Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Cruising And Gluten Free

wjp

By wjp
in Traveling with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

wjp Newbie
wjp
Posted

I have a cruise scheduled with Princess Cruises in April. This will be the first time we have been cruising since I was diagnosed 1 year ago with Celiac. Has anyone else been cruising, on which cruise line and what was your experience? Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Dee777 Rookie
Dee777
Posted

I just joined here last night, and wow, I am cruising this month, leaving home on the 11th and boarding the cruise ship the 13th. We are cruising with Carnival on the Glory doing the Eastern Caribbean. I was just diagnosed with celiac 8 days ago. I called our PVP with Carnival (personal vacation planner) and he was very helpful. He told me to let the maitre 'd (sp) and our servers in the main dining room know that I have special dietary requirements (no gluten) and they will consult with their dietitian, who will confer with the chefs who will prepare a menu daily for me to choose from. So, I will be given a menu Sunday night to choose the foods for Monday from. He said even if I am the only celiac on the ship they will bake me gluten free bread, etc. This of course relieved me greatly. I asked about the chance of cross contamination etc. and he did say that while of course they cannot guarantee 100% that there will be no CC in the ingredients they receive they are always preparing gluten free meals and they strictly adhere to keeping things as gluten free as they possibly can. If I were you, I would contact Princess and ask to speak to someone in their Special Needs department and inquire as to their dietary options. You will likely be very pleasantly surprised!

Also there is always fresh fruit, vegetables, salad, etc. at the buffets. We have cruised twice before this cruise and it's amazing the amount of foods as well as the food stations they have on a cruise ship. Even with my food limitations, I should never want for anything!!!

Happy cruising!

Dee

Dee777 Rookie
Dee777
Posted

I have a cruise scheduled with Princess Cruises in April. This will be the first time we have been cruising since I was diagnosed 1 year ago with Celiac. Has anyone else been cruising, on which cruise line and what was your experience? Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Oh, and I believe Princess is owned by Carnival if I am not mistaken... I will post back to you when I get back home and let you know how it went!

  • 2 weeks later...
amber Explorer
amber
Posted

Hi, Last September we went on a Mediterranean cruise on Royal Carribbean's Brilliance of the Seas. Our 13 year old daugther is a celiac and we were assured by Royal Carribbean that they cater for those on a gluten free diet. We had a great experience on the cruise. Our daughter was well and truly spoilt. The head chef came over and introduced himself to us the first night. We had the same waiters each night in the main dining room and they would always bring her gluten free bread with her meal. The chef also often made her extra desserts and other special little extras. They told us they had more than 25 celiacs on that cruise alone so they are well used to catering for a gluten free diet. The head waiter would ask my daughter each night if she would like gluten free pancakes or french toast for breakfast. Each evening she would be given the next nights menu so that she could pick out what she wanted and they would make it for her gluten free. She had excellent good on the cruise and I would not hestitate to recommend cruising as a great way for a celiac to travel.

mariefnp Newbie
mariefnp
Posted

That is good to know that cruise lines do this. I have not had my blood tests yet, but strongly suspect I may have Celiac's (hope not though). We have been on 2 cruises with Princess and loved them both. We plan on another one, and may try Royal Caribbean next! Thanks for the info!!

  • 2 months later...
Dee777 Rookie
Dee777
Posted

Well our cruise was a complete success, Carnival catered to my gluten free needs and did a fabulous job of it! This is the first vacation I have had in 4 years where I was not sick for even a day... way to go, crew on the Carnival Glory!!! As a previous poster mentioned, I too chose the following day's menu each night. I was brought gluten free bread each night with my meals, provided most any dessert I wanted gluten free, it was a dream! We were so pleased with the way they catered to my needs that we booked a 15 day Hawaiian cruise for next January, can hardly wait!

  • 4 weeks later...
smc Rookie
smc
Posted

Well our cruise was a complete success, Carnival catered to my gluten free needs and did a fabulous job of it! This is the first vacation I have had in 4 years where I was not sick for even a day... way to go, crew on the Carnival Glory!!! As a previous poster mentioned, I too chose the following day's menu each night. I was brought gluten free bread each night with my meals, provided most any dessert I wanted gluten free, it was a dream! We were so pleased with the way they catered to my needs that we booked a 15 day Hawaiian cruise for next January, can hardly wait!

Has anyone traveled on Norwegian Cruise Lines? We cancelled a trip we had booked when i was newly diagnosed because I was afraid I would have no food?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,329
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    klkarius
    Newest Member
    klkarius
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens.  I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium.  I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells.  When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly.  This is safe and nontoxic.  Vitamin D level should be above 70 nmol/L.  Lifeguards and indigenous Pacific Islanders typically have levels between 80-100 nmol/L.   Levels lower than this are based on amount needed to prevent disease like rickets and osteomalacia. We need more thiamine when we're physically ill, emotionally and mentally stressed, and if we exercise like an athlete or laborer.  We need more thiamine if we eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates.  For every 500 kcal of carbohydrates, we need 500-1000 mg more of thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  If there's insufficient thiamine the carbs get stored as fat.  Again, recommended levels set for thiamine are based on minimum amounts needed to prevent disease.  This is often not adequate for optimum health, nor sufficient for people with absorption problems such as Celiac disease.  Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts.  Adding a B Complex and additional thiamine improves health for Celiacs.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine helps the mitochondria in cells to function.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins.  They are all water soluble and easily excreted if not needed. Interesting Reading: Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/ Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34857184/ High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766160/ Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/ Vitamins and Celiac Disease: Beyond Vitamin D https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11857425/ Investigating the therapeutic potential of tryptophan and vitamin A in modulating immune responses in celiac disease: an experimental study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40178602/ Investigating the Impact of Vitamin A and Amino Acids on Immune Responses in Celiac Disease Patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814138/
    • Jane02
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Jane02 · Posted

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @Jane02,  I take Naturewise D 3.  It contains olive oil.   Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets.  Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking.  Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the jar, and thus may be irritating to the digestive system. I avoid supplements made with soy because many people with Celiac Disease also react to soy.  Mixed tocopherols, an ingredient in Thornes Vitamin D, may be sourced from soy oil.  Kirkland's has soy on its ingredient list. I avoid things that might contain or be exposed to crustaceans, like Metagenics says on its label.  I have a crustacean/shellfish/fish allergy.  I like Life Extension Bioactive Complete B Complex.  I take additional Thiamine B 1 in the form Benfotiamine which helps the intestines heal, Life Extension MegaBenfotiamine. Thiamine is needed to activate Vitamin D.   Low thiamine can make one feel like they are getting glutened after a meal containing lots of simple carbohydrates like white rice, or processed gluten free foods like cookies and pasta.   It's rare to have a single vitamin deficiency.  The water soluble B Complex vitamins should be supplemented together with additional Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine and Thiamine TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) to correct subclinical deficiencies that don't show up on blood tests.  These are subclinical deficiencies within organs and tissues.  Blood is a transportation system.  The body will deplete tissues and organs in order to keep a supply of thiamine in the bloodstream going to the brain and heart.   If you're low in Vitamin D, you may well be low in other fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Have you seen a dietician?
    • Scott Adams
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product. 
    • trents
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By trents · Posted

      Contact them.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.