Snacks OK for port calls???

[lisid]

I'm a newbie, and from what I gather you can't take food off the ship at ports of call...we're headed to Bermuda, and everyone says it's soooo expensive. Wondering if I could pack some granola bars/pretzels & such to take to town when we're docked. We'll be exploring on our own one full day.

 

Thanks!

[smeyer418]

I'm a newbie, and from what I gather you can't take food off the ship at ports of call...we're headed to Bermuda, and everyone says it's soooo expensive. Wondering if I could pack some granola bars/pretzels & such to take to town when we're docked. We'll be exploring on our own one full day.

 

Thanks!

 

 

anything that is in a sealed package will be fine. just no fruits...

 

 

PS In bermuda I have been known to take a plastic bag up to the buffet and fill it with croissants. No one stopped me either from filing it or taking it off the ship.

[Putterdude]

Stick with the factory sealed items that you have brought aboard. You may not get caught taking ship's food ashore but there can be large penalties if you are caught.

[5waldos]

Stick with the factory sealed items that you have brought aboard. You may not get caught taking ship's food ashore but there can be large penalties if you are caught.

 

What kind of penalties, and from whom?

[Putterdude]

What kind of penalties, and from whom?

 

Large financial penalties by the country you are visiting. Much the equivalent of the FDA in the US. Each country is concerned about the integrity of food entering its borders and you are warned of this constantly in the ship's daily newsletters.

[5waldos]

Large financial penalties by the country you are visiting. Much the equivalent of the FDA in the US. Each country is concerned about the integrity of food entering its borders and you are warned of this constantly in the ship's daily newsletters.

 

Just for a touch of reality- if you bring something ashore which breaks the laws of the country (NOT the rules of the cruise ship) it will usually be confiscated and you will be reminded that you shouldn't be bringing in xyz. I am NOT advocating trying to bring in banned food, but this topic for some reason has been hot this weekend on CC. And the degree of misinformation has been great.

[Putterdude]

Just for a touch of reality- if you bring something ashore which breaks the laws of the country (NOT the rules of the cruise ship) it will usually be confiscated and you will be reminded that you shouldn't be bringing in xyz. I am NOT advocating trying to bring in banned food, but this topic for some reason has been hot this weekend on CC. And the degree of misinformation has been great.

 

And you may just get a big fine and you can even be refused entry into the country....the choice is yours...I could care less what you do...

[5waldos]

And you may just get a big fine and you can even be refused entry into the country....the choice is yours...I could care less what you do...

 

What I do? I can't wait to try local food. I couldn't be bothered in bringing food off a ship. I just think that some reality testing about what is legal and what is not is important.

[Cruisin' Chick]

To answer the original poster of this thread, many countries are serious about food being brought off the ships (in some cases it's an agricultural concern, which I know is a major concern here in California because of past insect infestations, and in many cases, it's an economic concern). In these cases, you will see a notice in the daily newsletter advising you not to bring any food off the ship. You can usually take prepackaged goods. I often will pack Power Bars or Balance Bars when I cruise to take along when I go into port. That way if we're on an excursion and start getting hungry, I have a snack available until we get to a place selling food in the port or else until we return to the ship.

 

On our Hawaiian cruise, passengers were warned that there will be a fine if caught taking food off the ship, and purses and other belongings were searched.

[smeyer418]

Hawaii is concerned about fruit and fruit flies. You may not even take fruit between the different islands. Most countries just take the stuff away. The question however here was asked about Bermuda. They don't even have people checking when you get off. Its not likely you will be going to a farm and infecting it(which is how mad cow got to England from tainted meat) or carrying anything that is dangerous in the food. Its more likely that you have it on your person already...

 

almost everything is imported to Bermuda from either the Port of New York or Norfolk anyway. There is nothing on the ship they haven't gotten already.

[Jade13]

To answer the original poster of this thread' date=' many countries are serious about food being brought off the ships (in some cases it's an agricultural concern, which I know is a major concern here in California because of past insect infestations, and in many cases, it's an economic concern). In these cases, you will see a notice in the daily newsletter advising you not to bring any food off the ship. You can usually take prepackaged goods. I often will pack Power Bars or Balance Bars when I cruise to take along when I go into port. That way if we're on an excursion and start getting hungry, I have a snack available until we get to a place selling food in the port or else until we return to the ship.

 

On our Hawaiian cruise, passengers were warned that there will be a fine if caught taking food off the ship, and purses and other belongings were searched.[/quote']

 

We know people who were arrested in Chile in the airport and held for 5 hours when fruit was found in their luggage by dogs. They had signed paperwork that they were not bringing fruit into the country. In the end they had to pay a fine.

[5waldos]

H

almost everything is imported to Bermuda from either the Port of New York or Norfolk anyway. There is nothing on the ship they haven't gotten already.

 

Not quite accurate- all imported foods have to be inspected which is not true of food on the ship.

[mousey]

I've never been concerned about this issue. I've been known to take sandwiches from room service for picnics on the beach all over the Carribean and Mexico. I don't bring fruit however, and I don't use lettuce in my sandwiches. Never had a problem. If asked, I would never lie about what I have in my bag. They'll probably just take it away and explain why. I doubt ports of call want to be known for fining or arresting people because the have a piece of food with them. Not good for publicity or tourism!:eek: Pre-packaged goods, such as cookies, nuts, crackers, power bars, etc. are the way to go if you are concerned about this.

[lisid]

People, people....just wondering if I can bring some chips & such...I plan on buying a picnic at the local supermarket for our adventure, but after hearing how EXPENSIVE Bermuda is I thought i could save on the little things!!! Thanks for all the imput! Won't be smuggeling fruit/meat or animals(well...I do have kids!:rolleyes:) on OR off..;)

[5waldos]

People, people....just wondering if I can bring some chips & such...I plan on buying a picnic at the local supermarket for our adventure, but after hearing how EXPENSIVE Bermuda is I thought i could save on the little things!!! Thanks for all the imput! Won't be smuggeling fruit/meat or animals(well...I do have kids!:rolleyes:) on OR off..;)

 

Very careful inspection of all children required- any whiny ones or teenage sulky ones usually are barred from admission!:D If I remember correctly, chips etc are hard to come by onboard. But those kinds of items are pretty universally acceptable.

[smeyer418]

I've never been concerned about this issue. I've been known to take sandwiches from room service for picnics on the beach all over the Carribean and Mexico. I don't bring fruit however, and I don't use lettuce in my sandwiches. Never had a problem. If asked, I would never lie about what I have in my bag. They'll probably just take it away and explain why. I doubt ports of call want to be known for fining or arresting people because the have a piece of food with them. Not good for publicity or tourism!:eek: Pre-packaged goods, such as cookies, nuts, crackers, power bars, etc. are the way to go if you are concerned about this.

when we were in Mexico on a cruise we took a ships tour which included lunch. the ship packed a box lunch for us which included either an apple or a banana. these were ship packed( I saw them taken off the ship to the bus). they weren't made in mexico. there is a sign that said no shipboard food may be taken off but I always wondered why if it was illegal to do so, it was ok for the ship to do the very same thing...

[kitty9]

when we were in Mexico on a cruise we took a ships tour which included lunch. the ship packed a box lunch for us which included either an apple or a banana. these were ship packed( I saw them taken off the ship to the bus). they weren't made in mexico. there is a sign that said no shipboard food may be taken off but I always wondered why if it was illegal to do so, it was ok for the ship to do the very same thing...

 

 

Probably for the same reasons why some cruise ships can get a waiver to open their casinos when the ship is still in port. Can you say kickback????

[celle]

I've never been concerned about this issue. I've been known to take sandwiches from room service for picnics on the beach all over the Carribean and Mexico. I don't bring fruit however, and I don't use lettuce in my sandwiches. Never had a problem. If asked, I would never lie about what I have in my bag. They'll probably just take it away and explain why. I doubt ports of call want to be known for fining or arresting people because the have a piece of food with them. Not good for publicity or tourism!:eek: Pre-packaged goods, such as cookies, nuts, crackers, power bars, etc. are the way to go if you are concerned about this.

 

No foodstuffs at all are allowed to be taken off the ship in NZ and Australia. We are very keen to protect our agriculture industry from imported diseases and insects.

 

You will get warning reminders in the daily newsletters. There are signs at every port and sniffer dogs inspect your bags.

 

If you are caught, the penalty is an instant fine of $200. And they don't care about any adverse publicity - protecting the integrity of our agriculture is more important.

[beachchick]

No foodstuffs at all are allowed to be taken off the ship in NZ and Australia. We are very keen to protect our agriculture industry from imported diseases and insects.

 

You will get warning reminders in the daily newsletters. There are signs at every port and sniffer dogs inspect your bags.

 

If you are caught, the penalty is an instant fine of $200. And they don't care about any adverse publicity - protecting the integrity of our agriculture is more important.

 

Exactly! Adverse publicity for fining or not allowing somone into the country is nothing compared to the millions of dollars of damage, as well as damage to the local ecosystem, that a stray pest or pathogen can cause.

 

We in California are very keen on the issue too. We have to be because no one wants a repeat of the Medfly eradication (costing millions just to eradicate, not taking into account the millions of dollars and food loss that the little beasties caused). As someone who lived through it (so much fun to schedule one's life around the timing of malathion drops), I can say that I don't give a damn if a visitor is insulted or put out or even thinks we're "too cautious" in our laws. We have those laws for a reason and those who selfishly and knowingly break them aren't going to be terribly welcome anyway.

 

Right now, our area is working on keeping out the glass-winged sharpshooter, which carries a disease that destroys wine grape vines. As this is one of the state's premier wine regions, it is kind of a big deal. We're also trying to keep out the Africanized bees and several other pests.

 

smeyer418 and kitty9: There is no way a port/island/county/country would make an exception in the agricultural laws for money. It's very likely that the cruise line worked out a special allowance for those excursions with Mexico's department of agriculture and with specific guidelines/rules.

 

lisid: It sounds like the packaged items you mention will be fine--as far as I know. Some ports allow no food whatsoever to be brought ashore, including packaged goods and breads and other baked items.

 

The reason some of us get all "wound up" in the subject is that some members suggest that it's a great idea to smuggle food off the ships. They use various rationales, such as "the country only forbids it to force us to eat their food and spend money" or "it's no big deal because we've done many times" or "what harm can this one apple/banana/fill-in-the-blank do" and so forth.

 

beachchick

[shelby_36]

I don't know what's "allowed" but I usually take some granola bar type stuff. Maybe some mixed nuts, capri suns, not alot but we really never know if we are going to eat at port or not and having kids I ike to have some "safe" standbys. We usually eat a big breakfast and a late lunch on the ship and then if we aren't comfortable eating the local food we are ok.