"Take out" lunch

[NC&KY]

Can one get any sort of a boxed lunch or snack to take ashore at a port? It looks like we're going to wind up in a situation in which we have no opportunity to stop for anything to eat from about 8 in the morning until 3 or 3:30 in the afternoon. I assume bottled water will be readily available to carry ashore.

[Tarpeian Rock]

Can one get any sort of a boxed lunch or snack to take ashore at a port? It looks like we're going to wind up in a situation in which we have no opportunity to stop for anything to eat from about 8 in the morning until 3 or 3:30 in the afternoon. I assume bottled water will be readily available to carry ashore.

 

 

 

I believe most, if not all, ports/countries have regulations against bringing food from a ship into the country - box lunches included. This has been discussed at length on other boards. Bottled water is different.

[Lola911]

You don't say which port you are touring, but surely there will be something you can grab along the way. I have never seen and I don't believe they do boxed lunches. Recently, we had a very long bus ride into Hanoi and I must admit at breakfast I buttered rolls and stuck some cheeses inside. I rolled in paper napkin and sealed in a ziplock. I, of course, was discreet while doing it. There is plenty of water and you'll have access to beverages wherever.

[sitraveler]

We've seen people pack up at breakfast, but it is not encouraged. There are several areas where taking food off the ships is prohibited, but I've never seen it enforced. You could have room service into your stateroom and pack that up unobserved.

[Noxequifans]

OP didn't say where they are going. Some countries have very strict food importation guidelines. Rather than risk being "caught" perhaps a change in the on shore time is warranted.

[Bowie MeMe]

DO NOT THINK THAT YOU CAN BRING FOOD OFF THE SHIPS! Almost all the ports I have been in for the last 5 years have gotten more strict not less! They DO check and they do use dogs to sniff. In Chile, in particular I was standing in line to enter the country for a day trip and a group of young men from our ship (Princess) were standing next to us just after we had gone past the signs saying no food and the lady who said in English "read the signs no food" "last chance!". We entered Chile and a little cute beagle came with his solider handler (solider had an automatic weapon on his shoulder and a bullet clip belt) and the beagle stopped by the young man next to me. Solider asked the man to raise his hands and he frisked the young man in his stylish baggy clothes. He had one large apple in his pocket as a gift for a girl. He was put into handcuffs and lead away! I asked his friends what would happen to him and the friend said he would be taken to his manager on the ship and fired on the spot and then taken to pay the $500 equivalent fine and 2 days jail. Passengers would be allowed to return to their cabin for their things and then would be immediately disembarked from the ship to authorities. A snack is not worth it. Unopened packages (snack crackers, candy bar, processed cheese slice etc) are sometimes allowed and I have carried those for a snack but know what the rules are. Take bottled water from the ship -- bottled water in other countries could be of a standard different from those of US or other developed countries. Unfortunately they often refill the water bottles you recognize from water right out of the tap. I carry a UV steripen to treat bottled water if I am unsure of source -- even in 5 star hotels:D

 

Please do not think you can cleverly and "discretely" bring food into the country INCLUDING the USA. All countries are protecting their agricultural interests and they are very serious! I don't think you could plead "I didn't know -- they don't care" New Zealand it is an instant $5000 fine I believe and it is more in Australia. In one of the countries in South America they even did a 2nd check at the airplane door and confiscated drinks and food bought in the airport (:mad::mad:). Listen for the rules because otherwise you can't play on their playground.

[Lola911]

Bowie, I think you are going a tad overboard there. Of course, at airports there are sniff dogs. New Zealand has a very strict law about foods coming in in luggage, etc. BUT, we are talking about walking off ship in a civilized port with a cheese bun. I often have energy bars with me too. NO ONE on O asks you if you are carrying food off the ship and we have been on several cruises to many parts of the world. AND yes I agree packing up a lunch in the Terrace should not be encouraged.

[shipcat]

There is no problem to bring food off the ship in Europe.

[NC&KY]

Thanks for the guidance. Sounds like this issue is very port dependent, so I've asked my TA to see what restrictions I might be facing. But on a Lisbon to Rio cruise we will not be going to Chile or New Zealand or Australia, thankfully.:cool:

[Mura]

We did Barcelona to Rio last fall and I don't recall warnings about not taking food off the ship. (I don't mean that they were giving us box lunches, because it's a long time since they did!) Then again, our tours either got back in time for us to get to Waves OR we had lunch on the road.

 

Agree that trying to do so in Australia or New Zealand would be asking for trouble.

 

We did make a few of our own "box lunches" when we did the Black Sea on Regatta in August 2012 and there were no inspections on that itinerary.

 

I also find that after a day or two on the ship a hearty breakfast keeps me going through 3pm ... easily. And I'm a big girl.

 

Mura

[ronrick1943]

Why not eat a good breakfast before you leave the ship. When on tour you can always stop and grab a bite from a stand doing your tour if on a bus. If your on your own just stop at a local place----you don't need to take food off the ship. And if "O" wanted that they would offer box lunch-since they don't offer that service "don't do it".

Rick

[YoHoHo]

This issue of taking food off ships comes up often from folks with medical conditions who will suffer if not eating on a regular schedule. They usually simply take allowed products in manufacturer's packaging. Taking food off a ship to skip a meal purchase on shore is not a good thing. Plus for me a lot of enjoyment of visiting a foreign place is in the food and the activity.

 

. BUT, we are talking about walking off ship in a civilized port with a cheese bun. I often have energy bars with me too. NO ONE on O asks you if you are carrying food off the ship and we have been on several cruises to many parts of the world.

Not sure about how civilized a port is plays into this? As mentioned Australia is very tough on cruisers taking food off ships and I think they are reasonably civilized :) Other, less civilized' ports might not care as long as tourist dollars are coming ashore.

 

Is that cheese pasteurized? Hope so if you are trying to smuggle it ashore into Canada because the pleasure of unpasteurized cheese importation has been taken away from us. That said no one is going to really care if it is or is not - just if you get caught.

 

Going ashore in the US? I *assume* the US Customs and Border patrol control ports access. This then could apply:

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/clearing-cbp/bringing-agricultural-products-united-states

"All travelers entering the United States are required to DECLARE any meats, fruits, vegetables, plants, seeds, animals, and plant and animal products (including soup or soup products) they may be carrying. The declaration must cover all items carried in checked baggage, carry-on luggage, or in a vehicle."

 

That was the only 'official' reference I found though there are a great many posts on many threads of fellow cruisers experiences in SA, Mexico, Caribbean, Australia, etc.

 

I thought this one was good:

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1381415&page=2

 

"Try bringing food into Singapore....you will meet some cute dogs and spend many months wondering how beautiful Singapore could be, if only you weren't locked in this small uninteresting room. The ship will not, of course, wait for you either."

 

Any one can take a chance of course, and ignore the rules of a country they are visiting and the possibility, albeit small, of causing harm to them but that does not make it 'ok'.

 

If I were so allowed I might 'plead the 5th' if asked if I have, or known anyone who has, once taken a cheese bun off a ship.

[CintiPam]

I have found that a granola bar will do the trick if your companion does not want to stop for a snack. Takes up little room, lightweight and no chance of spoilage.

 

Oceania always supplies plastic bottles of water by the place you exit on port days. On our May cruise, they ran out of still water for two days and only supplied water with bubbles, which I hate and did not know I had with me until sampled. The next day I ran into the Assistant Cruise Director who immediately went off searching for some still water for me. What a great guy!

Edited July 24, 2014 by CintiPam

[Floridiana]

I don't bring food ashore when it is clearly forbidden. I had my backpack checked by a dog in Brisbane, but nothing was inside. The dog smelled a sandwich that had been cellophane wrapped days before and long been consumed. Unopened water bottles were ok.

 

In Callao, Peru, I showed the guard an energy bar (original wrap) and she said it was ok. (On the other hand, water bottles were taken away at the gate right before boarding the plane.) I wouldn't take bread, fruit, meat/cold cuts or cheese.

 

Oceania has bottled water waiting for you at the exit before you leave the ship.

[hondorner]

We often take onopened protein bars like Clif or Builders without problems. However, we did see a tiny, elderly lady at a port in Chile, surrounded by soldiers, with an apple sitting on a small table in their midst. We didn't see what happened to her...

[NC&KY]

Thanks to all. I had no idea this was such a passionate issue (I thought they were only kids on ships and smoking!:eek:). The private tour we're taking is apparently in the hinterlands, and we will be nowhere near a restaurant, grocery, or any other retail establishment, so stopping along the way is not an option. We do plan to eat an unusually large breakfast, which I hope will suffice, so I'm just dealing with contingencies. As for granola or similar bars, can I buy them in Lisbon or will I need to bring them with me from Kentucky?

[Paulchili]

We often take onopened protein bars like Clif or Builders without problems. However, we did see a tiny, elderly lady at a port in Chile, surrounded by soldiers, with an apple sitting on a small table in their midst. We didn't see what happened to her...

 

Chile no doubt, like California, wants to protect their precious commodity (fruits) from the infestation of those pesky fruit flies - a potentially very destructive and expensive problem to deal with.

Can't say I blame them.

[computerworks]

Fruit and veggies, on or off the ship, are a logical no-no, anywhere.

 

I admit to have smuggled a few ham sandwiches off a ship for a beach day....now and then.

 

There...I've said it. I feel better now. :cool:

[LHT28]

I usually take protein bars with me from home ..yes they add to my luggage weight

I carry them just incase we are on a tour that does not hit a food stop before my blood sugar drops... I have a bar in my bag

 

You could take a box of dry cereal from breakfast as a snack to tide you over

 

JMO

 

Lyn

[Bowie MeMe]

Bowie, I think you are going a tad overboard there. Of course, at airports there are sniff dogs. New Zealand has a very strict law about foods coming in in luggage, etc. BUT, we are talking about walking off ship in a civilized port with a cheese bun. I often have energy bars with me too. NO ONE on O asks you if you are carrying food off the ship and we have been on several cruises to many parts of the world. AND yes I agree packing up a lunch in the Terrace should not be encouraged.

 

The Chile example happened to me and the other 2 in my party off the Star Princess in Jan. 2012 going for an independent tour. It is not exaggerated or changed in any way. Actually it was very frightening just because I admit to having taken more than one little cheese bun off the ship over 20 years. Thank Heavens that time I did not have anything with me. It is not always a foreign country either. Once a while ago crossing from Oregon to California was asked if we had any fruit in the car (the officers then sprayed the wheels of the car with pesticide so must have been a big problem) and just last month I was asked at the Quebec US border (entering US from Canada) if we had agricultural products (example fruit, raw honey, grains, plants etc were on the posters where you could read them in the 40 minute wait). Seemed they were thoroughly checking about every 6th car! entering the civilized US of A with a US passport.In my own county in Maryland, there are all kinds of signs prohibiting firewood from anyplace but our immediate area -- a pest is wiping out our native trees and it comes from Michigan firewood trucked in for fireplaces. Millions of dollars are at stake and the State and Federal governments are working to keep damages down.

 

Will I ever carry anything off a ship again? -- nope scared straight. Not worth it!

 

Kentucky person stick some basic supplies in your carryon. Protein bars, cheese crackers etc. have had many uses over the years -- like when a plane has to make an emergency landing in Cleveland and all the restaurants closed for the night 5 mins after we landed (we got a room luckily in Henderson KY) I don't like protein bars but they were better than nothing. And it is not always a foreign country!

Edited July 24, 2014 by Bowie MeMe

[oceansandseas]

Chili is very strict as it's livelihood depends on the fruit industry. When we got off the ship in Chili 3 or 4 years ago, we were directed to a building. Everyone was told to stand in a line. There were about 40 of us in the group. We were told to put our purse or anything that we were carrying on the floor and step back 3 paces. The dogs walked around sniffing. I was very upset as a dog walked over my purse and slobbered on it. New purse for the cruise. Could not say anything though. Then they walked around the people. No fruits was found I guess. We were then allowed to leave the building and enter the country.

 

I am surprised that all of the people getting off the ship are not searched in the same way as they want to make sure that no disease that might attack their fruit enters their country. Not sure which ship we were on.

[Lola911]

Well Bowie I stand to be corrected and for using the word 'civilized'. I too was on TA with Mura and for our Brazil stops (4) you walked off ship and thru the terminal without scary guards or dogs approaching you. Same on our Singapore to Hong Kong where we gobbled a cheese bun on the 4 hour bus ride into Hanoi. Surely Oceania/cruise directors should be cautioning people where countries have strict food laws. Awful to be caught unaware. Eat a hearty breakfast as it tides us over also and resting your tummy by skipping a meal is not a bad idea. Buy your energy bars before leaving home as they come in handy. I think this has been a good thread...I have not seen this talked about before.

[cotto22]

Energy bars and those little bags of almonds or other nutritious snacks are an excellent recommendation for some of those excursions that take you out and about for long periods of time. For some people, it is a matter of health, low blood sugar etc. Others get grumpy when they need a snack, and that's no fun for anyone!

[Bowie MeMe]

It has been but not for awhile and sometimes like this on a thread as an afterthought thus hidden.

 

Protection of agricultural interests and trying to control disease of plants and humans and animals has been a long time policy. My mother on a cruise to the Bahamas coming back to Miami on one of her few international travels was told to pitch her papaya -- she backed out of the line and ate that papaya down to the seed and then got back in line and was welcomed to the USA :p Much loved family story from the early 70's because my mother was very much a rule follower but she loved papaya which was rare in Illinois at that time.

[bob278]

I hope this isn't considered off topic or out of line, but what kind of private 7+ hour tour doesn't provide any kind of snack or at least water? No potty breaks where it would make sense to have "something" available?