Gluten-Free Carnival-Style?

[Packed2Go]

I'm really spoiled by Celebrity's carefully coded menus that spell out which dishes have gluten/sugar/nuts/etc. How does Carnival handle gluten-free dining? Does anyone have a good (or bad) report? This is my first Carnival cruise in several years and the first since diagnosed with Celiac disease last year. Your advice would be much appreciated? Do I need to pack some gluten-free food to make sure I can eat?? (Sailing Freedom on 9/7)

[elliair]

On the Lido deck buffet, there are signs by every dish and on the sign it states whether there's nuts, wheat, etc. Also the signs will state "gluten free." IIRC, the menus in the dining room also has it stated on the menu as well.

[ccruisequeen]

You can also speak to the Matre D. There is a special host/hostess who will go over the following nights menu with suggestions.

 

Breakfast in MDR offers gluten-free toast

[Bill&Karen]

I don't know about the rest of the gluten free options, but the gluten free pizza is pretty dire.....

[Union98]

A friend of mine is very sensitive to gluten and she's been on two cruises in the last two years and has nothing but good to say about the service (I can't tell you which ships thought - one was out of Florida and one out of New York) she received. She said they were very careful with her food in the MDR, going out of their way to provide her with what she needed. I think she ended up selecting her menu early each day to give them time to prepare it.

 

If you need more information, let me know and I'll get details for you.

[Davey Wavey]

There are signs on items in the buffet and you are always free to ask. In the dining room, tell your waiter and the hostess will come work with you. Some people say maitre'd also, but I've seen the same results as telling your table head waiter. The hostess bring a menu book with the follow day's breakfast and dinner menus that allow you to pick your meals for the following day. They offer all the same courses as everyone else except prepared differently. They will also have fresh bread at the meals for you.

[ekatiel]

There are signs on items in the buffet and you are always free to ask. In the dining room, tell your waiter and the hostess will come work with you. Some people say maitre'd also, but I've seen the same results as telling your table head waiter. The hostess bring a menu book with the follow day's breakfast and dinner menus that allow you to pick your meals for the following day. They offer all the same courses as everyone else except prepared differently. They will also have fresh bread at the meals for you.

 

^^^This. I have a son with food allergies, and the hostess takes his orders for the next day at dinner the night before. The first dinner will take a while to prepare because you did not order it in advance. After that, things run pretty smoothly.

[The klaps]

I'm assuming it only works to pre order if you have a set dining time. We have any time dining and I'm wondering if I should change it to a set time. Anyone know if pre ordering works for anytime dining?

[D4]

I'm assuming it only works to pre order if you have a set dining time. We have any time dining and I'm wondering if I should change it to a set time. Anyone know if pre ordering works for anytime dining?

 

I'm also gluten-free. I've asked the person that takes my nightly dinner order if it also works with anytime dining and they say it does. I prefer to have the same wait staff each night so they are aware of my restriction.

 

Someone posted that the Lido deck buffet has signs by every dish listing allergens. I've never seen that on any cruise line. My last Carnival cruise was in May and only the name of the dish was posted.

 

IMO, the best news on Carnival is that you can order gluten-free warm chocolate melting cake for every night except the first night and it is awesome! You can also order creme brulee every night. (I order both desserts each night.)

 

While you're ordering your dinner for the next night, you can also pre-order gluten-free pancakes and french toast for the next day's brunch (dining room only.) When you go there the next day, you just tell them what you pre-ordered. I haven't had the pancakes, but the french toast is ok.

 

You can also pre-order gluten free bread to have with your dinner. How it tastes varies quite a bit from night to night (good/ok/inedible.)

 

I bring a large bag of tortilla chips, several bags of Pamela's cookies, candy, and some individually wrapped bars on every cruise. I bring small ziploc bags so I can bring a portion of chips to eat with my food on the Lido deck. I take the individually wrapped snacks off the ship at ports.

 

I've eaten gluten free many times on each of these lines (Carnival, Princess, Celebrity.) I love Celebrity, but they are the only line that has glutened me. One time I ordered gluten free pasta and they accidentally gave me regular pasta. They realized it when I was almost done eating it and I credit them for telling me of their mistake. I was sick that night and the next day. If they hadn't told me, I would have thought I picked up norovirus or something like that.

[SadieN]

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Someone posted that the Lido deck buffet has signs by every dish listing allergens. I've never seen that on any cruise line. My last Carnival cruise was in May and only the name of the dish was posted.

 

.....................

 

 

Our last Inspiration cruise in March had some allergy labels on different foods. It must have been very new because I do not remember seeing them in January or February on the same ship.

We have family members with nut allergies so I didn't bother with reading about other allergies.

 

As with everything else it depends on the ship and the chef.

[3kids&dog]

I have been on two Carnival Cruises since finding out I have Celiac disease. It's been two years since my last cruise, but I have never seen signs on the Lido deck buffet. My experience has been good and bad. I think Carnival is really trying to provide options, the problems (if any) are usually in the execution on a ship with so many people. You still need to be diligent, as always when eating out.

 

As others have said, someone will come to your table each night and ask for your order for the next day. It is much easier (and safer) in my opinion to eat in the MRD so that is where I eat most meals even if my family hits the Lido buffet for breakfast or lunch. They are very good at accommodating you in the MRD (although the bread has been horrible - I am bringing my own on my upcoming cruise). The problem is the first day. When boarding the ship for lunch the Lido buffet is pretty much your only option. Try to ask for a chef to confirm that questionable items like salad dressings, carved meats are gluten free. I've tried to do this each cruise but the crew always tells me that the chef is busy and try to help me themselves, even though they likely do not understand the issue. This may vary by ship because others have posted that they have not had this problem. (I once ordered a gluten free pizza and was later given a regular pizza. Since it was my first gluten free pizza on ship, it did not realize the mix-up - I just thought the ship's gluten free pizza was really good. After spending the night of the cruise on the floor of the bathroom in pain, I asked the crew member the next day about it. He merely said "I no understand so I say yes.") Another potential area were I had near misses with gluten is the server handing me the wrong plate at dinner. My plates were never tagged differently so I was handed the wrong plate several times. For example, on elegant night the only difference with my lobster and shrimp meal is the topping that is sprinkled on the broccoli - something the server did not appreciate (everyone at the table ordered the lobster). As with any busy kitchen, you need to be careful.

 

I'm trying any time dining for the first time on my upcoming cruise. We'll see how it goes.

[rdevine10]

Im gluten free as well. Our last cruise was on Royal Caribbean a few weeks ago. They did have signs in the buffet on which items were gluten free. On the MDR menu they also indicated which items were gluten free (as well as dairy free, etc). It did make traveling with the gluten free issue easier, IMO. Although, I will say I think Carnival does give you more choices for food than RCL. HTH

[momonthego17]

My sister who is a vegetarian and eats gluten-free, was very happy with her dinners in the MDR on our last Carnival cruise. She said the food was great and she felt very well taken care of by the hostess who checked with her every night. My sister said she always found something good to eat for breakfast and lunch, but she usually eats alot of fruits and veggies anyway.

 

Since I am a carnivore and eat everything except beets (can't stand the musty taste) I was very happy with Carnival's food as well!

[wantocruisemore]

My DD requires a GF diet. We've cruised Carnival and RCCL. They handled it similarly. We always sent in to special needs ahead of time and when we got on the ship it was noted on her reservation. On Carnival a hostess met with us each night at dinner to pick her meal for the next day's breakfast, lunch and dinner. There were no problems and they really took care. Our waiter was also made aware.

 

Advice is let them know ahead of time and then always follow up at each meal. For the first day buffet we asked for the head person and we were told what was ok to eat. On RCCL the head chef walked around with us.

 

Actually the cruise ships are so much more accommodating for GF that we prefer that type of vacation with DD. She's also disabled and its important her diet is followed.

[ccruisequeen]

I'm assuming it only works to pre order if you have a set dining time. We have any time dining and I'm wondering if I should change it to a set time. Anyone know if pre ordering works for anytime dining?

 

Yes. I have used it twice on YTD

[ccruisequeen]

I'm also gluten-free. I've asked the person that takes m

IMO, the best news on Carnival is that you can order gluten-free warm chocolate melting cake for every night except the first night and it is awesome! You can also order creme brulee every night. (I order both desserts each night.)

 

.

 

can you order creme brulee on ships/itineraries that don't include it (like shorter 3/4 day)? I've only seen it on 7-day itineraries.

[D4]

can you order creme brulee on ships/itineraries that don't include it (like shorter 3/4 day)? I've only seen it on 7-day itineraries.

 

I don't know because we've never then a cruise shorter than 7 nights.

[specialdiet]

When you have any kind of special diet, you want to try to do set-time dining just so you can get the same wait staff, and you don't have to explain things to new people every day, which gets really old, really fast. Especially since not everyone you run into totally "gets it" as far as particular dietary needs.

 

Even though often items are marked gluten free etc., it's smart to not necessarily trust that. Follow the advice to speak to the Maitre d' and arrange to order dinners the night before, and you'll be sure it completely matches your dietary needs.

 

Don't just rely on what the regular menu says. In particular, the people preparing the regular meals (that just happen to be gluten free) are going to be a lot less concerned about any cross-contamination than someone whose job it is to deal with people who have severe gluten allergies, are celiac, etc.

 

And speaking of cross-contamination, you have to be extremely careful with that at the buffet!