Dietary restrictions or why I lost weight on the Vista TA

[pamrose228]

Was on the Vista TA for 13 days and guess what I lost weight on it.

 

I booked the cruise the day it was announced in Jan 2015. In November of that year I was dxd with a rare form of cancer and in February of 2016 had a very intensive surgery called a Whipple procedure. Your digestive system is completely rerouted and certain foods are not your friend anymore.

 

Three months post surgery I started making plans for the cruise. Called CCL several times to tell them my issues . Low fat (fats and meat very hard and painful to process), low sugar (diabetes) and low salt. I know seems tasteless but I get along fine at home. Well PVP tells me several times when I go to MDR tell them my issues.

 

First dinner. No special meal. I picked something plain. It wasn't. The entire cruise the night before chose my dinner. Always was sick. Went to Jijis that was better but carb loaded. Cucina same thing and then they tell me every sauce is loaded with butter. Blue Iguana what's the harm in a grilled shrimp and chicken salad.

 

I felt I'll the entire cruise pushed myself but came home needed 2 weeks to get back.

 

What do they do to the food.? Should I have done something different. Should I call CCL and complain.

 

Tia

 

 

 

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[shof515]

it might been better if you contacted special needs department before the cruise or guest services onboard the ship rather then the MDR staff

 

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/special-needs.aspx they have a page about dietary needs

Edited November 18, 2016 by shof515

[cruizergal70]

Sounds like you need to be very specific as baked potato, plain, no toppings. Chicken breast, plain, no sauce. With your host of restrictions, you can't order mixed dishes. You have to order each item, separately and specifically tell them you want it plain, no butter or oil, etc.

 

I don't see why you would complain if you weren't that level of specific.

[pamrose228]

Sounds like you need to be very specific as baked potato, plain, no toppings. Chicken breast, plain, no sauce. With your host of restrictions, you can't order mixed dishes. You have to order each item, separately and specifically tell them you want it plain, no butter or oil, etc.

 

I don't see why you would complain if you weren't that level of specific.

I was specific. I ordered plan everything steamed veggies ....guess what the steam with butter. I repeatedly told them no butter when I discussed my needs. The head waiter was nasty to boot. She resented the fact I asked questions.

 

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[pamrose228]

it might been better if you contacted special needs department before the cruise or guest services onboard the ship rather then the MDR staff

 

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/special-needs.aspx they have a page about dietary needs

I was told this while onboard by another pax. I remotely remember speaking to someone in special needs and they told me to speak to the dining staff first night. They would hand me a book with the next days menus. I would make choices and say no butter or cream. But I just don't think all rules are followed. GS told me to speak to DR

 

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[SadieN]

Below is my standard answer for allergies, but it's also valid for any other food issue. Most important is going to the MDR at embarkation and talking to the hostess.

 

 

We travel with a group that combined has allergies to nuts, treenuts, shellfish, egg whites, chocolate, MSG and liquid dairy. Only had issues with 'user' error, no issues with Carnival. If you have a nut allergy, know that Carnival classifies seeds as nuts.

 

If you have an odd allergy contact Special Needs before your cruise. If you have a 'normal' allergy no need to do so.

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/special-needs/dietary-needs.aspx

 

See the Hostess when the Maitre 'd has hours. Hours will be in the FunTmes, usually starting around 1pm. The hostess will take that night's order. Each night the hostess or your waiter will bring you the next day's MDR menu-breakfast, brunch/lunch and dinner. If deciding between two entrees, order both. For brunch don't hesitate to order a breakfast and lunch if you want to eat both meals in the MDR.

 

For room service, they cannot make special for you but they can tell you the ingredients. No special area so there is always the possibility of contamination

 

Buffet is a minefield. Ask the Hostess or the Head Lido Chef or the Food and Beverage crew in the officer whites. DO NOT ask the line cooks. They mean well but do not know the full recipes. Cross contamination is always a possibility.

 

Onshore--- we bring allergy cards. I made our own but you can buy some at selectwisely.com.

You can only bring off commercially prepared food. We bring cereal bars, boxes of cereal, bottled water, hard candy etc.

menu.

 

 

Kids clubs have a form to fill out. There are some snacks served at times. The younger kids meet up at the dinner buffet certain nights. Ask the counselors what's on the menu.

[SadieN]

Here's a very good alternative diet thread. Slog thru her diet (knowing it's not the same as yours) and read how she went about it. Post 30 has a link to her review with even more info of what she did.

[pamrose228]

Thanks. Not one person including CCL ever told me about seeing the hostess first day.

They definitely prepared low salt low sugar meals but the lowfat portion just wasn't there. One good thing I didn't have cankles on this trip. Might have been no drinking of any soft drinks from fountains . Bought 6 cases bottled water.

 

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[SadieN]

Here's a very good alternative diet thread. Slog thru her diet (knowing it's not the same as yours) and read how she went about it. Post 30 has a link to her review with even more info of what she did.

 

 

Just noticed I didn't post the link

 

 

Food (Paleo/SCD/Green Smoothie) on Conquest

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1908228

[serene56]

Thanks. Not one person including CCL ever told me about seeing the hostess first day.

They definitely prepared low salt low sugar meals but the lowfat portion just wasn't there. One good thing I didn't have cankles on this trip. Might have been no drinking of any soft drinks from fountains . Bought 6 cases bottled water.

 

If contacting the special needs before your cruise they would have told you to see the mairtr de that first day when he meets usually between 1 and 3

 

he would have someone assigned to you to visit your table each night to talk with you in detail about tomorrow nights dinner

 

was this not done at all?

[pamrose228]

If contacting the special needs before your cruise they would have told you to see the mairtr de that first day when he meets usually between 1 and 3

 

he would have someone assigned to you to visit your table each night to talk with you in detail about tomorrow nights dinner

 

was this not done at all?

Not at all. Head waiter gave me next day menus at meals end.

 

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[PattBenatar]

I was on the Victory last year this time for a B2B (9days), I had listed that I was allergic to olives on my form (special needs) with other medical issues I was dealing with. I did not even think about it after I did, one night my waiter assistant delivered me a plate and my waiter rushed in and excused the assistant, saying that plate I was handed had olives and my plate was being made special.

 

Being overweight and a diabetic, I watched what I ate and made healthy choices and lost 5 pounds. Which I am very happy with for all the food choices and amount of food I ate. The staff was so in tune with my meals, no bread was ever offered after the 2nd night, my ice tea with lemon was delivered in seconds with a large glass of ice water. The waiter suggested what was the best choices for me, but never was pushing nor degrading if I chose to be "bad" for the night.

 

So Kudos to all the chefs and wait staff on the Victory. I hope the staff on the Vista is half as good.

[deborahjo]

I was specific. I ordered plan everything steamed veggies ....guess what the steam with butter. I repeatedly told them no butter when I discussed my needs. The head waiter was nasty to boot. She resented the fact I asked questions.

 

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We encountered the same troubles with the MDR staff. Even my restrictions are on my profile. We had no problem last 4 cruises.

 

On the Conquest October 1 we had nothing but trouble from the kitchen all the way up to the asst maitre'd to the maitre'd. The people were rude and laughed in our faces.

 

Some foods make me ill let alone the quantity. We spoke to the maitre'd when we boarded. Assured no problems.

 

When we had issue after issue, not with the waitstaff, we spoke to the maitre'd one afternoon. He did nothing but laugh in our faces.

 

We filed a complaint. I wrote a letter to the captain. No response of course. Once we returned home. Contacted Carnival Corporation. Of course we just received a form letter. They offered a $50 OBC for our next cruise. They never said a word that these people were in the wrong.

 

Carnival has gone so far down hill in their dining officers. They can yell at guest in the dining room and get away with it. (Asst Maitre'd did to me and my husband in front of the entire dining room. My husband took him aside and they had a very nasty conversation)

 

Good Luck. Carnival will not do a thing for you.

 

 

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Edited November 19, 2016 by deborahjo

[SadieN]

Next step would have been Director of Hotel Services.

[summersigh]

We sailed the Sunshine twice this year and had no problem with special requests in the MDR so it sounds like the serving staff plays a great part in the ease with which special diets are addressed. We were very lucky to have delightful and very helpful teams waiting on us (late fixed dining on both cruises)

 

My DH just plain doesn't like sauces on his food - not for medical reasons but just his preference which he explained to our wait staff. Most evenings he ordered his entree without sauce, a plain baked potato and "naked" vegetables or naked salad with lemon. His orders were taken and delivered with a smile and he thoroughly enjoyed his (in my opinion boring) dinners. :)

[pamrose228]

Just as a p.s. I am at a party right now. Just like on a cruise er had a choice of entrees. I ordered extra lean veal chop no butter or oil. Baked potato, steamed veggie. Will let you know how it goes

 

 

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[pamrose228]

Just as a p.s. I am at a party right now. Just like on a cruise er had a choice of entrees. I ordered extra lean veal chop no butter or oil. Baked potato, steamed veggie. Will let you know how it goes

 

 

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The catering hall handed me a dinner made to my absolute specifications. It was exactly what I asked for .No fuss and my stomach was fine.

 

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[seannyice81]

My diet needs are pretty strict (need to avoid lactose, gluten, fructose, garlic, onion, etc). Like you I can eat these foods, but they will cause big issues that my medication only just helps a little with.

 

I've had pretty good luck coordinating my meals with Carnival though. I send an email to

Special Needs at least 5 weeks prior to each cruise. They usually get back to me in good time stating they have made a notation and that I would need to meet with the Maitre 'D and head waiter of my dining table once aboard. IF you have YOUR TIME DINING the KEY is to make sure you stick with the SAME waiter each evening you're there. Most sailings I was given a menu for the next evening's dinner and I would choose a dish that I felt would have less need to for the ingredients mentioned above. Some dishes just have no way around certain ingredients. Taking all these steps I've had less issues. Dining on land is a different story, but then again it comes down to avoiding things as much as possible.

 

As for why someone with diet issues would/should cruise... Why not? The ship will usually cater better to diet needs than many restaurants around here.

[Rocknsoul]

OP, please let me first say that I hope the surgery has taken care of the cancer and that you are otherwise in excellent health. I can't think of anything that would make me feel more like myself after such a journey than a cruise.

 

The response you've gotten from Carnival since the cruise is pretty standard mass cruise line MO--apology letter with or without OBC or a discount on the next cruise. Unfortunately, the length to which the mass cruise lines will go in meeting special needs really does depend first on the officers overseeing the hotel and dining, then on the maitre d', and finally the dining staff. One ship might be excellent, another ship might have some excellent people mixed with sketchy service.

 

On our rockiest Carnival cruise, during which I stupidly tried to fix my prescription sunglasses, I got seasick for the first time in my life. Our cabin steward took care of us, even bringing bonine and checking on us once we were knocked out. She brought us dry toast and tea for lunch. She was amazing. Other cabin stewards on other cruises made it a point to let us know they would not do anything special at all--like put wine glasses in the room for the wine we were allowed to bring on board--so please don't ask.

 

Our second cruise was the result of an award my husband won. ***[Anyone uncomfortable with breastfeeding may want to skip this paragraph]. No children were allowed to come--and I had a 4-mo-old baby who was still nursing. Nope, not allowed to bring her. I had the choice of skipping the cruise or making accommodations for myself on the ship and my baby on land. I thought it would be reasonable to be able to freeze milk while I was on board, but of course soon realized that unless I had a personal freezer, I couldn't expect Royal Caribbean to store it. The ship's staff weren't very nice about it, but I learned later that there were more options than just throwing it away--which is what I ended up doing. It was frustrating, and had I known then that we would wind up taking a cruise every couple of years since then, I would have skipped it.

 

This next cruise in two weeks (and our spring break one which has yet to be finalized) will determine if we keep cruising Carnival or not. Honestly, we've found Carnival and RCI to be very similar in the level of service while RCI is so much more expensive, especially for the bigger ships. Like other friends of ours have done, we might just cruise less often and step up a bit. Or we might just give in and move to Grand Cayman.:p