Restrictions on items brought onboard after excursions?

[OctoberKat]

I'm thinking specifically of flowers, plants and fresh fruit? I do understand I cannot bring these items back into the States.

[gnomie1]

I know that last year on our cruise from Dubai to Sydney, at every port stop the security people were on the lookout for anything made of wood - they took the items and sprayed them before returning them to the cabin. Apparently a number of wooden items have little critters in them which they were trying to get rid of before they infested the ship.

 

I also found out the hard way that you cannot bring prepared food on board. On our last cruise during our stay in Los Angeles, we bought our room stewards a pizza, only to have it confiscated by security. :confused:

 

 

gnomie :)

[RachelG]

Maybe the security guys were hungry.

 

Seriously though, you can't bring anything which potentially has insects in it. So wood is a prime target as are fresh flowers, fruits, and veggies. That said, I have brought fresh fruit onboard. It was in my purse and nobody asked. The purse went through the security scanner.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

I have brought fresh flowers so many times on board. It has never been an issue

[Hambagahle]

I think it all depends on the port as to whether you can take fresh fruit/food off the ship and whether you can bring anything back to the ship.

 

Australia is particularly vigilant and I have seen a little beagle "sniffer dog" (adorable in fact) sniffing around peoples bags etc. And then - at Perth airport on a domestic flight from Sydney - a woman had a banana taken from her and dumped somewhat ceremoniously into a red bin before she was allowed to leave the baggage claim area. On our South American cruise there were announcements before we landed in certain places about not taking any food off the ship...

[gnomie1]

I remember boarding a cruise in Auckland (not Regent) and met up with a large group of people - not sure if it happened in Australia or New Zealand, but three of them were each fined (at that time) in excess of $300 each for carrying fruit in their backpack. They had taken the fruit from their meal tray on the plane and put it in their backpack for consumption later and then forgot about it until the "beagle" found it.

 

There were no excuses - they were fined and paid it immediately or were not allowed into the country.

 

gnomie :)

[janecambridge]

When we landed in Miami once,our nephew ( who was 7 at the time) had his backpack sniffed out by a beagle.

We were all marched to one side and told to remove the food from his backpack.His mum insisted there was no food.On further investigation by a very irate young dog handler,they found his school lunchbox was the culprit but all it had in it was his colouring pencils!!! Those dogs have good noses.Beware.

[OctoberKat]

Clarification: I am only interested in bringing fresh flowers and fruit back onto the vessel after spending time in port. I know I may not take food off the ship, and I, too, think the dogs adorable.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I've also brought fresh flowers on board. I think it depends on the country you're in. I've done in Tahiti and Monaco, as far as I can remember.

[OctoberKat]

Thanks to ChatKat and Wendy. I'll try as occasion presents. No great loss if I should not succeed.

[freddie]

OctoberKat - As is so common on these CC boards, some posters seem to be a bit confused regarding your original query and have jumbled comments about bringing goods back onto the ship with observations about taking things off of the ship onto land. The relevant restrictions are, of course, dramatically different in each of those cases.

 

Regent ships have few agricultural enterprises onboard which need to be protected from botanical threats brought aboard, whether in France or Fiji. Therefore, bringing flowers aboard has never been a problem of any sort for us, although a few times a member of the security staff has asked whether they were for her or him, with a sweet smile. (On several occasions, we've given them some of them, in thanks for the sweet smiles.) We've brought flowers aboard in many ports, including Istanbul, Venice, Monte Carlo, Funchal, Tahiti, Bordeaux, Stockholm, Lisbon, Dubai, and Barcelona, amongst others.

 

As for fresh fruit, the ships would likely draw the line at your bringing aboard any Durian fruit in Asia, as the "special aroma" might cause an evacuation of the nearby cabins on your deck.

 

Probably the best way to bring local fruit onboard would be grapes that have been wonderfully transformed into good wine.

 

As for prepared foods, we have on several occasions brought back onboard local specialties, such as sausages, breads, cheeses, or sweets, including a major "picnic" last year on Mariner in Genoa. Security admired the goods and sent us on our way to our cabin where we and our friends had one of our most memorable meals ever on a Regent ship.

 

Cheers, Fred

Edited December 24, 2014 by freddie

[MattRyan]

I'm thinking specifically of flowers, plants and fresh fruit? I do understand I cannot bring these items back into the States.

 

OctoberKat,

 

Hello there again. I am still on the Mariner, and we are currently in the South Pacific. I responded to your earlier post regarding flowers in your suite, and I explained my difficulties with making arrangements for flowers through the concierge. On this trip, I visited many local flower markets. Each time, I made purchases and brought the flowers onto the ship. There were no problems from security, at all, regarding me bringing the floral arrangements on board.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Matt

[OctoberKat]

Thank you, Freddie, both for your understanding and guidance! And, thanks to you as well, Matt, good to have your input.

[cb at sea]

You can take pretty much anything ONTO the ship, but you won't be allowed to take it off again....