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Cruise Was Great!

jnifred

By jnifred
in Traveling with Celiac Disease

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jnifred Explorer
jnifred
Posted

Got back late late late Sunday from our cruise. I was eating like a queen for a week. Our Maitre'd has a son who has celiac so he was very understanding and personally checked all of my meals. He had a couple special desserts made for me, fruit tarts, baked Alaska, etc. I had bread at dinner every night, he made sure all my meats were grilled separately, I had spaghetti and meatballs, risotto and a few other pasta dishes. He had gluten free spaghetti, penne, and several other pasta's. It was wonderful!!!!!

For breakfast I had salmon, :D cheese and fresh fruit every day. I was in heaven, I miss that sooooo much, back to frozen cinnamon rolls or nuts. The cheeses they had were so incredible.

I did not eat much while on the islands. We weren't in Key West long enough to eat so it wasn't a problem there, in Cozumel I did have some tortilla chips and salsa at the beach, Ocho Rios I was too afraid to eat any of the jerk seasoned stuff, so I had a snickers and some dried fruit I brought along. In Cayman we had a fabulous!! lunch on Rhum Point Beach, grilled catch of the day and a salad.

I nibbled on nuts and dried fruit if I got hungry while out snorkeling swimming etc. and then ate my meals on the boat where I had more control. There was so much fresh fruit, veggies, salad, cheeses, etc to choose from that I never had any problems. The only thing I missed was not being able to eat the pizza they were serving at the buffet, I'm sure if I had asked they would have tried to work something out for me, but I didn't worry about that.

The only slip up I had was one night when Sean (hubby) and I were on our balcony watchign the sunset with a few drinks, I took a sip of his beer :blink: . I was a little rumbly that night and we didn't even think about the beer until later, neither of us even thought about it when I took the sip.

So, if you go on a cruise on the Costa Mediterranea ask for Leonardo to be your Maitre'd. He will take excellent care of you!!!! I'm not quite ready to be back in this dreary cold weather, although there is sunshine today, but with a 9 degree wind chill. :( ..yuck!! I want salmon for breakfast!!!!!!!

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dlp252 Apprentice
dlp252
Posted

How wonderful!!!! I love cruising. Did you call ahead of time to arrange some of the pastas and things, or do they just have them on board?

jnifred Explorer
jnifred
Posted
  • Author

My travel agent told them I needed a gluten free diet beforehand, but I think they had a lot of gluten-free pastas on hand already.

This was our first cruise and we loved it!!!! DH said he wants to go every year with me if my mom will continue to watch the boys!!!

Turtle Enthusiast
Turtle
Posted

This is so exciting! We've talked about crusing but I've been concerned about the food situation. Thank you for sharing your experience!!!

dlp252 Apprentice
dlp252
Posted
My travel agent told them I needed a gluten free diet beforehand, but I think they had a lot of gluten-free pastas on hand already.

This was our first cruise and we loved it!!!! DH said he wants to go every year with me if my mom will continue to watch the boys!!!

I've been on two cruises so far, the last being in August of 2005...I didn't know I was Celiac at the time and in fact that cruise is what lead me to the discovery of Celiac...just love cruising and knowing I can eat well makes it so much better, lol.

jkmunchkin Rising Star
jkmunchkin
Posted

Wow this is awesome!! What crusie line was it?

jnifred Explorer
jnifred
Posted
  • Author
Wow this is awesome!! What crusie line was it?

It was Costa cruise line, they are an Italian cruise line, very European. There are 5 ships, I think. They sail the Mediterranian Ocean for a few months, then cross the Atlantic, sail throughout the Carribean for a while and then back to the Med. in March.

I don't think any of the employees spoke less than 2 languages, most knew at least 3, only a small handful had English as their primary language. Most of the wait staff was from the Phillipines, the rest of the crew was mostly from Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain. There were also some from Malta, Hungary, Norway and England. The cruise director was the only one I noticed from the US. It was amazing.

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Guest nini
Guest nini
Posted

WOW! That sounds awesome! Glad you had a great trip with awesome food! It's thinks like that that make me so very happy!

Generic Apprentice
Generic
Posted

I went on a royal caribean cruise, we requested gluten free accomodations for me. They never responded to the e-mail.(It was offered as an option, too). Luckily I brought a stock pile of gluten free crackers. I lived off the fruit and cheese platters the whole time. :angry:

VegasCeliacBuckeye Collaborator
VegasCeliacBuckeye
Posted

Open Original Shared Link

This website has gluten free vacations -- they are a bit pricey though...

Ursa Major Collaborator
Ursa Major
Posted

Wow, that cruise sounds awsome! My husband and I are going on a Caribbean cruise (four days) next week Thursday (Jan. 26th). I am intolerant to so many things, that my menu is quite small.

Our travel agent has been in contact with the cruise line (he works for them) and sent them the list of things I can and can't have (the can't have section much bigger than the ones I am able to have). He said that it should be no problem, and that they said I'd have to work closely together with the maitre'd and the waiters to make sure I am okay. I hope it will work out for me, so I can have a good time without having to worry about getting sick.

I hope they'll let me take my snacks through customs, as well as the lunch I am planning on eating either on the plane or after we get to Miami around noon (we don't board the ship until 4:00 PM). I won't dare go to any restaurant, it's too risky.

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

Ursula--Have a relaxing and safe trip! Let us know all about it when you get back :)

fisharefriendsnotfood Apprentice
fisharefriendsnotfood
Posted
I did not eat much while on the islands. We weren't in Key West long enough to eat so it wasn't a problem there, in Cozumel I did have some tortilla chips and salsa at the beach, Ocho Rios I was too afraid to eat any of the jerk seasoned stuff, so I had a snickers and some dried fruit I brought along. In Cayman we had a fabulous!! lunch on Rhum Point Beach, grilled catch of the day and a salad.

I

I also went on a cruise for the winter break, on Royal Carribean. It was AWESOME. We also went to Cozumel, Ocho Rios and Cayman Islands, along with Nassau, their private beach in Haiti and Belize. It was so much fun, I got amazing dinners and they even made me desserts a few times, like banana splits and even a creme brulee once.

Nobody be hesitant to go on a cruise because of the gluten-free thing, just tell them beforehand. It is so much fun, you will be so happy you did.

I went scuba diving and snorkeling, and swimming with the sting rays. It was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Jackie :D

jams Explorer
jams
Posted
I also went on a cruise for the winter break, on Royal Carribean. It was AWESOME. We also went to Cozumel, Ocho Rios and Cayman Islands, along with Nassau, their private beach in Haiti and Belize. It was so much fun, I got amazing dinners and they even made me desserts a few times, like banana splits and even a creme brulee once.

Nobody be hesitant to go on a cruise because of the gluten-free thing, just tell them beforehand. It is so much fun, you will be so happy you did.

I went scuba diving and snorkeling, and swimming with the sting rays. It was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Jackie :D

That sounds encouraging!! I am leaving today and sailing tomorrow on Royal Carribean. We are going to The private beach in Haiti, Ocho Riaos, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel. I am SO excited!! I am bringing a few snacks to take with when we go to the islands. I'll let you know how it went when we get back!!

fisharefriendsnotfood Apprentice
fisharefriendsnotfood
Posted
That sounds encouraging!! I am leaving today and sailing tomorrow on Royal Carribean. We are going to The private beach in Haiti, Ocho Riaos, Cayman Islands, and Cozumel. I am SO excited!! I am bringing a few snacks to take with when we go to the islands. I'll let you know how it went when we get back!!

Great! Have fun! :D

-Jackie :lol:

Guest BERNESES
Guest BERNESES
Posted

This is good to hear! Maybe we'll consider a cruise- I've been hesitant but Costa sounds great! Ursula- have a safe and fun trip.

Wait- did anyone hit Turks and Caicos on their cruises? My hubby and I are going there Feb 2-7. Frankly, I don't care if I all I can eat is sand (it's gluten-free, right?) I am just so psyched to swim, snorkel and sun!

pattic Rookie
pattic
Posted

just to let everyone know, a few years back we went on a disney cruise and the service on board was wonderful. I gained weight cuz my own basket of biscuits was put in front of me at each dinner! and of course, great breakfasts, desserts etc helped!

I'm booked for a Princess cruise for Sept 06. online they have a 'personal cruiser' section to complete that asks about your interests, medical needs (wheelchair, etc) and dietary needs. on their list, among vegetarian, kosher, diabetic etc - there was wheat/gluten free!!!! I was thrilled to see that.

Of course, I won't know for sure until after the cruise, but it appears that they accomodate us as well!!

~Patti in NJ~

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