Todder with food allergy - tips anyone?

[bear5]

Cruising with toddler with allergy to dairy and eggs on Liberty of the Seas. We've gone on road trips with him before and are ok as long as we're vigilant with questioning all ingredients if unsure. Any tips with cruising? Are buffets ok or sitting down in dining room a better bet? I'll speak to the maitre d'/waiter right away when we embark for dinners but worried about lunches mainly if we want to do buffet. Any tips are appreciated.

[sas80]

Call RCCL and ask to speak with the special needs department. They will arrange soy products, etc for you, no problem. Best to pre arrange this at least 3 weeks before you get on board so that they can shop for your needs prior to your cruise. If you get on board and try to arrange it they might not have what you need.

[cb at sea]

I'd contact the "special needs" dept. prior to the cruise, so that they will know about this in advance. And, I'd stay away from the buffet, and stick to the dining room for most meals....that way, you can talk "one on one" to the waiter and he'll be extra vigilent about what he brings.

[sbhdmh]

Ditto on avoiding the buffet. A friend recently had to race her toddler to the ER in anaphylactic shock due to his milk allergy. You DO NOT want to risk this! Especially aboard ship - I can't even imagine how scary that would be... Even after arranging everything in advance make sure to talk to the maitre d' and your waitstaff. I would try to eat all my meals in the dining room and if possible stay in your waiter's own area for any freestyle breakfast or lunch seating as well. If you do have another waiter remind them remind them remind them. My daughter has a peanut allergy and is (fortunately) due to be challenged because she may have outgrown it. I wish you the best of luck. Have a great cruise.

[CowPrincess]

When I was a child, I had to have a restricted diet -- my poor mother! Everything had to be made from scratch for a while. IMHO, besides speaking with the Special Needs dept., I'd look into whether a fridge could be made available for the cabin, so you could have stuff that you purchased so you KNOW is safe.

[Julienatul]

Also make sure you carry and epi pen jr with you. If you dont already have one, ask your pediatrician for a prescription for one. Better to have it with you and not need it in case your toddler ingests something with milk/eggs in it without you knowing. Food allergies get worse each time you are exposed and you never know when it could progress to anaphalxis.

 

I would say avoid the buffet, stick to the dining room where you can specifically ask about each ingredient.

[A&Emom]

My best friend was married on the Lengend of the Seas. Her nephew is allergic to almost everything. His parents arranged to bring onboard a week's worth of food & snacks with them. The ship also put them in touch with some place to pick up additional food on one of the islands.

[bear5]

Thanks all.

[cantw8togo]

Some people have cards printed up with a list of all of the variations of the allergens to give to people who are checking ingredients for you. Not everyone is aware that casien and whey are dairy allergens not to mention all of the other variations of multiple allergies.

 

We travelled on HAL recently with a DS who is allergic to dairy and had very few problems. We ate at the buffet several times and they were very accommodating about checking ingredients and going to the other restaurant to get a suitable item. You still need to be vigilent and will probably need to remind them a couple of times about your needs, but they will go out of their way to accommodate you.

 

Have a great time on your vacation!

N.

[bear5]

An update - just back from the Liberty and allergic DS had no problems with food. Talked to the head waiter immediately on first night (couldn't see maitre d' after we boarded 'cos line up was over 1 hour long and ran into the muster drill). They were very accommodating. I just pre-ordered the next day's lunch and dinner for him. Always ate in the MDR where a dedicated chef prepares special request meals only and food prep is separate from rest of the mass produced food. By the end of the cruise, all the MDR lunch staff knew him as the boy with the special order.