Gluten free the Westerdam is not!!

[lifeizgr8]

Our DD must eat gluten free, so I want to thank all of those who have posted re: their on-board experiences.

 

Since HAL claims it can offer a gluten free diet, I have encouraged her to consider cruising.

 

I'll rethink that advice.

I would NEVER not cruise because I have celiac's!! I reported a bad experience so a person with Celiac's can be diligent for themselves when on a cruise.

 

Please do not cruise because of contamination. Many posters have had good experiences with Celebrity, Princess and NCL, and even HAL. It just might be a ship to ship education that needs to take place!!

 

Cruising is way too much fun to stay away from!!!

 

mardi

[Arwen]

I wanted to let some of you know that have been following this thread, I DID GET A RESPONSE FROM HOLLAND AMERICA!! My letter has been send to the Office of the President for review.

 

After some review, they have assigned me a case number and have told me they will respond in a few weeks from the Office of the President.

 

So, time will tell, but maybe they will educate some of the servers!! :)

 

Thanks for all for your consideration!!

 

Mardi :)

 

Mardi...that is terrific...to have your letter sent to the Prez! Hurrah!

 

As stated before, my best experience out of 9 cruises was on a cruise with a Dutch Dining Room Manager, very fluent in English. His attention to detail was nothing less than impressive. Pat yourself on the back, this may be the start of a fleet wide change in how their staff is trained and how special diets are handled. Looking forward to better gluten free cruising, thanks to you!:D

[lifeizgr8]

Mardi...that is terrific...to have your letter sent to the Prez! Hurrah!

 

As stated before, my best experience out of 9 cruises was on a cruise with a Dutch Dining Room Manager, very fluent in English. His attention to detail was nothing less than impressive. Pat yourself on the back, this may be the start of a fleet wide change in how their staff is trained and how special diets are handled. Looking forward to better gluten free cruising, thanks to you!:D

 

I really hope this happens!

 

We loved The Westerdam and would enjoy sailing on her again, but NOT if the gluten free dining is not changed. We usually said Celebrity and have had great luck on her!!

 

I will let you know what happens, if anything, from here!

 

mardi:)

[emimal]

I am delighted to be able to report that on the TA from Venice to Fort Lauderdale, from which I disembarked yesterday, my experience of gluten-free dining was absolutely superb!

 

I don't know if this is as a result of your correspondence with HAL following your disappointing experience on the Westerdam, but there were notices in the Lido to the effect that gluten-free alternatives were available.

 

I was diagnosed with Coeliac disease about 4 years ago and since that time have found coping with the restrictions it imposes to be quite a challenge. I am aware that it is my responsibility to make sure I stick to foods which are gluten-free and found that this was perfectly possible in the Lido just by avoiding anything I knew would contain gluten and asking about others if there was any doubt. The staff were very willing to find out about anything they were unsure of and were scrupulous in preparing the food. I ordered toast one morning and it was cooked on a separate grill. I tried the pizza one day and it was perfectly acceptable, although there will never be a good gluten-free alternative to the delicious thick crust I used to enjoy pre diagnosis!

 

The very best experience, however, was in the MDR where the staff were absolutely superb. I was able to choose anything from the menu 24 hours in advance and enjoyed some wonderful pasta dishes, which were so good I had the waiter confirm that it was indeed gluten-free pasta that they had given me! Bread was brought without me having to ask, although I must admit I have not yet found a good alternative to 'proper' bread and this is what I miss the most.

 

We ate in Canaletto twice and everything I chose was made especially for me. If there was any doubt about a particular dish, the waiter always double-checked with the chef.

 

When we went to the Brunch, the head waiter recognised me immediately and offered suggestions as to what would be safe for me to eat. He did say that on a previous cruise a lady who professed herself to be 'gluten free' ate the entire contents of the bread basket one evening and almost had to be evacuated off the ship when she became so ill because of it: perhaps he was just trying to avoid a repeat of that, but he was just brilliant with me and made the whole dining experience very relaxing.

[robertmnch]

I am astounded at some of responses to the woman who is Gluten-free. They show a total ignorance of implications for those of us afflicted with Celiac disease. Relying on Wikipedia for your medical info shows an inability to use the full resources of the Internet.

 

For your information, even .1mg of Gluten can elicit a response in Celiac sufferers. Wikipedia probably didn't inform you that Gluten can can cause Hepatiform dermatitis, a painful blistering rash that can last for weeks. It can cause an exfoliation of the villae of the small intestine which can cause malnutrition and significant high incidence of carcinoma of the small bowel. At best ingestion of Gluten will cause diarrhea and flatulance. This disease is not simply an annoyance but a life threatening illness.

 

That pizza cutter contained enough Gluten to cause a response in any Celiac patient. Living Gluten-free is not a choice for us but a necessary fact of life. Your ignorance and dismissive attitude is abhorrant and despicable.

 

Ditto for us "Diabetics". Maitre D' Hendricus saw how much a problem I was having trying to select foods for Dinner in the MDR! From that night on, he gave me the Dinner Menu 24 hours in advance. BTW, I had told HAL in advance!:p