What do you do for lunch?

[needabreakcanada]

So if you are in a cruise port for the day - and you already paid for your lunch on board the ship - what do you do?

 

Do you pay again for a lunch while in the port?

Can you pack a lunch from the ship to take with you?

Or do you go back to the ship for lunch and then go back to the port action?

 

Guess you can tell how new I am to cruising.

 

Thanks

[mtu_huskies]

Usually we just have to pay for lunch or the tour we do has lunch included.

 

We've never been close enough to the ship when we've been in port that going back and eating and then leaving the ship again was an option.

[dplusd]

We wouldn't return to the ship just for lunch...it's not THAT good!

 

Often times we will do a half day excursion and we may skip lunch and get a snack when back on the ship. Sometimes we will find a local restaurant and enjoy a meal off the ship...all part of experiencing the port.

 

I don't believe you can take any food off the ship for immigration reasons.

 

Don't feel like you have to take advantage of everything you've already paid for. It's not practical to do all the activities, see all the shows, eat all the food, etc. that you've paid for. It's vacation, so enjoy your self and do what feels good at the time.

[JandBR_PHX]

Eat ashore. It's worth a few extra $$ to try a local delicacy, or continue the beach break. I think we've only returned to ship for lunch on a couple of occaisions due to weather.

 

You can always have second lunch on board :D

[mlklm]

Do you pay again for a lunch while in the port?

Can you pack a lunch from the ship to take with you?

Or do you go back to the ship for lunch and then go back to the port action?

 

Hi - it really depends on what you are doing in port. . .

 

If all you are going to do is walk around, go shopping, etc.. then getting on and off the boat is no big deal (unless it is a tender port) so you can easily eat on the boat. When in port the big dinning rooms are often not open or have a much more limited seating. The buffet does remain open.

 

Some excursions include lunch or a snack, so this eliminates the need to go back to the boat for lunch.

 

Some times excursions end early or start late so you can eat a (big) late breakfast or grab a snack/pizza/room service when you get back on the boat.

 

You are "technically" not supposed to bring most food items on/off the boat, so bringing a lunch with you is not really an option. One thing that we like to do is grab a couple of boxes of the cereal (the kinds you don't mind eating dry such as Fruit Loops) and bring them with us in case we need a snack.

 

From one Canadian to an other, I hope this helps !

[GXmanDC]

We rarely have lunch onboard while in port. We like to eat at a local establishment. Some excursions include lunch. At some ports we arrived after lunch so we ate on board. In Grand Turk we decided that lunch on board would be better than anything in the port area.

[needabreakcanada]

I have to eat every so often or I get dizzy when I am exerting myself.

 

Doesn't have to be big just a little something.

 

Thanks for the tips :)

[househunter]

I would never walk back to the ship just to eat. The food is not that good. Part of traveling for us, is enjoying the local food- that is a highlight. You will be stuck eating the food on the ships for all dinners and most breakfasts and lunches. Enjoy the ship on shore when you have a chance!

[Langley Cruisers]

I have to eat every so often or I get dizzy when I am exerting myself.

 

Understood. Any food you remove from the ship must be pre-packaged (sealed), such as the aforementioned cereal boxes, or something you've brought from home like fiber bar, protein bar, individual packages of cookies or crackers, packs of nuts, etc. Fruit, meat, all other perishables are prohibited from being removed from the ship.

[Mrsg324]

we usually just eat a big breakfast or grab a bite to eat in port. Not worth the trip back to the ship to save $15-20

[read52]

If you need to eat, I would bring some prepackaged food from home to eat while you are on shore. Depending on what port you are in, you can get something at the port. Many of the ports also sell prepackaged food. We go back to the ship to eat at times because some ports I would not eat their food because I am not sure how it was prepared. My husband has health issues so we are carefully what we eat on shore. If you are going to Labadee, RCCL brings food from the ship to the beach so it is like a picnic.

[dixieva]

If we're going to be in a port all day-say 8 to 5- we do our excursions in the morning. It's usually over by 12 or 1. So we go back to the ship to eat lunch and rest a while then get off and do some shopping around the port area. This has always worked well for us.

 

Once in a while we'll have lunch on shore but not that often.

[johneeo]

So if you are in a cruise port for the day - and you already paid for your lunch on board the ship - what do you do?

 

Thanks

 

The next sea day you are entitled to eat two lunches.:eek:

[isdoo]

We eat on board whilst enjoying the quietness once all the riff-raff have gone ashore ;)

[Trekker954]

I don't believe you can take any food off the ship for immigration reasons.

.

 

the poster means for agriculture restrictions.

[BND]

We find a local restaurant sometimes and other times we're on excursions that provide lunch. I think once or twice, when we're just walking around the port and shopping or something, we've gone aboard to eat. We've also skipped lunch a few times since breakfast can be so large, and eat a snack in the afternoon. We always do late sitting for dinner so a snack fits in well.

[cruisingcanadian]

Hi - it really depends on what you are doing in port. . .

 

If all you are going to do is walk around, go shopping, etc.. then getting on and off the boat is no big deal (unless it is a tender port) so you can easily eat on the boat. When in port the big dinning rooms are often not open or have a much more limited seating. The buffet does remain open.

 

Some excursions include lunch or a snack, so this eliminates the need to go back to the boat for lunch.

 

Some times excursions end early or start late so you can eat a (big) late breakfast or grab a snack/pizza/room service when you get back on the boat.

 

You are "technically" not supposed to bring most food items on/off the boat, so bringing a lunch with you is not really an option. One thing that we like to do is grab a couple of boxes of the cereal (the kinds you don't mind eating dry such as Fruit Loops) and bring them with us in case we need a snack.

 

From one Canadian to an other, I hope this helps !

 

It's a ship;)!

[Familygoboston]

I am assuming that your port time is a full day (9-5 ish)

 

Choose a Shorex that includes lunch Usually pricey and yes, you have already paid, but it is relaxing! You can find out on the port boards if the place you want to book has decent food!

 

Tendering (means you take a small boat from the ship to the shore): Best bet is eat ashore or bring snacks- my DH and I always bring some portable snacks from home because once we were tempted by the pricey minibar and it offended our sensiblities:p. Now we bring individual packets of nuts and crackers to use on shore excursions.

 

Docked: (The ship is right along side the pier)

1. if the port you are enjoying is right at the pier, you can often go back to the ship for lunch, but you will have to pass through all the security again. If mobility is a concern the pier can be a long walk. The advantage is you have the MDR or Windjammer all to yourself!
   
2. if the sights at the port are a cab ride away, definately better to bring snacks or eat ashore, again Port boards can lead you to a decent place.
   
3. if you are taking an AM shorex, and a PM shorex sometimes there is not enough time to board and eat between them, in this case, eat ashore or have snacks.
   

Here is what works for us...we usually try to schedule an early shore ex or independent activity in the AM. We have a big breakfast and then bring our snacks, around 12 noon we have our snacks and then continue our explorations, planning to be back to the ship around 2-2:30. This avoids the long lines that can form an hour or so before departure when everyone is returning. (and gives us time to watch the latecomers run down the pier from our balcony;)) We go to the Windjammer for a late lunch and plan for a later dinner. ( if you are doing MTD- which I highly recommend!)

Enjoy your first cruise! :D

[srlafleur]

Looks like the definitive answer is "It depends".

I would never actually schedule a port day around lunching on board, but if it's convenient to what we're doing, sure, we'll do it.

And I agree with other posters that bringing a packaged snack is a good idea, along with a bottle of water - we fill water bottles on the ship to take ashore rather than paying through the nose for bottled water.

[cb at sea]

Sometimes, we eat a BIG breakfast, and skip lunch...grab a snack when we get back to the ship.

Most times, tho, we'll just buy lunch where we are, if we get hungry...it's not THAT much money!!!!

[Sugar*Magnolia]

It's a ship;)!

 

Im tempted to say this each and everytime I read boat too! Glad someone else did though! LOLOL I have always said, a boat can fit on a ship and a ship has earned its title! lol

[sjb317]

We rarely eat lunch on a sea day since we tend to sleep late and eat a decent breakfast. On port days we do the opposite, eat a light breakfast so we can enjoy trying a restaurant in port. It's fun to sample the local cuisine and gives us a break from ship food.

 

Sherri:)

[dzcruisers]

 

Im tempted to say this each and everytime I read boat too! Glad someone else did though! LOLOL I have always said, a boat can fit on a ship and a ship has earned its title! lol

 

Why does this bother you?

[BND]

I know why it bothers me, because it is a SHIP. DH is a US Navy Captain and he grits his teeth whenever someone says boat, because a boat is a SUBMARINE.:D

 

We've had some really good local meals in some ports and as I said above, it varies for us.

[EastCoastAussie]

Eat a big breakfast. Have late dinner sitting and eat late lunch when get back with a snack out and about.