box lunches for when off ship?

[nhough1971]

Will cruise ships provide you with box lunches or to-go boxes if you aren't going to be on the ship for a meal? We are cruising on NCL's Pride of Hawaii in October and will be renting cars in each port. Since we'll miss lunch on the ship each day, we thought it would be nice to bring a collapsible cooler and ice pack and bring sandwiches or other food off the ship on a few of the days - if that's possible - so we can eat on the go, have a picnic on the beach, etc. Will ships provide the food for us if we ask? Or would we just need to bring our own containers and get it off the buffet? We're budget conscious and won't be able to eat out every time we're off the ship. I've heard food in Hawaii is very high priced. Thanks for your help!

[gerif]

Hawaii is one of those places that you absolutely cannot bring food into - they even check bags at the airport for fruit/plants, etc. Many excursions do provide lunches and you are always free to bring prepackaged food (cereal boxes, granola bars, etc.). I wouldn't try to sneak food off the ship - fines can be heavy.