Dietary restrictions on a boat
For those of us with food allergies and/or other dietary restrictions like vegetarians and vegans, a cruise can be a bit daunting. It's not like you can head off to the grocery store or go to a different restaurant and then meet up for drinks later, so what can we all do? The good news for vegetarians is that there is a vegetarian option at every meal in the main dining room, and there appears to be a sometimes-off-menu Indian vegetarian dish available each night at dinner. You don't have to make any special requests ahead of time if you are vegetarian. For the rest of us, there is this FAQ from Royal Caribbean.
If you have a dietary need like gluten free, kosher, low-sodium, etc., you need to notify Royal Caribbean at least 45 days prior to sailing. The good news is that once on the ship, I have found that the staff are very accommodating. It helps to sit at the same table in the main dining room each night since you will have the same waitstaff, but it's not 100% necessary as long as you don't mind explaining your restriction each night. In addition, last year I went to the buffet and asked one of the head waiters about which items were gluten-free, and she went and got one of the chefs, who walked me through the buffet and pointed out all of the items that were safe for me to eat. I highly recommend doing this if you have a food allergy.
I also recommend going to the maître d' at the main dining room when you arrive on the boat to discuss your restrictions. They will give you access to the next night's menu each day so that you can choose an item in advance and write down your dietary restriction on the menu. That's why it helps to sit at the same table each night, because your waiter will bring you the menu as well. If you are vegetarian this isn't as big a deal because there was always a vegetarian choice on the menu every night, but for any other dietary restrictions this is a big help.
I've been on all three previous cruises with a pretty debilitating food sensitivity, so please let me know if I can help you navigate the wild world of eating on a giant strange floating resort thing.
If you have a dietary need like gluten free, kosher, low-sodium, etc., you need to notify Royal Caribbean at least 45 days prior to sailing. The good news is that once on the ship, I have found that the staff are very accommodating. It helps to sit at the same table in the main dining room each night since you will have the same waitstaff, but it's not 100% necessary as long as you don't mind explaining your restriction each night. In addition, last year I went to the buffet and asked one of the head waiters about which items were gluten-free, and she went and got one of the chefs, who walked me through the buffet and pointed out all of the items that were safe for me to eat. I highly recommend doing this if you have a food allergy.
I also recommend going to the maître d' at the main dining room when you arrive on the boat to discuss your restrictions. They will give you access to the next night's menu each day so that you can choose an item in advance and write down your dietary restriction on the menu. That's why it helps to sit at the same table each night, because your waiter will bring you the menu as well. If you are vegetarian this isn't as big a deal because there was always a vegetarian choice on the menu every night, but for any other dietary restrictions this is a big help.
I've been on all three previous cruises with a pretty debilitating food sensitivity, so please let me know if I can help you navigate the wild world of eating on a giant strange floating resort thing.
Comments
I also found that the other restaurants, primarily the steakhouse, was very good at dealing with allergies - we had multiple different allergies at our table, and the server rattled off every ingredient and was readily able to tell us which items included what allergens. If you're willing to spring for the extra charge, it's a worthwhile option.
Please also note that you can bring your own food on board as long as it's dry and nonperishable, so last year I brought protein bars and Kind bars for myself just in case. That worked really well for mornings when I slept in late and missed breakfast or wanted to just hang out on my balcony with some tea instead of schlepping to the dining room. Energy bars, nuts, chips, etc. are all things you can bring on board with you.
*not taking the kid OR the husband on THIS cruise! I'm eating EVERYTHING!!!*
My husband has analphylaxis, kiddo has bile emesis. We make sure the med insurance covers the right type of medical evacuations, and we've only had to use our ER policy in Cozumel (Pediatric department there is pretty good for emergencies, total bill was a little over $1000, pay at time of service and get reimbursed later). Kaiser Permanente covers my medical insurance overseas (found this out after Cozumel).
With regards to cruiselines' handling of severe food allergies, Royal Caribbean did okay. Disney and Norwegian did better. Our cruise on the Allure over Halloween had quite a bit of Chinese-targeted food for the Chinese VIPs we saw on board. The kids club was hindered by fryers not cooking potatoes for fries exclusively, and the extreme availability of shellfish wherever they took the kids. Kiddo actually got tired of cheese pizza on that cruise.
Hope all that helps!
For @dcwlopez, I always err on the side of caution with regards to meds. If you would feel more comfortable having extra epi-pens on hand, I think it's worth doing, more for peace of mind than anything else.