Gluten Free

[holidaylover10]

Hi

 

I have recently been diagnosed with coeliac disease and trying to get to grips eating a gluten free diet. I have informed Celebrity of my dietary requirements.

 

A big part of cruising for me is the food so I am a little disappointed to have to eat a restricted diet but needs must. Will I still have a wide choice of meals to choose from or will my options be limited.

 

Thanks

[vulcan1971]

Hi

 

 

 

I have recently been diagnosed with coeliac disease and trying to get to grips eating a gluten free diet. I have informed Celebrity of my dietary requirements.

 

 

 

A big part of cruising for me is the food so I am a little disappointed to have to eat a restricted diet but needs must. Will I still have a wide choice of meals to choose from or will my options be limited.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

There are a number of very informative and helpful threads on this topic, including this one I found when I searched the words "gluten free".

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2097108

 

You will be limited to some extent, but options will be available at most all the venues around the ship. I hope you enjoy your cruise experience.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

Edited March 24, 2015 by vulcan1971

[AmberCascades]

Celebrity is awesome with my celiac husband. You won't be able to eat any of the breads and most desserts, unfortunately (that was the hardest part for him to deal with). There is jello and creme brulee....sometimes a mousse.

 

Ask the buffet manager what is safe to eat in the buffet. Don't rely on the people behind the counter because they don't always know. DH loves eggs benedict in the morning (no english muffin) and he can usually find lots to eat at any time. They will make a gluten free pizza but you usually have to give them some notice (maybe an hour or so?).

 

In the MDR he would look at the next night's menu and place his order. In most cases they could make a GF version (even French onion soup!). They also brought him GF bread each night. We always do Select dining, but they always find us and there's never been a problem.

[holidaylover10]

Thank you so much for your replies, its been a stressful trying to adapt to eating gluten free diet but you have put my mind at rest regarding the cruise.

[ClaudiaB]

My daughter was diagnosed about 15 months ago with Celiacs and she was very confused and sad and really went through a grieving process for maybe 6 months about what she was no longer going to be able to eat. Then she said it became "look what I CAN eat" and she found that places like Disney World and cruises were so accustomed to handling gf diets, as well as other diets.

 

The biggest concern you'll have of course is cross contamination, but just make your concerns known ahead of time. Many people don't understand that just picking off a crouton from a salad doesn't work - the crouton being ON the salad even for a few seconds makes it inedible for you. Meet with the maitre d' when you get on board, talk to him/her in every eating venue. You'll likely become acquainted with the head chef and other kitchen personnel who will often walk you through the menu or the buffet line. As long as you get the right people involved, and they have done this hundreds of times, you'll be all right.

 

My daughter travels with little individual packs of nuts and things she can eat, which might be a good idea for you for port days. You won't be able to take fruit or fresh items off the ship, however.

 

Have a great cruise and I feel quite sure you'll still enjoy it, and certainly you'll begin to feel better and better (you said you were recently diagnosed) which is the main thing. I've watched my daughter's journey and been with her from time to time as she's navigated her new food world, and it's wonderful to see how people are ready and able to help.

[itsjb1]

Our daughter was also recently diagnosed as celiac, and this was our first trip after her diagnosis.

 

Here is our recent experience on the Reflection. When we boarded we went down to the MDR. We had anytime dining, but we were able to make a standing reservation for the whole week, so we had the same wait staff, who were well aware of her celiac. They brought her GF bread and a separate butter bowl every night. She was able to preorder her breakfast for the next morning(even having it delivered by room service) and dinner for the following night. As others have noted, many dishes can be made GF and she never had a problem finding something to eat.

 

 

The maître d at the buffet took her around, and identified which items were gluten free. She chose not to eat at the buffet at all, for fear of cross contamination. While the items may have been GF, she did not feel comfortable with the items not having been inadvertently contaminated by a fellow pax.

 

She was able to get GF pizza and bread/toast in the buffet restaurant.

 

She was told by the maître d at the Mast Grill that the burgers were 100% beef, i.e. no gluten and that the buns were not made on the grill. If she wanted a bun, she got GF bread at the buffet restaurant and took it up to the grill.

 

Were told that fries were GF, and made in a dedicated fryer, so no cross contamination.

 

All in all a very positive experience and she did not get sick.

Edited March 24, 2015 by itsjb1

[Max Circus]

We sailed on the 3/14/15 Summit with my MIL who is celiac. We did the same as you and had her identified as gluten-free. She was really pleased with the offerings. In the MDR, each item has symbols next to it with the dietary information (gluten, dairy, vegetarian or sugar-added). The waiter was very knowledgeable. Each night, she would get a copy of the following night's menu to know whether she would need a special order. She never did since there was large variety, but they even offered to make her a Beef Wellington gluten-free which was amazing!!

 

We even had great success in Blu, Normandie and QSine although their menus don't have the special symbols. The chefs of both specialty restaurants came to our table to discuss the options.

 

The buffet was less successful. My MIL tried the pizze but it was terrible. Probably a rice flour that was spongy and no flavor. The one day she wanted to get gluten-free pasta, they said they were out of it that day.

 

The GF bread she got varied a lot in quality. She got some great bread in Normandie and Blu - but MDR was not good.

 

If you have any specific questions, please ask. I think you'll be fine.