Important Info for Families with Food Allergies

[luvtosing]

Just off Freedom of the Seas and wanted to share some information about traveling with kids with food allergies. Hopefully it will help others who have the same situation we do. Three months before cruising I emailed foodallergy@rccl; I recieved a confirmation email that they had recieved my requests and my lists of food allergies for my kids, which include nuts and milk. I called several days before we left and confirmed that the ship had our information and were taking care of our requests. When we boarded, I went to the dining room to confirm seating and confirm that they had received our requests; the maitre'd said "No, I don't have it, but maybe it's in another folder." I then produced copies of the email I sent and the email I received back, which he took. I know there is another email, a "special needs" email, but when I asked RCCL about which email I'm supposed to use next time to avoid that happening again, I was told either one worked. In any event, my advice is double check with the maitre'd upon boarding.

 

We told the waitstaff about the allergies before ordering, and things were going just fine. At the end of the meal, the waiter produced a dessert which she said was safe for my daughter. After eating two bites, her throat started to close. This was a different type of reaction than we're used to, and I ended up running up five flights of stairs to get her benadryl (I had the epi pen with me but not the benadryl.) We found out later, after calling the head waiter that the dessert was milk free but was usually made with pistachio; the waiter most likely thought she had taken one that had been prepared nut free, but it wasn't.

 

After that incident, the staff went above and beyond to take care of my daughter. The head waiter pre-ordered her food every night for the following night. The chef made special desserts just for her. The head waiter even cut up her food. So that was a good thing. But here is my advice: triple check ingredients for foods, most especially desserts. Also, bring All medications everywhere on the boat. My daughter's typical reactions are hives, and she had not used benadryl for quite some time before this reaction; do not be lulled into a false sense of security. Allergies are unpredictable. The good news is: my daughter was playing in the arcade half an hour after the incident and she was perfectly fine for the rest of the cruise. And, the staff went out of their way to make sure that did not happen again. I firmly believe that you can cruise safely with food allergies, but it's important to follow up on emails, phone calls, and conversations with waitstaff, and always, always have medications with you just in case.

[dolphinwyo]

Thanks for sharing. We cruised with our 3 y.o. with peanut allergy in Feb. I monitored everything he ate, and the Camp did a great job - had me fill out a list of preapproved foods (I wouldn't approve muffins, breads, etc., anything with a remote possibility of peanuts) , and they wrote "Peanut allergy" on his name tag so everyone would note this. I always carry Benadryl too - you never know....

glad it ended up o.k. for you! It can be very scary.

[MamaParrotHead]

Thanks for sharing. We cruised with our 3 y.o. with peanut allergy in Feb. I monitored everything he ate, and the Camp did a great job - had me fill out a list of preapproved foods (I wouldn't approve muffins, breads, etc., anything with a remote possibility of peanuts) , and they wrote "Peanut allergy" on his name tag so everyone would note this. I always carry Benadryl too - you never know....

glad it ended up o.k. for you! It can be very scary.

 

Was this on Carnival? When did they give you a list to preapprove foods? We're sailing Glory next year, my then-6 YO has a peanut allergy and I'm wondering what precautions they put in place. I all ready have contacted the Guest Access Dept., have faxed a letter from his doctor to them, etc. Thanks.

[Rudi610]

Freedom of the Seas is a Royal Caribbean ship. But the advice the OP puts forth is good to use on any cruise line.

[MamaParrotHead]

Freedom of the Seas is a Royal Caribbean ship. But the advice the OP puts forth is good to use on any cruise line.

 

Right, but I was asking dolphinwyo, who, based on her signature and the fact she called it "Camp" (not "AO"), I figured she was speaking of her experience with Carnival.

[xcell]

i ship out on the last week of august.

 

my 4 year old has a peanut allergy - my 1.5 year old is allergic to shell fish.

 

who do i contact to inform them of their allergies?

 

also, side note, do you sign up for rci ocean adventure club before you board or once you are on the ship.

 

thanks!

 

jermaine

[dolphinwyo]

Right, but I was asking dolphinwyo, who, based on her signature and the fact she called it "Camp" (not "AO"), I figured she was speaking of her experience with Carnival.

 

 

Yes -my experience was on Carnival. They had me fill out a food sheet during the orientation meeting on the first night. They went over the list with me to make sure they understood too. Then they wrote "PEANUT ALLERGY" right on his name tag that all the kids wear when in Camp. I felt very comfortable with the process and we had no problems at all. Hopefully you will have the same experience. The rest of the time on board I just watched what he ate - the trickiest things are the desserts - but ice cream was always a sure bet (unlike the OP - who had to contend with milk allergy also - that would be even harder).

[luvtosing]

jermaine: go to the rccl website and hunt around for special dining requests. Email both the foodallergy email which is lsited (I think it's foodallergy@rccl or something like that. ) and also the special needs email. I emailed the foodallergy email but the maitre d for some reason didn't have my info so I think using both emails is best. They like all special requests 45 days prior to sailing. You will get an email to confirm. Then call rccl to confirm at least a week or two before you board. Then double check with the maitre d when you board. If you are not asking for special foods and are just notifying them you probably don;t have to worry so much about the 45 days but I would do it asap anyway. On the first night, tell your waiter and make sure all your waitstaff know. And bring those medications with you to the dinng room, just in case!

-You sign the kids up for adventure ocean on the first day, or anytime during the cruise.

[luvtosing]

dolphinwyo--I think you are right, the combination of the milk and nuts is what made it tricky for my daughter and the waitstaff. My son has a nut allergy and he had no problem. And it was the dessert that was the problem--the waitress kept reiterating that it was milk free and that she was getting special nut free ones from the dining room for two of my kids that I"m convinced she grabbed the wrong one. After that we mostly just stuck with the special sorbet they prepared for her and it was fine.

[karenem]

Yikes! I also had an incident last week that could have been bad (but wasn't). DD3 wanted a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. (I'd already checked the day before to make sure they had no nuts because her 5YO sister is allergic). Instead of a choc chip cookie, they brought a sundae with cookies inserted. Ah, well, that's OK. A few minutes later, I noticed the cookies were not choc chip, but peanut butter. Oops! Luckily, DD5 is (so far) not severely allergic. It's a good thing DD3 got the sundae and not her, though. We had anytime dining (Princess) so although the kids' club staff knew about the allergy, the waiters didn't.

[luvtosing]

It is always the desserts!! I'm glad everything worked out ok for your family.

[crusinmama06]

Hey LuvToSing! I have been looking for you. Someone sent me copies of your compasses but I didn't want to use them without your permission. I guess you had posted them or emailed them to someone?

 

Would you mind if I upload them to the collection that the family cruising board has?

[luvtosing]

I just answered you over on the RCCL board but absolutely, yes, feel free to upload them! I wouldn't know where to begin as my husband gets the credit for getting them in email form to begin with; so thanks for doing this!

[kaseykahnefan]

Hey I don't have any kids but I do have a severe peanut allergy. Discovered it when I was about 2. so 30 years darn it. it looks like i am not going to grow out of it. :D It is very hard when you are on vacation or things like that cause you have to check everything. I don't eat lots of cookies and deserts if I cant identify what the ingrediants are. The scary thing for me for example is if a chocolate chip cookie is sitting by a peanut cookie i can have a reaction. i wish you guys all the best with your kids allergies and hope they outgrow it.

[letsgocruz1]

Just an FYI for you Carnival cruisers: We were on the Glory last month and the first night, chicken tenders were a starter. I don't know if it wasn't listed, or if I just missed it, but the chicken came out with a garnish that included peanuts on top. I immediately had the waiter remove it, as my dd is allergic to peanuts. He brought me some more out on a plate with no garnish. What is scary is that my dd had also ordered this, but as an entree. She knows better than to eat them, but it's not even safe to be on the same plate.

 

Our waiter handled it like a gem and from that night on, was very careful of anything he served her.