Bringing Food On Board

Hopefully this thread won't be quite as controversial as my jeans in the dining room thread. My son has food allergies, but has completed a desensitization treatment for them called oral immunotherapy. He is required to eat his allergens daily now. That means he eats a scrambled egg, 14 peanut M&Ms, and 100 mL of hazelnut milk every day. We'll have no problem finding the scrambled egg on board, but we usually bring the other items with us when we cruise. Most lines don't mind bringing food on board as long as it's in a factory sealed package. Is this HAL's policy, also? I can get a doctor's note if need be, but we've never needed one before on other lines.

Factory sealed is fine. This really isn't a cruise line policy, it is part of the USPH/CDC Vessel Sanitation Program that all cruise ships calling at US ports must abide by.

Hopefully this thread won't be quite as controversial as my jeans in the dining room thread. My son has food allergies, but has completed a desensitization treatment for them called oral immunotherapy. He is required to eat his allergens daily now. That means he eats a scrambled egg, 14 peanut M&Ms, and 100 mL of hazelnut milk every day. We'll have no problem finding the scrambled egg on board, but we usually bring the other items with us when we cruise. Most lines don't mind bringing food on board as long as it's in a factory sealed package. Is this HAL's policy, also? I can get a doctor's note if need be, but we've never needed one before on other lines.

It’s great your thinking about it ahead of time. M&M no problem at all. They would need to be in sealed containers. As they allow Special baby and milk for folks. I would. Also get a note from the Dr. and bring with you. You can also request special diet meals from HAL if given enough notice.

HAL is really good on this.

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I was reading a recent post on the HAL boards regardingscrambled eggs. You might look up egg"goo" versus real eggs in the boards search box.

You can pretty much bring ANYTHING onboard...but you can't take it off the ship again. Eat it, or throw it away. No worries....take what you need.

I was reading a recent post on the HAL boards regardingscrambled eggs. You might look up egg"goo" versus real eggs in the boards search box.

I always thought they were the dry powdered eggs from the can....YUCK!

Scrambled eggs: in the Lido you can ask one of the cooks behind the counter to make some on the griddle from real eggs. This is in plain view so you can watch it being done.

I was reading a recent post on the HAL boards regardingscrambled eggs. You might look up egg"goo" versus real eggs in the boards search box.

True. I wouldn't assume that the scrambled eggs served on board are made from real, whole eggs. Can your son eat his egg prepared another way other than scrambled? Hard boiled? Fried? That way you see the white and the yolk and know what you're getting. Its possible you can get them to scramble a real egg for your son in the MDR. Definitely not in the Lido but hard boiled and fried from a real egg are available in the Lido.

I was reading a recent post on the HAL boards regardingscrambled eggs. You might look up egg"goo" versus real eggs in the boards search box.

"Egg goo" is more accurately "pasteurized egg product". Typically, this is merely eggs with an emulsifying agent to keep it from separating, and these emulsifying agents may be allergens. Other methods for emulsifying liquid egg product include ultrasonic cavitation which emulsifies the eggs without additives.

You can bring any foods onto the ship. We have brought back from ports Lobster Rolls.

I do bring my own chocolates -- Dove Dark Chocolates. In recent years HAL has cut back on the amount of dark chocolates that are put out in the Neptune Lounge and Explorer's Lounge in the evening.

I chatted with HAL special services support desk about this and was told. Bring them in a carry on and make sure they are factory sealed. Otherwise, good to go :D

Scrambled eggs: in the Lido you can ask one of the cooks behind the counter to make some on the griddle from real eggs. This is in plain view so you can watch it being done.

Yes, this is what we've done in the past on Royal and Carnival. Y'all are right that the scrambled eggs in the buffet are likely not whole eggs. He eats them scrambled because they are the least cooked (he doesn't like over easy eggs), and the proteins are the least denatured, making them the most allergenic. He's also really close to not having to daily dose with eggs, so we're not too uptight about getting the semi-eggs from the buffet a day or two in a row if we need to. Thank you for all of your replies. We'll probably bring a letter with the M&Ms and hazelnut milk just to be safe. Luckily because he's completed desensitization, we don't need any special dietary requirements from the ship-- he can eat anything he wants now :).

A bit off OPs situation, but still food related.

We always carry snack foods when we travel, because of the flights and kid’s are always hungry, right? Some items will be opened while others may not. Are y’all saying that we would have to eat everything or toss it, if already opened, before getting on ship?

We'll probably bring a letter with the M&Ms and hazelnut milk just to be safe. Luckily because he's completed desensitization, we don't need any special dietary requirements from the ship-- he can eat anything he wants now :).

It's worth an advance call to HAL's 1-800 line as well. I had a special medical request and they wrote a note for my file, indicating the call, and assured me my request would be honoured.

PS. Most medical requests should be made well in advance of the voyage (they ask for 2 - 3 months notice!). Easy ones like yours and mine will be accommodated. Some require a form to be filled out (mine did) but that was easy.

Have a wonderful trip. Alaska is awesome!!

A bit off OPs situation, but still food related.

We always carry snack foods when we travel, because of the flights and kid’s are always hungry, right? Some items will be opened while others may not. Are y’all saying that we would have to eat everything or toss it, if already opened, before getting on ship?

The policies say, yes, you should dump anything opened. Can you get an opened package onboard? Probably. Could it be taken? Possibly. Best bet is individual packages.

Scrambled eggs: in the Lido you can ask one of the cooks behind the counter to make some on the griddle from real eggs. This is in plain view so you can watch it being done.

They will do this on some but not all HAL ships. For example on the Zuiderdam we were told no.

"Egg goo" is more accurately "pasteurized egg product". Typically, this is merely eggs with an emulsifying agent to keep it from separating, and these emulsifying agents may be allergens. Other methods for emulsifying liquid egg product include ultrasonic cavitation which emulsifies the eggs without additives.

Sounds so yummy, no wonder I don’t care for them.

I've never had a problem bringing food onboard, sealed or unsealed. The crew brings on lots of snacks all the time. Not a problem.

We bring snacks, tea,ginger, sucking candies, and we buy things in different countries to try.

The cooks at Lido will do almost anything for you.

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The only thing they don't want you to take on or off the ship as far as I am aware is produce or plant materials of any kind. So the fruit and such are a no-no especially coming back into the USA. I think there is a hefty fine if they catch you with that coming off the ship.

The only thing they don't want you to take on or off the ship as far as I am aware is produce or plant materials of any kind. So the fruit and such are a no-no especially coming back into the USA. I think there is a hefty fine if they catch you with that coming off the ship.

Unless there is a specific plant, with a specific alert in a specific country, you can certainly bring flowers on board.

The only thing they don't want you to take on or off the ship as far as I am aware is produce or plant materials of any kind. So the fruit and such are a no-no especially coming back into the USA. I think there is a hefty fine if they catch you with that coming off the ship.

I've visited a lot of ports, including in Alaska, where they wouldn't even allow you to carry a coffee off with you. I'm sure many passengers simply use a travel mug that they put in a backpack until they are ashore.

The only thing they don't want you to take on or off the ship as far as I am aware is produce or plant materials of any kind. So the fruit and such are a no-no especially coming back into the USA. I think there is a hefty fine if they catch you with that coming off the ship.

And that includes any kind of meat. The US is not the only country that strip rules. It’s bringing off the ship it’s important to follow the vessels sanitary program. When ships food trash is removed in US ports, it’s taken in special seal dumpsters and they take and steam it at high temperature to kill anything. Customs over sees that This takes place

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The only thing they don't want you to take on or off the ship as far as I am aware is produce or plant materials of any kind. So the fruit and such are a no-no especially coming back into the USA. I think there is a hefty fine if they catch you with that coming off the ship.

The issue is with taking food and plants OFF the ships, not on.

We boarded our ship in Hawaii wearing leis and had fresh fruit and baked goods with us. We have bought cheese in various ports. In Seattle people brought lots of fresh flowers that they bought at Pike Place Market onboard,

oops sorry I misspoke about taking on the ship - though I know in the past we could not take some things home from foreign ports - it was cheese and meat I think - from Ireland into the states.