Dining Room problem on Allure of the Seas

[Cruiser 5452]

Just got off of the Allure of the Seas.   Cruise was wonderful except for Dining and meals in general.   We sent an email to RCCL dining about 3 weeks before the cruise explaining her dining room needs.  No answer.  About 10 days before the cruise emailed again. No answer.   When we got on board went straight to the dining room, explained my wife’s food allergies to the Person in charge of the dining room, thought everything was worked out.   First night of dining she was brought food she was unable to eat, dietary restrictions.  Same thing the second night.  The head waiter got involved and chastised the waiter right in front of us.  Head waiter took over the ordering food for our table.   Problem did not get any better.  Always the wrong food or food that did not meet her dining restrictions.  It got so bad that we didn’t go to dinner the last two nights of the cruise.  In the wind jammer she just took her chance on eating because people could not tell her how the food was prepared.  So basically she had a cruise where she had very little to eat.  My question is who do I contact at RCCL to address this situation/problem?  Thank you in advance?

[cruiseboy89130]

They don't care - save your time for something usefull.

[Starry Eyes]

Such requirements should be addressed to the special needs department at least 45 days before the cruise (for US departure, longer for some others).  The email address is special_needs@rccl.com

 

Here is the FAQ which can be found via google:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/dining-dietary-restrictions-customer-care

 

[ILCTCRUISER]

Hopefully your documented all of this or can recreate the steps you took, including dates, names, etc.

 

I’d start with RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com.  If no response in a timely manner, you could escalate.  I’d start there.  Be advised, though, that that dept won’t get back to you promptly.

[Joseph2017China]

you said dietary "restrictions" as opposed to "allergies".  I have restrictions to a small degree and can figure food out myself.  So, not to find some food that can be eaten, seems like it is a pretty extensive issue, and not something like a low gluten diet etc.  It sounds like you wanted specific food choices as opposed to food not made a special way.  I think all the suggestions people said are ok, but for some reason, I think this is much more than what anyone can guess.  Cruise lines as well as many restaurants will work with you.  So that is why I think the issue is bigger than what is revealed.

[Another_Critic]

5 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

you said dietary "restrictions" as opposed to "allergies".  I have restrictions to a small degree and can figure food out myself.  So, not to find some food that can be eaten, seems like it is a pretty extensive issue, and not something like a low gluten diet etc.  It sounds like you wanted specific food choices as opposed to food not made a special way.  I think all the suggestions people said are ok, but for some reason, I think this is much more than what anyone can guess.  Cruise lines as well as many restaurants will work with you.  So that is why I think the issue is bigger than what is revealed.

From the OP: "When we got on board went straight to the dining room, explained my wife’s food allergies to the Person in charge of the dining room"

[SG65CB]

It sounds like they said they could accommodate the food allergy and then brought out food that was different than you arranged. I don't understand how that could keep happening. 

 

I can't imagine what allergy would cause this problem, everyone always says how well they accommodate their dietary needs. Wouldn't it be as simple as serving whole foods that are not in the restricted group of foods? 

 

[cruiselvr04]

Just off the Allure. DH has allergies.  We pre order every night for the next.  We don’t ask for special food,  he just can’t have 2 ingredients that’s in almost everything. They are able to fix him food from the menu he can eat.  Sometimes things like soup or something pre made is impossible.  They let him know and he orders something else.  We admit that sometimes the food is made tasteless but most of the time it works.  A good head waiter is helpful.  
 

I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you.  We know it can be frustrating. Specially dining sometimes works better as the kitchens are smaller. He rarely eats from the buffet as there are too many unknowns.  We have not found pre emailing to be helpful at all.  You do need to speak directly to those fixing the food.

[Cruiser 5452]

Cruiselvr04…. My wife ordered her meals every night for the next nights dinner.   I will give you an example… she can not eat cheese.   On the next nights menu, they had chicken Parmesan ,  she talked to the head waiter and they decided that instead of chicken Parmesan , she would get a grilled chicken breast.   The next day the head waiter came by and double checked the order.   Grilled chicken breast.. what did they bring her.   Chicken Parmesan.   He told her he would get her a chicken breast, but it would take 20-25 minutes.  By that time every else would have been done eating.  Stuff like this happened every night.   

[Merion_Mom]

4 minutes ago, Cruiser 5452 said:

Cruiselvr04…. My wife ordered her meals every night for the next nights dinner.   I will give you an example… she can not eat cheese.   On the next nights menu, they had chicken Parmesan ,  she talked to the head waiter and they decided that instead of chicken Parmesan , she would get a grilled chicken breast.   The next day the head waiter came by and double checked the order.   Grilled chicken breast.. what did they bring her.   Chicken Parmesan.   He told her he would get her a chicken breast, but it would take 20-25 minutes.  By that time every else would have been done eating.  Stuff like this happened every night.   

 

Thanks for the specific example. That is quite unacceptable.  You followed the procedure, and they simply didn't.

 

I am sorry that your wife couldn't get the food that she ordered.

[ldubs]

8 minutes ago, Cruiser 5452 said:

Cruiselvr04…. My wife ordered her meals every night for the next nights dinner.   I will give you an example… she can not eat cheese.   On the next nights menu, they had chicken Parmesan ,  she talked to the head waiter and they decided that instead of chicken Parmesan , she would get a grilled chicken breast.   The next day the head waiter came by and double checked the order.   Grilled chicken breast.. what did they bring her.   Chicken Parmesan.   He told her he would get her a chicken breast, but it would take 20-25 minutes.  By that time every else would have been done eating.  Stuff like this happened every night.   

 

Thanks for sharing this as I had a very similar misunderstanding.  It sounds like they simply screwed up royally (I think that is the polite way to say what I mean).  I agree they need to know about this.       

Edited April 2, 2023 by ldubs

[bonsai3s]

3 hours ago, Cruiser 5452 said:

Just got off of the Allure of the Seas.   Cruise was wonderful except for Dining and meals in general.   We sent an email to RCCL dining about 3 weeks before the cruise explaining her dining room needs.  No answer.  About 10 days before the cruise emailed again. No answer.   When we got on board went straight to the dining room, explained my wife’s food allergies to the Person in charge of the dining room, thought everything was worked out.   First night of dining she was brought food she was unable to eat, dietary restrictions.  Same thing the second night.  The head waiter got involved and chastised the waiter right in front of us.  Head waiter took over the ordering food for our table.   Problem did not get any better.  Always the wrong food or food that did not meet her dining restrictions.  It got so bad that we didn’t go to dinner the last two nights of the cruise.  In the wind jammer she just took her chance on eating because people could not tell her how the food was prepared.  So basically she had a cruise where she had very little to eat.  My question is who do I contact at RCCL to address this situation/problem?  Thank you in advance?

Genuinely sorry to hear this happened to you.

 

You did all the right things...emailed them before the cruise, talked to them onboard, and got the Headwaiter to help.......sigh, you continued to have problems.

 

2 things come to mind...

1. I would've politely continued talking up the ranks...Asst. Maitre D' or Maitre D', even perhaps the ROM...and made sure it was corrected.

 

2. Regrettably, IMHO...once you are off the ship, there's not much you can do. You can email mbayley@rccl.com...an assistant will/may contact you.

[HicksRA]

Contacting Royal will get you a “So sorry this happened”. 
That and two bucks will get you a cup of coffee. 

[lovesthebeach2]

You will have a better result (hopefully) if you contact the special needs as mentioned above 

[cruiselvr04]

Your example was very reasonable.  They messed up and it should not have been that hard to accommodate your wife.  Royal does need to know that reasonable accommodation wasn’t made.  Again I’m sorry.  It would certainly put a damper on the cruise. 

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, Cruiser 5452 said:

My question is who do I contact at RCCL to address this situation/problem?

If you haven’t filled out the survey put down some zeros for the MDR - don’t waste any more time than that. 

[pcur]

8 hours ago, Cruiser 5452 said:

Just got off of the Allure of the Seas.   Cruise was wonderful except for Dining and meals in general.   We sent an email to RCCL dining about 3 weeks before the cruise explaining her dining room needs.  No answer.  About 10 days before the cruise emailed again. No answer.   When we got on board went straight to the dining room, explained my wife’s food allergies to the Person in charge of the dining room, thought everything was worked out.   First night of dining she was brought food she was unable to eat, dietary restrictions.  Same thing the second night.  The head waiter got involved and chastised the waiter right in front of us.  Head waiter took over the ordering food for our table.   Problem did not get any better.  Always the wrong food or food that did not meet her dining restrictions.  It got so bad that we didn’t go to dinner the last two nights of the cruise.  In the wind jammer she just took her chance on eating because people could not tell her how the food was prepared.  So basically she had a cruise where she had very little to eat.  My question is who do I contact at RCCL to address this situation/problem?  Thank you in advance?

 

I sailed with someone recently who had to have gluten-free food.  She would order the next day at the end of dinner the day before.  Even then, they got it wrong one night, and instead of preparing the dish the way she requested, they just scraped off the sauce.  I watched as she had an allergic reaction to it, and luckily it was severe bloating, not anything that required an EPI pen or medical.  But, it was distressing to watch.

 

She would order her food "naked" with no sauces, because then she knew exactly what she was getting, and always ordered the day before from the next day's menu.