Dietery Restrictions for Celiac's Disease

[metman146360]

I have a friend who has a severe case of Celiac's Disease and we have briefly dicussed the possibility of his going on a cruise with me some day.

 

How is Carnival for meeting the dietary requirements for that particular condition? One error could likely ruin the entire remainder of the cruise for him, at best. Does anyone have any personal experience with this condition and Carnival?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Brad

[Essiesmom]

On my Dec. 2008 cruise on Fascination, one of the passengers at my table had coeliac disease. They knew he was coming, were asking all the men if they were him...the dining room hostess and maitre d' brought hime the menus every night to choose his meal. He had already made friends in the Lido area and they took care of his dietary needs there. They cooked special things for him, things not on the menu. I think the chef enjoyed the challenge. Once they have booked the cruise, they need to contact the special needs dept. at Carnival and tell them of his condition. I believe they send questions about preferences, and they are the ones who alert the ship. EM

[TheHowards]

I have a friend who has a severe case of Celiac's Disease and we have briefly dicussed the possibility of his going on a cruise with me some day.

 

How is Carnival for meeting the dietary requirements for that particular condition? One error could likely ruin the entire remainder of the cruise for him, at best. Does anyone have any personal experience with this condition and Carnival?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Brad

 

I don't have Celiac Disease, but my best friend does and she was well taken care of on our Carnival Ecstasy cruise. Each night a nice young lady came by our table and went over the following night's menu to be sure there was no gluten problems. They also brought her gluten-free bread each night. Just let your waiter know on the first night and you should be fine.

 

Bob

[gbpakrfan]

I have celiac disease and had a wonderful time on board the Carnival Glory last year. I notified Carnival ahead of time of my dietary needs through the Special Needs Department. I had someone meet with me to pick out my meal ahead of time (with the exception of the first night, but I am sure if you spoke to the Matradee upon arrival, they could assist you with that).

 

Carnival offers gluten free pasta, cake and bread. I was told if I wanted french toast for breakfast, to just let them know and it would be taken care of. For dinner each night - I had wonderful warm bread and had chocolate melting cake for dessert!! It was one of the best experiences I have had traveling with celiac.

 

I am set to travel on the Inspiration next week and on Freedom in September....thanks largely in part to the excellent response I received from Carnival! Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions I might be able to answer for your friend. :)

[metman146360]

Thank you for the quick replies. Carnival seems to be very consciencious (spelling) about how they take care of their clientel and my friend is justifiably concerned about how well this would be handled.

 

I thank you for your input.

 

:cool:Brad:cool:

[G'ma]

I have a friend who has a severe case of Celiac's Disease and we have briefly dicussed the possibility of his going on a cruise with me some day.

 

How is Carnival for meeting the dietary requirements for that particular condition? One error could likely ruin the entire remainder of the cruise for him, at best. Does anyone have any personal experience with this condition and Carnival?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Brad

 

From their FAQ:

 

Can Special Diets be Accommodated?Guests with diet requirements can be accommodated on board. We do not have Dieticians onboard; therefore, we can only offer assistance with simple requests such as the method of preparation of menu items. The special diet requirements need to be arranged with the guest's Headwaiter on the first night of the cruise. Every menu (in the dining room) has Spa Carnival Cuisine Fare. These items are lower in calories, sodium, cholesterol and fat. Salads are prepared with diet dressing. Desserts are prepared with Sweet'N Low or NutraSweet instead of sugar. In addition, each menu has one vegetarian entree. Low-cholesterol egg substitute is available upon request as well as diet jellies at breakfast.

 

The following simple diets can be prepared onboard:

• vegetarian
  
• salt-free
  
• bland
  
• low sugar
  

The following food is not available onboard:

 

• Kosher meals
  
• Baby Food and Formula
  

Call them now and they will transfer you to the correct department for this discussion. Then, as soon as you board the ship, go meet with the Maitre'd who will be set up somewhere on the ship at that time. He will discuss your special needs with you, let you know what can be done and what cannot.

 

Ultimately, however, you will be responsible for what you consume.

[wonderfullife]

A person I work with has this as well. She has taken several cruises on Carnival with no problem. She notifies them upon booking and they have what she needs for dinner each night. There should be nothing to worry about.

 

Aleece

[NJCruiser23]

I have a friend who has a severe case of Celiac's Disease and we have briefly dicussed the possibility of his going on a cruise with me some day.

 

How is Carnival for meeting the dietary requirements for that particular condition? One error could likely ruin the entire remainder of the cruise for him, at best. Does anyone have any personal experience with this condition and Carnival?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Brad

Brad,

 

I was just diagnosed with Celiac in 3/08 and I went on Carnival Glory in 4/08. I had the wonderful hostess Natalya come to the table every night and help me choose items. If there is something your friend wants on the menu they can also try to make it gluten free for them. I also had bread waiting every night at the table and they made the chocolate melting cake for me. At breakfast they made french toast and eggs benedict, just without the english muffin. They went out of their way to accomadate me. the only time I had a reaction was after the 1st lunch on lido deck when we first boarded. That was my fault for not being as careful. Even at the buffet your friend could ask how food was prepared before eating it. THey definitely went above and beyond for me. I ate great. We are going to our next cruise in 7/10. I can't wait to be treated like a queen again. It was awesome. Tell your friend they have nothing to worry about. You do need to fill out a form and fax it to them at least 2 weeks prior to the cruise, so they may be prepared with enough gluten-free food. Good luck. I hope they decide to go. You will have a great time. It was one of the only place I really feel safe to eat gluten-free.:D