Special Diets on the Britannia

[Ali-W]

I can’t thank the catering and waiters of the Pennisular Restaurant enough.  Cruising with special dietary needs ( diary free)  was so  so simple.

 

I was invited to coffee with the head waiter on the first morning.  All food for those with special dietary needs is cooked in separate  area within the kitchen.

 

Each evening I was given the menus for the next day by the head waiter, and I would make my selections and if something wasn’t suitable an alternative was suggested. And at least once every evening he would check that I was happy with the food.   We always eat dinner at tables for 8 and when the menu were handed out I would notify the waiter of our cabin number and that I had preordered, my food would magically appear when everyone else was severed   Milk and butter alternatives where always available in the restaurants.  The only time there was a delay was during breakfast when I wanted mushrooms not cooked in butter.   On one occasion we had afternoon tea (pre ordered).  I only had sandwiches and two lovely cakes,  which was fine.

 

in the buffet apparently there are always two trained staff to help those with dietary needs (they should be wearing orange approns ) 

[AndyMichelle]

That's fantastic, so glad you were looked after so well.

We were on a table on Aurora with a lady with very severe dietary needs and the staff could not have been more helpful.

Glad to hear positive feedback concerning something that affects many people.

Andy

[Dermotsgirl]

They seem to be good with things like gluten free and diary free, but I found that they usually struggled to deal with my low salt diet (needed due to a chronic illness)

 

The first time I requested low salt, on Arcadia, the experience was excellent.  I selected what I wanted from the menu the previous evening, and they prepared it individually, including all the sauces and vegetables as shown on the menu. I was really impressed. 

 

My next cruise was on the Britannia maiden, and it was a bit of a nightmare. I’d order, for example, fish in a sauce with sautéed potatoes and various veg. What arrived on my plate was a piece of plain fish, plain boiled potatoes, and broccoli and carrots. Every night, broccoli and carrots! I was eating plainer than I do at home

 

I spent a lot of time trying to explain that, just because I didn’t have salt, it didn’t mean I had to have plain food.

 

After that, it improved for couple of nights, then it slipped back to plain food.

 

I had a similar experience on the next two cruises. I was beginning to dread dinner, as it seemed like a fight every night to get a meal that wasn’t plain. As they had got it right on Arcadia, I knew it COULD be done, but it was never properly achieved on the subsequent cruises. 

 

Fortunately, my illness is a lot better now, so I don’t request a special diet anymore. Instead, I manage my diet myself, and make sensible choices from the  menu.