjoyment of meals through out the week. i plan to repeat the same for our 12-12 cruise on the Westerdam this year. there is a fridge in the room this time, last year i ordered one prior to sailing. enjoy your cruise !

[gooselace]

last DEc i baked my Atkins muffins and brought them. i am low carbing and do not like eggs, so i brought 2 to breakfast each day without problem.

i also never trusted the carb count (told to me by our waiter) in the desserts... sugar free jello would have been fine, but they did not have any. the last day our waiter said he found sugar free jello, but i did't believe him so i passed. DH and traveling companions say i am a carb-freak, but since i lost the 40 pounds i dont want to put them back on. the low carb lifestyle did not hinder my enjoyment of meals through out the week. i plan to repeat the same for our 12-12 cruise on the Westerdam this year. there is a fridge in the room this time, last year i ordered one prior to sailing. enjoy your cruise !
That's when I'm taking the Westerdam and thanks to all the answers helpful answers here, I'll be carrying plenty of low-carb snacks, although probably will stick to the packaged ones. It's great to find some people who understand that it's possible to enjoy great meals while maintaining a low-carb plan. Someone on another thread thought I was confusing a cruise with a fancy spa, just because I wanted to find out the carb counts of the SF desserts being served. But, having lost 130 lbs., I'm sure not going to take a chance of having a sugar-high set me off on a week of binges.

[sail7seas]

Every day there is a sugar free jello in the refrig dessert case in Lido. I, too, worried abou whether it truly was sugar free and asked. The answer I received assured me that, of course, it HAD to be what it was marked.


Diabetics rely upon the representation the jello is sugar free....not just low carbers. There is no way HAL would mark something sugar free if it were not true. TOO Risky of getting someone truly ill with a diabetic coma or some such.

HUGE congratulations to you weight loss high achievers!! Good job!

[mountainmare]

Thanks for the reminder about the snacks. I've been obsessing about wine(for me) and Mt Dew(forDH) but even with the abundance of 24 hour food he did miss his favorite snacks!! They go on the ever expanding must pack list for Jan.

[sail7seas]

Aside from a can/bottle of peanuts or a pkg of cheese/peanut butter crackers, what kind of snacks do some of you bring with you?

[saltydog28]

I bring lightly salted cashews-hershey kisses-hard candies-and swedish fish for the airplane-the fish are a throw-back from when the kids were little.
Pat.

[SEATTLE CRUISER]

I just returned from 40 days on the Amsterdam going from Seattle to Rio. I can assure you, that there is plenty to eat, that is low carb. For breakfast there is an omlet bar. You can choose what is put into the omlet. In the Lido there are always bacon, ham and sausage, as well as fried, scrambled and boiled eggs. (May downfall on this diet was the raisin buns.) For lunch there is the salad bar, and the taco bar. You can choose what you want to eat. You can get a hamburger without the bun at the grill by the pool. The Lido line always has a meat and veggies. Sugar-free desserts are available at the Lido. They always have 3 or 4 there. Twice we had the Mongolian Grill. You could get 4 varieties of nuts at the grill. Dinner is never a problem. On every night you can get a grilled fish, chicken or steak. You won't go hungry....