specialdiet

It was an interesting read discovering how poorly Oceania did with multiple dietary issues but but as a straightforward convenience vegan, not WFPB diet, they do really well :)

 

I was onboard Marina last Oct and had the best, finest vegan meal I have ever been served onboard a cruise ship 😍 Just a few comments on the above points.. addition, rather than reply...

Hi Sanna, I was hoping you might have something to add. :D (I actually tried emailing you a few days ago, but not sure if it got through...). I think your comments are spot on, and your needs/preferences are a great fit for the niche they're targeting.

To add to your collection, we most often do Celebrity, and they seem to have a pretty good variety of veggie/vegan choices. Beyond items on the main menu, there's a separate veggie menu, also I believe on a 14 day rotation. It includes ovo-lacto stuff, but at least one vegan item per category, so choice-wise on par with Oceania. They've also in our experience always been very willing to go off menu. (And their lunch salad bar always has some kind of beans so I could do a big green salad with some protein, which I missed with Oceania!).

It's also harder on the smaller (only by cruise line standards!) ships to offer more options given correspondingly smaller galley, food storage, buffet size, staff, etc. I think Oceania does a great job for what they're offering, and I think what you saw demonstrates that well. It's just not a great fit for us, even ignoring the mistakes.

I think there are some fairly easy things they could do to improve what they're already doing and broaden the appeal further, which I'd love to see. And on the multiple dietary issues side, they're starting way behind, which is fixable, but would require some pretty big changes behind the scenes. I like the overall experience and ambience on Oceania, but as-is it's unfortunately not an option.

I've sent this through Oceania's feedback form (no answer so far), and my TA has offered to pass it on to her Oceania rep. I'll definitely report back if/when I hear anything. Thanks!

Don't make the mistake of believing that your happiness with your trip is really that important to Oceania (or any cruise line). Their obligation is not to you. They all talk a good game, but actions speak louder than words, especially when you have problems. Good thing? Bad thing? It is what it is. I think it's good to share stories, good or bad, that reflect reality, so thank you. I'd use another TA next time (since they obviously can't even get the "talk a good game" part right).

With that being said, I do realize that some people suffering from Celiac disease is difficult. However, it has become a food fad for many that do not have it and think of it as a diet to lose weight.

That gluten-free is trendy is a mixed blessing. Products and awareness are certainly more widely available. But for celiacs when even the tiniest amount of gluten can trigger them, it's tough. Many people have come to think of it as a bit closer to a preference and so aren't as careful as with for example a peanut allergy causing anaphylaxis.

We're both glad we're not celiac (gluten is a migraine trigger for my wife, and wheat exacerbates my colitis), and had a bunch of meds to get things back under control fairly quickly. I'm much more worried for people who could have a more acute and prolonged reaction.

I did rad your very long writeup and all I can say is wow

Jancruz1

Thanks for reading. It's been a while since I've been really shocked, but two things this time did it for me. First was that nobody flagged perhaps their main veg protein as being wheat-based. Second was the head waiter "in charge of allergies" basically avoiding us for a week after we had some problems instead of stepping up.

(The right person stepping up after mistakes can turn everything around. On an Azamara cruise years back, we had flight problems getting there so missed our pre-cruise activities and barely made it. So we started out grumpy and had a couple food mistakes early on. A head waiter there went above and beyond to ensure the rest of the trip went as smooth as possible, and stuck with it. He got a nice letter from us and recognition from the bosses instead of this unfortunate writeup. Let me make it clear this isn't an Oceania or Azamara thing, it's just about the individuals involved.)

We just didn't want to bet on having a compulsive label-reader in the kitchen. I hope Oceania takes note of your analysis and comments and works to address them. It's hard to travel with dietary restrictions, and it's worth working hard to keep folks safe. (It's also worth investing time in developing exciting vegan and vegetarian dishes--we were disappointed in many of those offerings on our cruise, as you were.)

Thanks for the feedback. I really do hope they up their game. There's no real excuse for a professional kitchen messing up with allergens in this day and age. While I'm always vigilant (recognizing that between the two of us we're not straightforward), it does take some of the relaxation element out of the holiday. Like you, we often simplify our choices of meals and/or venues to avoid trouble or frustration.

While I think getting the allergens thing right is trickier (but more important) given their existing processes, I'd love to see some modernization and more than one option each day in the vegan menus. It's an opportunity to really solidify their overall culinary credibility. Otherwise 'finest cuisine at sea' is going to need increasing numbers of caveats!

Thanks for reading.

All I can say is my daughter-in-law has to have gluten free and she has Hashimoto's. She did well. They gave her a menu a day before and she picked. She was fine. Others may be more serious than she is though.

I think they handle more common single restrictions more-or-less as well as any other cruise line. If it's more than one thing it seems more problematic, both because they're not used to dealing with it (making it more likely mistakes will happen) and because many of their 'special' items are pre-made mixes or pre-packaged products (so fewer or less appetizing options).

We recently did two weeks on Marina, and got a good feel for the vegan menus. My overall thoughts (with respect to dinner in the GDR):

1. The vegan menu changes daily, like the regular menu. Given the reported number of new menu items, you're not likely going to encounter repetition. So that's the good news.
   
2. Despite the large number of items overall, there are few/no choices on each day's menu (i.e. one salad, one soup, one appy, one entree, one dessert). Essentially I hope you like what they have on offer that day.
   
3. The dishes are almost universally vegan derivatives of items on the main menu, e.g. replace chicken in entree with vegan protein substitute. Weirdly retro and not how any vegan I know actually eats. Your favourite meat-potatoes-veg relative would approve. Real vegans not as much.
   
4. Not withstanding the above, taste, presentation, etc. were generally good.
   
5. If you have any other dietary restrictions along with vegan, you could be in trouble.
   

I've posted more details on this and other related topics in a detailed write-up I did about our culinary experiences recently: https://cruisespecialdiet.com/oceania/

Regarding the commenters saying you're wasting your money if you go Oceania without partaking in its full culinary experience, all I can say is people choose cruises for all kinds of reasons, and I'm not about to judge, no matter how tempting it may be...! :halo:

One suggestion is to ask to sit in the same section daily so you have the same wait staff

Thanks very much. Yes, we generally do that as it does help minimize errors and stress (the crews and ours). In this case it wouldn't have prevented the big mistakes (which happened second day) or some later ones, but I'm certain avoided others.

Having said that, after nobody from the waiter to the head chef knew that the main ingredient in a vegan protein product was made from wheat, the entire dining team knew about us. :)

(I have to say I prefer to be the topic du jour in the daily staff meetings because a staff member did such a superb, over-and-above job that we brought it to the attention of one of the head honchos, who shared it to recognize that person...)

My wife and I were on Marina Jul 14-28 . Both of us have multiple dietary restrictions which with a bit of work are usually handled pretty well by cruise lines. This trip may have hit a low for us, with both of us getting sick and several big mistakes made (in the dining room). On reflection, it appeared that both procedures and staff comfort level did ok with one restriction at a time, but didn't cope well with several at once.

I spent some time to write up a detailed review and analysis of our experience. It also touches on the new-ish vegan menus, which seemed weirdly retro and more limited than expected. I've got a few ideas how things could be done better. I know many people have perfectly good experiences, but I have to say, based on our extensive experience with cruising with dietary restrictions and conversations with staff, these are not trivial one-off mistakes. We'd be happy to give O more of our vacation money for the ship size and overall quiet, but if this isn't fixed it's unfortunately a deal-breaker in that regard.

As this writeup is very lengthy, I'm not including it here, but you can read the whole thing at https://cruisespecialdiet.com/oceania/ and would certainly welcome any comments.

I have no idea why this is, but we find that information provided ahead of time rarely gets passed along to your onboard file, or at least rarely correctly. Go in with the assumption that they know nothing about your problem, and then be pleasantly surprised the odd time when they actually do know!

To those who think that filling out a special needs form is enough, you'll likely be very disappointed. If you are cruising with any kind of dietary restriction, there's definitely a lot more to think about and be aware of before and during your cruise. This varies with your exact needs, the venue, and each crew member you interact with. The guide on my website (see signature) will help you navigate all that.

The good news is it's very possible to have a safe and enjoyable dining experience. My wife and I do cruise holidays specifically because of our multiple dietary issues. It's not painless, but far less so than being in an unfamiliar city and having to spend hours every day to find safe food. :)

Had no problems with gluten free on Oceania. If you're looking for some general tips on cruising GF, check out the my free guide posted at cruisespecialdiet.com.

Note that Oceania is open-seating only, which isn't ideal for people with special dietary needs, but it's still workable.

There are lots of gluten free options. However, ensuring you actually have a gluten free experience does require a fair bit of diligence and assertiveness on your part, as training/procedures are a bit of a mixed bag. This applies to all cruise lines, not just Celebrity. Am currently on Solstice and have run across a few situations this trip that would definitely cause problems for celiacs.

Have a peek at the info on my cruisespecialdiet.com website to learn about the steps you can take to minimize your risks of getting sick..

I am eagerly awaiting the appearance of the first centenarian standing obstinately outside the MDR wearing only a barrel and suspenders, carrying a sign decrying the unending cruelty of the world in light of this earth-shattering change.

First, check out the online guide noted in my signature. There's a chapter in there on communicating clearly with staff that's probably most important, since you've been on other lines and know the big picture stuff already.

In general, Celebrity is pretty good compared to other lines we've traveled, but haven't done Disney (no kids), who I'd assume would be awesome.

More non-celiacs eating gluten-free these days is a mixed blessing; on the plus side, greater awareness and availability of options, but on the down side less awareness of how the tiniest trace of gluten can have a severe effect on someone who is celiac which isn't always the case with others (myself included in the latter category; if a few bread crumbs were in something I'd definitely notice it, but not become ill like with a larger amount).

In other words, be suspicious that the person who smiles and nods "oh yes gluten free" doesn't quite know what they're talking about, and don't be scared to ask to talk to someone more senior.

My wife tends to live on gluten-free, no cheese pizzas for lunch when we're on a cruise (person at pizza station looks at her suspiciously first day, by end of cruise he can see her coming a mile away). :)

Cruise lines use the same suppliers as you'd find in your grocery store, some more consistently than others (e.g. HAL seems to always use Kinnickinick). While GF products are generally getting better, some are definitely still an "acquired taste"!

Good trip report and interesting followup.

I think the pragmatic approach is exactly the right one to take here. They may be advertising a dream, but we all should know they aren't guaranteeing it.

Some perspective, having been on the sailing a couple years back where Millenium broke down in Ketchikan, Alaska and everyone was flown out. In their legalese, that was beyond 'minor' so cruise fare refunds were given etc., but it still didn't help the folks from Australia here for their "trip of a lifetime" where most of the cost was airfare that they didn't get back.

In handling that situation too, communication tended to be right at the last minute even though in retrospect it was obvious certain things were known well ahead of time.

I think this is a practical matter related to how they can(not) deal with a large number of customer demands for changes. Dealing with 2000 angry customers a week ahead of time, most thinking it's reasonable to change things to meet their very specific individual needs is a lot harder than telling them the boat is going to leave in an hour, get on or not.

They don't have the capacity to handle the first scenario, which if they tried would lead to all kinds of inequities, all of which would be dragged out on Cruise Critic, and this bad blood would stretch out forever.

Bottom line, don't count on on being treated like an individual when you're travelling with thousands of others, face the possibility of being disappointed, and if you're fortunate enough to have the capability, hedge your bets. Celebrity made the right decision for Celebrity.

I put together a quite detailed web site with (free) info on doing cruises with special diets (i can't do gluten, dairy and don't eat meat/bird, my wife can't do gluten, dairy, soy and nuts).

While it's not Celebrity-specific, it is the line that we do most often, and have found them in general to be pretty good about it compared with others, though it varies with individual staff.

The site is http://cruisespecialdiet.com

Just off Century's two week Panama Canal cruise, and dropped four pounds! I'm only posting this to to brag a bit, and no, it wasn't via the norovirus diet. :rolleyes:

Actually I usually lose a bit of weight on a cruise, which most people assume is due to my restrictive diet (no gluten, dairy, meat or poultry), and give me the "poor you, there must have been nothing for you to eat" routine.

Au contraire. And while there were lots of things onboard I couldn't eat, I certainly never went hungry. Tons of fresh fruits and veggies everywhere, plus many other healthy choices, effectively portion-controlled meals at the MDR, some level of activity off the ship, and lots of time to use the never-too-busy gym when onboard.

Combine the ready availability of great tasting but healthy food with the lower stress that comes with holidays, and being somewhat reasonable with alcohol intake, and it's not hard to have a great time yet still be healthy. Hmmm, maybe I would have lost more weight if my in-laws also weren't onboard :D

I talked at length with their Head Chef and he said all the Asian food was GF

As in no soya sauce (or only high-priced g/f soya sauce) used? Why do I find myself somewhat skeptical...

If you're doing gluten-free as a general eating preference you'll do very well on Celebrity. There's good general knowledge, the MDR menus indicate gluten-free items.

However, if you're doing it because you have to (celiac, allergy, or highly sensitive intolerance) you'll want to be a lot more careful, and always go through the "specially prepared" process.

The MDR menus flag gluten-free, no sugar added, vegetarian, and lactose free, but again, if you need zero tolerance make sure it's special ordered, and be very suspicious.

For context, we special order; just finished up a 15 night trip, and was served items with offending ingredients twice (I caught these both times). I'd consider this a very good success rate.

Glad that you had a good experience. To be honest, I don't think the individual cruise line matters that much, as opposed to the individual staff members you work with on the ship that you're on.

All of the lines handle gluten free (and other special diets) more or less the same way, which was nicely described by the original poster. So if you enjoy Carnival, great! But don't feel you need to restrict yourself to just one particular line thinking it's the "best" for your dietary needs.

Good and bad stories abound for every single cruise line. Best thing you can do to ensure the best experience possible is become better informed about how the cruise lines handle special diets (my free online guide is a good start).