BEWARE IF YOU HAVE ANY FOOD ALLERGIES!!! Carnival was not accommodating at ALL when i

[tamirpr]

Hey Sis! Glad you showed up!! These Carnival beasties are questioning the veracity of my claims on your behalf!! Hmph! At least now they are hearing directly from you, and I don't believe they have had the nerve to accuse you of lying, at least not yet. Interesting to hear people claim they know something when they clearly do not (but you will find that all over cruisecritic - just ask MDH!)

 

THANK YOU to all of you whom have offered suggestions for ways to handle this situation in the future, and to those who have provided ideas for how MDS can address the situation to her satisfaction with Carnival.

 

To those of you who have jumped all over me, it seems apparent that you never learned effective social skills. What more can I say?

 

.... actually I do have more to say. KARMA baby.... what goes around comes around, and I can only wish that you get a taste of your own behavior from someone of the same gene pool soon. Maybe you won't be so quick to judge next time, and maybe you'll learn to be more tolerant of people who may be different than you without finding the need to criticize them. Isn't there a commandment about that somewhere??? If not, there should be. :p:p:p

 

Wow, you forgot to call us Wal-Mart cruisers. I am NOT a cheerleader or a beastie (nice comment, by the way) But I do have a severe food allergy. You came here to warn and "beware, beware, beware". Many of us have tried to help you and your sister understand what Carnival DOES do. You don't want to hear it.

 

Quite honestly, no one is accusing your sister of lying, but she IS wrong. The dining room is not closed for breakfast every day of the cruise. It's just not. You're wrong on that account. There IS a gluten-free menu, but you must ask about it. No server is going to ask if someone has celiac anymore if they would ask if someone has high cholesterol and offer egg whites. It's up to YOU to ask. They will accommodate, but you don't want to hear it. You've also said they didn't have anything to eat for four days. Really? NOTHING to eat? Come on.

 

As far as being tolerant of someone who's "different", I believe that's who you have heard from...those of us who are different because of food allergies. And we have all told you what she should have done. I was once a first-time cruiser and, believe me, asked many times about the food. Unlike your sister, I could die. I take my allergies very seriously, and so does Carnival.

[combatboots2jimmychoos]

Hey Sis! Glad you showed up!! These Carnival beasties are questioning the veracity of my claims on your behalf!! Hmph! At least now they are hearing directly from you, and I don't believe they have had the nerve to accuse you of lying, at least not yet. Interesting to hear people claim they know something when they clearly do not (but you will find that all over cruisecritic - just ask MDH!)

 

THANK YOU to all of you whom have offered suggestions for ways to handle this situation in the future, and to those who have provided ideas for how MDS can address the situation to her satisfaction with Carnival.

 

To those of you who have jumped all over me, it seems apparent that you never learned effective social skills. What more can I say?

 

.... actually I do have more to say. KARMA baby.... what goes around comes around, and I can only wish that you get a taste of your own behavior from someone of the same gene pool soon. Maybe you won't be so quick to judge next time, and maybe you'll learn to be more tolerant of people who may be different than you without finding the need to criticize them. Isn't there a commandment about that somewhere??? If not, there should be. :p:p:p

 

You're "Karma" comment is quiet obnoxious. This isn't a tolerance issue. This is a truth issue. You have both ignored valid questions. There is more to this story than you or your sister have answered LIKE WHAT SHIP SAILING DIDN'T HAVE AN OPEN DINING ROOM FOR BREAKFAST AND WHY SHE DIDN'T GO TO GUEST SERVICES like everyone else when they are unhappy on a cruise. The complaint simply doesn't sound valid. Surely at least the shrimp and lobster were gluten friendly:D.

 

You have been on this site for over 6 years and researched the heck out of wifi, we can't assume that you wouldn't have advised your sister about how to research something that was important to her and her child.

[RelaxNCruz]

Here are the CARNIVAL links which were read by my sister and which came into play in her decision to even try a cruise.

 

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/cruise_control/emb_guest_specials_requirements.aspx

 

Dietary Needs

Carnival Cruise Lines can provide our guests with the following special dietary needs: Vegetarian, Low-Cholesterol, Low-Fat, Low-Carbohydrates, Low-Sugar, Gluten Free, Indian Vegetarian, and Kosher. If you have food allergies, please advise your dining staff once onboard.

 

 

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?icid=CC_Header_466#q-668900

 

Q: Do you offer gluten free food?

A: We do offer gluten free bread, pasta, cake and pancake mix. They are readily available onboard.

[Butterbean1000]

There was a lady at our table on our last cruise that had celiac disease and they brought her special meals every night. The maitre'd made a special trip to our table to check on her at the beginning and end of each meal. She was treated like a queen.

 

I'm sorry your sister's experience wasn't as good.

 

Enjoy your cruise

[combatboots2jimmychoos]

please advise your dining staff once onboard.

 

Ok, we'll play your game. What are the names of the staff on board that your sister talked to about her dietary requirements?

[rocker57]

Here are the CARNIVAL links which were read by my sister and which came into play in her decision to even try a cruise.

 

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/cruise_control/emb_guest_specials_requirements.aspx

 

Dietary Needs

Carnival Cruise Lines can provide our guests with the following special dietary needs: Vegetarian, Low-Cholesterol, Low-Fat, Low-Carbohydrates, Low-Sugar, Gluten Free, Indian Vegetarian, and Kosher. If you have food allergies, please advise your dining staff once onboard.

 

 

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?icid=CC_Header_466#q-668900

 

Q: Do you offer gluten free food?

A: We do offer gluten free bread, pasta, cake and pancake mix. They are readily available onboard.

 

 

Not sure if you are thick, or just want to constantly complain. In your post, you said that the MDR was not opened for breakfast, but yet other posters have said it is always opened for breakfast - but you continuely ignore that fact.

Other posters have advised that they too have severe allergies or sensitivity to foods, and that Carnival has gone out of their way to assist them with their dietary needs - again you choose to ignore that.

It sounds like it could of been all avoided if your sister had met with the chef or the Maitre D' to be sure that her sons needs were taken care of - but again you ignore that. I don't understand why she would never went to the MDR - but her choice.

I have seen many threads on here with people posting about their food allergies and what they can do before they cruise, and there have been many people giving advise.

I am sorry that your nephew had an uncomfortable time, but the customer is not always right, we all have to take responsibility for our actions and decisions.

[sfo2008]

Here are the CARNIVAL links which were read by my sister and which came into play in her decision to even try a cruise.

 

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/cruise_control/emb_guest_specials_requirements.aspx

 

Dietary Needs

Carnival Cruise Lines can provide our guests with the following special dietary needs: Vegetarian, Low-Cholesterol, Low-Fat, Low-Carbohydrates, Low-Sugar, Gluten Free, Indian Vegetarian, and Kosher. If you have food allergies, please advise your dining staff once onboard.

 

 

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?icid=CC_Header_466#q-668900

 

Q: Do you offer gluten free food?

A: We do offer gluten free bread, pasta, cake and pancake mix. They are readily available onboard.

 

So "dining staff" -- So that means talk to people, she did, they said we would love to help. It did not happen. We've never heard about more than that first conversation. Something is seriously missing here since they said they would do it on board (in the dining room).

 

"Readily available" does not mean every venue 24x7, it means that they do not need to special order it for just your cruise. Multiple people have posted about being accommodated not just in the dining room but also in the buffet.

 

There's no deception here by Carnival and enough people have posted with extremely positive experiences around food allergies to dispel the idea that Carnival is not able to provide for gluten free.

 

There is some unfortunate miscommunication that happened here and it definitely made your sister have a disappointing cruise experience, but that does not mean everyone with food allergies needs to "beware" or that your sister deserves special compensation.

[RelaxNCruz]

Boots... I was not part of my sister's cruise. Nuff said. I have only ever had excellent service when I have cruised, and on the one occasion when MDH and I did have an issues, the Captain invited us to join him for dinner to discuss it, and afterwards addressed the issues personally.

 

We are not crazy people expecting to be treated differently, but we do expect accommodation when the claim is that such accommodation is not only available, but readily available.

 

My sister had never been on a cruise, and save for quite some time in order to be able to afford this vacation with her family. She researched cruiselines and chose Carnival because of their website claims. She did everything she should have done to obtain the "readily available" food options that were not readily available, and rightly so, feels as if Carnival did a bait and switch.

 

And even when on the cruise they were made aware of the situation which they had been advised of in advance AND on the first night, they did not address the needs or expectations of my sister and her son. The purpose of this original posting was to let all buyers beware. This is a situation where Carnival did not do the right thing. I'm sure that happens on all cruiselines. Some just handle it better than others, case in point.

[combatboots2jimmychoos]

Let's just call a spade a spade.

 

You just said your sister talked to people when she got on board and then said she never ate in the Dining room.........That makes NO SENSE. Why would I go arrange special accommodations in the dining room and then never eat there? The buffet is a buffet. There are gluten free meals there but she would have to search them out. She couldn't eat the steak, chicken, shrimp, lobster, salmon (and other fish), eggs (and omelets made to order), bacon, sausage, potatoes, vegetables, fruits on board? CMMON! To say that she couldn't eat anything is ridiculous and all of us on special diets have told you that. None of us are taking this as a valid complaint because it's not. She has failed to answer even the basic questions.

 

Since she can't even tell us her ship and sail date, she may as well be a troll.

[7toEleven]

What ship and sail date was this that the MDR wasn't ever open for breakfast?

 

In my opinion, breakfast is probably the easiest meal to eat gluten free at the Buffet if this was the case, eggs (omelets), sausage, bacon, fruit and hash browns- all gluten free. The only breakfast items they wouldn't ever eat was oatmeal, grits, and pastries.....I don't have celiac but I do eat gluten free and never had a problem picking appropriate menu items in the MDR or buffet.

 

FYI~

My daughter has celiac disease and sausage is the number one worse food for her to eat. Within minutes she will be very ill, sometimes ending up with blisters. I do agree, that with the buffet there would be many things to chose from.

[gilboman]

FYI~

My daughter has celiac disease and sausage is the number one worse food for her to eat. Within minutes she will be very ill, sometimes ending up with blisters. I do agree, that with the buffet there would be many things to chose from.

 

Sausage or weiner? Sausages should contain nothing but meat. Weiners will have fillers like wheat crumbs and etc which wouldnt be good for her? Why cant she eat sausages?

[oncruisecontrol]

Sausage or weiner? Sausages should contain nothing but meat. Weiners will have fillers like wheat crumbs and etc which wouldnt be good for her? Why cant she eat sausages?

 

You're kidding, right? Read the label on Swift Brown and Serve sausages. They are NOT all meat. They are filled with fillers and have a carbohydrate content. I learned this a few years ago and have now switched to another brand of breakfast sausage that is all meat (Jones brand). I work in a restaurant, and anyone who has Celiac should know that they need to be very careful and ask a ton of questions of persons who have authority before they consume anything. Especially these days with processed foods and all. There can be "hidden" wheat in many foods. A buffet by its very nature should automatically be suspect. For example, one may think that french fries are safe, but in the restaurant where I work, our fries are lightly dredged in flour. Our house salad dressing contains wheat. It is incumbent on the person with the allergy/condition to question everything before it is consumed especially if the situation is dire. Or else, one is taking one's chances.

[sfo2008]

You're kidding, right? Read the label on Swift Brown and Serve sausages. They are NOT all meat. They are filled with fillers and have a carbohydrate content. I learned this a few years ago and have now switched to another brand of breakfast sausage that is all meat (Jones brand). I work in a restaurant, and anyone who has Celiac should know that they need to be very careful and ask a ton of questions of persons who have authority before they consume anything. Especially these days with processed foods and all. There can be "hidden" wheat in many foods. A buffet by its very nature should automatically be suspect. For example, one may think that french fries are safe, but in the restaurant where I work, our fries are lightly dredged in flour. Our house salad dressing contains wheat. It is incumbent on the person with the allergy/condition to question everything before it is consumed especially if the situation is dire. Or else, one is taking one's chances.

 

Yeah, you would be shocked what they shove wheat, soy and corn into these days.

[oncruisecontrol]

Yeah, you would be shocked what they shove wheat, soy and corn into these days.

 

Actually, I am not shocked. Sadened, yes. But not shocked. I read the labels of everything I buy. I buy whole foods only. And, I cook simple meals from scratch with a few flavorful ingredients (fresh herbs and spices). Since I've adopted my "natural" eating habits, I've been bringing my own foods on board to supplement my eating while cruising. Don't get me wrong, I still have plenty to eat on the ship, but I like having my own snacks to fall back on if I'm not feeling like eating cruiseship food on a particular day.

[byucougs]

Yeah, you would be shocked what they shove wheat, soy and corn into these days.

 

 

Yea, like the infamous "pink slime" in our meat :eek:

[sfo2008]

We are not crazy people expecting to be treated differently, but we do expect accommodation when the claim is that such accommodation is not only available, but readily available.

 

My sister had never been on a cruise, and save for quite some time in order to be able to afford this vacation with her family. She researched cruiselines and chose Carnival because of their website claims. She did everything she should have done to obtain the "readily available" food options that were not readily available, and rightly so, feels as if Carnival did a bait and switch.

 

And even when on the cruise they were made aware of the situation which they had been advised of in advance AND on the first night, they did not address the needs or expectations of my sister and her son. The purpose of this original posting was to let all buyers beware. This is a situation where Carnival did not do the right thing. I'm sure that happens on all cruiselines. Some just handle it better than others, case in point.

 

Look everyone here wishes your sister had had a better experience. There is nothing worse than taking your (hard earned) money and spending it and not feeling like you got what you paid for.

 

That said, without a lot more information your statements that you were "bait and switch"-ed or that "she did everything she should have done..." just does not add up.

 

You've decided in your own mind that "readily available" means you can snap your fingers and the stuff will appear, that simply is not what it means. What it means is that there is no special ordering involved; however, you do need to make arrangements.

 

Here we are 5-plus pages in and we still do not know:

 

(1) Which carnival ship

(2) Which sailing date

(3) Who did she talk to when, especially after her FIRST conversation where she WAS told she would get the gluten-free food and THEN it did NOT. Who did she try to escalate the problem too? What did they say?

 

The bottom line is Carnival WILL work with you. Lots of people here can attest to that. Does that mean they will be 100% perfect? No. Nobody is, but without providing more explanation of what happened you are just tilting at windmills here. Your sister had a bad experience, sorry to hear that. She is very unlikely to get any compensation for that.

 

Depending on when she choses to take her next vacation and given the severity of the food intolerance/allergy issues she may need to pick an alternate type of vacation and/or spend more time focused on this issue than she did this time. Hopefully given this (sadly negative) experience, maybe she can walk away with some practical approaches for handling these situations better in the future.

[fishtaco]

Got up too late for MRD and had a very late breakfast everyday at the Buffet? perhaps that would explain why the MRD wasn't open and no real help with special GF pancakes because kitchen staff were well into preparing lunch already?

 

We have all heard the complaints from late risers demanding to eat when they choose because its "their" vacation not the cruise lines.

 

 

 

Den

[Rosefloater]

 

Here we are 5-plus pages in and we still do not know:

 

(1) Which carnival ship

(2) Which sailing date

(3) Who did she talk to when, especially after her FIRST conversation where she WAS told she would get the gluten-free food and THEN it did NOT. Who did she try to escalate the problem too? What did they say?

 

 

Actually, if you read the fine print the OP posted in post 14, you would have seen her sister was on the Sensation. I don't understand why it matters what ship they were on. This problem could have happened on any ship, any cruiseline, on any sail date.

 

Apparently on this cruise the buffet was the only location open for breakfast. She did, in fact, contact Carnival about her bad experience and requested compensation as she and her son had very few food options available during their cruise. Here is their response:

 

Thank you for contacting us following your recent cruise on the Carnival Sensation. We were concerned with the poor impression you were left regarding your special dietary requirements. Carnival values its guests with special needs and makes every effort to accommodate their requests. As stated on our website, we do offer a variety of foods at any given time, and it is our hope that by working closely with our maitre d? or hostess on the first night of sailing, our guests are able to choose from a variety of options onboard. Nevertheless, we regret your disappointment in this regard. We appreciate your having taken the time to send us your comments. As part of our ongoing process to improve our product, your feedback has been shared with the relevant department managers for their disposition. While I wish I had better news, we cannot honor your request for compensation. Please don't let what happened this time around tarnish your entire opinion of us.

Sincerely,

Andrea Reyes

Guest Care Specialist

Carnival Cruise Lines | 3655 NW 87th Avenue | Miami, FL 33178 |

800-929-6400

 

 

OP - TA's have been known to drop the ball (it happened to me). If it was something this important to me, I would have called special services myself. Also, the MDR is always open for breakfast. Maybe your sister was confusing the time. The MDR is only open for LUNCH on sea days, not port days.

[Snorkel2Much]

Actually, if you read the fine print the OP posted in post 14, you would have seen her sister was on the Sensation. I don't understand why it matters what ship they were on. This problem could have happened on any ship, any cruiseline, on any sail date.

 

 

 

OP - TA's have been known to drop the ball (it happened to me). If it was something this important to me, I would have called special services myself. Also, the MDR is always open for breakfast. Maybe your sister was confusing the time. The MDR is only open for LUNCH on sea days, not port days.

The "ship and sailing date" matters because then a fellow passenger from that sailing could then presumably be found who could confirm or refute the "MDR wasn't ever open for breakfast" claim by the OP. That would establish some comfort level with the degree (or absence)of exaggeration in the OP's claims.

 

You're welcome. ;)

[keishashadow]

BEWARE IF YOU HAVE ANY FOOD ALLERGIES!!! Carnival was not accommodating at ALL when it came to serving my sister and nephew both with Celiac Disease (and who become quite ill when they ingest any foods containing gluten). This was despite previous notice made to Carnival about their needs, and repeated notification of their needs during their recent cruise. Beware beware beware!!

 

You have since stated that CCL did suggest MDR options, which i'd term an accommodation:confused:. I'm sure that anybody who suffers from this condition has the drill down and knows what foods can be tricky as to gluten, but this thread is helpful to illustrate CCL's policy and practices with regard to this issue.

 

Why didn't you go to guest services if you didn't find suitable food choices to speak to someone about this if it was such an issue on board? You can't ask someone to fix a situation AFTER THE FACT. That's like going to a restaurant, eating, then leaving and writing the company asking for a refund because the food wasn't good.

 

Indeed, I'd have been at the guest services desk and if I didn't receive satisfaction, and felt my family was endangered as it is suggested here, I would've called CCL special services/corporate directly from the ship.

 

It sounds as though the family received notice (as stated below) that they were to coordinate their dining options on the first night. If they elected not to partake (if i'm interpreting this correctly), then it turns into an 'eater beware' situation. I'd venture that reading that compensation was subsequently requested is where many will cease to be sympathetic.

 

Thank you for contacting us following your recent cruise on the Carnival Sensation. We were concerned with the poor impression you were left regarding your special dietary requirements. Carnival values its guests with special needs and makes every effort to accommodate their requests. As stated on our website, we do offer a variety of foods at any given time, and it is our hope that by working closely with our maitre d? or hostess on the first night of sailing, our guests are able to choose from a variety of options onboard. Nevertheless, we regret your disappointment in this regard. We appreciate your having taken the time to send us your comments. As part of our ongoing process to improve our product, your feedback has been shared with the relevant department managers for their disposition. While I wish I had better news, we cannot honor your request for compensation. Please don't let what happened this time around tarnish your entire opinion of us.

[bobsfamily]

While I wish I had better news, we cannot honor your request for compensation.

I think that answers all questions about this thread... did not get "compensated".

[sfo2008]

The "ship and sailing date" matters because then a fellow passenger from that sailing could then presumably be found who could confirm or refute the "MDR wasn't ever open for breakfast" claim by the OP. That would establish some comfort level with the degree (or absence)of exaggeration in the OP's claims.

 

You're welcome. ;)

 

Bingo! And to Rose who pointed out Sensation was "hiding in plain sight" thanks, though we still don't know the sailing date.

[sfo2008]

It sounds as though the family received notice (as stated below) that they were to coordinate their dining options on the first night. If they elected not to partake (if i'm interpreting this correctly), then it turns into an 'eater beware' situation. I'd venture that reading that compensation was subsequently requested is where many will cease to be sympathetic.

 

 

Yes, though to be clear, I think we all are (I certainly am) sympathetic to the OP's sister not having the vacation she had hoped for. We all want our vacations to be "picture perfect" and it is always deeply disappointing when it feels like they have gone horribly wrong.

[spleenstomper]

I dont know why OP and his sister keep stating this was not her responsibility, as it clearly states to find wait staff in the dining room and inform them, which OP's sister did.

 

Then OP's sister chose not to eat in the Main Dining Room for the rest of the cruise. :confused::confused::confused:

 

She then wants compensation for lack of choices in food, when she ignored 25% of the ways to eat on a ship. (4 choices are: main dining room, lido deck buffet, independent stations such as deli and mongolian, room service). This 1/4 of ways to eat on the ship also happened to be the main way to get GF foods on a ship.

 

Now, I do agree partially that since this was the sister's first cruise, there was a learning curve that she didn't understand.

 

On the other hand, she made it to the MDR to arrange for the gluten free menu, where they told her they would be happy to help her and then she never went back.

 

As we all know, CCL doesn't compensate for much, and CCL has already stated that they aren't going to compensate her for this. (which I agree with since she made it to the MDR to make arrangements and then chose never to eat there, so she clearly understood the making arrangements part).

 

I am GF and I have even thought of not even arranging for GF foods, since I am certain I can maneuver a GF menu on my own.

 

And neither OP nor his sister indicated that anyone actually got sick, so I assume they managed just fine with fruits, vegetables, butter, oil, vinegar, grilled meats, lobster night, eggs, etc.

 

I also agree with posters who say she likely got up too late every morning and missed breakfast (which ends around 10:30 I believe) in the MDR.

 

Then OP and sister decided to change a fact and claim the dining room wasn't open for breakfast any morning. I believe she may have believed the dining room wasn't open for breakfast. However, even the one dining room that is closed for breakfast always has a sign stating where to go to the other dining room where the breakfast is, so this indicates to me that OP's sister didn't even attempt to go to the MDR for breakfast, which would seem to indicate that she is a late sleeper.

 

So basically they want compensation from CCL because they chose not to eat where the GF foods were and then they got up too late to eat breakfast in the MDR anyway.

 

It is pretty outrageous.

[ump107]

I developed multiple food allergies later in life, a laundry list of foods I cannot eat. I also carry an epi-pen, and Benadryl, (I have discussed how to take Benadryl in an emergency with my MD) to counter any reactions I may begin to experience. Last year I went on my first cruise onboard the Miracle, the MDR staff was aware of my having an allergy my guest information has a medical note on it. The first night in the MDR the assistant Hostess came to my table and asked me to make sure I saw her every night when I came in; she explained that my food was prepared in a special area of the Galley to help prevent cross contamination. She also went over the foods that were safe for me the first night and I was able to order the next nights meal. I had no problems whatsoever in the MDR, I have had allergies long enough to know that a buffet is a crapshoot, it is often rampant with cross contamination because the average non-special needs person doesn’t think about it, some plainly don’t care.

To the OP, when your sister goes out to a restaurant does she go up to the buffet, or does she only order off of the GF menu? I would recommend in the future unless she has made assurances on embarkation, in person with the staff that special foods will be available for her on the lido deck to treat the lido deck as a Giant buffet, in the grand scheme of things that’s what it is.