Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Taking prepackaged snacks off ship

RetAF98

By RetAF98,
in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers

 Share

Recommended Posts

Beanb41

Beanb41

Posted
Posted
We'll be on the Diamond Princess in January touring New Zealand. Will we be allowed to take prepackaged snacks (like Granola bars) off the cruise ship when doing excursions?

 

Yes you will but be prepared to be put through the wringer if the Bio security dogs are at the pier terminal. The cruise ships constantly advise several times during the time alongside that one should not take food ashore.

 

Snacks as you suggest are readily available throughout New Zealand.

 

The bio security dogs are trained to detect "FOOD" and don't discriminate what type of food it is. The normal process is if a dog detects food on you, you will be taken aside and questioned what food items you have and the bio security officer will determine whether or not it is permitted to cross the border. If your granola bar has been opened you will most likely lose, but if the packet is intact you will probably be allowed to keep it depending upon what the snack is made of. Some food is prohibited some is not and I am not going to get into a discussion about what is or is not allowed as I am not a bio security expert.

 

In short my advice is if you find you need a snack ashore buy it ashore and save yourself possible short term grief.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GUT2407

GUT2407

Posted
Posted
We'll be on the Diamond Princess in January touring New Zealand. Will we be allowed to take prepackaged snacks (like Granola bars) off the cruise ship when doing excursions?

 

As long as they are sealed.

 

But why not buy them in NZ.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aus Traveller

Aus Traveller

Posted
Posted
As long as they are sealed. But why not buy them in NZ.

I agree that food that is in commercially-sealed packets is usually OK. Maybe the OP is going on tours and wouldn't have time to buy snacks ashore.

 

We find that if we have a good breakfast we aren't looking for food until early afternoon. If we are on a morning tour, it is back to the ship by then. Full days tours usually have lunch included.

 

Another option, on Princess the dining room usually has mints available at the door when you leave. We find if we are peckish, a mint gives a 'sugar hit' that can tide you over for a while. Another option is crackers sealed in packets that are available in the buffet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Womble99 Holiday Sharing Rare

Womble99

Posted
Posted

We have had dogs at all ports so far except Wellington. 3 people pulled out of the line in the first hour this morning so they took to physical bag searches as well when we went through. It isn't that hard to get things ashore and you get plenty of warnings?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Beanb41

Beanb41

Posted
Posted

I forgot to mention that if one is caught with undeclared food one is liable for a $NZ400 fine. Bio security staff are being extra vigilant this season as a consequence of Queensland Fruit fly being found in Auckland and it cost $NZ13 million to ensure eradication. They caught 13 flys. Bloody expensive Aussie tourists.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Murgat

Murgat

Posted
Posted (edited)
I agree that food that is in commercially-sealed packets is usually OK. Maybe the OP is going on tours and wouldn't have time to buy snacks ashore.

 

.

 

Agreed. We took commercially sealed snacks ashore when booked on tours that began with early start coach trips. E.g Tauranga to Rotorua. We had no problem.

Edited by Murgat
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hawka

Hawka

Posted
Posted

we had some from a different country try and take stuff off the ship from i would say the buffet ?? and they got caught as the dog was there and they did it again next stop before at the next stop the captain had someone do a announcement in their language about the food getting taken off that is not allowed to be [may have got mixed at and he did it at the second stop but i think the announcement was at the third stop ] not sure if they listened to that somehow , may have cause that was only time they did that

Link to comment
Share on other sites
celle

celle

Posted
Posted (edited)

If you take any food at all off the ship, you must declare it. While some foodstuffs are allowed, many others are not.

 

To avoid hassle, it's best to buy on shore, rather than try to take food off the ship.

 

NZ is an island nation, dependent on its agriculture industry. We can't afford to take any risks with bio security.

Edited by celle
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ozscot01

ozscot01

Posted
Posted

We've just returned and in all ports, not just NZ, an announcement was made that the only consumable to be removed from the ship was commercially bottled water. The doggies are very enthusiastic, in fact the beagle almost climbed into my bag[emoji23] so you will be sprung.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Te Aroha

Te Aroha

Posted
Posted

Just this week we had 50 new dogs and handlers finish training. As said before better to declare all food items, then if it is not allowed it is taken away with no fine.

 

If you try to sneak stuff in and get caught the fines are heavy and those dogs don't miss anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

Posted
Posted
Just this week we had 50 new dogs and handlers finish training. As said before better to declare all food items, then if it is not allowed it is taken away with no fine.

 

If you try to sneak stuff in and get caught the fines are heavy and those dogs don't miss anything.

 

They will catch you, they can still smell the banana that was in your bag 6 months ago.:eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...