Cruising with Celiac Disease

[Poohjo]

My DD suffers from Celiac Disease and has to eat a gluten free diet. We've already noted our reservation regarding her dietary needs and know she will be taken care of in the dining room each evening for dinner, however, we are concerned about her dining in the buffet, IC, the grill and also the pizzeria. Has anyone with Celiacs cruised on the Crown Princess and if so, what was ur experience? We are all very educated on what she can eat and what she can't, however, one of the biggest issues has to do with cross contamination which will make her sick for days. 

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Thanks, 

 

Penny

[capriccio]

While you are waiting for first hand responses, here is a recent thread that might help:

 

 

[KurtMo]

I strongly suggest you use a fixed dining time and they can furnish the next evening's menu in advance and often can prep-ahead items gluten-free that are not usually available gluten-free on short notice.  Also, they'll be able to provide gluten-free breads for her.   The buffet is probably a place to be cautious, as cross-contamination could occur due to the carelessness of passengers (moving tongs or spoons, etc.).  Some ships can also do gluten-free pizza with maybe a 15-20 minute wait.

[Ruthmcp]

Can you let me know whereabouts on Cruise Personalizer the special dietary request is recorded? My husband has coeliac disease and I put in the request for gluten free via Cruise Personalizer, it was confirmed by email but does not show up anywhere when I go into our booking. We are not travelling until August (Baltic Heritage from Southampton on Sapphire Princess) but I want to be sure that there are no issues once we are on board!

[cabin4three]

Whilst not coeliac,  we have cruised with family members who have severe shellfish allergy and meat protein allergy.

As others have said the staff in MDR  are excellent,  inform Princess before you sail, tell the maitre D and waiters.  

On our last cruise our waiter changed his apron before serving our table and the other waiter  handled the shellfish dishes for those they served in our section. 

You can request the menu for the following evening and choose ahead of time if you wish.

The pizzeria staff will make you a fresh pizza when asked with no problem at all,  ask them to change apron and gloves, they will do so happily.

The only time we had to be very careful was at the buffet when other passengers contaminated the containers,  but the staff are happy to bring a fresh container or being a portion from the kitchen.

You might be very restricted in terms of the IC, and if you use the self serve ice cream machine  set the first portin aside in case there is contamination from a cone.

I cant help in terms of drinks though, obviously some beers and spirits contain gluten but I would expect that the barstaff are knowledgeable.

[gwade]

Wife has been celiac for years. Cruises are now the favored option for vacations because she a) generally gets very good service to support it and b) it is more trusted than your average restaurant on the street. Some staff are "less than interested" in helping, but for the most part all wait staff are trained. The buffet is one area where she is more cautious, but you can usually get a chef to come out and explain what has been made with flour, soy sauce, etc. and what hasn't.

 

MDR has a safe station to prepare meals and is the easiest choice as you can pre-select a day in advance as others have mentioned. 

 

Cross contamination risk does exist in the buffet and grill fryers. My wife is not hugely sensitive to fryer cross contamination for example, but some people probably are. 

 

Cruises are a good choice for diet issues.

[beg3yrs]

On 2/18/2019 at 1:25 PM, Ruthmcp said:

Can you let me know whereabouts on Cruise Personalizer the special dietary request is recorded? My husband has coeliac disease and I put in the request for gluten free via Cruise Personalizer, it was confirmed by email but does not show up anywhere when I go into our booking. We are not travelling until August (Baltic Heritage from Southampton on Sapphire Princess) but I want to be sure that there are no issues once we are on board!

It shows up in your travel summary just above the Important Notices. Ours looks like this:

[Ruthmcp]

That's great thank you!

[GweninTX]

Eating in the dining room is the easiest to assure you are getting gluten free. They only have white bread and it is very very dry. I am not sure what brand it is, but is not very good unless it is toasted. They have NO crackers or cookies, so you might want to bring her favorite along. They do have blueberry muffins, but they are also not very good either. They did make a "chefs choice" gluten free dessert for me each night and they were hit and miss. I do not like rice pudding, tapioca or creme brûlée's , so I passed on all of these. I now bring my own crackers with me and put them in tiny ziplock baggies and keep them in my purse. If you want a pizza, pre-order the crust 24 hours in advance at the pizzeria. It has been excellent on every ship. They also have excellent gluten free pasta. The pasta tasted like a rice/corn blend. If you have any other questions, please ask! 

[Poohjo]

Thank you all so much for your responses. I myself have a shellfish allergy and have never had any problems on any of the Princess Ships. With that being said having Celiacs verses a shellfish allergy is so different as there are so many more food items that contain wheat. Anytime we eat out, it is a struggle for her and I just want this cruise to be a worry-free vacation.   

 

I do appreciate everything that you all have said.

 

Thanks again

 

Penny