Gluten Free in Volcano National Park

[scrapgeek]

So, I am going on the Pride of America in June and I am thinking about which tour to take on Volcano Day. Some of the tours are 7 hours long and I am worried about food.

 

Have any of my fellow celiacs done this? Am I going to be stuck eating Laurabars all day? Has anyone been able to get a box lunch from the ship to take with you, or found a tour provider who could get you a GF lunch?

 

I was there many many years ago, and I remember that it was a pretty remote location. It's not like there was a Whole Foods, or even a McDonalds nearby. And even if there was, I have no car.

 

Advice?

[Deb in Cali]

Volcano house has a buffet lunch. i just checked their website. The menu is listed on the website, it looks like it could accomodate someone with a gluten free diet. While the food is not gourmet, it will fill you up. The dining room has great views.

[kapoho2]

Unfortunately, Volcano House has been closed for about the past year for renovations and is not expected to re-open until sometime in 2012.

 

There is no other option for food inside the park....so best to pack your own lunch and carry it in with you or visit one of the restaurants in the village of Volcano just outside the park gates.

[scrapgeek]

I wouldn't have been able to eat at the buffet anyway. Too many cross-contamination issues. Still, it would have been nice to get some fruit or salad at the snack shop. It's a shame they are closed.

 

Anyone else have ideas? Its looking like it's Laurabars for me. :(

[Deb in Cali]

scrapgeek,

 

Could you check online for a deli in Hilo? Perhaps you could call them and place an advance order for something that you could eat.

 

My DB has the same issues. He eats a lot of rice. It is really nice to see (at least in my area) many more options in the gluten free diets.

 

Deb

[Love Overboard]

In the past we have traveled with a small cooler bag and ordered the night before from room service. I would order sandwich on a bun minus the tomato so that it doesn't go soggy. It worked well every time.

 

Not sure of what you can and can't eat but you could certainly get fruit from buffet the night before, put in zip lock bags and store it in you room frig for the next day or take whole fruit such as the apples, oranges, banana's from buffet.

[Toto2Kansas]

Be very careful taking food off the ship in Hawaii. This is something that is strictly forbidden in Hawaii. They have some of toughest rules around about removing food from the ship, and it is listed on the front page of every ships paper for Hawaiian ports.

Not saying some don't get away with breaking these rules, but if you are caught, trust me, it won't be worth the fine you will have to pay.

I would stick with pre packaged foods that are permissable on your gluten free diet if you plan to take tours that will keep you away from the ship at meal time.

 

This is from a recent ships newspaper:

We kindly remind you that the Local Agricultural Authorities forbid any plants, flowers, food, meats and fruits to be taken onshore. On the spot fines may be enforced.

 

I have actually visited Hawaii by ship before where they were enforcing these rules as you disembarked the ship, with nice little puppy dogs sniffing the passengers as they walked by. ;)

[Love Overboard]

Be very careful taking food off the ship in Hawaii. This is something that is strictly forbidden in Hawaii. They have some of toughest rules around about removing food from the ship, and it is listed on the front page of every ships paper for Hawaiian ports.

Not saying some don't get away with breaking these rules, but if you are caught, trust me, it won't be worth the fine you will have to pay.

I would stick with pre packaged foods that are permissable on your gluten free diet if you plan to take tours that will keep you away from the ship at meal time.

 

This is from a recent ships newspaper:

We kindly remind you that the Local Agricultural Authorities forbid any plants, flowers, food, meats and fruits to be taken onshore. On the spot fines may be enforced.

 

I have actually visited Hawaii by ship before where they were enforcing these rules as you disembarked the ship, with nice little puppy dogs sniffing the passengers as they walked by. ;)

 

We have never read anything in the dailies about taking food off in hawaii nor have we been stopped with cooler in hand when disembarking and we used the cooler almost everyday and when we do this cruise it's always b2b so 14 days. The ship stays in US waters and takes on food/produce thats already been inspected.

 

I know what your saying is true for Caribbean and ports in Europe.

 

We have had our bag checked when coming back on board because they are looking for booze and we have had left over fruit/food in bag with no problem.

We've also purchased and brought on board flowers with no problem and they sell these inside terminal.

[Love Overboard]

We have never read anything in the dailies about taking food off in hawaii nor have we been stopped with cooler in hand when disembarking and we used the cooler almost everyday and when we do this cruise it's always b2b so 14 days. The ship stays in US waters and takes on food/produce thats already been inspected.

 

I know what your saying is true for Caribbean and ports in Europe.

 

We have had our bag checked when coming back on board because they are looking for booze and we have had left over fruit/food in bag with no problem.

We've also purchased and brought on board flowers with no problem and they sell these inside terminal.

 

 

I also just checked the only two dailies that we brought home and found no such paragraph.

Not trying to start an argument here just telling what we've done.

 

I'm going to research this further and will post anything I find.

 

 

Toto2Kansas I just looked at your list of past cruises and did not see a listing for NCL ship that does Hawaii cruise.

They use to have three ships that cruised just the Hawaiian Islands but are now down to one so I'm thinking that your talking about cruises our of LA an Ensenada Mexico. If that's the case that is where your getting your info from/

[scrapgeek]

I would love to know this for sure.

 

I do know that when I took an airplane from the Big Island to Oahu, they made me thow away my fruit before I boarded the plane. :(

[scrapgeek]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=668236

 

Here'a an older thread that suggests that it's ok as long as you are on the Pride of America, but not other ships. Apparently, they have their food approved by the agriculture people, so it's safe.

 

I think that Ag is particularly strict about pineapples and oranges, so that may be why they wouldn't let me bring my fruit from island to island. Not sure.

[Toto2Kansas]

We have not sailed NCL, but the rules are the same for any ships sailing in Hawaiian waters. ;) Check with your cruise line when you are onboard, I am positive you will find the same no matter what line you are sailing on. If it's not in the daily paper, it will be posted as you get off the ship. ;)

The noticed I posted from Princess was just two weeks ago.

 

Now, admittedly, if the ship is home ported in Hawaii, the rules could possibly be different. But I would still double check to make sure. Good Luck!

[Love Overboard]

I'm guessing it's because its easier for them to get you to throw it out rather than asking were you brought it from and trusting you. You and I know the airlines do what they want when they want.

 

I was correct on food and NCL ships, here is a link

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=19932940

scroll down to

Taking food off the ship in Hawaii by NDRB for starters, there are also some other threads on the topic.

 

 

scroll down there a re a few threads on this topic

[Love Overboard]

No they are NOT the same for all ships. Trust me your wrong on this topic On NCL ships in Hawaiian waters.

 

Check the links i posted in last post.

[born2cruize]

We have not sailed NCL, but the rules are the same for any ships sailing in Hawaiian waters. ;) Check with your cruise line when you are onboard, I am positive you will find the same no matter what line you are sailing on. If it's not in the daily paper, it will be posted as you get off the ship. ;)

The noticed I posted from Princess was just two weeks ago.

 

Now, admittedly, if the ship is home ported in Hawaii, the rules could possibly be different. But I would still double check to make sure. Good Luck!

 

The rules are not all the same. Ship that arrive and depart from Hawaii without stopping at a foreign port do NOT have the same agricultural restrictions. NCL POAm is the only ship that allows you to take food items off the ship.

 

On my site I have the dailies for two weeks in January & February 11. For anyone checking the requirements.

[kapoho2]

You are not allowed to bring fruit into the state of Hawaii from out of state. They tell you this on the plane before landing in Hawaii. There are also "amnesty" bins in the airport where you can drop your fruit in case you forget to get rid of it on the plane.

 

When flying out of the state of Hawaii to the U.S. mainland, you will go through an agricultural check and also be asked if you are carrying any fruit or plants . This check is done by a baggage scanner machine. Your checked bags will then be tagged as having gone through the check.

 

Since the POA is catered in Honolulu each week, any fruit onboard has already gone through checks when entering the state. I do not believe that there is any problem taking fruit off of the POA.

[GypRasc]

Many, MANY, recent past cruisers on POA have posted that lunch meats are set out in an area near the breakfast buffet in which you can make sandwiches to take off the ship. Why would they do this if you weren't permitted to take them off the ship? I leave in 3 days to sail on POA this coming Sat. Will give a complete review, including this topic, as I do plan to prepare lunches (fruit included) for our days at certain ports.

[whale-watcher]

Are you restricted to taking a ship's tour? It is a very easy port to rent a car and explore on your own. That would allow you to stop in Hilo to pick up food (if you were unable to find appropriate options on the buffet; not sure about current regulations but totally fine when we cruised on the POA in '08)

[Love Overboard]

Many, MANY, recent past cruisers on POA have posted that lunch meats are set out in an area near the breakfast buffet in which you can make sandwiches to take off the ship. Why would they do this if you weren't permitted to take them off the ship? I leave in 3 days to sail on POA this coming Sat. Will give a complete review, including this topic, as I do plan to prepare lunches (fruit included) for our days at certain ports.

 

 

Lunch meats are not put out on the breakfast buffetfor the ease of taking food off ship, but you would be surprised at the amt of people that eat that stuff for breakfast, maybe a European thing I don't know.

 

But I do know the cruise line is not putting meat out to run the risk of being sued for meat that may go off due to not being properly refrigerated or kept properly cooled by their passengers.

Plus they also realize that the Hawaiian businesses are there to make a living.

[GypRasc]

Lunch meats are not put out on the breakfast buffetfor the ease of taking food off ship, but you would be surprised at the amt of people that eat that stuff for breakfast, maybe a European thing I don't know.

 

But I do know the cruise line is not putting meat out to run the risk of being sued for meat that may go off due to not being properly refrigerated or kept properly cooled by their passengers.

Plus they also realize that the Hawaiian businesses are there to make a living.

 

This is very interesting since this is totally contrary to what recent cruisers have indicated. I'll let everyone know the final verdict on this when I return in just over 2 wks.;)

[Toto2Kansas]

Lunch meats are not put out on the breakfast buffetfor the ease of taking food off ship, but you would be surprised at the amt of people that eat that stuff for breakfast, maybe a European thing I don't know.

 

But I do know the cruise line is not putting meat out to run the risk of being sued for meat that may go off due to not being properly refrigerated or kept properly cooled by their passengers.

Plus they also realize that the Hawaiian businesses are there to make a living.

I have seen lunch meats out at the breakfast buffet on several different cruise lines, yes, it's a Euorpean thing as that is what we were served in Europe many times for breakfast.

So, even those ships that have the 'no food taken off the ship' warning offer this on the breakfast buffet.

 

I can understand that local fruits MAY be brought onboard from Hawaii, but other things like meats I am sure are not.

 

Hopefully someone sailing soon can ask the question and see what answer they receive on NCL as to whether they are actually allowed to make themselves lunch onboard and take it off the ship. Not if it is done, but if it is allowed legally. ;)

[Boytjie]

Many, MANY, recent past cruisers on POA have posted that lunch meats are set out in an area near the breakfast buffet in which you can make sandwiches to take off the ship.

 

I have seen cold cuts for breakfast on all cruise lines, including on sea days. I doubt it has anything to do with making sandwiches for shore excursions.

[whale-watcher]

I have seen cold cuts for breakfast on all cruise lines, including on sea days. I doubt it has anything to do with making sandwiches for shore excursions.

 

Meat, cheese, bread, and rolls are available for breakfast on all cruiseline buffets for those who prefer a European style breakfast.

 

There were NO restrictions when we cruised in 2008, even for meat and cheese, as all food originates in Hawaii and has already passed agricultural inspection. We did not bring meat ashore, as we were not interested in food poisoning from our picnic lunch, but did bring cheese and fruit and bread (so we were free to spend our port days hiking in more remote areas).

[GypRasc]

I have seen lunch meats out at the breakfast buffet on several different cruise lines, yes, it's a Euorpean thing as that is what we were served in Europe many times for breakfast.

 

Very interesting. I must admit I did not know that sandwiches for breakfast was a European thing. Guess that's my lesson learned for the day.;)

[whale-watcher]

Very interesting. I must admit I did not know that sandwiches for breakfast was a European thing. Guess that's my lesson learned for the day.;)

 

In fact, the variety of selections available on princess (for on board consumption only) is much more extensive than the limited choices we found on the POA