Take lunch from ship??

[S&E]

Saw this on the "Ask a cruise question board" but just wondering if it aso applies to Alaska cruise ships. Can you take a lunch from the ship when you visit a port? If all you can take are prepackaged food items, where do you get them? Do you have to buy them onboard or are there prepackaged items available from the buffet? We have not cruised before so we need guidance. Thanks!

S&E

[whale-watcher]

In general, agricultural regulations are strict, and only sealed packages of food can be brought on and off a ship. You can sometimes find sealed small boxes of cereal or packages of crackers on the buffet, and most ships sell packages of chips and cookies in the gift store.

 

It is usually possible to find a relatively inexpensive lunch option on shore as well (we had some great fresh halibut burgers for lunch in sitka and juneau on our recent cruise), but it is handy to bring pre-packaged items if you only have a few minutes between excursions, or if you are cruising with kids (who don't always get hungry on schedule).

[Toyz711]

this is what was in our daily, for every port. no fruit or veggies. i take those mini-packages of crackers and peanut butter, some grab cereal off the buffet line.

we had our purses/bags searched as we LEFT the ship..trash barrels, by the gangway, just for what they found.

several of the "all day" excursions have food available or included. shorter excursions, there is food venues near the docks/ship..or just go back on the ship.

[2pbears]

We are just off the Coral and we were actually stopped for trying to take a cup of coffee ashore.

[Putterdude]

The problem is your federal agriculture people have no idea where the food was brought on to the ship, it could have been in Canada or at the begining of the season ....who knows where.

[vbmom87]

We were on the Volendam and took backpacks with us when we got off in port and no one ever looked in them. We were never told we could not pack food to take off the ship, except for our departure day in Seward. We didn't try, because the information posted on this board said not to, but if that rule exists, it wasn't enforced on our cruise.

[s&f4travel]

We carried packages of crackers and trail mix in our backpack the entire trip.

[ggprincess2004]

You cannot ever take food ashore at a port unless it is prepackaged. Ever.

The shops on board do sell some prepackaged items, but there are plenty of snacking and dining options in the ports.....anything from a little pack of salmon jerky or candy to burgers to nice luncheon entrees. Enjoy a little bit of the local flavor.

[vbmom87]

You cannot ever take food ashore at a port unless it is prepackaged. Ever.

 

If this is true, then why didn't they inform us of this onboard? The only time I saw mention of this was in our disembarking instructions for Seward.

 

You can always try and if they confiscate it, so be it. If it was important, they would inform you of this and they would be doing bag checks. Neither of these happened on the Volendam on my cruise.

[Toyz711]

as said earlier in the thread, some of the ship do tell you...read the dailys. our was posted 1st page, top. plus signs on the gangway. our ship had a table, on the gangway, with a crew member checking every bag/purse and packs goining OFF the ship. some ships are better at it then others, but to protect the plant life of alaska, it's something i won't even think of doing. one small pest on one piece of fruit, something so small you don't see it...just not worth the destruction that it could cause.

[ggprincess2004]

If this is true, then why didn't they inform us of this onboard? The only time I saw mention of this was in our disembarking instructions for Seward.

 

You can always try and if they confiscate it, so be it. If it was important, they would inform you of this and they would be doing bag checks. Neither of these happened on the Volendam on my cruise.

 

You weren't reading the warnings.

 

The USDA forbids it, and if people simply obeyed the law there would be far less risk of introducing foreign contaminants into pristine environments.

 

So let's try to respect the law and the local environment, and keep non-native pests of all kinds from entering. Be a good citizen, it's simple!!!

[vbmom87]

You weren't reading the warnings.

 

The USDA forbids it, and if people simply obeyed the law there would be far less risk of introducing foreign contaminants into pristine environments.

 

So let's try to respect the law and the local environment, and keep non-native pests of all kinds from entering. Be a good citizen, it's simple!!!

 

I was a good citizen. I didn't take off anything except packaged items. I even bought my almonds at home in little 1/4 cup sealed packets, because I read on this board that that is what you are supposed to do.

 

However, I never saw anything about not bringing food off except the last day. I know someone else mentioned this was the same for their cruise. So, how is an uninformed person supposed to know this?

 

If this is an important issue, why aren't they making it one. I saw no signs and no one was checking bags on our cruise.

[wolfie11]

When I was on Princess last summer, our bags were never checked. I can't remember if there were notices or not. I think this rule is seldom enforced in Alaska because there is no agriculture and no crops that could be threatened. The seeds that you bring in on clothes, boots, and other gear are potentially much more dangerous than any food you might take off the ship.

[Putterdude]

It is warning that is generally written up in ship's daily newsletter. Knowing this we would never take any foodstuffs ashore but we also have never had our bags checked either.

[robinsegg]

We avoided taking fruit off of the ship, but did take cleaned carrots, celery, packaged crackers, cheese and few coldcuts. This wasn't to save $$$ - it was to be able to be out and about from early a.m. to well after lunch, in places where there was simply no food available. Our bags were never searched leaving the Coral.

[vbmom87]

It is warning that is generally written up in ship's daily newsletter. Knowing this we would never take any foodstuffs ashore but we also have never had our bags checked either.

 

I checked my daily newsletters and do not see it. Either I am blind or it is not there. I did get a note on my pillow when the time changed. That would be a good place to leave a card with this information, considering its importance. It seems to me that someone doesn't feel it is that important, or we would have been notified. If I had not read these boards, there is no way I would have known that I was not supposed to bring food off the ship.

[Billiam]

Bears will kill for these snacks---------------------------

[trooper 1]

(Edited) I think this rule (of taking food off ships) is seldom enforced in Alaska because there is no agriculture and no crops that could be threatened.

 

Wow! The farmers in Alaska are going to be surprised. Especially in the Matanuska Valley area near Anchorage. It is true that only about 1,000,000 acres are being farmed and practically no farm products are exported. They do grow 19 lb carrots, 76 lb rutabagas, 106 lb cabbages, 17,700,000 lbs of potatoes and a few other food items though.

[wolfie11]

Wow! The farmers in Alaska are going to be surprised. Especially in the Matanuska Valley area near Anchorage. It is true that only about 1,000,000 acres are being farmed and practically no farm products are exported. They do grow 19 lb carrots, 76 lb rutabagas, 106 lb cabbages, 17,700,000 lbs of potatoes and a few other food items though.

 

Sorry, I should have clarified that in most ports visited by ships (SE Alaska) there is no agriculture. In addition, the problem is mostly fruit that could harbor pests. I don't think a lot of people are trying to bring rutabagas and raw potatoes off the ship for their lunches.

 

When I was in Hawaii, they practically strip search you to make sure you aren't taking any fruits or veggies with you.

[PennyAgain]

Bears will kill for these snacks---------------------------

 

 

Bears really love cold cuts! Ham especially! Anything smoked.

 

It is very bad luck to have this sort of food on you in Alaska.

 

Being eaten by a bear is a real trip ender.

[Mrsosci]

On recent Carnival Spirit a fellow CC person odered sandwitches via room service. She had ziplocks and took them ashore at every port. Never stopped. She had them in her purse. In Sitka I saw a person's banana taken away leaving ship. Go figure.

 

We did read about the bear food warning. Esp at Mendenhall. Since we were walking a lot of trails we opted to just wait. I don't think anyone has ever starved to death on a cruise. We also saw someone with kids who just took boxed cereal from Lido and used it for snacks.

 

 

Mrsosci

[rcacace]

Princess does have a small warning in their Patter about taking food off the ship but I never saw any signs on shore. They also warned about the release of balloons from the ship. At Mendenhall glacier, although they didn't have any signs that you couldn't eat anything, we were warned to eat our snacks quickly in the parking lot because of the bear problem. There were lots of bear droppings but no bears to be seen.

[PennyAgain]

The bears were there, watching you! Many times I've had clear sight of bears when tourists didn't notice them! You couldn't pay me to eat a ham sandwich outside in most of Alaska. Bears love smoked meat.