Gluten-free food options on Oasis (or Allure)?

[gpb]

We are sailing on Oasis soon. I would like to compile a list of places onboard where gluten-free foods are available. Please share here. I hate being the person holding up the waitstaff (or the buffet line) to find out if XXXX is gluten-free because I am tired of lettuce and rice. [emoji12] I hope this list will be helpful to others too.

 

I read elsewhere that you can order gluten-free pizza at Sorrento's, so that's first on the list!

[Clarea]

You should contact [noparse]special_needs@rccl.com[/noparse] and notify them of your dietary restrictions.

[spookwife]

Not how it works since menu items may be subject to availability. For the buffet you do need to speak to a chef each meal. For mdr you may have to choose your options the day before. They may label items as gf. And there will be gif bread available. But there won't be any all encompassing list.

[xxoocruiser]

Also suggest that the OP does a search of the RCCL Forum using the key words "Gluten" and or Gluten Free" as much helpful information has already been posted regarding this very issue.

[Lionesss]

Also you can meet with the Maitre D in Main dining room upon boarding to confirm what you are able to set up pre cruise.

 

Even though the WJ has a glutenn free section: Your best bet would be to avoid the gluten free section in the windjammer with the possibility of cross contamination from people who do not understand your dietary needs and possible cross contamination with utensils.

 

The MDR would be a hopefully safer place for you, since they have dealt with this dietary need before.

 

Good luck

[gpb]

Thanks for ideas. We do OK in the MDR, and our dietary needs are noted in our reservation. But there are so many new places to eat on Oasis that I hoped for some recent tips or advice. I am searching the boards and hope to compile a useful list here.

[Betsynh]

Following... I'm also GF and sailing on Oasis January 9th. I have had great success eating GF on several Royal ships. The pizza at Sorrento's on the Freedom was a special order and took about 7 minutes... worth it! I'm wheat allergic, not celiac, so I can handle a little cross contamination.

 

On Freedom, there were no amazing chocolate desserts that satisfied my chocoholic sweet tooth. So I joked with the waiter about begging the chef for a flourless chocolate cake. Lo and behold, the next night (and for the rest of my cruise) I had flourless chocolate cake for dessert. Not sure if Oasis is too big for that kind of service, but I'm excited to find out.

 

Happy sailing!

[Jonah315]

We sailed on Oasis March 2015. My wife is gf and had no trouble at all. Windjammer is tough as it gets crowded and hard to avoid cross contamination. They will do gf toast if you ask at the toast station. Sorrento's does great gf pizza (according to her) so a couple of times she would get that and meet us in the WJ to eat it there with us. The Roast Beef sandwiches in Central Park can also be made gf and she had that often too. The beef is gf so they use good gf bread. She loved that.

 

The key is go to the Head Waiter at the restaurant on the day you board and introduce yourself to make sure they have you down as gf. They will take care of you very nicely. She got a plate of gf bread with every meal, different types rather than plain white or rice flour bread. They have a separate gf section of the kitchen so do a really good job at accommodating but without making someone feel singled out. We did most of our breakfasts in the mdr as it was less crowded - still had the buffet for the kids but less crowds that wj.

 

I will say the Freedom was our best experience as gf but Oasis was pretty close.

 

Bob

[heartscontent]

Royal Caribbean does gluten free dining very well. As there is a big difference between gluten free and celiac friendly gluten free, it is important for you to let your head waiters know what level of GF dining you actually require. For example, at the Johnny Rockets on Independence, the head chef advised me that the french fries were not a good choice for me even though they were GF and cooked in a dedicated fryer. Because it was located beside a regular fryer, he was concerned that the splashing could cross-contaminate the fries. I was happy for the heads up, but a person with lesser sensitivity would likely enjoy the fries very much. As others have mentioned, one of the first things you should do upon boarding is visit the dining room manager where you will be set up with a very capable head waiter for the week, even in My Time Dining. You will make your main dining room menu choices a day ahead. While many items are marked GF, I found on Allure that not all of these were available as celiac friendly options. The head waiter was always very helpful in making suggestions as to what alternatives were available. Breakfast and lunch in the main dining room are offered on sea days and again, if GF options were not considered safe they offered alternatives such as a broiled salmon fillet and greens. I found that I preferred to eat at the Solarium cafe rather than the Windjammer for breakfast and lunch as it is a smaller venue. I would explain my GF needs to the manager and place a special order which would then be delivered to my table. Unless you have a very low sensitivity level, I would not recommend eating at the buffets either in the Solarium or in the Windjammer. While dining at specialty restaurants, I have had the best success in going to visit the manager ahead of time to make my GF needs known and let them assist me in making menu choices. If they know ahead, they have been known to make special arrangements, like the time the Giovanni's manager got a GF creme brulee from Chops for me! One of the simplest GF treats you will find on board are the Udi's Snickerdoodle or chocolate chip cookies available at the Cafe Promenade. These are not on display but all you have to do is ask and they will get you individually wrapped cookies, often by the handful! As a GF person, you probably already know this, but I would strongly recommend you bring along a lot of GF protein bars just in case you have trouble finding safe lunch choices while off the ship in port or at the airport. Have a great cruise!

[Betsynh]

Brilliant advice! I'd forgotten about the Udi's cookies... I was worried about not having traditional dining (we are waitlisted), but glad to see that MTD is equally as accommodating. Thanks so much!

[maryjaden]

My adult daughter is gluten free. She contacted the special needs department prior to our cruise. She also went to the MDR as soon as we boarded. When she went to the Windjammer, the staff there went and got one of the chefs and he escorted her around the Windjammer. This was on the Oasis and she had no problems whatsoever.

 

Though I do believe it was due to the fact she did some advance planning. I would suggest taking along some GF snacks to take with her off the ship to shore. She did find selections limited once ashore.