Bringing on food and strictness unopened...

[Crisi83]

Okay, we are getting ready to do a Northern European cruise in a month and my mom has a lot of dietary problems. Hopefully she will be able to get things made that match what she needs, but one thing that really helps her is a home made fiber mix that she makes with various flax seeds, coconut, and a bunch of stuff I don't even know what it is. Of course, this is not packaged and I've read various things about them not allowing unpackaged food.

So, do they actually go through your luggage looking for this stuff? If she has a note from her doctor would that help? Would bringing it on board via her carry on be better? We've even considered using one of those heat sealers to repackage with another food's package...

I don't want to cheat the system, and I can sort of understand stuff not wanting homemade cookies, but.... this also seems kind of silly. For that matter, if I bring cracker packages and stuff for my toddler and take off the cardboard outside box for packing purposes, but leave the inner bag sealed, is that a problem?

Thanks!

 

[cheermom2four]

Interested in replies as my dd has some dietary needs and I make her special snacks to fit her dietary needs.

 

[keaster]

Are you flying to Europe from the US? If so you better check both the airline and the European regulations for bringing unpackaged food as well as the cruise line rules!

 

[sambycat]

Homemade stuff isn't allowed. I'm sure people sneak things in and they get it by, but you can read what the rules are and we follow them. Yes you could remove outer packaging. If her trail mix stuff is vital, can you not being the unmixed ingredients along with you and mix them together onboard if this is very crucial? Also, have you (or your mother) notified DCL of her dietary needs/concerns? They are very good at helping with medical dietary needs.

 

[clten]

Can I ask how you are getting to your cruise? Are you flying? Getting your mix through customs would be a bigger concern than DCL (who may be more lax in checking for a loose snack mix). It seems innocent enough to you but you list items that most countries prohibit you from carrying in and there is typically a large fine ($1,000) for carrying in anything that qualifies as an agricultural product. Prepackaged foods are not considered agricultural. If you had a sealed container of flax seed and a sealed package of coconut, etc. that would be allowed.

 

[lanejudy]

one thing that really helps her is a home made fiber mix that she makes with various flax seeds, coconut, and a bunch of stuff I don't even know what it is.

Does she create a type of trail mix? If so, can she bring the separate ingredients needed and then prepare it in her stateroom? My BIL makes both an oatmeal and a pasta mixture that he eats daily, but neither of those would be allowed and he couldn't heat them anyway; there is no way to cook or heat any food brought onboard.

As PP points out, it's more of an international travel issue with food stuffs, not simply a "DCL rule" and there are laws that regulate bringing food products into other countries. I personally would not try to mess with those laws. DCL is very good with dietary needs, so I suggest contacting them so they are aware of what the passenger needs onboard.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Crisi83]

All the ingredients she gets for it are in bulk, so they don't come in packages to begin with, but maybe she could find them packaged... She did bring the mix along with other snacks to Germany last year without issue, so I don't think thats an issue. I believe she has checked those rules and they aren't considered produce or anything. Its not something that Disney would be able to provide her. My mom has a very limited amount of food she can eat, including almost no fruit (dried doesn't bother her as much, so she often brings that along). The mix I don't know what all is in it, but I know it basically helps keep her regular and its more of a powder supplement then a trail mix, because otherwise she can have a lot of trouble and pain. Its not really something that Disney could provide for her, but she then sprinkles it on food that she should be able to get, like oatmeal.

I guess just for privacy reason I'm also curious how much Disney goes through your things. I know I've read about them pulling things out of people's bags, like power cords, so they must do some serious inspection... what do you go through before getting on the boat yourself, airport like bag/person scan?

Looking at UK customs, where we cruising from, there are no issues with bringing any food items besides meat and dairy.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

what do you go through before getting on the boat yourself, airport like bag/person scan?

You will leave your carry ons on a belt to be scanned in a typical airport-type scanner, and you walk through a metal screening door (like at the airport). Checked bags are scanned through an x-ray type scanner.

 

[MunFam]

We have a DD with severe food allergies as well. If your mom buys the ingredients in bulk bins at the market, those items will also be available in smaller quantities. Check out Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods. I use a lot of their "powders" to make different varieties of pancake mix, cake mixes, muffin mixes all from scratch. I cannot use bulk bins due to cross contamination, so we always have to order packaged. Sometimes from Amazon, sometimes direct from the company. Whole Foods and Sprouts Markets carry a lot of these brands.

Other companies: King Arthur, Glutino, Navitas and Vitamin Shoppe.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

The terminal at Dover is slightly different to Port Canaveral the facilities are here.

http://doverport.co.uk/cruise/safety-and-security/

There are sniffer dogs who will be looking primarily for drugs and explosives but they can pick up on food.

The X ray machines as I recall are different to PC.

I would say ask DCL if they could provide the raw ingredients on the ship, if not have the items in bulk sealed and then make up on the ship.

Dover has a good high street with well being shops so you should be sake to buy items there.

 

[lbgraves]

.....
I guess just for privacy reason I'm also curious how much Disney goes through your things. I know I've read about them pulling things out of people's bags, like power cords, so they must do some serious inspection... what do you go through before getting on the boat yourself, airport like bag/person scan?

Looking at UK customs, where we cruising from, there are no issues with bringing any food items besides meat and dairy.

You don't really have privacy rights when you check baggage. TSA/security has the right to go through anything you want to bring onboard a ship [train, plane, etc]. The safety of everyone else onboard takes priority over one person's privacy. They put the luggage through an Xray machine and inspect anything suspicious looking. The power cords are on the list of things no allowed due to fire hazard. Personally, I am glad that they take safety seriously.

 

[Crisi83]

Check out Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods. I use a lot of their "powders" to make different varieties of pancake mix, cake mixes, muffin mixes all from scratch. I cannot use bulk bins due to cross contamination, so we always have to order packaged. Sometimes from Amazon, sometimes direct from the company. Whole Foods and Sprouts Markets carry a lot of these brands.

I know she mostly uses bob's so I'll see if she can buy the raw stuff packaged... but we wouldnt' want to be stuck bringing along large bags of each small thing. But its something we'll look into.

You don't really have privacy rights when you check baggage. TSA/security has the right to go through anything you want to bring onboard a ship [train, plane, etc]. The safety of everyone else onboard takes priority over one person's privacy. They put the luggage through an Xray machine and inspect anything suspicious looking. The power cords are on the list of things no allowed due to fire hazard. Personally, I am glad that they take safety seriously.

I do agree, but I also worry about things like theft. We've had a laptop stolen from a checked suitcase before (I know, never check something like that, my dad just wasn't thinking while packing up his stuff, and we'd never had something like that happen before..) So I just always like to know what exactly is going to happen with my luggage, and to know with a toddler if I need to be prepared for putting stuff in bins and all (I try to condense my stuff for ease if needing to pull it out of the stroller for a scanner, vs just throwing it all in loose like I normally would). I'm the kind of person who likes to have a good idea of what exactly I'm going to be doing and in what steps - like is security before or after check in, etc... things that probably don't matter that much, but as I'm mentally prepping, I tend to think about and try to picture... Cruising is so very very new to me.

Unfortunately we won't be getting in to town much before the trip, so no supply shopping beforehand, which would have been nice considering the amount of diapers I have to pack -_-.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I know she mostly uses bob's so I'll see if she can buy the raw stuff packaged... but we wouldnt' want to be stuck bringing along large bags of each small thing. But its something we'll look into.



I do agree, but I also worry about things like theft. We've had a laptop stolen from a checked suitcase before (I know, never check something like that, my dad just wasn't thinking while packing up his stuff, and we'd never had something like that happen before..) So I just always like to know what exactly is going to happen with my luggage, and to know with a toddler if I need to be prepared for putting stuff in bins and all (I try to condense my stuff for ease if needing to pull it out of the stroller for a scanner, vs just throwing it all in loose like I normally would). I'm the kind of person who likes to have a good idea of what exactly I'm going to be doing and in what steps - like is security before or after check in, etc... things that probably don't matter that much, but as I'm mentally prepping, I tend to think about and try to picture... Cruising is so very very new to me.

Unfortunately we won't be getting in to town much before the trip, so no supply shopping beforehand, which would have been nice considering the amount of diapers I have to pack -_-.

Dover's town centre is very close to the ship it has a good selection of shops I can walk it with ease but it is just a short taxi ride from the ship easy to go there shop and get back in less than one hour.

 

[Crisi83]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.... though I get the impression that we really want to get on the ship as soon as possible? We will be staying at the airport for one night, then headed to Dover the next morning via Disney transportation. I'm hoping we might find a grocery store or something in the area, but every airport is so different from others. I'm planning to just pack everything we need, like diapers.

 

[MunFam]

Try giving the Dover Trip Advisor forum a try. Someone there may be able to direct you to a market that delivers or something like that. They might be able to help you order from a place like Target or Safeway here in the states and have all the stuff packaged up and delivered to your hotel a few days in advance. That way you can confirm with the hotel that it arrived prior to your US departure. I guess its a lot of effort, but it seems like this stuff is a big deal for your mom, so it would be worth the extra effort.

I know we order stuff internationally all the time for work and have it shipped/crated in to the hotel and held for us until our team arrives. Sometimes we have to pay a fee for them to hold it, but its nice to not travel with so much stuff.