|
|
Post by julienc on Jul 13, 2009 11:29:27 GMT -5
Hi Gang!
Hubby and I just booked a cruise to celebrate our anniversary. Yay! We are so excited.
Anyway, the info packet says to notify the cruise line of any special dietary needs ahead of time. Since you typically have the same assigned waiter, I imagine they will brief him/her of the needs and they can assist you throughout the trip.
I'm hesitating on notifying them of my HFI needs. That probably sounds silly, but it was SUCH a fiasco with my hospital stay - no one knew what to do, they brought me all the wrong food, and it was such a mess. If I just kept my mouth shut I could've navigated the menu on my own and faired better. I'm tempted to just wait until we get on board and then talk with the wait staff at that time. I hate making a big fuss of things.
Have any of you cruised before? Thoughts?
|
|
|
|
Post by charlie on Jul 13, 2009 14:35:29 GMT -5
Trouble is, if you wait and they don't have anything then you may be a bit stuck for few days if you don't dock and they can't get in supplies, depends where you are cruising. I have taken pot luck at several restaurants and there has been absolutely zilch suitable, not even a jacket potato or plain bowl of pasta as all potatoes were cooked and coated in cetain ways and all pasta came with some sort of sauce and the thought of boiling a separate panful was totatlly alien with them . Can you email them some simple food ideas of your favourite things and go from there.
Sounds great fun though, hope you have a great time.
|
|
|
|
Post by pamela on Jul 13, 2009 15:58:23 GMT -5
Hi,
Keep me posted on how you proceed and how receptive they are, as I am scheduled to go on my first cruise this fall. It has been suggested to me to contact the cruise line regarding a special diet but from other experiences most people do not comprehend the scope of the issue so I have not ventured that far yet.
The cruise that I am booked on will only be for 4 days so if I have to go hungry it will be better than being sick. How long is your cruise?
I usually don't trust anything other than a hard boiled egg- shell on- when I go out unless I can supervise the preparation so I am sure that I will be tired of eggs after 4 days. I figure that I will have to pack some food in my suitcase to carry me through.
I'll look on the bright side -maybe I can get a start on losing those 5 unwanted pounds.
|
|
|
|
Post by charlie on Jul 13, 2009 17:13:30 GMT -5
Hi Pamela,
welcome to the board, nice to meeet you.
Re eggs on your cruise: there have been some earlier posts this year about eggs, I think it was Sandra who spotted that eggs seem to have some fructose element to them. Put eggs into the search and it should bring some of these posts up. People seem to react in varying degrees to things though and everyones tolerance is different. Welcome to the wierd world of HFI
|
|
|
|
Post by Tammy on Jul 13, 2009 23:41:04 GMT -5
We are thinking about a cruise this fall or next. I will definitely let them know ahead of time about her "allergies". I seem to get more/better response with the word allergy. Plus I'll also pack food for her.
On the cruise I took without her, they had a hamburg bar that was open most of the time. I figure worst case scenario, she'll eat hamburg and french fries the whole trip.
|
|
|
|
Post by julienc on Jul 14, 2009 7:38:54 GMT -5
Thank you all for your advice - and Fred for the insider scoop!  I'll give our travel agent a call this week. You're right, Tammy. The word "allergy" seems to get better attention. We're cruising on Celebrity, and they claim to be very customer-service oriented, so hopefully they'll hold up to that claim. Pamela, our cruise isn't until December, so you will be paving the way for us! Tammy, let me know if you go this fall. I'll be curious to hear how it goes for Regina. Burgers and fries for a week...I've had worse. ;D |
|
|
|
Post by sarahk on Jul 14, 2009 11:31:26 GMT -5
Mike here:
Sarah and I have cruised a few times-on different lines, in different countries, and haven’t had a problem. Most recently, we about 1.5 years ago we cruised Mexico on Carnival with the family.
They were VERY accommodating for Sarah. Since you usually have the same server for each meal, you won’t have to explain your situation more than twice (lunch/dinner) For instance, when we asked about the pesto, they told us they make it on ship, and told us all the ingredients.
They were also helpful in changing the order so she could eat it–leaving the dressing off.... or instead of a soup which was often a starter, they would always bring her a green salad-and remembered to leave tomatoes and other items she can’t eat off.
That is all in the dining areas–pool side, you are pretty much limited to bunless burgers & fries. We only ran into the issue of her having a hard time to find something to eat in the middle of the day once or twice.
Where you MIGHT have a bit more complications is if you get sick. During our honeymoon cruise in Tahiti (a long time ago) she got a bit sick and they gave her a shot. The French doctor spoke English, and when we asked what was in the shot he broke out this gianormous medical book and looked up the ingredients in it-no sugar in it, but he did have to look it up.
I always find it helpful to right down words like sugar, fructose, sweets, diabetic (yeah I know-not accurate, but gives most people a general idea) in a few different languages (spanish and french should be fine for a cruise) on a note card when traveling overseas–so I can show the cards instead of mispronouncing the words-- use the internet if you can’t find someone who speaks
Are you bringing the kids? Carnival was also helpful in having Ethan’s meal ready early for us.
Hope that helps.
|
|
|
|
Post by pamela on Jul 14, 2009 21:33:13 GMT -5
Wow, I had no idea. The darn stuff is in everything.
Thanks for the info. I spent the rest of the night searching and reading all the egg posts. I can see from the posts that we are all unique in our levels of tolerance. Fortunately, I can eat them and have used them as a safe stand by when I travel. I am not as fond of the yolk so I don't always eat the whole thing, but I use whole eggs often when I bake.
|
|
irene
New Member
Posts: 39
|
Post by irene on Aug 5, 2009 9:57:38 GMT -5
I was a on cruise 21 May - 4 June 2009, I informed the cruise company but they advised to go direct to the dining room on arrival and arrange to speak to the chef. I took along a copy of Hannahs diet sheet with foods allowed and not allowed, which I gave them a copy. They put this in each of there kitchens, They said it wouldn't be a problem arranging Hannahs food and just to let them know when I was in the dining room and they would tell me what Hannah could have or if they were preparing her food specially, which most of the time they did, as a lot of the foods had sauces. They were very accommodating and they even prepared special desserts for her and made her pink ice cream, also pizza. We cruised last year and because it was such a success that it why we cruised again this year. I think it is best to let them know and you will have a great holiday. Happy cruising. |
|
|
|
Post by charlie on Aug 5, 2009 16:24:14 GMT -5
Thats great to hear Irene, maybe we should start a nominations for an award for the most accomodating food suppliers. That must have made such a difference to your holiday experience. Eating out seems to be the biggest stress to any outing for us and finding places away from home that have safe foods seems to be harder and harder as people expect more exotic and complicated foods. Especially with megs who has to eat very regularly and on time to avoid hypoglycemic attacks.
Well done to your cruise company, who were they if we ever plan such an adventure??
|
|
irene
New Member
Posts: 39
|
Post by irene on Aug 7, 2009 11:30:39 GMT -5
hi charlie it was ocean village holidays, informal cruising but the right choice for us. I even took lucozade original with me and ice lolly moulds which they put in the freezer, it meant Hannah could have an ice lolly during the day. Water biscuits and crackers were always available for a snack during the day. Back to reality now and its like a military exercise arranging Hannahs food when I know we will be out for the day. Hannah has just had her six month check up at the hospital and they are really pleased, infact we are now on yearly visits now and Hannah was only diagnosed in December 2007. Can Megs eat chocolate, I bought the chocolate from Frusano and Hannah can eat it, I only give her 2-3 squares every other day as a treat. She really enjoys it. I've not been on the board for a while and was pleased to see that you are at last getting somehwere with the hospital. Best of luck |
|
|
|
Post by charlie on Aug 7, 2009 16:22:50 GMT -5
We haven't gone anywhere near chocolate or sweets yet due to her blood sugar fluctuations and questions about that. I did find a chocolate bar in our helpful chemists made by plamilfoods www.plamilfoods.co.uk which has xylitol in it, it is very strong as I tried some but want to check with dietician first. Also found some diabetic sweets in a chocolate shop Thorntons and some chocolate Megs has been yo-yoing wildly since her hospital stay so I want to make sure she is truly settled before trying anything else. |
|
|
|
Post by julienc on Dec 21, 2009 9:35:16 GMT -5
Hi Everyone!
We're back from our cruise, and it was FABULOUS!!! The food was absolutely no problem. I sent in the "special needs" form a month prior, and there was a little card in our cabin on arrival asking us to stop by and talk to the maitre'd (sp?) on arrival. We went down there, and he seemed to completely grasp my food limitations. For instance, he knew right away that carrots were a no-no.
At that first dinner, it was clear they had also talked to my waiter ahead of time, and he helped me with various menu choices the rest of the time. Much of the menu was available to me, as they didn't seem to put sugar, honey, or anything like that in most of their sauces. They also had the basic stand-bys, like shrimp cocktail, grilled steak that was plain, a plain broiled salmon, etc. Most of the time, however, I was able to order off of the main menu. One night I did ask for broccoli and a plain baked potato, and it arrived in minutes, no problem.
The breakfast and lunch buffets were also easy. They had an omelette station, a pasta bar, and other "pick-your-own" type of venues where I could specify what I wanted in the dish. They also had a good selection of French breads that did not have sugar, along with some great cheeses. They also had a daily grill by the pool witch had burgers, fries, chicken tenders, etc. I actually ate here just one day, since the buffet food was so good and mostly "safe".
My biggest gage is "tummy trouble" (if something slips by unnoticed), and I didn't have ANY problems the whole trip!!
A big thumbs up for Celebrity Cruises!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by charlie on Dec 23, 2009 15:11:05 GMT -5
Thats great news Julie, well done for trying it. It must make such a difference to the amount of rest you get on holiday not having to worry about the food. so have you booked agaijn???
|
|
|
|
Post by tummyache on Jun 24, 2012 7:26:45 GMT -5
We recently went on a Royal Caribbean cruise out of Colon, Panama - last minute ticks are much cheaper. We found the buffet was better than eating in the dinning room. We only ate there 2 times. The buffet is so much easier and quicker. You can see what you are choosing to eat and can ask ingredients of the wait staff who are willing to ask in the kitchen. I didn't have the best of luck in the dinning room. The gluten free bread was horrible tasting little bitty things. Next time I will take my own bread along.
|
|
