Silly travel questions for what I can/can't bring....

[kdeans1010]

Hey there!

This is probably really silly, but I am taking the Sept. 14th Ruby Princess cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles. It is part of a bigger trip where I'm going to California to see my family then road trip up I5 to bring my mom's car back to Washington. I'm traveling alone and I have a couple questions on what I can/can't bring aboard, because I'd like these items for the road trip aspect.

 

1.) I carry Damsel in Defense peppy spray on my key chain. It makes me feel safe. It's kinda a weapon, kinda not....?

2.) Roadside assistance kit? Or should I order it on Amazon and have it shipped to my parent's house, so they load it up?

3.) Homemade Scottish shortbread? My grandpa LOVES (!!!!!!! Underline the word 40 times) my shortbread. It is the one thing he cheats on his diet with, and I use butter from a super local creamery. When I make it for him when I am in California it doesn't taste as good. Can I pack it in my suitcase?

 

I feel lile this trip is three different trips: fancy cruise where I'm an elegant single lady (so cute sundresses, bathing suits, and fancy shoes), family reunion with a Disneyland trip in there (and I kinda want to Disney Bound), and road trip (1400 miles. To do it in three days I have to travel 433+ miles a day. So yoga pants, tank tops, trucker/baseball cap, with books on CD). Having a hard time figuring out what to pack considering when I get back to Washington it will be fall versus summer like CA desert weather.

 

Thanks in advance for answering! I have only really cruised on Disney and then it was Caribbean or Panama.

 

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[Parvatiiv]

Hey there!

This is probably really silly, but I am taking the Sept. 14th Ruby Princess cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles. It is part of a bigger trip where I'm going to California to see my family then road trip up I5 to bring my mom's car back to Washington. I'm traveling alone and I have a couple questions on what I can/can't bring aboard, because I'd like these items for the road trip aspect.

 

1.) I carry Damsel in Defense peppy spray on my key chain. It makes me feel safe. It's kinda a weapon, kinda not....?

2.) Roadside assistance kit? Or should I order it on Amazon and have it shipped to my parent's house, so they load it up?

3.) Homemade Scottish shortbread? My grandpa LOVES (!!!!!!! Underline the word 40 times) my shortbread. It is the one thing he cheats on his diet with, and I use butter from a super local creamery. When I make it for him when I am in California it doesn't taste as good. Can I pack it in my suitcase?

 

I feel lile this trip is three different trips: fancy cruise where I'm an elegant single lady (so cute sundresses, bathing suits, and fancy shoes), family reunion with a Disneyland trip in there (and I kinda want to Disney Bound), and road trip (1400 miles. To do it in three days I have to travel 433+ miles a day. So yoga pants, tank tops, trucker/baseball cap, with books on CD). Having a hard time figuring out what to pack considering when I get back to Washington it will be fall versus summer like CA desert weather.

 

Thanks in advance for answering! I have only really cruised on Disney and then it was Caribbean or Panama.

 

Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk

 

I don't think you can bring the spray, so have one shipped to your parents along with the roadside kit.

 

As far as the shortbread, bringing it along won't be a problem but getting it back off the ship in LA may pose an issue. California's pretty strict about un-packaged foods. You'd be better off shipping this down too,

[paul929207]

1. Probably needs to be in checked luggage boarding the ship.

2. In checked luggage or as you said have it deliver to parent's house

3. I don't think you will be able to take this off the ship in California. Only food items sealed at the factory are allowed.

[MJSailors]

Mail items including clothes for the road trip to your CA destination.

Pack suitcases with what you need for the cruise and your stay with family.

That way,you have no worries on the ship.

Enjoy your travels!

[timetravler]

I also have Damsel items but I leave them at home. They don't look like weapons but are. Mine is one of the things that looks like a cross between brass knuckles, something to jab someone with, and a key chain. At first glance no one would know what it was. I also have a pepper spray. However I don't want it taken away from me. So I agree with the other poster, ship it beforehand.

[Kamloops50]

Hey there!

This is probably really silly, but I am taking the Sept. 14th Ruby Princess cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles. It is part of a bigger trip where I'm going to California to see my family then road trip up I5 to bring my mom's car back to Washington. I'm traveling alone and I have a couple questions on what I can/can't bring aboard, because I'd like these items for the road trip aspect.

 

1.) I carry Damsel in Defense peppy spray on my key chain. It makes me feel safe. It's kinda a weapon, kinda not....?

2.) Roadside assistance kit? Or should I order it on Amazon and have it shipped to my parent's house, so they load it up?

3.) Homemade Scottish shortbread? My grandpa LOVES (!!!!!!! Underline the word 40 times) my shortbread. It is the one thing he cheats on his diet with, and I use butter from a super local creamery. When I make it for him when I am in California it doesn't taste as good. Can I pack it in my suitcase?

 

I feel lile this trip is three different trips: fancy cruise where I'm an elegant single lady (so cute sundresses, bathing suits, and fancy shoes), family reunion with a Disneyland trip in there (and I kinda want to Disney Bound), and road trip (1400 miles. To do it in three days I have to travel 433+ miles a day. So yoga pants, tank tops, trucker/baseball cap, with books on CD). Having a hard time figuring out what to pack considering when I get back to Washington it will be fall versus summer like CA desert weather.

 

Thanks in advance for answering! I have only really cruised on Disney and then it was Caribbean or Panama.

 

Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk

 

 

I'm assuming your coming from Scotland or the UK.

First . Home made products aren't allowed across international borders . If the "Homemade Scottish shortbread" is made at home . It will confiscated and destroyed.

Second . Many countries don't allow pepper spray to import or carried on your person .

Question What is in your "Roadside assistance kit ".

 

Canada will definately not allow any home made products into the country.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Kamloops50

[Matcodixon]

Actually it appears that you live in Seattle. I would send pepper spray item and the homemade food item directly to them. (use a tin to protect it) It will arrive quicker and in better shape than if you try to take it with you. As indicated, it probably won't even get there that way. Cost to ship a small box UPS is not expensive.

Do the Amazon thing for the roadside kit. It will also be there when you arrive.

 

JMHO

Dixon

[caribill]

I'll say the opposite for the shortbread.

 

There is no problem bringing your own baked goods through customs into the USA. Just be sure to declare it on the customs form.

 

You may then be asked about it, but there should be no problem.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree about not putting/taking pepper spray onboard.

[pablo222]

1.) I carry Damsel in Defense peppy spray on my key chain. It makes me feel safe. It's kinda a weapon, kinda not....?

 

I would bring.

 

Might be quite effective with chair hogs.

[martincath]

Forget onboard - pepper spray designed for use against people is illegal in Canada, full stop, so it's not getting over the border. Ditto on any of the brass-knuckle-esque keychains - any object designed to enhance the force of a punch basically, the legislation is very broad. And yes, since dog and bear spray can be acquired legally it's weird but them's the rules...

 

Any homemade food you take a risk - even if all the ingredients are legal, without lab testing it's impossible to prove what you declare is the whole of the product, so it is 100% discretionary on the part of the border guard. Mentioning the word Scottish also gets their hackles up - there are a couple of popular Scots items like haggis and Irn Bru which are illegal to import to Canada or the US, and there's a good chance they'll remember something about 'Scottish food = illegal' from training but not the specifics.

 

Based on personal and family experiences even having a Scottish accent gets specific questions about food imports to Canada at least half the time... Mail it using USPS fixed rate padded envelopes or boxes, in a metal tin with plenty of paper and it'll survive just fine (and still taste good even if it breaks). Any decent shortbread can happily live without refrigeration.

 

I'd concur with the Amazon order on the roadside kit if you really feel the need.

[shredie]

I'll say the opposite for the shortbread.

 

There is no problem bringing your own baked goods through customs into the USA. Just be sure to declare it on the customs form.

 

You may then be asked about it, but there should be no problem.

 

I wouldn't take the chance. Mail the bread to Grandpa.

[jamiski]

No, to the pepper spray as it is illegal in Canada, best case it is seized at the boarder worst case fines, etc, etc, http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/faq/im-ex-eng.htm

 

 

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[SadieN]

Check to see if USPS/US/FedEx will allow the shipping of pepper spray. Some things aren't allowed or can only be ground shipped.

[Kamloops50]

I would bring.

 

Might be quite effective with chair hogs.

 

When crossing the border into Canada . Bear spray or Pepper Spray isn't allowed into Canada . If marked as an animal repellent , then allowed . I worked in the bush for many years in Canada and was allowed to carry Bear spray . Then rules changed and we could only carry animal repellant.

Container has to marked as such.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I agree with the others to ship the items that might not be allowed into Canada and the ship onward to LA. You shouldn't need the pepper spray on the cruise anyway (even though chair hogs may deserve it:D ). So check to see if UPS will allow it to be shipped. If not, leave it at home altogether.

 

It's interesting about haggis as you can get it in California, but not sure if it's made there or shipped in (it's a tradition to be served at the annual band banquet for my daughter's former high school but I wasn't the parent in charge of procuring it).

 

We're not going on a cruise this summer but are planning a road trip up north to take our girl to college. So much of the stuff (bedding I need to order from a store) will be shipped directly to her school (they allow this) as we're going to try to take my car which is pretty small. We're still not sure how many days we'll split the driving up into, I just have the date we need to be there (and that's the only hotel I've booked so far)

[tetleytea]

I'll say the opposite for the shortbread.

 

Ditto. In fact, I was going to call baloney on that. Entering port is not even California's jurisdiction--that is US CBP. You fill out the same form everybody else does, and when they ask if you have any food, check "yes". Simple as that.

 

 

Canada will definately not allow any home made products into the country.

 

Also completely untrue. I have asked CBSA specifically that question. You can import all the processed foods you want internationally into Canada, and they consider homemade foods processed. Even sliced-up apples will probably make it in. In fact--Canada imposes certain limits on how much of certain foods you can import in one go, and processed foods are unlimited.

 

 

Shipping Canada Post is not trivially expensive; not to mention CP is not very good. UPS is more reliable, but more expensive still. The pepper spray is more of a gray area, though. Anything even gray-area when it comes to weapons with the border guard is best avoided. And you're not avoiding customs just because you're shipping a weapon.

Edited July 26, 2015 by tetleytea

[tetleytea]

Direct from the CBSA website:

 

Baked goods, candies, etc.

•no goods containing meat

•up to 20 kilograms per person

 

Are you bringing in 50 pounds of shortbread?

[kdeans1010]

So basically I should just ship a decent sized box down to California? I was going to ship some baby blankies down there too (they would take up too much space in my luggage ), so I will add my pepper spray, jabber thing, and shortbread.

 

Thank y'all for the hell. I just have a list a mile long of what I want to pack and not and this is a very confusing trip.

 

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[kdeans1010]

Direct from the CBSA website:

 

Baked goods, candies, etc.

•no goods containing meat

•up to 20 kilograms per person

 

Are you bringing in 50 pounds of shortbread?

My grandpa wouldn't complain if I did. At our last family reunion I brought coffee/date/nut bread and this shortbread (and a tin of whipped shortbread, and cookie bars.... seriously I have skillz). My grandpa was so impressed with those cookies he ate them for breakfast. I told my family "I'm not good at a lot of things, not super smart, or adorable. I'm just a geeky nerdy girl with no sense of smell that can (bad word) cook." Grandpa keeps calling asking if I will bring those cookies.

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

So basically I should just ship a decent sized box down to California? I was going to ship some baby blankies down there too (they would take up too much space in my luggage ), so I will add my pepper spray, jabber thing, and shortbread.

 

Thank y'all for the hell. I just have a list a mile long of what I want to pack and not and this is a very confusing trip.

 

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Good luck. :)

[MicCanberra]

So basically I should just ship a decent sized box down to California? I was going to ship some baby blankies down there too (they would take up too much space in my luggage ), so I will add my pepper spray, jabber thing, and shortbread.

 

Thank y'all for the hell. I just have a list a mile long of what I want to pack and not and this is a very confusing trip.

 

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Glad you have it sorted, it was interesting reading all the replies. Safe travels.:D

Edited July 27, 2015 by MicCanberra

[sueandkent]

Absolutely NO pepper spray in Canada, it's illegal and as said carries fines for trying to bring it in the country. Make sure to declare you're carrying food if you bring the cookies. Worst case scenario then is they take them away.

[avcruz]

 

Also completely untrue. I have asked CBSA specifically that question. You can import all the processed foods you want internationally into Canada, and they consider homemade foods processed. Even sliced-up apples will probably make it in. In fact--Canada imposes certain limits on how much of certain foods you can import in one go, and processed is more of a gray area, though.

 

 

Speaking of untrue - there is no way that apples, sliced or not will be permitted into BC. No tree fruits other than citrus are permitted. As to the homemade shortbread, that may or may not be permitted. Would depend upon how the OP is planning on travelling from WA to BC.

[kdeans1010]

Speaking of untrue - there is no way that apples, sliced or not will be permitted into BC. No tree fruits other than citrus are permitted. As to the homemade shortbread, that may or may not be permitted. Would depend upon how the OP is planning on travelling from WA to BC.

I am taking the Amtrak train in. I am just going to mail it. My folks can give it to my grandpa early. I'm not mailing the Captain America comics with the shortbread though. I was going to bring Grandpa comic books too... we're dorks.

 

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