food off the ship?

This may be common information - and I just don't know .... but why can't passengers take food off the ship in port?

I am a rule follower - btw - so this is not a whine post. I just really want to know why this is against policy, and also if other cruise lines have the same policy. (I have only sailed on Carnival).

Thanks for answering!

It is not a policy but most countries have laws about bringing food into their countries unless they are prepackaged. At some ports their will be dogs to sniff out offenders

When it comes to fruit, I believe that is due to environmental laws and regs- basically to keep people from bringing in bugs or pests that might cause damage to the agriculture. I have heard meat and cheese is also prohibited, but not positive. We have brought prepackaged foods like dry cereal in boxes from the ship or individually snacks from home (crackers, gold fish, etc) for our kiddo, because she is a snacker and super picky and had no issues.

I have been in some Caribbean ports that did have dogs sniffing bags as we got to the end of the pier. Saw more than one person taken aside to have bags searched. This is not cruise line policy, it is the law of those countries.

It is a rule of the countries you are entering about what food can be brought into that country.

Most places(including the USA) don't allow you to bring in fruit, meat products etc.

If you need a snack from the ship you can bring unopened boxes of cereal or something like that in a pkg.

Most of the time you will be better off getting food in the port.

This question comes up fairly often on the cruise line boards (here is a recent thread on the Princess board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2340842). In general Alaska, Mexico and some South American ports have restrictions (that is not a complete list). In our experience, the cruise line will tell you over the public address system and/or via signage at disembarkation and/or in their daily newsletter if the port has restrictions.

We've never had an issue (and we have had our bags checked on occasion() with things like candy bars, granola/energy bars, lunch box sized little bags of goldfish, crackers, cookies, etc. Fresh fruit is pretty much a no-no everywhere.

Real life experience----

Mediterranean Fruit Fly was creating havoc in Southern California in the late 80s early 90s. Vector Control couldn't get a handle on them. They decided to aerial spray large swaths of communities. Yes, we were crop dusted. Had to bring in outside animals, cover or take in outdoor furniture. After the third time I got real good at wrapping the swing set. This happened in the summer, in SoCal. No air conditioning or whole house fans could be used.

We've had a bug crawl out of the raw asparagus from a Princess salad bar.

In port you DO NOT want the friendly dog sitting next to you. In San Diego an AG dog alerted on my Lemonheads.

We travel with food allergies. We bring off cereal boxes and some hard candies. Eating a meal onshore is a highlight of any port stop. We bring allergy cards to avoid any mistakes.

We have never had a problem as long as the food was unopened in its original packaging. Mostly small boxes of cereal and bottled water.

This may be common information - and I just don't know .... but why can't passengers take food off the ship in port?

 

I am a rule follower - btw - so this is not a whine post. I just really want to know why this is against policy, and also if other cruise lines have the same policy. (I have only sailed on Carnival).

 

Thanks for answering!

As noted, because it's the law. All cruise ships (regardless of cruise line) must follow the laws in the various ports.

It's not a cruise line "policy".

In Atlanta a few years back, the dog alerted to a woman near us at baggage claim. She denied having anything several times. Finally admitted having two apples. Last we saw she was headed to an office with several agents.

Most countries are wary of any meat, dairy, fruit, nuts and other seeds which might contaminate their own farming produce... and most countries have had experience of contamination. You can be fined for not declaring unwrapped food, or any fruit, seeds etc. Even if you don't have to go through an immigration process, such as in the Caribbean, the law still stands if you're caught.

Sniffer dogs are amazing! We saw them at work in San Francisco, and they noticed just one orange someone had.

This may be common information - and I just don't know .... but why can't passengers take food off the ship in port?

 

I am a rule follower - btw - so this is not a whine post. I just really want to know why this is against policy, and also if other cruise lines have the same policy. (I have only sailed on Carnival).

 

Thanks for answering!

it is the policy of the countries you visit. the cruiselines just help enforce it.

and yes all cruise lines do it.

Agriculturally speaking, this is the environmentally responsible thing

In Atlanta a few years back, the dog alerted to a woman near us at baggage claim. She denied having anything several times. Finally admitted having two apples. Last we saw she was headed to an office with several agents.

Risk getting in trouble over a few apples?! :rolleyes:

Risk getting in trouble over a few apples?! :rolleyes:

Yup. And she was quite obnoxious to the official.

Normally packaged commercial foods are OK. The best suggestion I can make is, if in doubt don't, and if you must ask or declare, then the worst case is normally that you will be made toss it its when you try to sneak things through that the trouble can start.

THE issue is protecting the agricultural industries and the natural environment.

In Atlanta a few years back, the dog alerted to a woman near us at baggage claim. She denied having anything several times. Finally admitted having two apples. Last we saw she was headed to an office with several agents.

I've seen similar a few times.

Yet if she'd just said, yep some apples, she'd probably just have been asked to toss them.

This question comes up fairly often on the cruise line boards (here is a recent thread on the Princess board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2340842). In general Alaska, Mexico and some South American ports have restrictions (that is not a complete list). In our experience, the cruise line will tell you over the public address system and/or via signage at disembarkation and/or in their daily newsletter if the port has restrictions.

Add New Zealand and Australia to that list.

Being island nations, largely dependent on agriculture, w cannot risk the introduction of pests or diseases.

Just one fruit fly can costs millions of dollars in control and eradication measures. That's why there are heavy fines.

Yup. And she was quite obnoxious to the official.

And that's where her troubles would have really escalated.

Most countries are wary of any meat, dairy, fruit, nuts and other seeds which might contaminate their own farming produce... and most countries have had experience of contamination. You can be fined for not declaring unwrapped food, or any fruit, seeds etc. Even if you don't have to go through an immigration process, such as in the Caribbean, the law still stands if you're caught.

Sniffer dogs are amazing! We saw them at work in San Francisco, and they noticed just one orange someone had.

Had a beagle "hit" on Mrs Gut's bag once, eventually we found the stem off a banana caught in the corner of the lining of the bag.

They're good.

I may be very conservative about this! But it is so sensitive and so variable that my advice is-don't. I have seen preschool children harassed by customs dogs because their parents nievely put food in their backpacks. I don't even want to think about it.

Bottom Line: The ports of calls don't allow any unpackaged by the manufacturer food off the ship.

Add Canada to that list.

tigercat

Real life experience----

 

Mediterranean Fruit Fly was creating havoc in Southern California in the late 80s early 90s. Vector Control couldn't get a handle on them. They decided to aerial spray large swaths of communities. Yes, we were crop dusted. Had to bring in outside animals, cover or take in outdoor furniture. After the third time I got real good at wrapping the swing set. This happened in the summer, in SoCal. No air conditioning or whole house fans could be used.

 

We've had a bug crawl out of the raw asparagus from a Princess salad bar.

 

In port you DO NOT want the friendly dog sitting next to you. In San Diego an AG dog alerted on my Lemonheads.

 

We travel with food allergies. We bring off cereal boxes and some hard candies. Eating a meal onshore is a highlight of any port stop. We bring allergy cards to avoid any mistakes.

This is just one of the horror stories that plague agricultural states like Hawaii and California. It's the hitch-hiking bugs and microbes you don't see on that unpackaged food that can devastate an entire industry. BTW, this goes for that sand and those shells you picked up on the beach. Please don't be selfish.

Yup. And she was quite obnoxious to the official.

which means her fine probably doubled.

I once visited Perth/Freemantle to meet some friends and I brought with me a factory sealed package of Japanese curry mix. when asked if I had anything to declare I offered it up, apologizing for the fact that the only thing in english was the cooking directions and freely admitted it was beef tallow based. I was fully prepared to have them tell me "Nuh uh" and have it tossed into the bin.

I think the only reason it was let through is the fact that it was factory sealed and I had been up front about it cuz I am pretty sure beef was on the verboten list.