Taking food on board

I only see about taking alcohol on board on the NCL website, but I'm wondering if you can take food. There's a grocery store in FL I love that carries a few products I can't get at home. I'm wondering if I went before the cruise if I could take the stuff with me. It'd be easier to go before than after since we'll have a car then and just heading straight to the airport after. It's nothing we'd eat on the cruise...rice mixes and salad dressing.

 

 

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You can bring packaged food on the cruise.

 

 

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Anything solid would have to be sealed in original packaging; I don't know if you would get away with salad dressing; they may think it is some form of thick alcohol mixture!!

Yes, you can take packaged and sealed items in your luggage onto the ship. If the scanners/security think it is alcohol, they will send a slip to your room for you to go down to security and open your bags to show them the item is not alcohol.

 

No worries :) I wish we could take canned soda and/or bottled water, but that's not allowed, bummer!

Not all packaged food is automatically allowed. I'm not talking about the ship's rules (which beyond prohibiting beverages are really not that strict, especially at embarkation). I'm talking about bringing the food back into the US after the cruise. You have to declare to customs that you are carrying food. They will probably ask you exactly what kind of food and maybe require you to open up your bags for inspection.

 

Dry rice mixes and salad dressing are probably OK, but it depends on the exact ingredients. (And it doesn't matter that the food was bought in Florida, that doesn't automatically guarantee that they'll let you bring it back into Florida.)

are you in FL long enough that you could buy the items, and bring them to UPS and have them shipped home? You could have them sent to your office since you wont be home to receive the package.

As long as they are packaged and non parishable I can't imagine a problem. If there is one the ship will just keep whatever it is until the end of the cruise and let you claim it then, just like they do with liquor.

This is what they ask you when you come back to the US... as long as you don't need to answer yes, the food won't be an issue. If you need to answer yes, it will be up to customs...

 

I've never had a prepackaged food item be an issue crossing borders.

 

 

 

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I do the same thing...many items I like are no longer carried in my local stores! So, whenever I see them, I stock up!

We always take snacks (chips and such) and have brought the left over unopened bags back home again. We've also purchased packaged food items (Rum cakes!) in ports and never had any issues bring them back in the States. As stated above the foods that are questionable are typically the agricultural items that could spread diseases.

 

 

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On our last cruise, they made us throw out packaged crackers and granola bars. They were not opened and we only had a few(4-5). Maybe if it is in checked bags it is okay, but in our carry on we had to throw it out. It also probably just depends on who is working the xray scanner, who knows.

On our last cruise, they made us throw out packaged crackers and granola bars. They were not opened and we only had a few(4-5). Maybe if it is in checked bags it is okay, but in our carry on we had to throw it out. It also probably just depends on who is working the xray scanner, who knows.

 

What X-ray scanner do you go through exiting the ship?

On our last cruise, they made us throw out packaged crackers and granola bars. They were not opened and we only had a few(4-5). Maybe if it is in checked bags it is okay, but in our carry on we had to throw it out. It also probably just depends on who is working the xray scanner, who knows.

 

 

Yeah, I've taken granola bars and crackers in my carry on luggage through border control several times. Was this to get on the ship? Either way it sounds like an incorrectly applied rule.

 

 

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What X-ray scanner do you go through exiting the ship?

 

I think they are answering the original question about taking food ONto the ship, not exiting the ship.

They said it was in their carry-on so they're probably talking about the X-ray scanner that the carry-on goes through as you board the ship.

The original question was about taking food onto the ship, and off again (although maybe the OP and some of those who responded weren't necessarily thinking of all of this). So both the ship's screening on embarkation day and US customs at disembarkation are relevant considerations. (Screening by the port authorities in the embarkation terminal is not a problem, they don't care about food.)

 

The ship's screening is pretty spotty and unpredictable. They often say that the rule is "no food or drink of any kind on or off the ship", but that's obviously not the rule that is actually enforced (for food). The problem is, you have no guarantee that your food will actually get through, because strictly speaking, they say no food.

 

US customs is not that arbitrary, they won't just take stuff away from you without a good reason. But they want to be the ones to make the decision. If you have food — any kind of food — they want to know about it. But they don't x-ray every bag, and they can only stop so many people for agricultural inspection, so it's kind of up to you to declare your food or not. If you know that what you're carrying is OK to bring into the US, I can kind of understand not wanting to waste everyone's time declaring it, but first of all, you never really know, because the rules can be pretty complicated and they can change at any time, and second, they will probably just ask you a brief question and then wave you through. And on the off chance that they see your "no food" declaration and send you for screening anyway… that could be trouble for you. So I recommend declaring all food, every time.

 

But again, make up your own mind. And the kind of food that the OP was talking about, most likely no problem at all, either for the ship or for coming back into the US.

Yeah, I've taken granola bars and crackers in my carry on luggage through border control several times. Was this to get on the ship? Either way it sounds like an incorrectly applied rule.

 

 

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I have also taken food (packaged crackers and granola bars )several times on the ship with NCL and other cruise lines, but the last time as I was boarding the star, they made me throw out all food out. Actually, they took it from me and threw it away themselves. I tried to argue that it was packaged, nothing fresh, just natures' own granola bars..........nope. So, it may have been random, but, just so you know that it can be taken from you.

are you in FL long enough that you could buy the items, and bring them to UPS and have them shipped home? You could have them sent to your office since you wont be home to receive the package.

 

 

Or just ship them to a neighbor or family member Alert them first of course

 

Unless it's a very small office I wouldn't ship it to a workplace

 

 

Alternately....can none of these items can be ordered online?

 

 

When we were in st marten on a r/t NYC cruise we bought hot sauces so no problem as we weren't flying

 

When we were on a repo cruise and stopped in st marten we went to the same shop and spoke to the same owner...she wouldn't sell us the hot sauce after I told her we just do carry on luggage and suggested we order online and gave us the website

 

 

So .....I could have bought the stuff from her and paid $25 to check my bags in order to bring home $10worth of hot sauce that only came in 5 oz bottles so no good for carrying on

 

Or

 

I could have ordered the product and paid $5 shipping

 

 

Lol no brainer

 

 

My point is....look for those salad dressings online and save your self the logistical headaches of lugging them with you

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The original question was about taking food onto the ship, and off again (although maybe the OP and some of those who responded weren't necessarily thinking of all of this). So both the ship's screening on embarkation day and US customs at disembarkation are relevant considerations. (Screening by the port authorities in the embarkation terminal is not a problem, they don't care about food.)

 

The ship's screening is pretty spotty and unpredictable. They often say that the rule is "no food or drink of any kind on or off the ship", but that's obviously not the rule that is actually enforced (for food). The problem is, you have no guarantee that your food will actually get through, because strictly speaking, they say no food.

 

US customs is not that arbitrary, they won't just take stuff away from you without a good reason. But they want to be the ones to make the decision. If you have food — any kind of food — they want to know about it. But they don't x-ray every bag, and they can only stop so many people for agricultural inspection, so it's kind of up to you to declare your food or not. If you know that what you're carrying is OK to bring into the US, I can kind of understand not wanting to waste everyone's time declaring it, but first of all, you never really know, because the rules can be pretty complicated and they can change at any time, and second, they will probably just ask you a brief question and then wave you through. And on the off chance that they see your "no food" declaration and send you for screening anyway… that could be trouble for you. So I recommend declaring all food, every time.

 

But again, make up your own mind. And the kind of food that the OP was talking about, most likely no problem at all, either for the ship or for coming back into the US.

 

Would you truly declare an unopened bag of chips, a ditto chocolate candy bar and let's say a bag of peanuts (on disembarkation or when flying in to the US)?

Would you truly declare an unopened bag of chips, a ditto chocolate candy bar and let's say a bag of peanuts (on disembarkation or when flying in to the US)?

If you don't declare your food (see item A on declaration form below), you are technically smuggling items into the United States. You can sit there rationalizing all day that it's not drugs, or anything that you think is "bad". But you are legally required to declare it and by falsely signing a declaration form, you would be a smuggler. Any recommendation that people falsify their customs declaration is bad advice.

This is what they ask you when you come back to the US... as long as you don't need to answer yes, the food won't be an issue. If you need to answer yes, it will be up to customs...

Item "A" is a catch-all for any :"Food", 5th item on the list. Any CBP officer will tell you that. So, yes you need to answer "YES" if you are bringing any food across the US border (i.e. getting off the ship with foods).

I've never had a prepackaged food item be an issue crossing borders.

 

 

 

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Would you truly declare an unopened bag of chips, a ditto chocolate candy bar and let's say a bag of peanuts (on disembarkation or when flying in to the US)?

Like I said, I can understand not bothering to declare stuff like that, and I've never heard of anyone getting fined for an undeclared bag of chips, but who knows. My point is that they require you to declare all food. Again, whether you take this requirement seriously is up to you. Answering "no" does not guarantee that they won't send you for additional screening anyway. They don't just take your word for it, they also have the sniffer dogs and (I'm guessing) a certain number of random checks.

 

Fillng out the form is not meant to be a strategic puzzle where you try to figure out which answers will get you out of the airport/terminal the fastest. The questions are very simple, and if you answer them truthfully, everything will be fine…

Totally agree with everything hawkeyetise is saying. I was pulled for a random check entering the US at MCO, so you never know when it is coming.

 

If you are doing nothing wrong, what is the problem with properly declaring what you have? Unless of course you are that person who, for whatever reason, has to be the first to leave the port or airport. Trust me, you will be there a lot longer than you would like if you are pulled out and found to have under declared, even if the items are not prohibited. The feeling on their part will be, well they have lied about that, so what else? Then there follows a total baggage check!

I only see about taking alcohol on board on the NCL website, but I'm wondering if you can take food. There's a grocery store in FL I love that carries a few products I can't get at home. I'm wondering if I went before the cruise if I could take the stuff with me. It'd be easier to go before than after since we'll have a car then and just heading straight to the airport after. It's nothing we'd eat on the cruise...rice mixes and salad dressing.

 

 

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Have you thought about buying them online and having them sent directly to your home? Pretty much everything is available for purchase on the internet.

I have re-entered the US at least 100 times, never declared any incidental food items (snacks, granola/protein bars, packaged food items for gifts/personal consumption), and have not been challenged or hassled once. You will not have to declare your bag of chips or need to worry about it.

 

 

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Declaring is actually really easy - you check yes, they ask what you have, you show them you bag of chips or box of cookies and they wave you through. I almost always have some food going through customs - my snack foods from home on the way over, and local foods as souvenirs on my way home. Never been an issue. Now, once we were going through and they were walking a dog through. He indicated on someone's bag and it turned out they had undeclared beef jerky. Don't know how that went for them - but why get into it.

 

 

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Never declared pillow chocolates. Never considered them food, I guess. I was never challenged, obviously, but I think I will declare it in the future or just not take them with me.