Gluten free the Westerdam is not!!

[vbmom87]

We are having someone for dinner tomorrow night who needs gluten free. The only thing we are serving they can not have is bread.

 

The problem for the OP was the staff did not understand gluten free. As I mentioned with the yoghurt, who would think that yoghurt would have gluten in it? There are many foods that have additives which might have gluten in them. Then there is the cross contamination issue. Some people are so sensitive that they can't even eat gluten free food if it was prepared in the same kitchen as food with gluten. Yes, this is the extreme, but some people are that sensitive.

[jkrislc]

My SIL has celiac and we noted it on her reservation. Even though we haven't reached final payment yet, we've already received a special pre-order menu for gluten-free products (e.g., cakes, clooked, bread, etc.). She can select up to three per day; if she wants more, then it's $2 per additional item per day. Thus far, I've been impressed, but I also realize what happens onboard can be completely different and that those in the dining room might not know what celiac is or even recognize what foods have gluten in them (e.g., soy sauce).

[lifeizgr8]

Can you give more details.

 

Did you contact them before the cruise to say you needed gluten-free? Was the problem in the MDR or everywhere on the ship?

 

I have always found HAL very good at providing special dietary needs. The only time we have had a problem has been with room service so we tend not to use that now.

 

THIS IS LIFEIZGR8...

 

I DID let HAL know I was gluten-free/Celiac not once, not even twice but three separate times. I filled out their form where I was allowed 21 gluten free items for the entire week. I also called twice and when we got on the ship at noon the very first day, we went to the maitre'd to let him know the table I would be sitting at, and that I was gluten-free/Celiac. NONE of this mattered, because when I sat down to eat the communication was just not there. My first night the waiters had no idea what gluten free was and they had no notice of a special diet for me!

 

The gluten free problem was everywhere except in Pinnacle Grill, and that is the reason we ended up eating every meal at Pinnacle or off the ship!!

 

Thank you for your question,

Mardi

Portland Oregon

lifeizgr8

[lifeizgr8]

We were on the Volendam a few years back and I recall at the dessert extravaganza there was a special section set up exclusively for gluten free paxs. And the gluten free folks seemed to be guarding the area pretty well as I recall.

 

You just have to tell HAL in advance....

 

I did tell HAL before hand(3 times) and I still had a terrible experience! This was NOT the Volendam, it was the Westerdam ship.

 

Mardi

Portland, Oregon

lifeizgr8

[lifeizgr8]

Thanks for the link. I did have sympathy for the OP until I read that.

 

I would like to know how you can judge the situation and myself over something you have not experienced!

 

I have travelled on 17 other cruises mostly on Princess and Celebrity and I have never had such a lack of communication and a lack of education for its servers!! I did everything I knew to do before hand, like filling out all the information HAL provides and calling the line trying to get our reservation flagged for gluten-free and once on the Westerdam, I went directly to the maitre'd to explain my Celiac's disease and ask which table we were assigned. I asked him if I needed to meet the server's beforehand, and he said he would take care of it himself. But, when I arrived for my first dinner, the server's had NO clue what I talking about. I then asked for the next night's menu so I could circle my choices which I did. But the second night they again, had nothing ready and said to me "we cannot guarantee anything this evening would be not contaminated, because you need to fill out the menu 24 hours ahead!" I said I had and left it on the table as requested last night, and they said no they had nothing!!

 

I could go on and on, but all I was trying to do was warn people if they are gluten free and going on the Westerdam, they need to be very careful and go that extra mile to try and get gluten free!!!

 

mardi

Portland

lifeizgr8

[vbmom87]

I could go on and on, but all I was trying to do was warn people if they are gluten free and going on the Westerdam, they need to be very careful and go that extra mile to try and get gluten free!!!

 

mardi

Portland

lifeizgr8

 

I totally sympathize with you. I hope you will contact Seattle regarding this. A pleasantly written letter with all the details of your disappointment and literal dining fiasco on the Westerdam. This should not happen to anyone!!!!

[CowPrincess]

THIS IS LIFEIZGR8...

 

>SNIP<

I filled out their form where I was allowed 21 gluten free items for the entire week.

>SNIP<

 

You were "allowed" 21 items???? As in, you could get ONE GF item per meal for 7 days, or 3 GF items per day????? What if you wanted MORE than 1 per meal, or more than 3 per day?

[lifeizgr8]

 

Instead of answering each person with a negative comment, I thought it would be easier to just write one and leave it at that!!

 

It is a sorry thing to see the judgements and character assassination I have experienced over the subject of Celiac's Disease, and my bad experience on the Westerdam.

 

If any of you know of anyone with the disease, you would know it has many restrictions, and something small TO YOU like the pizza cut with the same knife as a regular pizza can cause me extreme pain later, and go so far as to require hospital and doctor visits too. Maybe before so many of you judged me and the situation, you would educate yourself!!

 

I did not request a pizza then throw it in the trash! I was told the pizza was the only food besides salad that I could have in the lido, so that is what I ordered. The server threw it in the trash, not I!!

 

I did everything I know to do before a cruise! I contacted HAL special services, filled out all the necessary forms, called again to get my reservation flagged, and once on board I visited the MDR and the maitre'd to let him know as well! I still had a lot of trouble! Plain and simple!!!

 

I wrote the review very honestly and warning other people, like me, as to the Westerdam's lack of knowledge of Celiac's and for them to bring their own food, and to watch every thing they can, so they don't get sick!!!

 

Why did so many of you get so worked up over this?

 

Why did so many of you judge what you did not know?

 

If you read my post, you will see I loved almost everything else on the ship. HAL had a contract with me to supply gluten free food, and they promised they would. If they told me they could not supply food for me, I would have either not gone on this ship, or brought more of my own food, but they assured me there was no problem!! It would take 3 pages to tell you all the problems I incurred and the lack of knowledge and excuses I received from the Chef's, supervisor's and alike on the Westerdam.

 

I could have easily given them terrible ratings for everything, but I did not, and I chose to just warn other's of my experience with the food!!

 

Cruise Critic is a great place for other's to read reviews to help them choose the perfect cruise for them! That is all I was doing!! I was warning Celiac sufferer's of the problems I found, and maybe by reading some of the problems I had, maybe they could avoid them!! I realize the world is full of all kinds of people, and all I was trying to do was warn people of what COULD happen, so they could be safe!! I am not a picky person, but I am when it comes to my food preparation, because I have to be. After all, I was promised HAL could deliver food safe for me, but they did not this time!!

 

I had no clue I would be criticized so harshly by people who did not have all the facts!! I still stand by my review and I loved the Westerdam and hope to sail on her again. But, next time I will just eat in the Pinnacle and bring a lot more of my own food!! After-all, it is my choice and my body who is experiencing the effects of what I ate last week, still today!!!

 

Mardi

lifeizgr8

[lifeizgr8]

You were "allowed" 21 items???? As in, you could get ONE GF item per meal for 7 days, or 3 GF items per day????? What if you wanted MORE than 1 per meal, or more than 3 per day?

 

All the form I filled our 2 months before the cruise said was you were allowed 3 gluten free items per day!! I was given NONE!! I asked for them, and I was told they had none available for this cruise! So, I ordered food that was cooked plain, as in plain fish, with no sauces, but the fish arrived to the table with the sauce on it (and it was made with flour), and I was told by the server, could I just scrape it off? No, I cannot. If I scrape it off, I will get very ill. So, i wait for the next piece of fish and the second one arrives with the sauce on the side but the fish was now fried in batter, and I cannot eat that either!! It was very frustrating! The Chef came out to the table and blamed the server's lack of english! So, then I felt bad for the server's. So I just went to the Pinnacle grill and paid $25 for my dinners. The Chef in the Pinnacle was very aware of Celiac's, and he was very helpful and very sorry for the trouble in the MDR, and he told me they are working on it!!

 

On every other cruise (17 before this one) I have had no problem, so I was just letting other celiac sufferer's know of the problem on the Westerdam!!

So they would not get sick and be suffering the way I have since I got off the ship!!!

 

:(

[lifeizgr8]

I totally sympathize with you. I hope you will contact Seattle regarding this. A pleasantly written letter with all the details of your disappointment and literal dining fiasco on the Westerdam. This should not happen to anyone!!!!

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOU THOUGHTFUL AND KIND WORDS!!

 

After I read some of the other posts I was crushed!!! All I was doing was trying to let fellow sufferer's know of the problem they are having on the Westerdam with regards to the food!!

 

After the way I have been treated about my warnings, I will think again next time!!

 

I have had such great information on Cruise Critic thru the years, so I thought this was a very important situation, and other's need to know of the problems I had, and maybe they could avoid them!!!

 

I really do appreciate your suggestion and kind words! I think I will do just that!!

 

Mardi

lifeizgr8

[winky12]

My husband has celiac disease and we have close to 200 days with HAL. He has never had a problem. When we book, HAL emails us a gluten free diet sheet and he picks his selection. Usually he orders muffins and pasta along with breads. HAL buys from the same company in Alberta as we do so we are familiar with the choices.

As previously mentioned the food for the next day is ordered the night before. Perhaps more people need to know about pre-ordering because they tend to run out of his treasured supplies.

We have also suggested a table for a special G/F meal but so far no takers.

[Joy2Day]

lifeizgr8,

I ran into a similar issue in July on the Eurodam. Despite notating my reservation and contacting special services, they were completely unaware of my low-sodium needs. Low-sodium is a lot easier to manage than GF, but I experienced similar issues with lack of communication and lack of awareness. This was in sharp contrast to my experiences with low-sodium on RCCL, Princess and Carnival.

 

We have sent a letter to Seattle to report our dissatisfaction with the main dining room and our high praises for Tamarind. The chef at Tamarind went above and beyond to provide me with a wonderful low-sodium meal.

[vbmom87]

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOU THOUGHTFUL AND KIND WORDS!!

 

After I read some of the other posts I was crushed!!! All I was doing was trying to let fellow sufferer's know of the problem they are having on the Westerdam with regards to the food!!

 

After the way I have been treated about my warnings, I will think again next time!!

 

I have had such great information on Cruise Critic thru the years, so I thought this was a very important situation, and other's need to know of the problems I had, and maybe they could avoid them!!!

 

I really do appreciate your suggestion and kind words! I think I will do just that!!

 

Mardi

lifeizgr8

 

In spite of some of the negativism toward your post, I am sure there are many who were grateful that you passed on your experience. Please write Seattle. It sounds like this is not a common problem on HAL ships, but the Westerdam really had a problem and it needs to be corrected.

 

One thing you have to realize is that on the HAL board there are some real cheerleaders who can't believe HAL can do wrong. In their minds if something was amiss, it must have been the passenger's fault. Of course, not everyone on this board is like that, but there are a lot.

 

Glad you still had a good cruise in spite of the dining issues.

[g-didi]

In spite of some of the negativism toward your post, I am sure there are many who were grateful that you passed on your experience. Please write Seattle. It sounds like this is not a common problem on HAL ships, but the Westerdam really had a problem and it needs to be corrected.

 

One thing you have to realize is that on the HAL board there are some real cheerleaders who can't believe HAL can do wrong. In their minds if something was amiss, it must have been the passenger's fault. Of course, not everyone on this board is like that, but there are a lot.

 

Glad you still had a good cruise in spite of the dining issues.

 

Agreed. I am fairly new to the boards and appreciate ALL feedback whether good or bad. How else will I learn what I need to know if all we ever hear is how wonderful everything is? I dont like name-calling, (I thought "cheerleaders" was a bit OTT when I first heard it on this forum) but I am starting to see that there are a folks on this board who may fall into that category. Dont take their opinions to heart. Your opinion is valid and appreciated.

[piscesgal223]

OP, I'm sorry you had such a negative experience with HAL.I do think they try, but come up short. I am fortunate enough not to have allergies, but I know people who do and how important it is that they avoid certain things.

[CowPrincess]

 

All the form I filled our 2 months before the cruise said was you were allowed 3 gluten free items per day!! >SNIP<

 

:(

 

Yes, I understand that you had difficulty getting GF. My question was about being "permitted" only 21 GF items. So if you had ordered GF pancakes for breakfast, a GF sandwich at lunch, and some form of GF dessert for dinner (or the GF pizza snack), you were outta luck for getting a bun with dinner? Seriously? :eek: Unless you took it out of some other day's "allowance"? Given that cruise ships can be the biggest over-the-top WAAAAAY too much food environment, I am surprised that you were only "permitted" 21 GF items. And YES, I do understand that you didn't get GF.

 

edited to add: or was it that you could pick 21 items that would be available in more or less unlimited supply for the length of your cruise, e.g., GF pancakes, bread, soup, sauces, etc?

[sdbart]

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOU THOUGHTFUL AND KIND WORDS!!

 

After I read some of the other posts I was crushed!!! All I was doing was trying to let fellow sufferer's know of the problem they are having on the Westerdam with regards to the food!!

 

After the way I have been treated about my warnings, I will think again next time!!

 

I have had such great information on Cruise Critic thru the years, so I thought this was a very important situation, and other's need to know of the problems I had, and maybe they could avoid them!!!

 

I really do appreciate your suggestion and kind words! I think I will do just that!!

 

Mardi

lifeizgr8

 

There are a lot of ugly people in the world, Mardi, and there are what I call fan boys/girls. They will not abide a negative comment about their favorite cruise line. They also make distasteful statements like "those people," which is probably how they refer to gays, people of color or any whose views on whatever subject differ from theirs. Please try to ignore such comments.

 

Holland America sold you a cruise with meals included. They promised you in writing food you would be able to eat. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me they violated their own contract when they failed to deliver. I'm sure H-A headquarters would appreciate hearing about the dining room staff on the Westerdam.

[lifeizgr8]

There are a lot of ugly people in the world, Mardi, and there are what I call fan boys/girls. They will not abide a negative comment about their favorite cruise line. They also make distasteful statements like "those people," which is probably how they refer to gays, people of color or any whose views on whatever subject differ from theirs. Please try to ignore such comments.

 

Holland America sold you a cruise with meals included. They promised you in writing food you would be able to eat. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me they violated their own contract when they failed to deliver. I'm sure H-A headquarters would appreciate hearing about the dining room staff on the Westerdam.

 

THANKS BART!!! :D:D

 

Mardi

[lifeizgr8]

Yes, I understand that you had difficulty getting GF. My question was about being "permitted" only 21 GF items. So if you had ordered GF pancakes for breakfast, a GF sandwich at lunch, and some form of GF dessert for dinner (or the GF pizza snack), you were outta luck for getting a bun with dinner? Seriously? :eek: Unless you took it out of some other day's "allowance"? Given that cruise ships can be the biggest over-the-top WAAAAAY too much food environment, I am surprised that you were only "permitted" 21 GF items. And YES, I do understand that you didn't get GF.

 

edited to add: or was it that you could pick 21 items that would be available in more or less unlimited supply for the length of your cruise, e.g., GF pancakes, bread, soup, sauces, etc?

You were allowed and promised 21 gluten free items total, for the entire cruise. After the 21 were served to you, then they had your credit card and you would be charged $2 per gluten free item you ate over the allotted 21 for the week. I was told by my filling out the form, they would have enough of the type of gluten free items you would prefer! The 21 items was a surprise, but somehow the form does not get on the ship with you. A good idea would be for me to bring my copy of the form the first night to the MDR and give it to the waiter. Next time I will do that! Maybe it would have been smoother that way, I don't know.

 

At this point, I think I will stick to Celebrity and Princess because they know how to handle this right now. I just LOVED the Westerdam and would love to sail on her again!! Now what I know could be a big problem for me, I will just adjust my thinking and what I bring in my suitcase! I can afford to not eat so much, that's for sure, but I had NO idea there would be any problem until we had pushed away from shore and did not come back to shore 2 days and 7 meals later!

 

I am over it, but I just think others need to know what could occur, so they bring enough gluten free food on their cruise if they are aboard the Westerdam!

 

Thank you for your concern,

Mardi

[CowPrincess]

You were allowed and promised 21 gluten free items total, for the entire cruise. After the 21 were served to you, then they had your credit card and you would be charged $2 per gluten free item you ate over the allotted 21 for the week.

 

Is that standard on all the cruiselines? I mean, to some degree I can understand having to control portions and costs, but seriously? "our records indicate you had GF pancakes for breakfast, and a GF sandwich, AND a GF pizza as a snack, AND extra GF dessert yesterday. You've hit your "21" so here's your $2 bun for dinner?"

 

Do all the midmarket lines do this, the limited # permitted, then charge for additional? Again, as I say, I can see wanting to limit opportunities for abuse, but still ....

[piscesgal223]

They expect you to pay *extra* after you've gone through your 21 items? That is a ripoff.

[AWorldCruise4Me]

Hi Mardi,

 

I am also a gluten free cruiser. I appreciate your posting. I had no idea that Holland America limited the number of items you could have and then started charging. That is pretty discouraging.

 

In addition I appreciate your letting us know about the lack of training on the ship. Although we all pretty much have to do the due diligence that you did with respect to inquiring how things are made etc. it is so much nicer when you get the right answers.

 

You may want to also post on

http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/forum/35-gluten-free-travel/

 

Lots of folks give their cruise reviews there. You don't have to deal with the ignorant that way. However it is important to post here also as not everyone is on that forum.

 

I hope you have a great time and get some great food on your upcoming Solstice cruise. If you ever get on the Equinox their gluten free crepes are to die for. Here are some pics.

http://celebrityequinoxancientempiresandtran.blogspot.com/2009/11/crepes-restaurant.html

 

Warmest regards,

Michelle

[3rdGenCunarder]

They expect you to pay *extra* after you've gone through your 21 items? That is a ripoff.

 

Have you ever priced gluten-free products? They're all very expensive. Maybe it's because substitutes for wheat flour such as rice flour are expensive, maybe it's because the companies that produce them are ripping off consumers. But next time you're in the supermarket, check out the price of a tiny box of gluten-free Bisquick compared to the wheat-based Bisquick.

 

My niece is supposed to limit gluten (which is a whole lot easier than being gluten free), so I've been taking notice of the products that are out there, and I have been surprised at the prices.

 

Mardi, things might have gone better if you had brought copies of the forms with you, but you should not have had to do that. If you do decide to write to HAL, be sure to mention that you filled in the advance forms as directed.

[piscesgal223]

Yep..I've looked at the prices.. :eek:. Still, paying money on top of an already expensive cruise seems wrong to me..

 

 

I'd rather bring my own food instead. Yes, gluten free food is expensive. But so is being charged extra.

[rosegrower]

Yes gluten free foods are pricey. My mom had celiac disease and lived in a very isolated small town. I ordered much of her food online and had it shipped to her. I went to the gluten free travel site posted by AWorldCruise4 Me and the reviews for Princess and Disney were amazing about the GF food that was provided and how they were treated. No mention was made about having to pay extra for the food. The posters also mentioned that after the first meal, they were so impressed with the knowledge of the staff about GF food, that they ate with out fear and did not get sick. A sharp contrast to OP's Westerdam experience.