Anyone who has to be Gluten Free. How do you handle this on the ship?

I was just diagnosed with gluten intolerance. We are going on Pride in June.

I'd really appreciated If someone who has to be gluten free gives me suggestions how to handle this on the ship.

Do they have GF items on the menu? Should I bring GF snacks with me on board?

Go to the main dining room as soon as you get on the ship. Tell them your needs and they take your orders for the week. They will tell you where there is gluten free bread (deli, pizza burger buns, etc). I even did the chef's table and they were more than accommodating. I have celiacs and did not have a problem and had your time dining.

We brought our gluten intolerant 3 year old on Vista in January. You will need to find the maitre D when you board to order dinner for the first night, and order breakfast and dinner for the next day at dinner every night. There wasn’t a specific menu but they could modify almost anything on the nightly menu. Plenty of options.

We avoided the buffet except for fresh fruit, too risky. Deli had GF bread that was good. Pizza place made GF dough upon request. Guys burgers had GF buns and the fries are safe.

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Thank you so much for your responses! I'm going to follow your advice and talk to maitre 'd after we board the ship.

Here is another recent thread

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2611437

DW is gluten intolerant, she is highly sensitive to gluten.

Sailed on Conquest and Breeze after her diagnosis. We, too, were directed to visit with the maitre de as soon as we got on ship. That never happened. Once, the MDR was closed, the big doors shut. I knocked, and even tried to find another way in. Second cruise, the MDR was open, but after asking around I was told the maitre de was busy elsewhere. Some worker took down my information, but I highly suspected they were doing it just to appease me. They had no more idea what to do than I did.

Here are our experiences -

Conquest 2013 - First night was rough in the MDR, but they were able to accommodate her with a wonderful dinner. MDR bread was absolutely delicious. She was so used to sawdust and sand textures. Even I could not tell they were gluten free. After that, each night, someone came by with the next night's menu, and DW selected her next night's meal. I can't recall if they ever told her they couldn't make a particular main dish gluten-free. There were many side dishes that surprisingly they were able to alter, and, of course, there were many items that didn't need to be altered to be gluten-free. Chocolate melting cake is a highlight.

We discovered that she could order breakfast in the MDR the night before. Now one of her big cruise must-haves is the gluten free French toast.

Don't remember much else from that cruise. She did try the buffet with advice from the floor manager,and did not get contamination.

Breeze 2017 - Dinner rolls were not nearly as good as they were a few years back on the Conquest. Still tasty, but definitely not the same. We didn't always get to pre-order the next night's dinner, but there were always lots of options. When not pre-ordering, we did notice that gravies and sauces might be absent. I guess maybe those were made ahead based on request.

Breakfast was still delicious. French toast as good as she remembered.

Other things she loved: At the for-fee sushi bar, the gluten-free sushi rolls were her daily snack. Don't remember what she was limited to, but they understood gluten-free and helped us order.

Guy's Burgers - another staple. She had them without buns, but they did have Udi's gluten-free buns.

BlueIguana - getting the corn tortillas and telling them you can't have gluten, they will set you up nice.

Lunch time in the Cucina Del Capitano - while this is a for-fee dinner option, there is no extra fee for lunch. She loved the gluten free pasta dishes.

Pizza Pirate - gluten free crust. She said she liked it, but apparently not enough to face the lines again.

Things we didn't try on the Breeze, but were told she could have -

Deli - they have gluten free bread. I watched them, and they seemed to do a good job of putting on new gloves, unwrapping meat and bread, and then putting everything back for those who ordered gluten-free.

Buffet - again, get some assistance from the floor manager. Some of the servers are not really "gluten-free savvy", even if they try to come across like they understand your situation.

Specialty for-fee restaurants - I have always heard they are excellent venues for gluten-free eating.

As is your life now, always observe and ask questions. Be polite but firm if you think there might have been contamination. If a server doesn't seem to understand you, find someone around who does. Most everyone was very helpful and friendly.

While we have never sailed the Pride, just looked it up. Did not see an Italian restaurant, but all other eating locations that I mentioned do seem to be on the Pride.

I was just diagnosed with gluten intolerance. We are going on Pride in June.

 

I'd really appreciated If someone who has to be gluten free gives me suggestions how to handle this on the ship.

 

Do they have GF items on the menu? Should I bring GF snacks with me on board?

We recently sailed on the Pride and we found better procedures in place in MDR than buffet, but either way be careful and speak up to all staff and servers. They want to be helpful, but it is easy for items to become cross contaminated.

We had afternoon tea with a lady who couldn't have anything with chocolate. The staff was very good about getting a fresh tray and fresh serving utensil to avoid contamination. They were using the same knife to cut/serve multiple desserts.

In the buffet I noticed they tended to have at least one GF bread option, but it was often placed next to regular breads and shared a serving tong:rolleyes:

I am very fortunate to not have food sensitivities, but I do have friends with them so I am aware of the struggle. I would probably bring a few snacks on board with you and try to find items that are naturally GF (fruits, ice cream, salads - but watch dressings, grilled meat).

There is a special needs thread that should have more help from you, and probably a special needs department on Carnival.

Best wishes!

Please make sure you advise Miami that you need a gluten free diet. A quick e-mail to SpecialNeeds@Carnival.com is all it takes. We have been on a ship when there were lots of people requesting gluten free diets and they did not have enough stores onboard because so many people failed to notify Special Needs. They ran out of gluten free pasta, breads and flours for sauces early in the week, so the food was a dry piece of meat and some vegetables and they couldn't make some of the desserts, like the chocolate melting cake. The Maitre D told us about the problem and said he was so sorry. He said he knew we had notified Special needs, but many others had not and that not enough GF items had been ordered for that particular cruise.

Make sure you order your dinner the night before so that you get a reasonable replica of the regular menu item. This means for example that the lamb shanks will actually have a gravy made with cornstarch instead of flour. Also, they can make the broccoli without bread crumbs. We never eat there the first night because we have not in the 25 cruises we have taken since being diagnosed, been allowed to order when we visit the Maitre D in the early afternoon on embarkation day.When we waited until we got to the MDR our choices were severely limited. I was sick of a lousy tough chicken breast so now we make a steakhouse reservation for the first night of every cruise we take - they do GF beautifully without notice. However, the new Steakhouse menu has very limited GF dessert options on it. The chocolate sampler they took away was easily made GF. On our last 2 cruises with the new menu our only choices were berries or sorbet or ice cream. Then, on day 2 when we go to breakfast we tell them we need to order our GF dinners in the MDR for that evening. We also make sure to notify them about any other nights we will not be eating in the MDR because they really do seem to worry.

If you want GF pancakes or want brunch items made GF you will need to notify them at dinner the night before. When you order an omelette or scrambled eggs ask the waiter for fresh eggs. The mix in the milk cartons they use is not GF. The ice cream and frozen yogurt in the machines on Lido is GF, They will make you a GF pizza, but you may have to wait 10 or 15 minutes. The Lido is not the best place for GF. If eating there at lunch, I only get salad and put oil and vinegar on it or use my own dressing, which I bring in individual serve packets. Sandwiches on GF bread are available in the deli and through room service, however the bread is awful and crumbles. They need to up their game to whatever GF bread Princess serves!

They will often make you GF desserts if you ask for it that may not be on the next night's menu. For example you can get Warm Chocolate Melting Cake pretty much any night and if you don't want Creme Brulee, they will make you cheesecake instead. If you are celebrating something go to Cherry on Top and order a GF birthday or anniversary cake. They are really good, but sadly cannot be ordered before you sail.

We have yet to find GF cookies on Carnival. We can get them 24 hours a day on RCCL at Cafe Promenade and in the Windjammer when it is open. It is so nice the way they have the GF items clearly marked. On Carnival it is best to find one of the Asst. Maitre D up on the Lido and he will get one of the Chefs to walk you through what is GF on the buffet line for that day.

They generally have GF cereal onboard now that Cheerios, Chex and Lucky Charms are GF, so if you eat cereal for breakfast you are OK.

As for GF snacks, they are non-existent on Carnival so we bring our own. We generally bring some nuts and GF crackers to have in the cabin with a glass of wine in the late afternoon. Whatever you bring has to be commercially prepared and in unopened packages - no homemade goodies!

Just be very careful that you actually get your GF order at dinner. I was handed a steak with some gravy on it one night and insisted that it was not what I ordered. The waiter said it was and that it was GF. I only took a couple bites, but that was all it took. Turns out he was wrong. I barely made it back to the cabin before the GI issues started. I missed a port because I spent all the next day in the cabin so I was close to the bathroom. You will find the longer you are off gluten the stronger your reaction if you accidentally ingest some. I throw up and get diarrhea whereas my daughter in law develops a migraine within 15-30 minutes. But, generally you will find they try to do a good job.

I'm not, but on one of my cruises,a tabletmate was. Every evening, our server brought out the menu so she could make her selection. She also ate lunch in the dining room and they were eager to make sure something was offered

When we did a Behind the Scenes Tour, a guest asked about gluten free when we were in the galley. He said they accommodated any way they could. however the galley is not set up to be gluten free. This is why most national bakery chains do not sell gluten free bread.