Experiences with food allergies?

[JenInMD]

I have food intollerances to egg, rice, tomatos, mushroom and seafood. In the WJ I just tend to stick to pasta (they do a nice pasta in a creamy sauce) and a salad or some roast meat and veges.

In the MDR, I speak to the Maitre 'D, Head Waiter and Waiter and pre-order the next night's dinner.

 

 

Tillydog, did you find that the Maitre 'D and head waiters were helpful & took it seriously? Or did you feel like a nuisance? I am SO limited with what I can eat right now as I try to add more foods back in after a 9-month long elimination diet. I'm bringing my own breakfast cereal & rice milk, as I believe they only have soy milk as a substitute onboard. But lunches & dinners will be a bit challenging. I'm definitely feeling more encouraged after hearing from so many of you. But I'm still nervous, as 11 days is a long time to go if I have issues w/the food...

 

 

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[tillydog]

Tillydog, did you find that the Maitre 'D and head waiters were helpful & took it seriously? Or did you feel like a nuisance? I am SO limited with what I can eat right now as I try to add more foods back in after a 9-month long elimination diet. I'm bringing my own breakfast cereal & rice milk, as I believe they only have soy milk as a substitute onboard. But lunches & dinners will be a bit challenging. I'm definitely feeling more encouraged after hearing from so many of you. But I'm still nervous, as 11 days is a long time to go if I have issues w/the food...

 

Hi JenInMD, yes I found the Maitre 'D, Head Waiter and table waiters took it seriously. Every evening at dinner, the Maitre 'D and the head waiter for the area our table was in would come over to see if my meals were good. And our table waiter would give me the menu for the following evening, so that he could go through it with me as to what meals could be tweeked so that I'd be able to eat it.

Have you checked with RCI about taking your rice milk onboard with you? Just asking as I wasnt able to take my almond milk with me and they couldnt guarruntee that they'd be able to get me any. Luckily I'm able to drink a little bit of skim milk in my tea or hot chocolate. Soy milk is just blurgh!!! So do check about your rice milk.

What are your food allergies/intolerances?

Edited November 30, 2014 by tillydog

[CynBeth]

We have been on the Radiance of the Seas to Alaska and Allure of the Seas to the Western Caribbean and on both ships the staff was wonderful with food allergies. I am lucky enough to not have any issues but my Husband has a condition and can't take a pill for his dairy allergy he has to avoid it and also can't have black pepper or any hot spice. My Mom believe it or not has an issue with salt so she can only have 600 mg a day. We usually eat breakfast in the WJ and they made eggs and potatoes without dairy and salt for them and the few times we had lunch there they managed just fine. Dinners in the MDR were fantastic. They got to see the menus the night before and they were even able to make special non dairy desserts if my husband wanted something other than fruit. The staff has always been great to work with and we have never felt like we were being a bother or causing trouble in any way. They went above and beyond. We are going on our 3rd cruise with them this summer on the Majesty of the Seas to the Bahamas.

[Bo1953]

What I prefer to do, in lieu of personally going to every DR/buffet or food venue I may choose to eat in, I usually send my personal runner to each place upon boarding to figure this out and make the appropriate arrangements before I ever arrive.

 

Sometimes I have them bring food back to the cabin, that way I Am not worrying about if something is 'safe' or not. There have been times when the pre-check did not work, but that is fine in the overall scheme of things.. it works like a charm 98% of the time though.

[CVU]

If you have a Drs letter for your Rice Milk and keep it in your mini fridge or ask for another fridge that keeps meds etc. colder it would work.........I think? Take it on in your carry on to board the ship, so it won't go to the Naughty Room thinking it has alcohol in it.

 

If you really have a lot of food issues I would contact a WJ chef and have him/her work with you and they will prepare your food for you and then you know it is OK. They have the kitchen to use, without all the foods set out as in the MDR. I feel they could not use your rice milk though, as it was not an RCL product and approved etc.

 

There was a passenger that was on a strict salt diet and I saw her many times telling the chef in the WJ, she had arrived and then her food was prepared for her. They had obviously agreed ahead of time on what she was having.

 

So, if you are super concerned, that is what I would do to have an enjoyable cruise and not be worried about every dish and what it contained. It is prepared then just for you with what you can have. I don't know if the MDR would be able to guarantee that??? All depends on how strict your diet is of course.

 

Good luck introducing the new foods, hopefully no more show up to be a problem!!!

[mrsaquashark]

DH is allergic to nuts and shellfish and we have found that if you do traditional dining it works really nicely as the waiter knows and they always bring him the menu for the next day. On a couple of occasions they have changed an accompaniment or a sauce on a dish he otherwise would not be able to eat.

 

He does tend to avoid most of the pastry on board as well as the hard ice creams because of the scoop but is happy enough getting his fill at the soft serve machine by the pool during the day!

 

For specialities we mention it right when we make the reservation and have never had a problem. Happy sailing!

[JenInMD]

DH is allergic to nuts and shellfish and we have found that if you do traditional dining it works really nicely as the waiter knows and they always bring him the menu for the next day. On a couple of occasions they have changed an accompaniment or a sauce on a dish he otherwise would not be able to eat.

 

 

 

He does tend to avoid most of the pastry on board as well as the hard ice creams because of the scoop but is happy enough getting his fill at the soft serve machine by the pool during the day!

 

 

 

For specialities we mention it right when we make the reservation and have never had a problem. Happy sailing!

 

 

We are signed up for My Time, but I think when I go to spread with them, I'll ask if there is a way to sit in the same section every night. The thought of having to explain myself over and over again just stresses me out too much! Thanks for all the tips!

 

 

 

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[packyourpixiedust]

We are signed up for My Time, but I think when I go to spread with them, I'll ask if there is a way to sit in the same section every night. The thought of having to explain myself over and over again just stresses me out too much! Thanks for all the tips!

 

 

 

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I plan to do the same thing. Early dining was sold out on the cruise we booked. The same section would make things easier both with the little one and with my food allergies.

[JenInMD]

Us, too. We didn't have a choice other than my time. Hopefully, they can accommodate us both! :)

 

 

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[Langley Cruisers]

How about on Labadee? Have you found that you could eat there? Or did you go back on the ship for lunch?...

 

Hi Jen,

 

I'm thinking no one directly replied to this vital piece of the puzzle for you. Labadee is a beach day on your cruise, and there is a buffet lunch for passengers. What you may not know is that all the food and drinks you consume are carried off the ship by crew. The food on Labadee is the ship's food. It's not a case of being out there on your own and choosing foods for lunch from unknown vendors.

 

I hope this helps you and makes sense. :)

 

.

[Erwin Family @ Sea]

My DD has egg and shellfish allergy. Notify RCCL prior to cruise and of course waiter in MDR. We also let the staff in the kids club know just in case. We have never had a problem. I am much more concerned on shore excursions than on the ship. Of course always have epi near by.

[cindivan]

We have had positive experiences with RC and food allergies. DS has serious tree and peanut allergies and also shellfish. Sometimes he was s little embarrassed by all attention at MTD but they were very concerned about making sure he was safe. And of probably 10+ RC cruises we have taken in the last 7ish years they have been consistent in the MTD room. Anywhere else you have to be more proactive, and buffets freak me out everywhere with the food allergy issue.

 

We like to do MTD dining at the same time every night with the same waiters if possible. After the first night they (usually) remember we only want the sourdough rolls, it the mix. And with three teen boys just bring a few baskets. 😀.

 

Or if we do specialty dining I try to tell the waiter when we arrive we only want bread with no nuts that haven't touched other breads. RC for the most part is very good about educating their employees in a consistent manner.

 

 

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[bethanymcco]

I have a very deadly peanut allergy that is tipped off by even cross-contamination and have been on several RCCL cruises and have some tips to make life easier and safer!

 

1. Every night at dinner, do an AVO (Avoid Verbal Order... don't know why they call it that, but it allows you to order whatever you need and they will prepare it safely and deliver it to wherever you will be eating) for all of your meals for the next day. You can safely eat in the Windjammer simply by ordering an AVO for breakfast or lunch for the Windjammer. Your head waiter will put the order in each night and just make sure to let them know when you want to eat in the Windjammer. When you show up to the Windjammer, just tell them you have an AVO and in about 5 minutes, your meal will magically appear at your table.

 

2. If you are doing ANY shore excursions that offer snacks or meals, make sure to contact the shore excursions access department. We went on a bus in Tulum and got back on board to discover lunch boxes made up by the ship with peanuts, peanut butter cookies, and a bunch of other contaminated items in them. Thank God my husband speaks Spanish, because I couldn't communicate to them that I couldn't stay on the bus, but they called RCCL right then and paid for us to take a taxi back and paid for the excursion and apologized profusely, but said shore excursions has their own access department and will arrange for those types of issues to be avoided.

 

3. If you ask, they will make you a safe meal and plastic wrap it for you so you can carry it off the ship. I didn't know they were allowed to do this until a few cruises ago when my head waiter asked if I wanted them to make me up a sandwich to take on shore since my excursion was one that was away from the boat and didn't offer food. Oddly though... they WILL NOT serve you on Labadee if you require AVOs, but that's okay since the ship is a stones throw away.

 

4. Don't be shy about ordering what you want. I NEVER used to get desserts and found myself getting very crabby about cruising, so I finally complained about not wanting anymore jello and they asked what I did want. When I told them, they started making me 2 or 3 special desserts per cruise and keeping them aside for me. Now, the dessert I love most is no longer even served, but each cruise they still make me my own entire pie and I go hog wild since eating desserts away from home is something I never have the luxury of doing.

 

5. Just remember, if you aren't living, you're dying... so relax, take precautions, but enjoy every bit of your trip. If there is a food you truly love, but can't have, ask if they can make a version of it they can make that will be safe. We just got off a ship last week and one of the Windjammer chefs loved the challenge and enjoyed getting to "cook" instead of just making the same foods he normally makes.

 

Have fun and hope that helps.

[JenInMD]

Great information, Bethany. Thank you! I wouldn't have thought to contact shore excursions desk. We planned our excursions around making sure we could eat meals on the ship. Your experience with the peanuts on the bus sounds terrifying! Thankfully, I don't react to my allergens unless I ingest them.

 

They really can't accommodate on Labadee? That's a shame! But at least I can have the option of eating onboard and then heading back out again.

 

 

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[docd]

My daughter has a peanut allergy and we just got back from our cruise last week. I never got the impression that the food my daughter received was specially prepared for her. It sounded more like they just made sure it was OK for her to eat. We ate in the MDR for all meals, with the exception of Sorrento's for lunch a few times and at Coco Cay.

 

The wait staff were really great and quite nice, but I never felt confident they actually knew about the food they were serving. For example, they suggested not to order anything with chocolate. Which makes sense, but every dessert that came out had a decorative piece of chocolate on it. So, I am fairly certain the desserts weren't specially prepared for her.

 

I never heard of an AVO, nor did anyone at RCCL ever mention such a thing. We did order my daughters dinner the night before, so I suppose that would be considered an AVO. When I contacted RCCL about food allergies they told me to ask the staff on the ship. When I did ask half of the time I received blank stares. I really did not have a lot of confidence in their answers.

[counsdr]

I also have severe allergies to all fish, seafood and related foods as well as the chance of cross contamination. I also must stay on an extremely low sodium diet. We've done early seating and MTD with same time same table dining every night. The head waiter for our area and Maitre 'd introduced themselves to me the first night and I ordered all my meals for the next day during dinner. I would be greeted by the head waiter at lunch and he would take us to our table and give my order to our waiter. When I went up to the salad bar, they would use a clean salad bowl and pass the word down the line about my allergy so they were very careful about cross contamination. They would not chopped my salad at the end as they said they couldn't guarantee the tool was U contaminated.

Advocate for yourself and know your staff!

Have fun!

Cheryl

[JenInMD]

Thanks, Cheryl. I've been doing a lot of research, and everyone's feedback is definitely making me feel more comfortable about travel.

 

I scheduled an appointment with my allergy specialist before I go just for any last-minute tips and for a refill if my epi (just in case). And, I've been in touch w/RCCL special needs folks, and they have definitely been responsive, too. Fingers crossed I'll be able to enjoy!

 

 

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[phdiva]

I hate feeling like I have to be so high-maintenance!.

 

I hate feeling like I have to be so high-maintenance, too, but I am much higher-maintenance if I don't take care of myself. Patience and manners go a long way toward making meals a better experience for everyone (me, my companions, and our waitstaff).

 

Admittedly, patience and good manners can be hard to practice when I'm mentally freaking out because I almost ate something I shouldn't have. Trust your instincts ... if something doesn't seem right, don't eat it even if the waitperson insists that it's okay.

[khm1]

I was on board Serenade in January '12 eating dinner in the main dining room with my Mom and sister when I heard a medical alert over the loud speaker. After listening, I realized that the alert was originating from where I was sitting. I looked around and saw a woman, a few feet away, in obvious respiratory distress.

 

Within about one minute ('I do not exaggerate), a doctor, a nurse, and a wheelchair came in quickly from the rear of the dining room. The doctor administered an EPI pen and oxygen immediately. They quickly wheeled her back out through the rear of the dinning room. Our waiter said that they were using the service elevator.

 

The next night, our waiter told us that the victim had suffered a food allergy. She had food allergies that she reported to RCL prior to sailing. As it turns out, it was not RCL's fault. She freely admitted that the reaction occurred as a result of her EATING OFF ANOTHER PERSON'S PLATE!!! She was allergic to pepper and the dish that she sampled had pepper in it.

 

She was at dinner the night after the incident, happily having her dinner. I was struck with the thought that had this happened in a restaurant on dry land, there is NO WAY medical staff would have appeared so quickly. I think that she was very fortunate to have been on the ship. The medical team responded extremely fast.

 

My point in telling this story is to reassure the OP. If you are in need of treatment for an inadvertent exposure to an allergen, you are very likely to be in very competent hands.

[counsdr]

Jen, something that I just thought of is an allergy to or reaction from "no see um" bites. I drench myself in repellent and still get bitten severely. I make sure I have an antihistamine, etc with me. One year my DD was bitten so badly, I had to take to the ships Dr. She was treated with nebulizer treatments, antibiotics, etc!

Good luck and enjoy!

Happy, healthy New year!

[JenInMD]

Jen, something that I just thought of is an allergy to or reaction from "no see um" bites. I drench myself in repellent and still get bitten severely. I make sure I have an antihistamine, etc with me. One year my DD was bitten so badly, I had to take to the ships Dr. She was treated with nebulizer treatments, antibiotics, etc!

 

Good luck and enjoy!

 

Happy, healthy New year!

 

 

Thank you for that thought...good reminder to pack the bug spray! ;)

 

 

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[mommyloves2cruise]

My son has multiple food allergies and they were extremely accommodating. There are some things that we learned would help keep him safe. The first, always talk to Your Head Waiter at dinner the first night. The waiters do not know all of the ingredients in the food and the Head Waiters are the most effective in finding out if food is safe. Also, one of the top tier chefs met us at dinner the first night and reviewed my son's allergies with us. He oversaw my son's meals each day and touched base with us on several occasions.

We preordered his meals each night, our Head Waiter gave us his personal phone number and each time we were to go to eat, we would call him and he would tell us which Head Waiter was on duty who would get the safe food for us.

I would not recommend eating in the WindJammer, on the one occasion when we had to, my son's food was preordered and cooked elsewhere. There is too much risk for cross contamination and waiters not knowing what is in food. On Labidee, our Head Waiter told us which dining area we should eat in, when we arrived, we talked with the Head Waiter that was on duty, and he brought my son's preordered meal out if the hot box which had been prepared on the ship.

We brought several factory sealed items on board for my son to eat on board and to bring to ports, this way we didn't have to worry about finding safe food for him in foreign countries. Our Head Waiter arranged for a complimentary fruit basket to be delivered to our room so that he would have food to snack on during the day.

We always bring extra Epi pens/Auvi Q, I try to plan for worst case scenario for how long it would take to get to a hospital. Also, don't forget that the medication can't get too hot or too cold.

 

 

 

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Edited December 29, 2014 by mommyloves2cruise

[JenInMD]

So glad to hear you had such a great experience! Thank you for letting me know about it! I've read mixed reviews about assistance on Labadee, so this makes me hopeful that I won't have to go back into the ship mid-day for lunch.

 

 

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[docd]

My son has multiple food allergies and they were extremely accommodating. There are some things that we learned would help keep him safe. The first, always talk to Your Head Waiter at dinner the first night. The waiters do not know all of the ingredients in the food and the Head Waiters are the most effective in finding out if food is safe. Also, one of the top tier chefs met us at dinner the first night and reviewed my son's allergies with us. He oversaw my son's meals each day and touched base with us on several occasions.

We preordered his meals each night, our Head Waiter gave us his personal phone number and each time we were to go to eat, we would call him and he would tell us which Head Waiter was on duty who would get the safe food for us.

I would not recommend eating in the WindJammer, on the one occasion when we had to, my son's food was preordered and cooked elsewhere. There is too much risk for cross contamination and waiters not knowing what is in food. On Labidee, our Head Waiter told us which dining area we should eat in, when we arrived, we talked with the Head Waiter that was on duty, and he brought my son's preordered meal out if the hot box which had been prepared on the ship.

We brought several factory sealed items on board for my son to eat on board and to bring to ports, this way we didn't have to worry about finding safe food for him in foreign countries. Our Head Waiter arranged for a complimentary fruit basket to be delivered to our room so that he would have food to snack on during the day.

We always bring extra Epi pens/Auvi Q, I try to plan for worst case scenario for how long it would take to get to a hospital. Also, don't forget that the medication can't get too hot or too cold.

 

 

 

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I wish we received that level of treatment. We never talked to a single chef and most of the staff gave me blank stares when I asked about the food. Nobody at the main office offered any information regarding eating at the buffet or elsewhere, like Sorrento's or the Cafe. We were simply told to stick to the main dining room and ask the staff on the ship. That was about as much communication as we ever received. I wasn't impressed at all.

[JenInMD]

I wish we received that level of treatment. We never talked to a single chef and most of the staff gave me blank stares when I asked about the food. Nobody at the main office offered any information regarding eating at the buffet or elsewhere, like Sorrento's or the Cafe. We were simply told to stick to the main dining room and ask the staff on the ship. That was about as much communication as we ever received. I wasn't impressed at all.

 

 

Docd, I'm sorry to hear that was your experience! I'm wondering if you spoke to someone directly either before or upon boarding. Did they just kind of blow you off? Or did you ask while sitting in the MDR or Windjammer? I'm hoping that by going to dining services as soon as we get on the ship, we'll hopefully be given the attention we need.

 

 

 

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