Going On A Cruise Saturday!

[LqrMan]

I love going on cruises...they are so much fun! I think this will be my 4th cruise since going gluten free. This cruise is on Royal Caribbean and we(my family and I)are going to St. Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Antigua, & Barbados! One of the best parts about cruising is the delicious food they prepare. We have contacted the special needs/diet person for R.C. and I am all set up, just need to meet the Maitre D when we board the ship.

For those looking into cruises, I have had good experiences with Royal Caribbean, Norweigian, & Carnival so far. On one of my cruises, they even made me bread--even though it crumbled and was dry as a bone, it was the effort that counted!

I will update you on the cruise when I return in a week

[Carriefaith]

I hope you have fun on the cruise! I'm glad to hear that you have had such good experiences with those companies. Do you recommend one over the other?

[jenvan]

have a great cruise! i'll be interested to hear. my husband would like to take one and i have heard they are pretty good with diet restrictions...

[Bune]

I'm cruise'n on August 14th. I mentined at the time of booking that I needed a gluten-free diet but I guess I need to follow up with the cruise line - I booked throught a discount website.

I'd love to hear any tips and advice you have.

Thanks,

Brenda

[connole1056]

Please let us know what cruise line was the easiest to deal with. I am interested in going on a cruise and would like some input. I have heard that the larger the ship the easier it is to get special dietary accomodations.

[JacquiUK]

Hi,

I am new on here, I have just found the link on a message board here in the UK.

I have cruised 5 times since I was diagnosed, and have just booked No 6 with Royal Caribbean.

I last cruised with them 2 years ago and they were very very good with my gluten free diet. I did take my own bread and crackers.

I have also done 3 cruises with P&O, their gluten free is the best (though I prefer cruising with Royal Caribbean) P&O bakes fresh rolls with each meal, soups, sauces plus they make gluten-free desserts ie Trifle, Bread & Butter pud, steamed sponge & custard etc, basically whatever you want they will do gluten-free for you. They also put gluten-free biscute in the cabin.

Jacqui

[Carriefaith]

P&O bakes fresh rolls with each meal, soups, sauces plus they make gluten-free desserts ie Trifle, Bread & Butter pud, steamed sponge & custard etc, basically whatever you want they will do gluten-free for you. They also put gluten-free biscute in the cabin.

Yum! What does P&O stand for?

[Guest gliX]

Have fun on your cruise, I've been on 4, but I took all of them before i went gluten free. Cruises are sooooo fun.

[JacquiUK]

Yum! What does P&O stand for?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Carrie,

P&O = Peninsula & Oriental it is run by Carnival, who also have Princess Cruises. They cruise mostly from Southampton (UK) - Open Original Shared Link

P&O have a chocoholic buffet and they do a gluten free selection for that. The food as enjoyable a part of the holiday as it used to be with P&O but as I said before I still prefer Royal Caribbean.

Jacqui

Open Original Shared Link

[pixiegirl]

I'm a cruiser too and even though I've only been diagnosed with Celiac for less then a year I've cruised twice since then. Also prior to that, I've cruised 7 times and my daughter has a life threatening peanut/tree nut allergy so I know about how some other cruise lines handle food issues.

We have had great help from: Royal Caribbean, Norweigian and Windstar (which is part of the Holland America Line). All were very very good.

Windstar is my favorite but its a different sort of cruise on smaller (500 ft.) sailing ships (not small by any means they have pools and hot tubs but smaller then "regular" cruise ships). I was more worried to cruise them because when I spoke with Holland America they said they can't guarentee no cross contamination because its a small ship with only one kitchen, however I have since found out that most big ships don't have a gluten free kitchen of course (although it is my understand that the new carnival ships have a gluten-free area in the kitchen). Their rep told me they would do their best.

Once I ship I meet with the Maitre de, my waiter, the chef and my opinion changed. Although they did not supply me with gluten-free things, almost every night the chef made me a special dessert, at any mean I could ask for anything I wanted and they said they would be happy to prepare it for me and that much of their food was already gluten-free (lots of grilled things, omlets, eggs, veggies). After that at every meal either the Maitre de or our waiter went over every single dish with me (even all the dishes in the buffet) and we'd figure out what I could eat and what I couldn't. They went out of their way for my daughter and I and we had a lovely trip.

LqrMan, I've been on the exact cruise you're taking with RC you'll have a great time!

Susan

[Carriefaith]

Thanks Jacqui! I'm thinking of going on a cruise and was just wondering what all the best companies are.

[KarenCM]

Rob,

Are you back from your cruise yet? I would love to hear all about it especially the food. I have cruised a few times before but it was all before I was diagnosed.

Karen

[LqrMan]

Rob,

Are you back from your cruise yet?  I would love to hear all about it especially the food.  I have cruised a few times before but it was all before I was diagnosed.

Karen

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, I'm back! I had an INCREDIBLE time on my cruise and am slowly getting back into being home.

Royal Caribbean did a great job as far as the food goes. As soon as my family and I got onboard we met with the Maitre D. He let his Head waiter in the main dining room know about my allergy (there was another woman that had celiac the week before as well). The waitstaff was very cooperative, however, they did not have the full grasp of the allergy, which is fine. I planned out my meals the night before for dinner the next day. Most of the meals were either gluten free to start with or could be tailored to be gluten-free very easily. I ate lamb, steak, lobster tails, shrimp, even rice noodles. From the second night on, they prepared me a gluten-free dessert as well--usually a custard or flourless cake.

It was a little more tricky to get the appropriate food for other meals. This was because I would have to find the Head waiter in the open seating dining room so he could check with the chef on the food that was already prepared. But the staple foods that were always there were white rice, salad, fruits, and a carving station. So, I would start out eating those foods while I waited to find out what other dishes I could choose from. Breakfast was good, usually got an omelet or I brought some cereal to the dining room.

The baker made me gluten-free corn muffins for every meal as well! They tasted pretty good, but were typically dry. I even ordered room service around 4am and got 2 burgers without the bun and a chef's salad. Probably the best part was that I did NOT get sick from anything I ate! I could not eat the soft serve frozen yogurt b/c we did not know the ingredients (they were in code form to protect the company's recipe). I guess if you REALLY want to have the frozen yogurt, contact the cruise company and see what company they use for their ice cream/frozen yogurt and make sure it's gluten-free before you get on the ship. There was Ben & Jerry's ice cream for sale in the promenade area of ship if you wanted some.

For those thinking about taking a vacation/cruise, I would highly recommend cruising. They are very accomodating as long as they know in advance of your special needs. I think Royal Caribbean has done the best job so far out of Norweigian and Carnival, but they are all pretty good.

[Carriefaith]

Probably the best part was that I did NOT get sick from anything I ate!

Welcome back! I am glad that you had a good time and didn't get sick! The staff seem very accommodating. That is amazing that you can go on a cruise and not get sick! I will definately consider Royal Caribbean when I plan my cruise. Do you think that they would also accommodate a gluten and dairy free diet? or is that asking too much?

[KarenCM]

I am happy to hear that you had a great time on your cruise and especially that you didn't get sick. I am looking forward to my first cruise gluten free but I think it will be awhile till I get a vacation. I just a new job that I will be starting next. But, the cruise will be worth the wait.

Karen

[LqrMan]

Welcome back! I am glad that you had a good time and didn't get sick! The staff seem very accommodating. That is amazing that you can go on a cruise and not get sick! I will definately consider Royal Caribbean when I plan my cruise. Do you think that they would also accommodate a gluten and dairy free diet? or is that asking too much?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks! I think that they would most likely be able to accomodate a gluten & dairy free diet. If you think about it, most of the food I ate had very little to no dairy in it. I actually met a woman on the cruise that was lactose intolerant and has to eat small meals spaced out in certain increments or else she gets sick. I think she said she had IBS as a result of her LI. I do not think she alerted them prior to the cruise, but she probably just stuck to the foods she knew she could eat. I bet if you give the cruise line enough notice, they might be able to get some Soy milk onboard if need be (maybe they already have it available, but I am not sure).

[JacquiUK]

Welcome back! I am glad that you had a good time and didn't get sick! The staff seem very accommodating. That is amazing that you can go on a cruise and not get sick! I will definately consider Royal Caribbean when I plan my cruise. Do you think that they would also accommodate a gluten and dairy free diet? or is that asking too much?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As all the food is ordered the night before they can do gluten and dairy free, when I was last with Royal Caribbean a gentleman at my table was lactose intolerant and some of the soups and desserts were suitable for us both.

[Carriefaith]

Thanks! It seems like they are very accomodating. Which is great!

[bluelotus]

Welcome back! I am glad that you had a good time and didn't get sick! The staff seem very accommodating. That is amazing that you can go on a cruise and not get sick! I will definately consider Royal Caribbean when I plan my cruise. Do you think that they would also accommodate a gluten and dairy free diet? or is that asking too much?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi,

I just came back from a Royal Carb. cruise Aug 28th to the Caribbean. I am on a gluten-free diet as well as dairy and egg free. They did a great job accomadating me, though, obviously, I did not get to eat the frozen yogurt or flourless desserts. But, they did have me pick my meals the night before so they could set it aside (so no spices, etc). For dessert, they brought me fruit. For lunch, I ordered a plain baked potato as well as two hamburger patties (specified that they could not touch bread). with lettuce, tomato, and onion. They use Heinz ketchup on board, which is gluten-free, so I was able to use that on my burger and potato. They only asked that I not eat at the buffets, which is not unexpected b/c of contamination risk. Also, although they don't tell you this, they have a mini bar/frigde in the cabin. I had brought juice-box sized Silk soymilks and, although they don't have to be refrigerated, I was able to keep them cool. Also, they have no problem with you bringing your own dry snacks, bread, cereals, etc. Something to keep in mind too - if you are a wine drinker, I believe that you can bring your own wine (though there is a corking fee if you bring it with you to the dining room). Wine on board is pretty expensive ~ $6 a glass is the cheapest. One more thing - if you have specific salad dressings, they want you to bring individual packets that don't need to be cooled b/c they will not store any food for you in their kitchen. This is what I was told and did not bring dressing b/c of it, but the problem is solved with the mini-fridge.

They were so great and pleasant about the whole thing, I wanted to cry. Things had never been made that easy for me. I was actually able to enjoy myself without obsessing about food! Imagine! I would recommend Royal Caribbean to any celiac b/c of my experience with them (my only complaint is that they have more/larger pools on board, but that's another story).

Good luck with any cruising!

[terri]

I just came back from a cruise on Holland America lines and it was fantastic. About 2 months before I cruised I filled out their form stating how many english muffins, pizzas, bagels, bread, cookies, cakes, etc. etc., I would need EACH DAY and they ordered it all from Kinninick at no cost to me. Then every day I would choose my breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next day by ordering anything I wanted and they would make it gluten free. They have a separate kitchen for people with food allergies and everything was great! I didn't get sick at all and had soup at every meal. They even made me sushi! What a great vacation!!!

[moving on]

Terri, did you need to eat in the dining room each meal or were you free to use the buffett? Did you have to chose all 3 meals the day before? We are considering a HAL cruise in January. I wouldn't be able to consume many baked items but an English muffin some mornings and something sweet at tea would be nice.

We would be able to drive to the port so I could carry my Bard's Tale. I won't be able to take it when sailing from the west coast.

[terri]

I chose my meals the day before. That way if I chose to eat on the Lido deck or in my stateroom all I needed to do was to find a head steward and tell him I wanted the gluten free meal from table 76. He would then bring it to wherever I was. I did not eat off of the buffet as I am one of those who avoid salad bars and buffets due to possible cross contamination issues. We ate most all of our meals in the dining room as my dh didn't "pay all this money to stand in line with a tray like in a cafeteria".. No, he liked the wine steward coming to our table and the incredible view out the windows. We did request a table for two at all times for two reasons. One, I didn't want to have to explain why I had "special meals" and end up being the topic of conversation every time we ate (only dinner is at your fixed table, so you will get different seat mates at every meal, every day) and two, we were concerned about cross contamination from all the rolls and stuff. The rice pudding was awesome. All the gluten-free cakes and tortes and stuff were chocolate which I am allergic to, so I didn't really do desserts except flan, sorbet and pudding. The bagel was not edible so I put the cream cheese and salmon on a rice cake. The best thing were the cranberry muffins and the Kinnininick brown sandwich bread. I also loved their soups!

Have fun but remember, you need to fill out the gluten-free form 90 days in advance.

[moving on]

Thank you for taking time to reply. The 90 day issue is probably the reason I have not requested gluten-free diet. We have cruised with HAL 6 times and hope to make it 7 this winter. We are retired and usually book last minute so that is somewhat limiting for requesting a special diet. If we book 60 days out this time, I will try a special request. I have found cruising one of the easiest ways to travel on a gluten free diet. We enjoy the Lido deck for breakfast - we enjoy eating on the open deck, weather permitting.

[Patti B]

I don't know about any of the others but Royal Caribbean was an excellent cruise line. My bf has celiac and I have lactose intolerance so we were a little wary, but the wait staff were knowledgeable and accommodating with our needs. I eat gluten-free too so I don't accidentally get him sick and we were brought gluten-free bread every morning for breakfast and lunch in the main dining room and chose our meals the night before so they could make us something safe. I was also brought soy milk or Lactaid milk (depending on the waiter) for any meal I wanted, even in my coffee after dinner. There were times the main dining room wasn't open for lunch, so we went up to the Windjammer Cafe and the wait staff and chefs was also knowledgeable there.. we safely ate (bunless) hotdogs, chili, and tacos. The room service was good too- a delicious salad, a chorizo chili dip, and a cheese and fruit platter (it came with crackers, but they were in a separate package). It was all delicious and best of all, it was at no extra cost to us. We did bring gluten-free breakfast bars, cookies, and crackers for when we were off the ship. We certainly never felt hungry and neither of us got sick.