Gluten Free Cruise

[iceman721]

I took my first cruise in December since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This was my 10th cruise, the 3rd with Holland America and the 1st on the Noordam.  I was very apprehensive about cruising with this rigid diet. I was advised to select fixed dining thereby having the same servers each day. This proved to be excellent advise. I met my dining steward Josie that first night and he assured me that being on a gluten-free diet was not going to be a problem. He explained that he will show me each night the following night's menu and that I could select ANYTHING on the menu and they would prepare it for me gluten-free. That is exactly what happened.  I could not believe it! 

 

Midway through the cruise Josie asked me what my favorite desert was and I answered black berry cobbler which I have not had since going on the diet. The next night he presented me with a delicious gluten-free cobbler. Now, that had to be made from scratch just for me! I have no knowledge if other cruise lines offer this kind of service but I wanted to make this known to all gluten-free cruisers.    


 

[GF-Cheetah Cub]

That's good to hear!!

 

We will be going on our 1st cruise with our daughter's celiac diagnosis in April.   I have a question: when you disembark for land for the day, do you ask the cruise ship to pack a gluten-free lunch with you?  Or how do you handle outings on land?

[cyclinglady]

I cruised RC this past summer (Baltic Sea). Hubby and I took our own food, supplemented with fruit from the cruise ship on port days. Even with the gluten-free language cards, we were not able to dine at restaurants. Just our luck maybe. We ate when we got back to the ship. Our headwaiter made sure we had gluten-free foods to eat at the coffee shop when the main dining room was closed. He did not recommend ordering room service.

[iceman721]

I suppose I could have had a gluten-free lunch put together for shore excursions but never thought of it.  I was always back on ship before I was starving!   

I'm guessing that if you sign up for an excursion that include lunch,  it will NOT be gluten-free.  These lunches  are usually sub-contractedby the cruise line  to locals.

[GF-Cheetah Cub]

We will be on a Norwegian cruise to the Carribean Islands.   They already emailed me that they will accomodate our gluten-free diet, but said that we are not allow to bring our own food onboard.   I am worried about not finding food for my 11 year-old on the various islands.   So, I don't know if the cruise will provide a gluten-free brown bag lunch for us?  

[cyclinglady]

I brought Lara bars in my luggage and other food that we picked up in the UK before our departure. No one bothered us. I would not take on produce -- just packaged items in your checked luggage.

Eat a big breakfast on port days (no room service and note their scrambled eggs have gluten in them, so ask for fresh scrambled). Check out local port grocery stores for fresh fruit, etc. Meet with your headwaiter as soon as you board ship (or some headwaiter). On RC they only have the buffet open during departures. The headwaiter found safe food for us there on that first day. Otherwise, we never ate anywhere but the main dining room. Plus, they sent Udi's rolls and cookies individually wrapped to our stateroom. We took those in our backpacks on port days. We washed whole fruit from the buffet line in our stateroom for snacks and stored them in our room frig.

I even asked for soy milk at the Starbuck's counter when I got my free mug of coffee. No extra charge for that! Udi's pizza at the coffee shop. Had to wait, but it was worth it!

I am pretty sure you will not get a brown bag. I am sure it is against regulations. But they only check purses and backpacks when you reboard. Some yahoos are always trying to smuggle on shells, booze and fruit.

The Carribean cruise is super fun for the kids. Check out the kid's clubs.

[iceman721]

Try going to the buffet before leaving the ship.  They should have gluten-free bread and buns for sandwiches that you can take with you.

If you port in Grand Caymans, Cozumel or other large ports you might be surprised at the gluten-free finds.

Best advise is to make good friends with your head steward in the dining room.  He can make things happen.

Don't Worry - Be Happy