How good is Celebrity about food allergies?

[Bo1953]

Hello queen. We cancelled our 6/27 trip due to concerns about celebrity being able to feed our DD for 11 nights. She is starting a very restricted diet today, and we couldn't chance it. DW tried contacting the special needs dept., along with several other shoreside contacts. ZIP. No response. We cancelled.

 

p - sorry you had to cancel. The contact is via form submission and then touching bases with the Maitre d' once aboard to be sure they have the request and if not, it can be accommodated there without question.

 

Shore side will pass on the information, ship side is where the action and accommodation takes place.

 

As others have stated, X is 97% of the time spot on in taking care of special dietary requests, especially in the MDR and OVC.

 

bon voyage

[sippican]

Hello queen. We cancelled our 6/27 trip due to concerns about celebrity being able to feed our DD for 11 nights. She is starting a very restricted diet today, and we couldn't chance it. DW tried contacting the special needs dept., along with several other shoreside contacts. ZIP. No response. We cancelled.

 

I have three more cruises booked. I've written a letter to X Customer Care about our horrible expereince but have not received a response.

[philpcruiser]

p - sorry you had to cancel. The contact is via form submission and then touching bases with the Maitre d' once aboard to be sure they have the request and if not, it can be accommodated there without question.

 

Shore side will pass on the information, ship side is where the action and accommodation takes place.

 

As others have stated, X is 97% of the time spot on in taking care of special dietary requests, especially in the MDR and OVC.

bon voyage

Bo: we've sailed X before and had zero allergy issues. This time was different. DD'S menu items now number around 7, so we needed to be assured the ship would stock the items prior to embarkation. Some of these items, although readily available on land, I've never seen on board any ship. Calls and emails to shoreside were not answered in time. We just didn't want to risk paying the hefty balance (90 days out) without a guarantee DD would be accommodated .

Sorry, but X blew it. Big time.

[Bo1953]

Bo: we've sailed X before and had zero allergy issues. This time was different. DD'S menu items now number around 7, so we needed to be assured the ship would stock the items prior to embarkation. Some of these items, although readily available on land, I've never seen on board any ship. Calls and emails to shoreside were not answered in time. We just didn't want to risk paying the hefty balance (90 days out) without a guarantee DD would be accommodated .

Sorry, but X blew it. Big time.

 

p - I fully understand your concern and position.

 

 

I trust there are other lines who can meet your DD's needs.

 

bon voyage

[cruisewmn]

I have severe (anaphylactic) food allergies including dairy, gluten, shellfish, and nightshades (potato, tomato, all peppers, eggplant, spices including paprika and chili powder, and more). It's a long, challenging list.

 

Celebrity is fantastic when dealing with food allergies. I give them my list before sailing. Onboard, I speak with the each restaurant the day before dining and preorder my meals. I've never had a reaction onboard. A huge plus is that the chefs still season my food with pre discussed ingredients so that my meals are not only safe, they actually taste good.

 

I've sailed on many cruise lines. Celebrity and Disney have been the best at combining safe food with flavor, but all cruise lines have gone out of their way to accommodate my allergies.

[miXterOB]

My PIC, Jeanne, is allergic to all foods in both the onion and garlic families. Apparently, it runs in her family as both her father and sister had it as well.

X handled it very well on both her X cruises although Equinox did FAR better than the chef in Blu on Reflection last month. She was blown away by the Equinox Blu chef who not only fixed her pre-chosen items(night before) but every night fixed an additional starter and/or entree to sample...special sauces everything. He seemed to enjoy the special challenge. PIC raved about it to all her friends. Reflection Blu did not shine like that and we let them know we were not impressed. The last night, the Maitre'd brought out the chef and we let him know how disappointed we were and how much better the sister ship's crew had performed. I will say, the allergy issue was not compromised but the execution by that one guy was lacking.

Still a Celebrity and Blu fan but be aware...they might need goosed to execute better.

[Queen of Oakville]

Hello queen. We cancelled our 6/27 trip due to concerns about celebrity being able to feed our DD for 11 nights. She is starting a very restricted diet today, and we couldn't chance it. DW tried contacting the special needs dept., along with several other shoreside contacts. ZIP. No response. We cancelled.

 

Hi Phil, I saw on the roll call that you cancelled :(

 

I can tell you my experience with my son who has finally outgrown his peanut allergies. We advised the TA when booking. We filled out the special needs form (can't recall if we received any feedback). At our first MDR dinner (Select dining!) the waiter knew in advance. He called over the Maitre D who promised to take care of us. Each night, I was given the menu for the following night and we pre-ordered his dinner. It was made in a special area to prevent cross-contamination. He received his own bread basket too. At the buffet, I sought out a Maitre D - who took care of us. Pastries that my son wanted (he liked the chocolate croissants!) were set aside for him, and brought to us from the kitchen - shrink-wrapped. If he wanted ice cream, it was scooped for him from a fresh container with a clean scoop.

 

I think you may have found your ship experience to better than the pre-cruise experience, but better to be safe than sorry. Hope your daughter recovers from health issues and you get to sail with her in the near future!

[philpcruiser]

Hi Phil, I saw on the roll call that you cancelled :(

 

I can tell you my experience with my son who has finally outgrown his peanut allergies. We advised the TA when booking. We filled out the special needs form (can't recall if we received any feedback). At our first MDR dinner (Select dining!) the waiter knew in advance. He called over the Maitre D who promised to take care of us. Each night, I was given the menu for the following night and we pre-ordered his dinner. It was made in a special area to prevent cross-contamination. He received his own bread basket too. At the buffet, I sought out a Maitre D - who took care of us. Pastries that my son wanted (he liked the chocolate croissants!) were set aside for him, and brought to us from the kitchen - shrink-wrapped. If he wanted ice cream, it was scooped for him from a fresh container with a clean scoop.

 

I think you may have found your ship experience to better than the pre-cruise experience, but better to be safe than sorry. Hope your daughter recovers from health issues and you get to sail with her in the near future!

 

Hello again, Queen. As I mentioned before, we've sailed X before and had no issues. This time, it was not a question of avoiding certain foods, the issue was will X be able to provide enough options, using a very small choice of food options, for 11 days. Canned vegetables may not be an option. The foods must be fresh. Since they never replied, we may never know.

 

Hope you enjoy the trip. It was very nice last year. The weather was mostly decent. A very few rainy days. Be on the look out for whales.

[Covepointcruiser]

I have severe (anaphylactic) food allergies including dairy, gluten, shellfish, and nightshades (potato, tomato, all peppers, eggplant, spices including paprika and chili powder, and more). It's a long, challenging list.

 

Celebrity is fantastic when dealing with food allergies. I give them my list before sailing. Onboard, I speak with the each restaurant the day before dining and preorder my meals. I've never had a reaction onboard. A huge plus is that the chefs still season my food with pre discussed ingredients so that my meals are not only safe, they actually taste good.

 

I've sailed on many cruise lines. Celebrity and Disney have been the best at combining safe food with flavor, but all cruise lines have gone out of their way to accommodate my allergies.

 

 

I have a nephew who is also severely allergic to all nuts, shellfish and countless other items. He always has a backpack with his epi pens. His parents are very careful with his diet. Because of his severe reactions, they only travel by car or in their RV. They stopped traveling by air when the airlines stated there was no way they could insure that no allergins were on the plane. The crew would announce he was on board and his sensitivities. They would not guarantee other passengers did not have peanuts or that the seats were free of allergens. If he uses an Epi Pen he must immmediately go to a hospital. The hospital on a cruise ship would not have the appropriate facility. You take your life in your own hands when you travel outside of a controlled environment. Most people would not risk an allergic child’s life to take a cruise.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

p - sorry you had to cancel. The contact is via form submission and then touching bases with the Maitre d' once aboard to be sure they have the request and if not, it can be accommodated there without question.

 

Shore side will pass on the information, ship side is where the action and accommodation takes place.

 

As others have stated, X is 97% of the time spot on in taking care of special dietary requests, especially in the MDR and OVC.

 

bon voyage

 

Where do you find the form? The only "form" I could find on the website that dealt with any special needs was all about accessibility - nothing food-related on there. I have just emailed Special Needs to ensure that my reservation is marked gluten-free.

 

Also, as a slight aside... Do they ever have gluten-free chicken fingers like available to be made in the buffet? Obviously I'm not going to eat them every day, but I do like having the option.

[gold1953]

I called the special needs dept. today as I am cruising on Sunday for 15 nights. I ma sensitive to garlic and peppers. not life threatening but not pleasant. They took the info over the phone as claim it is attached to my reservation. I will see when I board on Sunday