Bringing food onboard?

[ArielRae]

I know with drinks you have to carry them on and not put them in your checked bags. My question is with snacks like small box candy (for the theatre/movies) and some cookies like Oreos for late night snacks where can we pack those. Do they have to be in carry on or checked luggage or are they ok in either?

 

[lovedisney123]

I have taken boxed food onboard in the past, but have not done it for a couple of years. I do not remember anything changing on that.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I know with drinks you have to carry them on and not put them in your checked bags. My question is with snacks like small box candy (for the theatre/movies) and some cookies like Oreos for late night snacks where can we pack those. Do they have to be in carry on or checked luggage or are they ok in either?

They are fine in either as long as it isn't something that will melt or is easily crushed. The bags are not treated gently so if you pack something like Oreos, take care to pack it well so if your bag is tossed or buried under mounds of other bags, you won't be left with crumbs. With candy, I have no problems packing something like M&Ms in checked luggage, but I wouldn't pack Hershey's bars because the bags can sit out in the hot sun and that can melt the chocolate.

A general rule for all food brought onboard is it must be factory-sealed, pre-packaged, and non-perishable. The items you mention all fit those criteria.

 

[Weedy]

FYI room service is free 24 hours (except last night closes 1am) they will bring you late night snacks

 

[mmmears]

We brought ginger snaps on a few times (in case it helps with motion) and they're pretty rough with the luggage so we just carried them on. Didn't have any issues that way.

 

[brianvdb]

Do they have to be in carry on or checked luggage or are they ok in either?

They’re OK in either. There are no DCL rules on the matter. As others have said, use common sense when deciding what items will survive in checked luggage.

 

[Dug720]

The only rule I'm aware of is that it cannot be homemade food and must be in its original packaging.

 

[Weedy]

If anything is left when your cruise is over if it’s open you will not be able to take it off the ship. If it’s still unopened you can

 

[Chemist]

Honestly, Unless you are dealing with special needs, I don’t see the need to bring snack food aboard. There is included food all around.

Maybe if you have to have CANDY (vs cookies off the pool deck) and it has to be Oreos (vs chocolate chip cookies, cake of the day, pastry out of the case or ice cream).

We have brought emergency granola bars in excursions, but those are always extras from the long airplane trip.

There is more junk on the ship than you can shake a stick at.

 

[lklgoodman]

Btw, room service has really good cookies, the ones on the pool deck are not so good.

 

[g_ppetto]

We brought some small bags, think vending size, 1.75 oz., and some packages of Lance peanut butter crackers for a seven day cruise. IIRC, they were Chex, Pirate Booty, and Cheez-its. We hand carried them on, backpacks I think. I also had a rolling bag with some bottles of water. Probably a couple of bags in there too. The small bags are a bit more convenient than larger bags. Our thoughts were no open packages getting on or off the ship.

I would plan to carry items that could get crushed easily, and probably avoid things that could melt if heated.

Yes, there is food and snacks everywhere, but I don't want a lot of sweet things as snacks.

I should also add that we drive / traveled for two days to get there and return home, and a couple of days at WDW after the cruise. Your snack needs may vary...

 

[ArielRae]

Thanks everyone for the info.

Been on a few Disney Cruises and just find the sweets and treats they make or get in bulk form outside companies not so good onboard(not Worley’s the calories to say). Like Pete says on the Disunplugged podcast. Some how Disney puts their desserts thru a flavor vacuum so they aren’t our cup of tea. Just a simple Oreo for a treat makes us happy.

 

[Meriweather]

We always brings snacks....I need my chocolate! And baggies.
We also bring nuts and bars to take on shore excursions.

 

[lilmc]

We eat lots of treats, but like to avoid artificial ingredients. We bring Trader Joe’s prepackaged popcorn and candy for the movie theater. We hand carry in outer beach bag so they don’t get too crushed. We either finish a bag or bring home the rest still sealed. Obeys all the factory sealed rules.

 

[lindsay0526]

We will bring a few small snacks- granola bars, crackers, etc. Because sometimes the kids get hungry and they need food ASAP, especially if you are out and about in a port. They are always commercially made and sealed, and we've never had a problem. I also leave a few snacks in the car (which is packed at the port) for the ride home.

 

[BigRob66]

I brought a bunch of chips, cookies, beef jerky, etc in Feb with no problem. My youngest gets hangery pretty easily. Nothing got touched, because of food and ice cream being about 20 feet away from you at all times... Some got eaten while waiting for the plane to leave.

 

[JARNJ3]

Thanks for this thread.

I often think that, Disney in general, fails chocolate. It is always a trial to find good chocolate at the parks.

I always travel with some. It's my crutch against nervousness in flying....... This means that I will also bring some for the trip home

 

[StarSeven7]

So does the food you take on or off the ship have to be prepackaged or does it have to follow standard border crossing guidelines? They're not always the same. For example, we live in Canada but cross often to the US. We can bring a peanut butter sandwich made at home, but you couldn't bring packaged beef jerky because you're not allowed to cross with meat products.

 

[Starwind]

So does the food you take on or off the ship have to be prepackaged or does it have to follow standard border crossing guidelines? They're not always the same. For example, we live in Canada but cross often to the US. We can bring a peanut butter sandwich made at home, but you couldn't bring packaged beef jerky because you're not allowed to cross with meat products.

Food taken on or off the ship must be commercially packaged and factory sealed. It cannot be in an opened container/package.

It cannot be homemade. It cannot be perishable. So no homemade PB sandwich.

When coming OFF the ship either at a port or at the the end of the trip it also has to meet the applicable customs and agriculture regulations of that country, which generally at least means no fresh fruit or vegetables and usually no meat or dairy. There may be additional restrictions, including country of origin, etc.

Some ports do not allow any food off at all.

If the end of the trip is a US port, such as Port Canaveral, you are strongly encouraged to not bring off any food. However, if you need to, any and all food you bring off MUST be fully declared on the customs form/to the customs agent. There are significant penalties for failing to declare. If you do declare and they decide something is not allowed, they can seize/confiscate it [but since you declared it, no penalty for failing to declare]. In addition to the normal customs officer they may have you speak with the agriculture specialist -- in our experience this adds just a couple minutes to clearing US Customs. We find it helps to create a separate detailed written list of all the food we have and then we can hand that with the customs form to the customs officer [we have food allergies and inevitably will have some leftover safe snacks that we are bringing back off the ship for the rest of our trip which will be a few days at WDW].

FWIW, US CBP has previously advised us to bring the receipts with us for the foods, so we can prove they were bought in the US/Canada. I've never been asked for them, but did have them. We are very clear when we give the verbal explanation that they are foods we brought onto the ship with us at the start of the cruise. We do not buy foods at ports and we do not bring food from the ship itself off at the end of the cruise.

SW

 

[StarSeven7]

Food taken on or off the ship must be commercially packaged and factory sealed. It cannot be in an opened container/package.

It cannot be homemade. It cannot be perishable. So no homemade PB sandwich.

When coming OFF the ship either at a port or at the the end of the trip it also has to meet the applicable customs and agriculture regulations of that country, which generally at least means no fresh fruit or vegetables and usually no meat or dairy. There may be additional restrictions, including country of origin, etc.

Some ports do not allow any food off at all.

If the end of the trip is a US port, such as Port Canaveral, you are strongly encouraged to not bring off any food. However, if you need to, any and all food you bring off MUST be fully declared on the customs form/to the customs agent. There are significant penalties for failing to declare. If you do declare and they decide something is not allowed, they can seize/confiscate it [but since you declared it, no penalty for failing to declare]. In addition to the normal customs officer they may have you speak with the agriculture specialist -- in our experience this adds just a couple minutes to clearing US Customs. We find it helps to create a separate detailed written list of all the food we have and then we can hand that with the customs form to the customs officer [we have food allergies and inevitably will have some leftover safe snacks that we are bringing back off the ship for the rest of our trip which will be a few days at WDW].

FWIW, US CBP has previously advised us to bring the receipts with us for the foods, so we can prove they were bought in the US/Canada. I've never been asked for them, but did have them. We are very clear when we give the verbal explanation that they are foods we brought onto the ship with us at the start of the cruise. We do not buy foods at ports and we do not bring food from the ship itself off at the end of the cruise.

SW

Thanks!