Food/Peanut Allergy

[mojosmama]

Hello, we will be going on our first cruise ever! Navigator in March, 5 days, Western Caribbean. I have a peanut allergy and allergic to some other foods, has anyone else had to inform RCCL prior to your trip? Any suggestions?

 

Thank you! :)

[cb at sea]

Do call the "special needs" department....they deal with allergies every single day.

[janabm81]

Seriously, contact the special needs people and make sure you bring the paper work with you so you can show it to the dining crew.Lots of times they'll even have someone come out and go over every menu with you to show you what would be ok and what won't. When we went on our first cruise we tried to tell them on the first day and it ended up taking forever to sort it all out. I spent half the cruise trying to decipher everything I ate and praying that I wasn't going to react to something. Ever since I've had no problem.:D

[JanineM]

I have a pretty severe allergy to shellfish. As you may know, there is a shellfish night where people get a little bit ridiculous with the lobster tails ... and a drop or two of juices can mean lights out for me.

 

Send an e-mail to: foodallergies@rccl.com with your sailing information including cabin #, your name, reservation # & specific allergy info. They will send a note to the maitre d'

 

When you go to the dining room the first night, speak to your waiter, your assistant waiter and the head waiter or maitre d'. Make sure they know of your allergies. Generally they will have been notified in advance. I have always had wonderful servers who go out of their way to walk through the menu with me and tell me what may be a problem.

 

When using the buffet you will probably have more difficulty. Find one of the officers or crew members to help you select the right foods. Depending on your particular allergies, you may feel more comfortable eating all of your meals in the dining room. The lunches and breakfasts there are really better than the buffet anyway.

 

Key is to be very diligent. You must be proactive ... they will do their best to help you out, but it's really up to you to ask questions and be cautious. I also carry benadryl with me all of the time, and an epipen if necessary.

 

I've only had one "incident" two years ago, and that was solved with four benadryl and a very early night!

 

Hope this helps.

[mojosmama]

Thank you thank you Water Baby for that email address, I feel much more at ease now. I never leave my house without my Benadryl and Epipen, I have had food allergies all my life, so I am always cautious.

 

I am sure that we will opt for the dining room vs. the buffet...great to know that RCCL will be as diligent as me! Nice to know that I will be in good hands.

It's making me even more excited for our first cruise! :D

[missbogota]

Please remember the responsibility is really yours!!!! If there are any questions, do not eat it! It is not like being at home and knowing what you are eating and how it was prepared...

 

I have shellfish/all fish allergies and have been to the emergency room 3 times. Fish is like peanuts...you never know what it may be in. Please be careful and enjoy your trip!!!

[norcalal]

My daughter has a severe peanut allergy and if you follow the above advice you should be more than happy with their response. The MDR and Windjammer crew were fantastic with my daughters requests on two cruises. From the special needs desk to the ship, they are to be commended

[Lushpuppy]

Our daughter has a VERY severe shellfish allergy. Last year, on a Celebrity cruise, we had one incident when she was taken to emergency when her throat closed:( Was awful.

This year, we contacted the concierge who in turn, contacted everyone possible. Even when we dined at Portofino, they knew without us mentioning it about her allergy.

They did offer to give her menus each morning, and cook her entire meals seperately.

They were absolutely excellent and she had no issues what so ever on this cruise.

[soxfan1495]

We just got back from a cruise on Voyager, and we have peanut, tree nut, shellfish and dairy allergies in our family. We found the staff to be very helpful and they went the extra mile to help, and that includes Windjammer and the Cafe on the Promenade, where they can make pizza without cheese if you ask. The only problem we had was with the dairy allergy... their menu in the dining room says "sorbet" which has no dairy, but in fact, it is more like sherbet -- it does have dairy. We asked a waiter in the Windjammer if they have sorbet. He went all the way down to the store room and found that they did not have any. But at least he tried.

[njmomof2]

We were hoping to cruise with friends who have a daughter with peanut and egg allergies (very severe). Went for her check up recently (she's only 4) and dr said in no uncertain terms that she cannot cruise. The danger of having a reaction out at sea was too serious to take any chances.

 

We're so sorry that they can't come with us. Would have been fun.