Spinning off from "no food brought ashore"

[cruisetek]

I'm wondering what kind of problem I might have when we cruise on the Radiance - my preschooler is Type 1 diabetic, and we have to pack emergency supplies and carry them with us at all times. His blood sugar can drop very quickly, and we always need to be prepared. Typically, our "kit" consists of juice boxes, crackers or some other kind of starch.....so far, no problems.....but the last item we have to have is a protein. After we treat his low with juice, we must follow up with a starch/protein snack to keep his sugar up. We usually carry individual cheese strings as they're OK out of the fridge for quite a while, but I'm a bit worried that I won't be able to take these off the ship.

 

Peanuts or peanut butter aren't an option, so I'm wondering what other options I might have. Are the packaged cheese strings OK, or is cheese a flat out "No"? Any other ideas of what WOULD be allowed, or what might be OK to take off the ship (that doesn't require refrigeration?).

 

Thanks! :)

[wrp96]

I'm pretty sure cheese and meat products are definite no-nos. Do protein bars work for your son? I'm assuming the peanut butter is a no due to allergies. Is it all nuts or just peanuts? Would almonds or another nut work? May I suggest that you contact the Special Needs department at RCCL to see if they have any suggestions.

[HurricaneSally]

String cheese is cryovaced and prepackaged, so should not be a problem. Why don't you just make sure you buy him some lunch on the island? They sell food, you know.

[BearySweet2Cruise]

ask your pediatrician for advice on what to bring, and whatever you bring that doc recommends will be allowed off the ship just as long as it is a sealed prepackaged item.

Good luck with your son. You will have a great time. :)

[Bethwte]

Good luck, and I agree with the above poster about talking to your pediatrician. I would also suggest calling Royal Carib. before you leave and speaking to them about it (maybe even call more than once, as sometimes you get two different stories from two different people :/ ) And also perhaps talk to someone about your son once on board? Perhaps they would have suggestions or be able to make some kind of accomodations for him :D

[cruisetek]

String cheese is cryovaced and prepackaged, so should not be a problem. Why don't you just make sure you buy him some lunch on the island? They sell food, you know.

 

I'm aware that food exists ashore - the emergency kit is, as indicated, for emergencies. If we're on a bus for an hour or two, we need food available. If we're on a tram up a mountain, we need food available. If we're on a tender, we need food available. Because of his age, my son can go low quickly and needs very prompt treatment.

 

Adult diabetics are often more predictable, and can tell how they're feeling and seek treatment before a low happens. My son can't do this yet, so we must always be prepared.

 

I wasn't aware of a special needs desk at RCCL - I'll definitely give them a call. Thanks for the suggestion, wrp96.

 

We do have a letter from our pediatric endo that indicates DS needs to travel with supplies - maybe that will help?

[cruisersnorkler]

To be safe, a written doctors order on a script pad might be the way to go. The string cheese we buy is individually prepackaged so I believe it will be ok. You never know when a problem can arise so buying lunch is not the issue. Also, we thought it was fine to take off unopenned packaged snacks and unopenned small cereal boxes. Noone has ever searched our bags or stopped us. We scan our cards and out the door. When we come back on board--that is when your bags are searched and scanned with the x-ray machine. At least, that has been our experience. I believe unopenned packaged food from a factory--not by you--is ok to take off the ship. You should never take off fruit.Please correct me if I am wrong about this. I think I need to call RCCL about this to be sure.

[Sue L]

Anything sealed or prepackaged is no problem. The problems carrying food off the ships is anything fresh. I have carried off chips, sealed cookies etc. with no problems

[KamloopsCruisers]

Cruisetek - by all means call Special Needs Dept. I will caution you that the fridges in your cabin will keep things cool at best. On our sailing in April on the Radiance, I contacted Special Needs and they put a proper fridge in our room. I only had one small bottle of meds that needed to be kept refridgerated - DH was thrilled we had a place for our sodas and wine that kept them cold. You'll need a fridge for your cheese strings :D .

 

From what I've read - here and elsewhere - pre-packaged food should be OK to take ashore.

 

Enjoy your cruise,

[cruisetek]

Thanks for all the replies....and for the heads up on the in-room fridges not being adequate for our needs! We'll need to keep the insulin cold also, so I'll definitely call Special Needs to make that request :)

 

Glad to hear the cheese strings should be OK!

[Sheffie]

I suggest that you buy a bunch of the sealed string cheese packets and take them with you onto the ship. They will keep just fine in your refrigerator, and you can take a couple with you in a soft-sided cooler along with some chilled juice.

 

I have medication that I have to have chilled and it stayed okay in our refrigerator. I don't know the temp of the fridge, though. I called the doctor's office to see about keeping it there and the nurse (?) said that their refrigerator was just like mine. Another option might be that your room steward could bring you a wine bucket and put ice in that into which you could keep a ziplock package with your son's meds.

 

And about taking the food ashore - just know that many people are responsible and take off food that will not harm any environment, and have not been stopped.

 

I am looking at our Cruise Compass from Barbados and NOTHING is said about not being able to take food off the ship. I also do not remember any signs stating such at any of our ports of call.

 

It does say that you cannot wear camouflage in Barbados, though.

[Bribrittmom]

We just got off the Enchantment on Sat. and the Cruise Compass only stated not to take fruit or vegetables off the ship in ports.

[drgreene1096]

The law exists because of agro-terrorism. And yes, I can back that up http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/fact_sheets/agriculture/agriculture.ctt/agriculture.pdf

 

And as other posters mentioned in the other thread, because of doing harm to local agriculture with unknown parasites.

 

However, assuming you are not an agro-terrorist and you take the pre-packed items (or not) then take what you need to keep your son safe.

 

I haven't done it in 2 years, but my daughter was 18 months old when she cruised for the first time. We took stuff off the ship for her that was not pre-packaged.

 

I'm not sure if you can do beef jerky, but there is a lot of protein in the big sticks.

 

I have odd diabetic needs now, but I am capable of knowing when I need to eat and getting to a place to do it on time.

 

Good luck and have a good time.

[cruisePRN]

In the windjammer cafe in the morning will be boxed individual cereals, Would cheerios or such wotk for your son? They are prepackaged and not agricultural. They also have individual yogarts but you'd need a little cooler for that. You could put some yogurts in your cabin fridge.

[cruislovin]

We just got off the Enchantment on Sat. and the Cruise Compass only stated not to take fruit or vegetables off the ship in ports.

 

Unless rules have changed recently I have been told to finish an ice cream cone or throw it out before being permitted to leave the ship. Others I have travelled with have experienced the same thing with sandwiches, pizza, etc. They don't want any "visible" food leaving the ship.

 

 

One suggestion on the cheese - get the canned cheese that requires no refrigeration. My daughter has an insulin problem and we always have this with us as a good protein source for her. It has 5 grams of protein and only 2 grams of carbs per serving. The refrigerators in the cabins are not very cold.

[wanda1101]

Unless rules have changed recently I have been told to finish an ice cream cone or throw it out before being permitted to leave the ship. Others I have travelled with have experienced the same thing with sandwiches, pizza, etc. They don't want any "visible" food leaving the ship.

 

Not even a cup of coffee as I found out early one morning.....

 

Unprocessed meats, fruits and vegetables are normally forbidden everywhere because of disease and insects. I was very surprised by the coffee.

[OceanCruise]

Would your child eat those tuna fish kits that come with crackers and mayo or those tuna pouches? What about the pudding cups that don't require refrigeration?

[emtyt]

Thanks for all the replies....and for the heads up on the in-room fridges not being adequate for our needs! We'll need to keep the insulin cold also, so I'll definitely call Special Needs to make that request :)

 

Glad to hear the cheese strings should be OK!

 

When you call Special Needs also ask for a sharps container for the needle tips or needles for the insulin. I too am a diabetic and made the request for the fridge and sharps container.

 

Have a great cruise!

[claudia814]

Cruisetek - by all means call Special Needs Dept. I will caution you that the fridges in your cabin will keep things cool at best. On our sailing in April on the Radiance, I contacted Special Needs and they put a proper fridge in our room. I only had one small bottle of meds that needed to be kept refridgerated - DH was thrilled we had a place for our sodas and wine that kept them cold. You'll need a fridge for your cheese strings :D .

 

Thank you for mentioning this since I need a fridge, not a cooler, for my MS injections. I'll call Special Needs for a Sharps container too.:)