First, go through all your spices and throw out and replace any that you cannot be sure are less than a year old. Old spices lose taste. Check the dates on any canned foods, too. Keep quality boxed or canned tomatoes on hand, as they can be a good substitute if fresh tomatoes are unavailable. For lettuce, buy some living lettuce at your grocer. It can last quite a while if you water it and expose it to the sun occasionally, and keep it cool other times.

For meat, we go to a butcher. Pick out the meat and have the butcher debone it all, then vacuum seal and freeze it. Store as much as you can in your freezer or cooler space. As your cruise goes on, you can replace the meat with fish. If you don’t fish, find a great fish store and buy fresh, frozen seafood.

For herbs, go to your local garden supply house. Buy a tub that can carry soil and can grow herbs. Try basil, mint, sage, rosemary, thyme and others. You will probably end up with more than you can use, and they can be great for trading at the docks. If you are crossing borders, you may need to “plant” once you’re across the border. On your return across the border, most regulations will let you harvest the herbs before coming back even if they do not allow the planted herbs. When my wife and I came back from Canada last year, they were fine with us keeping the herbs, just not the planter.