Gluten free Celebrity Reflection

[maritimer2]

Three of us will be sailing next week on the "Reflection" with gluten sensitivity and dairy. Two of us with egg and myself, I can't eat shellfish either. That's okay because I don't like it anyway. :). We usually cruise with Princess which has catered to our dietary needs very well in the past but have decided to try another line for variety.

 

It's 2013 and alot has changed in the restaurant world and accommodating all of the allergies people are being diagnosed with.

 

I contacted the special needs department as per the brochure and have included the rather disappointing response from Celebrity below in my post. As with most people with food sensitivities we are all nervous when we travel away from the safety of our own kitchen and need to take every precaution to avoid getting contaminated or "glutened".

 

Does any one have recent experience with how Celebrity handles food allergies. I was also wondering if specialty restaurants can cater to such dietary needs and if the buffets are being labeled. GF, Dairy Egg etc?

 

Would love to hear from those that have been cruising recently.

 

Thank you:)

 

 

 

"Good day,

 

We have received your notice regarding your food allergies and will forward the information to the ship.

 

Once on board it is imperitive to meet with the Maitre 'd to review the menus and identify those items that need to be modified or avoided. They will be happy to assist you and will forward your concerns and needs to the galley.

 

All items prepared for guests with food allergies are handled separate from the main food production.

 

It is recommended that guests with specific food allergies not eat in the Windjammer Café as there is a risk of cross contamination of food items. Please note that if you choose to dine in food venues other than the Main Dining Room, It is required that you meet with the Restaurant Manager for that particular venue. This is to ensure that your needs are properly communicated to the staff. *

 

The ship's medical facility has the necessary medication and equipment to treat guests with allergic reactions. However, guests are reminded that any necessary medication needs to be with them at all times.

 

We do not provide goat’s milk, almond milk or rice milk. *However we do provide soy milk, lactose free milk and vanilla-flavored Ensure. These items are provided free of charge. Please note that we are unable to specify brand name, flavor or type of soy milk or lactose free-milk.

 

Guests are allowed to bring on their own supply of dry, nonperishable food items such as cookies, crackers, chips, energy bars, etc. They may also bring on their own individual packets of salad dressings. Guests may not bring on board any potentially hazardous food items (Items that require refrigeration, freezing, reheating, or storage by the galley).

 

We do not carry wheat free oats, you can always take this with you onboard; as long as its sealed off in its original container"

[wrk2cruise]

They are very aware of gluten diets and you should have little trouble in the dining rooms.

 

Your reservation should be flagged as having special dietary issues but take this advise "Once on board it is imperitive to meet with the Maitre 'd".

 

They will be stationed outside Opus on the port side I believe. Go there directly after boarding and explain the specifics to them. Then nightly you should receive the next nights menu from the asst Maitre 'd and he/she will place your order for the next night with the appropriate modifications.

 

But if you have questions about anything you are being served stop and ASK to see the asst Maitre 'd, I wouldn't trust the waiters response.

 

[maritimer2]

Thank you for your feedback.

[Trainer]

I traveled last year with SIL and family. He is extremely gluten sensitive. The waiters and maitre de' were extremely helpful and accommodating. Each evening after dinner they brought menus for next day and went over what he could and could not eat. Just ask and they are helpful. Even the chef in the 'Cafe upstairs came out to discuss food and prep. Enjoy!

[letsgoplaces]

Hi I received the same message from Celebrity and it mirrors my response from Princess last year. My cruise last year with Princess was wonderful in regards to the GF food items. I did exactly what they told me and met with the maitre de' and when I wanted something from the buffet dessert area they brought out GF items that had been prepared. The Celebrity response is the same so I'm expecting they will have plenty for me to eat as well. Please post here when you return from your cruise and let us all know how it went. I"m sure there are many others besides myself that would like to know.

[maritimer2]

Hi I received the same message from Celebrity and it mirrors my response from Princess last year. My cruise last year with Princess was wonderful in regards to the GF food items. I did exactly what they told me and met with the maitre de' and when I wanted something from the buffet dessert area they brought out GF items that had been prepared. The Celebrity response is the same so I'm expecting they will have plenty for me to eat as well. Please post here when you return from your cruise and let us all know how it went. I"m sure there are many others besides myself that would like to know.

 

Thank you for chiming in. I will definitely report back upon our return.:)

[munraven]

I am newly diagnosed with food allergies, wheat being in the forefront (still trying to figure out the rest!) and we are going to be on the Reflection 3/16 sailing. I am also looking forward to your report!! Thank you!!

[maritimer2]

I am newly diagnosed with food allergies, wheat being in the forefront (still trying to figure out the rest!) and we are going to be on the Reflection 3/16 sailing. I am also looking forward to your report!! Thank you!!

 

Hi

 

I know their are a lot of people on here looking around for help with this topic so I will be making a point of posting.

 

Munraven,

Just noticed you were from New Brunswick, Moncton is my hometown.

Edited January 25, 2013 by maritimer2

[munraven]

We are originally from Fredericton, now living just outside of Saint John in Hampton. Wish we had have booked sooner, can't wait to get out of the cold!! Have a great cruise!!

[maritimer2]

It's very cold here as well. We'll be glad to be in the warmth of the south next week. Your cruise won't be far behind us. Stay warm and we'll be sure to post Info on our gluten free findings before you leave.;)

[maritimer2]

We just arrived back from seven days on the beautiful Celebrity Reflection. As you know, we were travelling with food allergies and had notified the cruise line by email ahead of time of our need to be accommodated for gluten, dairy, egg and shellfish allergies. They sent us the terse response email already pasted in this thread.

 

Day one, we arrived in our room to find a welcome note acknowledging our food allergies. The note asked that we visit the Assistant Maître D’ (AMD) at the Opus Dining room, deck 4, port side. Now, as a previous Princess cruiser, I had no idea that what they called the Assistant Maître D’ on Celebrity is really just a Head Waiter of sorts for each dinning room. There were many AMDs on the ship which made for some confusion in figuring out who to talk to, but we managed.

 

We met with one AMD and he seemed confused as to why we wanted to speak to him in the first place. He told us all we had to do was inform our waiter of our allergies at dinner and always pre-order our meals one day ahead. We presented the e-mail response we received from the cruise line and he immediately requested a copy for his records. He was flabbergasted and told us that this letter couldn’t possibly be for this cruise because there is no Wind Jammer Café on Celebrity and that of course we could eat in the Ocean View Buffet. The chef would always be available to assist and point out allergens in the buffet for us.

 

So, this AMD sent us to meet the chef and the AMD of the buffet. The chef took us from station to station and explained how the food was prepared and checked ingredients for specific items as we asked. We would have to go through this process every time we wanted to eat in the buffet. This turned quick snacks and meals into long ordeals where chefs weren’t available or facts had to be checked multiple times. The chef told us not to trust the wait staff or the station servers when asking about ingredients. Many of these tried to be helpful and would occasionally refuse to call the chef unless we insisted that the chef alone could tell us what was safe for us. Buffet dinning is not supposed to be this arduous, but as you know when you have allergies, this is the price of eating like a normal person.

 

The buffet chef explained, to our delight, that due to the increase in passenger requests for gluten free, Celebrity has modified all of its sauces to use corn starch rather than wheat flour. A big victory and great news for the GF crowd! Now, it doesn’t help when you have dairy and egg allergies but we’ll take what we can get. I would strongly suggest that you ask for yourself about the sauces when you board, for your own piece of mind and to make sure suppliers haven’t switched something between cruises.

 

We found we were most comfortable eating in the main dining room, the Opus, deck 4 on the port side. We requested to always have the same waiter, even though we had select dinning and not fixed seating. Our waiter Jesus (pronounced Heyzeus), our assistant waiter was Kevin and the Assistant Maître D’, Nevena took very good care of us. They went out of their way to make sure we were able to enjoy our cruise without falling ill.

 

The main issue with travelling with allergies is all the hurdles that have to be gotten over to feel comfortable and safe. We always had to ask questions and pester staff. Sometimes meals were emotional affairs, especially in the buffet and at the special showpiece brunch buffet we stumbled into. There was so much beautiful food on the ship and precious little of it was for us. Not a single one of us gained any weight on this trip. How many cruisers can say as much? It was not for lack of trying, believe me! The chef kindly made us special GF, vegan desserts. The best one was a silky smooth chocolate mousse made with coconut milk. Be sure to ask for this one, my husband tells me it was better than the normal one made with milk. Yummy!!!

 

With new lessons learned we will continue to cruise and ask for our needs to be met. Good luck to everyone.:)

[doodlefan]

We just arrived back from seven days on the beautiful Celebrity Reflection. As you know, we were travelling with food allergies and had notified the cruise line by email ahead of time of our need to be accommodated for gluten, dairy, egg and shellfish allergies. They sent us the terse response email already pasted in this thread.

 

Day one, we arrived in our room to find a welcome note acknowledging our food allergies. The note asked that we visit the Assistant Maître D’ (AMD) at the Opus Dining room, deck 4, port side. Now, as a previous Princess cruiser, I had no idea that what they called the Assistant Maître D’ on Celebrity is really just a Head Waiter of sorts for each dinning room. There were many AMDs on the ship which made for some confusion in figuring out who to talk to, but we managed.

 

We met with one AMD and he seemed confused as to why we wanted to speak to him in the first place. He told us all we had to do was inform our waiter of our allergies at dinner and always pre-order our meals one day ahead. We presented the e-mail response we received from the cruise line and he immediately requested a copy for his records. He was flabbergasted and told us that this letter couldn’t possibly be for this cruise because there is no Wind Jammer Café on Celebrity and that of course we could eat in the Ocean View Buffet. The chef would always be available to assist and point out allergens in the buffet for us.

 

So, this AMD sent us to meet the chef and the AMD of the buffet. The chef took us from station to station and explained how the food was prepared and checked ingredients for specific items as we asked. We would have to go through this process every time we wanted to eat in the buffet. This turned quick snacks and meals into long ordeals where chefs weren’t available or facts had to be checked multiple times. The chef told us not to trust the wait staff or the station servers when asking about ingredients. Many of these tried to be helpful and would occasionally refuse to call the chef unless we insisted that the chef alone could tell us what was safe for us. Buffet dinning is not supposed to be this arduous, but as you know when you have allergies, this is the price of eating like a normal person.

 

The buffet chef explained, to our delight, that due to the increase in passenger requests for gluten free, Celebrity has modified all of its sauces to use corn starch rather than wheat flour. A big victory and great news for the GF crowd! Now, it doesn’t help when you have dairy and egg allergies but we’ll take what we can get. I would strongly suggest that you ask for yourself about the sauces when you board, for your own piece of mind and to make sure suppliers haven’t switched something between cruises.

 

We found we were most comfortable eating in the main dining room, the Opus, deck 4 on the port side. We requested to always have the same waiter, even though we had select dinning and not fixed seating. Our waiter Jesus (pronounced Heyzeus), our assistant waiter was Kevin and the Assistant Maître D’, Nevena took very good care of us. They went out of their way to make sure we were able to enjoy our cruise without falling ill.

 

The main issue with travelling with allergies is all the hurdles that have to be gotten over to feel comfortable and safe. We always had to ask questions and pester staff. Sometimes meals were emotional affairs, especially in the buffet and at the special showpiece brunch buffet we stumbled into. There was so much beautiful food on the ship and precious little of it was for us. Not a single one of us gained any weight on this trip. How many cruisers can say as much? It was not for lack of trying, believe me! The chef kindly made us special GF, vegan desserts. The best one was a silky smooth chocolate mousse made with coconut milk. Be sure to ask for this one, my husband tells me it was better than the normal one made with milk. Yummy!!!

 

With new lessons learned we will continue to cruise and ask for our needs to be met. Good luck to everyone.:)

 

 

Thanks for this update. Can you tell me who or how to contact at Celebrity about a Shellfish allergy. My sister is deathly allergic and I want to notify them ahead of time. We sail next weekend. Thanks for any help

[maritimer2]

Thanks for this update. Can you tell me who or how to contact at Celebrity about a Shellfish allergy. My sister is deathly allergic and I want to notify them ahead of time. We sail next weekend. Thanks for any help

 

Hi Tara,

 

Celebrity requests that an e-mail be sent as soon as possible. Most cruise lines like at least 1 month notice but at this point I would still contact them by e-mail and follow up with a meeting with the Assistant Maître D in person once onboard.

 

Royal Carribean/Celebrity E-mail contact address - special_needs@rccl.com

Also include the following in your e-mail

Full Name

Reservation number/state room number

Name of ship and cruise date

List all allergies

 

Never hesitate to mention the allergy at every meal. I hope everything works out for a great cruise.:)

[doodlefan]

Hi Tara,

 

Celebrity requests that an e-mail be sent as soon as possible. Most cruise lines like at least 1 month notice but at this point I would still contact them by e-mail and follow up with a meeting with the Assistant Maître D in person once onboard.

 

Royal Carribean/Celebrity E-mail contact address - special_needs@rccl.com

Also include the following in your e-mail

Full Name

Reservation number/state room number

Name of ship and cruise date

List all allergies

 

Never hesitate to mention the allergy at every meal. I hope everything works out for a great cruise.:)

 

Great thanks for the info. I sent an email. We usually see the Maitre D' as soon as we board and have never had any problems.

 

They usually bring us the menu a day ahead and my sister orders what she'd like.

 

Thanks again

[Mapleleaf5]

Thanks for this update. Can you tell me who or how to contact at Celebrity about a Shellfish allergy. My sister is deathly allergic and I want to notify them ahead of time. We sail next weekend. Thanks for any help

 

We are on the same cruise. I called Celebrity and they put a note

on my sister file regarding her allergy to dairy. She will be going to the main dinning room when we board to talk to the Maitre D.

[Snowescapee]

Thanx for the GF report. We sail Sunday on Silhoutte and my request was made through my TA. I am also allergic to citrus which makes things tough but sailing last year on NCL was I eventful so I am hoping that Celebrity goes as smooth. I shy away from buffets as a rule and likely will here as well unless it is very very basic (cheeses, salad).

 

We pick cruising over resorts as I've found the cruise lines to be helpful in working with food allergies. Last time I went to a resort (pre GF days) I ate French fries all week :(

[Ginger Pop]

Thank you for your feedback.

 

I have been on 16 Celebrity Cruises and have many food allergies. Yes, I get nervous but I faxed my food allergies to special needs and the minute you get on the ship go find the Maitre D. He has your special needs and they will let you select food one day in advance every day. They have a special chef that deals with Kosher, diabetic, etc. and makes my food especially for me. Don't worry-ask at each meal to talk to a head chef and know what you are eating all the time.

[munraven]

Thank you so much for the information!! Will make our lives easier knowing what to expect!!

[LodgeLady]

Thank you so much for taking your time in posting!! This helps immensley! While my cruise is still a year away, I have been trying to figure out how this whole GF is going to work. Did they make special waffles for you? Special rolls at dinner? How about hamburger and hot dog rolls? Wonderful news about the sauces but of course I will verify. Where can I eat that first night of embarkation? I know I can play it safe with some foods but I will miss my almond milk!:(

[NSWP]

I am a Coeliac (Celiac - Gluten Free) coming up for my first Celebrity cruise in 8 days on Solstice. I notifed Celebrity Special Needs a couple of months ao and got the reply. I hope they are as good as Princess. But reading on here it appears so, ordering your dinner the night before, seeking assistance from the Cook or Supervisor at the Buffet, that is what I do anyway, without trying to be a pain in the A... LOL.

 

Anyway, one of the things I do on Princess is seek out the Food and Beverage Manager and respectfully ask him/her about the cold meats, sausages on board, are they gluten free. Nearly always a letter arrives in my cabin from the F&B Manager with a list of the cold cuts, sausages etc which are GF. Great service, I might try the same on Celebrity.

Edited February 24, 2013 by NSWP

[ngaspar]

Maybe the menus have changed recently....don't the MDR menus still have icons on them that list which items are GF? (or dairy free or vegan as well?) I have always had more luck going GF on Celebrity than any other line...and with less effort or concern that I would be poisoned.

[maritimer2]

Thank you so much for taking your time in posting!! This helps immensley! While my cruise is still a year away, I have been trying to figure out how this whole GF is going to work. Did they make special waffles for you? Special rolls at dinner? How about hamburger and hot dog rolls? Wonderful news about the sauces but of course I will verify. Where can I eat that first night of embarkation? I know I can play it safe with some foods but I will miss my almond milk!:(

 

I was limited with selections with the gluten, egg, dairy and shellfish allergies but my DH had gluten free French toast in the MDR and gluten free pizza in the buffet. The French toast was requested one day in advance in the MDR and the Pizza one day in advance at the buffet. He didn't particular care for the pizza crust though. He could of had the pancakes if he wanted. I never heard of any gluten free hotdog or hamburg buns on this trip.

 

We were also offered gluten free bread with every meal. This was store bought and they provided the list of ingredients at the beginning of the cruise. I prefer the UDI brand bread but it has egg so I can't have it.

 

We also brought on our own Almond Milk (Earth's Own tetra pack size) and Organic Ville salad dressing. Our waiter offered the kitchen to store it for us so we labelled everthing and he brought to the table each meal. It was really great that I did not have to carry it from the cabin each time.:)

 

The menus were indeed allergy friendly to a point. They clearly indicated which were gluten free and dairy and a couple of others I can't recall right now. There has been discussions about labelling the buffet similarly in the future. Fingers are crossed for improvements in the buffet delivery. Especially the beautiful Sea day brunch, that would be amaizing........:D

[Tom47]

I was limited with selections with the gluten, egg, dairy and shellfish allergies but my DH had gluten free French toast in the MDR and gluten free pizza in the buffet. The French toast was requested one day in advance in the MDR and the Pizza one day in advance at the buffet. He didn't particular care for the pizza crust though. He could of had the pancakes if he wanted. I never heard of any gluten free hotdog or hamburg buns on this trip.

 

We were also offered gluten free bread with every meal. This was store bought and they provided the list of ingredients at the beginning of the cruise. I prefer the UDI brand bread but it has egg so I can't have it.

 

We also brought on our own Almond Milk (Earth's Own tetra pack size) and Organic Ville salad dressing. Our waiter offered the kitchen to store it for us so we labelled everthing and he brought to the table each meal. It was really great that I did not have to carry it from the cabin each time.:)

 

The menus were indeed allergy friendly to a point. They clearly indicated which were gluten free and dairy and a couple of others I can't recall right now. There has been discussions about labelling the buffet similarly in the future. Fingers are crossed for improvements in the buffet delivery. Especially the beautiful Sea day brunch, that would be amaizing........:D

Hi

We were on the Century, 1-18-13. They had added allergy symbols to the menus. DW is lactose intolerant and there was a symbol for that . I think there was 1 for gluten free. We thanked a ship's officer for this, and she said it was a company wide program and would be extended to all X and RCI ships eventually.

Tom:)

[Once Upon A Time]

As a Celiac with severe Dairy allergy, I so appreciate Celebrity and Princess and their attitudes toward food allergies. Both lines are extremely helpful with very well trained personnel. Celebrity has even become more conscientious in the past couple of years.. I have never had any problem with either line, and I do cruise often. Unfortunately, there are other lines that do well in the dining rooms, but not so well in other areas of their ships.

 

As time passes, there are more and more choices for all of us with food allergies and I'm so happy to see these two wonderful cruise lines keeping up with the latest innovations.. Now, if I could just convince them to serve Udi's products.. much of which is BOTH gluten and dairy free. If you are sensitive to dairy, be sure to check the ingredients on the bread served to you. Always gluten free, but often, not dairy free..:eek:

[LRene]

I had a little different experience on Equinox earlier this month. I'm Celiac and had sent the notice to special needs and received an acknowledgement. The first night of the cruise, our waiter asked which one was me and said he understood I had a gluten allergy. So far so good.

 

It was our first time on Celebrity but we've been on many lines and lots of cruises. I'm used to pre-ordering for the next night. The menu had the GF icons which was greatly helpful but I was disappointed that things were not prepared GF for me by pre-ordering. Soups, for example. I was limited to only what was shown as GF on the menu. I don't know if the new menus are to replace the pre-order method or if our server was just inexperienced. I talked to the Maitre 'D several times but never could tell what standard procedure was.

 

I will say that one night out of the 10, there just wasn't anything I wanted. I think there were only one or two entrees safe to eat. We decided to go to the pasta bar where I knew I could order GF pasta. Our server said he would go get me the pasta and I could order it in the MDR and stay to eat with our friends. Also, in the brunch, they had GF stir fry made for me.

 

We ate in all of the specialty restaurants and Murano and Silk Harvest did a great job. Tuscan Grill was just OK and the server scolded me in front of a large table of friends for not telling them when the reservation was made. Ummm...I didn't MAKE the reservation. She got over it. Silk harvest was by far the best at accommodating and food allergies was the first question the server asked.

 

All in all, I think Celebrity did a good job but I also did not gain a pound on this cruise which is very rare for me. We'll be on the Millie soon and I'd be interested in knowing what procedure to expect on the MDR.