Gluten free Celebrity Reflection

[letsgoplaces]

Hello I am just off the summit and this is my experience. We asked each venue that served liquor if there was GF beer. There is not. They do have one cider onboard and the manager of Michael's Pub told us he's been trying for over a year to get GF beer in his venue without success. He told us he has had hundreds of inquiries about GF beer in the last two years and is frustrated that he can't get it for that ship. The dining room menu is clearly marked as to which items are GF but as reported not the desserts. You can always have creme brule', ice cream and gelato as they are GF and available each night. The buffet is where the trouble really lies. I had a meeting with the maitre'd and he ended up bringing higher ranking officers to sit in and listen to my requests. It seemed very positive and the feedback was that they are working hard to get GF items marked in the buffet area as well as offer MORE GF items in the buffet...in particular desserts which at this time they dont have any GF desserts in the buffet. while a person can always go to the main dining area to eat GF its difficult and inconvenient when everyone in your party is eating at the buffet and you are expected to basically sit there and watch. The officers I spoke with were VERY concerned about this situation and seemed to already have ideas in place that are to be implemented soon. I have sailed HAL, Princess and Celebrity and there is no question that Princess handles the GF situation better than any of them. However that said there is also no question that Celebrity has MUCH BETTER food....quality of food is better and much more interesting ways its prepared and served. This was the consensus of each member of our party aging in the range from 27 to 58 years all having sailed with numerous lines in the past. Celebrities food was outstanding in all areas of the ship. I did however make my own GF oatmeal bread, GF Grain free " rye" bread ( its amazing) and GF banana muffins and brought these with me in my carry on luggage ( yes its legal to do so as I called and asked the airlines....southwest airlines). The GF bread they give you is ok but not the best by any means. So while everyone else chomped on the delicious bread basket at the beginning of each meal I was able to eat my " rye" and oatmeal breads which are delicious and made me feel a part of the dinner experience. To date the Summit is our favorite ship and the food was absolutely amazing. As a side note on the main dining menu items are labeled GF as well as Sugar Free and Vegan depending on your needs. Each night as an alternative to dessert they have a cheese/fruit plate with delicious cheeses, nuts, fruits and high end crackers. There is a gelato station on deck 5 where they serve handmade gelato that is out of this world. I waited a few times after dinner to go and get my dessert there. I will check back and answer any other questions you may have.

[AmberCascades]

Thanks. We are sailing on the Summit next week. We are looking forward to some yummy food and we'll keep your dessert ideas in mind. When we were on the Century last August the MDR was excellent for GF. But it's not always feasible (time-wise) to eat there. Some days we wanted to have a quick breakfast and get out exploring and other days we were so tired from our excursions that we just wanted to chill in the buffet. The most disappointing was when my husband really wanted some pizza and they had run out of GF dough. This was the 4th day in. Other than that we thought the food was great.

[Janet987]

Just off the Reflection myself, and I found a wide variety of real foods to satisfy my “paleo” diet lifestyle, which is stricter than just eating gluten-free. The variety and quality of real food offered, even in the buffet, was excellent and in the years sailing with Celebrity have never felt the need to ask for special foods. I saw gluten-free pizza available all day in the buffet, but I do not eat any of the fake breads made with corn, tapioca, or rice starch and other highly processed carbohydrates, which can cause more health issues than gluten via spiking blood sugar, increasing glycation and visceral fat.

 

In the buffet there were many healthy items on the salad bar, all fresh and unadulterated by possible gluten exposure. There was always a hot roast carving station with plain hot vegetable dishes in that area. Does X really need to mark broccoli with a GF sign? Many of the pasta bar toppings were real food, and can be cooked without pasta or dough, plus cheese, nuts, and other sides which could also supplement a salad. Breakfast had eggs, bacon and smoked salmon, lovely fruit platters, etc. While letsgoplaces still yearns for a “delicious bread basket” I don’t even think about bread as food, to me it is poison and have never missed it. I also don’t eat sugar or artificial sweeteners, but when on a cruise, make an exception for their wonderful ice creams and gelato. Our dinners are in Blu, and other than asking they not place a bread basket on our table, I rarely need to make a special request on preparation of a dish, but when I have, they have done so happily. I think Celebrity does a great job appealing to many special diets and tastes, and the buffet has more than enough options now.

[AmberCascades]

Yes, sometimes they might have to mark broccoli as gluten free. Lots of meats seem to be dredged in wheat flour before being cooked. Certain seasonings that contain gluten are used on vegetables and potatoes and you can't tell just by looking at them. Worcestorshire sauce, soy sauce...lots of other condiments and sauces...contain gluten. Eating paleo is a choice, but being celiac isn't. Being "glutened" causes agonizing abdominal pain, bathroom "issues", etc., not to mention what is going on inside the body. We spend as much money as anyone else to cruise, so we don't want my husband to spend much of his time in the cabin or bathroom because someone didn't use a clean pizza cutter (for example). If the majority of the cruise ship passengers had to eat baked chicken, boiled carrots and jello, I don't think they'd be too happy. Why not just clearly mark what is GF and celiacs et al can just avoid what isn't?

[letsgoplaces]

I was actually referring to labels on items that have gravies etc and not broccoli which of course would be a no brainer:rolleyes: Some of the items on the buffet that had sauces and or gravies were made with corn starch or rice flour which could be GF and others made with wheat flour....to distinguish one from the other, labels would be required. Apparently the Celebrity staff didnt consider this to be a foolish request as they are already putting the labels in place per numerous other requests. While you feel the need to eat a certain way due to health concerns etc others do not have as many restrictions as you do and labels would be helpful to them. While you dont miss your bread others do, and I was giving my experience in order to be helpful. I certainly do feel that Celebrity is outstanding as far as offering high quality food for many different diets. However improvements can be made and according to the staff I spoke with they agreed.

[letsgoplaces]

AmberCascades......YES an excellent point!!! As a matter of a fact many of the "fresh" items that were in the buffet stations had numerous bottles of soy sauce near them and I realized that the stir fry cooks were using soy sauce mixed with oil to cook these items. I too can NOT have gluten....its not a fad with me its a serious medical issue. and yes there are numerous spices that have FILLERS which contain gluten and therefore cause great pain to an unsuspecting person. There were fried potatoes that looked as if they only had pepper on them ....however I asked the chef and found out that yes they had flour sifted over them before frying....while I had PLENTY to eat that isnt the point...the point is making known what the allergens are if any in the food being offered.

[maritimer2]

AmberCascades......YES an excellent point!!! As a matter of a fact many of the "fresh" items that were in the buffet stations had numerous bottles of soy sauce near them and I realized that the stir fry cooks were using soy sauce mixed with oil to cook these items. I too can NOT have gluten....its not a fad with me its a serious medical issue. and yes there are numerous spices that have FILLERS which contain gluten and therefore cause great pain to an unsuspecting person. There were fried potatoes that looked as if they only had pepper on them ....however I asked the chef and found out that yes they had flour sifted over them before frying....while I had PLENTY to eat that isnt the point...the point is making known what the allergens are if any in the food being offered.

 

Excellent discussion on labelling the buffet. I would like to see them go one step further and label everything as GF, Dairy and egg free. I know there are more, I am also allergic to shellfish and would like to stay away from all grains. As for the broccoli, I need it labelled to make sure there is no butter. :)

[maritimer2]

http://www.thepreismans.com/ecarib_reflection_menus.htm#opus:)

[screwsmcernst]

Thank you so much for this thread. We don't sail for a year, but I have been a little concerned about my gluten issues. And while some people do it as a choice or because it is "The thing to do", others like myself, eat this way out of necessity.

I love the idea of putting a picture on the buffet items, like they do on the MDR menu. Sometimes you can't tell if there is gluten in a food item. It can be very sneaky. ;) there is gluten in some things you wouldn't even expect: canned broths, soy sauce, many spices have gluten in them to prevent clumping, some bottled cheeses, even most canned tunas have gluten. (That one blew my mind.):rolleyes:

 

And yes, some of the gluten alternative items are "bad" carbs, but at least there are options, and as long as you eat it in moderation... like everything should be... celiacs can have their cake (or bread), and eat it too. :D Bahahahahaha. (a little gluten humor)

 

I'm feeling much better about our upcoming cruise on the Summit. Thanks.

[maritimer2]

Thank you so much for this thread. We don't sail for a year, but I have been a little concerned about my gluten issues. And while some people do it as a choice or because it is "The thing to do", others like myself, eat this way out of necessity.

I love the idea of putting a picture on the buffet items, like they do on the MDR menu. Sometimes you can't tell if there is gluten in a food item. It can be very sneaky. ;) there is gluten in some things you wouldn't even expect: canned broths, soy sauce, many spices have gluten in them to prevent clumping, some bottled cheeses, even most canned tunas have gluten. (That one blew my mind.):rolleyes:

 

And yes, some of the gluten alternative items are "bad" carbs, but at least there are options, and as long as you eat it in moderation... like everything should be... celiacs can have their cake (or bread), and eat it too. :D Bahahahahaha. (a little gluten humor)

 

I'm feeling much better about our upcoming cruise on the Summit. Thanks.

 

Glad the thread helped you feel better about cruising Linda! Have a great cruise!