2 year old with Food Allergies

[thewolffs]

Has anyone cruised with a child with food allergies? My daughter has egg, dairy and peanut allergy. I'm wondering if soy milk will be available. I emailed the special needs dept. Waiting to hear back. Any advice?

[6rugrats]

Yes, wait to hear back from the Special Needs Dept. and discuss your concerns with them.

 

Thousands of people cruise who have food allergies, and the cruiselines are well equipted to deal with them.

[thewolffs]

Just curious to hear from someone who sailed with a little one to see how it was. Milk is in so many "kid friendly" foods, like chicken nuggets and hot dogs. I hope they are able to provide those. Soy milk is a biggie too.

 

Thanks!

[cb at sea]

They'll have soy milk....you'll hear back and it will be fine.

[onthelake]

It looks like you are going on the NCL Jewel in January - try posting on the NCL board about food allergies. I know there have been several threads lately on the Princess board and people are very pleased with how the dining staff/chef has responded to their needs. As others have said, these are now (unfortunately) very common allergies and the cruise lines are happy to help you cope successfully.

[fivefirsts]

My youngest DD has a dairy allergy. Last year we were on the NCL Spirit, and at the Meet and Greet we met the Food and Beverage Manager and the Resturant Manager. I asked about food allergies. (She was only 1 and not eating very much) They assigned us our own asst. Matre d and made reservations for us in the main dining room (at any time we wanted!). The Matre D' would meet us at our table each night, and was very aware of all the ingredients. He would have special meals made up for us if the dishes contained dairy. For our DD we mainly ordered off the main menu (not the kid's menu). We just got off the Spirit today, and both managers remembered us at the Meet and Greet. One night at dinner I asked if the Strawberry soup was made with any dairy. Our matre d' said, "Yes," he left with our dinner order, and returned with a strawberry puree just for her! We had actually ordered her something else. I couldn't believe how accommodatingthe crew was for us. I did not ask about soy milk, we just brought our own. We have found each has a slightly different flavor, and did not want to try something new. My Mother took the Behind the Scenes tour, and told us there is a special kitchen on the NCL Spirit just for preparing foods for those with food allergies. Overall we did not have any issues, and my DD was able to enjoy many foods. Best of luck, I know how scary it can be when you are trusting others to prepare food for an allergic child.

[MamaParrotHead]

My son is also in the peanut and egg boat. We didn't have an issue with the food, after notifying the cruiseline of it. BUT we DID have an issue while eating breakfast in the lido buffet area. My son SAT in some egg that must have been spilled/ground in into the upholstry. My advice would be to bring something for her to sit on, make sure the surface is wiped down in front of you and/or make sure it's a vinyl or plastic surface she's sitting on rather than a fabric one (where the bits and pieces can hide).

[thewolffs]

Thank you!!!

[thewolffs]

For anyone who is interested, NCL does offer soy milk, dairy free hot dogs and chicken nuggets. I'm sure they offer lots of other stuff too. I only asked about those.

[imsulin]

Stupid question, but what's up with all of these "food allergies" these days? Who is "diagnosing" these food allergies? Mine (born between 1973 and 1983) had no food allergies at all (neither did any of their little friends) and no one really heard about this. It just wasn't a "thing". I grew up in the 40's-50's-60's with two little brothers, and "food allergies" was unheard of. Geez...we were all pretty healthy! It seems to me that "food allergies" are pretty much a common thing these days. I'm just wondering why????

[thewolffs]

Some say it's the fact that we aren't exposed to as many germs now. Their immune systems are weaker. Who really knows why? My daughter was diagnosed by an allergist after she broke out in hives after eating yogurt. The 4th time she had peanut butter the same thing happened. Luckily, it was never more than that. I had an idea, since she was on hypoallergenic formula. Couldn't digest the regular formula and she'd get a rash. She is a twin and her sister has no allergies. She is outgrowing her dairy and egg allergy. Hopefully, in the next 6 months or so. I can't wait for that.

[njmomof2]

We have friends whose daughter has life threatening nut allergies. They have been advised to never take her on a cruise. I read all of these stories about how people with kids who have these allergies talk to special services, get help in the dining room, etc, but her issue is not only ingestion, but contact and inhalation as well.

 

Our biggest fear is not that she'll eat something, but that she'll touch something that was previously touched by someone who had a peanut butter cookie or something like that. How do you manage to sanitize an entire ship? Like a PP mentioned, her son sat on a chair where there must have been a previous spill of egg, and he had a reaction. This is what we fear, and being out to sea is too scary.

 

If it were just ingestion, I think we could manage. But her situation puts a different spin on it. Just can't find a way around it.

[Charity0000]

Hi --

 

To the OP, we just got back from the NCL Epic and my 20 month daughter has a peanut allergy. I was a little nervous at first, but things turned out great. The special needs dept. contacted me via email the week before the cruise and let me know that I should go to guest services once I got on board. We did that and met the Maitre'd who let us know that we should ask for the the maitre'd at every restaurant we ate at and let them know and they would advise us if what we were ordering was nut free. Everyone was VERY accommodating and helpful. Whenever we would see the maitre'd or the assistant maitre'd they would come by and say hello and make sure everything was ok. As a general rule, they told me to always avoid the pastries, desserts and breads - bc they all may or may not have nuts.

 

Best of Luck!

[dolphinwyo]

Food allergies are a real concern, diagnosed by doctors or allergists. I have been told by a dr. that our overuse of antibac products may increase allergies as your immune system doesn't have anything else to fight off. Who knows - but food allergies are on the rise and are real. Our son was diagnosed when he first ate peanut butter and broke out in hives. I work in a preschool and there are always several children with allergies - they are not self-diagnosed cases. But you will know if your child has a real allergy - it is very scary.

 

Our peanut allergic son has been on 2 cruises without incident. Camp will have special forms to fill out too. I am going to purchase temporary tattoos that state his allergy to put on his arm that reminds everyone. (found online)

He is very aware of his allergy, and we just take precautions and keep his medicine with us. Sanitize all surfaces. (I do this at preschool too - I sanitize the table and chair areas before kids with allergies sit for snack)

Take extra precautions and have a great cruise!

[wdwfamily]

Of course the decision to go on a cruise with a child who has life threatening allergies is a personal decision but I wanted to let you know that we cruise with 3 children and 1 adult who has life threatening allergies. 1 of the children is allergic to trace amounts of peanuts and treentus. We use the same amount of caution on the boat as we do off. You can't sanitize an entire ship but you also can't sanitize the entire world. When out in public we wash hands often. We are never without EpiPens (yes, plural....I bring at least 4 per allergic person). When we go off the ship we NEVER eat unless we are at a chain restaurant and the people speak clear english (like Grand Cayman). We actually feel safer cruising out of the country than taking a regular old vacation out of the country. They "deep clean" our rooms before arrival and we also give them a quick one over (for my sanity). We are eating in the same restaurants over and over so we are comfortable with them and they with us.

 

Our allergist was surprised we chose to cruise but once we explained why we made that choice and said he couldn't agree more and now recomends it to others :)

 

We have friends whose daughter has life threatening nut allergies. They have been advised to never take her on a cruise. I read all of these stories about how people with kids who have these allergies talk to special services, get help in the dining room, etc, but her issue is not only ingestion, but contact and inhalation as well.

 

Our biggest fear is not that she'll eat something, but that she'll touch something that was previously touched by someone who had a peanut butter cookie or something like that. How do you manage to sanitize an entire ship? Like a PP mentioned, her son sat on a chair where there must have been a previous spill of egg, and he had a reaction. This is what we fear, and being out to sea is too scary.

 

If it were just ingestion, I think we could manage. But her situation puts a different spin on it. Just can't find a way around it.

[uppitycats]

We have friends whose daughter has life threatening nut allergies. They have been advised to never take her on a cruise. I read all of these stories about how people with kids who have these allergies talk to special services, get help in the dining room, etc, but her issue is not only ingestion, but contact and inhalation as well.

 

Our biggest fear is not that she'll eat something, but that she'll touch something that was previously touched by someone who had a peanut butter cookie or something like that. How do you manage to sanitize an entire ship? Like a PP mentioned, her son sat on a chair where there must have been a previous spill of egg, and he had a reaction. This is what we fear, and being out to sea is too scary.

 

If it were just ingestion, I think we could manage. But her situation puts a different spin on it. Just can't find a way around it.

 

How does your friends child get along in the rest of the world?? No, you can't sanitize everything on the ship..but you can't in the school room, restaurant, movie theatre, grocery store, pharmacy, library -- anywhere else in the world, either! If her allergies are SO severe that they're keeping her locked in their house, then the concerns are justified. Otherwise, they need to talk with their doctor, find out what they need to take with them to prevent -- as much as possible -- her coming in contact with the things she's allergic to, and let the child live! I can't imagine why someone would advise them to specifically avoid cruising?!

[junglejane]

We have two kids with food allergies. One is allergic to peanuts, the other is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, and certain fish. We actually like cruising because we have found the cruise lines to be much more helpful and accomodating than the average restaurant. When we go on a land vacation (or visit ports on cruises) we often encounter language barriers or a "not my problem" attitude when we ask about food ingredients. Our kids actually feel much more confident and less anxious when they eat on the ship, especially in the MDR. I always carry two Epipens and a packet of Benadryl with me, onboard and in port. We do Traditional Dining, so that we deal with the same wait staff at every dinner. The staff has always been very helpful.

 

We leave on Sunday for a land trip to San Francisco. I know that we will have issues at every meal about the food allergies. Our kids are now 9 and almost 14. Part of what we have to do is to train them how to ask questions and be cautious themselves, because they have reached the age when they aren't with us 24/7 and we can't control every single bite of food that goes into their mouths.

[thedoc29ca]

Our son has a severe peanut allergy. As previous posters have mentioned we found cruising - Carnival Liberty - to be very accomodating. We have had more issues on land based vacations with the exceotion of Disneyworld. Epi pens never leave his side and he does not eat in Port unless it is a pre-packaged item we brought with us.

[cantw8togo]

For anyone who is interested, NCL does offer soy milk, dairy free hot dogs and chicken nuggets. I'm sure they offer lots of other stuff too. I only asked about those.

 

It's good to know that NCL stocks these items. We have just booked a cruise on Epic that leaves in 2 1/2 weeks and I am trying to find out as much as I can. This is our DS's 4th cruise, but our first with NCL so I'm interested in finding out how well NCL deals with dairy allergies. Are the french fries dairy free too? Does anyone know if they have dairy free sorbets and other kid friendly desserts besides jello?

 

My 7 yr old son was diagnosed when he was 3 mos old. I was nursing him at the time and I had to go off dairy for over a year. It was really hard as I am a poster girl for dairy consumption LOL! but it was certainly worth it. While he is not anaphylactic and technically not allergic, he is highly sensitive to dairy protein. We have sinced figured out that his dairy allergy is a trigger for asthma which is in the form of chronic coughing fits, usually at 3 AM. It has taken a lot of detective work to figure it all out and to find out what foods are safe to eat, but we finally have a handle on it.

 

N.

[kaseykahnefan]

Hi. I am speaking for experience with someone who has a severe peanut allergy. I am 35 and have had this all my life. I have never grown out of it. If I injest it then i go into anaphylitic shock... Immediately. My throat closes, my chest compresses, and i throw up. My tounge swells and my lips swell. I have been on four cruises. I stay away from the deserts, mainly cookies on the buffet. Its all about being careful. I have eaten off ship and have never had a problem... I am just careful about what I order... I make sure things are not fried in peanut oil and so on and so forth. I have never sanatized a chair or a table. And if I touch the a peanut i break out in a rash. If i inhale any peanut scent i feel sick, and start having allergies (runny nose, itchy eyes). What I do is to make sure I have my epi-pin and my benadryl on ship with me and accessible. I have not spoken with special needs but after a peanut was on my little salad the maitre d girl came over and make sure i was taken care of. I may not have children who have allergies but I have dealt with this issue my life. FYI Don't trust Chinese food. there are hidden peanuts and peanut butter in everything....