Low Histamine Food request for a cruise?!?! Is it possible?

Dear All:

Is it possible to request a Low-histamine "meal" for dinner time in advance? Wife has a medical issue (mast-cell activation syndrome aka MCAS) .....breakfast and lunch, no problem....she can pick and choose at the buffet pretty easily. I know you can request kosher, diabetic, etc.....I doubt it's possible but I told her I would pose/post the question on here.

any advice or help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully, there are others in this same situation who can also share their personal experiences with keeping a low histamine diet.

Thanks in advance.

I'm going to go with you should email special needs and spell out what it is. I had never heard of this before, so the odds are high that they will be "What?" You'd need to spell out what she cannot eat - and likely have it marked as an allergy. And you'll be directed to "present yourself to the maitre'd upon boarding" and that "you will meet with your head server each night to go over the menu and offer acceptable solutions".

I agree - you’ll have to be quite specific in the dining room as to what she can and cannot have. Heck, many of the waitstaff hasn’t figured out vegan yet. Suggest you do traditional dining to assure getting the same waitstaff. I’ve never heard of this particular issue and I’ve been around a long time.

Omg... I have never heard of a low histamine diet! I must google it... because 15 years ago I was diagnosed with a very high histamine level, which can give me hives at night if I don’t take a daily histamine...

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If the buffet is easier it is open for dinner too. Some people prefer eating dinner there. In the main dining room if you have a fixed dining time and therefore the same waiter each evening your waiter will confer with you each night about the following night's menu to see what is on the menu that your wife can eat, or what modifications are necessary.

I agree - you’ll have to be quite specific in the dining room as to what she can and cannot have. Heck, many of the waitstaff hasn’t figured out vegan yet. Suggest you do traditional dining to assure getting the same waitstaff. I’ve never heard of this particular issue and I’ve been around a long time.

You can do MTD with a food allergy - if you make a reservation for the same time every night, you can ask when you board to have the same table and team every night and they'll make it work. On the Brilliance last summer there was a whole little pod of us who reserved the same time (between the two seating times) and always had the same tables and servers.

I have multiple food sensitivities as a result of a Mast Cell Disorder. It causes my body to react as if it is allergic to many foods, though when tested am officially not. I even had the same sensitivities as those who have oral allergiy syndrome as well as multiple chemical sensitivities.

I just list the foods we avoid and they will treat as an allergy though I will tell them that not to fear slight cross contamination issues to make things easier for them. You will have to tell them what she can and cannot have and though you write all out for special needs have in writing for them on the ship the first day when you will need to meet with them when you get on the ship and explain again. Then after dinner each night you will choose what works best for the next day.

It is too complicated an issue to expect them to understand low histamine diet. Personally at first I could basically eat safe chicken, brown rice and green beans and oatmeal mostly first year though still had symptoms. Mine causes angioedema and urticaria as well as severe joint pain if ignore though I am on 3 antihistamines a day.

I always have some hives though we have strict obedience to foods still have the most issue with, I have many foods I can only have occasionally. Many of these I had to wait years before I could eat at all without mouth swelling.

I do not believe stating you need a low histamine diet will help. State you have a mast cell disorder and what it means to you as far as what you can and cannot have. For me this has changed over time. Depending on what you have a problem with, beware of the hidden ingredients in food on the ship. Foods may contain things you have never thought would.

This will be our first RCCL trip and have been others how well was managed on the Allure by staff. Answer is that they manage some issues better than others. Celebrity did pretty well though DW spent a majority of her time seeing that my food was safe for me so that I could enjoy vacation.

You know what diet is. Tell them what you can and cannot have. What you need and what you can have just a little of.

You are the first person I have ever come across who stated had same issue. Have no idea what it looks like for someone else. I have done a lot of reading. Mine is set off even by pressure or vibration so using a tool or sitting in a textured chair can irritate.

We never went about low histamine list exactly since even items on that list caused an issue. We started with very gradual inclusion and testing reactions as added into my food list. I can cheat a little now but in the beginning could not at all.

Good luck.

If the buffet is easier it is open for dinner too. Some people prefer eating dinner there. In the main dining room if you have a fixed dining time and therefore the same waiter each evening your waiter will confer with you each night about the following night's menu to see what is on the menu that your wife can eat, or what modifications are necessary.

As someone previously posted this can be done in MTD too. While on Brilliance we had same waiters each night and almost same table. Chef came out and talked to us about diet/menu issues.

Ask and you shall receive.

Thanks so much for all the responses. Mast Cell Disorders is a relatively new phenomenon in the medical world, but is become more prevalent and diagnosed. It's been a long journey, and took over 10 years to finally get a diagnosis. For those who are curious....DW would eat something....30 minutes later, she would go into what has been characterized like anaphylactic shock. She would get hives all up her body, body turns red, massive diarrhea, huge drop in blood pressure and can pass out. It's one of the scariest things to experience and witness because you never know when it can happen. No trigger has ever been identified. We finally found a doctor who specializes in her condition and shes on some daily histamines to help prevent such "episodes."

In a nutshell, there is no specific food that triggers these episodes, but low-histamine foods have helped her stay "episode" free. On a cruise, for an episode to occur, be quite scary......we do carry an epi-pen if #$@ hit the fan, but knock on wood, we never had to use it. She has had roughly a dozen episode in the past decade, three during pregnancy which scared me even more each time.

This is manageable and we were pretty sure we couldn't just click "Low Histamine Diet" and we appreciate all the time some of you took to write and explain your experiences. It's saddening to hear others with the same condition, but at the same time, it's comforting to hear other people working through the same struggles and we can help share ideas and advice on the issue. so again, Thank you for all the responses, and if there are more people with more advice, we'll be continually looking on here for more info.

We do have traditional dining or attempting to get traditionally dining. At this point we have late night, but hoping to get early due to the kids.

Avoid fish for sure then.

Thanks so much for all the responses. Mast Cell Disorders is a relatively new phenomenon in the medical world, but is become more prevalent and diagnosed. It's been a long journey, and took over 10 years to finally get a diagnosis. For those who are curious....DW would eat something....30 minutes later, she would go into what has been characterized like anaphylactic shock. She would get hives all up her body, body turns red, massive diarrhea, huge drop in blood pressure and can pass out. It's one of the scariest things to experience and witness because you never know when it can happen. No trigger has ever been identified. We finally found a doctor who specializes in her condition and shes on some daily histamines to help prevent such "episodes."

 

In a nutshell, there is no specific food that triggers these episodes, but low-histamine foods have helped her stay "episode" free. On a cruise, for an episode to occur, be quite scary......we do carry an epi-pen if #$@ hit the fan, but knock on wood, we never had to use it. She has had roughly a dozen episode in the past decade, three during pregnancy which scared me even more each time.

 

This is manageable and we were pretty sure we couldn't just click "Low Histamine Diet" and we appreciate all the time some of you took to write and explain your experiences. It's saddening to hear others with the same condition, but at the same time, it's comforting to hear other people working through the same struggles and we can help share ideas and advice on the issue. so again, Thank you for all the responses, and if there are more people with more advice, we'll be continually looking on here for more info.

 

We do have traditional dining or attempting to get traditionally dining. At this point we have late night, but hoping to get early due to the kids.

I think the problem is because it is so new, if you just say "low histamine diet" you're going to get the "Um...what does that mean?" question. You're going to have to basically give them a list of what she CAN eat and what you know she CAN'T eat spelled out.

Dear All:

 

Is it possible to request a Low-histamine "meal" for dinner time in advance? Wife has a medical issue (mast-cell activation syndrome aka MCAS) .....breakfast and lunch, no problem....she can pick and choose at the buffet pretty easily. I know you can request kosher, diabetic, etc.....I doubt it's possible but I told her I would pose/post the question on here.

 

any advice or help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully, there are others in this same situation who can also share their personal experiences with keeping a low histamine diet.

 

Thanks in advance.

Hi, I have a histamine allergy, was on Anthem last year and there were plenty of choices in the Main Dining Room and Coastal Kitchen that it wasn't a problem for me. I agree with the others though, it would be a good idea to let them know in advance, especially since some of the seasonings and dressings may cause a reaction. For me, as long as there is chicken or fish that has been freshly prepared (not left in fridge overnight), I'm okay, but my reactions are not quite as severe as your wife's. Like her, it took me many, many years to figure it out. It's a confusing allergy to say the least.