Anyone with food "issues" been on Regal and have tips

[pa247]

Just curious if anyone has been on the Regal that has food "issues"? Being recently diagnosed with IBS I'm on a gluten free, dairy free, low fodmap diet and getting a bit nervous about finding the right food on this ship. And I did put in the cruise personalizer a request for gf food and dairy free beverages.

 

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

 

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[Itchy&Scratchy]

check out Disabled Travel board. Talk to the MD when you get to the ship. They'll take good care of you.

[easyboy]

My grandsons have peanut allergy and my daughter discussed with the Maitre ‘d upon embarkation her son’s dietary needs. Their needs were handled properly and did not use their standby Epipen during the cruise.

 

 

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[Micahs Grandad]

DW has unusual food allergies and must be very careful with what she eats.

 

No problem for breakfast and lunch but first night at dinner will tell waiter and he will have asst MD come to our table.

 

She will discuss this with him/her and plan each nights dinner. Worked very well so far.

[skf]

In general, as the menu states, any issues such as allergies, etc. must be reported to the Maitre-D or your headwaiter. The Waiter and Asst.Waiter are not supposed to handle this.

The Headwaiter comes by with advice and pre-orders for the next night.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just curious if anyone has been on the Regal that has food "issues"? Being recently diagnosed with IBS I'm on a gluten free, dairy free, low fodmap diet and getting a bit nervous about finding the right food on this ship. And I did put in the cruise personalizer a request for gf food and dairy free beverages.

 

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

 

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Next time, also consider Oceania. Terrific accommodation of specific food issues with far better than just some bland substitute.

 

 

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[pa247]

Thank you all for info. Feel less anxious now as I see I'll be able to handle this. Will discuss with maitre d on first night.

 

 

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[geocruiser]

I can't not eat shell fish. In the dinning room I would do what others have said above. At the buffet look for a chef. The will have the big white hat, not the people serving behind the buffet, but the main chef. They will walk you around to each offering of food and tell you what you can not have. All ways ask. Just because you don't see the food that you can't eat in it, that food could be hidden.

I have been sailing on Regal Princess for my last 8 cruises, and the chefs at the buffet are wonderful.

[Micahs Grandad]

I can't not eat shell fish. In the dinning room I would do what others have said above. At the buffet look for a chef. The will have the big white hat, not the people serving behind the buffet, but the main chef. They will walk you around to each offering of food and tell you what you can not have. All ways ask. Just because you don't see the food that you can't eat in it, that food could be hidden.

I have been sailing on Regal Princess for my last 8 cruises, and the chefs at the buffet are wonderful.

 

They have been very nice to deal with.

[Scrappygrrl]

My only caution to the OP is to not assume that the chef will know what low-FODMAP is. I would communicated exactly what you cannot have. Honestly, dairy-free, gluten free is pretty par for the course, I would focus on the most important things to exclude and let the rest go if you can?

[Wesley66IN]

pa247 - how did this work for you? We just booked on Regal and my daughter has both gluten and dairy intolerance. We went on Caribbean Princess last year and really disappointed to how they handled it. It wasn't terrible but very much lacking compared to other cruise lines (GF rolls and buns and not just toast each meal). Of course the servers were fantastic but the chef/kitchen left some easy stuff undone. Hoping you had more choices. thanks

[TheRabbit]

Just off the Ruby and a person in our party had a no dairy requirement. First night a manager came by to discuss the menu with the person before they ordered and then each night brought the next night's menu over to pre order their meal for the next night. When we were in the Crown Grill, the person still came by to take the next night's order. FYI, we gave this crew member a separate tip for his excellent service.

[Host CJSKIDS]

When we cruise with our one friends, the husband has a gluten allergy. I'm always so impressed with how Princess handles it for him. They would bring the menu over for the following night. He is always offered gluten free bread. Sabitinis, Crown Grill, Alfredos, they all work with him. They even bring him gluten free foods during tea time our days up in the Sanctuary.

[geoherb]

Princess has struck out twice now with DH's food. We've had head waiters who took little interest in the foods he avoids once they found out he could navigate the menus on his own most nights.

[pris993]

Just curious if anyone has been on the Regal that has food "issues"? Being recently diagnosed with IBS I'm on a gluten free, dairy free, low fodmap diet and getting a bit nervous about finding the right food on this ship. And I did put in the cruise personalizer a request for gf food and dairy free beverages.

 

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

 

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What do you eat at home? Think about what you usually have and make a list to discuss with the Head Waiter and Mat'red.

My Husband does not eat a lot of things ... we try to eat like we do at home; breakfast we do room service, dinner we either go to the Crown Grill or buffet - again thinking about what we eat at home... seems to work.

[cakc]

I am recently off the Grand in Alaska with multiple food allergies. I cannot have any dairy (including butter, yogurt, cream, etc.), jalapeños, or walnuts. Embarkation day we ate lunch in the main dining room - I just ordered very cautiously. I think I had a salad and french fries? I inquired about talking to the MD and was told I could talk to our dining room head waiter at dinner. I met him in the dining room and he was amazing. He gave me suggestions for safe ordering for the first night and then every night after brought me the lunch and dinner menus for the next day so I could pre-order. I ordered several dishes for each meal just in case what I felt like having changed or something was gross. He also put a standing order in for breakfast and high tea for me to have allergy-safe options.

 

I made a document with food photos & comments -- https://docs.google.com/document/d/17bvstvzAMNmPOrgfzwh33s8KW6GRAxPLqpEji6lnHI0/edit

[JF - retired RRT]

check out Disabled Travel board. Talk to the MD when you get to the ship. They'll take good care of you.

BTW: That's Maitre D', not Medical Doctor...;p

[JF - retired RRT]

I made a document with food photos & comments -- https://docs.google.com/document/d/17bvstvzAMNmPOrgfzwh33s8KW6GRAxPLqpEji6lnHI0/edit

I can eat anything and I want to eat almost all of the food in those pictures...apple spice sorbet - YUM.

[tammigirl]

I have an allergy to cashews and mango. I told them on this particular ship and they made a big deal out of it, wanting me to choose my dinners a day in advance. All I wanted to do was be certain I was avoiding these two things. I did not require any special handling of my situation. For me, I felt it was more trouble than it was worth. Especially since the headwaiter and the MD did not seem to understand what a cashew was.

 

I think you can be certain they will take all the necessary steps to accommodate you.

[blue cow dog]

I have an allergy to cashews and mango. I told them on this particular ship and they made a big deal out of it, wanting me to choose my dinners a day in advance. All I wanted to do was be certain I was avoiding these two things. I did not require any special handling of my situation. For me, I felt it was more trouble than it was worth. Especially since the headwaiter and the MD did not seem to understand what a cashew was.

 

I think you can be certain they will take all the necessary steps to accommodate you.

 

 

It's all about cross contamination. They prepare you food in a separate area to avoid cross contamination.

[Times Prince]

I had to look up what "Low FODMAP" was. The definition didn't help:

FODMAPs are short chain carbohydrates that are poorly absorbed in the small intestine. They include short chain oligo-saccharide polymers of fructose and galactooligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and maltitol. FODMAPs are naturally present in food and the human diet.

The Do / Don't charts helped - for instance one can find fresh fruit in abundance in the buffet.





I agree about talking with the Maitre'D or Head Chef in the buffet. In our experience they will steer you to the right selections.

.

[alreadypacked]

I am recently off the Grand in Alaska with multiple food allergies. I cannot have any dairy (including butter, yogurt, cream, etc.), jalapeños, or walnuts. Embarkation day we ate lunch in the main dining room - I just ordered very cautiously. I think I had a salad and french fries? I inquired about talking to the MD and was told I could talk to our dining room head waiter at dinner. I met him in the dining room and he was amazing. He gave me suggestions for safe ordering for the first night and then every night after brought me the lunch and dinner menus for the next day so I could pre-order. I ordered several dishes for each meal just in case what I felt like having changed or something was gross. He also put a standing order in for breakfast and high tea for me to have allergy-safe options.

 

I made a document with food photos & comments -- https://docs.google.com/document/d/17bvstvzAMNmPOrgfzwh33s8KW6GRAxPLqpEji6lnHI0/edit

 

I have a family member who was recently diagnosed with an allergy to poblano peppers (despite having eaten them all her adult life).

 

So far she's only done the oral food challenge for poblanos, but her allergist said to avoid other peppers containing capsaicin such as jalapenos, serrano peppers, cayenne etc. just to be on the safe side for now.

 

Her blood test for ImmunoglobulinE antibodies to bell peppers, which are not spicy, came back negative, so she theoretically can still eat those (but has avoided them too due to anxiety over this whole situation).

 

Since you mentioned being allergic to jalapenos, I was wondering... Are you also allergic to other spicy peppers such as poblanos or is it just jalapenos?

 

I have food allergies too, but it's a common one--shellfish (started out of nowhere at age 43). We're all just floored by her sudden pepper allergy and are constantly on the lookout for more information, others' experiences etc. Unfortunately there are no IgE blood tests for poblano peppers, capsaicin etc.

 

Our upcoming fall cruise will be her first one since the allergy diagnosis and she's a bit nervous because her allergy is an uncommon one, not one of the "big 8" most establishments are used to dealing with.

[TheRabbit]

I have an allergy to cashews and mango. I told them on this particular ship and they made a big deal out of it, wanting me to choose my dinners a day in advance. All I wanted to do was be certain I was avoiding these two things. I did not require any special handling of my situation. For me, I felt it was more trouble than it was worth. Especially since the headwaiter and the MD did not seem to understand what a cashew was.

 

I think you can be certain they will take all the necessary steps to accommodate you.

The other poster mentioned cross contamination, so won't cover that. The reason they have you order the night before, is so they can go through each of the meals and advice you should one of your allergies be used in the preparation of the meal. The person visiting will be a selected food manager with first hand info on each meal and how it is prepared, and will visit you toward the end of dinner no matter which dining room you are in. I can't remember so sure, but in some circumstances I think they prepped a meal for specially for her which normally had her allergen in. I know you do not want special handling, but your waiter does not have the knowledge of this person and can not nor will recommend a meal once they know you have a dietary restriction. The main reason is they do not know the severity of your condition, nor are they supposed to ask under the laws of many countries. Just go with it. With my granddaughter doing this in June, we got to hear what was on the menu for the following dinner each night. Treat it as a bonus!

[donaldsc]

Just curious if anyone has been on the Regal that has food "issues"? Being recently diagnosed with IBS I'm on a gluten free, dairy free, low fodmap diet and getting a bit nervous about finding the right food on this ship. And I did put in the cruise personalizer a request for gf food and dairy free beverages.

 

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

 

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Curious minds have to know - so what foods can you eat.

 

 

DON