Gluten free & lactose intolerant foods availability.

Can anyone advise the availability of these foods on Regent vessels, please? My spouse suffers from gluten and lactose intolerances and we would like to think she will still have a good choice on the menus of a three week cruise in a couple of months.

Gnowangerup? Wow - try getting fellow passengers to say that;), let alone know where it is; my husband's from WA and I lived there for 20 years BTW.

What you need to do is let your travel agent know well in advance i.e. now - they'll let Regent know. If your spouse needs soy or almond milk they can get that in. Not sure about gluten free bread but these intolerances are not unusual - they'll really go out of their way to make the experience great. I have a couple of annoying anaphylactic allergies to nuts and fish. They give me the menus the night before and they will make an adjustment to any dish where the offending allergies are a minor ingredient provided I let them know first thing in the morning. It is the first time in my life I've been able to eat a full Degustation menu thanks to their adaptabilty. They will also mark cookies etc. as 'Gluten Free' as appropriate (in my case 'contains nuts').

It would be prudent to introduce yourselves to the Food and Beverage Manager/Executive Chef/Maitre D' on arrival (via the Concierge) so they'll recognise you and alert you to any 'danger areas' and give you extra tips. I found the Executive Chef actually had a copy of the email I had sent my travel agent, and with our third cruise 22 sleeps away we have confirmed with them that these dietary requirements are still on out passenger records.

Enjoy!

Thanks for your so prompt and detailed reply and I will take note of the advice so freely given. Travel agent to be advised and contact to be made with F&B Mgr on embarkation.

Gnowangerup is in fact, incorrect and I can only blame something in the ether for that! We are about 400 kms east at a place called Esperance.

Cheers.

Can anyone advise the availability of these foods on Regent vessels, please? My spouse suffers from gluten and lactose intolerances and we would like to think she will still have a good choice on the menus of a three week cruise in a couple of months.

For any food allergies, here is the procedure from Regent's FAQ section. You can do this yourself, or have your Travel Agent contact Regent on your behalf. Once your booking is tagged as needing a special diet, you will have one of the Head Waiters contact you on the first day of the cruise to give you instructions on how to pre-order your daily menus. Very simple and effective.

What if I have dietary restrictions?

Please advise Regent Seven Seas Cruises of any special dietary requirements you may have 90 days prior to sailing by sending an e-mail to rsscops@rssc.com. General dietary needs such as low salt or low cholesterol foods can be satisfied onboard the ship just by speaking with the dining wait staff.

We have sailed with Regent twice before and were considering trying out a different line like Seabourne or Oceania for our next cruise. However, one of the deciding factors for us was how well Regent handled my nephew's food allergies on past sailings.

As one of the other posters said, he would receive a menu in his mailbox every evening and he could choose what he would like to have, so that accommodations could be made for his allergies. One night dessert was going to be éclairs and he said he would like to try one, as he'd never been able to order one at a regular bakery. When the F&B manager asked him what flavor and my nephew hesitated, the manager said, "never mind." That evening he was presented with a tray that had 9 mini-éclairs, 3 each of 3 different flavors.

We were never worried that he was going to be served something that was on the list of foods he could not eat.

They even brought on board a special container of vanilla ice cream that was just for him, so that there would be no concern of cross-contamination.

I would not leave the communication up to your TA though, and I would not wait until you are onboard. I would contact Regent directly at least a month or two before you sail, and let them know what your family's needs are.

Enjoy your trip!

All the ship have a dedicated head waiter who is charge of special diets. the ships are familiar with gluten dairy free and have alternatives onboard. Things like gluten free pizza dough/pasta and breads are now standard fair and is soy/almond milk. But you should still have your agent let them know, especially if you have a certain item or brand that you want, like a lactose free cheese brand. They will order for and have aboard.

Once you board, let any of the head waiters (Black Jackets) know and they will get the person in charge to meet you. You can discuss your need and they will go over the options.

You still have to be very careful about the food. It is best that you find one section in the dining room and stay with that waiter the whole cruise. Thing do get "lost in translation" in the kitchen with the sous chef's. You want to have a waiter that knows your needs without have to explain to a different one every night.

j

Regent 2001, 37/535

My wife must adhere to a gluten-free diet. She experienced no problems with the range of options on Seven Seas Mariner - and one of the sous chefs in the buffet restaurant even volunteered to prepare a special gluten-free lasagne (which was superb).

All cruise lines have a separate kitchen (or section) with a dedicated chef, to cater for special diets and avoid cross contamination. Regent is no exception. However, some of their ordering procedures are slightly different.

With most cruise lines, a head waiter should visit your table during dinner, with printed menus for the following day. He will invite you to pre-order - and can discuss with you which dishes are suitable for your diet. For coeliacs, the head waiter should also explain which dishes are either naturally gluten-free or can be modified.

During our last cruise on Seven Seas Mariner, they delivered the menus to our cabin - and asked her to mark her preferences and return the menus to the restaurant before 9:00 am on the following morning. That provided no opportunity for a face to face discussion and caused a few problems, because a Regent include many complimentary shore excursions. Consequently, we went ashore most mornings, with some very early starts.

When my wife returned to ship on several occasions, she received voicemail messages, advising her that some of the dishes she had ordered were unsuitable.

We resolved that issue after a few days, by requesting one of the head waiters to take her order personally, every evening.

I am GF and we did an Alaska 7 night last May. I had no problem with food. After first day I preordered and one evening I just was not up for what I had preordered, no problem. They even started having bread for me by at least day 3 if not earlier. They also made sure I had something at tea time ( I was there every day).

I happen to love Creme Brûlée so that took care of dessert. They also have GF Alcohol.

You will have a wonderful time. We did eat more in the Main dining room, I had fav waiters who knew and catered to my tastes.

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