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If you are like me you have found it somewhat difficult to find good information on cruising gluten free. I really wanted to get as much information as possible on my last cruise with Carnival so I could better educate myself and also share what I learned with others. I feel this information would have been very useful to me prior to my cruise so I hope it is helpful to you. I reached out to Carnival before and after my cruise on the Carnival Splendor in May 2015 and they were extremely helpful. Aly at Carnival, was able to provide me with some great information and provided followup to questions after my cruise which I will share here. If you have Celiac Disease, you know how difficult it can be to eat out. At times it can be downright frustrating and leave you wishing you had just stayed home. If I thought for one second that my dining experience on a cruise would be anything like that I doubt I would ever go. I am so happy that is not the case. Carnival does a great job for those of us who must follow a gluten free diet. The rest of my group was amazed at the treatment I received every night in the dining room on our last two cruises with Carnival. Our head waiter, Bernie, quickly learned my name and each night at dinner he presented me with the menu for the next night to make my selection. The entire dining staff assigned to our table was outstanding and were always looking out for me to ensure I had a wonderful dining experience. Of course there are other dining options besides the main dining room on the ship and I will go over the different options below. Dining Room: Now, obviously not quite everything on the menu can be ordered gluten free, but the options are plentiful, and you are able to enjoy wonderful appetizers, entrees and desserts and never feel like you are missing out on "the good stuff" that everyone else is having. If my waiter was unsure if my selection could be prepared gluten free, he had me pick a backup just in case. I believe all my entrée choices were available gluten free. I enjoyed Lobster, steak, lamb shank, prime rib, salmon, and more. I ordered a pasta dish so that I could try the gluten free pasta which was very good. Their gluten free pasta is spaghetti and was one of the best I've tried. There are some appetizers and desserts that cannot be made gluten free but there were so many other great choices that were available gluten free that it was never really an issue. Each night in the dining room I was given 2 slices of gluten free bread the same time the rest of my party was offered bread and I never had to ask for it. On the night of my wife's birthday, we were fortunate enough to have a gluten free cake made for our group that was amazing! It tasted so good that it was hard to believe it was gluten free. I loved the food in the dining room and the service was outstanding. A special thanks to Bernie, Wihandoyo and Terry. Breakfast in the main dining room was always great. I tried the gluten free pancakes and the French toast. My favorite was the French toast. Many other options were available as well like omelets, bacon, fruit, etc. At the end of the week my wife and I had the opportunity to meet with the maître d' and the head chef of the dining room and take a personal tour of the galley where food is prepared for the two main dining rooms. We were so impressed by the organization and cleanliness of the galley. There was shiny stainless steel everywhere and everything was very clean, including the floors. I was able to ask the chef about how gluten free requests were handled and found out that there is a separate area in the galley that handles special dietary needs and all gluten free meals are cooked there by a junior sous chef away from the main food handling areas. Pastries are made in their own area and breads are baked in their own section, away from other food prep areas. The amount of food that moves through that kitchen every night is astounding and they do it so efficiently. It was a very impressive operation indeed. Buffet on the Lido Deck: The buffet on the Lido deck proved to be challenging for me and I wished I would have thought to ask for a manager to help answer my questions as I later found out is what I should have done. I was quite frustrated trying to figure out what I could eat and asking the staff on the other side of the food warmers left me with a lot of questions, so I basically avoided the buffet. At the end of the week when I met with the maître d' and the head chef from the dining room, I shared my buffet experience with them and they informed me that there is always a manager on duty on the Lido deck at the buffet and they are available to answer all gluten free questions and help guests know what gluten free options are available. So, learn from my mistake and ask for the manager on duty. Carnival responded to my email following the cruise saying they will look into improving the labeling of the food on the Lido Deck which would be greatly appreciated. Tandoor Indian Food Station: I asked a food handler at the Tandoor station if they had anything gluten free and he pointed out two items under the warmer that contained gluten and told me the other things were fine. I was able to eat the Tandoori Chicken and rice and didn't have any problems. The food was spicy but good. Pizza Station: There is gluten free pizza available at the Pizza station. The gluten free pizza was prepared in the back which is good that they kept it separate from the regular prep area to avoid cross contamination. However, the gluten free pizza was not the best in my opinion. The crust is thick and not close to the traditional pizza crust texture. I tried it so I could include it in my review and instead of a chewy texture, it was kind of like a soft corn meal texture. It seems like the pizza crust wouldn't be too hard to improve on. There are several gluten free frozen pizza crusts on the market that are pretty close to traditional pizza crust. I know of several local pizza joints around our area that serve gluten-free pizza and they simply use the frozen crusts from Udi's or another brand like that and it is good. My family however, really enjoyed the regular pizza. When I shared this with Carnival they responded that they will look into the quality of their gluten free pizza. Deli Station: The Deli station puts out some great looking sandwiches and it was a hit with my family. I was happy to find out they had gluten free bread so I ordered a sandwich and watched them prepare it. I had watched as the staff prepared the sandwiches before they made my gluten free sandwich and observed that they frequently dipped a utensil into the mayo and the mustard containers and spread them on the regular bread, touching the bread, and then put them back into the respective containers. When I ordered my gluten-free sandwich I was surprised to see them use the same utensils from the same containers of mayo and mustard. They also placed the sandwich in the same grill press to toast that they used for all other sandwiches. The sandwich looked amazingly good but I couldn't eat it because of the cross contamination. I was very disappointed. Carnival responded that there are guidelines in place and they are going to reinforce those guidelines for preparing gluten free sandwiches. So, go to the deli and try one of the sandwiches for me and let me know how it was, they really do look good. Grill, Mongolian Wok, and Burrito Stations: I didn't have the opportunity to stop at the grill, Mongolian Wok or the Burrito stations. I hear they have gluten free buns on board but I didn't try them. Conclusion It is really quite impressive to me that Carnival has made the effort to have so many gluten free options available including sandwiches in the deli. I had a wonderful time on the Carnival Splendor and would not hesitate recommending Carnival to anyone with gluten issues. Of course there are still the little areas mentioned that need improvement but I believe Carnival is taking steps to improve those things. I had an absolutely wonderful time and I was well taken care of in the dining room. I had the same experience 2 years ago on the Carnival Glory as well. I had great food every single night and the scales certainly proved that when I got home. After having the opportunity to speak to the head chef about gluten free issues, and seeing firsthand how gluten free requests are handled in the galley I am quite comfortable in recommending Carnival to the Celiac community. Remember this is my personal opinion and there may be those of you who have had an issue here or there, but from my research and experience, I know Carnival takes gluten free matters seriously and they are working to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone. I am looking forward to my next cruise.

Just wanted to warn everyone of my experience in taking a Carnival Cruise -- expecting it to be gluten free dining. A few months ago we booked with Carnival, specifically because of their claim they can cater to a gluten free diet. Once I dined at the 24 hour buffet area -- they are supposed to have gluten free sandwiches and pizza, etc... -- I realized that the cruise was a big mistake with Carnival. Even though we got a welcome letter in our cabin saying that they are happy to provide a gluten free cruise, and their staff will recommend gluten free options. etc... it was clear that their food handling procedures were atrocious. Everything I asked for (and saw prepared) was cross-contaminated. Here is a list of most of the negative things encountered on the cruise: 1. In the main dining room, upon asking the staff what gluten free cereals were available, the only one offered was Rice Crispies -- and not the gluten free version. 2. At the Deli station, I ordered gluten free sandwich. The staff member promptly changed his gloves (good) and then tried to find the gluten free bread. He lifted things up, moved things around as he search. One of the items that he moved and lifted, was a gluten loaf of bread. He then used his same hands/gloves and found the gluten free bread. I also ordered a gluten free hot dog. The staff member warmed the hot dog up on a panini-style grill -- where they also warm regular gluten sandwiches. 3. At the burger stand, the staff made us gluten free hamburgers. A person that was not serving the gluten buns/burgers/fries made the burger and brought it to us (good). We then asked for gluten free fries as well. At this point, the "regular" serving person grabbed a handful of fries and placed them on or plate with the burger. This was after he had been using his hands to build gluten burgers with gluten buns. 4. At the Pizza station, they prepared the all the pizzas in a back area, where I could not see what was happening. However, to cut the pizza, they brought it out to the main viewable area. In one instance, our gluten free pizza was brought out and cut into pieces on the regular chopping board where the gluten pizzas are cut. And this doesn't even address what they were doing in the back -- which surfaces they were putting the pizza on, or even the surfaces in the oven they were cooking it. 5. After complaining to Guest Service on the ship, they made me talk to the head chef and the 2nd in charge chef. Both listened to my issues, and promised that they would take corrective action. The 2nd in charge person told me that when I was in the buffet area, that I could ask for him to help prepare our food. I did that. I ordered another sandwich and brought him with me to assist. He told the person at the Deli to change gloves. Apparently he washed the cutting knife (I did not see this, but the 2nd head chef assured me he did after the fact). The deli person put his knife down and he helped the 2nd chef in plastic wrapping the top of a chopping board so that there was a barrier. They then put the bread on that plastic and cut it and made the sandwich. Almost there, but not quite. The deli person, after apparently washing the knife put it down. He put it down on a chopping board that was not covered in plastic, while they were covering the other board in plastic. The knife was now contaminated and should have been washed again. It was not. 6. So after all of these instances that happened in front of me -- what does that say about the conditions in the kitchens that are not publicly visible? I have been requesting that Carnival refund our cruise since our son had abdominal trouble/pain the whole time and did not enjoy the trip, and basically lived on Cheerios the last couple of days. It diminished our whole family's enjoyment to have our son in that condition. The first request was denied outright. After a few more attempts, they (without me agreeing to anything) sent me a check for half of my son's ticket. After a few more attempts, they claimed to refund both my and my son's tickets (again, sending a check without me agreeing to anything) -- however the check they sent was only the 2nd half of my son's ticket. Not the value of two tickets as they had indicated. They have not responded since to repeated requests for clarification on the fact that they have not even provided what they said they would provide. They will only talk to you on the phone by saying "tell me your issue" -- and then saying they will have to forward it on. Even with the names of people responding (by email), they never let you talk directly to those people. They will only forward on your information/request. I have also found out that one of the people that wrote me, while the email indicated that they were in "customer service" was actually the head of their "loss prevention" department. Again, she will not talk to me on the phone. My first request to them was by phone and was for someone to call me to discuss the gluten free issues we had (did NOT go into any detail) and that I was requesting compensation (did not discuss amount). Their response was to email me (not call) . This email they sent to me ended with: I wish we had better news, but we cannot honor your request for compensation. Please, don't let this tarnish your opinion of us. Despite the circumstances, we trust you took home some fond memories of the concert as souvenirs that will last a lifetime. What? First, I have no idea about any "concert" -- clearly this is a cut and paste job that went wrong. And secondly, they are basically saying -- yup, your kid had some medical issues on board, but hey, hope you got some fond memories of that to remember it by. Thanks for nothing. Oh yeah, the email also said this: Rest assured; your notations were forwarded to the Food and Beverage managers for their internal review. This will ensure that corrective measures can be taken immediately where warranted. Huh? I didn't provide any details, what could they have possibly forwarded for internal review? Even their second email (after I responded to that first one) proved my point, which said: I received your email, however, we need a little more information in order properly assist you. Yup, I figured as much. Regardless, they always sent auto-responses saying that someone would get back to me within 7 days. I think that norm for me was about 20 to 30 days... and my last email has now been again about a month and no response. I cannot stress enough my negative feelings about the situations on the cruise and their lack of customer service post-cruise. Please feel free to pass on this info, as I hope that it will help Carnival change their attitude towards their Celiac customers and their customer service.