Incredible Gluten Free Cruise Experience on the Azamara Onward Jan 2023

[suefrankw]

Hello all,

needed to share for all those who are gluten free our Azamara experience. we are seasoned cruisers with more than 40 cruises under our belts. This was our 1st Azamara cruise but definitely will not be our last. I do wish they did more from US ports.

Aside from Regent, this cruise was so far above and beyond any other cruise for many reasons but especially my celiac gluten free experience. I have been celiac (biopsy diagnosed) for 18 years.

First, the staff were A++++. Genuinely welcoming... friendly and always willing to help with whatever you needed, everywhere on the ship.Loved the smaller ship and the Azamara amenities. First ever ship where we saw the caption every day and at many of the events, dinners, etc.

So the gluten free. Of course I notified them in advance. And did bring on my own rolls, crackers, etc as I usually do but did not eat any of it.

We ate in the dining room and were well taken care of. Anything I wanted they made it happen gluten free without hesitation. THANK YOU HERCULES!...The staff were fully aware of gluten free. The buffet area was the same. They were happy to get food from the back that was safe and even make fresh for me.  All their ice cream/gelato was gluten free.  They even brought me a gluten free dessert tower at the afternoon tea.

The white night BBQ was fantastic....I was able to eat 90% of items and again they were happy to get me fresh food from the kitchen. The seafood kabobs were so tasty!  We also had another bbq on deck that was equally great.

We did not eat at any of the specialty restaurants as the other food was so good.

I did not get sick once, and I am very sensitive to gluten. The last cruise we took (not Azamara) I was assured that all their food was 'safe' and staff training in 'allergy aware"... and I was sick every day of the journey. Many of the staff had no idea what gluten free was and I was offered a gluten free pizza cooked on a gluten tray (I watched it happen). The cruise company did not what to hear about my experience... they just told me 'we provide gluten free'.

So I would highly recommend Azamara for a great, safe gluten free experience. We have several more cruises booked with them . It is such a joy not to have to worry about getting sick from the food as I can be down for days if cross contaminated.....

We will soon try Oceania Regatta and hoping to have the same experience from what I have read. stay tuned....

[Rus Tee]

Many thanks for this. We're travelling on Azamara for the first time in February and my wife needs a Gluten free diet. We have seen there are Gluten Free options on the menus but they seemed to be limited so it's great to know that here needs will be catered for properly and she can have the same experience and choice as the rest of us.

[ecslady]

Thanks for your report on Gluten Free.  This is good to know.

[excitedofharpenden]

I love some of the gluten free items and I'm ok with gluten. The financiers are delicious. 

 

Phil 

[mole.man]

Azamara does a good job with gluten free. One of the reasons that we stopped using a cruise line was 2 weeks of only consume and creme brulee as choices for soup and dessert.

 

Keep an eye on them though. We have caught a couple of items on the buffet labeled GF that were not. I recall a barley salad. They did take the sign down when we pointed it out. This was before COVID.

[mbiggers]

On 8/10/2023 at 10:18 AM, mole.man said:

Azamara does a good job with gluten free. One of the reasons that we stopped using a cruise line was 2 weeks of only consume and creme brulee as choices for soup and dessert.

 

Keep an eye on them though. We have caught a couple of items on the buffet labeled GF that were not. I recall a barley salad. They did take the sign down when we pointed it out. This was before COVID.

You do need to be vigilant at buffets. We were on Viking Ocean last month and I noticed that the Israeli Couscous didn’t note gluten as an allergen.

Does AZ have the Gluten Free folks order the day before?

suefrankw, Oceania is good for GF- great rolls, but they don’t keep much in the buffet, so by the time someone goes downstairs to get something, my husband was always finishing eating. 
Michele