Gluten Free on Carnival Dream - December 4th-11th, 2016

[NightOne]

As someone with Celiac I did a lot of research before going on my first Carnival Cruise and while I found a lot of information regarding the process I didn't find a lot of details on exactly what I would be able to eat. Therefore, I wanted to share my experience to help those that need to be gluten free.

 

First, I want to talk about how it worked for me. (the process)

 

Since we were dining in the steakhouse the 1st night of the cruise I went to the Crimson dining room around 1pm to meet with the maitre d'. One of the hostesses sat down with me and presented me with the 2nd night's menu for the MDR. I made my choices and she took down my order. She also presented me with the Sea Day Brunch menu and took my order for the next morning's breakfast.

 

Later that night we went to the steakhouse. At the steakhouse everything is made to order and you do not have to make arrangements in advance. However, make sure you notify them when you arrive that you need gluten free and they will take it from there. Later that night the head hostess (at least that is what I think her role is) came to our table in the steakhouse to make sure that my order had been taken for the next morning and night. I told her that it was done earlier that afternoon in Crimson.

 

When I arrived at Scarlett in the morning for Sea Day Brunch I presented my sign & sail to the head hostess from the night before and she pulled my order from a stack of slips in front of her and gave it to our waiter before we were seated.

 

At dinner each night the head waiter would bring me the next night's menu right before dessert and then would take my order for that and breakfast too. The first night I was in the MDR the head hostess came to visit again to make sure everything was going good in regards to dietary restrictions.

 

Note: If you are Celiac you know certain things you definitely cannot have. However, they encourage you to order what you want and they will attempt to accommodate you with a special version of the dish if possible. If your waiter is unsure you can order a backup dish too.

 

So what did I eat throughout the week? Here it is:

 

DINNERS

 

Day 1 - Steakhouse

 

Mini cheeseburger sampler from Chef

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail

Heart of Iceberg Lettuce

18 oz. Spice Rubbed Prime Ribeye Steak

Yukon Gold Mash with Wasabi Horseradish

Fresh Fruits

 

Day 2 - American Feast

 

Shrimp Cocktail

Pork Chop (From the Grill section of menu)

Malted Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate

 

Day 3 - American Table

 

Gazpacho Andalouse

Chicken Breast (From the Grill section of menu)

Corn and Vegetable Succotash

Steamed Broccoli

Carnival Melting Chocolate Cake

 

Day 4 - American Table

 

Shrimp Coctail

Peach Soup

Swordfish (They were out of Mahi Mahi)(From the Grill section of menu)

Grilled Beef Tenderloin

Broccoli, Carrots Onions

Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate

 

Day 5 - American Table

 

Mixed Greens

Chicken Breast (From the Grill section of menu)

Corn and Vegetable Succotas

Carnival Melting Chocolate Cake

Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate

 

Day 6 - American Feast

 

Four Season Salad

Grilled Jumbo Shrimp

Key Lime Mousse

Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate

 

 

Day 7 - Steakhouse

 

Salmon & Corn Chowder sample from Chef

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail

Sliced, Sun-ripened Beef Steak Tomato

18 oz. Spice Rubbed Prime Ribeye Steak

Yukon Gold Mash with Wasabi Horseradish

Steamed Broccoli

Fresh Fruits

 

They brought Gluten Free bread to the table every night as well. Make sure you get a separate butter dish or do as I did and get yours out before anyone else starts using it.

 

Our menu order was pretty much what is documented here:

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.net/CarnivalFreedomBC9/menu/mdr_menu.html

 

SEA DAY BRUNCH / MDR BREAKFAST

 

Fresh Fruit Platter (without cottage cheese)

Omelettes (Egg White & Egg Substitute with Ham, Cheese, Peppers, Onions)

Sliced Ham

Bacon

Turkey Bacon

Hash Browns

French Toast

 

I tried to order corned beef hash once but told once that it was not gluten free so I didn't try to order it again but not 100% sure what is up with that as corned beef hash it is normally gluten free. (maybe has filler ???)

 

LUNCH

 

Pasta Bella

 

Tell the hostess that seats you that you need gluten free and she will write it on an area of your slip. They give you a slip like this:

 

https://www.carnival.com/~/media/Images/explore/dining/menus/pasta-bella-menu.ashx

 

There is only one type of gluten free pasta. You check the Linguini box but it is more like spaghetti and is your only option. I had the Pomodoro and Bolognese sauces. Through the week I had various combinations of Chicken, Sausage, Shrimp, Cherry Tomatoes, Onions, Mushrooms, and Peppers. I did not ask for any bread. Turn your slip in and they bring it to your table.

 

Pizza Pirate

 

Wait in the line the first time until you get to the front and tell them that you need a gluten free pizza. They will ask you what kind you want and how many pieces. (2 is half the pizza and 4 is the whole thing) They send your request back to the kitchen and you wait 10-15 minutes until it is ready. They cut it and plate it separately in the back to avoid cross contamination.

 

 

Lido

 

The only food I got from the buffet was fresh fruit.

 

 

Swirls (Ice cream machine)

 

Luckily I seen this next event happen or it could have been an issue. The soft server ice cream is gluten free. However, I watched in horror as one of the staff used a cone to scrape the bottom of the spouts off to clean them off. I informed him this was not a good practice but didn't make a huge deal out of it. When I used the machine, I would take 2 dishes. In the first I would dispense ice cream until it looked free of crumbs and such. I then wiped the spout off with a napkin and then dispensed my portion in the 2nd dish. I had no issues this way. I only got ice cream twice during the cruise.

 

Well there you have it. Carnival was absolutely fantastic in dealing with Celiac / Gluten Free dining and made what is normally a stressful situation (eating out) into a wonderful experience. Kudos to them!

 

If you have specific questions, please feel free to ask.

[SadieN]

Adding on......

For the brunch you can order both breakfast and lunch. At breakfast just let your server know you'll be getting the rest of your order at lunch time.

[easyboy]

Thanks for that very comprehensive info on your experience. Very helpful.

 

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[NightOne]

Adding on......

For the brunch you can order both breakfast and lunch. At breakfast just let your server know you'll be getting the rest of your order at lunch time.

 

 

Great tip. It actually never crossed my mind to go there twice. Doh!

 

Actually we were mostly busy at lunch time and just kind of squeezed it in.

 

Wife really liked the non-gluten free pizza from Pizza Pirate.

 

 

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[ams1130]

Thank you for putting this review together.

[tigercat]

I haven't had a problem on several of the ships going wheat free however the Conquest was a different matter. I have sailed on her the last 4 cruises. The first one was pretty good. The next cruise was a B2B. The first week my food was good but the second week it was terrible. That was Jan. 2016. Sailed on her again Oct. 2016 and the food again was horrible. My tablemates would take bets on how bad it would be. The meat would be so dry and tough I couldn't even cut it up. No sauces or sides. I am really not sure what was going on because on the other ships I didn't have any problems and the food was good. Not once was I offered bread. Even desserts were not good.

 

I am going on the Glory in Feb. and am hoping that it is better.

 

tigercat

[Michelle236]

Thank you so much for this. My friend was recently diagnosed with Celiacs and we are booked on the Vista in October 2017. So glad there are many options for her to choose from. I was so worried we wouldn't get to go to the Steakhouse, but looks like that will be a great option.

[MaidMirawyn]

Carnival was absolutely fantastic in dealing with Celiac / Gluten Free dining and made what is normally a stressful situation (eating out) into a wonderful experience. Kudos to them!

 

Okay, wow. Thanks for posting. This was nothing like my experience last June on the Dream!

 

First, my waiters in the main dining room were awesome. They made sure to find out what was gluten free before I got there each evening, and always had bread for me. And when I ate at other meals, like brunch, they would warn me off non-safe meal options if they were there. In fact, I can tolerate small amounts of gluten, so on the two occasions I ate a bit of wheat (cheesecake crust!), I had to reassure them that, yes, since I had been so diligent the rest of the time, I could have a wee bit of gluten. :) Good for them to make sure I understood what I was getting!

 

I did note online that I was gluten intolerant, but no one said anything at any point about contacting special needs, either beforehand or on the ship. I'm sailing again this June (Fantasy this time), and intend to make sure this is handled correctly!

[spleenstomper]

Thanks, I emailed the MRD already to let him know I'm GF. I'll head to the dining room when we get there.

[AmeliaAtSea]

DINNERS

 

Day 2 - American Feast

 

Shrimp Cocktail

Pork Chop (From the Grill section of menu)

Malted Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Fresh Tropical Fruit Plate

Did you ask what is the Malt ingredient?

[NightOne]

Did you ask what is the Malt ingredient?

 

I did not.They assured me it was good and the galley menu I seen before cruise had it listed a GF but now you have me wondering. The odd thing is that I was just on the Triumph a couple of weeks ago and was going to order that again and they said I could not have it. So not sure on this one at this point. On Triumph they told me the dessert with the popcorn was good which is one of the ones on the Dream that was flagged as a No.

 

Here is a galley menu that I researched before going:

 

http://www.zydecocruiser.net/menus/breeze_at.html

 

You will see they list it as Gluten Free on that menu. I would say that going forward I would steer clear of it just to be sure.