Allergies and ATD how is it managed?

[tigercat]

I usually do fixed dining but am going on a cruise with 4 other people who want to do ATD. I can't have wheat, seafood, kiwi and any alcohol. Will they be able to look after me the way they do on fixed dining?

tigercat

[blondietink]

My son has severe food allergies and we have been on 3 Carnival cruises so far. We have always had ATD. You need to contact the Special Needs Department at Carnival and tell them about your food allergies. The hostess will then meet with you the first night and go over that menu. At the end of the first night's meal, the hostess will come over with the next evening's menu and go over it with you, note what you would like and the chef will make it especially for you. When you go to dinner that next evening, the waiter will have it noted and will bring your specially made food to you. No problem!

 

My son has allergies to milk products, wheat, soy and egg. He has never had a bad meal!

[Roscoe13]

I usually do fixed dining but am going on a cruise with 4 other people who want to do ATD. I can't have wheat, seafood, kiwi and any alcohol. Will they be able to look after me the way they do on fixed dining?

tigercat

 

If cross contamination is an issue for then I'd highly recommend a set seating time. My wife has Celiac disease and we tried ATD but found it hard to explain the dangers of cross contamination to a potential different server every night.

[kj6shv]

I have cruised on the Legend and Fascination. On both ships I met with the dining room staff to go over my allergies to shellfish. They explained my food will be prepared in another area of the kitchen to avoid cross contamination. We chose ATD with no problem. I chose my meals the day before. The staff was awesome about dealing with my severe allergy. On a side note, I brought an Epi pen holder called a Frio that kept it at an acceptable temperature on my excursions. I felt completely safe in the dining room on both ships.

[Rainbowfalls]

My bf has onion allergies and had no problem with anytime dining. I called special needs weeks before the cruise then a couple of days before leaving just to make sure it was listed on his passenger information.

 

The first night we had dinner in the MDR the head hostess was informed we had been seated and she arrived with a menu of the night and told him what they could customize for the first night (since they really had no time to prep for him) and what contained onions already in it that they could not change.

 

She then gave him a menu for the next night and told him again what comes already prepped that they cannot really change but can kind of remake specially for him, and things that they can just not add the items to.

 

This happened every night. They were very helpful too because a couple of times since he had to order the night before when that night came he wasn't in the mood for what he preordered so they were able to adjust to the change.

 

I was very impressed with how they handled everything and made him feel a bit better (though embarrassed) about not having to look though all his food for a stray onion.

[tigercat]

How will your wait staff know that you have a special meal? I know for any time dining they do know because they are serving you every night but if you get a different wait staff every night they won't know.

My TA has already put it on my reservation and will let them know again before we leave.

tigercat

[golfadj]

Similar situation with DW who gets migraines from eating certain foods.

 

Last line of defense is asst waiter who goes and gets the food.

 

We managed to have the same waitstaff each night for anytime so they knew what to look for and it worked perfectly.

 

More danger if you have different ones each night.

[swoffie]

When you enter they ask cabin number. The special meal request pops up and the hostess takes the slip to the waiter. Never had a problem with my son's seafood allergy.

[hftmrock]

you can also get the same wait staff every meal with ATD. that is never a problem. Just request them

[OCruisers]

Also they are very will be very well aware of the cross contamination issue. :)

 

LuLu

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Edited November 11, 2013 by OCruisers

[tigercat]

Thanks for all the replies. I will feel more comfortable doing ATD now.

tigercat

[chasinraynbowz]

I know people say to contact the Special Needs Dept, but I have had NO luck doing that. When I contacted Special Needs, I was told to let them know on the ship. When I called my PVP, he said the same thing. So when you board the ship, be sure to see the maitre'd and let him know. You will be assigned a hostess who will meet with you each evening during dinner to let you pick out your meal for the next evening. I have peanut allergies and they have been absolutely wonderful!!

 

Bon voyage!!

[tigercat]

I know people say to contact the Special Needs Dept, but I have had NO luck doing that. When I contacted Special Needs, I was told to let them know on the ship. When I called my PVP, he said the same thing. So when you board the ship, be sure to see the maitre'd and let him know. You will be assigned a hostess who will meet with you each evening during dinner to let you pick out your meal for the next evening. I have peanut allergies and they have been absolutely wonderful!!

 

Bon voyage!!

 

I agree. Everytime I have sailed we (my TA and I) have contacted Special Needs several times before I cruise and still have to let them know when I get on board. They have no idea that I have contacted them for it before.

tigercat

[blondietink]

By the way, the hostess can get whomever coordinates the food allergy stuff for the dining room to come out and talk to you personally. We have done this and that person was extremely helpful, especially when it came to suggesting what items to stay away from on the Lido deck. There were some things I had no idea had milk in them, which if my son had eaten them, he would have broken out in hives.

 

When In doubt, my son will just pick out fresh fruits, salad with no dressing and fresh vegetables.

[vwrestler171]

We just got off our cruise, and my daughter has food allergies. We just met with the hostess every day to plan the next days meals, when we went to check in for meals they would know that we had a special meal and it would be ready shortly. Worked great. We had ATD as well and won't hesitate to take my daughter again