Gluten free and low/no sodium on Sostice

[knomad]

I am usually a reader, not a poster, but I hope my experience may be useful to someone. I’m sorry if this is a bit long.

We were on the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska on the June 7. I have several dietary restrictions, the main ones being gluten free and low/no sodium. I had registered my needs with Celebrity and was assured that it would not be a problem.

Celebrity did a great job with the gluten free, but I was surprised to find out the first night of the cruise that the low/no sodium was a problem.

Here’s the good, the bad, and the excellent:

When we booked the cruise, only Select Dining was available. We are Captain’s Club Elite, and were supposedly put on the priority wait list for main dining (I explained to them that it would best if I was at the same table and had the same waiter every night so that they would be aware of my needs). We were told to see the Maitre d’ as soon as we got on board. We hit a brick wall, even after explaining my needs. No main dining room, not a chance.

So, we went to Select Dining that night and hoped for the best. We had to do this once before on another cruise line and it had worked out. We went at the same time every night and they held the same table for us every night.

No such luck here. The items that were gluten free were actually marked on the menu (Yea!). But, when I said I was on strict doctor’s orders for little or no salt, the waiter looked at me like I was crazy. He said that they don’t put much salt in their food. Well, I know that’s not true. We explained again, nicely, that I really can’t have ANY salt. He looked disgusted. I was beginning to panic a bit. I had brought Kind bars, and I was thinking I might be living on them all week. The head waiter came around and asked how our meal was and my husband and I went into the explanation again of what I needed. The waiter then came over and said, “I know, I know, I’m going to bring you the menu for tomorrow night”. He seemed really irritated. We were at a table for two, but the tables were so close together, it was like sitting at a long banquet table. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to cry. I hate to make a fuss.

The next night, was a big improvement. They presented me with a menu, but the assistant waiter said it was just a formality because my food was already prepared. They had done everything I had ordered gluten free and with no salt and they even brought me a biscuit that the chef had made that was gluten free and no salt. (Yea!) They said the chef had made me a special dessert and brought out a chocolate mousse! I love chocolate mousse – it’s one of my favorite. I still felt embarrassed though, because every time the waiter brought my food, he said very loudly, “Prepared especially for you”. Very nice, but the tone of voice sounded like he thought I was a pain in the neck. We never went back to the dining room.

The next night was our anniversary and we had reservations at Murano. We had bought the 3 dinner package in the specialty restaurants, and they were amazing and wonderful. We went each night to order my meal for the next night. They cooked everything for me with no salt. At Silk Harvest (Nana was our wonderful waiter) they made me special gluten free, no added salt shrimp tempura!! Oh, that was so good! And an appetizer, beef and chicken on a skewer, that had a peanut butter sauce. And orange chicken! At Silk Harvest, the chef himself had actually come out to take my order and talk to me about what he could do for me. I really enjoyed it. Chinese food is something I usually can’t eat at home because of the gluten and salt. It was wonderful!

Murano was amazing and took very good care of me. I felt very, very spoiled. Our waiter, Alexander, was very knowledgeable about what I could eat and made excellent suggestions. He would double check with the chef. We ate there two nights because we enjoyed it so much and I felt so safe eating there.

Murano and Tuscan Grill both had gluten free bread for me.

I’ve got to put a good word in about the buffet, too. The day we boarded, for lunch, we went to the buffet. I was thinking I could eat a salad and some fruit. There was a chef standing in the middle of the buffet. My husband went up to him and told him my restrictions and asked what I could eat. He was extremely helpful, pointing out everything that was gluten free (and there was quite a bit, including pizza and pasta and bread) and then going over what the best things were for low/no sodium. He said he would be there every day and to just come by and check with him. He was very, very nice and helpful.

And a note about Bistro on Five – I was so excited because I had read that they made gluten free crepes! We had a very sweet waitress who ran back and forth to the chef checking to see what fillings I could have in the crepes. I wanted scrambled eggs, mushrooms, spinach, and swiss cheese. All I could have was scrambled eggs. The chef said the mushrooms and spinach were pre-marinated in salt water. (Huh?)

By the way, a safe bet for me is usually a steak with no seasoning. The dining room said no, all their steaks are pre-marinated. However, the specialty restaurants don’t pre-marinate their steaks.

We found the Aqua Spa café in the Solarium, and usually ate lunch there. They made a chicken salad with Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, and it was great. Only one hiccup there – they had mushroom soup and the person behind the counter said it did not have salt in it. Oh happy day! I had eaten a few spoonfuls and was enjoying it thoroughly when I began to get suspicious that this tasted too good to not have salt in it (I’ve got used to my food tasting bland). My husband tasted it and said he was sure it had salt. I was really hoping it was just well seasoned with herbs and such (please, please, please). He found another server, a lady, and she said she thought it did have salt. It turned out they used soy sauce (gluten free). Soy sauce is sky high in sodium. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted! And we learned to start saying, “No sodium or soy sauce!” 

One more thing. Room service does not do gluten free or low sodium. You can order a fully cooked breakfast before 10:00, but if you call near 10:00 and need gluten free, they tell you to go to a dining room. Unfortunately, I got sick the second day of the cruise and had to stay in bed with my leg elevated. (My leg was swollen, it got infected, and it broke out in blisters. So much for our romantic anniversary celebration!) Anyway, the response we got from room service was that they don’t do gluten free or low sodium. Go to a restaurant. My husband said they were rather rude about it. So, at lunch and dinner, we would bandage my leg, wrap it in gauze, go eat, and hurry back to the cabin to get it elevated again. For breakfast, I had packed a box of my gluten free cereal – so all we had to order was milk, a bowl, and a spoon. Yes, I am one of those people who travel with a small suitcase full of gluten free cereal, crackers, Kind bars, and graham crackers just in case. Have GF food, will travel! (Luckily, we had a rear balcony, so I only had to turn my head for a great view! And, my husband, bless him, said if I had been well we would have been busy with sightseeing, but this way we had lots of good time together to just talk and take it easy. I am blessed!)

[wisteria1019]

Thanks for the great info. My husband's doctor has recently suggested that he go gluten free. We are sailing a B2B - the first half dining in the mian dining room, the second in Blu. We have been debating whether or not to alert Celebrity to his new requirement or just trust that there will be enough on the menu available as gluten free.

 

Dawn

[Sabbycat]

Thanks for the great info. My husband's doctor has recently suggested that he go gluten free. We are sailing a B2B - the first half dining in the mian dining room, the second in Blu. We have been debating whether or not to alert Celebrity to his new requirement or just trust that there will be enough on the menu available as gluten free.

 

Dawn

 

Because of the high number of ingredients that can contain gluten I would strenuously suggest that you report your allergy to X so that your reservation is flagged. It is also then recommended that you see the MDR/BLU maitre d' upon boarding to remind them of his GF diet.

 

It a vacation and your husband would probably prefer to feel his best rather than run down and terrible. Furthermore, there are multiple threads on this board regarding X's handling of those passengers on GF diets; it would appear they are getting MUCH better.

 

Happy travels :)