Food allergies and other dietary restrictions
Hello! Because the cruise is coming up Soon™, I thought I'd mention the special fun of cruising (or just traveling in general) with dietary restrictions or allergies (actually not that fun). I made a thread for this last year here, but for new cruisers or people with newly discovered allergies or new dietary restrictions, I wanted to bring it up again.
In my experience, Royal Caribbean is very accommodating on the ship with regards to dietary restrictions and will do whatever they can to make sure you are fed in a safe manner. That said, please post here if you have questions, comments, experiences or just wanna kvetch about how much of a bummer it is to have to worry about this stuff every time you set foot outside your own kitchen.
In my experience, Royal Caribbean is very accommodating on the ship with regards to dietary restrictions and will do whatever they can to make sure you are fed in a safe manner. That said, please post here if you have questions, comments, experiences or just wanna kvetch about how much of a bummer it is to have to worry about this stuff every time you set foot outside your own kitchen.
Comments
I'm going to look around for a vegan and gluten free recipe that might be easy enough for them to make cause that'd be even more inclusive.
There was at least one gluten-free dessert option each night, but I have basically zero sweet tooth so I didn't try any. Others at my table said they were good.
That's a good idea to bring a list if you have multiple allergies - I find that the servers are pretty good when it's just one thing, but I'm sure multiple allergies can be hard for them to keep track of, especially in a huge commercial kitchen.
The secret Indian food is an awesome option for vegetarians. I think some of the Indian items were vegan in past years but not all, so it is best to ask. I am kind of afraid to try it because of the sauce issue - many sauces in large restaurant kitchens are thickened with flour, and so I tend to avoid sauces as a rule on cruises and at big events just to be on the safe side. Sucks, because I love Indian food!
I'm going to try and bring on small quantities of almond milk and see how it goes.
Hope all is well. You may bring the almond milk onboard so long as it is non-perishable and sealed
in their original store bought containers.
Best regards,
Access Staff
Gus
- Fill out the special needs form here: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/guestSpecialNeeds.do and let them know about your dietary restrictions.
- When you get to the ship, go to the main dining room and let the dining room manager know, and let him know you're with our group and how severe your reactions are. In my experience, they have been very accommodating and take all food allergies very seriously.
- Sit at the same table each night if you can - the dining captains are assigned to the same tables each night. They will give you a menu each night for the next day so the kitchen can know your choice and prepare your meal separately.
- If dining in the buffet, ask one of the waiters to retrieve a chef and they will either make you something special, or will show you which foods are safe. That said, if you are extremely sensitive to cross-contamination, I do not suggest eating from any of the buffet stations, because other passengers may have unwittingly contaminated gluten-free foods with utensils. The chefs will make you fresh food if you ask.
I bring some of my own food on board for the same reason and RCI will allow you to bring food on board as long as it's non-perishable, so you can bring GF foods with you if you want. That doesn't solve the problem of eating dinner in the main dining room, but as mentioned, the servers and chefs on RCI take food allergies and sensitivities very seriously. You may have to explain your allergy to lots of people, which can be a pain (ask me how I know!), but they will take care of you.