Are Gluten free menu's now available on RCI?

[Iamthesea]

I read on the Carnival forum that Gluten free menus are now available on the app for ordering every evening, instead of having to pre-order from a list the night prior.   My daughter follows a GF diet. She cruised this past spring on Carnival and it was aggravating that she had to decide what she would like to eat for the next evenings meal, while feeling full after just having had a big meal!   Love that Carnival is making this available.

 

How is GF handles on RCI?

[smokeybandit]

RC adapts the existing menu to be GF. There is no separate menu.  A tip is to review the menus in the app before dinner, so you already know what you want the next night and aren't faced with food coma decisions.

Just about everything can be made gluten free in the main dining room with some limited exception.

[Iamthesea]

Thank you!

 

Still not ideal.  I may think that I would like to have BBQ tomorrow night, but by tomorrow afternoon, I may be craving fish. 🤨 

 

I will pass your tip on to my daughter.  At least the dinner menus are on the app ahead of time. Does this mean that she does not need to get in touch with Special Needs about her diet?

 

BTW - If she does accidently eat gluten, it will not be life threatening. She also carries pills that help with digestion, should that happen.

[ONECRUISER]

6 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

Thank you!

 

Still not ideal.  I may think that I would like to have BBQ tomorrow night, but by tomorrow afternoon, I may be craving fish. 🤨 

 

I will pass your tip on to my daughter.  At least the dinner menus are on the app ahead of time. Does this mean that she does not need to get in touch with Special Needs about her diet?

 

BTW - If she does accidently eat gluten, it will not be life threatening. She also carries pills that help with digestion, should that happen.

Seems to be lot of GF in WindJammer, Daughter always finds lots of choices

[smokeybandit]

34 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

Does this mean that she does not need to get in touch with Special Needs about her diet?

No need to contact special needs for gluten. Just talk to the head waiter when you board (just go to the MDR and he'll be there) to give you the lay of the land, then in any other food venue, don't at all hesitate to ask for the manager on duty if you have any questions.

 

Don't hesitate to ask for gluten free bread in the MDR (pro tip, ask for it toasted) or gluten free rolls at lunch in the WJ. Even GF pancakes/waffles at breakfast.

Edited July 10 by smokeybandit

[FamilyCruiserUK]

My mum is a celiac so follows a gluten free diet. She didnt have food in the MDR as she didnt inow what she wanted 1 day to the next. She had food in the buffet and on first day spoke to a chef who got his dietary chef to cook her gluten free meals. Every night he would cookmher fresh gf meals on request, she had lots of lovely food. This was on Oasis and he was simply fantastic. Be careful of the labelled food in the buffet esp the puddings as they were mixed up. Same looking pudding next to each other and non gluten free people would take either and move the labels out of the way. 

 

Oh and you can ask for gluten free pizza in Sorrentos and also my mum asked for gluten free packs of cookies, so snacks. 

Edited July 10 by FamilyCruiserUK

[Iamthesea]

Thank you all so much!!!

[smokeybandit]

Just don't expect someone to cook you off menu custom dishes every night. That is definitely not the norm.

But they do a great job with GF in being flexible with what is on the menu.

[Tree_skier]

11 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Seems to be lot of GF in WindJammer, Daughter always finds lots of choices

My daughter also has to be GF and she was inpressed with the selctions in the WJ... 

[Bfsroyal]

In general Royal Caribbean follow the order the night before in the main dinning room. On my most recent Celebrity cruise they had GF choices on the menu each night and usually at least 3. They offered order in advance, but I ordered off the GF choices on the menu as there was always something I was more than happy with.
 

I can only imagine the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes at RC. It’s rare when something can’t be made gluten free. These are generally made in a completely separate kitchen or area of the kitchen depending on the ship to ensure there is no cross-contamination.

 

I always try to pick things that are naturally gluten free anyway as to hopefully make the kitchens job a little easier and always have a back up in the case an item can’t be gluten free. 

 

I recently asked about a sticky toffee pudding on the dessert menu - I was prepared for them to say it wasn’t possible - They however said it was no problem. It was really very very good. Generally I don’t do dessert or have ice cream as this is a more problematic area as some things are generally impossible.

 

In the windjammer labelling standard somewhat varies by ship and they are getting better at having things marked as GF. Or on the newer ships having entire GF counters.
 

As others have said do seek out the chef in the windjammer for assistance if needed. They are always more than willing to help and always so friendly. I feel bad for inconveniencing them as often it can take about 5+ minutes of their time and occasionally they then have to do secondary checks with the chef who prepped it. They will generally tell you items that are always gluten free every day - which usually saves me from having to ask again throughout the cruise - often these aren’t marked as gluten free - but understandably others may not feel safe relying on this as potentially ingredient choices might change throughout the cruise unexpectedly.
 

On celebrity they have an icon system which again isn’t as clear as it could be. Greyed out when not GF and coloured in when GF. But the print quality is usually bad so it’s really hard to tell.

 

Things you might think would be gluten free anyway - are often not on Royal. So if you need to always ask. Vegetables for example. Yet a pie next to it, that you would assume would contain gluten, was GF.

 

GF cookies are available on request in the windjammer. GF bread is available. In different areas of the world this often is different. The best is usually cruises out of the US. On a recent cruise in Europe it wasn’t anywhere near as good. As at home I always have this toasted - it tastes so much better. As others have mentioned GF pizza can be made on request - they are very good - however you get a whole pizza. At the custom pasta stations they usually do GF pasta also.

 

Often I get asked by the head waiter specifically on the GF issue if my experience is up to standard as they want to make sure I don’t feel like I’m missing out by not having access to the full menu. It was one of my worries when having to move to a GF diet and cruising. Whilst I might miss certain elements there is always something else to try which is usually equally appealing and just as nice or nicer. 

 

The one positive of a GF cruise diet is I often don’t overeat and usually eat much healthier than I use to when cruising, and the best bit don’t gain any weight on the cruise!

[bjlbbk]

My experience has been slightly different on each cruise…even on the same ship but different sailing. On our last cruise on Oasis we ate specialty dining only so I did not order in advance as I have normally done in the past in the MDR. The staff was very good about asking us as we were seated if anyone in our group had any dietary needs. They usually walked me through the menu to let me know which dishes in particular could be made GF and they were very open to asking the kitchen if other things could be modified if not mentioned in their initial suggestions. Because some dishes took a little more planning I did request a few things in advance. We ate at Chops for several meals so after our first meal there I requested the mac and cheese for later visits. On this particular sailing the Cafe Promenade also had GF items available each day (small sandwiches and desserts) which is not always the case. As some others have already mentioned the Windjammer may also have a designated GF area (but not always). Park Cafe has GF bread/bagles that can be toasted upon request. On some sailings I was able to request a grilled GF sandwich as well. On a few occasions I was able to order French toast, breakfast sandwich or pancakes at Johnny Rockets (usually having better luck if I stopped by the day before to make the request in advance). I think the MDR is probably more accommodating for those particular breakfast items but we rarely take the time to eat breakfast in the MDR. Pizza at Sorrentos is always a good option too. You may have to wait a few extra minutes but you get the whole pizza and it is guaranteed to be hot and fresh. 

 

Overall I feel eating GF has gotten easier to navigate…you just can’t be shy about asking for help. I have been hearing more and more about chartered Celiac cruises on RCI ships which sound like a lot of fun. I’m not Celiac (just intolerant) but the specialty GF desserts and pastries on those cruises look amazing and might be enough to get me on board…literally!

[smokeybandit]

15 minutes ago, bjlbbk said:

you just can’t be shy about asking for help

The single most important piece of advice for any food allergy while on board.