Food Allergy Reaction On HA

[isanbeto]

I should have posted this much earlier, but just recently was looking through our papers/photos from our cruise on Holland America Veendam, May 20-27, 2017, to Bermuda from Boston and thought maybe better late than never if it helps just one person. This was our 7th cruise and have been on Princess, Celebrity, NCL, Carnival, and RCI. My daughter was 19 and has a disability and uses a wheelchair, and my son was 17 and has a severe peanut and tree nut allergy. Since we've cruised before we know that notifying the cruise line ahead of time about special dietary restrictions (and special needs in general) and eating in the main dining room with the same servers is always the safest way to go. On our previous 6 cruises we've never encountered a problem with food allergies, even when eating in the buffet or other restaurants -- always tell/ask the staff about peanuts/nuts/or whatever allergy you have. And we have regularly eaten in the buffet for lunch. That is what makes this experience extra disconcerting because this happened in the main dining room. On this HA cruise on the 4th night we were eating in the main dining room and it was getting close to a show to be starting and we wanted to get our dessert and head quickly there. The waiters seemed to be short-staffed, or it may be that our server on that cruise was relatively new. My son ordered a peach cobbler (his main courses had been ordered the evening before but they did not have any listings for dessert), and for whatever reason we didn't ask specifically about nuts in the dessert (who puts nuts in a peach cobbler??), and the waiter must have not thought of it either, even though he knew about the situation and we had had the same waiter the previous 3 nights. My son was served the cobbler and after a couple bites said he didn't feel right. I probed through the dessert and lo and behold there were what looked like pistachio nuts in the peach cobbler. My wife took our son back to the cabin while I checked on what exactly was in the dessert (and yes, it was pistachio nuts). Shortly after getting to our cabin, my son went into anaphylactic shock and my wife administered his epi-pen just before he passed out and fell on the floor. Fortunately, he was OK, but it was very scary. And I still shudder when I think about getting to the cabin and seeing my son lying on the floor not moving. Soon a nurse came and then we went to see the ship doctor and both said he should be OK but to keep an eye on him in case we have to administer a second epi-pen. As a side note, we were billed $272 to see the nurse and doctor and it took all kinds of paperwork to get reimbursed through our insurance we purchased through HA for the medical bill. The cruise line response was kind of 'we understand you feel you had a problem on your cruise...'. Would have been nice for them to offer something as a gesture, but didn't happen and we're not ones to get a lawyer and sue. In general, we were disappointed on this cruise and with HA not just because of our food allergy experience. The other six cruise lines had food as good and even better than this HA cruise -  we had heard so many great things about HA cruises, but it wasn't better than any other one we've been on.

 

So... I've seen on a post here on the boards that someone mentioned HA has a fruit crisp every night without nuts. IF YOU HAVE A FOOD ALLERGY, DO NOT ASSUME THAT IS TRUE. Also, DO NOT ASSUME YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY SAFE EATING IN THE MAIN DINING ROOM. Generally, that may be true, but as we found out, it is not always. If we had not been with my son at that time and he had been alone, he would have died (he was 17 so he was old enough to be eating on his own sometimes). This is not to scare anyone away from cruising as we have another cruise booked next August (not with HA), it is still great if you have special needs, but don't get complacent and assume they know what they're doing.

[Jareds_mommytoo]

We felt the same on the same ship about allergies. We sailed over Easter, our daughter who is allergic to food dyes ( not life threatening but she get horrible hives for days after an exposurer) we did note it before the cruise, and every time she ordered something. Mostly it’s the sauces in desserts and drinks where we found it but even making note to please not put the sauce on the plate, it still came out with the sauces more then not. Our previous cruises have all been with Disney and they had gone over backwards to make sure things were dye free. 

Edited November 17, 2018 by Jareds_mommytoo

[*Miss G*]

I am sorry to hear of your terrifying experience and I am glad your son did recover.

 

I am terribly disappointed in HAL’s response to this issue.  I, and at least one other that I know of, recently received the same uncaring attitude caused by their own negligence so nothing has changed.

 

Likewise, I am also not the litigious sort but I wouldn’t vouch for my husband should it have another ending.  Always good to remind others to be on their guard, so thank you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am so sorry to hear about what happened to your son considering that you had notified HAL about your sons problems and the response that you got from HAL.

 

Hopefully you will not have any problems on your next cruise -- a different cruise line.

[sammiedawg]

14 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Glad you found other cruise lines that suit you far better.  Good to have the choice. Thank you for coming back to trash HAL over a year and half later, when you admit upfront you were responsible for this very unfortunate incident.  Good news is children often outgrow peanut allergies. 

 

OP writes: My son ordered a peach cobbler (his main courses had been ordered the evening before but they did not have any listings for dessert), and for whatever reason we didn't ask specifically about nuts in the dessert ......

 

The OP did not trash HAL.   What is wrong with telling their story.  They were unimpressed.  Cruise ships are inanimate objects. 

[OlsSalt]

2 hours ago, sammiedawg said:

 

The OP did not trash HAL.   What is wrong with telling their story.  They were unimpressed.  Cruise ships are inanimate objects. 

 

2 hours ago, sammiedawg said:

 

The OP did not trash HAL.   What is wrong with telling their story.  They were unimpressed.  Cruise ships are inanimate objects. 

 

According to your conclusion, an inanimate object cannot displace the personal responsibility a passenger must exercise for themselves. Otherwise one is trashing the animate nature of a ship - the staff, crew - and officers when the passenger puts them blame for their own admitted oversights on them.

 

The better warning to come out of this experience is not to come here a year and half later to warn about the Peach Crisp, but to acknowledge when one is cruising with a known allergy they must be 100% vigilant or else use all the other cruise lines OP recommend where the cruise line does undertakes this 100%  protection guarantee.

 

No fun to have to live with this sort of serious allergy, but abdicating 100% vigilance to any cruise line is on its face irresponsible. Warning so noted.  Lesson learned. 

Edited November 18, 2018 by OlsSalt

[isanbeto]

18 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 Good news is children often outgrow peanut allergies. 

 

Unfortunately, it is uncommon for children to outgrow peanut or tree nut allergies. Between 80% and 88% (depending on which study you read) of children do NOT outgrow peanut or tree nut allergies. And if they haven’t by the age of 10, it is generally accepted that they never will.

 

18 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Thank you for coming back to trash HAL over a year and half later, when you admit upfront you were responsible for this very unfortunate incident.

The point was not to trash Holland America. And nope, never admitted upfront we were responsible in the manner insinuated. All cruise lines tell guests to eat in the main dining room if they have food allergies as that is the safest. Made me think though, because the waiter knew of my son’s allergy since we had him the previous three nights, I would find it hard to believe he would have knowingly served my son a dessert with nuts, even if we had asked about that particular item because he would have thought it was safe. I hadn’t really thought it through before, but there must have been some communication breakdown among the food staff that our waiter would have even brought it out. Bringing me to my point that you need to be diligent, even when they tell you it’s safe to eat in the main dining room (though this has only happened to us on Holland America and it was the first time we have ever had to use an epi-pen.)  Things like this can happen, but people sometimes need reminders to watch and be careful. I was reminded of this as we plan our next cruise and wanted to remind others.

But thank you for the reply.

[boulders]

My first child had a peanut allergy. It developed when he was 8 months old and the 11 month old sitting next to him at daycare had a peanut butter sandwich.   Every year after that, when he would get a new daycare teacher even if there were glaring signs saying that he was peanut allergic, inevitably, around September, someone would feed him peanut butter. I learned that you can't trust others to make sure that there is no allergen in your food. You have to be vigilant, especially with desserts, stews, sauces, Thai food etc. I can think of two incidences where I specifically asked about nuts or peanuts and was assured that the food in question didn't have nuts or peanuts, and my son had a reaction. Luckily, his reaction was vomiting, and not anaphylaxis. Also, luckily, he did eventually outgrow the allergy. 

 

I think the OP's message was a reminder to all those with food allergies that you cannot count on the waitstaff or kitchen staff at HAL or any other location to keep your food uncontaminated. Remind them each time and check your food. I now have a second child who is allergic to almonds and I sometimes taste test desserts for them. 

[idiebabe]

25 minutes ago, isanbeto said:

 

The point was not to trash Holland America. And nope, never admitted upfront we were responsible in the manner insinuated. All cruise lines tell guests to eat in the main dining room if they have food allergies as that is the safest. Made me think though, because the waiter knew of my son’s allergy since we had him the previous three nights, I would find it hard to believe he would have knowingly served my son a dessert with nuts, even if we had asked about that particular item because he would have thought it was safe. I hadn’t really thought it through before, but there must have been some communication breakdown among the food staff that our waiter would have even brought it out. Bringing me to my point that you need to be diligent, even when they tell you it’s safe to eat in the main dining room (though this has only happened to us on Holland America and it was the first time we have ever had to use an epi-pen.)  Things like this can happen, but people sometimes need reminders to watch and be careful. I was reminded of this as we plan our next cruise and wanted to remind others.

 

But thank you for the reply.

 

I'm sorry that happened to your Son and I think it's good you posted your experience. 

 

Servers don't know all the ingredients in every food item on a menu and it would be unrealistic to expect them to know.  With regards to the Kitchen I don't know how they would connect the order to your Son and his allergy when the dessert could have been ordered by someone at your Table who does not have the allergy.  It would have only taken a few seconds for your Son (or you) to ask the Server if there were nuts in the Cobbler.  If the Server didn't know the answer, he would have confirmed it with the Kitchen.  

 

My Daughter has an allergy to Tomato and she takes no chances.  Land or Sea if she receives a sandwich with Tomato (when she told them "no tomato"),  she has them remake the sandwich and does not allow them to take the sandwich back until she receives the new one.  

 

So again I'm sorry that happened to your Son and your post is a great reminder for all who have allergies that they need to be diligent by asking their Server when ordering if it contains the ingredient they are allergic to.  The few seconds of asking the question and the few minutes for the Server to check with the Kitchen would have made a huge difference for your Son and Family that night.

 

 

 

[Jareds_mommytoo]

4 minutes ago, idiebabe said:

 

 

Servers don't know all the ingredients in every food item on a menu and it would be unrealistic to expect them to know.  With regards to the Kitchen I don't know how they would connect the order to your Son and his allergy when the dessert could have been ordered by someone at your Table who does not have the allergy.  It would have only taken a few seconds for your Son (or you) to ask the Server if there were nuts in the Cobbler.  If the Server didn't know the answer, he would have confirmed it with the Kitchen.  

 

 

On Disney if a person makes it known they have an allergy, their order is ran through a computer to match if there is anything in it. 

[TiogaCruiser]

Actually I’m not surprised by the nuts in the cobbler, as I have made it that way many times. It adds flavor and crunch to the “crust” on top.  

 

What I have not understood is why the complete dessert menu is not posted with the regular meal menu, and why it isn’t presented when those on special diets that have to preorder do so (for the next night). I have target amounts of macro nutrients and Na I shoot for, and if, it what, I choose for dessert is included. 

[cbr663]

Thank-you for sharing this most unfortunate experience.  It is great that your son recovered and is doing well.

 

We have also found many foods mislabelled on cruises.  We avoid sugar and on our last cruise we discovered many items that were sweet and obviously mislabelled as sugar free.

[DeeniEncinitas]

I appreciate your post!! Don’t care if it was a year and a half ago!! Appreciate the info to your sad situation! I would have been devistated to see my son in antifilatic shock from an allergy! As a DDS it is sooo important for patients info to be accurate. I have witnessed a personal situation of a patient at UC San Francisco 

having dental work done with one of our students and had a lidocaine reaction !! It is heart breaking to see! Besides what has been expressed that you out grow peanut allergies not so! I am 66 years old and still have the allergies! Thank you for writing this! For me I steer clear of all desserts and I will stick to basics!

Denise😊

[sevenseasnomad]

4 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Actually I’m not surprised by the nuts in the cobbler, as I have made it that way many times. It adds flavor and crunch to the “crust” on top.  

 

What I have not understood is why the complete dessert menu is not posted with the regular meal menu, and why it isn’t presented when those on special diets that have to preorder do so (for the next night). I have target amounts of macro nutrients and Na I shoot for, and if, it what, I choose for dessert is included. 

I, too, have food allergies.  Mine involve vomiting, which makes for a miserable cruise.  I ask for and receive the next evening's dessert menu each evening, along with the main menu.  One simply has to ask.

 

So, sorry for the scare OP had with his son.  Those of us who have allergies must be vigilant 24/7.  Mine kicked in when my best friend and I were cruising last April on the Rotterdam.  Our last evening, we ordered dinner in the PG.  She chose to have mushrooms added to her steak.  Of course, the waiter looked at me and said, "We understand you have an allergy to mushrooms."  So, HA does cross-reference allergies in a computer somewhere.  I confirmed it, but forgot to add not to cook my steak anywhere near hers.  They must have done just that because later that evening I started with the allergy symptoms and continued until the "poison" was completely out of my system.  My friend was horrified and has sworn on our next cruise, she won't order anything with mushrooms.  

 

I also have an allergy to MSG and have had waiters refuse to bring me certain soups as they contain this ingredient.  Again, I'm sorry you had this scare, but thank goodness you had an epi pen with you.  I do hope your son will eventually outgrow this allergy, as traveling can be complicated with any kind of allergy.

[grsnovi]

On 11/17/2018 at 1:44 PM, isanbeto said:

...don't get complacent

This is the key! - it is so easy to forget when you get in a hurry.

Glad your son was OK.

[alwaysfrantic]

On 11/17/2018 at 7:21 PM, OlsSalt said:

Glad you found other cruise lines that suit you far better.  Good to have the choice. Thank you for coming back to trash HAL over a year and half later, when you admit upfront you were responsible for this very unfortunate incident.  Good news is children often outgrow peanut allergies. 

 

OP writes: My son ordered a peach cobbler (his main courses had been ordered the evening before but they did not have any listings for dessert), and for whatever reason we didn't ask specifically about nuts in the dessert ......

WHAT???????

 

HAL made a huge error.  Her child could have died.  

 

 

 

OP: I can not believe they charged you for the doctor.  Unreal.    I also gave to notify in advance of an allergy.  So far HAL has been okay for me. As someone said Disney is awesome.