Sometimes you’ve just got to have a Snickers bar… or some Doritos… or an after-dinner Oreo. No matter your favorite snack, sometimes (or every day) you have to have it. And if you are sailing on a cruise, you can’t go an entire week without your favorite treat.
Or maybe you have a kid that is a picky eater or a baby that only eats a certain brand of baby food.
Meanwhile, you likely know the restrictive rules that cruise lines have regarding drinks. Most cruise lines allow a bottle of champagne or wine, and that’s it. Bringing on beer or liquor isn’t allowed and it will be confiscated. For some cruise lines, even non-alcoholic drinks and bottles of water are prohibited as well.
Given that drink policies are so restrictive, does that mean the same for food and snacks? Are you going to have to go all week without those Oreos?
Yes, You Can Bring Food & Snacks on a Cruise (With Some Rules)
The good news is that yes, you can bring food and snacks on a cruise — including on major cruise lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.
The rules are much less restrictive than when it comes to beverages, and that’s likely due to the incentive to sell drinks to passengers during the trip. But before you start bringing the entire refrigerator, there is more you need to know about what you can and can’t bring on your trip.
As you may know, there are some major issues on cruise ships that apply to food. This is not only related to international travel with food, but also passenger health.
The first to understand is customs for foreign countries and the United States. Cruising is a popular vacation because you get a sample of several different ports. A 7-day cruise might take you to three or four different ports, not even including the home port that the ship sails from.
Of course, when you visit so many ports, there is the potential to carry with you foreign pests or diseases in food that could cause havoc with a different ecosystem. This is especially the case with fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats.
Another major issue with food and cruise ships has to do with illness. Being sick on a cruise is no fun, and the only thing worse is spreading that sickness to others in the confined space of a ship. In other words, if you cooked something homemade and it made people sick, that wouldn’t be good.
Rules About What Type of Food/Snacks You Can Bring
For the reasons just cited, you aren’t allowed to bring on fruits and vegetables or home cooked items on your cruise. Instead, the only food and snacks you are allowed to bring with you are pre-packaged and processed items.
In other words, a batch of homemade cookies isn’t allowed on the ship. But a pack of prepacked cookies from the store is just fine. Things like chips, beef jerky, and candy are all fine as well. One other thing to keep in mind is that these snacks should unopened.
Each cruise line makes this “prepackaged” rule clear on their websites:
Royal Caribbean Food/Snack Policy:
“One of the best things about cruising is the food! And there will be many dining options available to suit most tastes and preferences. However you are free to bring non-perishable prepackaged food in limited quantities.” Source.
Carnival Food/Snack Policy:
“Due to concerns for food safety and contamination prevention, any food items brought on board must be pre-packaged and unopened. Homemade items or pre-cooked foods are not allowed. We are unable to provide food preparation, refrigeration or storage for personal food or beverage items.” Source.
Norwegian Food/Snack Policy
“Unsealed food items will not be allowed onboard.” Source.
You’ll find that other cruise lines have similar policies that allow you to bring on food and snacks.
Questions on Bringing Food on a Cruise
The rules surrounding food/snacks on a cruise are fairly general. There isn’t a lot of fine print. If you meet the requirements for non-perishable and pre-packaged, then you should be ok to bring it. Even so, you might have some common questions.
How Much Food Can I Bring on a Cruise?
Cruise lines don’t lay out strict limits on how much you can bring (e.g. five pounds of snacks or up to three bags of chips). In other words, it’s open-ended as to the amount. However, we have seen reference to “limited” quantities. In other words, if you bring a suitcase full of food you might have an issue, but packing some extra snacks is just fine.
What About Bringing Drinks?
What’s a bag of chips without something to wash it down with? Here, the rules get a little more complicated. Cruise lines vary on their policies when it comes to bringing non-alcoholic drinks. Some (like Carnival and Royal Caribbean) allow you to bring on drinks with you when boarding. Others allow no drinks at all. You can see specific cruise line policies here.
Are There Restrictions on Certain Foods?
We’ve covered that food must be pre-packaged and unopened. Apart from that, there aren’t restrictions mentioned. So while it might seem restrictive to only be allowed pre-packaged items, it actually encompasses a huge variety of items. Things like candy, chips, salty snacks, beef jerky, and more fall under the umbrella. There should be no trouble bringing your favorite snack on the ship.
You will want to be sure that it doesn’t require refrigeration. While there are small refrigerators in each cabin, they only chill items (around 50 degrees).
Are There Snacks Available on the Ship?
If you like to snack but don’t bring something, there are options on the ship. Each ship will have a small shop that sells a few things like candy and chips. You can go down and pick something up (unlike other food, packaged snacks aren’t included in your fare). One thing to keep in mind are the store hours. If you get a sweet tooth in the middle of the night, you might not be able to buy a Snickers bar.
Have more questions about bringing food? Let us know in the comments below.
That’s what I wanna know. I wanted to take bread and oil and balsamic vinegar to sit on the balcony with the glass to wine.
What about my favorite tea bags?
I would think that if they are in a container (and not just loose leaf) they should be fine.
Can I bring nuts on board
If they are pre-packaged, should be no issue.
I am diabetic and coeliac. Would I be able to bring pre packed rice cakes on my cruise and then take a couple with me each time when we visit ports?
If pre-packaged, it will be ok to bring on the ship. However, ports don’t like you bringing food into port. Normally it’s fresh fruit/vegetables, but not sure if a port would have an issue or not.
Just got off Carnival Sunshine. They didn’t check for anything food related coming or going. Ran bags through regular scanner. Hand checked cases of soda. That’s it.
Fruits or vegetables I understand. But I wanted to bring half a sandwich I’d purchased in Bermuda back onto the cruise ship and they made me throw it away before boarding. –It was a very expensive sandwich, sealed in a box. This policy makes no sense!!! None. There were no foreign parasites on my sandwich. It was a waste of money. Never cruising with Royale Caribbean again.
Are we to put the items in our checked bag or carry on?
It would be best to put food/snacks in a carry-on just so they don’t get potentially crushed.
As far as bringing the snack do we put them in the bags you check in or the carry on
Either should be fine.
Can each passenger bring a bottle of wine?. Can we also bring cans of Soda
Depends on the cruise line. For more details, see our article here: https://www.cruzely.com/bringing-water-or-soda-on-the-ship-carnival-royal-caribbean-princess-and-norwegian/
I eat fresh raw garlic every morning so my question is can i bring fresh garlic on a Carnival cruise.
Better leave it at home.
Can we bring candy and chocolates?
As long as they are pre-packaged, it should be ok.
We are taking a cruise on the Carnival Glory. We have a 4 year old that is a very picky eater. Can we bring on canned foods like Vienna or spaghettios and muffins or poptarts
Yes, you are allowed to bring pre-packaged items.
We will be taking a Royal Cruise that leaves from New Orleans. While in NOLA, we plan on purchasing some pralines. They will be purchased in a bakery, so they will be packaged in a box, but not in cellophane as something like Oreos would. Do you think this will be acceptable?
Should be fine. Worse comes to worse, could you buy them up after your cruise?
I drink Tart Cherry juice with my medication May I bring a sealed unopened bottle of this this juice in my carry on luggage or packed luggage?. There is no flight need before I board the ship. I am on a Celebrity ship on Dec. 30, 2019.
Should be ok to bring.
Bread if you put in a sealed bag( I have a sealing machine)