Cruise with a child with a Nut Allergy??????

[CWNNP]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm new to the boards, this is my first time posting! I have read through several threads on these message boards and have found some very helpful tips...

 

I have a question regarding food allergies and cruising. We just found out that our youngest

child (2 1/2 yrs old) has a very serious nut allergy. We had planned to book a cruise on the Miracle for February but now we are very hesitant. I called the 1-800 number for Carnival and the lady I spoke to was very positive that they would be able to accommodate that- BUT I got the feeling that she really didn't have any understanding of what a life-threatening allergy was. For example, she said: "Sure they can accommodate that, after all, my sister is a vegetarian and there was lots of things that SHE was able to eat!!" It seemed as though she didn't understand the difference between a lifestyle choice and a serious allergy..... so I have wrote an e-mail to carnival and asked specific questions regarding food handling and if i will be able to look through ingredient lists to try to make the safest possible choices for my daughter, etc. - but i have yet to hear back.... I'm still hesitant about booking the cruise.

 

Does anyone here have any experience cruising with food allergies or with a child who has food allergies??

If so, how was it handled? was it a positive or negative experience? We had planned for our 3 kids to spend lots of time at Camp Carnival, if you have cruised with a child with serious allergies, how did you find the Camp staff regarding this?

 

Sorry for the very long post!!!!! Hope someone has some insight on this ...

 

:o

Thanks!

[junglejane]

My older daughter has a peanut allergy. We always carry an EpiPen with us. We have taken her on two cruises, on Princess and Celebrity. However, she was 8 when she went on her first cruise, so she knows to be very careful about what she eats. I found that Celebrity was more reassuring because they formally acknowledged my "special dietary request." When we boarded, there was a letter in our stateroom acknowledging our "request." At the first dinner, the restaurant manager came over and asked to be introduced to the passenger with the peanut allergy. He made sure the waiters were aware of it. Several times I asked about specific dishes, and they were happy to check into it.

 

By contrast, Princess didn't seem set up to formally recognize a peanut allergy. So I had to just bring it up on an item-by-item basis, and question the kids program people about the snacks served.

 

Still, when all is said and done, I agree with you that it is worrisome. I constantly run into the problem you describe, where people don't really understand the nature of a life threatening food allergy. Just a couple of days ago I picked my 5 year old up from Sunday School with one of those crafts where they make a bird feeder by smearing peanut butter all over a pine cone and rolling it in birdseed. Sheesh! Thank goodness she doesn't have a peanut allergy. When I brought the subject up to the person in charge, she said, Oh we had cream cheese available as an alternative. She doesn't realize that the kids are busy touching everything (tabletops, toys, etc.) and everyone with their peanut buttery hands!

 

I would ask the Camp Carnival staff what snacks they serve. (I've never seen a peanut butter craft on a cruise ship, but it couldn't hurt to ask.) If there's any question, ask if you can bring in your own snack. Good luck. I'll be interested to read what other feedback you get.

[junglejane]

This board doesn't seem to get nearly as much traffic as the regular cruise line boards. I'd suggest posting your question on the regular Carnival board. That way more people will see it, plus you may get some feedback from adults with food allergies.

[CWNNP]

OMG, I can't believe that they did a peanut butter-birdseed craft and thought that they could just offer an alternative if someone was allergic! ( i can just imagine all that peanut butter smeared all over the tables and everywhere!!)

I managed to get some more info from Carnival and they said that as soon as you board the ship you go to a specific desk and fill out these forms for special dietary needs. they said that they would make sure that the allergic guest's food was not prepared using any nuts or peanut oil, etc. and that nothing would contact any foods that do have nuts... i also read an article that suggested eating most if not all meals in the dining room where the staff was better able to assist and likely spoke better english and also more cross-contamination occurs in the buffets through the utensils, etc.....we probably will go ahead and book something, i guess you have to live with this and not live in fear of it. we are new to the food allergy thing as it happened so recently- we're waiting for an appt. with an allergist to do some testing.

 

(I did post on the main Carnival board and got a couple of responses- there was someone who posted that their food allergies were dealt with better on one cruise line better than some others i just can't remember which it was... i'll go check...)

[CWNNP]

... she said that Princess went above an beyond in dealing with her food allergies....

 

also someone had replied that everything was handled well for their son witha peanut allergy on Carnival and in Camp Carnival....

[junglejane]

It's nice to hear that people have had good experiences with Carnival and Princess. And it probably is a good idea to stick to the main dining room. The Celebrity website explicitly says: "Any special dietary and food requests can be accommodated in the main restaurant only." I'm sure the points about more cross-contamination in the buffet and more language problems are both valid. Good luck on your cruise and with the nut allergy in general.

[CWNNP]

here is a link to the same question posted on Carnival's main board in case you are interested...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=425589

 

thanks,

Eden