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Has Anyone Taken A Cruise On Norwegian Cruise Line?

angel42

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angel42 Enthusiast
angel42
Posted

Hi,

So I am thinking of taking my first vacation since I was diagnosed with Celiac. I have taken many cruises before since the cost works out so well but honestly the thought of a vacation based around food scared me to death. I wrote to Norwegian to ask if they could accomodate a Celiac and this was their response

Hello,

Please be advised that Celiac Disease is pretty common among our sailing guests. We deal with this type of condition on a daily basis. What we do for guests with Celiac Disease is send a list of items (see enclosed) were guests can choose different items that they would like for us to have available for their cruise. In addition, we advise the Executive Chef and dining staff ahead of time so that they are aware and can prepare to meet with the guest upon embarkation. At that time the guest can further discuss meal preparations and dietary needs. Once a reservation has been made, we would need to know the reservation number. Please note that depending on the itinerary we would need to have the list with your selection return to us at least 2 weeks prior to sailing or 2 1/2 months prior to sailing (for European Cruises/South Ameria).

Hope this information was helpful.

Have a nice day!

Has anyone taken a cruise on Norwegian with positive results? Did you get sick? How was the staff?

let me know!! :)

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gymnastjlf Enthusiast
gymnastjlf
Posted

I cruised with NCL last summer. Overall, I was impressed. There were a couple things that I was a little concerned about though. One morning at breakfast (buffet), I asked for bread. The worker said sure, he went and got it, even offering to toast it. I do not know if they had a dedicated toaster, though. Eating in the sitdown restaurants was a breeze, I went in usually in the mornings, and worked with someone to create meals for the rest of the day (I usually ate at the breakfast buffet). I did not have gluten-free bread in the sit down restaurants, though I never asked for it either. Some days I was able to get dessert (meaning they made something special), but more often I just had fruit. I probably could have pushed for a real dessert if I had really wanted something.

A couple times I did eat at the lunch/dinner buffets, asking the chefs about certain dishes. Sometimes there was a language barrier and I'm not sure how legit the info I was receiving actually was. But overall, I was very pleased with NCL. The staff was very friendly and did their best, that much I am sure of!

Hi,

So I am thinking of taking my first vacation since I was diagnosed with Celiac. I have taken many cruises before since the cost works out so well but honestly the thought of a vacation based around food scared me to death. I wrote to Norwegian to ask if they could accomodate a Celiac and this was their response

Hello,

Please be advised that Celiac Disease is pretty common among our sailing guests. We deal with this type of condition on a daily basis. What we do for guests with Celiac Disease is send a list of items (see enclosed) were guests can choose different items that they would like for us to have available for their cruise. In addition, we advise the Executive Chef and dining staff ahead of time so that they are aware and can prepare to meet with the guest upon embarkation. At that time the guest can further discuss meal preparations and dietary needs. Once a reservation has been made, we would need to know the reservation number. Please note that depending on the itinerary we would need to have the list with your selection return to us at least 2 weeks prior to sailing or 2 1/2 months prior to sailing (for European Cruises/South Ameria).

Hope this information was helpful.

Have a nice day!

Has anyone taken a cruise on Norwegian with positive results? Did you get sick? How was the staff?

let me know!! :)

RosR Newbie
RosR
Posted

Hi,

You received a much nicer and more helpful response from Norwegian than I did. I was told that they would note my reservation that I was celiac, but since it was not a full month ahead of my cruise, they would not order me any special foods.

I found the main dining room quite unaccomodating and difficult to deal with. The only meal they would serve me that was gluten-free was steak with a baked potato and veggies. Some of the fish dishes were gluten-free as well. The first night we ate there, the maitre d' didn't speak to me, but he did come over on our second time there. He said that they coat all of their meats with flour ahead of time, so to speak to him earlier in the day and they would see if they could leave some aside for me (un-floured). I did try to talk to someone in the dining room the next day, but no one was available, and they called me talk to about it at 10:15pm after the dining room was closed, and I was already in bed. We gave up on the dining room after that.

However, I found the employees in the buffet area very helpful. They would go check for me about any dish, if they weren't certain about its contents. Also the specialty restaurants had different options such as gluten-free pasta at the Italian restaurant and many dishes at the Tex-Mex one.

Hopefully you won't have as many problems as I did with the main dining room. Enjoy your cruise!

sparkles Contributor
sparkles
Posted

We cruised on Princess Lines for our honeymoon in 2003 and they were not very helpful. It was basically, watch your own diet, we have another 1,000+ to take care of!!!! I would like to think that this was just a bad experience but I would not travel on Princess Lines again unless they were more accomodating. Maybe it is the ship within the fleet that makes the difference.... just like some restuarants are more accomodating than others. Interesting thread.... I will keep looking as I would like to take a cruise again.... so if you have good experiences, write them down....

dragonmom Apprentice
dragonmom
Posted

I really enjoyed NCL the head waiter always recognized me and let the waiters know that I was a gluten-free diner. Royal Carribean was much the same. Holland America, unfortunately is not as good. We just got back from a cruise to Alaska and they had been notified prior to the trip that I had Celiac, I had to fill out a form as to how much of everything I would like. I eat in the dining room so that I know what I'm getting. It took 3 days for them to figure out that I was gluten-free for 3 meals a day. The food was fine it just seemed that the attention to detail wasn't there. We still had a great time , the waiters at dinner knew to have my gluten-free fare there, and it was a beautiful cruise. Food isn't everything and it was all gluten-free that I ate.

  • 9 years later...
Tonra44 Newbie
Tonra44
Posted

I'm actually writing this review from the Norwegian Escape. And I'm not only starving but sick to death of chicken. The language barrier is very bad compared to other cruise lines. I asked on day one if a fish dish had breading or could i have it without the sauce. The waitress basically shrieked "you no have fish! You have chicken" and they've been delighted to limit me to the chicken for the past three days. This morning they ran out of gluten free bread at he buffet so that doesn't bode well for the next four days. Also, to think someone who paid 5k would be pleased w jello and ice cream for dessert for a week is so tone deaf I don't know where to begin. NEVER AGAIN

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Wow!  Have you talked to the head waiter, head chef or even the Captain?  Do you notify them in advance of the cruise?  I have not been on this cruise line, but other lines have been so accommodating.  But....I was just thankful not to get glutened.  I would have eaten sawdust, if necessary.  Being with my extended family and seeing various ports was our goal and not eating.  

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