Bringing food on board

[ufalum88]

Even now, in 2018, this is still going on with RCCL. According to everyone with whom I have spoken, they do NOT allow prepackaged foods unless they are non-perishable. So crackers are OK, but anything that can go bad is not allowed.

 

My daughter cannot eat milk products so we need to bring a non-dairy yogurt for her breakfast (and no her diet cannot vary), which RCCL acknowledged that they will not have on board. The functionaries with whom I spoke could not have cared less about my daughter's well being. They continue to repeat the same mantra: Perishable food items are not permitted to be brought onboard due to U.S. Public Health Guidelines.

 

This is of course nonsense when it comes to things like prepackaged yogurt. Is RCCL violating this rule by bringing yoplait? Was MSC, Oceania, Holland America, Norwegian, etc in violation of those guidelines when they immediately agreed that we could bring on whatever was needed for my child's special needs? Of course not. This is just RCCL not caring.

 

I have asked multiple times for a cite to the guideline to which they are referring....a guideline that will not allow prepackaged yogurt...and not one of their cookie cutter responses has even attempted to respond to this question.

[laurasue]

Justins makes really delicious prepackaged peanut butter. It’s a great snack or to use to make sandwiches (with local bread). Something to consider if you’re looking for prepackaged products to bring on. We use them while hiking/backpacking a lot.

[BEENSAILING]

Even now, in 2018, this is still going on with RCCL. According to everyone with whom I have spoken, they do NOT allow prepackaged foods unless they are non-perishable. So crackers are OK, but anything that can go bad is not allowed.

 

My daughter cannot eat milk products so we need to bring a non-dairy yogurt for her breakfast (and no her diet cannot vary), which RCCL acknowledged that they will not have on board. The functionaries with whom I spoke could not have cared less about my daughter's well being. They continue to repeat the same mantra: Perishable food items are not permitted to be brought onboard due to U.S. Public Health Guidelines.

 

This is of course nonsense when it comes to things like prepackaged yogurt. Is RCCL violating this rule by bringing yoplait? Was MSC, Oceania, Holland America, Norwegian, etc in violation of those guidelines when they immediately agreed that we could bring on whatever was needed for my child's special needs? Of course not. This is just RCCL not caring.

 

I have asked multiple times for a cite to the guideline to which they are referring....a guideline that will not allow prepackaged yogurt...and not one of their cookie cutter responses has even attempted to respond to this question.

 

I suggest you send an email to the office of Michael Bayley (President of Royal). In the email explain the situation re your daughter’s dietary restrictions, let them know the ship cruise and date and ask if there is assistance they can provide to you.

mbayley@rccl.com

[ONECRUISER]

Even now, in 2018, this is still going on with RCCL. According to everyone with whom I have spoken, they do NOT allow prepackaged foods unless they are non-perishable. So crackers are OK, but anything that can go bad is not allowed.

 

My daughter cannot eat milk products so we need to bring a non-dairy yogurt for her breakfast (and no her diet cannot vary), which RCCL acknowledged that they will not have on board. The functionaries with whom I spoke could not have cared less about my daughter's well being. They continue to repeat the same mantra: Perishable food items are not permitted to be brought onboard due to U.S. Public Health Guidelines.

 

This is of course nonsense when it comes to things like prepackaged yogurt. Is RCCL violating this rule by bringing yoplait? Was MSC, Oceania, Holland America, Norwegian, etc in violation of those guidelines when they immediately agreed that we could bring on whatever was needed for my child's special needs? Of course not. This is just RCCL not caring.

 

I have asked multiple times for a cite to the guideline to which they are referring....a guideline that will not allow prepackaged yogurt...and not one of their cookie cutter responses has even attempted to respond to this question.

Sorry, probably nothing you can do, I'd just change Cruise Lines or Vacations.

[ufalum88]

I suggest you send an email to the office of Michael Bayley (President of Royal). In the email explain the situation re your daughter’s dietary restrictions, let them know the ship cruise and date and ask if there is assistance they can provide to you.

mbayley@rccl.com

 

Thank you for your suggestion of carbon copying the president and providing his email. I did this and we finally got a supervisor. She took care of everything. BEENSAILING you are a hero!

 

As for the person who suggested that we change cruise lines or vacations....seriously?

[BEENSAILING]

Thank you for your suggestion of carbon copying the president and providing his email. We finally got a supervisor who took care of everything. BEENSAILING you are a hero!

 

As for the person who suggested that we

 

I am glad it worked out for you. Many times when you reach a call center - not just for Royal - they have standard responses. It is too bad you had to speak to so many people only to get the same not helpful answers. I am happy to know that someone in Mr. Bayley’s office was indeed able to help you. Enjoy your cruise. - Cheryl

[BekkaW]

In some countries (Australia, for one), jelly means jello. :) We cruise with a couple from Australia and when I said I was going to have a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich for lunch, she asked why I would put jelly on a sandwich. After much discussion, we discovered she was talking about jello, not jelly!

 

Yes that Is definitely the case here (and I think most English speaking countries other than the US)

 

Jelly = what you call Jello

Jam = kind of what you call Jelly, but jam has more of the actual fruit still in it

[Mikeandliz]

Glad it worked out. One less thing to stress over. BTW, PBJ IS THE BEST SANDWICH EVER.

 

 

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[Esilef]

Glad it worked out. One less thing to stress over. BTW, PBJ IS THE BEST SANDWICH EVER.

 

 

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As an Australian I just don't get the peanut butter and jelly (jam) sandwich...... But then again many people don't like Vegemite

[Bloodgem]

As an Australian I just don't get the peanut butter and jelly (jam) sandwich...... But then again many people don't like Vegemite

I don't get either but then I prefer a tuna; garden pea and tomato ketchup sandwich. Yum

[rifky]

Well, unfortunately, the RCI of "many years ago" is not what we have today ... nowadays things like this are met with blank stares, unreturned phone calls, pretending not to understand due to a language barrier, unavailable supervisors ... or staff just walking off shaking their heads, never to return ...

 

so, sadly, don't expect a lot of help here from the cruise line staff. its mass market now and we're all just a number.

Sorry, this is going to be my 37th cruise 29th with Royal, ALL with special request food 99.5% of the time I was Very satisfied with the service, 0.05% was ok or bearable. Never went really hungry. Always found something I could eat, and was always accommodated by the dining staff.

[rifky]

Excuse my math. Lol, I meant 0.5%

[Cruise a holic]

My son is Autistic, and is very picky due to sensory issues. I contacted the special needs department for RCCL regarding his food allergies, and pickiness, and they sent me an email that stated:

 

"Guests are allowed to bring on their own supply of dry, nonperishable food items such as cookies, crackers, chips, energy bars, etc. They may also bring on their own individual packets of salad dressings. Guests may not bring on board any potentially hazardous food items. (Items that require refrigeration, freezing, reheating, or storage by the galley). We recommend bringing your child's favorite food onboard, but please note perishable food items are not permitted to be brought onboard due to U.S. Public Health Guidelines."

 

On port days when we have excursions, I would like to just bring him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that I can make him in our room. Do you think a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly would be considered "perishable?":confused:

Peanut butter and jelly are available on board and sold in packets. Bread is available on board. No need to buy jars buy packets if you want your own p and j for traveling.

[SRF]

Yes that Is definitely the case here (and I think most English speaking countries other than the US)

 

Jelly = what you call Jello

Jam = kind of what you call Jelly, but jam has more of the actual fruit still in it

 

We have Jelly, Jam, and Preserves. Jelly had no fruit pieces, made from just the juice. Jam has real fruit, but very finely chopped. Preserves have larger pieces of fruit.

 

And a biscuit is a type of bread. Typically made with lard, with the dough cut into round shape before baking. GREAT with butter and jelly/jam/preserves, but better with butter and honey. :D

[SRF]

As an Australian I just don't get the peanut butter and jelly (jam) sandwich...... But then again many people don't like Vegemite

 

I did not like Vegemite until I was in Australian, and a waitress told me how to eat it.

 

Toast, buttered, with a thin spread of Vegemite. VERY good when done this way.

[Iriel]

I have a related question. Can I bring onboard a big unopened jar of Nutella? Before the cruise, we're visiting our relatives in Rome and my dad's aunt usually give us Nutella, so I'm concerned about my sweet vice 😂. I don't plan on opening the jar on the cruise, I just want to bring it home.

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, Iriel said:

 Can I bring onboard a big unopened jar of Nutella? 

Yes.

[Iriel]

7 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Yes.

 

Thank you! 😁

[ufalum88]

On 9/6/2018 at 3:55 PM, BEENSAILING said:

 

I am glad it worked out for you. Many times when you reach a call center - not just for Royal - they have standard responses. It is too bad you had to speak to so many people only to get the same not helpful answers. I am happy to know that someone in Mr. Bayley’s office was indeed able to help you. Enjoy your cruise. - Cheryl

 

As a follow up, would you know the same info for MSC?  They are giving us the same close minded refusal that Royal did, at first.  

 

Thanks again.

Edited October 25, 2019 by ufalum88

[Clarea]

27 minutes ago, ufalum88 said:

 

As a follow up, would you know the same info for MSC?  They are giving us the same close minded refusal that Royal did, at first.  

 

Thanks again.

 

Best to ask here:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/49-msc-cruises/

[chengkp75]

On 9/3/2018 at 9:42 PM, ufalum88 said:

Even now, in 2018, this is still going on with RCCL. According to everyone with whom I have spoken, they do NOT allow prepackaged foods unless they are non-perishable. So crackers are OK, but anything that can go bad is not allowed.

 

My daughter cannot eat milk products so we need to bring a non-dairy yogurt for her breakfast (and no her diet cannot vary), which RCCL acknowledged that they will not have on board. The functionaries with whom I spoke could not have cared less about my daughter's well being. They continue to repeat the same mantra: Perishable food items are not permitted to be brought onboard due to U.S. Public Health Guidelines.

 

This is of course nonsense when it comes to things like prepackaged yogurt. Is RCCL violating this rule by bringing yoplait? Was MSC, Oceania, Holland America, Norwegian, etc in violation of those guidelines when they immediately agreed that we could bring on whatever was needed for my child's special needs? Of course not. This is just RCCL not caring.

 

I have asked multiple times for a cite to the guideline to which they are referring....a guideline that will not allow prepackaged yogurt...and not one of their cookie cutter responses has even attempted to respond to this question.

I understand that your issue has been resolved, and yes, the other cruise lines that you mention are in fact in violation of USPH regulations in allowing you to bring "potentially hazardous foods" onboard.  Why? Because they have no idea how you handled the PHF prior to bringing it onboard (was it kept within temperature guidelines the entire time?), or how you handle it once onboard.  Whether other cruise lines have a greater "risk tolerance" and allowed this to happen is irrelevant, this is not a case of RCI "not caring".

 

As an example of how serious the handling of PHF is taken, we had a USPH inspection on my ship once, and the inspector took a random yogurt from the room service refrigerator, stuck a thermometer into it, found it was above 40*F, and gave us a 5 point deduction (out of a possible 15 points deduction to pass) for one yogurt carton.

[Grandma Dazzles]

On 11/21/2016 at 12:13 AM, sueandbobus said:

There are some food issues in my family so I always bring a loaf of our bread and individual packets of peanut butter. I have never had a problem taking sandwiches off the ship or bringing them back on if they weren't eaten.

 

If you need more space in the fridge, you can ask the room steward to remove the minibar items. Also, if gluten is one of your sons allergies, I recommend bringing the bread he likes as the gf bread available on board is not always chewable.

 

 

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There are no longer mini bar items on RC ships. As others have said, taking unsealed, home made type sandwiches off the ship is expressly forbidden. It’s the rules of the country you are visiting, not RC. Countries are becoming far more restrictive and searching bags. 

[cruiselvr04]

Glad it worked out for you.  The DH has a food allergy and can not eat off the ship for the most part...too dangerous.  We do take peanut butter crackers and pre packaged protein bars with us on ports of call for when he gets hungry.  We cruise at least twice a year and so far it’s never been an issue.  We’ve even taken them to Europe.

[gerif]

On 11/21/2016 at 1:13 AM, sueandbobus said:

There are some food issues in my family so I always bring a loaf of our bread and individual packets of peanut butter. I have never had a problem taking sandwiches off the ship or bringing them back on if they weren't eaten.

 

If you need more space in the fridge, you can ask the room steward to remove the minibar items. Also, if gluten is one of your sons allergies, I recommend bringing the bread he likes as the gf bread available on board is not always chewable.

 

 

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Again, just because you did something that wasn’t allowed and didn’t get caught doesn’t mean that someone else won’t have a problem. Guess you haven’t cruised in sometime  since they stopped putting anything in the coolers in quite a while. 

[MrsKC08]

I am keto, and have several items I tend to make homemade that are not prepackaged and I have never had a problem bringing them on a any cruises we have taken since going keto. I do bring some prepackaged items too as well, but my faux-granola bars, and cookies have never been confiscated. Not to say they won't someone else, but I've never had any issues.