Gluten free

[OCEANCATS]

There is a person sailing with us that has to follow a gluten free diet. If anyone has any tips I would appreciate them. We are sailing on the Gem. (if the ship matters…)

Thanks!

>^..^<

[mjkacmom]

You will want to try to contact them ASAP - there is a GF food form to fill out, so that they can choose what food they want onboard. It's probably too late, but they will still accomodate. They will want to meet with someone in the MDR every evening, to go over menu's, find out what is already GF, and to order meals for the next day. My dd has celiac, and they went above and beyond (always having her GF toast served right after we were seated).

[becomingophelia]

There is a great post on the Cruise Foodies section.

 

My DH has Celiac and we are on the 10/14 sailing of the Dawn out of Boston. We will report back our experince!

[Aries 65]

We're on the Gem the following week. DW has celiac and we never had a problem and never filled out the form. (Believe it's only if you want special GF foods ordered). Let someone in the dinning room know as soon as practical after you board. On the first night you'll have to order GF items off the regular menu. Not a problem. After that your waiter or Maitre d' will provide you with the next days menu and you can order your meals in advance. One of the reasons we cruise so often is the ease of always finding GF food. NCL does an excellent job with this and you should have no problems.

[European_CruiseGirl]

We were adviced a week ago by NCL that the GF form is a thing of the past. You just need to have your reservation flagged as GF and need to see the Restaurant Manager (?) when you board.

 

I was surprised but I do believe what I was told as this person on NCL has always previously taken our GF matters very seriously and professionally and has known what she's talking about.

 

I would ask about this though if I was the op. Our previous NCL cruises have been in Europe and the form was needed. This one is to the Caribbean so this might also be a location issue. Form needed for cruises starting outside of the US but not needed for cruises departing from the US.

 

That being said I have read numerous posts here of people telling they had a fantastic GF cruise anyhow without filling out the form just going to the Garden Cafe (for example) and requesting GF pancakes etc. With the form you had to request 24 hours in advance to have GF items available from it so it was kind of a pain... ;)

[OCEANCATS]

Thanks for the advice. Our cruise consultant asked if anyone had special dietary needs and I told her about the gluten free needs of our friend. Hopefully they have her "flagged". I will check about the form and inquire onboard once we get there.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Thanks again.

>^..^<

[chandra72]

Hi Oceancats

 

My DS is 8 and has celiacs.

 

I had to send an email with a list of foods for the cruise line to purchase so he could eat while on the cruise. It had to be six weeks out though. We also have permission to bring food he eats with us. Have your friend call the cruise line and ask for permission to bring food they enjoy to eat that is gluten free. The ship has a selection but it is not a lot. So it would be very repetitive which is not fair to someone who can't eat gluten.

 

Hope this helps.

Have a great cruise.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We were on the Pride of America last week, and I noticed that in the buffet the tags with the food name (i.e. Potato Salad) would boldly say Gluten Free on many of the items.

 

I did notice a few menu items that specifically said gluten free, but since this wasn't an issue with anyone in our party, I did not pay specific attention to it, but at least in the buffet area it is very user friendly.

 

I hope this is true of all ships.

 

Enjoy!

[crusinmama22]

Thanks for the great information. I had forgotten about the GF. My daughter's friend is GF and will be joining us on our upcoming cruise. I will be sure to notify them and check the boards for additional info as our cruise gets closer. We are quite a ways out not till Feb 2013.

But something to look forward to.

[everbell]

This is our first time cruising NCL, but hubby, who is celiac, has no problems on previous cruises.

 

We sent in the form to NCL and our travel agent, and hubs was told to meet the Maître D' first night. This is similar to our experience on other cruises.

 

On previous cruises, he was always able to find a manager in the buffet to go through his choices with him. In the morning, they would see us walk in and they would run to the kitchen to get his toast. Plus he got special desserts every night :D

 

Cruise lines seem to be very good about food allergies and sensitivities.

[OCEANCATS]

Thanks - everyone - for all the info. I was able to contact our PCC and she had already notified the ship. She advised us to contact the Maitre D' while onboard. It seems like NCL is VERY good about accommodating dietary concerns. They do not require forms ahead of time any longer.

[OCEANCATS]

Just wanted to give a huge thank you to NCL - they did a PHENOMENAL job of taking care of our friend. They called her state room to meet with her about her GF diet and every night she would meet with a staff member to go over the menus for the next day and let them know what she needed/wanted. They gave her a GF "tour" of the buffet and she never had any problems. Even the night we ate at the La Cucina they went out of their way to make her meal special and delicious.

 

Hope all of you who have these issues have the same easy/enjoyable experience!

 

>^..^<

[everbell]

Thanks for posting that. We've never had any trouble getting DH's GF diet accomodated on other cruise lines and had no reason to expect any different with NCL. Glad to know we will have excellent service on the Gem!

[European_CruiseGirl]

Just wanted to give a huge thank you to NCL - they did a PHENOMENAL job of taking care of our friend. They called her state room to meet with her about her GF diet and every night she would meet with a staff member to go over the menus for the next day and let them know what she needed/wanted. They gave her a GF "tour" of the buffet and she never had any problems. Even the night we ate at the La Cucina they went out of their way to make her meal special and delicious.

 

Hope all of you who have these issues have the same easy/enjoyable experience!

 

>^..^<

 

Thank you so much for your update! We are cruising in 2,5 months time so this all is very valuable to us! :)

 

How did you handle the La Cucina? How long in advance did you make the reservation (24 hours in advance or same day) and did your GF friend decide already in advance what she would like to eat? If she did to whom did she tell her selection? Directly the La Cucina staff, the "dedicated" GF staff member she met previously or someone else?

[OCEANCATS]

I thought it would be best to let her expain so I sent her an e-mail and this was her reply:

 

As far as La Cucina -- I had asked PG (my special diets guy in the dining room) if La Cucina had any GF food that I could eat, and he called over for me -- this was just the night before our reservation. He said, Yes, they did and I should ask for Genina (unsure of spelling) when I get there and she will take care of it. So, she knew I was coming, but I am not sure if she needed notice or not - I am not sure what went on behind the scenes. A little notice might be a good idea just in case they need to make up some GF sauce. They did have 24 hour notice from me, but I didn't pre-order. I had the risotto. It was recommended by the waiter that night, and it was wonderful. I hope that helps. Reading it back, it sounds as clear as mud. =P If they have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

 

Hope this helps, we did make the reservation early in the week but only because it was for 20 people.

 

>^..^<