Carnival Cruise Lines

[Daryl]

Since a few cruise topics jsut popped up, has anyone taken a Carnival Cruise recently? We're booking a 7 day cruise for next April. We'll be on the Triumph, sailing out of miami for the Eastern Carribean.

[taylor-]

Hi! I went on Carnival 2 years ago. It was a lot of fun!! From what I remember there were a lot of choices on the menu, so I could always find something. However they didn't really make any special accomodations for me, besides like, not putting the slice of bread on my plate. I'm also warning you now, you will be eating a lot of creme brulee for dessert. Haha I don't remember if it was carnival or disney, but one of them gave me that every night for dessert. The only thing you might miss out on is the all night pizza, but no worries, there was all night ice cream too. Over all it was a good experience, my family had a lot of fun, and I didn't get sick at all.

On a side note, I know I have said this before somewhere, but the Disney cruise is definitly the best for celiacs. Nothing beats your own basket of dinner rolls at night and mickey mouse pancakes every morning.

[DILIROTH]

Hi,

We went on a two week Med cruise in May with Carnival - had a great time and absolutely loved it!

Although, I made sure they knew my eating restrictions before the cruise they didnt make any special accomadations - it may differ from boat to boat depending on the staff.

The dining room is easy to eat in b/c you have the same staff every day and its easy to order meats and veggies. Because we were so busy we mainly ate at the buffet and I didnt have any problems but I am not ultra sensitive to small amounts of Gluten.

Also they have many other places to get things to eat: They had a deli and I was able to eat both the chicken and tuna salads as a toping with the salad bar. They also have a stir fry place that is very tasty and can be ordered without soy sauce. They also had a grill and you can get a burger wrap and they have the soft serve ice cream machines (I read the ingredients on the box and it appears to be safe, but since our ship originated in Europe it would have different brands so you need to check). They also had an omelet station for the mornings which was really great!

Enjoy your trip!

Theresa

[wyld-sider]

New poster here... I have a wife and daughter who both are Celiac and have a lactose allergy, and we try and keep everything balanced. I don't eat wheat bread unless they have rice bread. I don't have cookies unless they have gluten free cookies.

Now, we have been on Carnival twice. You can request an allergy/sensitivity form and send it in to them well ahead of the cruise. Our first cruise was on the Ecstasy and the second was on the Pride. On the first cruise, we sent it in 6 weeks ahead of time, the second we sent it in 8-10 weeks ahead of time. There is possibly the size of the ships to consider as well as the length of the voyages (4 days for first, 7 days for second).

The first cruise wasn't bad. As another poster said, there was a lot to choose from for the ladies in my family, so it wasn't too much of an issue. They had not received the form in time, but they tried to help out when they found out about it. We just asked to speak to the maitre d' and he helped us as much as he could.

The second cruise we were expecting the same and were pleasantly surprised. We were ready to sit down the first time and were escorted to our table by the asst maitre d'. He told us that he was going to personally watch over our food and make sure the ladies had a great dining experience. They had special menus that highlighted which foods contained milk and wheat, which they brought in 2s and 3s to the meals so we could plan ahead. For desert, the ladies were presented with a new treat every night that was milk and wheat free.

I must say that my opinion of Carnival went way up with that cruise. With the exception of an ice cream party for the kids in my daughter's group, there was no time where they felt singled out. Actually, the wheatless chocolate cake was such a hit, they brought it again on the last night and let the other people at the table try it... and they loved it as well.

Don't be afraid to give the cruise line a call and talk to them. They are a service industry, and if they don't give you good service, they know you will go to another line that will. Personally, we are signed up to go on another cruise in November and my wife is just about ready to send the forms in.

cheers,

wyld_sider

[elefky]

Since a few cruise topics jsut popped up, has anyone taken a Carnival Cruise recently? We're booking a 7 day cruise for next April. We'll be on the Triumph, sailing out of miami for the Eastern Carribean.

I took the Carnival Glory a couple of years ago. My travel agent notified them ahead of time and they faxed me a form to fill out and fax back. I brought some gluten-free pasta and a loaf of bread with me. I spoke to the hostess or maitre d' (or whatever she was) the first evening. She took my stuff and every evening I had my pasta prepared however the pasta of the day was. Every evening she brought me the next evening's menu and we went over it together to see if I could order "as is" or if we needed anything special. I always had enough interesting choices. For breakfast, if I ate in my regular dining room, I could get my toast. But since it was always faster at the buffets we only did that once and I just didn't bother with bread. I was just cautious with breakfast and lunch. I always take gluten-free pretzels when I travel as well as a variety of snacks.

Have a great time!!