Gluten free choices on HAL dining menus

[azalice]

I have been browsing the menus the past few months checking out gluten free choices, especially for dinner. Most of the menus show only one item labeled “gf” - salmon. As I have  problem with salmon, I am wondering if the chef will make other entrees gluten free when planned in advance. We have two HAL cruises booked for next summer so any information will be helpful. 

[81Zoomie]

Our daughter has to eat gluten-free.  No issues on HAL.  Simply alert the maitre’d that you require gluten free.  They will provide the next day’s menu to you.  You can then request items and inquire if they can make an item gluten free.

Edited January 21, 2023 by 81Zoomie

[Mary229]

I was seated with another passenger who was gluten free.  She gave notice and every evening they gave her the next nights’s menus to choose her options which would then be prepared gluten free

[GeezerCouple]

Contact HAL in advance so they can notify the ship about your special needs (dietary or otherwise).

 

And then make sure that every time you arrive for a meal, you announce that you are "gluten free" (or "gluten free - celiac" if that's the case).  And then when served, double check, "This is the gluten-free <item>, correct?"  This is especially important *anywhere* (at sea or on land, especially if there is a severe allergy/reaction situation).

 

Also, IF cross-contamination is a problem, make sure you announce that.

 

DH has celiac disease; GF isn't just a preference... it's critical.

Cross-contamination does not happen to be a problem, as it turns out, so we tell them that too, so they don't have to go to some of the extreme prep measures.

And he had NO trouble on HAL.

 

If you want to check the menu in advance, you could also ask if a specific item could be prepared gluten free.  Sometimes that's not difficult; other times, it might not be possible.

We prefer open seating, but early on, we found a waiter who was just terrific, so we'd always ask for his area, and pretty soon the maître d' was aware as soon as we showed up.  So although we always double check, the waitstaff in that area was well prepared, and that included having our bottle of San Pellegrino show up almost instantly, before the GF and regular breads showed up. 🙂 

Soon, our preferred bottle of wine was showing up, too.

Very good service!

 

That was our first cruise with HAL, and we plan to return.

(However, we were terribly disappointed to learn that Lincoln Center Stage [classical music] may not be a regular thing on HAL, and that will make a real difference to us.  A shame!  Nope, not food-related, but it will make a real difference to us, despite excellent dining, which can be had on a few other lines as well. <end rant!>)

 

GC

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

(However, we were terribly disappointed to learn that Lincoln Center Stage [classical music] may not be a regular thing on HAL, and that will make a real difference to us.  A shame!  Nope, not food-related, but it will make a real difference to us, despite excellent dining, which can be had on a few other lines as well.

I wrote in another thread that we shared the elevator with Koningsdam's Entertainment Manager, and I hounded him about the LCS rumor. He said that the BRANDING of Lincoln Center, Rolling Stone, and BBKings all cost the Line considerable money -- that the TYPES of music were not being discontinued, just the branding.

[azalice]

Thank you for responding to my issues about gluten free dining. Also, I will be very happy if some Lincoln Stage music is available when we cruise again on HAL. I enjoy “blues” and “pop” music but if anything is too loud, I will walk away. So the HAL music walk area may not work for me or my DH.

[bakcd]

If anyone has had recent experiences with gluten free on the Rotterdam please share.   What items are they offering in the Lido at breakfast and lunch?

[Philip Pirrip]

I have Celiac Disease and was on the Rotterdam from mid september to the end of October 2022 (3 star mariners). I can say that it was way, way more difficult than the previous long trip we took on Nieuw Amsterdam Fall of 2021. I was having a very rough time finding food in the Lido and found myself waiting in very long lines because they had the very small section of GF food on the same line as ice cream. So you can only imagine how frustrating that would be! They even had most of their cut up fruit bowls placed next to and under bread. My third day on board I waited on line to talk to someone at guest relations so I could have someone contact me from dining as to how I would navigate my lunches and breakfasts. No one ever contacted me! So for another three weeks I just had salad and fruit while in the Lido. I did go up to NY deli one day for a GF pizza which ended up being made with waffle mix so the dough was soft and sweet.  Four weeks in I met another lady with my same issue who after us discussing having both have the same problems she was able to talk to the head lido maitre d at a four star invited wine tasting. After that I was told I could order my meals the day before through my DR waiter and the maitre D brought my meals over to me at a designated time at the Lido Buffet. I sat in same place in Lido so he could find me. The year before was so smooth and seamless that I figured this last trip would be easy but I was wrong. The Nieuw Amsterdam was set up differently and their section of GF food was in a place where there was hardly ever a line and the staff seemed to be WAY more accomodating. Both boats had the same GF foods available but it was just way more difficult to access it as easily on the Rotterdam than NA. They always say from HAL it is no problem but with us going on long cruises it would be very nice to have an actual dining point person to talk to (ie ombudsman) at the beginning of the cruise to find out how best to navigate their procedures. Luckily I love fruit and salads but I don't want to have that as my only food at lunch and breakfast daily. I don't usually go on CC but my husband saw your message and I wanted to answer you. I hope this helped. I would say go up to a person with epaulettes in the Lido and ask them at the beginning of your cruise perhaps during a non rush hour time. I hope some or all of this helps. Good luck.

[azalice]

All the comments are of great help.  Thanks.

[RMLincoln]

My experience has been that in the MDR you can select from the offerings the night before and request specifics such as, no gravy, no sauce, no stuffing, maybe no breading.   The “no breading” might or might not be possible, it varied. But we had no luck with them making something individually for us, just altering the plating.  
The MDR did offer GF breads, pasta, waffles, bagels, cereals, upon request. 
Also in the MDR they were helpful to bring out a container so we could read the label (we had a granddaughter with complex food allergies, not just gluten).
In the Lido, we talked to the Lido Chef. He/she is on duty whenever the Lido is open. We’d get to him by telling someone in a jacket that we had food allergy questions for him and usually he’d be right out.  He addressed questions as to what was safe. He was extremely helpful but this was on an older ship, not Rotterdam. 
Do check the ALLERGY box on the online checkin form; your room number will be flagged on ship and no matter if you are in open dining or fixed your server will be alerted.  
And if you’ve alerted them, it’s in  their best interest that you don’t get ill on their food. 
m—

[leerathje]

As GeezerCouple said, Contact HAL's Ship Services before you cruise.  Not only will you be flagged GF but you can let them know of any other dietary restrictions, like salmon.  You may also find more success eating in the MDR for breakfast (and lunch on sea days) than in the Lido.

 

L.

 

[Sunmail]

We sailed on the New Statendam in October and I really enjoyed the food choices in the Lido.  The pasta station has GF pasta prepared and ready to go with your sauce of choice.  I also got it plain and put it in salads to give some heartiness to them.

The stir fry station also had delicious selections along with white rice.  Their fried rice has gluten.  

I agree that the sad part is that the gluten free breads, muffins, cookies, pancakes are all at the ice cream station.  At breakfast it's not too bad but to get bread for a cold cut sandwich at noon is very time consuming and frustrating.

The hotdog stand has gluten free buns and the GF pizza was pretty good considering.

The main dining room staff adjusted whatever I ordered by removing sauces, etc. and replacing with GF options when possible.  I really appreciated the effort.  The main thing for me is to be able to participate in food events and I felt well served in that regard.

Essentially all of the servers were well informed on what has gluten and what doesn't.  I also cannot have dairy or soy and they were equally informed on that.