Gluten-Free Eating on MSC Virtuosa

[Ladyshopper23]

We went on a 4 night cruise on the Virtuosa in May, and had a wonderful time. I struggled to find much information about gluten-free food on MSC in general, and obviously there wasn't any regarding the Virtuosa as she's a brand new ship.

Because of this, and from our experience on board, I decided to start a blog, and have written my first ever blog post about GF eating on the Virtuosa. I thought I'd pop a link on here in case it helps anyone who is coeliac or gluten intolerant who may be cruising this summer, or indeed on MSC in the future when things get a little bit more back to normal.

I do have two other staycation cruises booked on other lines over the summer, so these will be written up too (P&O and Disney).

 

https://glutenfreetravelwithme.com/

[phillibl]

Thank you for the info, my wife and son both have gluten issues (luckily nothing serious just digestive issues).   Did you fill out the Special Needs form prior to the cruise?  MSC claims they can better help with food sensitivities if you do.

[KennyFla]

My wife is gluten free, thank you for posting this.

[Ladyshopper23]

58 minutes ago, phillibl said:

Thank you for the info, my wife and son both have gluten issues (luckily nothing serious just digestive issues).   Did you fill out the Special Needs form prior to the cruise?  MSC claims they can better help with food sensitivities if you do.

Yes I did. Didn't make any difference at all in terms of where we were able to eat, which was main dining room only.

[nyk24]

1 hour ago, Ladyshopper23 said:

Yes I did. Didn't make any difference at all in terms of where we were able to eat, which was main dining room only.

I had a similar experience a couple years back on the seaside when my son was allergic to dairy. They dont really sort it out til you get on board and speak to the maitre D in the main dinning room. But they will sort it for you. 

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by nyk24

[boogybaby]

Thank you, we are considering doing a July cruise, we have sailed twice with MSC and enjoyed the gluten free food however it can be difficult eating when it is a port day. I had delicious GF meals in the specialty restaurants, janice

[NightOne]

On 6/30/2021 at 8:00 AM, Ladyshopper23 said:

We went on a 4 night cruise on the Virtuosa in May, and had a wonderful time. I struggled to find much information about gluten-free food on MSC in general, and obviously there wasn't any regarding the Virtuosa as she's a brand new ship.

Because of this, and from our experience on board, I decided to start a blog, and have written my first ever blog post about GF eating on the Virtuosa. I thought I'd pop a link on here in case it helps anyone who is coeliac or gluten intolerant who may be cruising this summer, or indeed on MSC in the future when things get a little bit more back to normal.

I do have two other staycation cruises booked on other lines over the summer, so these will be written up too (P&O and Disney).

 

https://glutenfreetravelwithme.com/

 

Reading now. THANKS for doing it !!!

[Ladyshopper23]

22 minutes ago, NightOne said:

 

Reading now. THANKS for doing it !!!

No problem at all, I just really wanted to help people to know what to expect.

[NightOne]

10 minutes ago, Ladyshopper23 said:

No problem at all, I just really wanted to help people to know what to expect.

 

Just finished reading and this sounds a lot like our experience on MSC Divina. The only difference was that we could go to the buffet and a guy would go find us some food (mostly leftovers and chicken breasts) and bring it to our table.

 

We are planning on giving it another go on MSC Meraviglia in October but I'm a bit worried now. We wrote it off on Divina thinking it was because it was a short cruise but now I'm wondering if it will be the same. Yikes ... 😞

[Ladyshopper23]

Just now, NightOne said:

 

Just finished reading and this sounds a lot like our experience on MSC Divina. The only difference was that we could go to the buffet and a guy would go find us some food (mostly leftovers and chicken breasts) and bring it to our table.

 

We are planning on giving it another go on MSC Meraviglia in October but I'm a bit worried now. We wrote it off on Divina thinking it was because it was a short cruise but now I'm wondering if it will be the same. Yikes ... 😞

I didn't put it in the blog, but we did go up to the buffet on the last afternoon, about 15 minutes before it closed. We didn't realise it was the afternoon tea type stuff, because we obviously hadn't been to the buffet at all prior.

We asked a member of staff if there was anything at all we could have as to be honest, we'd had enough of the main dining room and kind of just wanted to chill out a bit. Anyway, she got a senior person wearing a suit (not sure what their exact position is) and we asked him. He very kindly agreed to get some fries made for us out the back, and gave us a plate of cheese from the back (we had crackers in our room). We really appreciated it, but I didn't put it in the blog as I'm pretty sure they don't do this normally, it was just exceptionally quiet in there as it was due to close before re-opening later for dinner.

Unfortunately the bowl of fries was really small, so we did actually end up going to the main dining room later! We were very grateful that he'd at least tried for us though.

 

I suspect that it would be the same on any MSC ship unfortunately. There isn't much info out there, which is one of the reasons I decided to do the blog, but what I did find suggested that our experience wasn't unusual.

 

I think if you're lucky enough to only be mildly intolerant and don't have to be mindful of cross-contamination that you would obviously have a lot more choice, but for coeliacs that isn't an option.

I'm doing P&O later this month, followed by Disney and Princess in September (plus hopefully a 2 week Princess cruise in October), so am looking forward to trying out all those lines, as everything I've found suggests it will be a much better experience.

[NightOne]

2 minutes ago, Ladyshopper23 said:

I didn't put it in the blog, but we did go up to the buffet on the last afternoon, about 15 minutes before it closed. We didn't realise it was the afternoon tea type stuff, because we obviously hadn't been to the buffet at all prior.

We asked a member of staff if there was anything at all we could have as to be honest, we'd had enough of the main dining room and kind of just wanted to chill out a bit. Anyway, she got a senior person wearing a suit (not sure what their exact position is) and we asked him. He very kindly agreed to get some fries made for us out the back, and gave us a plate of cheese from the back (we had crackers in our room). We really appreciated it, but I didn't put it in the blog as I'm pretty sure they don't do this normally, it was just exceptionally quiet in there as it was due to close before re-opening later for dinner.

Unfortunately the bowl of fries was really small, so we did actually end up going to the main dining room later! We were very grateful that he'd at least tried for us though.

 

I suspect that it would be the same on any MSC ship unfortunately. There isn't much info out there, which is one of the reasons I decided to do the blog, but what I did find suggested that our experience wasn't unusual.

 

I think if you're lucky enough to only be mildly intolerant and don't have to be mindful of cross-contamination that you would obviously have a lot more choice, but for coeliacs that isn't an option.

I'm doing P&O later this month, followed by Disney and Princess in September (plus hopefully a 2 week Princess cruise in October), so am looking forward to trying out all those lines, as everything I've found suggests it will be a much better experience.

 

PLUS

 

They didn't even have any Gluten Free Pizza option. The non-gluten free people in our group loved the MSC pizza and sadly we could not get any Gluten Free Pizza anywhere or at anytime even if we were willing to order ahead or wait.

 

I've had GF pizza on Carnival, NCL, and Royal without issue on many occasions.

 

[Ladyshopper23]

4 minutes ago, NightOne said:

 

PLUS

 

They didn't even have any Gluten Free Pizza option. The non-gluten free people in our group loved the MSC pizza and sadly we could not get any Gluten Free Pizza anywhere or at anytime even if we were willing to order ahead or wait.

 

I've had GF pizza on Carnival, NCL, and Royal without issue on many occasions.

 

Yep, I was gutted to find no pizza at all. The normal pizza looked and smelled so good, I was totally craving it when we got home! In fact so much so we got GF Pizza Hut pizza for tea that evening! 

[NightOne]

Also. when we were at Ocean Cay Marine Reserve they told us there was absolutely nothing on the island we could eat and we would have to go back to the ship to eat. Only the buffet was open during that port day. 😞

[alistairg]

We have never been on MSC and have 2 YC cruises booked. My wife is gluten free.

 

I have noticed that unlike other cruise lines MSC does not mark GF/Gluten on menus. It seems like they are taking a stricter view of it using the GF kitchen.

 

If you are in YC will they insist on bringing things from the GF kitchen also?

 

Why can't they just tell you what is GF on the menu like every other restaurant in the world? You cannot guarantee GF but it most cases although being "glutened" as my wife calls it is unpleasant it is not going to kill you and most people are happy to consider the risks and take the chance.

[Sapphire10]

Thank you for the info on gluten free and vegetarian on MSC Virtuosa. Really helpful, and you are doing a great blog which I will be following now I've found it. Being gluten free (coeliac) and vegetarian isn't always easy when travelling, so this so useful.  I've never been on an MSC ship but I'm about to book on Virtuosa, and had planned to take a bag of food. I still will, but hopefully won't need it! 

[juancarlosgarciasanchez]

With such a restrictive diet, why not bring your own food onboard and supplement it with the ship's food?