Our Gluten Free Experience on the Carnival Dream

[L&J]

I thought I would write a review of our gluten free experiences on the Carnival Dream, as I know how hard and worrisome it can be to plan a trip while living with dietary restrictions. Our daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease last year at the age of 7.

 

 

 

I brought at least a dozen various granola bars, some apple sauce snacks, chips, cheezies and treats on board with us.

 

 

 

We had advised Special Needs of her gluten free requirement months before the trip and it was stated on our file. Upon embarkation, we asked at the buffet if we could speak with someone about her options to eat there. One of the workers returned with Maria who is the dining room hostess. They told us she could have the grilled chicken, potatoes, fruit, salad….but to stay away from the sauces and carved meats as they had a marinade on them. We inquired about the Pasta Bar so she led us upstairs and sat us at a table while we ordered. Meanwhile, the buffet worker had brought up a platter of the buffet food that was safe. My (not GF) chicken linguini alfredo from the Pasta Bar was delicious. My daughter was able to order GF spaghetti with tomato basil sauce. Not exactly the spaghetti and meatballs like we make at home but she said it was good. The servings here are large!

 

 

We were told that there was no need to pre-order her first dinner because they could easily provide GF options like grilled chicken, rice, salad and warm chocolate melting cake…..and that is exactly what she ordered. Her favorite part of each meal was the 2 thin slices of gluten-free bread they served her, while the rest of us received our buns. She said it was the best GF bread she had ever tried. It had a little bit of a lemony flavor. It’s made in house…I’d love to get the recipe. Each night at dessert, our waiter Roy would provide the next night’s menu options and we could also pre-order breakfast if we would be eating in the dining room.

 

 

We used the breakfast buffet 5 times, where she could have yogurt (which says GF right on it), chocolate milk, juice, fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs and bacon. There may have been other safe options like real fried eggs (not the mix), possibly ham slices, etc but she was happy to repeat the same breakfast over and over. She’s always been a very light eater so filling her up was not hard.

 

 

We used the dining room for breakfast twice. They would start with her favorite 2 thin slices of GF bread, then provide options like waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, fruit, etc.

 

 

 

We tried the pizza place on the Lido deck and ordered her a GF cheese pizza. She didn’t complain but when I tried her left overs they were kind of blah, even though it was just a plain pizza. The dough was much thicker than my regular pepperoni pizza (which I thought was awesome!) We never even looked at the lunch buffet, so can’t comment on that. We stuck to the extra food stations. She had a simple plate of fries twice from the burger station on Lido and was happy with that. Hey, she’s 8 and rarely gets to eat fries since they’re usually contaminated with other things in the fryer. There’s a bin of chili and cheese so I even indulged in chili cheese fries a few times. She didn’t feel like chili or I would’ve asked about its GF status. Sorry. Again, there may be many more options available but my little girl isn’t a big eater.

 

 

The iced tea was gross to both of my kids. We’re Canadian so we’re used to a more sugary variation of iced tea. I’m sure we could’ve sweetened it but they stuck to the lemonade or water instead. The ice cream machine got a workout and even the frozen yogurt was tried. All was good.

 

 

We ate dinner in the dining room every night. They knew to start her off with the bread and her own butter dish. The starters she ordered through the week were salad, fruit, and her favorite for the last 5 nights was chicken noodle soup. She loved that soup! Maybe because she hasn’t had chicken noodle in 8 months. She said it tasted a little different each night. Her main dinner was usually some form of chicken, fish or a burger….but let me say that her options were almost identical to our regular menu. There may have been the odd thing that wasn’t offered but if you’re eating gluten-free you will not be missing out! She could’ve had shrimp cocktail, frog legs, steak, fillet, whatever. She had the option of ordering about 90 percent of what we could have. The biggest difference was in the desert selection. She stuck to the WCMC or various flavors of sherbet, basically because that’s all that was offered. She didn’t have options like Baked Alaska, Cappuccino pie, etc but I’m sure if she’d have asked they could’ve whipped one up for her, given the 24 hours advance warning. There may have been additional offerings on the kids menu, but both of my kids (8&9) were happy to order off the adult menu all week.

 

 

My daughter is quite severe on the Celiac scale. Seven of her 8 biopsies showed severe damage to her stomach lining. If she consumes gluten mistakenly, she needs to run to the bathroom constantly, suffers stomach and head aches and is lethargic for a few days. She also has the Celiac rash (Dermatitis Herpetiformis) where a stinging, blistery, scabby rash lasting 3 months appears after gluten exposure. We have to ensure every product she uses like shampoo, soaps, creams are gluten-free.

 

 

 

We enrolled her in Camp Carnival and she loved it. We preferred not to let her eat with camp, just for our own piece of mind. We filled out her camp form and circled most of the food items as off-limits. It also asks about allergies to balloons, band aids, face painting, etc. We indicated that she’s possibly allergic to face-painting if it contains gluten. Unfortunately, on the last day of camp they painted her face. The next day her cheek broke out in rash and now almost 2 weeks later it is still healing. Each rash gives way to a scar :(

 

 

All in all, Carnival did an excellent job. They took great care of her needs in the dining room and around the ship. With the exception of the paint, which she knew she shouldn’t have, Camp was super! Considering all the meals she ate over 7 days without one tummy reaction – that’s amazing. We eat out at home and there’s usually some kind of cross-contamination. I felt like we were in good hands and would repeat the experience in a heartbeat.

 

 

As an extra tidbit – we stayed at the Best Western Ocean Suites by the Cocoa Beach pier for two nights pre-cruise and the Backwoods Steakhouse is attached to the hotel. One of the managers, Darlene, also has Celiac Disease and took great care of us for our dinners. One meal was the Mahi Mahi on rice and the next night were yummy burgers. It’s so nice when you find someone who understands what we are dealing with.

 

 

I hope this helps some of you who are cruising in the future and thanks to all of you who answered our questions before our trip!

 

 

Laurel (and little Shelby)

[LRene]

So glad Shelby found things she liked. It has to be harder for a child than an adult Celiac like me. Carnival changed their bread recipe recently and it is 100 times better than it used to be so I'm with Shelby on that one! All in all, they do a pretty good job on Carnival.

 

Sorry to hear the face painting caused a problem. I'd be a bit ticked off about that since they were told it could be an issue.

[riclop]

I thought I would write a review of our gluten free experiences on the Carnival Dream, as I know how hard and worrisome it can be to plan a trip while living with dietary restrictions. Our daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease last year at the age of 7.

 

 

 

I brought at least a dozen various granola bars, some apple sauce snacks, chips, cheezies and treats on board with us.

 

 

 

We had advised Special Needs of her gluten free requirement months before the trip and it was stated on our file. Upon embarkation, we asked at the buffet if we could speak with someone about her options to eat there. One of the workers returned with Maria who is the dining room hostess. They told us she could have the grilled chicken, potatoes, fruit, salad….but to stay away from the sauces and carved meats as they had a marinade on them. We inquired about the Pasta Bar so she led us upstairs and sat us at a table while we ordered. Meanwhile, the buffet worker had brought up a platter of the buffet food that was safe. My (not GF) chicken linguini alfredo from the Pasta Bar was delicious. My daughter was able to order GF spaghetti with tomato basil sauce. Not exactly the spaghetti and meatballs like we make at home but she said it was good. The servings here are large!

 

 

We were told that there was no need to pre-order her first dinner because they could easily provide GF options like grilled chicken, rice, salad and warm chocolate melting cake…..and that is exactly what she ordered. Her favorite part of each meal was the 2 thin slices of gluten-free bread they served her, while the rest of us received our buns. She said it was the best GF bread she had ever tried. It had a little bit of a lemony flavor. It’s made in house…I’d love to get the recipe. Each night at dessert, our waiter Roy would provide the next night’s menu options and we could also pre-order breakfast if we would be eating in the dining room.

 

 

We used the breakfast buffet 5 times, where she could have yogurt (which says GF right on it), chocolate milk, juice, fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs and bacon. There may have been other safe options like real fried eggs (not the mix), possibly ham slices, etc but she was happy to repeat the same breakfast over and over. She’s always been a very light eater so filling her up was not hard.

 

 

We used the dining room for breakfast twice. They would start with her favorite 2 thin slices of GF bread, then provide options like waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, fruit, etc.

 

 

 

We tried the pizza place on the Lido deck and ordered her a GF cheese pizza. She didn’t complain but when I tried her left overs they were kind of blah, even though it was just a plain pizza. The dough was much thicker than my regular pepperoni pizza (which I thought was awesome!) We never even looked at the lunch buffet, so can’t comment on that. We stuck to the extra food stations. She had a simple plate of fries twice from the burger station on Lido and was happy with that. Hey, she’s 8 and rarely gets to eat fries since they’re usually contaminated with other things in the fryer. There’s a bin of chili and cheese so I even indulged in chili cheese fries a few times. She didn’t feel like chili or I would’ve asked about its GF status. Sorry. Again, there may be many more options available but my little girl isn’t a big eater.

 

 

The iced tea was gross to both of my kids. We’re Canadian so we’re used to a more sugary variation of iced tea. I’m sure we could’ve sweetened it but they stuck to the lemonade or water instead. The ice cream machine got a workout and even the frozen yogurt was tried. All was good.

 

 

We ate dinner in the dining room every night. They knew to start her off with the bread and her own butter dish. The starters she ordered through the week were salad, fruit, and her favorite for the last 5 nights was chicken noodle soup. She loved that soup! Maybe because she hasn’t had chicken noodle in 8 months. She said it tasted a little different each night. Her main dinner was usually some form of chicken, fish or a burger….but let me say that her options were almost identical to our regular menu. There may have been the odd thing that wasn’t offered but if you’re eating gluten-free you will not be missing out! She could’ve had shrimp cocktail, frog legs, steak, fillet, whatever. She had the option of ordering about 90 percent of what we could have. The biggest difference was in the desert selection. She stuck to the WCMC or various flavors of sherbet, basically because that’s all that was offered. She didn’t have options like Baked Alaska, Cappuccino pie, etc but I’m sure if she’d have asked they could’ve whipped one up for her, given the 24 hours advance warning. There may have been additional offerings on the kids menu, but both of my kids (8&9) were happy to order off the adult menu all week.

 

 

My daughter is quite severe on the Celiac scale. Seven of her 8 biopsies showed severe damage to her stomach lining. If she consumes gluten mistakenly, she needs to run to the bathroom constantly, suffers stomach and head aches and is lethargic for a few days. She also has the Celiac rash (Dermatitis Herpetiformis) where a stinging, blistery, scabby rash lasting 3 months appears after gluten exposure. We have to ensure every product she uses like shampoo, soaps, creams are gluten-free.

 

 

 

We enrolled her in Camp Carnival and she loved it. We preferred not to let her eat with camp, just for our own piece of mind. We filled out her camp form and circled most of the food items as off-limits. It also asks about allergies to balloons, band aids, face painting, etc. We indicated that she’s possibly allergic to face-painting if it contains gluten. Unfortunately, on the last day of camp they painted her face. The next day her cheek broke out in rash and now almost 2 weeks later it is still healing. Each rash gives way to a scar :(

 

 

All in all, Carnival did an excellent job. They took great care of her needs in the dining room and around the ship. With the exception of the paint, which she knew she shouldn’t have, Camp was super! Considering all the meals she ate over 7 days without one tummy reaction – that’s amazing. We eat out at home and there’s usually some kind of cross-contamination. I felt like we were in good hands and would repeat the experience in a heartbeat.

 

 

As an extra tidbit – we stayed at the Best Western Ocean Suites by the Cocoa Beach pier for two nights pre-cruise and the Backwoods Steakhouse is attached to the hotel. One of the managers, Darlene, also has Celiac Disease and took great care of us for our dinners. One meal was the Mahi Mahi on rice and the next night were yummy burgers. It’s so nice when you find someone who understands what we are dealing with.

 

 

I hope this helps some of you who are cruising in the future and thanks to all of you who answered our questions before our trip!

 

 

Laurel (and little Shelby)

Glad everything went well.

[Tantra1]

What a nice experience. And a big +1 for Carnival.

 

Cheers!

[CorrieCJ]

So happy to read your great experience. Our son is 6.5 and has been gluten-free for 18 months. We went on the Pride last August and he too had a wonderful experience... I was amazed at the amount of things they were willing to make GF for him. We are back on the Pride this coming August and I know he is looking forward to enjoying all the same foods as his brothers and sister.

[kellane]

I'm so glad that you had a (mostly) good experience with Carnival and your daughter's GF needs. I have a friend that has a gluten intolerance so I am always on the lookout for GF options.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's reaction to the face paint. I'm sure it was hard for her to say no when she saw so many other children partaking. I hope it clears up soon!

[tinkerbella]

Thank You for taking the time to write this. :)

[MrsMuffin]

Thank you for this review! I have Celiac and am sailing on the Triumph next week. I am very much looking forward to being catered to so well. You mentioned that you notified them of her dietary needs ahead of time. I think I have seen an email address somewhere - can you tell me how you notified them?

[SadieN]

Thank you for this review! I have Celiac and am sailing on the Triumph next week. I am very much looking forward to being catered to so well. You mentioned that you notified them of her dietary needs ahead of time. I think I have seen an email address somewhere - can you tell me how you notified them?

 

Special Needs Department.

[L&J]

Thank you for this review! I have Celiac and am sailing on the Triumph next week. I am very much looking forward to being catered to so well. You mentioned that you notified them of her dietary needs ahead of time. I think I have seen an email address somewhere - can you tell me how you notified them?

 

I had called about a price drop and added it to our file while on the phone with them. You can also email Special Services. Have a good time!

[L&J]

So happy to read your great experience. Our son is 6.5 and has been gluten-free for 18 months. We went on the Pride last August and he too had a wonderful experience... I was amazed at the amount of things they were willing to make GF for him. We are back on the Pride this coming August and I know he is looking forward to enjoying all the same foods as his brothers and sister.

 

Enjoy your trip! Yes, this is definitely the way to travel stress-free. We usually need to plan ahead and phone various restaurants, pack food just in case and anticipate bad reactions. This was such a relief!!

[huntm]

Carnival's gluten free bread has come a looonngg way! They are certainly making good improvements. My mom is also gluten free so we deal with this each cruise. In January she ordered the gluten free pizza and didn't really care for it, but the next day they made her a sandwich using the gluten free pizza crust... It was like a flat bread sandwich and she said it was Fantasic!!

 

Carnival really goes out of their way to take good care of their special needs diet guests!

[FloridaAdGuy]

Thank you for this detailed report. My girlfriend and I are both vegan and are always interested to hear of guests' experiences with special dietary needs. I was intriqued by your comment "Hey, she’s 8 and rarely gets to eat fries since they’re usually contaminated with other things in the fryer."

 

I'm assuming that you checked to see if the fries were fried in the oil/fryer along with other items? As a vegan, we're always concerned that fries are fried in the same oil as chicken or other 'non-vegan' items.

[L&J]

Thank you for this detailed report. My girlfriend and I are both vegan and are always interested to hear of guests' experiences with special dietary needs. I was intriqued by your comment "Hey, she’s 8 and rarely gets to eat fries since they’re usually contaminated with other things in the fryer."

 

I'm assuming that you checked to see if the fries were fried in the oil/fryer along with other items? As a vegan, we're always concerned that fries are fried in the same oil as chicken or other 'non-vegan' items.

 

Yes, she needs to be very careful that the fryer did not previously contain other things like breaded items that contain gluten. They said it was safe and seemed OK, due to lack of reaction on her part :)

[MommeeBear25]

Thanks for the posting. My daughter and I food allergies...mine are very severe. We order the night before as well. My allergies have gotten worse since our last sailing and I'm a bit concerned. Thanks again for the post.

[carolknj]

Thank you very much. I know what you are going through, My daughter is also on the gluten free diet. We are going on the Dream in June from New Orleans. She is 16 and she has been on this diet for 3 years now. My niece has been on it for 22 years and back then there was not as much food out there for people on the GF Diet. We should be so lucky that we have all this food choices for them.

[CeleBrat]

What a great food review--thanks for sharing. I've never seen a positive "special food" posting here on the boards, as all of the other messages have usually been "CAUTION, XYZ cruise line doesn't handle food allergies well!!!!"

 

NOTE--Neither I nor my family has food issues, but I just wanted to say THANKS none-the-less, as your review will definitely help others, and give them a sense of reassurance.

 

CeleBrat

[mommareds]

Thank you for this, sooooo much. we are just at the start of our GF journey with our 6 year old, and knowing she's going to have so many options on our cruise this week almost makes me cry. It's been rough having to say "no" so often, when her siblings eat whatever. :o

[momonthego17]

My sister, who is gluten-intolerant cruised with me in 2010. Carnival took great care of her and she didn't have any issues. Thanks for writing your review!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[steveknj]

Thanks for putting us at ease. As my DW Carolknj said, our daughter is GF and we've been a bit worried about cruising with her. We are very careful to make sure that there's no cross contamination and it sounds like she won't have any issues.

 

What is the email address of the special needs department. I'd like to give them a heads up so they will be prepared for her.

[keelyhealthnut]

It really warms my heart to see the special attention paid to ensure her food safety. We loved the gluten free bread available at the buffet (though we just like to experience different types of foods and are not celiac). We were very impressed and I don't believe that we have ever had such tasty gluten free bread. Way to go carnival.

[CorrieCJ]

Mommareds, that is why I love cruising even more now. I can tell my son (now 7.5 years old) "YES" to pretty much everything.

[L&J]

Thank you for this, sooooo much. we are just at the start of our GF journey with our 6 year old, and knowing she's going to have so many options on our cruise this week almost makes me cry. It's been rough having to say "no" so often, when her siblings eat whatever. :o

 

Trust me, I know exactly how you feel. It's hard and overwhelming in the beginning, but it does get easier. I see you are on your cruise right now. I hope you're having a great experience like we did! We now have another year under our belts with this diet and it really does become second nature. She is her own best advocate. Good luck!

[L&J]

Thanks for putting us at ease. As my DW Carolknj said, our daughter is GF and we've been a bit worried about cruising with her. We are very careful to make sure that there's no cross contamination and it sounds like she won't have any issues.

 

What is the email address of the special needs department. I'd like to give them a heads up so they will be prepared for her.

 

specialneeds@carnival.com

 

I hope you enjoy your trip!

[L&J]

What a great food review--thanks for sharing. I've never seen a positive "special food" posting here on the boards, as all of the other messages have usually been "CAUTION, XYZ cruise line doesn't handle food allergies well!!!!"

 

NOTE--Neither I nor my family has food issues, but I just wanted to say THANKS none-the-less, as your review will definitely help others, and give them a sense of reassurance.

 

CeleBrat

 

Thanks for saying that! These boards have been so helpful to us over the years, so I thought I could return the favor. It was scary for me to leave the safety of my own kitchen when dealing with my child's Celiac. There weren't alot of specifics on this topic before we left so I wanted to ease concerns of others in the 'same boat'.

 

It's been a year since I posted this original review. We sail again next week (Feb 15/15). Shelby is doing great and is very excited for the bread and chicken noodle soup to start each dinner. She still hasn't found bread that tasty at home! I am much less stressed this time, because I know if the Splendor can provide even half as much as the Dream did last year, she'll be well taken care of.

 

I'll be sure to post another GF review upon our return. I'm so glad my info has helped others :)

 

Happy sailing!