Peanut Allergy

[coffeecat]

Do you cruise with a peanut allergy?

 

If so do you feel it is safe in terms of steps taken to avoid peanuts by the NCL staff and yourself?

 

Have you ever had a severe reaction to peanuts on an NCL ship that required epinephrine, doctor care, or life flighting off the boat?

 

I am trying to get a sense of what this would be like and make a determination about whether to press on with our multi-generational family cruise or come up with an alternative plan (stay home in a bubble perhaps?).

 

If any of you could share your experiences and insights or advice I would be extremely grateful.

 

Thanks,

Coffeecat

[bakerintn]

I have a peanut allergy (not life threatening) and have not had any problems. I avoid baked goods with any kind of nuts and smell any cookie that I can't identify easily. I avoid some of the Indonesian items in the buffet.

 

Basically, the same as at home with buffets or restaurants. I have a pretty good idea of sauces and dishes that call for peanuts/peanut butter and just don't even try them. If I am in doubt about a particular items, I do ask the server and they go get answers for me.

[mtsnd1900]

Do you cruise with a peanut allergy?

I have a bad nut allergy; peanuts bother me a lot, but not as much as say an almond, pecan, walnut, etc. They typical throat closing, pre-shock, vomit, blood pressure results that the rest of our allergen group suffers from. i do have, and bring, and Epi.

 

If so do you feel it is safe in terms of steps taken to avoid peanuts by the NCL staff and yourself?

I have not cruised on NCL yet, but will do so next year. Have gone on 4 other lines. they are probably a little more careful then a typical restaurant / hotel / resort in terms of cross contamination.

 

Have you ever had a severe reaction to peanuts on an NCL ship that required epinephrine, doctor care, or life flighting off the boat?

No, but here is three things to remember. 1. INSUREMYTRIP . COM for your travel insurance needs. Never cruise without it. 2. Epi pens are great to have with you, and even better to have when you go ashore. 3. If you are having a good time and having fun, and decide to eat something that you normally would not have - it will have a nut in it and ruin your day.

 

I am trying to get a sense of what this would be like and make a determination about whether to press on with our multi-generational family cruise or come up with an alternative plan (stay home in a bubble perhaps?).

Press on by all means! Here is my recommendation. After you book, contact the cruise line directly and let them know about your allergy. When you get on board, make friendly with the matradee if you are in the main dining room. They and your head waiter will take care of you. On shore, stay away from many local foods (nothing new here) unless you are absolutely certain is is nut free.

 

If any of you could share your experiences and insights or advice I would be extremely grateful.

 

Having cruised on multiple lines, in terms of nuts, hands down Carnival did the best by me. I am a huge Royal fan, and will select them over other lines almost every time (save the Epic and Breakaway, and Dawn out of Boston), but Royal was the worst. Case in point. Royal seems to go out of their way to put nuts on EVERYTHING dessert related, and some other things that are not called for. Carnival does not - it always seemed like an add on item. Most desserts were nut free. Additionally, the matradee we had and head waiter we had were impeccable at coming over from day one and allowing me to order the following nights meals ahead of time and they would be prepared special / nut free. Other lines like Princess / Disney were standard when sailed on. With the growing amount of people having food allergies (celiac, nuts) they are really taking care of the customers. Please share your NCL experience if you decide to go, we are not sailing this year but would be anxious to know.

[FuninWB]

I have cruised NCL six times with a life-threatening peanut ( as well as others) allergy. I ask the server to check with the chef about the contents of whatever meal I order for peanuts, stressing that I could go into anaphylactic shock with any peanut product. They have been excellent in steering me away from any dish with any nuts at all! By all means, don't stay home. Just bring EpiPens and have fun.

[jdvmd]

Make sure the Special Needs department knows. Allergies should be noted in your reservation also by the TA or PCC. Additionally, I also make sure all servers know at the time of ordering. NCL has never failed me in this regard with my life-threatening shellfish and seafood allergy.

[coffeecat]

Thank you so much everyone for your replies and insight. I sincerely appreciate it! This is a new diagnosis for my daughter, a toddler. We booked the cruise a few months ago but her recent issues with peanuts has given me considerable concern about pressing on with the cruise. My husband thinks we should go (but he is not a worrier like I am).

 

Do any of you take any children with peanut allergies on cruises? My daughter is a toddler and not old enough for the kids club so we will always be with her.

 

Thanks so much,

Amy

[LadyShiva]

Thank you so much everyone for your replies and insight. I sincerely appreciate it! This is a new diagnosis for my daughter, a toddler. We booked the cruise a few months ago but her recent issues with peanuts has given me considerable concern about pressing on with the cruise. My husband thinks we should go (but he is not a worrier like I am).

 

Do any of you take any children with peanut allergies on cruises? My daughter is a toddler and not old enough for the kids club so we will always be with her.

 

Thanks so much,

Amy

 

They have done fine with my daughter on 3 cruises (who needs to eat peanuts, she is not touch-sensitive). We've been on the Jewel, Spirit, and Pearl - no issues.

 

We just have the chef walk my husband and kiddo through the menu or buffet and find out what they can and cannot eat.

 

And I second the great trip insurance recommendation. The ER in Cozumel treated my daughter very well when we needed to rule out appendicitis.

[geauxgirlgeaux]

We have a child with a peanut allergy. We notified our booking agent as well as the NCL Access Desk and also met with the folks in the dining room. We have not had any problems. Our whole family eats nut free because of the child's nut allergy so there is no risk of exposure at the table. All the servers and head waiters were very attentive to the needs of our child. We also travel with 2 epi- pens as well as a replacement and benadryl just in case. We carry them with us all the time. I have also contacted a few restaurants where we know we will be eating while in port and received information about their menu items so we know ahead of time. Good luck - I was paralyzed by our son's nut allergy for years but thankfully he is older now and very compliant and thankfully he has not had any reactions in a long time. On the Pearl, the chef made our son cookies several times during the week and sent them up so our son could eat them without worry of cross exposure. He loved the extra attention!

[coffeecat]

Thanks everyone for your replies! I really appreciate it. It sounds like NCL does a good job of handling this stuff...will still have to think about our cruise. This allergy thing is very new so I have a lot to figure out and think about. Still have a month to go before final payment so there is some time.

 

Thank you again!

[GamblingMommy]

Our 8 year old daughter has severe allergies to peanut, most tree nuts (so we avoid them all except coconut), green peas, green beans, and lentils. She has cruised on NCL 3 times since the age of 4. As others have suggested make sure NCL knows about the allergy. Each time we have received a call in our cabin the first day by a Food and Bev manager to let us know who to contact in each dining venue about ingredients. When we are out in restaurants and on the ship, she avoids anything unusual. A cruise is not the time to be adventurous if you have food allergies. If you haven't yet, do some research on foods that may have hidden nuts in them and just avoid them when dining out (such as chili, egg rolls, Mexican mole sauce, etc). We also avoid all baked goods on the ship- she's very happy with ice cream everyday! We also have her EpiPen and Benadryl with us. Teach your child NOW to start asking about every 'suspicious' item she encounters. It is a skill they will need for life.