Gluten free dinning on Carnival ships.

[aberdeener]

We are booked on the Vista this summer for their August 18th sailing. We will have 5 of our family who eat gluten free of which two are celiac and cannot tolerate glutens at all. We have been assured that we will have a wide range of gluten free foods available however I would be happy to hear from any cruisers who eat gluten free and who have sailed on Carnival and have actual experience on board.

Thank you all in advance for your responses.

[sanmarcosman]

Many threads on the subject such as this: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2327652&highlight=gluten+free

[SadieN]

Search 'gluten' and 'celiac'.

 

 

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[cdamion]

I cruised with somebody gluten free several months ago on the Breeze. Despite telling them in advance, for the first 2 nights they did not remember despite it being assigned seating. After that, they would make sure there was GF bread for her at the table, and bring out the next day's menu so they could make sure to have what she wanted available. And yes, she did have a selection of things to choose from. After the first 2 nights, they bent over backwards to make sure she was taken care of.

[Jenzshoppin]

I cruised with somebody gluten free several months ago on the Breeze. Despite telling them in advance, for the first 2 nights they did not remember despite it being assigned seating. After that, they would make sure there was GF bread for her at the table, and bring out the next day's menu so they could make sure to have what she wanted available. And yes, she did have a selection of things to choose from. After the first 2 nights, they bent over backwards to make sure she was taken care of.

 

Thank you! I am crusing on the Miracle on Dec. 11 th and I am gluten intolerant. I hope the dining room food is good because I will have to eat there!

[SadieN]

I cruised with somebody gluten free several months ago on the Breeze. Despite telling them in advance, for the first 2 nights they did not remember despite it being assigned seating. After that, they would make sure there was GF bread for her at the table, and bring out the next day's menu so they could make sure to have what she wanted available. And yes, she did have a selection of things to choose from. After the first 2 nights, they bent over backwards to make sure she was taken care of.

 

 

Can't just tell Special Needs. Need to see the Maitre D at embarkation to preorder that night's meal. At then end either the hostess or waiter will take your next day's MDR order. Breakfast/brunch/lunch on longer cruises/ dinner.

 

 

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[RuthlessBoss]

I cruised with somebody gluten free several months ago on the Breeze. Despite telling them in advance, for the first 2 nights they did not remember despite it being assigned seating. After that, they would make sure there was GF bread for her at the table, and bring out the next day's menu so they could make sure to have what she wanted available. And yes, she did have a selection of things to choose from. After the first 2 nights, they bent over backwards to make sure she was taken care of.

 

So did she eat anything for the first 2 days?

[cdamion]

Can't just tell Special Needs. Need to see the Maitre D at embarkation to preorder that night's meal. At then end either the hostess or waiter will take your next day's MDR order. Breakfast/brunch/lunch on longer cruises/ dinner.

 

 

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The Maitre D was informed upon boarding - and after the first night. It was the visit to guest services (my first complaint to guest services ever) that fixed it. It was just a very very off cruise for Carnival, by the second day I had a couple things to complain about to guest services. They seemed surprised that I didn't ask for anything besides to resolve the issues. They bent over backwards to make sure everything was good the rest of the cruise.

 

So did she eat anything for the first 2 days?

 

Her food was just very delayed the first two nights. They served everybody else, including me, as she sat there at the table with nothing to eat. It wasn't cool.

[jayne62]

I have celiacs and have cruised twice on Carnival Spirit, you notify them before you board about the special diet. On the day you board go to the dining room and introduce yourself once you board - go well before meal time - they show you the menus for the following day and you choose your meals each evening for the next day. I found them to be excellent. My meals are much more restricted now than just gluten free and they were very careful to get it right in the dining room. The chef made me special desserts on a few occasions as I also can't eat sugar.

 

 

In the buffet there is a high risk of cross contamination - the only things I eat there are fruit and boiled eggs but I have extremely bad reactions. They have gluten free cakes and bread available and you can ask which food is gluten free but eating at any buffet is risky.

 

The main thing is to give them plenty of notice, be very clear about your orders and ask for the same table each night so you have the same wait staff.

[przyk]

We just finished a cruise on the Sensation. One person in our party is celiac and can not tolerate gluten. The dining room staff went above and beyond to accommodate her and she was very happy with her options. For example the gluten free chocolate melting cake is served in a differect shaped bowl so as not to get mixed up. Gluten free bread was served on a separate plate.

 

She also enjoyed gluten free bread from the deli for lunch. Gluten free pizza was also available, but she did not like the taste/ texture of the crust. It may have just been the preparation as it seemed under cooked.

 

The Lido buffet was problematic in that it was difficult to find someone who understood her issue, so she pretty much limited herself to fruit and salad from the buffet.

[SadieN]

..........

 

 

 

The Lido buffet was problematic in that it was difficult to find someone who understood her issue, so she pretty much limited herself to fruit and salad from the buffet.

 

 

We have other food issues...

At the buffet you need to talk to a hostess, Head Chef or one of the white uniformed Managers at the buffet. The line cooks will get one of them for you if no one is near the podium. The Line Chefs mean well but they're not trained in all the ingredients.

 

 

 

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[przyk]

We have other food issues...

At the buffet you need to talk to a hostess, Head Chef or one of the white uniformed Managers at the buffet. The line cooks will get one of them for you if no one is near the podium. The Line Chefs mean well but they're not trained in all the ingredients.

 

 

 

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That was the issue. Our gluten free dieter was not comfortable bothering the number of people required to get answers at the buffet.

[L&J]

Our Celiac daughter has 2 sailings under her belt and is excited for her third on Vista in January. I detailed her experience from our Dream cruise and I think I did one from Splendor last year too. I've never linked before so I hope this works...if not, cut and paste it or search it out.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1988723

 

The crew is fantastic and go out of their way to give her the best service. She loves cruising for the carefree eating she can partake it. She's a picky eater and doesn't normally eat very much -- but she pigs out on cruises!

[cdamion]

I have celiacs and have cruised twice on Carnival Spirit, you notify them before you board about the special diet. On the day you board go to the dining room and introduce yourself once you board - go well before meal time - they show you the menus for the following day and you choose your meals each evening for the next day. I found them to be excellent. My meals are much more restricted now than just gluten free and they were very careful to get it right in the dining room. The chef made me special desserts on a few occasions as I also can't eat sugar.

 

 

In the buffet there is a high risk of cross contamination - the only things I eat there are fruit and boiled eggs but I have extremely bad reactions. They have gluten free cakes and bread available and you can ask which food is gluten free but eating at any buffet is risky.

 

The main thing is to give them plenty of notice, be very clear about your orders and ask for the same table each night so you have the same wait staff.

 

Once it was squared away on Breeze, the waiter would confer with her and tell her what was available the next day and if she didn't like it, the chef would come up with something that was acceptable. Remarkably attentive service for one passenger out of 4000.

[SadieN]

That was the issue. Our gluten free dieter was not comfortable bothering the number of people required to get answers at the buffet.

 

 

That is THE issue. DD has learnt to be extremely proactive with her allergies.

 

The first day is always the hardest figuring out who to speak with on any cruiseline. Each has its own protocols.

The only issue DD has had onboard was her food came out way before the rest of the table's and Carnival classifies seeds as nuts.

 

 

 

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[DebJ14]

Send an e-mail to Carnival special needs and follow up with the Maitre'D upon boarding. I have been disappointed that Carnival would NEVER in the last 9 years since I was diagnosed, let me pre-order my meal for the first night dinner when I talked to the Maitre'D upon boarding. I always ended up with the plain, tough as shoe leather, chicken breast and steamed vegetables.

We have solved that problem by eating at the steakhouse the first night and pre-ordering dinner for the second night at breakfast on Day 2. Everything is cooked to order in the steakhouse and I get a good GF meal and a free bottle of wine and I get a GF dinner in the dining room on Day 2.

Edited May 26, 2016 by DebJ14

[aberdeener]

Our Celiac daughter has 2 sailings under her belt and is excited for her third on Vista in January. I detailed her experience from our Dream cruise and I think I did one from Splendor last year too. I've never linked before so I hope this works...if not, cut and paste it or search it out.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1988723

 

The crew is fantastic and go out of their way to give her the best service. She loves cruising for the carefree eating she can partake it. She's a picky eater and doesn't normally eat very much -- but she pigs out on cruises!

 

 

Thank you so much for the link, which worked very well. Our daughter, her husband and two of their children eat gluten free. Their 10 year old daughter and 12 year old son are both Celiac. This will be their first cruise and we are feeling much better about the food options on board after reading the replies on these boards. The 12 year old is a high energy big eater and loves to try out new foods so he will be exploring all of the options available to him.

[aberdeener]

Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to respond. My daughter and her family will be thrilled to hear about your experiences.

[L&J]

Glad to help :)

[cruising with the family]

I have celiac disease and have been on 5 carnival cruises. I will say that none of you will starve. the MDR service is fantastic, although it can be a bit cumbersome as the wait staff generally don't have the same knowledge as the Head Waiter/Maitre'D/Hostess. Go to the MDR when they are open during boarding to pre-order your dinner for the first night. Each night after dinner, you pre-order for the next night and/or for brunch, etc.

 

The buffet is very challenging. On my last cruise (which was on a smaller ship, which I try to avoid at all costs!), no one knew anything about which foods were OK. I talked to a line cook, wait staff, the hostess, a chef. They couldn't tell me if the rotisserie chicken was OK. They said the burgers had gluten in the patties?!? :confused: I was left with the salad bar, but no one was sure which dressings were OK. It was very frustrating. Also beware that during breakfast, I noticed they put pieces of bread in the bottom of the bacon container to absorb the grease. :mad: I ate whenever possible in the MDR but on port days and embarkation day, that option does not exist.

 

Ships with Guys and Blue Iguana have GF options at those locations, but the last ship I was on had neither. I still managed to eat plenty and enjoyed special treats like creme brulee (my favorite!) every night!!!