Taking food off ship into foreign ports

[Cackyschmackers]

Hi! I have read a few places on here where it's being suggested to take some food on your excursion off the ship. I thought that was not allowed in foreign ports, no fruits, vegetables, meats etc. Only bottles of water i thought are allowed off. How can you check ahead of time at which ports this is the case? Alternatively are you allowed to take (specific?) commercially packaged foods off of the ship? Or would this differ from port to port as well? TIA

 

[LSUfan4444]

I thought that was not allowed in foreign ports, no fruits, vegetables, meats etc.

It's not.

What port(s) are you asking about?

 

[Quellman]

Generally pre-packaged, manufactured, sealed items are acceptable to bring off the ship. The reason for perishables requested not to be brought off is that it could conceivably due harm to the natural balance of the ecosystem.

 

[anricat]

We usually take a variety of single serve snacks with us to take off the ship. Snack bars, individually packaged crackers and such.

 

[Gigi22]

Hi! I have read a few places on here where it's being suggested to take some food on your excursion off the ship. I thought that was not allowed in foreign ports, no fruits, vegetables, meats etc. Only bottles of water i thought are allowed off. How can you check ahead of time at which ports this is the case? Alternatively are you allowed to take (specific?) commercially packaged foods off of the ship? Or would this differ from port to port as well? TIA

I was surprised to see how much things have tightened up in some ports. For example, Cozumel has a similar setup to an American port, with dogs sniffing bags for food.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

@LSUfan4444 I know you're not allowed to bring fruits, vegetables (or soil, among other things) into another country. So I guess I'm wondering which sort of prepackaged foods are allowed from the ship. Would those Uncrustables be allowed? What about yogurt? I'm asking about Nassau for this coming up trip.

 

[Starwind]

Some ports will allow some items while other ports allow nothing.

IF a port allows food to be taken off, it is usually only commercially packaged unopened products, and no "fresh" fruit, veggies or meats. So something like a packaged granola bar would usually be ok in the ports that allow it.

Unfortunately, I do not know how to find out which ports do allow and which ports do not. The cruise line may be able to provide you that information in advance.

SW

 

[dcassetta]

Even if Disney is able to tell you in advance, things could change by the time you sail. The best recommendation is to check with guest services the day before you want to take packaged foods of the ship to make sure it's OK. This is one of those issues that you do not want to make a mistake on and end up in a legal situation in a foreign country!

 

[Beth06015]

We usually take a variety of single serve snacks with us to take off the ship. Snack bars, individually packaged crackers and such.

Do you bring this with you or is this something you can get on the ship for port days?

 

[MunFam]

We have a DD with food allergies and even though we speak Spanish, French, English and some Italian in our household, it is still hard to communicate that cross contamination is a big deal. Therefore, we always travel with snacks pre-purchased and brought on board with us. I go on the port authority's website (or customs/immigration) to read up on what is permitted. Pretzels, fruit snacks, granola bars, chips, oreos, trail mix are usally a-ok. Basically all that processed, prepackaged crap foods that people send in their kid's lunches. Beef Jerky, canned tuna, fruit cups are okay some places.

By accident, we got 3 lunchables on board in May 2015. I threw them in my bag to eat on the way to the port and forgot about them...didn't "find" them til I was unpacking, but I am pretty sure that was not permitted and Im just glad I did not get in trouble. I threw the lunchables away without opening them.

 

[MunFam]

For the Bahamas from the Government of the Bahamas Ministry of Finance Customs Department website.

Prohibited and Restricted Goods
Prohibited Goods

1. Meat, provisions, fruits and vegetables, and any articles intended for human food, which are unfit for human consumption.
2. Indecent or obscene prints, paintings, photographs, books, cards, lithographic or other engravings, or any other indecent or obscene article.
3. Underwater gun being any manufacture or device other than the device known as an Hawaiian Sling whereby a missile may be discharged under water.
4. Any article which bears a design in the imitation of any currency or bank note or coin in current use in The Bahamas or elsewhere.
5. Copies of works in respect of which the owner has given notice to the Comptroller under Section 22 of The Copyright Act.

Restricted Goods
Restricted goods are defined as follows:

• Goods imported for the purpose of any business (within the meaning given thereto by Section 2 of the Business License Act) unless the importer of the goods produces for inspection by the Comptroller, a current Business License issued under the provisions of The Business License Act.
• All goods, the importation of which is restricted under the provisions of any law for the time being in force in The Bahamas.
• Firecrackers and impact flash facilities save those, which in the opinion of the Comptroller are not dangerous.
• Firearms, fireworks, unless special authorization by the Commissioner of Police.
• Trailers, being trailer caravans for use as living quarters, offices, workshops, or similar purposes, unless specifically authorized by the Minister.
• Mechanical games and devices set in operation wholly and partly by the insertion.

Enforcement
The Investigation or Preventive Division of The Bahamas Customs Department was established to ensure compliance with the Customs Management Act 1976.

 

[Flossbolna]

You need to check the customs regulation for the country you go to. For cruises within Europe, you should normally be fine with taking any food off since you are not going through customs between Denmark/Norway or Spain/Italy. The UK and Iceland might be a bit different, I have not researched the information for this.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Do you bring this with you or is this something you can get on the ship for port days?

These items are usually brought on the ship at embarkation.

 

[LSUfan4444]

@LSUfan4444 I know you're not allowed to bring fruits, vegetables (or soil, among other things) into another country. So I guess I'm wondering which sort of prepackaged foods are allowed from the ship. Would those Uncrustables be allowed? What about yogurt? I'm asking about Nassau for this coming up trip.

There was a time when you could order uncrustables from room service and people were taking them off the ship. That being said, the room service menu has recently changed and as far as I am aware uncrustables are not listed but they may still be available. You are allowed in Nassau to take prepackaged food items so if you had something that was prepackaged it shouldn't be an issue but I don't think yogurt is something you could store properly when in port. My advice is to not count on finding something on the ship that you can take into port but if you want to take something into port, bring it with you on the cruise.

 

[anricat]

Do you bring this with you or is this something you can get on the ship for port days?

I bring them from home. Usually things like Kind bars, individually wrapped snack size bags of pretzels, cheese-it's, etc.

 

[ThistleMae]

I always bring packaged snack bars or nuts or anything that is in a sealed package. I'm not sure about items like yogurt. I wouldn't chance it.

 

[Geomom]

As far as what you could grab from the ship to go--individual cereal packs from breakfast at Cabanas would be an option.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I was also thinking the bags of chips, do they still have them at the poolside venues?

 

[bbel]

I was once told, if you need a spoon to eat it, it's probably best not to risk it...

That being said, I've never seen any checks at Nassau. However, I remember back when there weren't any in Cozumel either, then suddenly one day there were dogs and everyone's bags got sniffed...

 

[MunFam]

I was also thinking the bags of chips, do they still have them at the poolside venues?

We asked on board about chips. The only ones available were of the family style serving...in a basket with tongs and plates. No individual options.