hawaiian island cruise question

[here2cruise]

we're taking the 15 day hawaiian island cruise on the island princess in april and we're wondering if we're going to beable to bring home some pineapple. has anyone brought home pineapples from the cruise before? not sure if we'll beable to bring home any since that is kind of a long time for it to sit on the ship until we get home...also does anyone know if they have a luau night?

[travelnnana]

You have a stop in Encinada (Mexico) - ships have to go to one foreign port. We just got off the Sapphire to Mexico - and they did say not to bring anything consumable but bottled water off the ship. But you could bring a knife or whatever and eat it in your cabin - I think there are 4 sea days on the way back.

[cruzegirl]

Ok, you can bring home pineapple but wait til the end of the cruise... We got ours right in the airport on the way home and it was delicious... It comes in a nice carrying box...... Enjoy

[JGR01]

In addition to the 'foreign port' issue .. most of the 'airport' pines are ripe or very close to ripe and designed to fly home and be given as gifts within 24-36 hours. Even if you did bring them on the ship, get them thru US Agriculture inspection when you come into the US from Mexico .. they will be pretty BAD and over ripe by the time you get them home (IF you get them home).

 

I think you should be more than happy with the pines onboard the ship and at all your land excursions ...

 

Unfortunately bringing home anything on the ship such as flowers or leiss will also not work too well as they will die by the time you get home!

 

While I have never used this company . they list the ability to ship directly to the US .. so you could order them to arrive at your friends about the time you arrive back .. http://www.alohafriends.com/pineapples.html The other option, in reading the web site is that they list a lot of other products from Hawaii that you MAY be able to bring back with you (jams and jelly - Pineapple JAM is wonderful) .. so that might help your 'gift giving' needs.

[Pam in CA]

To my knowledge, you cannot bring plants or fruit into the U.S. from a foreign country and if you've cruised to Hawaii, you've technically been in a foreign country (Mexico). If you fly to Hawaii and then back to the mainland, you haven't left the U.S. and can thus bring plants and fruit back on the plane. If you're on a cruise, you sign a Customs document that you are not bringing anything in. I don't know if there are special packages that you can buy that are pre-approved. We we bought orchids for my Mom a couple of years ago, we shipped them rather than bring them back via the ship.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

We were on the Island Princess 10/23-11/7 Hawaii cruise. Unfortunately you can't bring any "edibles" off the ship. :(

 

Enjoy the pineapple on the ship and while you're in the islands.

[Cruisin' Chick]

You may want to research online companies that will ship pineapples, flowers, etc. home to you (give them the date of your return). You won't be able to take another like that off the ship per law. California has suffered enough over the years from medflies, etc. getting loose and hurting the agriculture economy.

 

We were given some flowers that we kept in the frig but didn't take home. Also a local artisan in Hilo gave my daughter something made out of coconut fronds (origamied). We attached it to a bed to enjoy but didn't remove it from our cabin as I didn't want to risk getting customs mad at us.

[cnmiranda]

We've tried shipping pineapples twice and they never end up tasting as good as they do in Hawaii. I think the airplane air spoils the fruit a bit. One thing's for certain, pineapples will never taste as good as they do on the island:)

[GloriaF]

We did not try to ship or bring pineapples home, but were told that if you purchased pineapples that were sealed and had a US Agricultural Approval stamp on them they could be brought back to the US. These are not the average pines that can be purchased on the side of the road. Since we didn't try this, we don't know if it is true. Has anyone else ever heard this or have any info?

 

I know that you cannot bring plants back - we purchased a floral arrangement at one of the ports and the young ladies selling them said they could be taken back - we did not try to remove the arrangement but did enjoy it in our cabin for several days. The same with leis from Chinatown in Honolulu - they are beautiful and inexpensive ($3-5) and fun to have on board, but cannot go home with you.

 

The poster that said she took pines home from the airport was on the NCL Pride of America if you check her list of travels - that cruise originates and ends in Hawaii, so technically she had not left the US.

[jbond]

To my knowledge, you cannot bring plants or fruit into the U.S. from a foreign country and if you've cruised to Hawaii, you've technically been in a foreign country (Mexico). If you fly to Hawaii and then back to the mainland, you haven't left the U.S. and can thus bring plants and fruit back on the plane. If you're on a cruise, you sign a Customs document that you are not bringing anything in. I don't know if there are special packages that you can buy that are pre-approved. We we bought orchids for my Mom a couple of years ago, we shipped them rather than bring them back via the ship.

You can bring back plants from Hawaii that have been pre-packaged and certified. They are available all over the islands. We brought back some plumerias and anthuriums. We de-barked in Ensenada and we were bussed to San Diego. We declared them at the crossing and we were allowed through. On a recent Trans Panama Canal cruise, we bought orchids in Costa Rica. Again they were pre-packaged and certified. We declared them with the agriculture agent in Fort lauderdale and he again waved us through.

[Cruisin' Chick]

"The poster that said she took pines home from the airport was on the NCL Pride of America if you check her list of travels - that cruise originates and ends in Hawaii, so technically she had not left the US."

 

If you travel from any state into California, you can not bring fruit in.

[jbond]

I found this on the internnet. Apparently, you can bring pineapple back to the mainland.

Keeping a handle on pests in Hawaii

If you bring items like certain produce and soil to or from Hawaii you could contribute to an agricultural disaster if you do not take certain precautions. Foreign insects capable of wreaking agricultural havoc may find their way to Hawaii by hitching a ride in produce you bring with you from home or an exotic pest found in Hawaii may hitch a ride in a fresh pineapple or coconut you decide to take home from the islands. Keeping a control on the insects coming into and leaving Hawaii has cost taxpayers $200+ million over the last 15 years. If you are thinking of bringing fresh fruits or vegetables with you to snack on while on the long plane ride to Hawaii please be aware agricultural restrictions prohibit bringing pineapple, Florida citrus, vegetables in the turnip family (daikon, rutabaga, radishes, etc.), and green coffee beans into the Hawaiian Islands. You may bring other store bought fresh fruits or vegetables however you must declare them on the "Plant and Animal Declaration Form" which is distributed on the plane prior to landing. You must also have the fruits inspected at the Agricultural Inspection Counter located in the baggage claim area. They will be looking for pests that may be hidden in or on the produce. Be sure that your produce is clean with no soil or other debris on them. There are agricultural dogs at the Island Airports that sniff all incoming bags to locate any concealed fruits or vegetables so don’t try to smuggle anything prohibited or disregard getting them inspected.

Island treasures you can not bring back to the Mainland from Hawaii are; berries of any kind including coffee berries, cactus plants or parts, cotton and cotton bolls, fresh gardenia, fresh jade vine, fresh mauna loa flowers and other members of the bean family, fresh pulpy fruits (except pineapple), live insects and snails, plants in soil, seeds with fruit clinging and fresh seed pods, soil, sugarcane, swamp cabbage, and raw sweet potato. Agricultural items you can bring to the Mainland from Hawaii after having them inspected at the airport are; beach sand, coconuts, dried decorative arrangements, dried seed, fresh flowers, leis, and foliage (but not gardenia, jade vine, or mauna loa), pineapples, plants and cuttings, seashells (not land shells) seed leis and jewelry, wood roses, cooked sweet potato and white potato. If you bring any of the restricted fresh produce or don’t want to go through the hassles of declaring and having them inspected you can drop them in one of the many amnesty bins at the airport to avoid fines.

Another way unwanted insects and seed pests make it to Hawaii in the soles of visitors’ shoes and boots. Please make sure your shoes and boots are free from soil before setting foot in the Hawaiian Islands. You can help keep the Hawaiian Islands healthy and beautiful by not bringing any insects in/on produce or footwear that you bring to Hawaii. For more Hawaii travel tips visit http://www.alohafriends.com/fyi.html