Playa Mia and food allergies

[erinmomof2]

Our family is going on our first cruise in November and we are starting to think about shore excursions. Right now I am leaning towards Playa Mia (we are a family of 4 and kids are 8 and 11). I noticed you can book with the buffet option for not too much more. Two of us in the family have Celiac Disease and are very strictly gluten free. Since this is our first time going out of the country, I'm not sure how other places handle this or if they will even know what I am talking about if I try to explain it. Does anyone know if the buffet would have gf options? Or in the alternative could anyone tell me if you are allowed to bring any gf options with you off of the ship to eat later? If none of these options work I'm thinking of only booking excursions that are short and would allow us to get back on board for lunch, but that seems like a waste of our day. I should also add that one has low blood sugar so waiting and eating a very late lunch probably wouldn't work.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Are you looking to do the excursion through the cruise line or on your own? If through the cruise line, which one?

 

One of our excursions through Carnival included a lunch. I emailed Carnival's excursion department about a GF lunch, and they arranged it with the tour company for us.

 

If you are doing the excursion through your cruise line, I'd suggest contacting the cruise line's excursion department. If you are not, I'd suggest emailing Playa Mia and asking them directly.

[crewsweeper]

Your alternative is to eat only things you know for sure are gluten free. That would probably entail avoiding anything with a sauce unless they can tell you there's wheat flour used. But even the corn tortillas may have wheat flour in they to augment their texture. Rice should be okay. Veggies and maybe black beans if not in a liquid. Obviosuly grilled meats, just watch the sauce. Most other countries in the world aren't as obsessed with various fad diets like in the US. That can, unfortunately, be a detriment to folks with celiac disease.

 

Do some research on line at various health sites or celiac disease sites (avoid the scamming gluten free commercial and alternative medicine sites as they're pushing stuff that doesn't even come close to having gluten in it) and get a list of common foods in Mexico that are known to be gluten free. Any listing for Americanized Mexican, Tex-Mex, could be helpful. Just be prepared to ask questions if you're not sure and if you can't get a straight answer, don't eat it.

Edited July 9, 2015 by crewsweeper

[wadethegringo]

Last week we did the Mexican cooking class excursion. Was great. The first thing the chef / instructor, after taking our drink order was to ask us about any allergies. We had a great time in the class cooked and ate our own meal. private dinning room and plenty of beach time.

[skittl1321]

I can't help with Playa Mia, but note that if you do choose to take food off the ship, it must be factory packaged (so no room service sandwiches, fresh fruit- etc). Very often, there will be someone checking when you debark in Cozumel.

 

And even if someone isn't checking, it is still against the law :)

[mrsfuzzmo]

Your alternative is to eat only things you know for sure are gluten free. That would probably entail avoiding anything with a sauce unless they can tell you there's wheat flour used. But even the corn tortillas may have wheat flour in they to augment their texture. Rice should be okay. Veggies and maybe black beans if not in a liquid. Obviosuly grilled meats, just watch the sauce. Most other countries in the world aren't as obsessed with various fad diets like in the US. That can, unfortunately, be a detriment to folks with celiac disease.

 

Do some research on line at various health sites or celiac disease sites (avoid the scamming gluten free commercial and alternative medicine sites as they're pushing stuff that doesn't even come close to having gluten in it) and get a list of common foods in Mexico that are known to be gluten free. Any listing for Americanized Mexican, Tex-Mex, could be helpful. Just be prepared to ask questions if you're not sure and if you can't get a straight answer, don't eat it.

 

I think this is great advice and always wonder about people with specific dietary restrictions (specifically gluten-free). If it's a question if something is made with your allgergen, then stick with foods that you know specifically do not have them. I would think for one meal in a port (or on an excursion) there would be at least one thing that you can eat (meat/chicken, fruit, salad, etc.???)

 

I'm not flaming anyone here, considering I don't have any food allergies, I'm just trying to understand. :)

[erinmomof2]

Thanks for the suggestions. Generally when traveling we tend to stick to pretty much the same few destinations where I know we can find safe food. This year we decided to try something new and it's stressing me out. What I would like to do is bring some protein bars or something on board with me that I could take with us when we will be eating off the ship but it seems that is not allowed. As far as just picking something safe, the only thing I think I could be sure of would be fresh fruit. Many meats are cooked with a rub/marinade that are not gluten free and even some salad dressings contain gluten. Normally I can ask and find out but I'm not sure how familiar people in a foreign country would be with gluten free options. I'm probably over thinking all of this, but the last thing I want to deal with on vacation is getting sick.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Thanks for the suggestions. Generally when traveling we tend to stick to pretty much the same few destinations where I know we can find safe food. This year we decided to try something new and it's stressing me out. What I would like to do is bring some protein bars or something on board with me that I could take with us when we will be eating off the ship but it seems that is not allowed. As far as just picking something safe, the only thing I think I could be sure of would be fresh fruit. Many meats are cooked with a rub/marinade that are not gluten free and even some salad dressings contain gluten. Normally I can ask and find out but I'm not sure how familiar people in a foreign country would be with gluten free options. I'm probably over thinking all of this, but the last thing I want to deal with on vacation is getting sick.

 

You can definitely take protein bars off the ship is they are factory sealed (in their original packaging, etc.). Any kinds of fresh food, fruit, meats, etc. will be confiscated, but lots of people take dry snacks in the package along with them on shore for a quick snack, so I think you should be fine that way.

[ABQrobin]

I would highly suggest you buy at home some gluten free snacks in packages to take with you. As long as they are factory sealed, you can keep them in your bag when you go ashore.

 

As far as eating at Playa Mia, as well as most places on Cozumel.. flour is not typically used in cooking. Flour tortillas are probably the only thing you will see. Food is more typically made from fresh fruits and vegetables, meats marinated in fresh fruit juices. It is much more "clean" eating than we do here in USA. It should be easy to tell if the food is safe for you.

 

FYI - I don't have celiacs but I do try to eat gluten-free as it is recommended for an anti-inflamatory diet. It is harder to stay gluten-free on the ship than you will find at most ports... Americans put gluten (wheat) as filler in everything. Sad but true.

[AmberCascades]

Definitely bring some packaged bars with you and inform the cruise ship or wherever else you are going. Also, check out the website below. You can get printable cards in different languages to take with you. We've used them while in Mexico, Iceland and Norway. Present it to whomever is serving you and they can read exactly what it is you are allergic to and advise you appropriately.

 

Not everyone knows what gluten is. My celiac DH has been offered whole-wheat pasta dishes because "it's okay, it's vegetarian" :eek: Yeah, so, we hand over the card and it says in their language what the issue is.

 

http://www.celiactravel.com

[mawvkysc]

If you scroll down on this review you will see a pretty good photo of the a la carte menu. Maybe this would be a better option than the buffet. Post #157.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1851647&page=8

[Mrs.Gosse]

There will be fruit, vegetables and there is a salad bar. Its a large salad bar so I would say as long as you are comfortable with having a salad you will have plenty to eat. I would be wary of some seasonings on some of the meat as many contain gluten but there are a lot of plain meat options on the buffet. There will be fruit sniffing dogs as you get off the ship. Do not try and take anything like that or it will be confiscated. We found the buffet to be very good, better than we expected. I love playa Mia. Will you be drinking?