Take food off ship?

[Lucky TGO]

Here a quick answer NO.

Tony

[Host Jazzbeau]

Please Note: posting only as 'Jazz' here, not 'Host Jazzbeau.' I have read many of these threads with dozens of posts warning of dire consequences for taking food off the ship -- but I don't recall any posts ever containing details showing the poster has personally gotten in trouble or has actually seen people getting in trouble for this. DW often makes a ham sandwich from the breakfast buffet and carries it off in a baggy -- and we have never been stopped [this started in our naive days when we didn't know this was not allowed]. Note Again: this is not an official post, and I am not advocating that anyone break the law -- but I am asking for anyone to confirm that they personally have seen people getting in trouble for bringing a sandwich off the ship?

[Kamloops50]

Those cute dogs who "sniff" things have good noses.

 

Only foods packaged and sealed by the manufacturer are allowed.

 

 

Some of those your holster for drugs are not yellow. Their big black with a very big teeth.

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

What?

[RDC1]

Please Note: posting only as 'Jazz' here, not 'Host Jazzbeau.' I have read many of these threads with dozens of posts warning of dire consequences for taking food off the ship -- but I don't recall any posts ever containing details showing the poster has personally gotten in trouble or has actually seen people getting in trouble for this. DW often makes a ham sandwich from the breakfast buffet and carries it off in a baggy -- and we have never been stopped [this started in our naive days when we didn't know this was not allowed]. Note Again: this is not an official post, and I am not advocating that anyone break the law -- but I am asking for anyone to confirm that they personally have seen people getting in trouble for bringing a sandwich off the ship?

 

I have seen it three different times.

 

1. Dunedin, New Zealand. Had Beagles standing by the route passengers had to take to get to buses and/or to exit the port. Saw them react to a passenger going by with a backpack. Passenger was stopped. Pack searched. a couple of food items removed. Passenger was being given a rather strict lecture on potential penalties for violating NZ law. Do not know how long it lasted.

 

2. Coquimbo, Chile. Officials set up tables and manually checked all bags of passengers coming off ship. Saw two people with food in their bags. Food was confiscated. They were escorted to another area out of sight from the checking area. Later someone said that they had to meet with the supervisor for the group doing the checking(cannot confirm that since did not actually see who they met with once they were out of sight). Later on in the day the tables and the people checking were gone so only those that left in the first two hours were checked. Number of people dumping items in trash can prior to check point.

 

3. Costa Maya. Two German Shepards with armed soldiers on the pier. One reacted to a passenger walking by. The passenger was stopped, bag searched. Food item removed.

Edited October 25, 2016 by RDC1

[Host Jazzbeau]

I have seen it three different times.

 

1. Dunedin, New Zealand. Had Beagles standing by the route passengers had to take to get to buses and/or to exit the port. Saw them react to a passenger going by with a backpack. Passenger was stopped. Pack searched. a couple of food items removed. Passenger was being given a rather strict lecture on potential penalties for violating NZ law. Do not know how long it lasted.

 

2. Coquimbo, Chile. Officials set up tables and manually checked all bags of passengers coming off ship. Saw two people with food in their bags. Food was confiscated. They were escorted to another area out of sight from the checking area. Later someone said that they had to meet with the supervisor for the group doing the checking(cannot confirm that since did not actually see who they met with once they were out of sight). Later on in the day the tables and the people checking were gone so only those that left in the first two hours were checked. Number of people dumping items in trash can prior to check point.

 

3. Costa Maya. Two German Shepards with armed soldiers on the pier. One reacted to a passenger walking by. The passenger was stopped, bag searched. Food item removed.

 

Thanks. I guess DW has been lucky. I don't eat lunch in port -- I'll miss her :eek:

[GUT2407]

How about spending a couple of bucks and supporting the local economy?

[Host Jazzbeau]

How about spending a couple of bucks and supporting the local economy?

 

If you saw my shore excursion bills you would know that I am supporting the local economy big time -- just not for lunch. Don't judge :)

[caribill]

I will disagree with some of the above posts.

 

Again, the question is about the Caribbean Islands, both USA ports and non-USA ports.

 

At all of the ports do not take any fruit or meat off the ship.

 

Other items including sealed or unsealed pre-packaged food such as granola bars, cereal boxes are OK. Also OK are bread products (including from the ship) such as muffins.

 

Packaged liquids are OK except milk products may not be allowed.

 

Probable reason they do not allow you to take liquids in a cup off the ship is to prevent spillage, not because the country does not allow the product.

 

The Princess Patter is not a good guide as to what is allowed. They will print the same boilerplate words for every port, even if some of them do not apply. (This is the same as the boilerplate words they print for local tipping, even in areas of the world where tipping is not a part of the culture and in some cases can be considered insulting.)

 

Again, above is for the Caribbean islands. Rules can be different elsewhere.

[floridalover5623]

Europe is fairly lax. Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, and most of South America are pretty tight.

 

Have seen dogs at ports checking for food in New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, and some islands in the Caribbean.

 

Which islands in the Caribbean? I have never seen any whatsoever in the Caribbean and I've been to different islands literally hundreds of times and never seen any collections being done in the Caribbean.

Yes, they do announce from time to time that food is not allowed in some of those ports but never any collections or checks to be seen.

[chrysalis]

Which islands in the Caribbean? I have never seen any whatsoever in the Caribbean and I've been to different islands literally hundreds of times and never seen any collections being done in the Caribbean.

Yes, they do announce from time to time that food is not allowed in some of those ports but never any collections or checks to be seen.

 

I have seen bags being checked in Barbados, not by dogs, but by people.

[floridalover5623]

I have seen bags being checked in Barbados, not by dogs, but by people.

 

That is a first. Could be they're looking for drugs.

[OCruisers]

Please Note: posting only as 'Jazz' here, not 'Host Jazzbeau.' I have read many of these threads with dozens of posts warning of dire consequences for taking food off the ship -- but I don't recall any posts ever containing details showing the poster has personally gotten in trouble or has actually seen people getting in trouble for this. DW often makes a ham sandwich from the breakfast buffet and carries it off in a baggy -- and we have never been stopped [this started in our naive days when we didn't know this was not allowed]. Note Again: this is not an official post, and I am not advocating that anyone break the law -- but I am asking for anyone to confirm that they personally have seen people getting in trouble for bringing a sandwich off the ship?

 

Yes, in Barbados there was a large family group with children who had apparently packed a picnic lunch. They were detained by security and were being sent back to the ship.

That's all I know for sure.

[Hlitner]

If you saw my shore excursion bills you would know that I am supporting the local economy big time -- just not for lunch. Don't judge :)

 

To get back to your earlier question, we have seen several folks (at multiple ports) stopped for carrying food (all caught by dogs). From what we could see, nothing happened to any of these folks except having to throw away their food (in front of security). But we are intrigued by your other post where you talked about never eating lunch in a port. Food is a big part of the culture of many places and I just cannot imagine being in places like France, Italy or Spain and not enjoying the local cuisine. In fact, more and more cruise lines are providing overnight stops so passengers have the opportunity to also enjoy dinner off the ship. Cannot even imagine doing an overnight in Lisbon ( a frequent overnight port on HAL cruises) without enjoy dinner at a Fado club.

 

Hank

[myfuzzy]

I'm dumb, but I don't understand the over usage of power bars or granola bars. If you need a "snack" available because of a medical issue, I have no problem with that, but, just because....Why would one even want to take the chance of taking food off ship? You are not going to the "outback", you are always near some kind of food and drink, either return to the ship or gosh, buy something nearby and enjoy the local cuisine.

 

If children won't eat, or refuse to eat when activities are planned, well, ......

[Alaskan Joe]

Here a quick answer NO.

Tony

 

First off in all fairness I did not read all the post (skimmed them over) and I was going to type just NO but Lucky Tony beat me to it. I will share this; I have a friend that went out of the country via plane. She bought a Slim Jim at the airport in Paris, but only ate half (first mistake). She then was exiting the plane here DTW when she was going to leave the half eaten Slim Jim but decided to take it with her because if they did not see it, it would rot YUK!(second mistake). Mean while she was waiting for her luggage when a dog approached her, and that is when the dog smelled the half eaten Slim Jim. She then was taken to a room where they questioned why she brought food into this country? They did let her go after searching her and all her luggage for more food. So again the quick answer is NO.

[myfuzzy]

Wouldn't this be a good time to educate the children on the "Do's and Don'ts of traveling? Of course, I haven't seen the OP divulge the ages of the children to give an educated answer, we are assuming of course they are under the age of 5, which may or may not be the case.

[New Cruiser Girl]

Hi there. I stupidly took bananas off the ship to a snorkeling excursion at Bonaire in the Caribbean . No problem getting if off the ship at all but I soon realized while bringing out the bananas to feed the tropical fish that it was a HUGE taboo. I understood why but at the time, I just wasn't thinking. Got reprimanded for my actions of course. Best to leave fresh foods on board for so many reasons .

[Coral]

First off in all fairness I did not read all the post (skimmed them over) and I was going to type just NO but Lucky Tony beat me to it. I will share this; I have a friend that went out of the country via plane. She bought a Slim Jim at the airport in Paris, but only ate half (first mistake). She then was exiting the plane here DTW when she was going to leave the half eaten Slim Jim but decided to take it with her because if they did not see it, it would rot YUK!(second mistake). Mean while she was waiting for her luggage when a dog approached her, and that is when the dog smelled the half eaten Slim Jim. She then was taken to a room where they questioned why she brought food into this country? They did let her go after searching her and all her luggage for more food. So again the quick answer is NO.

 

I have a similar story. Long story short - meat products are definitely a no-no.

 

I had walmart branded beef jerky. I took it to Japan and then brought it back to the US in my carry on. I was also "found" by the cute dog and had to have every thing searched. I consider myself lucky as I could have also been fined.

 

I would stay away from any type of agricultural product including fruits, vegetables and meat products. Even dried meat products that are packaged. Ironically - they were not bothered with my dried apricots. Though I would never bring dried fruit again.

 

When I went for my Global Entry interview - there is a list of things and dried meat products was on the list.

[Coral]

That is a first. Could be they're looking for drugs.

 

In Mexico - it is often people that are screening bags also. There was a large sign about no food.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Please Note: posting only as 'Jazz' here, not 'Host Jazzbeau.' I have read many of these threads with dozens of posts warning of dire consequences for taking food off the ship -- but I don't recall any posts ever containing details showing the poster has personally gotten in trouble or has actually seen people getting in trouble for this. DW often makes a ham sandwich from the breakfast buffet and carries it off in a baggy -- and we have never been stopped [this started in our naive days when we didn't know this was not allowed]. Note Again: this is not an official post, and I am not advocating that anyone break the law -- but I am asking for anyone to confirm that they personally have seen people getting in trouble for bringing a sandwich off the ship?

 

On my trial one-day cruise (RT SD to Ensenada), my then bf (now hubby) packed a lunchbox of sandwiches and fruit for us. It was a cheapie (probably out of business) cruise ship that he had taken before so he knew they didn't have much of a lunch on board (they did push the booze like crazy:rolleyes:) and he knew my stomach didn't take well to the spices used in Mexican food. but when we disembarked, he forgot to check his lunch box which still had a piece of fruit. Of course, he got caught but the officer realized he was sincere about it and not trying to smuggle in fruit. It got tossed (California is understandably very strict).

 

We have seen people's bags get checked getting off the ship in various ports (I certainly didn't keep track of which ones since we didn't pack ship's food).

 

I'm dumb, but I don't understand the over usage of power bars or granola bars. If you need a "snack" available because of a medical issue, I have no problem with that, but, just because....Why would one even want to take the chance of taking food off ship? You are not going to the "outback", you are always near some kind of food and drink, either return to the ship or gosh, buy something nearby and enjoy the local cuisine.

 

If children won't eat, or refuse to eat when activities are planned, well, ......

 

Since you don't have a medical issue, then you certainly wouldn't understand. In the case of diabetes and some other disorders, you can't just eat everything. Some people have severe allergies to various foods so bringing a granola bar that was made in a nut-free factory or faux dairy cheese (factory sealed, of course) may be necessary.

 

and with small kids, it's not a matter of kowtowing to them, but knowing that if they have at least a little food in their tummies, they won't be as grumpy. Both my daughter and hubby need to have access to food -- it's their metabolism. We do often eat lunch at a local place if sightseeing on our own or return to the ship for lunch.

[4cats4me]

It's not always as simple as just wanting a snack. People with diabetes or hypoglycemia may need to refuel before the allotted lunch break. I don't get on a flight with my diabetic husband without a protein bar in my bag. We've had enough long delays that I've learned to do it.

 

 

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That is what I was going to reply as well

 

 

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[kdg83]

To everyone with the suggestion of pre packaged foods like granola bars thank you this is what we will do. For everyone that was polite with their responses thank you I have learnt quite a bit from you. We are going to do breakfast on the ship and lunch on the islands but with the walking we have planned yes our children will get hungry in between at different times!

To the ignorants that have nothing better to do with their time than to make rude comments about myself and my children... I hope at some point in your life you learn to be happy with yourself.

 

 

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[Pam in CA]

I have seen it three different times.

I have also seen it several times. Can't remember some of the circumstances but I definitely remember disembarking in Valparaiso a couple of times where all passengers enter the terminal, line up and put all their bags on the ground, and soldiers with BIG guns and BIG German shepherds check every single bag, hangbag, carry-on, etc. There's no way I'd want to fool around with them. They take it very seriously.

 

Not off a ship but once I was returning to Boston's Logan Airport and was waiting for my bag. An officer with a beagle stopped at the backpack of the young woman next to me. She was asked if she had any fruit in her bag and she insisted, "No." Asked again and the answer was still, "No." They inspected her bag, found an apple and took her and her bags away with them. Don't know what happened to her but I don't think they gave her champagne.

 

Countries take their agricultural industry very seriously and strongly protect it. An island in the Caribbean whose major industry is tourism won't be concerned but those with major agricultural industries do. If one is asked not to bring food ashore, then it behooves us to respect their wishes and not assume we know better. Manufacturer sealed packages are usually OK. Food in Ziploc or plastic bags are not.

[GUT2407]

It's not always as simple as just wanting a snack. People with diabetes or hypoglycemia may need to refuel before the allotted lunch break. I don't get on a flight with my diabetic husband without a protein bar in my bag. We've had enough long delays that I've learned to do it.

 

 

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But that doesn't matter if what you are taking off is forbidden, as others have said most ports factory sealed food stuff is ok, but if it's on the forbidden list leave it behind.

 

Your protein bar will be OK in most places if it is factory sealed.