Food allergy information

[sherrihall128]

Hello,

 

We cruise on the Breakway in ~2 weeks. We have already checked in our family, but I could not find the section on where to enter food allergies. On our last cruise in November, we entered that info during check-in. Any advice? Do we just have to notify guest services after we're on the ship?

[BirdTravels]

2 minutes ago, sherrihall128 said:

Hello, We cruise on the Breakway in ~2 weeks. We have already checked in our family, but I could not find the section on where to enter food allergies. On our last cruise in November, we entered that info during check-in. Any advice? Do we just have to notify guest services after we're on the ship?

I don't recall ever seeing a food allergy question during check in. 

 

Normally, you need to notify the cruise line at least 45 days in advance. But any notification is fine. Link to the access desk: 

https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising#dietary-requirements

 

At every meal, the waiter will ask about allergies. If they are severe allergies that would cause an allergic reaction and require special food preparations, you need to address that as soon as you board. That food is prepared in a separate galley designed for food allergies. 

 

In the galley, common menu items have allergy warnings for the waiters, but something specific needs to be addressed with the chef. 

[sherrihall128]

57 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

I don't recall ever seeing a food allergy question during check in. 

 

Normally, you need to notify the cruise line at least 45 days in advance. But any notification is fine. Link to the access desk: 

https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising#dietary-requirements

 

At every meal, the waiter will ask about allergies. If they are severe allergies that would cause an allergic reaction and require special food preparations, you need to address that as soon as you board. That food is prepared in a separate galley designed for food allergies. 

 

In the galley, common menu items have allergy warnings for the waiters, but something specific needs to be addressed with the chef. 

 

Thanks for this info! I don't remember filling out a special needs request last cruise, but I'll probably have to do it for our upcoming one. Luckily, the allergies are to nuts/peanuts, which are well-labeled and easy to spot compared to other allergens.

[pfanny37]

Our son has peanut/tree nut allergies.  We just got of the Bliss last week.  We just let them know when we arrived the first day about the allergies.  They gave us the option of preordering, but it wasn't an issue if we just ordered when we arrived.  We just always let them know when we dined, and they always acted like they already knew.  The menu even had allergens listed next to foods which I don't remember from the last time we cruised.  We felt like they took it very seriously.

[sherrihall128]

6 minutes ago, pfanny37 said:

Our son has peanut/tree nut allergies.  We just got of the Bliss last week.  We just let them know when we arrived the first day about the allergies.  They gave us the option of preordering, but it wasn't an issue if we just ordered when we arrived.  We just always let them know when we dined, and they always acted like they already knew.  The menu even had allergens listed next to foods which I don't remember from the last time we cruised.  We felt like they took it very seriously.

 

My husband has allergies to tree nuts and shellfish. If anything, they took it TOO seriously (which is not a bad thing for most people), but it annoyed my husband. They had to separately prepare some dishes, so he regretted putting his allergies into their system. He would have preferred just NOT ordering foods with his allergens instead of having separately prepared food. 

[mjkacmom]

17 minutes ago, pfanny37 said:

Our son has peanut/tree nut allergies.  We just got of the Bliss last week.  We just let them know when we arrived the first day about the allergies.  They gave us the option of preordering, but it wasn't an issue if we just ordered when we arrived.  We just always let them know when we dined, and they always acted like they already knew.  The menu even had allergens listed next to foods which I don't remember from the last time we cruised.  We felt like they took it very seriously.

They already knew, once they swiped a card it popped up.

[GeezerCouple]

2 hours ago, sherrihall128 said:

 

My husband has allergies to tree nuts and shellfish. If anything, they took it TOO seriously (which is not a bad thing for most people), but it annoyed my husband. They had to separately prepare some dishes, so he regretted putting his allergies into their system. He would have preferred just NOT ordering foods with his allergens instead of having separately prepared food. 

 

We simply tell any food prep situation (restaurant, cruise...) that although A (DH) and B (me) are indeed food allergies, that "cross contamination is NOT a problem" and that separate prep is NOT needed... we just can't have 'pieces' of A/B on our plate.

 

But in general, for food allergies, they probably still need to do at least some separate prep... they can't extract extra salt once the dish is made, nor bother taking out sesame seeds from <whatever>, etc.

I suspect that they want to be overly cautious rather than the reverse, and especially with certain allergies that can have life-threatening reactions.

 

"Tree nuts" and "shellfish" allergies *can* be of that dire type, even if they aren't in your situation.  I can understand them being careful.  Also, there's a reasonable chance that there are others who may need the same special prep, and if so, that's going to happen anyway.

 

My food allergy is an unusual one, so it's unlikely others would have the same request/need.  Fortunately, it's an ingredient I can usually "see", so what I usually need to do is avoid things like "mystery meat loaf", which isn't something I'm likely to order anyway. 😉 DH's is an ingredient that can't be "seen", so he does need to rely upon the prep.

 

And we ALWAYS remind the waitstaff when we give a food order, and we ALSO always ask, "This is the <RESTRICTION> RIGHT?" when it is served.

Better safe than sorry!

 

GC

[sherrihall128]

7 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

We simply tell any food prep situation (restaurant, cruise...) that although A (DH) and B (me) are indeed food allergies, that "cross contamination is NOT a problem" and that separate prep is NOT needed... we just can't have 'pieces' of A/B on our plate.

 

But in general, for food allergies, they probably still need to do at least some separate prep... they can't extract extra salt once the dish is made, nor bother taking out sesame seeds from <whatever>, etc.

I suspect that they want to be overly cautious rather than the reverse, and especially with certain allergies that can have life-threatening reactions.

 

"Tree nuts" and "shellfish" allergies *can* be of that dire type, even if they aren't in your situation.  I can understand them being careful.  Also, there's a reasonable chance that there are others who may need the same special prep, and if so, that's going to happen anyway.

 

My food allergy is an unusual one, so it's unlikely others would have the same request/need.  Fortunately, it's an ingredient I can usually "see", so what I usually need to do is avoid things like "mystery meat loaf", which isn't something I'm likely to order anyway. 😉 DH's is an ingredient that can't be "seen", so he does need to rely upon the prep.

 

And we ALWAYS remind the waitstaff when we give a food order, and we ALSO always ask, "This is the <RESTRICTION> RIGHT?" when it is served.

Better safe than sorry!

 

GC

 

I totally agree. My husband was just being grumpy because he was asked about his allergies 2-3 times every visit to the dining room. The wait staff told us that had to be very careful or they could lose their jobs. They are right to be careful!

[Ellis1138]

I prefer filling this out to having to specify my allergies every single time I eat. https://ncl.secure.force.com/AccessDeskForm/

 

When I was on the Jade, I was assigned a special crew member who oversaw all the special dietary needs. I was able to tell them ahead of time what I wanted and they made dishes special for me, which I liked. I love lamb, but never usually get to eat it at a restaurant, due to the use of rosemary, sage and thyme. I was able to have it on the Jade. 

 

That was pre-Covid days. I'll be going on my first post-Covid cruise in September, so we'll see how the Escape handles it.

[arpie05]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:33 PM, sherrihall128 said:

 

Thanks for this info! I don't remember filling out a special needs request last cruise, but I'll probably have to do it for our upcoming one. Luckily, the allergies are to nuts/peanuts, which are well-labeled and easy to spot compared to other allergens.

Sherri - the link can be found Accessible Cruising - Norwegian Cruise Line | Important Information for Guests with Special Needs (ncl.com)

Edited March 27, 2023 by arpie05

[sherrihall128]

2 hours ago, arpie05 said:

Sherri - the link can be found Accessible Cruising - Norwegian Cruise Line | Important Information for Guests with Special Needs (ncl.com)

Thank you!

[newbe dave]

On 3/24/2023 at 6:49 PM, Ellis1138 said:

I prefer filling this out to having to specify my allergies every single time I eat. https://ncl.secure.force.com/AccessDeskForm/

 

When I was on the Jade, I was assigned a special crew member who oversaw all the special dietary needs. I was able to tell them ahead of time what I wanted and they made dishes special for me, which I liked. I love lamb, but never usually get to eat it at a restaurant, due to the use of rosemary, sage and thyme. I was able to have it on the Jade. 

 

That was pre-Covid days. I'll be going on my first post-Covid cruise in September, so we'll see how the Escape handles it.

Fill out the Access Desk form listed above and document that you have allergies.  I cruised with wife and two daughters in the Joy. All have allergies of varying concern. We went to lunch at one of the main restaurants after boarding and asked to talk to someone to document our allergies. They took down all information so that it was available every time we checked in at a restaurant. 

 

During the cruise, each day, the people with allergies could pre-order for the following day (usually at dinner). We had one person assigned to help us at every meal and this person was amazing about it. Preordering allowed the chefs to ensure everything was good and even made some of the sauces special without the allergen. The only negative is it limited our ability to change up dining options the next day. But, as a whole, the process was amazing and greatly reduced all concerns about food. I would highly recommend doing this if you have concerns about an allergy. 

Edited March 28, 2023 by newbe dave

[Redsky5292]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:24 PM, sherrihall128 said:

Hello,

 

We cruise on the Breakway in ~2 weeks. We have already checked in our family, but I could not find the section on where to enter food allergies. On our last cruise in November, we entered that info during check-in. Any advice? Do we just have to notify guest services after we're on the ship?

I think we are in the same cruise!  We are sailing with our friends whose teenage son has a tree nut allergy. My friend registered with the access desk and they told her that he can’t/shouldn’t eat in the buffet because they can’t assure there is no cross contamination.   He’ll pick his meals for the next day the night before. 

[sherrihall128]

1 hour ago, Redsky5292 said:

I think we are in the same cruise!  We are sailing with our friends whose teenage son has a tree nut allergy. My friend registered with the access desk and they told her that he can’t/shouldn’t eat in the buffet because they can’t assure there is no cross contamination.   He’ll pick his meals for the next day the night before. 

 

We can be watching nut allergens together on the ship! My 12 year old son can be a bit oblivious, so we'll have to be careful with him.

[Tymless1]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:46 PM, sherrihall128 said:

 

My husband has allergies to tree nuts and shellfish. If anything, they took it TOO seriously (which is not a bad thing for most people), but it annoyed my husband. They had to separately prepare some dishes, so he regretted putting his allergies into their system. He would have preferred just NOT ordering foods with his allergens instead of having separately prepared food. 

I had the same issue on the Encore a couple weeks ago. I appreciate that they want to cater too the allergies but agree that they took it too seriously. I totally understand how your husband felt. 

[mjkacmom]

23 minutes ago, Tymless1 said:

I had the same issue on the Encore a couple weeks ago. I appreciate that they want to cater too the allergies but agree that they took it too seriously. I totally understand how your husband felt. 

It’s probably a liability issue, one a food allergy is made known they must follow protocols.

[Homosassa]

On the other hand, having your allergy on record can work for your benefit.

 

We were on a NCL cruise with a port stop in Aruba.  We had an afternoon excursion booked.

 

My husband has a mushroom allergy that will cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms about two hours after eating a mushroom.

 

We stopped to eat lunch at one of the alternate eatery on board ship at the time (can't think of the name) and before ordering, had the waiter check with the kitchen to make sure that no mushrooms were in his order.

 

He was assured his selection was mushroom free, ordered, started to eat and after several bits saw a big mushroom on his plate.

 

He immediately called the waiter over who called the restaurant supervisor who immediately called down to medical for my husband to see the doctor.

 

Knowing what was in store for him gastrointestinal wise  in about two hours,  the doctor called the excursion desk to have a medically necessary cancellation of the excursion. The cost was refunded instead of us losing the money.