Food Allergy Question - NCL Breakaway

[00cruiser]

My husband and I are considering a cruise aboard the Norwegian Breakaway. We will be travelling with children that have food allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts, nuts and sesame. We have sailed once before on the Norwegian Dawn without any reactions, but were wondering if our experience will be the same on a ship as large as the Breakaway. Has anyone sailed on the Breakaway with food allergies and, if so, how well do you feel the allergies were handled? Any advice/information would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

[Tiggertastic]

Breakaway is as organised as all other ncl ships. You just advise beforehand to ncl and also to the restaurant. We even had a meal made in a different galley once to ensure that there was no cross contamination. We didn't request them do it they just told me when they presented the plate

[00cruiser]

Thanks so much for the quick response! That's great news. :)

[npater]

Hi, my husband has a severe allergy, he is highly allergic to nuts. We have gone on 8 cruises with NCL and have sailed the Breakaway twice. Before we sail I email the access desk and let them know of my husbands allergy. They send me a form to fill out and I email it back to them so it is on record. When we board we meet with one of the maitre des. This cruise Wilbur took very good care of him. We mostly ate at the small dining room, Taste. Wilbur would give my husband the menu for the next day and he would make his choices. For bread on the table they would give him baguettes. If we ate at the buffet for breakfast I would find the chef and he would let him know what to stay away from, but remember there could be cross contamination, that is why we mostly ate at the sit down restaurants. Hopefully this is some help.

[bangzoom6877]

Hi, my husband has a severe allergy, he is highly allergic to nuts. We have gone on 8 cruises with NCL and have sailed the Breakaway twice. Before we sail I email the access desk and let them know of my husbands allergy. They send me a form to fill out and I email it back to them so it is on record. When we board we meet with one of the maitre des. This cruise Wilbur took very good care of him. We mostly ate at the small dining room, Taste. Wilbur would give my husband the menu for the next day and he would make his choices. For bread on the table they would give him baguettes. If we ate at the buffet for breakfast I would find the chef and he would let him know what to stay away from, but remember there could be cross contamination, that is why we mostly ate at the sit down restaurants. Hopefully this is some help.

 

This is good to know! My son is allergic to tree nuts, peanuts and shellfish. I filled out and emailed the form to NCL a while ago, after inquiring via the access desk, the same as you did.

 

Glad to hear there was bread that was safe. My son will be happy about that. How about desserts? What are some desserts he was able to enjoy? And what about the danish and muffins at breakfast? Were any of those safe?

 

We eat mostly in the MDR too, as it's much easier than the buffet for allergies as well as the fact that we enjoy relaxing and being served in the MDR on vacation. But occasionally we grab something at lunchtime from the buffet or grill. In 2011 on the Jewel, when we were only aware of my son's shellfish allergy at that point (discovered the nut allergies in 2012), we were at the pool one afternoon and they opened up a small buffet with burgers and stuff. DS wanted a cheeseburger so I asked the chef if everything was safe for him with the shellfish allergy. The chef said he would feel more comfortable to just go to the back and get DS whatever he wanted. He asked where we were sitting. He went to the back, got a fresh cheeseburger and fries for my son, and served him at the table where we were sitting. Talk about being treated like a king! That was a very big deal to my son and he still talks about it! He was only 6 years old at the time.

 

This will be out first time sailing NCL with the nut allergies though. We sail on the Breakaway in July. We went on Carnival in 2013 and they were wonderful with all his food allergies. He was able to have desserts, danish and croissants at breakfast, and same thing like for your DH, they brought him the menu for the following evening every night in the MDR and he ordered what he wanted. If he was torn between two things, the waiter brought him both!

[npater]

Here r some of the menus. We ate sometimes at Uptown grill. He placed his order and told the girl that he had a nut allergy. U have to try these burgers but should get in line early. They open at noon and we would get in line about 15 min. Early as the line could get long.

 

I have attached a couple of pictures. Hopefully they send.

[npater]

[npater]

 

My husband had the volcano cake a few times and enjoyed it.

[npater]

 

Here he had the pineapple cake

[fshagan]

In 2011 on the Jewel, when we were only aware of my son's shellfish allergy at that point (discovered the nut allergies in 2012), we were at the pool one afternoon and they opened up a small buffet with burgers and stuff. DS wanted a cheeseburger so I asked the chef if everything was safe for him with the shellfish allergy. The chef said he would feel more comfortable to just go to the back and get DS whatever he wanted. He asked where we were sitting. He went to the back, got a fresh cheeseburger and fries for my son, and served him at the table where we were sitting. Talk about being treated like a king! That was a very big deal to my son and he still talks about it! He was only 6 years old at the time.

 

We had friends that went on a tour of the kitchen and were shown a separate area for preparing foods for people with allergies. I'm just speculating, but I think maybe the chef used one of those areas just to be sure your son did not receive any exposure.

 

It shows the care NCL ... and I'm sure all other cruise lines ... take in this regard. We cruised with a couple and the wife had celiac disease, and they were very pleased with the measures NCL took.

[npater]

For breakfast in the buffet he would get an omelette, hash browns, fruit but would not get any bread. The sit Down breakfast would get an omelette, hash browns, silver dollar pancakes (that would be in place of his toast). We ate at teppanyaki for his birthday and just told the girl at the podium of his allergy and when we were seated the person cooking our food also asked if there were any allergies. We had fun there.

[Sparkygirl]

This is good to know! My son is allergic to tree nuts, peanuts and shellfish. I filled out and emailed the form to NCL a while ago, after inquiring via the access desk, the same as you did.

 

 

 

Glad to hear there was bread that was safe. My son will be happy about that. How about desserts? What are some desserts he was able to enjoy? And what about the danish and muffins at breakfast? Were any of those safe?

 

 

 

We eat mostly in the MDR too, as it's much easier than the buffet for allergies as well as the fact that we enjoy relaxing and being served in the MDR on vacation. But occasionally we grab something at lunchtime from the buffet or grill. In 2011 on the Jewel, when we were only aware of my son's shellfish allergy at that point (discovered the nut allergies in 2012), we were at the pool one afternoon and they opened up a small buffet with burgers and stuff. DS wanted a cheeseburger so I asked the chef if everything was safe for him with the shellfish allergy. The chef said he would feel more comfortable to just go to the back and get DS whatever he wanted. He asked where we were sitting. He went to the back, got a fresh cheeseburger and fries for my son, and served him at the table where we were sitting. Talk about being treated like a king! That was a very big deal to my son and he still talks about it! He was only 6 years old at the time.

 

 

 

This will be out first time sailing NCL with the nut allergies though. We sail on the Breakaway in July. We went on Carnival in 2013 and they were wonderful with all his food allergies. He was able to have desserts, danish and croissants at breakfast, and same thing like for your DH, they brought him the menu for the following evening every night in the MDR and he ordered what he wanted. If he was torn between two things, the waiter brought him both!

 

 

My daughter is 4 and has a life threatening latex allergy with latex fruit syndrome (her body does not recognize the protein difference between natural rubber latex and banana, avocado, kiwi and chestnut). We have sailed big ships and smaller ships without a problem. The routine is the same contact access desk, remind about allergies at check in for dinning and ask server again. We often made reservations ahead of time and were expected at a specific location and a certain time. I could spot our table as the box of unopened gloves worn for food prep would already be sitting at our table. We knew they were latex free but I was to check the gloves at each meal and and confirm they were safe for her.

 

She is also treated like royalty with many similar examples to the poster above hamburger story. Fresh fruit from the allergy kitchen as the pre made fruit platters have kiwi, she's gotten faces or unique shapes when her fruit arrives.

 

Breakaway was actually one of the best accommodations we've experienced and have taken that with us as we make arrangements on other ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[00cruiser]

Hi, my husband has a severe allergy, he is highly allergic to nuts. We have gone on 8 cruises with NCL and have sailed the Breakaway twice. Before we sail I email the access desk and let them know of my husbands allergy. They send me a form to fill out and I email it back to them so it is on record. When we board we meet with one of the maitre des. This cruise Wilbur took very good care of him. We mostly ate at the small dining room, Taste. Wilbur would give my husband the menu for the next day and he would make his choices. For bread on the table they would give him baguettes. If we ate at the buffet for breakfast I would find the chef and he would let him know what to stay away from, but remember there could be cross contamination, that is why we mostly ate at the sit down restaurants. Hopefully this is some help.

 

 

That's great news and definitely sets my mind at ease! Just one more question - Were they able to accomodate your husband at O'Sheehans? Looking for some other options in case we miss lunch in the dining room on port days. Thank you so much for your help :)

[00cruiser]

My daughter is 4 and has a life threatening latex allergy with latex fruit syndrome (her body does not recognize the protein difference between natural rubber latex and banana, avocado, kiwi and chestnut). We have sailed big ships and smaller ships without a problem. The routine is the same contact access desk, remind about allergies at check in for dinning and ask server again. We often made reservations ahead of time and were expected at a specific location and a certain time. I could spot our table as the box of unopened gloves worn for food prep would already be sitting at our table. We knew they were latex free but I was to check the gloves at each meal and and confirm they were safe for her.

 

She is also treated like royalty with many similar examples to the poster above hamburger story. Fresh fruit from the allergy kitchen as the pre made fruit platters have kiwi, she's gotten faces or unique shapes when her fruit arrives.

 

Breakaway was actually one of the best accommodations we've experienced and have taken that with us as we make arrangements on other ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Music to my ears! So wonderful to hear that they are so willing and able to make accommodations on such a large ship! I was initially hesitant to cruise with allergies at first, but honestly our 3 past cruise experiences have been so positive. My only fear was that it would be harder to manage with a ship as large as the Breakaway, with all of the food options. Thank you so much setting my mind at ease :)

[cruisin0504]

Does the uptown grill on the BA have gluten free buns?

Edited June 7, 2015 by cruisin0504

[WoodsDrive]

We sailed Getaway last month and the staff was wonderful. When we ate at a sit down venue, wait staff always asked if there were any allergies. Hubby is allergic to raw celery and parsley (epi-pen level) and they were very attentive. We did not expect this level in the buffet, and he would just ask if a salad contained either. At Tropicana, the person we asked went to the chef.