Royal Carribean Executives - Please Read

[CVU]

[quote name='Karma5']Food allergies are very serious and can cause death.[/quote]
Knew of a teen girl that ate 1 french fry that had been fried in peanut oil. She died in minutes! The one time her epi pen was not on her.............

[kyriecat]

[quote name='temple1']Or, sometimes people just want attention. I don't think I've ever heard of such an allergy. That is not saying there isn't such and I'm sure at least 10 people on the boards have 14 second cousins and 3 nephews with such an allergy.[/QUOTE]I used to break out in hives if I ate strawberries. My aunt still does with strawberries and tomatoes. The reaction only seems to occur with eating them and not with touching or smelling them, but neither of those has much scent. Citrus has a stronger scent so I guess the scent could be enough to set off an allergic reaction. I've never encountered another person with a citrus allergy so I assume it's not very common.

I found the Chili's restaurant menu online and copied the disclaimer that they use:
[quote]Please be aware that during normal kitchen operations involving shared cooking and preparation areas, including common fryer oil, the possibility exists for food items to come in contact with other food products. Due to these circumstances, we are unable to guarantee that any menu entrée can be completely free of allergens.[/quote]I would assume that even if RC started adding symbols to their menu to designate the common allegies (corn, soy, dairy, nuts, shellfish, wheat, etc.) they would probably still add a statement like the one found above to protect themselves. It would be very difficult in a busy kitchen to say without a doubt that no cross-contamination occurs.

[hooked-on-travel]

[quote name='temple1']
To the OP - sorry they put almond paste in the pastry. I don't think they were trying to pull something over on passengers by "sneaking" it into the food. I think someone forgot for a moment about it being actual almonds. I'm torn on your actual question though. [/quote]

It's definitely easy to not think about something, even when it should be obvious. For example, I was working on diagnosing my lactose intolerance. I was eating lactose free, but still sometimes having problems. I finally read the label on my peanut M&Ms. It said lactose. Then I hit myself on the head and thought about it. MILK chocolate. Duh. Milk. I know that's not the same as an allergy, but seriously, it should have been obvious to me, but was not b/c I just didn't think about it (there's milk in milk chocolate).

[BND]

[quote name='Karma5']Food allergies are very serious and can cause death.[/QUOTE]

True, but the vast majority of people aren't dangerously allergic to anything. It's still pretty rare. I know ONE child with peanut allergies. It should be up to the individual with allergies (or their family) to be in charge and responsible for making sure they aren't exposed, not the majority having to change the way they live. I'm allergic to shrimp and I dont' expect anyone to be responsible about it but me. Fortunately it's gastrointestinal (I guess it's fortunate since I end up throwing up for 6+ hours if I eat any) but it could always become anaphylactic which is why I always ask if there's any chance. I certainly don't expect everyone else to change the way they live for me. Anyone with severe allergies should be carrying an epi-pen and I probably should take benadryl with me for the off chance.

And for the OP, the vast majority of pies/tarts/fruit desserts with any type of crust/topping probably has nuts in it. The OP just assumed without asking and anyone with allergies knows to ask.

[Langley Cruisers]

[quote name='BND']The OP just assumed without asking and anyone with allergies knows to ask.[/quote]

I do agree with you here. I do not think the almond paste was "sneaked" into the pastry as she stated and I am glad her reaction was not life threatening. As I stated earlier, my son has a nut allergy and I know well how difficult it is to live with this.

Having said that, I also think we are at the mercy of our wait staff who MUST know every single ingredient in every dish in order to give as passenger the correct information. What if she did ask, and the waiter said "No nuts." or at the very least, "I don't believe so." What then? Whose fault when an allergic passenger reacts? Waiter for not knowing or passenger for not heeding/being more careful?

We could argue this one into the ground. :cool:

[gogo65]

At my children's school a few years ago, they banned peanut butter and nuts in the school grounds due to a few children that had allergies. Within 6 months diary products were banned due to allergies and the some citrus fruit and strawberries.
Eventually it became ridiculous, so the school had to institue a new rule, those chldren who had allergies had to eat their lunch in a room supervised by teachers. it is extremely diffiuclt to provde a healthy lunch to children that does not contain diary, nuts and fruit.
I'm lucky my children do not have allerigies, but I still do not give them nut products at school because I have seen children die from allergies (I am a peadiatric nurse) but I do believe there has to be some common sense
Just my opinion:)

[cruisecrasy]

[quote name='Langley Cruisers']I do agree with you here. I do not think the almond paste was "sneaked" into the pastry as she stated and I am glad her reaction was not life threatening. As I stated earlier, my son has a nut allergy and I know well how difficult it is to live with this.

Having said that, I also think we are at the mercy of our wait staff who MUST know every single ingredient in every dish in order to give as passenger the correct information. What if she did ask, and the waiter said "No nuts." or at the very least, "I don't believe so." What then? Whose fault when an allergic passenger reacts? Waiter for not knowing or passenger for not heeding/being more careful?

We could argue this one into the ground. :cool:[/QUOTE]

Your question is simple to answer -the one at fault is the one that cld be affected!

[cruisecrasy]

[quote name='jamies78']So in your opinion we should cancel our cruise and keep my son locked in a bubble? He knows not to eat most stuff, and we will monitor what he touches and eats. No, we will not do Adventure Ocean, I would not expect them to ban peanuts for my son, so we won't go. But to not take him on a cruise because of his allergy?

I don't expect the world to stop because of my son's allergies. I never said anything like that. We don't go to the Cincinnati Reds baseball games because of his allergy, but I would NEVER call the stadium to complain and have them ban peanuts for my son. That is extreme!! But if a coach of a team asked parents not to bring peanut snacks, then I would certainly comply with that to keep all the kids safe. I believe that is the respectful thing to do, and it teaches your children to respect others and to follow the rules. Good job Mom! Way to be a rebel and break the rules!!

Yes, I carry Epi-pens everywhere and there is one in every room of my house!!! I also carry Benadryl and have it on hand at all times. I have been lucky enough to only use the Epi once, but he still was hospitalized.[/QUOTE]

Then, if u take him on a cruise knowing the risks, you agree to accept the responsibility if anything happens to your son on the cruise & of course wldn't sue because its your fault & not the cruiselines - right??

[Lynnees]

[quote name='cruisecrasy']Lets not be too harsh here please. I tend to agree with 'sandinmypants' esp in regard to offering non-allergic children reg. pb rather than the other kind..Why shld the majority be denied by the minority? This is still a democracy isn't it or was the last time I checked....

I certainly wld not advocate offering young children a choice but older ones yes!! By a certain age children have been taught to make careful choices or darn well shld have been and they carry the 'pen' in case they inadvertently get a 'nut' or do decide to gamble...:)
And as far as those that are severely allergic - deathly so in fact and they are a tiny minority - well then, they shld take a lot of extra precautions like staying away from anywhere where they might be affected &/or their parents should..& be sure & carry the 'pen' which can save their life...
Sorry the majority still rules..the tiny minority IMO shldn't dictate to others..

For example what about on a cruiseship - are u suggesting nuts or say shellfish be disallowed in everything just because perhaps one person on the cruise is severely allergic? That is selfish and wldn't/won't happen..It is that person or their parents responsibility to make sure they are not exposed and are safe..I am not saying we can't be careful or considerate but to ask hundreds, even thousands to sacrifice for one is silly but JMO..

As far as the OPs suggestion to put a symbol beside food items I heartily concur being allergic myself & yes, I need to carry the 'pen'!!

Great idea..thanks for posting...:)[/QUOTE]

You miss my point completely. I believe she was nasty because she purposely did what she did just so she could be a "rebel". That sir, is just plain nasty and cruel.

[CruisinNole]

I sympathize with the OP but I don't think it's realistic to expect RCI to put stickers on their menus to designate nuts in the food. I don't think I've ever seen a restaurant menu that does this. I have seen menus, usually Chinese food, that say "we cook with peanut oil" or "we use/don't use MSG". What do you do about people who require a gluten-free diet or can't eat MSG? How do you fairly address all allergy or dietary restrictions?

One idea I can think of would be to put allergy related info in the galley. On the galley tour on Celebrity, we saw a wall with photos of all the items on the menu. I don't know if RCI does the photo display as well but it seems like maybe the ingredients could be listed by or on the photo. Would not help much on the buffet but at least the servers in the main dining room would be able to check the food to see if nuts or other problem ingredients are in the dish.

[nrdsb4]

[quote name='jamies78']S
Yes, I carry Epi-pens everywhere and there is one in every room of my house!!! I also carry Benadryl and have it on hand at all times. I have been lucky enough to only use the Epi once, but he still was hospitalized.[/quote]

I just cannot imagine having to live like that. Must be very scary and stressful all the time.

It's OT, I know, but I don't remember ever hearing about these life threatening peanut allergies in my youth. Do we just have more access to news nowadays, or are these allergies increasing-do we know why?

As to the OP, I agree that it would be a good policy to have a nut icon next to any food item made with peanuts or tree nuts. I don't agree, however, that they are "sneaking" nuts into food. Nuts, nut oils, and nut extracts have been ingredients in many dishes for eons.

[cruisecrasy]

[quote name='Lynnees']You miss my point completely. I believe she was nasty because she purposely did what she did just so she could be a "rebel". That sir, is just plain nasty and cruel.[/QUOTE]

This was said 'tongue in cheek' - u are taking the comment literally..with no flexibility...
Forcing someone who is allergic to eat something they will react to wld be considered nasty & cruel - so what wld u call that?

But all JMO and u have yours - we are all entitled to have them, right or wrong, as we wish - isn't democracy great :)