Very special food needs of pax with gastrectomy

[fann1sh]

HAL always takes good care of special food needs, as I well know. But this is a step beyond the usual, so I'm asking this board to share it's collective knowledge.

 

The passenger is woman who had her entire stomach removed, and her husband asked me how HAL will deal with this.  I haven't a clue.

 

They want to book a Noordam Neptune suite for Alaska 2022, as well as a land cruisetour. That means A LOT of excursions.

 

Due to the gastrectomy, she must eat tiny amounts of high protein food every couple of hours.  Alaska is port intensive.  She's not going to be spending a lot of time on the ship/in the lodge. 

 

In theory, the lodges can give her a boxed lunch.  But we all know the ship can't....because you can't take food off the ship.

 

Or is that true?  Sealed packages are the usual exception. This woman is used to having sealed cured meat, cheese, pretzels and such in her purse.

 

At least she can have the evening meal and late snacks aboard, and breakfast.  But...wait, what about those early excursions? When does the galley open for room service?

 

Does anyone believe they know how HAL will deal with this?  The Neptune accommodations are a nod to a late brother, who insisted it was the only way to go.  Price paid shouldn't shape HAL's response, but....might it?

 

She's prepared to lug her own sealed food items, but announcing that is just asking for trouble.  HAL buys some sealed convenience food for the onboard store and other uses.  Any chance they'll provide them?  Yeah, I can hear you all SNORTING....

 

She doesn't want to book until she knows this is do-able.  HAL isn't going to talk to her until she's booked. 

 

Sure, she can get a refund on the cruise booking if she cancels after she hears HAL's reply, but what about all the other prepaid expenses?  HAL is likely going to take some time responding. 

 

"Cancel for any reason" insurance comes to mind, but what are the limits on THAT, post pandemic?

 

Replies, suggestions, shared experiences, and accumulated HAL knowledge most appreciated.  Thank you in advance!

[TiogaCruiser]

Why isn’t HAL willing to talk with her, or her TA? Have they refused? I’d suggest she email or write to the Accessibility Department and provide her name, so that reply can be associated with her profile if she books. 
 

I don’t see why CAR insurance wouldn’t cover. If she were to do so, her loss would be the cost of the insurance and whatever portion they exclude. If it’s HAL’s platinum plan, the loss is the cost of the plan plus 10%. Shorex and pre-purchases are refunded at 100%* ( unless there is some other deadlines that come into play) if done before sailing. 

For privately purchased CAR, they typically cover 50-75%, and she would need to get the specifics on what would be returned from the agent who sold her the policy. They should be able to give her that information prior to purchase.

 

*Ive used HAL cancel feature on platinum twice: the most recent was at the beginning of covid when HAL was blasting forward with sailing while ships were being turned away. I exercised my cancel 4 hours before the pause started.

Edited November 7, 2021 by TiogaCruiser

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Give HAL a call at their Access and Compliance Department at 800-547-8493 or email HALW_Access@hollandamerica.com.   They can get you the official, current answer.

 

The sales people won't be sure - email HALW_Access@hollandamerica.com

 

What ever someone may tell you on cruise critic will probably be from pre-covid when rules were different.  

 

Get it is writing from HAL - call Access and Compliance and then follow up with an email

 

 

Edited November 7, 2021 by The-Inside-Cabin

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

We get our trips insured outside of the cruise line.  Post pandemic there have not been any changes in their plan.  How much of the trip we have insured is what we get back, minus the cost of the insurance.  So insurance should not be an issue for them.

 

I agree with TiogaCruiser why aren't they able to get this information prior to booking this cruise?  If they cannot get that information on their own, a TA should be able to get everything they need to know.  

 

My advice is for her to pack what she needs.  I would not rely on the ship to meet all of her requirements with the frequency of specific food types needed.  I'm not sure it is reasonable to ask the ship to prepackage food items for her to take off the ship....and I would not think they would agree to do that.  You can read taking food off the ship discussions on cruise critic boards...there are many!  

 

I have special dietary needs.  I've talked to HAL and on my next cruise they are going to be able to do what I need...but in the event something happens and they cannot...I'll be fine.  If my life depended on HAL being able to make sure that I had sealed food in my purse to eat every 2 hours, I would not do that.  If she is used to this, why doesn't she bring her own sealed foods to take on excursions?  

 

Bottom line...she has to take responsibility for caring for her own unique situation.  Tough I know, but she knows what she needs, she is the best one to insure she does not cause herself harm by relying on other's to meet those needs. Just my two cents worth...

[1025cruise]

In her case, I would be prepared to bring prepackaged (that means factory sealed) foods with her. 

HAL (or other cruiselines) don't normally provide food for consumption off ship. Why would her needing a special diet change that?

[jayhawk66]

I would suggest that she bring plenty of zip lock baggies and bag some foods from the lido that she can take with her. In Alaskan ports as I recall there aren’t restrictions on taking food off of the ship.

[nocl]

38 minutes ago, jayhawk66 said:

I would suggest that she bring plenty of zip lock baggies and bag some foods from the lido that she can take with her. In Alaskan ports as I recall there aren’t restrictions on taking food off of the ship.

Actually there are restrictions taking food off in Alaska and any other US port including any agricultural or meat product. Same as on international flights. The difference is they do not have people checking at most ports.

[Vict0riann]

And another change with HAL is that they are pretty well completely doing away with "single-use plastics" - at least in Europe they didn't even have those little pre-packaged crackers.   They have always allowed you to bring food on board - I have seen people bringing cheeses, meats, etc., and I usually bring on granola bars and if it's close to Halloween, a big bag of candies.  It depends on where you are going as to whether you can take food ashore, certainly safer if it is pre-packaged and sealed. 

[fann1sh]

Thank you, everyone!

 

I've told them to reach out *now* to Access and Compliance. And to get it in writing, or else email what they've been told and ask "Is that right?"  before booking. 

[SightCRR]

I would be more worried about the cruise tour portion which may include long train, plane or bus rides. I think restaurants will be few and far between.  We did rental cars during cruise stops so we could hit the grocery stores to deal with allergies as we weren't sure how well the restaurants would handle them.     

[GeezerCouple]

When - not if - she speaks with the "special needs" group, also ask if they can provide information about which ports allow "manufacturer sealed" foods into the port, even if non-pre-packaged/sealed foods aren't allowed.

We've found this difference in several ports, but I don't remember about Alaska. 

 

Or check the Alaska state website about this.

If she has had her "entire" stomach removed, can she really eat even small portions of "regular food"?

(Things like meal shakes may work, those with high protein?  And those are sealed in cans... but ask special needs if she  can bring those on board also.)

 

We've found special needs on all cruise lines to be incredibly helpful, including HAL.

 

And YES, she should be able to speak with the special needs people before purchasing a ticket.

And we always do it by email also, so there is a written record of any special arrangements.

 

GC

[zgscl]

Just a few thoughts. Assuming they are originating in the US, I would recommend taking the trip southbound. This will allow you to bring what you need for that portion and I think you can take anything through the Fairbanks or Anchorage airport when coming from a domestic flight and will avoid any customs issues when getting into Vancouver. Everything will be domestic until your final disembarkation in Vancouver. Should be no problem to bring onboard either at the conclusion of the land portion. For something like this I would plan on bringing the bulk of what is needed at least for snacks, etc. If they are Canadian based it is a bit more tricky as you would probably want to do northbound and might run into issues with disembarkation in Alaska. 

 

HAL has 24/7 room service onboard so that is always an option along with food in the lido basically all day with a couple of breaks for 1-2 hours. Agree with others about reaching out to the HAL accessibility department. If they insist they can only help you when booked just book something with a refundable deposit. You can cancel until 90 days out or so (just be sure you are booking the correct fare). 

 

My guess is onboard wouldn't be too much of an issue especially if supplementing with your own packaged items but I think shore excursions would be the place where you would really be on your own. I also don't have experience with the lodges in Alaska so can't comment on what might be available. 

[syesmar]

While I do believe the correct department will provide an answer to a potential passenger, it is possible to put a “hold” on a booking without a deposit (usually 1 to a few days), or at least it was pre-pandemic. I almost always do this while I sort out the details for my airline tickets.

[zgscl]

3 hours ago, syesmar said:

While I do believe the correct department will provide an answer to a potential passenger, it is possible to put a “hold” on a booking without a deposit (usually 1 to a few days), or at least it was pre-pandemic. I almost always do this while I sort out the details for my airline tickets.

 

It is still possible! And assuming you get a refundable deposit they have been quick to refund smaller amounts if you need more than the 5 days. 

[fann1sh]

Well spotted, zgscl, on the logistics of customs/border protection.  They're American, and we already discussed the logic of "land first", in order to fly from US to US with a full suitcase of food. 

 

They haven't gotten back to me about what HAL access and compliance has said.

 

I now know about "holds", thanks so much for cluing me in. 

 

I'm sure everyone understands there are other personal puzzle pieces here, but I'll let you all know the outcome, "if and when".  Nothing to report yet.

 

 

[zgscl]

20 hours ago, fann1sh said:

Well spotted, zgscl, on the logistics of customs/border protection.  They're American, and we already discussed the logic of "land first", in order to fly from US to US with a full suitcase of food. 

 

They haven't gotten back to me about what HAL access and compliance has said.

 

I now know about "holds", thanks so much for cluing me in. 

 

I'm sure everyone understands there are other personal puzzle pieces here, but I'll let you all know the outcome, "if and when".  Nothing to report yet.

 

 

I hope it all works out for you! 

[wannagonow123]

Look at the website Minimus Biz. They carry individual wrapped foods in small portions to take onto the ship. Small cans of tuna, cheeses, peanut butter and meat. I bring them on all cruises and have never had a problem taking them ashore, I started using them when the cruise lines started watering down salad dressings. 

[KirkNC]

2 hours ago, wannagonow123 said:

Look at the website Minimus Biz. They carry individual wrapped foods in small portions to take onto the ship. Small cans of tuna, cheeses, peanut butter and meat. I bring them on all cruises and have never had a problem taking them ashore, I started using them when the cruise lines started watering down salad dressings. 

You would in Australia, New Zealand and some Asian countries.  

[wannagonow123]

I stand corrected.

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, wannagonow123 said:

I stand corrected.

I checked with NZ customs/border/ debarkation officer about a factory sealed box of See's Candy I was bringing to a friend, and they said it was okay since it had been commercially packaged.  

 

This was about 10 years ago, but NZ with very good reason was known at the time to be very strict. All the warnings were there at that time too, which is why I wanted to check this up front. 

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

We had no issues at all with commercially sealed food products in NZ....not that long ago. 

[highscar]

We claimed we had coffee with us in Australia, were sent to the “naughty “ room and the chap laughed and said what were we doing there.no problem. 

 

there.  No problem.  

[Shmoo here]

On 11/7/2021 at 8:34 AM, nocl said:

Actually there are restrictions taking food off in Alaska and any other US port including any agricultural or meat product. Same as on international flights. The difference is they do not have people checking at most ports.

I can confirm on our cruise, in San Francisco (a US port), people were not allowed to bring food onboard that they had purchased onshore.  Specifically, bakery products (donuts and cakes).