Need help, first cruise gluten free

[minniem]

Hi Everyone, December is our first cruise since hubby has gone lactose free and gluten free. My TA has notified Royal fo his dietary needs but I have some questions and I hope someone on this forum has answers. Bread is the big issue. Is there any gluten free rolls or bread available, especially for breakfast? Does the buffet have a gluten free section? Does anyone know if there is lactose free milk or non dairy butter. Any desserts that he will be able to eat?

I am very worried that he won't be able to eat and that will make for an unhappy cruise. Any information would be so appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[payitforward]

In the main dining room, they will bring him gluten free bread and rolls each night. They will also bring the menu for the following night. He can pick what he wants to eat the next night, and they will prepare it especially for him according to his dietary restrictions. There is a huge gluten free section in the buffet. Finally, when in doubt, ask a crew member. They will have someone walk him through what he can and cannot have.

[Clarea]

Even though your TA has been notified, I would still notify special_needs@rccl.com and notify them of your dietary restriction. They will put you in touch with people your ship who can answer your other questions. The Windjammer chef is especially important to contact once onboard.

[seapad]

I have seen on some ships where there is a dedicated section labeled "gluten free" in the windjammer. In the main dining room, there are gluten free symbols displayed next to certain items, but not much option, if any at all, on the main items. I would talk with the mait'r'd once on board and let him know. with advance notice, there's a good chance they can arrange something. I know in the specialty restaurants, they can provide gluten free breads.

[bobmacliberty]

I can't answer your question directly, but there have been several threads here discussing cruising with Celiac disease and the need to avoid gluten. My takeaway is that Royal does an excellent job handling gluten free needs. Try some of these threads for more info:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=140081881

[lenquixote66]

Hi Everyone, December is our first cruise since hubby has gone lactose free and gluten free. My TA has notified Royal fo his dietary needs but I have some questions and I hope someone on this forum has answers. Bread is the big issue. Is there any gluten free rolls or bread available, especially for breakfast? Does the buffet have a gluten free section? Does anyone know if there is lactose free milk or non dairy butter. Any desserts that he will be able to eat?

I am very worried that he won't be able to eat and that will make for an unhappy cruise. Any information would be so appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I am gluten free .You can get as much bread as you desire for breakfast,lunch and dinner .However,the bread is awful .

At home I have delicious gluten free bread.

Although I tell my TA that I am gluten free I always look for the person in the MDR who is in charge of special diets. I do this on day #1.

The buffet also will have gluten free bread.

[proggieus]

I have seen on some ships where there is a dedicated section labeled "gluten free" in the windjammer.

 

If you truly NEED gluten free you do not want to eat anything from the windjammer buffet, assume everything has been cross contaminated.

 

they will prepare gluten free options fresh for you if you ask the serveing staff to talk with a chef.

[#55worktoplay]

My husband is celiac and he was treated just the same as previous posts. In addition he was able to get gluten free pizza at Sorrentos daily, it just had to be special ordered and 10-15 minutes later he got the pizza.

 

It was very well done. Edited to add: (Service for gluten free - not pizza)

[lv2cruisgrl]

Hi Everyone, December is our first cruise since hubby has gone lactose free and gluten free. My TA has notified Royal fo his dietary needs but I have some questions and I hope someone on this forum has answers. Bread is the big issue. Is there any gluten free rolls or bread available, especially for breakfast? Does the buffet have a gluten free section? Does anyone know if there is lactose free milk or non dairy butter. Any desserts that he will be able to eat?

I am very worried that he won't be able to eat and that will make for an unhappy cruise. Any information would be so appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

 

My daughter has to be gluten free as she has Celiac disease. She has cruised with us and the staff bent over backwards to be sure she was eating gluten free. In the dining room each night they gave her the menu for the next evening and she got to pre-chose what she wanted for the next evening. She got gluten free rolls each night. When she went to the Windjammer she just asked a server for assistance and they directed her to all gluten free choices each day. She loved it! She had lots of choices and enjoyed the experience.

[minniem]

Thanks everyone. I am so glad to hear the dinning room will help him. We are looking forward to a great cruise. Thanks again for all the responses.

[Nightriders19]

I’m celiac, and currently on board Symphony. There are lots of gluten free options, and even at the Windjammer, staff have been offering to get me food out of new trays with clean utensils to avoid cross-contamination. Overall very good, but one downside is that there is no consistency in GF labelling across the ship. Some restaurants have GF items marked on the menu and others do not. Even at the WJ, only some of the GF items are marked as such.

 

 

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[karena1]

My sister is GF and never has had any issues getting GF stuff in both WJ and the MDR. They have more and more options all the time.

[EeyoreFan1967]

We have found embarkation day to be the biggest challenge...no opportunity to pre-order MDR choices and no servers assisting in WJ. I highly recommend specialty dining for both lunch, if available, and dinner. Your server at the specialty restaurant can provide the menu for the next night, there shouldn't be a need to go to the MDR to pre-order.

[RC Tim]

We had a dining mate on our last crew who was gluten free. I was amazed at how the waiter kept up with her menu and options for her. I was impressed. Can't speak to the WJ, we didn't use it much.

[DebJ14]

We had a dining mate on our last crew who was gluten free. I was amazed at how the waiter kept up with her menu and options for her. I was impressed. Can't speak to the WJ, we didn't use it much.

 

Our waiter on the Liberty did a great job making sure we got our gluten free meals. It was tougher being dairy free because every dessert choice they offered was made with soy milk and I am also allergic to soy.

 

In the Windjammer there was a section of hot food labeled gluten free a couple of nights, but it was always Indian food. There were no desserts labeled GF in the Windjammer and when I asked they directed me to the jello.

 

I ended up sticking with salad for lunch in the Windjammer and used the individual packets of GF dressing that I brought with me. We were in a suite and had cooked to order breakfast in Giovanni's Table every morning and our server there also made sure everything was GF.

[karena1]

We have found embarkation day to be the biggest challenge...no opportunity to pre-order MDR choices and no servers assisting in WJ. I highly recommend specialty dining for both lunch, if available, and dinner. Your server at the specialty restaurant can provide the menu for the next night, there shouldn't be a need to go to the MDR to pre-order.

 

My sister never had problems finding GF in WJ, even on the first day. We went to the MDR for MYTime dining the first night and they were more than helpful in getting her GF for dinner. Then he would bring a menu for the next evening so she could pre-select her dinner for the next night. She ate breakfast and on sea day lunch in the WJ for the entire cruise and never had any issues at all finding things to eat.

[mjkacmom]

I am gluten free .You can get as much bread as you desire for breakfast,lunch and dinner .However,the bread is awful .

At home I have delicious gluten free bread.

Although I tell my TA that I am gluten free I always look for the person in the MDR who is in charge of special diets. I do this on day #1.

The buffet also will have gluten free bread.

Do you make your own? Dd15 was diagnosed with celiac when she was 7. Udis whole grain is her go to, but she’s tried dozens.

[PNW Traveler]

The Windjammer has a dedicated GF toaster for toasting GF bread. It's near the made to order eggs/omelet area. Staff is trained in its use. You must ask them for the toast. I order directly near the egg station and wait for my toast to be prepared. Sometimes it takes a little patience :)

During lunch or evening dinner hours the Windjammer chef will walk me around the various menu offerings, pointing out those that are GF. Some ships have dedicated and separate GF island serving stations and some do not. On longer cruises the Windjammer chef has been extremely helpful, occasionally providing special GF dishes custom prepared. Our most recent long cruise was a 30+ day B2B on the Vision. I never once felt that I didn't have good choices.

With care and vigilance the Windjammer can be a good option.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

On the Jewel this summer I found a marked decline in the care about gluten-free as compared to the Brilliance 2 years ago. The menus were mislabeled in some cases - things that were safe were not labeled, and at least one thing that was NOT safe was marked as safe (and the head waiter insisted that it would be fine). Also, they were far less open about me being able to order things off-menu until mid-cruise when I filled out the survey and also the food survey they had out expressing my disappointment at how it had slipped in two years in terms of dealing with food allergies - or at least gluten-free. Then and only then was it made clear that I could order off-menu - but it should not have taken that, especially when I was struggling with finding things on the menu I'd eat (I cannot eat fish without gagging...not an allergy, but I physically cannot get it down because of the taste and texture and physical memory of choking on a bone once in 1st grade). Also, there were times that a side was listed on the menu that did not match what was on the plate (NOT a gluten issue) but the servers tried to insist that that was what was supposed to be on there.

 

Also, be VERY cautious if there is an "open dining" night on your cruise. We had that in Santorini, and it was a hot mess and they almost couldn't find my order in spite of having my name, table number, and my servers' names. Finally when I was in tears and about to leave to get rice or something in the Windjammer a third head server (none of whom were mine) took charge and managed to find it.

 

Like I said, 2 years ago I had an excellent experience on Brilliance. But my experience this summer on the Jewel was honestly enough to make me seriously debate going on RCCL again.