Gluten free food choices

[sjnc]

I am cruising on the Carnival Breeze in 10 days. Has anyone who has sailed with Carnival had experiences with gluten free food choices. Do they have any options when it comes to bread choices. I haven't cruised since I became GF last year.

Any info will be appreciated.

Thank you

[HeyNowMama1315]

Hi! My two children and I are gluten free. We cruised in September last year and will cruise again this year in September. Carnival is AWESOME when it comes to food sensitivities/allergies. At GUys Burgers you can ask for a gluten free hamburger bun. They will even fry your fries in a special fryer without cross contamination. There is a GF pizza crust option. There is gluten free bread at the deli, and they will give you the gf bread with butter at the MDR if you tell them about your need. There is also a GF pasta option in the MDR. Ask your server to see the menu for the next day, and you can place your order a day in advance, so you don't need to wait too long each evening. 

[sjnc]

Heynowmama131

Thank you so much, I can hardly wait. This makes it much easier to plan

[HeyNowMama1315]

9 minutes ago, sjnc said:

 

Thank you so much, I can hardly wait. This makes it much easier to plan

My pleasure! I know its intimidating to have to worry about having safe foods to eat. We work with a TA and she told us that in her experience Carnival is at the top when it comes to dietary needs. We never had an issue at all. (and for the record: the chocolate melting cake is gf! indulge daily 😉

[1025cruise]

Just make sure you alert special needs. You don't want to run into an issue where they don't have enough supply on board.

[iamsteph]

I've cruised many times gluten free and HeyNowMama is right, Carnival is great about GF options!  However, you still have to be diligent, because I've watched the pizza place cut my GF pizza with the same slicer they used for the regular pizzas, I've had my "gf" pasta  come out as regular pasta, etc.  If you have any-time dining, and you find a team you like, you can request them each night. I find this helps prevent any mishaps in the main dining room. 

[mtvagirl]

I have been on three cruises since going gluten-free.  Carnival has the best options in my opinion.  The chocolate lava cake in the MDR was fantastic!  Everyone was so accommodating!  On the Carnival cruise I did eat all breakfasts and dinners in the MDR, it was great!  

[EMOSEA]

They were great with my dietary restrictions, including GF. The bread and pizza were gross though, lol. 

[Gatordad815]

This is a topic of interest to me as our 6 year old daughter has Celiac Disease so safe GF is a must for any family vacation trip for us. We have done 3 Royal Caribbean Oasis class sailings, though are considering expanding our horizons and trying Carnival Breeze.

 

My biggest reluctance, however, is I already know the drill on RC for every food option. As a parent, my biggest stress on a trip is making sure she can eat GF without feeling “left out” and with as little inconvenience as possible, so since I know exactly how it’ll be on RC, I can make it easier with just a little prior planning.

 

If anyone could comment on how Carnival compares to RC for Gluten Free options (particularly for children with Celiac), I’d sincerely appreciate it. Thanks!

[Butterbean1000]

We had a table mate on a cruise that had celiac disease.  She really enjoyed the bread they provided.  She let us all taste it one night.  It was passable.  BTW, she was totally satisfied with Carnival's GF menu.  She would pick the next night's menu at dinner every night.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Butterbean1000

[lasekeye]

23 hours ago, EMOSEA said:

They were great with my dietary restrictions, including GF. The bread and pizza were gross though, lol. 

I found the same issue as you, except on my last cruise (April 2019), I thought the bread was a vast improvement compared to the year previous.

[EMOSEA]

18 minutes ago, lasekeye said:

I found the same issue as you, except on my last cruise (April 2019), I thought the bread was a vast improvement compared to the year previous.

I hope so! We haven't gone on CCL since 2018, and are going again next Jan. I'll try the bread out again 🙂

[lasekeye]

I also found out in April, if you “ASK” at the Lido Buffet Sweet Spot cake section, they should have a daily GF dessert (usually was a cheesecake ) but you must ask, as it’s hidden in the coolers behind the counter.

 

In the Main Dining Room for evening, I quite often ordered the kids Banana Split.

[Top_of_the_Cube]

After three cruises after my wife was diagnosed as gluten-intolerant (not celiac), first night in MDR is always kind of rough, but each night a staff member would bring the next night's menu.  You could pick any item, and they would let you know if it was gluten free, or if the chefs could alter it to make it gluten free.  My wife ate very well.  We like eating breakfast in the MDR, and the gluten-free French toast is a favorite.  Of course, you can always order foods normally gluten free to your heart's content.  But still, warn your waiter of your situation.  My wife ordered a fruit dish, and the waiter was aware enough to let her know it had some flavoring (honestly, fruit that has a flavoring?) that may contain gluten.

 

A few years ago, the bread served at dinner was delicious!  I think they must have changed as she did not like the bread the last few trips.

 

Wife does not do buffets, but I have watched servers make adequate accommodations for special diet needs.  I have also seen some who obviously did not know what they were doing.  As you guys can attest, it is our job to observe and question:  do they change gloves, do they use separate serving stations and cutting and serving utensils, do they maintain uncontaminated foods (watched deli staff pull out wrapped meats from the fridge strictly to avoid cross-contamination), do they look at you with soulless eyes when you ask if something is gluten free (usually right before they say, "Yes"), etc.

 

Some of my wife's favorites are:

    Guy's Burgers (she likes no bun, although they do have a gluten free bun)

    Blue Iguana tacos

    Cucina del Capitano pasta bar for lunch

    Bonsai Sushi

 

Happy eating!

[Howlonguntilmynextcruise?]

I was diagnosed with Celiac two years ago and have cruise twice since my diagnosis. Carnival was amazing, as others have shared. 

 

I asked the bartenders to use Tito’s in my vodka drinks on the first night and they were awesome. One commented they had never used so much Tito’s at Alchemy in a week! 

 

Usually got a ‘naked’ burrito (no tortilla) from Blue Iguana, and the guys behind the line cracked up every time I ordered. They called me Naked Burrito every time they saw me.

 

Not a fan of the GF bread, but it’s hard to find good GF bread on land too. 

 

On one of the last nights, the chef was able to make me a GF Grand Marnier soufflé, made my night! 

[DebJ14]

Just off the Valor yesterday.  It was our 25th cruise on Carnival since being diagnosed in 2012.  No issues whatsoever on this ship.  We did have a problem on the Freedom and because I was given the wrong meal at dinner one night I spent 3 days in the bathroom and missed 2 of 3 ports.

The Steakhouse goes out of their way to provide you with a great GF experience, although the GF dessert options are limited. 

My husband really liked the GF pizza because it had really thin crust.  He has never been a fan of pizza, even before we went GF, so to my mind that was a real compliment.

I am also dairy free, so my dessert options were pretty much non-existent, but since I am doing low carb anyway, it was no big deal for me.  I understand they will make some desserts with soy milk, but we don't do soy on the advice of our doctor.

If you go to the Steakhouse or Cucina del Capitano the first night, make sure you order your MDR dinners at breakfast or brunch the next morning.  They got our dinner orders correct 100% of the time on this cruise and for that we were grateful.

Do notify special needs so they have enough GF supplies onboard.  We have been on a cruise where loads of people wanted GF meals, but failed to notify them in advance, and they ran out of buns, bread, pizza crust and pasta midway through the cruise.

 

[SarahJeanneSays]

Our cruise in August will be my first since going GF (it triggers my migraines) so I am glad to read about these different options.