Food Allergies

[TxChick]

I know I can alert Carnival to my food allergies and accommodations can be made; however, am I still allowed to order what I want?

 

My allergies aren't severe enough to put me into anaphylactic shock but they mainly cause wheezing, gastric upset or rash in varying degrees. The reason I ask is because while I avoid spinach, turkey, yeast, and barley, I can't imagine what I'll get served if I alert them to my garlic and lettuce allergy. I normally just eat things I'm sensitive to in moderation. My fear is I try to order something and I'm shut down. At the same time, yeast and barley can cause breathing issues and they are in so much I do better if I follow a gluten free diet.

 

Thoughts?

[StephenNSamantha]

Samantha has severe food allergies to squash, zucchini, and most fruits. In the past she has had help from the assistant maitre'd in going over the menus in advance and selecting appropriate food for her. If they can make something without the ingredient she is allergic to, they will.

[Elaine5715]

Yes, if you order something that clearly has your allergen as an ingredient, the wait staff will take your order.

They Will help identify dishes with unobvious ingredients and will prepare dishes without your allergen but you are expected to be responsible .

so you were allergic to lobster and ordered a lobster, no one is gonna snatch it out of your hand.

[DebJ14]

It can also depend on how much the hostess handling your orders knows about food allergies. We had a Russian girl on the Triumph who was really zealous. We are on GF diets (medical need, not choice) and she watched out for us. My husband wanted something that could not be made GF and she absolutely would not allow it even though he said he would take responsibility if he got sick.

 

One night I just wasn't hungry and was picking at my food and she saw that from the upper level. She swooped down the stairs and raced to the table to find out what was wrong with my dinner. I had a devil of a time convincing her it was me, not the food.

[SadieN]

DD has a nut allergy.

 

We see the Maitre 'D just after embarkation to let them know. At that time DD chooses her meal. At dinner the hostess will come by and take the next day's order.

 

At the buffet talk with the Lido hostess (sometimes they're not around) or the Lido chef.

[TxChick]

Thank you all so much.

[Muumuu]

Adult daughter has several food allergies. We learned the hard way to always check in with the assistant maitre'd. Always! FYI. The wait staff does not know all ingredients in each dish. This is how our daughter became ill. They don't know!

Each evening the assistant maitre'd would go over the menu with a list of ingredients in each. She also was there for any dish made on the ship from buffet to steakhouse.

As a nurse I can assure you just because you have a slight reaction to something that does not mean at some point it will not become serious. I have seen this with my daughter and others.

Better safe than sorry

Edited January 3, 2015 by Muumuu

[Tetromibi]

Just be aware that if you tell them up front about the allergy, and each night at dinner someone will come by with the menu for the following day.

 

The practice sounds fine in theory, but it can also be a bit of a nuisance.

 

It worked great on the Fantasy when we had a large group that took a long time to eat.

 

However, on the Glory, it was just my wife and I cruising. The first three nights we ate our entire meal plus dessert, and then we ended up waiting an extra 20-30 minutes for the person to finally come around with the menu to take my next day's order.

 

We ended up just going to the Lido buffet for the remainder of the cruise rather than being forced to sit at the table for an additional half hour each night after finishing eating.

[DebJ14]

Just be aware that if you tell them up front about the allergy, and each night at dinner someone will come by with the menu for the following day.

 

The practice sounds fine in theory, but it can also be a bit of a nuisance.

 

It worked great on the Fantasy when we had a large group that took a long time to eat.

 

However, on the Glory, it was just my wife and I cruising. The first three nights we ate our entire meal plus dessert, and then we ended up waiting an extra 20-30 minutes for the person to finally come around with the menu to take my next day's order.

 

We ended up just going to the Lido buffet for the remainder of the cruise rather than being forced to sit at the table for an additional half hour each night after finishing eating.

 

We always get a table for 2 so we are done quickly. On our last cruise on the Breeze our waiter, who was super knowledgeable about what we could or could not have, took the orders.

On Princess we were always done well before the Head Waiter came to take our order so the waiters would bring us the menus and go find they guy so we did not have to wait.

 

Just say something to your waiter and they will find the person, don't sit there and stew about it.

[TxChick]

I plan on visiting with the matre d the first day. I know to avoid breads, etc but just about everything has garlic in somehow so I don't want to be stuck eating rubber chicken the entire cruise when it's a mild allergy that only causes bloating. My main concern is the barley because I can eat it and it takes 5 days to clear my system.

[Tetromibi]

We always get a table for 2 so we are done quickly. On our last cruise on the Breeze our waiter, who was super knowledgeable about what we could or could not have, took the orders.

On Princess we were always done well before the Head Waiter came to take our order so the waiters would bring us the menus and go find they guy so we did not have to wait.

 

Just say something to your waiter and they will find the person, don't sit there and stew about it.

 

We did each night. Our waitress just told us the person was busy and would get there as soon as they could. *shrug*

[iamsteph]

If you can't have the bread, barley, gluteny stuff, but everything else is ok-ish, then tell them you need to eat gluten free and don't worry about the other stuff. They will make you gluten free bread (taste can be hit or miss lol) and pasta, etc.

 

You can tell them about everything and they'll do the best they can to accommodate.

 

 

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