Farewell Princess - No Trust in Accommodating Dietary Needs

[MacMadame]

21 hours ago, charliedalrymple said:

 

Aside from the lack of response:  Perhaps I'm alone here, but I had no idea that parmesan cheese was made with animal products, and I would have considered a dish with parmesan to be vegetarian.  Is this widely known in the food service industry?

I am confused. Isn't parmesan a type of cheese and isn't cheese made from milk? Which would make it vegetarian but not vegan.

 

7 hours ago, memoak said:

 Oh and my favorite “I want chocolates on my pillow every night “. I guess they should just start their own cruise line   Yes I know I am going to get flamed 

No need to start an entire line. Just bring a bag of chocolate with you. 😉

[upwarduk]

14 hours ago, memoak said:

I get really tired of people who want to create their own menus

You obviously have no experience of problems some people have with food.🙈

I don’t have an allergy, but a Dairy Intolerance.

I dare not eat dairy as it ‘goes through me’ in about 15 minutes, so you would not like to be near me!😱

[memoak]

8 hours ago, upwarduk said:

You obviously have no experience of problems some people have with food.🙈

I don’t have an allergy, but a Dairy Intolerance.

I dare not eat dairy as it ‘goes through me’ in about 15 minutes, so you would not like to be near me!😱

So just ask to have that allergy noted and they will create some substitutions. I am more referring to comments lately about not enough meat dishes or too much seafood. If my wife eats peanuts she has to be rushed to the infirmary so we always ask tons of questions and often they have to go back and ask the chefs

[upwarduk]

23 minutes ago, memoak said:

So just ask to have that allergy noted and they will create some substitutions. I am more referring to comments lately about not enough meat dishes or too much seafood. If my wife eats peanuts she has to be rushed to the infirmary so we always ask tons of questions and often they have to go back and ask the chefs

It has been noted. 
I was objecting to  the statement made about people creating their own menus!!

Edited April 9 by upwarduk

[Esprit]

8 hours ago, upwarduk said:

I dare not eat dairy as it ‘goes through me’ in about 15 minutes, so you would not like to be near me!😱

Eating Eton Mess or a Strawberry Pavlova does that to me everytime, but they are my favourite desserts! 😂

[memoak]

17 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

It has been noted. 
I was objecting to  the statement made about people creating their own menus!!

Again I am referring to people who will say I don’t like anything on the menu tonight make me something different

[CAZephyr]

Nice.  Congratulations on finding an alternate Cruise Line that fits your needs.  Cheers.

[Firefly74]

On 4/7/2024 at 8:11 PM, nasa1974 said:

@iankh Sorry to hear that Princess didn't respond. Just curious who you wrote to at Princess.

The end of this month I will be cruising with my youngest daughter and her family. My three-year-old granddaughter has an egg allergy. I sent Princess an email, subject was food allergy and in the main part of the email was our sail date, ship, cabin number, passengers name and age and what the dietary request was. I had a response the same day.

Here is the email address: dietaryrequest@princesscruises.com

I also have some food allergies (not egg). I strongly recommend speaking with the head of the dining room at the first meal and alerting him or her. Don't just use the waitstaff especially if their English is not very good. At the buffet, there should be someone who can put you in touch with the person in charge as you likely will need to ask questions.

 

I learned all of this from a fellow passenger with serious diabetes needs and it works well.

 

Ellen

[nasa1974]

1 hour ago, Firefly74 said:

I also have some food allergies (not egg). I strongly recommend speaking with the head of the dining room at the first meal and alerting him or her. Don't just use the waitstaff especially if their English is not very good. At the buffet, there should be someone who can put you in touch with the person in charge as you likely will need to ask questions.

 

I learned all of this from a fellow passenger with serious diabetes needs and it works well.

 

Ellen

Thanks Ellen.

The email I got back from Princess was pretty explicate on what we should do once on board. When I was on the Crown last October I asked a few questions about what to do. I appreciate your post.

 

Marty

[DallasGuy75219]

On 4/8/2024 at 5:04 AM, BamaVol said:

Maybe your emails went to their spam folder. 

In this case, is it the plant-based ham folder?

[Cloudyrain]

This happened to us too: multiple emails not replied to, not even acknowledged. I was furious. Especially as it is such an important issue.

 

Turns out I had sent them to the wrong email address… although I got no bounce back email to say it wasn’t delivered, so it was probably an old unused email address.

 

When we emailed the correct address (which someone provided further up the post) we received a prompt and very thorough response within about 48 hours. 

[ladychater]

On 4/9/2024 at 4:46 AM, Paula_MacFan said:

Agreed -- it took me about 10 seconds to open the app and look under Profile. 

I did this.  No waiter I've encountered has been aware (I couldn't get the same table every night).  They don't know what food is or isn't vegetarian.  Ask 2 waiters, you'll get two different answers.  I'm telling you, Princess does not care.  If you have food allergy/religious/ethnical issues with eating certain foods, this is not the place you want to be.

[memoak]

34 minutes ago, ladychater said:

I did this.  No waiter I've encountered has been aware (I couldn't get the same table every night).  They don't know what food is or isn't vegetarian.  Ask 2 waiters, you'll get two different answers.  I'm telling you, Princess does not care.  If you have food allergy/religious/ethnical issues with eating certain foods, this is not the place you want to be.

If that is your view than I would not dine outside my house or even trust a butcher or produce manager in a local grocery. We have been on over 60 cruises and have yet to have a food emergency on any of them as long as we are diligent 

[ladychater]

9 minutes ago, memoak said:

If that is your view than I would not dine outside my house or even trust a butcher or produce manager in a local grocery. We have been on over 60 cruises and have yet to have a food emergency on any of them as long as we are diligent 

I shouldn't have to be "diligent.". It would be ever so simple for Princess to label the food.  Then the servers and customers would know what to eat and what not to.  I feel like you're being a defensive of Princess because this isn't an issue that affects you.  Don't reply to me, I don't care what you have to say, as you don't care about my concerns.  

[Mary loves to travel]

27 minutes ago, ladychater said:

I shouldn't have to be "diligent.". It would be ever so simple for Princess to label the food.  Then the servers and customers would know what to eat and what not to.  I feel like you're being a defensive of Princess because this isn't an issue that affects you.  Don't reply to me, I don't care what you have to say, as you don't care about my concerns.  

Um, if you’ve read this thread, you’d know his wife has deathly allergies, so this is in fact “an issue that affects him”.   
 

Being diligent in determining what’s in the food is similar to defensive driving.   
I have a lot to lose, so will always make sure it’s safe to enter an intersection, or use a crosswalk, even if I have the right of way.  

[memoak]

1 hour ago, ladychater said:

I shouldn't have to be "diligent.". It would be ever so simple for Princess to label the food.  Then the servers and customers would know what to eat and what not to.  I feel like you're being a defensive of Princess because this isn't an issue that affects you.  Don't reply to me, I don't care what you have to say, as you don't care about my concerns.  

My wife not only has multiple food allergies but she also is missing a good deal of intestines due to Crohn’s disease and a lobe of one lung due to lung cancer.  Yes we are very diligent at all times because we live to travel. Even at home when you go to the deli section of your local grocery you will not find many labels also restaurant menus which are just like Princess. Ask question and if need be talk to the manager or even chef  if need be. We eat out a lot and travel around 3 months a year at least. Ask, ask , ask

[BamaVol]

2 hours ago, ladychater said:

I shouldn't have to be "diligent.". It would be ever so simple for Princess to label the food.  Then the servers and customers would know what to eat and what not to.  I feel like you're being a defensive of Princess because this isn't an issue that affects you.  Don't reply to me, I don't care what you have to say, as you don't care about my concerns.  

Of course it is your responsibility to be diligent.  No one cares about your safety more than you.  Those of us with food allergies and sensitivities are in the minority and need to watch out for ourselves first and foremost. I can’t possibly expect every server in the world to know that a peanut, oyster, egg or hazelnut can kill someone. I learned to be diligent by working in dangerous workplaces.  Of course OSHA will fine my employer if I do something stupid but that won’t grow me a new hand. When in doubt, find out. I ask everywhere I go and waiters on Princess ships have never answered me wrong.  They are trained to defer to the maitre d and chefs.  The answer has always been “let me get someone who knows”.  You can travel safely and people here are telling you how it’s done. Listen.

[kywildcatfanone]

Your health is your responsibility.  All you have to do is tell your waiter what your issues are, and they will take care of it pr find someone who will.  

[arizonaperson]

@iankh

Well glad that another cruise line will be able to accommodate your dietary needs. I know I’ve read on this cruise forum under Princess that they do indeed accommodate dietary needs once you’re on board as long as you bring it up the very first time that you dine on the ship. But totally understand that you didn’t get the response from email ,very frustrating of course.  
Glad you made a decision to take your business elsewhere for your travel needs. Service everywhere is lacking, but definitely not an excuse. And yes, I seek out businesses that have great customer service and highly recommend them when customer service is great.

 

It would also be great after your cruise that you post back on here your experience .Might help others in the future.

Edited April 11 by arizonaperson

[jenf22]

18 hours ago, ladychater said:

I shouldn't have to be "diligent.". It would be ever so simple for Princess to label the food.  Then the servers and customers would know what to eat and what not to. 

Our last Princess cruise we were at the buffet for lunch and my son comes to the table with fried rice with tiny little shrimp in it.  My husband loves fried rice but is allergic to shellfish.  I got up to find him to make sure he didn't get any.  I then went to the Asian section where the fried rice was.  It was labeled "Fried Rice".  I asked the server there and he said "oh sometimes it has shrimp and sometimes it doesn't".  I mentioned they might want to consider labeling it "contains shellfish" for those times it does.  Crazy they change the item but not the sign.  Lesson learned for us I guess.

[MacMadame]

20 hours ago, ladychater said:

I shouldn't have to be "diligent.". It would be ever so simple for Princess to label the food.  

There are cruise lines that make this easier than others. I agree you shouldn't have to be so diligent that you are asking multiple people and triple-checking constantly. But I do think you do have to have some diligence. Not everyone understands what you are asking.

 

I learned this the hard way when I was a vegetarian and asking waiters if a dish was vegetarian would give you the wrong answer because they had no idea what that meant and would say yes for dishes with fish, with beef broth, and even with meat in them!

 

I believe Celebrity Cruises has indications on the menu as to allergens for every dish. (I saw it on a YouTube video or I'd link to the menu to show it.) You might want to check them out.

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, jenf22 said:

Our last Princess cruise we were at the buffet for lunch and my son comes to the table with fried rice with tiny little shrimp in it.  My husband loves fried rice but is allergic to shellfish.  I got up to find him to make sure he didn't get any.  I then went to the Asian section where the fried rice was.  It was labeled "Fried Rice".  I asked the server there and he said "oh sometimes it has shrimp and sometimes it doesn't".  I mentioned they might want to consider labeling it "contains shellfish" for those times it does.  Crazy they change the item but not the sign.  Lesson learned for us I guess.

I’ve yet to dine at a buffet on land or at sea where each dish was labeled with ingredients, including possible allergens.  Occasionally, I go to a potluck in my community where one or two dishes have ingredients labeled.  I figure those were made by someone who has an allergy and they are being thoughtful.  “Fried rice” implies two ingredients. I’ve never seen fried rice with only rice and oil involved in the preparation and it seems people with allergies would be aware of that and ask before helping themselves.

[memoak]

45 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I’ve yet to dine at a buffet on land or at sea where each dish was labeled with ingredients, including possible allergens.  Occasionally, I go to a potluck in my community where one or two dishes have ingredients labeled.  I figure those were made by someone who has an allergy and they are being thoughtful.  “Fried rice” implies two ingredients. I’ve never seen fried rice with only rice and oil involved in the preparation and it seems people with allergies would be aware of that and ask before helping themselves.

Exact cruise ships are no different from land based restaurants or deli counters in grocery stores. Every ingredient is hardly ever mentioned 

[iankh]

6 hours ago, arizonaperson said:

@iankh

Well glad that another cruise line will be able to accommodate your dietary needs. I know I’ve read on this cruise forum under Princess that they do indeed accommodate dietary needs once you’re on board as long as you bring it up the very first time that you dine on the ship. But totally understand that you didn’t get the response from email ,very frustrating of course.  
Glad you made a decision to take your business elsewhere for your travel needs. Service everywhere is lacking, but definitely not an excuse. And yes, I seek out businesses that have great customer service and highly recommend them when customer service is great.

 

It would also be great after your cruise that you post back on here your experience .Might help others in the future.

 

Thank you. It really comes down to a matter of trust. The key is that none of my inquiries were answered, this made me uncomfortable, particularly since I wrote to an email address I obtained from the Princess website. After sitting in a waiting room, anxious because my partner is having a section of their intestine removed, and then subsequent hospital stays with tubes being shoved down their throat and being told that it was critical, I have developed a level of distrust, hence doing due diligence.

 

We're on a Celebrity cruise to Alaska in August, and the email I sent to Celebrity resulted in a response 24-hours later.

 

I am not fool enough to not know that additional diligence will be required while onboard ship, and needing to talk to staff, headwaiters and even chefs. For my personal decision, it was a matter of whether I start out knowing that caution is needed, or start out where there I have no trust at all.

 

I also know enough to purchase travel insurance early enough so that we have the preexisting health waiver and that the policy has sufficient emergency medical evacuation coverage should we need it.

 

We all weigh our appetite for risk. Some have more tolerance for it than others. Perhaps mine is low. The question I always ask myself is, "How will I feel if..."

[memoak]

1 minute ago, iankh said:

 

Thank you. It really comes down to a matter of trust. The key is that none of my inquiries were answered, this made me uncomfortable, particularly since I wrote to an email address I obtained from the Princess website. After sitting in a waiting room, anxious because my partner is having a section of their intestine removed, and then subsequent hospital stays with tubes being shoved down their throat and being told that it was critical, I have developed a level of distrust, hence doing due diligence.

 

We're on a Celebrity cruise to Alaska in August, and the email I sent to Celebrity resulted in a response 24-hours later.

 

I am not fool enough to not know that additional diligence will be required while onboard ship, and needing to talk to staff, headwaiters and even chefs. For my personal decision, it was a matter of whether I start out knowing that caution is needed, or start out where there I have no trust at all.

 

I also know enough to purchase travel insurance early enough so that we have the preexisting health waiver and that the policy has sufficient emergency medical evacuation coverage should we need it.

 

We all weigh our appetite for risk. Some have more tolerance for it than others. Perhaps mine is low. The question I always ask myself is, "How will I feel if..."

I really hope it works out for you but I would never rely on a response from corporate would ever relate to a situation on ship. That’s why we never rely on emails but ask questions on board sometimes daily. 50 cruises and no one has gotten sick yet