Special Diet- bringing food onboard

[oceanseagle12]

Hi All! A group of friends is planning a cruise next year. One of them is reluctant because she is currently on a medically-supervised, restrictive diet. In a nutshell, she is able to eat prepackaged meals and fruits and vegetables. Don't mistake that last part as "vegetarian" because it's a bit more complex than that. I'm trying to help ease some of her fears/anxieties. I have no doubt that they would accommodate her with as many fruits and vegetables as she wants, but not sure what to tell her about the meals.

 

I've read information on Royal's site, and am aware that they have a special needs department to help with stuff like this. But we aren't booked yet, so I hoped that the trusty folks at CC would be able to help.

 

Our questions: will she have any issue bringing her packaged meals on board? Would they warm them for her? For reference, these meals are edible as they are, but who wants to eat room temperature meals all week?

 

I appreciate any advice or info you can offer. I feel for her as the food is always such a big part of the experience for me. It would totally bum me out not to be able to enjoy it!

[Clarea]

I know you haven't booked yet, but I still think it would be good to get your answers from special_needs@rccl.com.

[SRF]

Also, there are a LARGE number of fruits and vegetables available at every meal.

[oceanseagle12]

I know you haven't booked yet, but I still think it would be good to get your answers from special_needs@rccl.com.

 

Thank you! The online form requires a booking number, so this helps. I'd still like to hear if anyone else has had experience with this.

[spookwife]

As far as I am aware they will not prepare food she brings along. And there is no way for her to heat them herself. If the pre packaged meals are kosher, the ship will provide them with advance notice. Same for halal.

 

 

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[oceanseagle12]

As far as I am aware they will not prepare food she brings along. And there is no way for her to heat them herself. If the pre packaged meals are kosher, the ship will provide them with advance notice. Same for halal.

 

 

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No, it isn't kosher, etc. It's part of a medically-supervised weigh loss program.

[rmf11699]

My SIL has strict dietary issues as well. On our past NCL cruise she spoke to the head chef of the ship on day 1 to make sure they were aware of her needs. Have you called NCL to ask these questions?

[oceanseagle12]

I have not called, but just emailed the special needs department. I was only aware of the web form previously.

[KandCsailing]

I'd tell her to ask her doctor. Maybe she won't have to be on those meals by that time or they could provide her with a list of acceptable replacement foods for during the cruise.

 

My SILs both did a diet through a doctor (not packaged meals) and they we're even restricted to avoiding vegetables and fruit higher in sugar. (Unfortunately one sister was a 'star' and got too thin and they have both gained everything back)

 

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[katiel53]

My SIL has strict dietary issues as well. On our past NCL cruise she spoke to the head chef of the ship on day 1 to make sure they were aware of her needs. Have you called NCL to ask these questions?

 

 

My guess calling NCL regarding a Royal Caribbean cruise isn't going to do much good.

[rmf11699]

From the NCL FAQ page about diet:

 

If you have any food allergy or a dietary requirement that requires Kosher meals or gluten-free food product, please advise a Norwegian Reservations Agent, or your Travel Agent at the time of booking. Obtaining the product for many of these requests requires 30-days notice prior to sailing, and we want to ensure that we are able to fulfill your request. We cannot guarantee Kosher Meal requests made within 30 days of sail date. For the protection of all of our guests, it is not permissible to bring aboard any food items that would require preparation by the ship’s staff, or food items that would require cold storage in our kitchen facilities.

Edited September 19, 2017 by rmf11699
Just realized you're on RCI not NCL. My bad.

[rmf11699]

Ok, let's try this again. From the RCI website:

 

How does Royal Caribbean accommodate guests with special dietary requirements or allergies?

A

 

We make every effort to accommodate our guests' dietary requirements whenever possible.

 

We can accommodate dietary needs such as: Food allergies, Gluten-free, Kosher, Low-fat, and Low-sodium.

 

A variety of vegetarian Meals are available on all menus in the Dining Room and Windjammer Cafe every day. Guests do not need to make a special request for these meals.

 

Lactose-free/soy milk, ensure, and kosher meals are available at no extra charge. All you have to do is notify us at least 45 days prior to sailing (90 days for European/South American Itineraries).

 

Kosher for Passover meal requests MUST be received 90 days in advance in order to be accommodated. Contact your travel agent or Certified Vacation Planner and request that the remark be noted in your reservation details. If you made your reservation online at royalcaribbean.com you may add your request to the "update personal information." section.

 

You may also send an e-mail request to special_needs@rccl.com; please include in the e-mail the guests' names, booking number, ship name and sail date. E-mails will receive an automated response. We kindly ask that guests do not call Royal Caribbean International suppliers with specific questions.

 

Special meal requests that are received less than 45 days of sailing (90 days for European/Asian itineraries) are dependent on the ship's product availability. We will try to accommodate to the best of our ability.

 

Please note: Baby food is available via our Gifts and Gear page via our Babies To Go program and infant formula is not provided on board. Guests may not bring on board any food items other than baby food and/or dry, nonperishable snack items (cookies, crackers, chips, energy bars, etc).

[oceanseagle12]

Ok, let's try this again. From the RCI website:

 

How does Royal Caribbean accommodate guests with special dietary requirements or allergies?

A

 

We make every effort to accommodate our guests' dietary requirements whenever possible.

 

We can accommodate dietary needs such as: Food allergies, Gluten-free, Kosher, Low-fat, and Low-sodium.

 

A variety of vegetarian Meals are available on all menus in the Dining Room and Windjammer Cafe every day. Guests do not need to make a special request for these meals.

 

Lactose-free/soy milk, ensure, and kosher meals are available at no extra charge. All you have to do is notify us at least 45 days prior to sailing (90 days for European/South American Itineraries).

 

Kosher for Passover meal requests MUST be received 90 days in advance in order to be accommodated. Contact your travel agent or Certified Vacation Planner and request that the remark be noted in your reservation details. If you made your reservation online at royalcaribbean.com you may add your request to the "update personal information." section.

 

You may also send an e-mail request to special_needs@rccl.com; please include in the e-mail the guests' names, booking number, ship name and sail date. E-mails will receive an automated response. We kindly ask that guests do not call Royal Caribbean International suppliers with specific questions.

 

Special meal requests that are received less than 45 days of sailing (90 days for European/Asian itineraries) are dependent on the ship's product availability. We will try to accommodate to the best of our ability.

 

Please note: Baby food is available via our Gifts and Gear page via our Babies To Go program and infant formula is not provided on board. Guests may not bring on board any food items other than baby food and/or dry, nonperishable snack items (cookies, crackers, chips, energy bars, etc).

 

I appreciate the effort, but this doesn't address any of her concerns/questions. Now that you posted it, I remember that I did see the email address before but the "automated response" line led me to believe that this was only for submitting the request once you were booked, not for actually getting information. So I turned to CC. I did send an email, so we will see if that leads anywhere.

[rmf11699]

I'm sure our fellow CC users will have good info for you as well. Good luck!

[payitforward]

I would also have her check with her doctor. You said "next year," but didn't say when. It seems unusual that someone would be that restricted for such a long period of time. Doctors should understand that expecting people to eat pre-packaged food for that long is a recipe for failure. I cruised just three weeks post bariatric surgery. Although I brought my protein shakes, there were PLENTY of pure protein options available for me on the ship to where I rarely had to drink the extra protein.

[andrew2346]

They are not going to heat up her JennyCraig/Nutrisystem/Medifast etc for her. I would certainly call the special needs department to get an idea. I do have to tell you that the person you get on the phone and the person you meet on embarkation day (head waiter) will most likely NEVER have communicated and might very well have completely different answers to the question of heating her meals.

 

She will have been on this program for a quite a while and should hopefully be able to experiment with eating normally (non-packaged) food. Maybe she doesn't want to go? Just a thought.

 

In any case, you are very nice to reach out and looking into this. Happy cruising!

[TBone2K]

I haven't done this myself but have read many experiences from cruisers here on CC that say their diet requests were handled very well. I would see if you can email your requests without the booking just to make sure it is possible. Provide a list of what is special about the meals so the culinary team can make sure what is requested is possible. Ask the doctor to provide a list of do's and don'ts if required.

I suspect until you book a specific cruise you will only get generic answers like "Yes, we can accomodate you, please let us know once you have a booking number".

 

I would say you are safe to book, but get on to the dietary needs discussion right away, then you are able to cancel.

 

*** And like most things related to communications with RC, anything that they confirm via email that they will do, make a printed copy to take on board with you. This will help cover you if something is not done, or is questioned.

[Havingfun2010]

Hi All! A group of friends is planning a cruise next year. One of them is reluctant because she is currently on a medically-supervised, restrictive diet. In a nutshell, she is able to eat prepackaged meals and fruits and vegetables. Don't mistake that last part as "vegetarian" because it's a bit more complex than that. I'm trying to help ease some of her fears/anxieties. I have no doubt that they would accommodate her with as many fruits and vegetables as she wants, but not sure what to tell her about the meals.

 

I've read information on Royal's site, and am aware that they have a special needs department to help with stuff like this. But we aren't booked yet, so I hoped that the trusty folks at CC would be able to help.

 

Our questions: will she have any issue bringing her packaged meals on board? Would they warm them for her? For reference, these meals are edible as they are, but who wants to eat room temperature meals all week?

 

I appreciate any advice or info you can offer. I feel for her as the food is always such a big part of the experience for me. It would totally bum me out not to be able to enjoy it!

 

Many people have special diets, but on vacation, it is hard. The good news, vacations are too short. There is a difference between special diets, and special food. Special food is like Kosher etc. Special diets can mean anything.

 

First, you can't bring your own food. But the ship has ton of food. So, the first step is have her write down a menu of what is exactly in her special diet. Once you have the items, it might be a very easy thing to do on the ship. Also, many items can be eaten in place of other items, and a visit to her dietician might help with the selection process. First, print of the menu's and use it as an example, and pre plan the entire week with the help of a dietician. The conversation should be first between here doctor or dietician, with the menu in hand.

[maria1122]

For me it is salt. I would be given the menu the night before and pick out my meal for the next night. I also requested no sauces on any of my food. If it is a doable request they will honor it.

[boscobeans]

For me it is salt. I would be given the menu the night before and pick out my meal for the next night. I also requested no sauces on any of my food. If it is a doable request they will honor it.

 

Exactly.

 

I cannot imagine anything on almost any menu that they can't simulate.

 

bosco

[Scottygirl1]

My husband and I did a two week Mediterranean cruise while being very low carb. We'd both lost weight and were keen to maintain while on the ship. We said no to potato, bread and all desserts. I just explained to others that it was due to being pre-diabetic (which I was) and they understood. We didn't gain any weight that cruise and it was extremely easy to make choices.

 

I think your friend should be off special food by next year and will just need to make good choices based on advice from her doctor. If not then perhaps cruising is not for her sadly.

[Morecruisesplz]

Hi All! A group of friends is planning a cruise next year. One of them is reluctant because she is currently on a medically-supervised, restrictive diet. In a nutshell, she is able to eat prepackaged meals and fruits and vegetables. Don't mistake that last part as "vegetarian" because it's a bit more complex than that. I'm trying to help ease some of her fears/anxieties. I have no doubt that they would accommodate her with as many fruits and vegetables as she wants, but not sure what to tell her about the meals.

 

I've read information on Royal's site, and am aware that they have a special needs department to help with stuff like this. But we aren't booked yet, so I hoped that the trusty folks at CC would be able to help.

 

Our questions: will she have any issue bringing her packaged meals on board? Would they warm them for her? For reference, these meals are edible as they are, but who wants to eat room temperature meals all week?

 

I appreciate any advice or info you can offer. I feel for her as the food is always such a big part of the experience for me. It would totally bum me out not to be able to enjoy it!

I would encourage this person not to cruise until they can enjoy the food onboard.

[VegasMark]

I can't speak for prepackaged meals, but my wife has a very restricted diet, and we've had success using the special needs email address. She requests the same thing every night - fruit plate (specific fruits listed), shrimp cocktail, steamed veggies (specific veggies listed), salad (specific items listed). I always print a few copies of the reply from RCL. I honestly don't think my email is ever communicated with anyone onboard, but we speak to the head waiter on the first night and they take a copy and it's good to go from there. I hope this helps you or others.

 

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[Morecruisesplz]

I can't speak for prepackaged meals, but my wife has a very restricted diet, and we've had success using the special needs email address. She requests the same thing every night - fruit plate (specific fruits listed), shrimp cocktail, steamed veggies (specific veggies listed), salad (specific items listed). I always print a few copies of the reply from RCL. I honestly don't think my email is ever communicated with anyone onboard, but we speak to the head waiter on the first night and they take a copy and it's good to go from there. I hope this helps you or others.

 

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Yes, the staff onboard are great about special diets. I just think bringing food onboard is going to problematic.

[caribill]

I do have to tell you that the person you get on the phone and the person you meet on embarkation day (head waiter) will most likely NEVER have communicated and might very well have completely different answers to the question of heating her meals.

 

 

I would not expect a different answer regarding heading the food. Bringing passenger supplied food into a ship's food preparation area is a giant "no."