How does RCCL Handle Food Allergies?

[Sugar*Magnolia]

I hemmed and hawed about posting, but I'm really very curious.

 

My son is going to be 18 and is allergic to Nuts. All nuts, not just peanuts. He can eat anything cooked in peanut oil though. He has a sixth sense of what NOT to eat. I carry an Epipen and so does he - but not most of the time. :rolleyes: He insists he has a sense that he will never become anaphylactic.

 

We always book with RCI and have never used a TA.

 

RCI has never asked if anyone has food allergies.

 

The one time we cruised on [CCL], when we booked they did ask about food allergies, and my son had a personal dining assistant on the cruise. She came to the table every night, gave him a menu for the next day and took his order that night. Everything was prepared in nut free pans, etc. She was very pleasant and made him feel special and not awkward about pre ordering.

 

My Question: In light of the recent NCL Epic tragedy, Im curious how do you handle YOUR known food allergies while on board?

 

And, Am I missing something on Royal? Should they be asking? From now on I am going to tell them.

[39august]

I believe you can contact the "special needs" department.

[3dogmom]

I hemmed and hawed about posting, but I'm really very curious.

 

My son is going to be 18 and is allergic to Nuts. All nuts, not just peanuts. He can eat anything cooked in peanut oil though. He has a sixth sense of what NOT to eat. I carry an Epipen and so does he - but not most of the time. :rolleyes: He insists he has a sense that he will never become anaphylactic.

 

We always book with RCI and have never used a TA.

 

RCI has never asked if anyone has food allergies.

 

The one time we cruised on [CCL], when we booked they did ask about food allergies, and my son had a personal dining assistant on the cruise. She came to the table every night, gave him a menu for the next day and took his order that night. Everything was prepared in nut free pans, etc. She was very pleasant and made him feel special and not awkward about pre ordering.

 

My Question: In light of the recent NCL Epic tragedy, Im curious how do you handle YOUR known food allergies while on board?

 

And, Am I missing something on Royal? Should they be asking? From now on I am going to tell them.

 

I cruised with my girlfriend who also has a severe nut and sesame seed allergy. She also carries an Epipen, which her DH even showed us how to use just in case! We cruised on the Monarch and didn't notify RCCL ahead of time. At dinner she just told the waiter of her allergies and he would point out all the safe items on the menu. The next night he immediatly again pointed out all the selections she could eat without worry.

[ehfl]

Your son is probably right....most kids grow out of their allergies by this point. One or 2 episodes of anaphylacsis early in life does not mean that this will happen again.

 

Working with an allergist, he should be able to re-introduce the problem foods. This is done under doctor's supervision. Most people who have early childhood allergies can easily get over them in a few treatments.

[rae8836]

There is actually a special group at RCI you can email:

 

foodallergies@rccl.com

 

Send them your cruise details and allergy issues and they will pass the note to the ship.

 

DW has extensive allergies. We always send the email then we _always_ visit the dining room immediately after boarding and re-inform dining room management of the issues, presenting them with a printed copy of the email. The visit to the dining room is key, since dining room management usually isn't aware of the email - it seems to get lost on the ship.

 

Once we have informed dining room management on the ship, our table team (we choose main dining room late seatings) has always provided us with the next days menu in advance, along with details on the contents of the dishes. If nothing on the menu works, we have gotten special dishes - as long as we give them overnight to prepare.

 

On our seventh trip now and have had zero problems.

 

OTOH, there really isn't anything formally provided to deal with allergy issues outside of the MDR - you have to watch out for yourself at the walk-up venues and buffet.

[SRQfireman]

I hemmed and hawed about posting, but I'm really very curious.

 

My son is going to be 18 and is allergic to Nuts. All nuts, not just peanuts. He can eat anything cooked in peanut oil though. He has a sixth sense of what NOT to eat. I carry an Epipen and so does he - but not most of the time. :rolleyes: He insists he has a sense that he will never become anaphylactic.

 

We always book with RCI and have never used a TA.

 

RCI has never asked if anyone has food allergies.

 

The one time we cruised on [CCL], when we booked they did ask about food allergies, and my son had a personal dining assistant on the cruise. She came to the table every night, gave him a menu for the next day and took his order that night. Everything was prepared in nut free pans, etc. She was very pleasant and made him feel special and not awkward about pre ordering.

 

My Question: In light of the recent NCL Epic tragedy, Im curious how do you handle YOUR known food allergies while on board?

 

And, Am I missing something on Royal? Should they be asking? From now on I am going to tell them.

 

I missed this one....what happened there and when?

[kyriecat]

I'm surprised that you or your son has never mentioned the allergies while onboard. I've travelled twice with people who had dietary restrictions. Neither of them thought it was the cruiselines responsibility to ask - they spoke up for themselves. One was allergic to nuts and the other needed a gluten-free diet. They notified the maitre d' on the first day after boarding. After that, each evening the head waiter would bring the next night's menu by the table and go over the selections. Some items could be modified to remove the problem ingredients and some couldn't. The head waiter would make notes of the selections so the items could be prepared properly.

 

I've never tried MTD so I don't know how dietary restrictions work in that situation.

 

I broke out in hives as a child when I ate strawberries - not fatal, just itchy and annoying. For whatever reason, the problem went away once I hit my late teens and now I can enjoy strawberries without any problems. My aunt still breaks out in hives when she eats tomatoes so not everyone gets over their childhood allergies. She doesn't like tomatoes anyway so not eating them isn't a problem for her. ;)

[SpeedGeek]

I missed this one....what happened there and when?

 

Just did a search on it... FBI is saying it was a severe allergic reaction, NCL says heart attack (in a 21 year old?). Sad indeed.

 

http://cbs4.com/local/epic.Kevin.Edouard.2.1861911.html

 

I don't have any allergies and haven't had to deal with it, but I would assume that you can handle it through the same folks who do dietary restrictions for the dining room. While they may not be obligated to ask about allergies, it might be a good thing to recommend to their vacation planners to ask when determining what seating you want for dinner.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Your son is probably right....most kids grow out of their allergies by this point. One or 2 episodes of anaphylacsis early in life does not mean that this will happen again.

 

Working with an allergist, he should be able to re-introduce the problem foods. This is done under doctor's supervision. Most people who have early childhood allergies can easily get over them in a few treatments.

 

Not always the case with a nut allergy, but I do know that the introduction under supervision has proven to benefit many. We talked about it, but he probably couldnt even eat nut products as he has no taste or desire and the thought just makes him ill! lol

 

He has never had an anaphylactic rx.

 

There is actually a special group at RCI you can email:

 

foodallergies@rccl.com

 

Send them your cruise details and allergy issues and they will pass the note to the ship.

 

DW has extensive allergies. We always send the email then we _always_ visit the dining room immediately after boarding and re-inform dining room management of the issues, presenting them with a printed copy of the email. The visit to the dining room is key, since dining room management usually isn't aware of the email - it seems to get lost on the ship.

 

Once we have informed dining room management on the ship, our table team (we choose main dining room late seatings) has always provided us with the next days menu in advance, along with details on the contents of the dishes. If nothing on the menu works, we have gotten special dishes - as long as we give them overnight to prepare.

 

On our seventh trip now and have had zero problems.

 

OTOH, there really isn't anything formally provided to deal with allergy issues outside of the MDR - you have to watch out for yourself at the walk-up venues and buffet.

 

Thanks for the email address!

 

I'm surprised that you or your son has never mentioned the allergies while onboard. I've travelled twice with people who had dietary restrictions. Neither of them thought it was the cruiselines responsibility to ask - they spoke up for themselves. One was allergic to nuts and the other needed a gluten-free diet. They notified the maitre d' on the first day after boarding. After that, each evening the head waiter would bring the next night's menu by the table and go over the selections. Some items could be modified to remove the problem ingredients and some couldn't. The head waiter would make notes of the selections so the items could be prepared properly.

 

I've never tried MTD so I don't know how dietary restrictions work in that situation.

 

I broke out in hives as a child when I ate strawberries - not fatal, just itchy and annoying. For whatever reason, the problem went away once I hit my late teens and now I can enjoy strawberries without any problems. My aunt still breaks out in hives when she eats tomatoes so not everyone gets over their childhood allergies. She doesn't like tomatoes anyway so not eating them isn't a problem for her. ;)

 

Nope, no need to be surprised. We have easily without incident have managed his nut allergy for 15 yrs. At the age of 3 he knew what not to eat, instinctually. Im blessed that he is the person he is and able to know what not to eat.

 

I was just curious to know if the agents we've spoken to when we Book our Cruises with ROYAL, forgot to ask or not - Since, [CCL] makes it a point to ask.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Just did a search on it... FBI is saying it was a severe allergic reaction, NCL says heart attack (in a 21 year old?). Sad indeed.

 

http://cbs4.com/local/epic.Kevin.Edouard.2.1861911.html

 

I don't have any allergies and haven't had to deal with it, but I would assume that you can handle it through the same folks who do dietary restrictions for the dining room. While they may not be obligated to ask about allergies, it might be a good thing to recommend to their vacation planners to ask when determining what seating you want for dinner.

 

 

The heart stops when you become anaphylactic and thats usually the written CoD.

[NordicPrince]

My adult niece has severe allergies especially to food with nuts in them and also many airborne molds. Basically her airway closes up and she can choke to death.

 

One time in my presence she became ill when eating a chocolate chip cookie which did not have nuts in it. Luckily she had all her proper medical aids with her.

 

Upon further investigation the cookie had been placed on a paper doilie (sp). There had been a peanut butter cookie on that doilie (sp) and the oils from that cookie had rubbed off onto the cookie which she ate.

 

The kitchen crew must be extremely attentive to all these details when dealing with such situations. It's not just the foods themselves but any food which it may come in contact with.

[Chip and Dale]

I hemmed and hawed about posting, but I'm really very curious.

 

My son is going to be 18 and is allergic to Nuts. All nuts, not just peanuts. He can eat anything cooked in peanut oil though. He has a sixth sense of what NOT to eat. I carry an Epipen and so does he - but not most of the time. :rolleyes: He insists he has a sense that he will never become anaphylactic.

 

We always book with RCI and have never used a TA.

 

RCI has never asked if anyone has food allergies.

 

The one time we cruised on [CCL], when we booked they did ask about food allergies, and my son had a personal dining assistant on the cruise. She came to the table every night, gave him a menu for the next day and took his order that night. Everything was prepared in nut free pans, etc. She was very pleasant and made him feel special and not awkward about pre ordering.

 

My Question: In light of the recent NCL Epic tragedy, Im curious how do you handle YOUR known food allergies while on board?

 

And, Am I missing something on Royal? Should they be asking? From now on I am going to tell them.

 

I am severely allergic to seafood and tarragon, and also allergic to mushrooms and wheat. I have almost died from the seafood allergy a couple of times. I carry an epipen and Benadryl with me at all times. Sometimes anaphylactic shock can creep up on a person, but at times can cause death in less than 3 minutes.

 

About 3 - 4 weeks before each cruise I email foodallergies@rccl.com and provide my name, ship, reservation number, who is travelling with me and a list of my allergies. I receive an email response acknowledging my information. When we board we go to see the Maitre D and they have always had the info when they checked. RCCL does have a protocol that is supposed to be followed with severe allergies. The head waiter is to provide the person affected with the menu for the next day and make sure that this order is given to the kitchen. My food is often served to me by the head waiter, some will allow the waiter to serve me, it varies by ship. Some of the head waiters have been absolutely phenomenol providing me with rice pasta and sauces that contained no wheat. For some of them nothing is too much trouble and they have gone out of their way to accomodate me, others have not been as helpful. On Independence in Jan this year, the first week the dining staff were incredible the 2nd week the waiter and assistant could not quite compremend that with a wheat allergy there is no need to offer me bread every time they come around. The head waiter was practically non-existent and treated me like I was an onconvenience.

 

The person with the allergy must speak up. The dining staff is usually very good, but there are those who have never seen someone have a severe allergic reaction and cannot comprehend how serious it can be. I'm not shy about protecting myself, if need be I make sure that the wait staff take my allergies seriously. We always request a table for 2 so that we don't inconvenience others at our table and have usually been accomodated. The only exception to this is if we are travelling with someone. I just made a reservation for Explorer in October and told the Rep at RCI that we wanted a table for 2 and that I have severe allergies. She actually put it on the Reservation this time with the request. I thought that it was a great idea.

 

Be vigilant, notify RCI and make sure your son does the same and he should be fine.

Have a great cruise!

Dee

[Sugar*Magnolia]

I am severely allergic to seafood and tarragon, and also allergic to mushrooms and wheat. I have almost died from the seafood allergy a couple of times. I carry an epipen and Benadryl with me at all times. Sometimes anaphylactic shock can creep up on a person, but at times can cause death in less than 3 minutes.

 

About 3 - 4 weeks before each cruise I email foodallergies@rccl.com and provide my name, ship, reservation number, who is travelling with me and a list of my allergies. I receive an email response acknowledging my information. When we board we go to see the Maitre D and they have always had the info when they checked. RCCL does have a protocol that is supposed to be followed with severe allergies. The head waiter is to provide the person affected with the menu for the next day and make sure that this order is given to the kitchen. My food is often served to me by the head waiter, some will allow the waiter to serve me, it varies by ship. Some of the head waiters have been absolutely phenomenol providing me with rice pasta and sauces that contained no wheat. For some of them nothing is too much trouble and they have gone out of their way to accomodate me, others have not been as helpful. On Independence in Jan this year, the first week the dining staff were incredible the 2nd week the waiter and assistant could not quite compremend that with a wheat allergy there is no need to offer me bread every time they come around. The head waiter was practically non-existent and treated me like I was an onconvenience.

 

The person with the allergy must speak up. The dining staff is usually very good, but there are those who have never seen someone have a severe allergic reaction and cannot comprehend how serious it can be. I'm not shy about protecting myself, if need be I make sure that the wait staff take my allergies seriously. We always request a table for 2 so that we don't inconvenience others at our table and have usually been accomodated. The only exception to this is if we are travelling with someone. I just made a reservation for Explorer in October and told the Rep at RCI that we wanted a table for 2 and that I have severe allergies. She actually put it on the Reservation this time with the request. I thought that it was a great idea.

 

Be vigilant, notify RCI and make sure your son does the same and he should be fine.

Have a great cruise!

Dee

 

Wow! Thanks for sharing your story, Dee and how you address RCI with your food allergies! I really appreciate it. DS thinks because he has never had an episode of anaphylaxis that it will never happen. I, on the otherhand know that it can go either way. One day it can just happen, or he might very well grow out of it someday (?). I make sure to bring it up often enough that he knows to be vigilant when need be. Like he says, if he goes somewhere and orders a hamburger he isnt going to ask questions about it. He is even able to eat Thai food (that doesnt contain nuts), but most likely has been cooked in the same pans. I thank G_d most every day that he has never had a severe reaction and consider myself and DS lucky.

 

NordicPrince, it sounds like your niece definitely carries an Epipen or two.

[Jimnbigd]

Would it be better to have a fixed dining time (traditional dining) for evening dinner? That way the waiter would know in advance after the first night.

[Aurora2143]

Sorry to dig up an old post. I notice this thread talks about the MDR. What about the specialty restaurants? If you notify RCCL of your allergy, will the specialty restaurants also have the information?

 

I've developed shellfish allergy about 6 years ago and on my last cruise, I noticed my reactions are getting worse. DH thinks we should notify RCCL for our upcoming cruise.

 

Thanks in advance for your replies.

[NorbertsNiece]

If you are booking a specialty restaurant or eating really anywhere else on board other than the MDR you need to give them a personal heads up at least the day before of your needs. Dining in the Windjammer buffet can also be difficult and I highly recommend speaking to a chef and getting him/her involved.

[Aurora2143]

If you are booking a specialty restaurant or eating really anywhere else on board other than the MDR you need to give them a personal heads up at least the day before of your needs. Dining in the Windjammer buffet can also be difficult and I highly recommend speaking to a chef and getting him/her involved.

 

Thank you very much for responding. :)

[thefer]

Hi

 

I travel on RCI with food allergies (strawberries and oranges). My reactions are severe enough to require an EPI pen if I ingest or if there is cross contamination. On my last cruise, my TA notified RCI. They red flagged my seapass. When I got on board, I went down to the dinning room and talked to the maitre d. They talked to my waiter. Once we went through the first dinner, my waiter was on top of it and always told me what I was allowed to eat. He reviewed the next dinner menus. If there is something I couldn't have such as for desert, he would have something else. One time, he went to the crew dining and got me a piece of pecan pie (yum).

 

In the speciality restaurants, I let them know when I made the reservation. Again, no problems whatsoever. They go through the menu with me at the beginning of my meal and informed me what was safe. It was listed on my seapass. The windjammer was a different story. It was very hard to accommodate my request. I had a close call. After that, I went to the main dining room and they were able to provide me things I could eat such as fresh cut watermelon.

 

I felt very comfortable eating in all of the places except for the windjammer. I had to be on top of it. It was also very difficult to ask them to give me watermelon without the strawberries. It usually took a manager and showing them my epi pen to get the point across.

[Aurora2143]

Hi

 

I travel on RCI with food allergies (strawberries and oranges). My reactions are severe enough to require an EPI pen if I ingest or if there is cross contamination. On my last cruise, my TA notified RCI. They red flagged my seapass. When I got on board, I went down to the dinning room and talked to the maitre d. They talked to my waiter. Once we went through the first dinner, my waiter was on top of it and always told me what I was allowed to eat. He reviewed the next dinner menus. If there is something I couldn't have such as for desert, he would have something else. One time, he went to the crew dining and got me a piece of pecan pie (yum).

 

In the speciality restaurants, I let them know when I made the reservation. Again, no problems whatsoever. They go through the menu with me at the beginning of my meal and informed me what was safe. It was listed on my seapass. The windjammer was a different story. It was very hard to accommodate my request. I had a close call. After that, I went to the main dining room and they were able to provide me things I could eat such as fresh cut watermelon.

 

I felt very comfortable eating in all of the places except for the windjammer. I had to be on top of it. It was also very difficult to ask them to give me watermelon without the strawberries. It usually took a manager and showing them my epi pen to get the point across.

 

Thank you. Your post makes me feel a lot better.

I'm fairly new with this allergy and it's been really hard to give it up. I've just been loading up on Benadryl and kept eating the stuff, but on this last cruise we noticed that my reactions were getting worse and starting to look at the allergy more seriously. It's just so hard to give up your favorite foods!

[RockeyBullwinkle]

I hemmed and hawed about posting, but I'm really very curious.

 

My son is going to be 18 and is allergic to Nuts. All nuts, not just peanuts. He can eat anything cooked in peanut oil though. He has a sixth sense of what NOT to eat. I carry an Epipen and so does he - but not most of the time. :rolleyes: He insists he has a sense that he will never become anaphylactic.

 

We always book with RCI and have never used a TA.

 

RCI has never asked if anyone has food allergies.

 

The one time we cruised on [CCL], when we booked they did ask about food allergies, and my son had a personal dining assistant on the cruise. She came to the table every night, gave him a menu for the next day and took his order that night. Everything was prepared in nut free pans, etc. She was very pleasant and made him feel special and not awkward about pre ordering.

 

My Question: In light of the recent NCL Epic tragedy, Im curious how do you handle YOUR known food allergies while on board?

 

And, Am I missing something on Royal? Should they be asking? From now on I am going to tell them.

 

 

not too bright unless you are always with him.

[thefer]

Hi Aurora,

 

I used benadryl for a while and continued to eat the food that I was allergic too. Then one day, benadryl didn't work and I was on amtrak going through California and had a reaction. When I got to my stop, I went directly to the hospital.

 

If I were you, I would get into an allergy dr and get tested. If you can't do that before your cruise, have your family dr write a prescription for an epi pen and keep it on you.

 

My first line of attack is benadryl. If I start having breathing problems, then it is epi time. Just a couple weeks ago, I had a severe allergic reaction to an antibiotic that I was on for pneumonia. At that time, I was breaking out in massive hives and my mouth was tingling. I loaded up on benadryl and rode it out. The next morning, I was admited due to the reaction and pneumonia. I later found out that I was having an allergic reaction.

 

Don't take a chance with it. The reaction will get worse and worse. I do not take a chance with keep eating a food that I am allergic too.

[Aurora2143]

Hi Aurora,

 

I used benadryl for a while and continued to eat the food that I was allergic too. Then one day, benadryl didn't work and I was on amtrak going through California and had a reaction. When I got to my stop, I went directly to the hospital.

 

If I were you, I would get into an allergy dr and get tested. If you can't do that before your cruise, have your family dr write a prescription for an epi pen and keep it on you.

 

My first line of attack is benadryl. If I start having breathing problems, then it is epi time. Just a couple weeks ago, I had a severe allergic reaction to an antibiotic that I was on for pneumonia. At that time, I was breaking out in massive hives and my mouth was tingling. I loaded up on benadryl and rode it out. The next morning, I was admited due to the reaction and pneumonia. I later found out that I was having an allergic reaction.

 

Don't take a chance with it. The reaction will get worse and worse. I do not take a chance with keep eating a food that I am allergic too.

 

Thanks thefer. I actually did make an appointment with an allergist today.

I really feel that God was warning me this last cruise. I totally overdosed on a lot of crab on our first excursion and planned on doing the same on the next two. Wouldn't you know in Juneau we didn't have time to go to the planned restaurant and the one in Ketchikan burned own the week before.

My reactions also were worse even with Benadryl with breathing difficulties and dizziness.

DH and I feel it's time o take it seriously.

Thanks!

 

 

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[ehfl]

At this age, he's probably grown out of the allergy. Nut allergies are one of the most frequent that disappear after a few exposures. If you're concerned, see an allergist. They can test for this. If he still has an allergy, they can do a couple of controlled exposures to eliminate it in most cases.

 

You should fully complete the online profile, including special dietary needs. Also, discuss with your waiter. Keep the epi-pens handy just in case.

[Merion_Mom]

At this age, he's probably grown out of the allergy. Nut allergies are one of the most frequent that disappear after a few exposures. If you're concerned, see an allergist. They can test for this. If he still has an allergy, they can do a couple of controlled exposures to eliminate it in most cases.

 

You should fully complete the online profile, including special dietary needs. Also, discuss with your waiter. Keep the epi-pens handy just in case.

 

If you are replying to the OP, CruiseDivaNJ, please be aware that this thread is three years old and her son would now be 20 and she is unlikely to ever read this thread again. :)

[Aurora2143]

If you are replying to the OP, CruiseDivaNJ, please be aware that this thread is three years old and her son would now be 20 and she is unlikely to ever read this thread again. :)

 

If you go back about a page or so, I did say that I was digging up an old thread.

If I would have started a new one, I would have been told to do a search, which is exactly what I did.

 

 

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