Peanut allergy and specialty restaurants

[xcell]

Any one with a peanut allergy have any issues or advice with special to restaurants?

 

On our last trip with Epic we filled out a firm a few months before the trip but nothing came of that. When we ate at the buffet or mdr we asked the waiters/chef and they checked for us. One night a waiter lectured us that we should have p reordered the food and now since we didn't our meals would take that much longer (and thus was xmas eve). Normally I would take kindly to the advice but since this was third night eating at the same place (different waiter) I didn't see why it should be any different. So my entire party left and u complained to the head waiter regarding slow and rude staff (we didn't even get menus until 15 min after we were seated and had to ask someone else to get it).

 

Any ways that's a side note. Since we were not impressed with the mdr, thought I'd try my hand at specialty restaurants.

 

 

 

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[FuninWB]

I also have a peanut allergy and have found all restaurants to be very accommodating. Even in the buffet, a chef came over and spoke with me about what choices to avoid. I don't preorder, but I do let the servers know that I have an anaphylactic allergy and that it is essential that I am not exposed to peanuts.

[4774Papa]

We cruised with someone that had a severe peanut allergy. He said that Celebrity had a no peanut policy on its ships. Not sure about NCL. Have you asked management?

[Demonyte]

Any one with a peanut allergy have any issues or advice with special to restaurants?

 

On our last trip with Epic we filled out a firm a few months before the trip but nothing came of that. When we ate at the buffet or mdr we asked the waiters/chef and they checked for us. One night a waiter lectured us that we should have p reordered the food

 

Didn't the accessibility desk instruct you to make the needed arrangements with an officer onboard? That's what I've read here and what I was told when I informed them about one person's seafood allergy for our upcoming Med cruise.

 

They are very diligent and through about these things, in the food preparing areas and galleys they do have separate stations for preparing ingredients and dishes so that they can be sure of non-contamination.

 

So yes, NCL does handle food allergies extremely well but it also requires some effort from the passenger too. My GF has non-fatal but somewhat discomforting bell pepper allergy and after we once mentioned about this in a MDR, we were offered always to make next day's dinner selection in advance in order to get custom dishes and avoid any contaminants.

 

I don't mean to blame you at all (these things are hard) but somehow your story remotely reminded me of one very sour review from last year where a celiatic person complained that they wouldn't get any proper glutein-free food after they hadn't done anything in advance about it and even on the ship they thought that they should have been served right away when ever they happened to pop up in any of the venues - especially the buffet. If one only brings these things up when they already expect to eat, it will take time for the crew to meet the special dietary requirements.

[xcell]

Nope not offended but if you read my original post (and sorry for the spelling mistake)...I filled out a "medical form" faxed it in and confirmed they received it but that was the end of it. We did tell the waiter/chef/etc of my kids peanut allergies and they checked for us.

 

But on RCCL and Disney, they came out and discussed it with us before we even mentioned it and NCL didn't do much, even though I filled out a form. The only thing I received is a lecture from a waiter who seems like she didnt want to deal with and told us we should have pre-ordered.

 

So I did everything NCL said to do but nothing was really done different than me just informing the restaurant. As I have never eaten at any specialty restaurant, I plan to do the same but curious if any previous cruisers with PA had any insight

[DevCruise]

Didn't the accessibility desk instruct you to make the needed arrangements with an officer onboard? That's what I've read here and what I was told when I informed them about one person's seafood allergy for our upcoming Med cruise.

 

They are very diligent and through about these things, in the food preparing areas and galleys they do have separate stations for preparing ingredients and dishes so that they can be sure of non-contamination.

 

So yes, NCL does handle food allergies extremely well but it also requires some effort from the passenger too. My GF has non-fatal but somewhat discomforting bell pepper allergy and after we once mentioned about this in a MDR, we were offered always to make next day's dinner selection in advance in order to get custom dishes and avoid any contaminants.

 

I don't mean to blame you at all (these things are hard) but somehow your story remotely reminded me of one very sour review from last year where a celiatic person complained that they wouldn't get any proper glutein-free food after they hadn't done anything in advance about it and even on the ship they thought that they should have been served right away when ever they happened to pop up in any of the venues - especially the buffet. If one only brings these things up when they already expect to eat, it will take time for the crew to meet the special dietary requirements.

 

My dad is celiac and we went on a cruise on the Pearl together last September. He notified the access desk ahead of time (this helps them prepare the food orders for the ship to make sure there is enough of any special foods needed). Each night we met with someone at dinner to get the order for the next night. They even took care of my dad in three speciality restaurants (La Cucina, Moderno, and Teppanyaki). Some items do take longer to cook like the pizza my dad ordered in La Cucina and this is why they prefer you to order ahead as then then can have it partially ready to go and everyone's food comes out at once.

 

Granted, this is not a peanut allergy, however, my point is that if you work with the ship, they'll take excellent care of you. :)

[Demonyte]

Nope not offended but if you read my original post (and sorry for the spelling mistake)...I filled out a "medical form" faxed it in and confirmed they received it but that was the end of it. We did tell the waiter/chef/etc of my kids peanut allergies and they checked for us.

 

Yep, I read that part. As I said, for us the person at NCL's Access Desk said that they now have the note on record and that we'd need to arrange the dinners with a crew member onboard - to my understanding they have a specific person handling these kind of things. For most of the time one does get things done directly with the waiters but it does take more time and puts (IMO too much) pressure on them when one could have made arrangements on advance.

 

So for future cruises, even if they won't mention it in advance, do ask about this in the Guest Services. In my experience they are very helpful.

 

Here is a snippet from the confirmation email I got:

 

"Please be advised that we can accommodate your special dietary needs. I will email our onboard dining and medical staff to inform them of your special dietary needs. Also you must meet with the group services coordinator upon embarkation to introduce yourself and further discuss the preparation of your meals."

[jdvmd]

Didn't the accessibility desk instruct you to make the needed arrangements with an officer onboard? That's what I've read here and what I was told when I informed them about one person's seafood allergy for our upcoming Med cruise.

 

They are very diligent and through about these things, in the food preparing areas and galleys they do have separate stations for preparing ingredients and dishes so that they can be sure of non-contamination.

 

So yes, NCL does handle food allergies extremely well but it also requires some effort from the passenger too. My GF has non-fatal but somewhat discomforting bell pepper allergy and after we once mentioned about this in a MDR, we were offered always to make next day's dinner selection in advance in order to get custom dishes and avoid any contaminants.

 

I don't mean to blame you at all (these things are hard) but somehow your story remotely reminded me of one very sour review from last year where a celiatic person complained that they wouldn't get any proper glutein-free food after they hadn't done anything in advance about it and even on the ship they thought that they should have been served right away when ever they happened to pop up in any of the venues - especially the buffet. If one only brings these things up when they already expect to eat, it will take time for the crew to meet the special dietary requirements.

Completely accurate. NCL takes these things very seriously. I can speak with my own experience of having a severe shellfish/seafood allergy. You have to meet with someone onboard.

[lplp]

I have an extremely severe allergy to peanuts for the last 48 years and I have to say that Norwegian handles my allergy the best. I do choose the specialty restaurants as i feel more secure there and I know that items are prepared separately. Yes, they cost more, but it's a small price to pay for my life. Each server, host, manager, even room steward has known about my allergy beforehand as it is in the computer, and they always mention it while taking an order and then again, while serving. However, I still mention it almost to the point of overkill, but it is about survival for me.

 

Additionally, I had an unfortunate experience while off the ship in Mexico where I came into contact with a minute piece of peanut and began to go into anaphylactic shock and was rushed back to the ship to begin emergency medical treatment. I can also say that Norwegian's medical team was incredible, extremely attentive and caring and nursed me back to perfect health. I really appreciate that they "over-cared" for me over the next 4 days to ensure I was safe.

 

I can not say enough about Norwegian's handling of my peanut allergy- they truly are remarkable and communication is the key!

[FrugalConsumer]

Thank you for this thread! I was trying to decide between trying Norwegian or going back on a Disney cruise. Disney is awesome with food allergies. It sounds like Norwegian is too. My son has a severe peanut allergy.

[coach jim]

Just to confirm what has been said, our son has a severe peanut and tree nut allergy and we have found both NCL and Disney to be outstanding. We got the same notification to meet with guest services and it helped to order the night before. When we were not able to it just meant we waited a little longer, but we found the staff to be extremely helpful and accommodating. With the specialty restaurants we reminded them when we checked in and there was no problem. We have always viewed Disney as the gold standard dealing with food allergies but found NCL to be just as helpful and accommodating.

 

Coach Jim

[xcell]

Came back from the cruise with no major issues. The girls could have tried the crepes this time (on the epic they had a large vat of Nutella beside the crepes station so we skipped it) since there wasn't any nuts around (food that is...lol).

 

We skipped the ice cream because they could cross contaminate the scooper with the rocky road and went for the safe soft serve. Luckily most of NCL deserts suck so my kids had no interest except the jello and fruit. Side note the specialty restaurants' deserts were much better.

 

I still like Disney which had prepackaged peanut free gluten free cookies...at least it was another option.

[blackwing]

Any one with a peanut allergy have any issues or advice with special to restaurants?

 

On our last trip with Epic we filled out a firm a few months before the trip but nothing came of that. When we ate at the buffet or mdr we asked the waiters/chef and they checked for us. One night a waiter lectured us that we should have p reordered the food and now since we didn't our meals would take that much longer (and thus was xmas eve). Normally I would take kindly to the advice but since this was third night eating at the same place (different waiter) I didn't see why it should be any different. So my entire party left and u complained to the head waiter regarding slow and rude staff (we didn't even get menus until 15 min after we were seated and had to ask someone else to get it).

 

Any ways that's a side note. Since we were not impressed with the mdr, thought I'd try my hand at specialty restaurants.

My son has a severe peanut allergy and a milder shellfish allergy, and we too filled out the form. Yes, it would be nice if someone came to you and acknowledged your form, but with so many passengers on board (some of whom have similar issues), I have found that it is better to be proactive. As soon as we embark, either my wife or I find the person in charge of the buffet and discuss the allergies and have them walk us through the line and discuss what should be avoided, and how the food is handled. The first time we eat in the main dining room, we discuss with the maitre d.

 

They were excellent about it. And yes, each night they brought us the menu in advance for the following night. They would discuss the choices and what was safe. Then the next night, we gave our cabin number when checking in, and they already know to get the meal set aside in advance from the galley.

 

I think you have to understand that the meals are almost entirely prepared in advance. They don't wait until you order before they start cooking. They cook the meals and then have an ample supply of each dish ready for pickup by the waiters. If you have special requirements, they can cook it separately, but they need advance notice if you don't want to experience a significant delay.

 

The specialty restaurants serve a lot less volume, so there would probably be less issues with a delay there, if you are not in the mood to pre-order your meal in the dining room a day in advance.

[Lucinarei]

Great thread- so helpful! I have peanut and tree nut allergies, as well as lactose intolerance (and a vegetarian, just to make it that much easier!)… but I haven't filled out any forms. I did mention it as I booked directly with NCL- should I have filled out a form as well? I'm more than 15 months away from the cruise, so perhaps this is something that happens closer to the sailing?

 

We got the same notification to meet with guest services

 

This will be my first time sailing with NCL- is this is best thing to do upon embarkation? When I cruised with RCL, I met with the maitre d' upon embarkation and had no issues. I'm betting on the same experience with NCL- but it's always helpful to know with whom to check upon embarkation.

 

As always, thanks for the info and the thread- great info! :D

[mjkacmom]

Even if you fill out a form, you still need to meet with someone if you want a meal specially prepared, the day before. Otherwise, you are stuck with whatever is on the menu, that doesn't contain peanuts. Ds11 is celiac, so if she wanted something in particular, we arranged it the night before. Otherwise, we asked the server what was gluten free.

 

I found it harder in the specialty restaurants. They didn't seem able to make substitutions, or meet with us ahead of time. She just ate the naturally gf options in LeBistro and Moderno.

 

On NCL, the set up is quite different than other lines, where you have the same servers each night. You just have to be more proactive. Although we received a phone call after boarding telling us who to speak to about special meals, none of our servers were aware of her being gluten free until we told them.