Boxed Lunches?

[cruisemom42]

"There are travelers and there are tourists....." :rolleyes:

 

......and there are those who visit beautiful destinations and only see the inside of a Margaritaville. ;)

[luvs2travl]

......and there are those who visit beautiful destinations and only see the inside of a Margaritaville. ;)

 

Amen, sister!! ;) :D

[iheartbda]

You wouldn't want to contaminate or spoil Mexico or Jamaica now would you??

Classic seagull poster.

[JewelerSteve]

While I haven't cruised (yet) I do travel.. Taking non native anything can be a huge issue.. We go to Canada to fish a few times a year and the border crossing can go very poorly for you if you try to take across anything that has dirt on it.. Potatos, mushrooms, etc., are all taken at the border.. The night crawlers we use are shipped in a non dirt material, usually shredded newspaper.. I'm surprised we aren't told to wash the vehicles at the crossings..

 

Even things as simple as ships taking in ballast water in one part of the world and dumping it in another can cause no end of damage.. Zebra mussels, asian carp, and so much more..

 

Taking banned and non native foods is a huge deal and while one or two people aren't likely to cause an ecological disaster, hundrds of people thinking that its ok can.. Its usch a simple thing to do to follow the rules and requests of the places you intend to vists there is no reason to think the rules don't apply to you..

[Bonnie J.]

We have been cruising for more than 25 years, (5 cruises since Aug. 29, '09) We have never seen a food sniffing dog or anyone stopped because they had food. Don't know of anyone who has been fined. Have any of you been stopped or fined? I'd like to hear from someone who has. Its been talked about here but no one has said they were stopped because of food.

We never eat on shore. The one time we did my husband had the last muffin available and suffered with food poisening all of the next day! We don't do ship's tours so can have lunch on board before going into a port.

__________________

CRUISE LINES WE"VE BEEN ON :

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

Celebrity

Princess

Costa

[Langley Cruisers]

We have never seen a food sniffing dog or anyone stopped because they had food. Don't know of anyone who has been fined. Have any of you been stopped or fined? I'd like to hear from someone who has.

 

Bonnie just because it hasn't happened to you or you haven't read about it here, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Apparently, Cruise Critic members only make up about 2% of the cruising public. That's a lot more people out there than in here, if you know what I mean.

 

People have been stopped, caught, and made to discard their fresh food. Any dumpster of apples and other goods will tell you that; they are everywhere, especially inside cruise terminals just before Customs. Maybe the dogs are left to sniff for drugs in suitcases - many of us have seen them. But I stop short of saying that just because it wasn't seen with these eyes doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

[yogi2929]

We have been cruising for more than 25 years, (5 cruises since Aug. 29, '09) We have never seen a food sniffing dog or anyone stopped because they had food. Don't know of anyone who has been fined. Have any of you been stopped or fined? I'd like to hear from someone who has. Its been talked about here but no one has said they were stopped because of food.

We never eat on shore. The one time we did my husband had the last muffin available and suffered with food poisening all of the next day! We don't do ship's tours so can have lunch on board before going into a port.

 

I've been stopped in San Diego. December '09. The friendly AG dog caught the scent of my Lemonheads. S/he and the handler followed me across the tent.

 

Now you know of someone. :p

 

Sorry your husband's stomach is sensitive. Our greatest joy is to eat in restaurants in port.

Baked goods normally aren't the cause of food poisoning. When traveling it is usually water/fruits/vegies or just a different variety of (rich) foods and alcohol that are the culprits.

[BruceMuzz]

We have been cruising for more than 25 years, (5 cruises since Aug. 29, '09) We have never seen a food sniffing dog or anyone stopped because they had food. Don't know of anyone who has been fined. Have any of you been stopped or fined? I'd like to hear from someone who has. Its been talked about here but no one has said they were stopped because of food.

We never eat on shore. The one time we did my husband had the last muffin available and suffered with food poisening all of the next day! We don't do ship's tours so can have lunch on board before going into a port.

__________________

CRUISE LINES WE"VE BEEN ON :

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

Celebrity

Princess

Costa

 

I have managed cruise ships for a bit over 30 years.

During that time I have seen thousands of people stopped and fruit removed from them.

I have seen a few hundred receive fines for smuggling forbidden things ashore.

I have seen a few people held at gunpoint while the issue was being discussed and negotiated.

I have seen only 2 people taken away in handcuffs and jailed.

 

I have been threatened by officials on many occasions that the ship needs to do a better job of policing these infractions or we will not be allowed to call at that port in future.

Lately on the Mexican Riviera the officals have been very agressive and downright nasty in enforcing the laws.

 

My favorite now is Barbados. They have a law that no tourist can enter the country wearing military style clothing.

Every time we stop there we have the police - with guns - stopping some of our "fashionista" passengers and sending them back to the ship to change their clothes.

[KAYEF]

I have managed cruise ships for a bit over 30 years.

During that time I have seen thousands of people stopped and fruit removed from them.

I have seen a few hundred receive fines for smuggling forbidden things ashore.

I have seen a few people held at gunpoint while the issue was being discussed and negotiated.

I have seen only 2 people taken away in handcuffs and jailed.

 

I have been threatened by officials on many occasions that the ship needs to do a better job of policing these infractions or we will not be allowed to call at that port in future.

Lately on the Mexican Riviera the officals have been very agressive and downright nasty in enforcing the laws.

 

My favorite now is Barbados. They have a law that no tourist can enter the country wearing military style clothing.

Every time we stop there we have the police - with guns - stopping some of our "fashionista" passengers and sending them back to the ship to change their clothes.

THANKS FOR BEING VERY SPECIFIC on this thread. No matter what people say...........others insist they've "never seen this happen; prove it"................MANY of us have seen it happen. You have helped.

If people choose to ignore the LAWS, they should sufferr the consequences.

When in Europe, I recalled thoughts of "the dirty American tourists" bounce into my head when I wsaw/heard what many people from our tour did.

Sometimes it was "just" embarrassing..................like when one asked the owner of a Sheep Farm if, when the sheep went over the hill and the herding dogs didn't,......."Do you have video cameras all over the area behind your hills?" Ah, travel memories!:D

[Zambini]

I like a good box lunch at the Y ;)

[JudeeJim]

We drove the Baja several times and one time we were stopped in Insurgentes and asked if we had fruit. Darn had to give up my hand picked grapefruit from Arizona. That didn't hurt as much as crossing back into the U.S. from Mexico we were asked if we had avocados. Yes we did and had to give them up. I was told that next time make sure we make guacamole before crossing. It did cheer us up when we brought back 4, two each, bottles of liquor instead of the one each permitted.

 

Judee

[Cruisin' Chick]

We have been cruising for more than 25 years, (5 cruises since Aug. 29, '09) We have never seen a food sniffing dog or anyone stopped because they had food. Don't know of anyone who has been fined. Have any of you been stopped or fined? I'd like to hear from someone who has. Its been talked about here but no one has said they were stopped because of food.

We never eat on shore. The one time we did my husband had the last muffin available and suffered with food poisening all of the next day! We don't do ship's tours so can have lunch on board before going into a port.

__________________

CRUISE LINES WE"VE BEEN ON :

Dolphin

Commodore

Regency

Premier

Cape Canaveral Cruises

Carnival

Royal Caribean

Celebrity

Princess

Costa

 

Okay, here's our story. Before my first "real" cruise, my hubby (then bf) took me on an one-day cruise that sailed RT from San Diego to Ensenada. Since he knew they didn't serve food all day long, and he needs little snacks during the day (and no, he's not overweight or even close to it), he packed us a little cooler of fruit and other food. When we returned to SD and were handing over our customs form, we were asked about any food. He completely forgot there was a piece of fruit left in the cooler; he had intended to throw it out onboard. When asked to open the cooler, he was so embarassed.

[billet]

I have never seen an agriculture inspection station at the bottom of the gang plank at a third world port! But I guess it's ok for 2000 passengers to spread whatever sickness they brought with them to the local citizens. How does a ham sandwich and a bag of chips cause an ecological disaster?

 

If you a going to a third world country would it not be a nice gesture to spend money in that country to support their economy? A ham sandwich and a bag of chips bought ashore would cost peanuts (sorry about the pun) but would contribute to the wellbeing of the host country. I saw many bag inspections and sniffer dogs on our last 30 day cruise round South America.

[1 HappyCruiser]

You wouldn't want to contaminate or spoil Mexico or Jamaica now would you??

 

Some nasty bugs could affect their marijuana fields.

 

On the other hand- It was strange that on our recent trip on the Grand (14 days Caribbean) they never mentioned once in any Patter that food was not to be taken ashore.