gluten-free dining Holland America

[goodroe]

Has anyone had experience with the gluten-free dining choice.? We are sailing on the Rotterdam in May and my spouse is gluten-free for health reasons(not by choice). Have only seen one comment and that was not favorable.

 

Have faxed my request to Ship Services and called and confirmed. Will also call to confirm just before sailing. Thanks.

 

 

Happy sailing to all!!

[booboo2000]

i can not eat yeast extract (preservative in most premade broths)

i asked in the dining buffet and they immediately had someone talk to me about what was in what foods

they will help you in any way if you ask

but get information directly from the chefs

 

i assume you read this post

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1204884

 

good luck

there is still great eatings

 

i am diabetic as well

still great eatings for me yumyum cant wait

[V and S]

My husband faxed the gluten free request on our first HAL cruise, and everything was just fine. On our second HAL cruise, he just asked the waiters, who would check with the chef. No problem. There were always tasty gluten-free breads, rolls, etc. available.

[goodroe]

Thanks for the replies. I did not find all the postings about gluten-free until after I had posted (new to cruise critic). Should have done a more thorough search. Happy to hear that it should be just fine.:)

[bepsf]

Thanks for the replies. I did not find all the postings about gluten-free until after I had posted (new to cruise critic). Should have done a more thorough search. Happy to hear that it should be just fine.:)

 

Yes, the wait staff take very good care of these issues.

I hope you'll have fixed seating as it's easier if you have a regular waiter to take care of any special dietary needs for you - Your waiter will be able to have GF bread waiting for you at your table when you arrive every evening.

 

In addition, I highly recommend breakfast in the MDR as you can enjoy your GF pancakes, English Muffins, etc. without an undue waits in lines in the Lido.

[goodroe]

Yes, the wait staff take very good care of these issues.

I hope you'll have fixed seating as it's easier if you have a regular waiter to take care of any special dietary needs for you - Your waiter will be able to have GF bread waiting for you at your table when you arrive every evening.

 

In addition, I highly recommend breakfast in the MDR as you can enjoy your GF pancakes, English Muffins, etc. without an undue waits in lines in the Lido.

Thanks for your answer. It's great to hear that it shouldn't be a problem. HAL did recommend the MDR when I made the reservation saying it would be easer. Guess I can quit worrying about this issue and can start packing.

 

 

Counting the days!! -

[Islandergirl]

For my upcoming cruise this July, I had to fill out 2 forms. I had to pick from a variety of gluten-free foods and it said I would have to pay if I picked more than 3 from each least per day. It was kind of a complicated form, but I plan on stocking up on my gluten-free snack bars for port days. I think there will be plenty of options. I will be happy with rice and some meat. I'm really not a picky eater, but I can't eat gluten, I am lactose intolerant, and I am allergic to dairy. Who wants to take me out for dinner? LOL.

 

I wouldn't worry though, there seem to be a growing number of gluten-free people out there and I appreciate them accommodating us.

[bepsf]

For my upcoming cruise this July, I had to fill out 2 forms. I had to pick from a variety of gluten-free foods and it said I would have to pay if I picked more than 3 from each least per day. It was kind of a complicated form...

 

I've never filled out that form for the very simple reason that I don't know what I'll want to eat a couple months away when I don't know what the menu items are going to be or what kind of mood I'll be in - IMO, This is HAL's greatest failing when it comes to serving GF guests.

However, I've never had any issues onboard with getting what I need when I order it despite not completing this form - and if they happen to run out of one thing such as a GF English Muffin, I can accept a substitution for something else they do still have such as GF bread.

[fsdj1097]

We just returned from our Southern Caribbean cruise aboard the Westerdam. My son had submitted the gluten free meal form a few months prior to embarkation. In the MDR, he was presented with gluten free bread, rolls, and desserts. He thought they were delicious. When he would ask for gluten free bread in the Lido, they didn't have it readily available, but were willing to go get it from the galley.

[mtemzt]

Has anyone had experience with the gluten-free dining choice.? We are sailing on the Rotterdam in May and my spouse is gluten-free for health reasons(not by choice). Have only seen one comment and that was not favorable.

 

Have faxed my request to Ship Services and called and confirmed. Will also call to confirm just before sailing. Thanks.

 

 

Happy sailing to all!!

 

 

I have sailed twice with Holland and on both ocassions I have been more than satisfied with obtaining a gluten free diet. For dining ensure you enlighten the dining room manager as well as your table attendants of your requirement. From that point on they will be most accommodating. If they are on the ball they will offer you the next days menu for your to choose from. In many cases they can modify an item for you.

 

Any time you dine in the main dining room ensure the staff are aware of your need for a gluten free meal. The will accommodate.

 

If you choose to eat in the Lido it becomes a little more challenging but not impossible to be satsified. Check with the head Chef for the Lido as to what is gluten free for you to choose from (buffet style eating).

 

Bottom line is if you talk to the managers and staff they will be more than happy to satisfy your diet.

 

I've had great experience and in fact look forward to my next experience this July.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I have sailed twice with Holland and on both ocassions I have been more than satisfied with obtaining a gluten free diet. For dining ensure you enlighten the dining room manager as well as your table attendants of your requirement. From that point on they will be most accommodating. If they are on the ball they will offer you the next days menu for your to choose from. In many cases they can modify an item for you.

 

Any time you dine in the main dining room ensure the staff are aware of your need for a gluten free meal. The will accommodate.

 

If you choose to eat in the Lido it becomes a little more challenging but not impossible to be satsified. Check with the head Chef for the Lido as to what is gluten free for you to choose from (buffet style eating).

 

Bottom line is if you talk to the managers and staff they will be more than happy to satisfy your diet.

 

I've had great experience and in fact look forward to my next experience this July.

 

Yes, they will talk to you about the next night's menu. On our first night of our Bermuda cruise, we had open seating, and a woman at our table needed a gluten-free meal. The restaurant manager spent a lot of time going over the next night's menu. The woman had loads of questions, and he answered them all patiently, not leaving the table until she was comfortable with her choices.

 

She was particularly worried about how her meal would "find" her in the open seating. We didn't see her again, but I'm sure she did OK. When you go into the dining room, they ask your room number and hand the waiter who seats you a slip of paper. I think that paper would have an alert if there are special needs. But I think it's probably easier all around if you have fixed dining or reserve the same table each night in open seating.

[mbiggers]

Does anyone know if they have gluten free pizza in the buffet? Haven't been on HAL since I started doing a GF diet, but found RCCL to be very accommodating.

[MUD]

On our last cruise (Ryndam) our sub waiter (we were in fixed dining) delivered ice cream with a wheat wafer. When told it must be gluten free he went to the food stand, removed the wafer and brought it back to the table. I don't think he was that thoughtless again as the ice cream was again sent back.

 

The Mariners luncheon did not have any gluten free food and the Lido ran out of waffles and breads.

 

That being said the MDR was the best and with a few exceptions we were comfortable.

[aloisia]

Does anyone know if they have gluten free pizza in the buffet? Haven't been on HAL since I started doing a GF diet, but found RCCL to be very accommodating.

 

 

Yes, pizza was offered to me. The gluten free food was served at the "pizza & pasta" station. I didn't have the pizza however I ate some pasta several days in the Lido. The same station had gluten free toast/muffins for me in the morning. I thought the staff were very helpful.

[richarduk]

When I saw this thread I thought "DON'T REPLY!", as I was already a bit tired of what happened last year, however, I thought it fair and balanced to give a brief overview of my experience. This was last year on Nieuw Amsterdam in the Med.

 

I totally get it that if you choose fixed dining that you may have a much better chance of being looked after properly. However, I really don't like fixed times, so that's never going to happen on holiday.

 

My experiences were with the Lido mainly, but also the MDR to a lesser degree.

 

I was advised whilst onboard that any gluten free items had to be ordered the day before. This was with the exception of room service which actually worked quite well!!??

 

I asked about the whole issue of getting hold of gluten free foods. For example, they said I had to ask for gluten free spaghetti the day before I wanted it. That was at the Lido. Additionally if something had to be swapped for gluten free in the MDR, I was to order my dinner the day before. In my book, that's not a holiday.

 

Surely all it should take is for the Lido to stock a few items such as breads, pastas, muffins etc, so you would not have to order, enabling the staff to just retrieve and prepare them. I don't think that's too much to ask?

 

I'd asked so much that one day they brought some spaghetti up from "somewhere" for me, but if I did not ask for it THAT day it would be returned to it's previous home, so I asked for it and waited the 20 mins or so for it to be prepared. Turns out they thought spaghetti was the same as penne. After that, I gave up.:confused:

 

Anyway, I'm very glad to hear others have had better experiences.

[geoherb]

We had a tablemate who ordered gluten-free foods on our recent Veendam cruise. She seemed satisfied. The waiters always had her gluten-free breads waiting for her at our table. Toward the end of the meal, the waiter would bring her a copy of the next night's menu for her to circle the things she wanted.

 

Unlike our Princess cruises, there did not seem to be much effort to make things gluten free for her. She chose the menu items that should be gluten free to start with--or occasionally would cross things off, such as if an appetizer was normally accompanied by a piece of bread. But, as I said, she seemed satisfied, and that's all that matters.

[cruisinjudy]

I haven't tried the gluten free on HAL yet as I just started this last fall, but on Princess it was apparent that they only had one pasta shape in the gluten free and any pasta dish ordered was prepared with that type of pasta shape. That is just the way it is.