Best Cruise Line Consistency when dealing with Food Allergies?

Any more updates? I got canned responses from Princess and at my first lunch on board after talking to the head waiter and anyone else who would listen to me ;) I was served bean sprouts (I'm allergic to beans including soy!). The Maitre D just patted me on the head and sent me to the head waiters who were just yes men and did not know the details on ingredients in the processed items like bread crumbs and salad dressings. Until the last night every meal in the MDR contained something that was not safe for me despite begging the head waiters to ask the chef about items in question which I would finally ask to be served on the side and not eat. I did have good experiences at the Crown Grill and Horizon Court where I was able to speak directly to a chef who were very knowledgeable and honest when they were not 100% certain. Would I recommend Princess to someone with life threatening allergies--NO. Luckily my nut allergy is not severe and I'm very knowledgeable about ingredients that frequently contain soy or other bean components.

We returned last week from our second cruise on Royal and they were phenomenal with the allergies again. My son is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish.

We met with our head waiter the first night and each evening , we would choose safe meals for the following day.

They were super cautious. We wanted to order a hot dog for my son, but they didn't have the labels for the hot dogs so they couldn't verify the ingredients.

All week their positive attitude and attention to our needs made us very comfortable.

I do know that they also had several gluten free options, they offered my son gluten free pancakes and waffles since those mixed were dairy free, as well.

The table next to us also had food allergies . At the second seating for dinner our head waiter had 6 tables with food restrictions, which makes me think that they are getting more accustomed to serving food allergies.

We have finally figured out our multiple food allergies and have been unable to eat out at a restaurant in years. Vacations are tough with all the planning and cooking our food ahead of time. Our last cruise was 6 years ago while I was pregnant and long before we finally figured out these food allergies. We love RCCL so we are testing a quick vacation on a Fri-Mon birthday cruise in March 2016 with our 6 year old.

After my conversations with the RCCL Special Needs department, I'm pretty sure it is going to be just fine and maybe even easier than a vacation at a hotel. You are allowed to bring as much prepackaged, unopened and sealed food as you want so. We are gathering the packaged and labeled foods that are safe and packing enough for the length of the cruise. I'm taking my receipts from the stores just in case I need them on return, but the Special Needs Dept assures me that if we have packaged food left over, returning to the US will not be an issue. You are even allowed to bring a packaged safe food like pasta, which they will cook for you, reseal if necessary and return to you if necessary. No food items homemade or in ziploc bags are allowed, but you can bring empty ziplocs for onboard use. They assure me there will be safe food to eat and the staff has the protocols and knowledge to successfully help guests with food allergies. Just in case, we are packing a collapsible fold flat bag full of safe snacks.

Of course, a buffet isn't safe. You must dine in the dining room. At the very least, if you must run into the buffet, they say ask for the chef who will get you food himself after telling you what is safe.

Hasn't been brought up but only commercially prepared and sealed prepackaged foods are allowed onshore.

Definitely no fruit or meat allowed onshore

I would guess most do- no one wants to be sued : ) i have toured ncl and rcl's kitchen. Both have separate areas for everything which was nice to see. (My bro is deathly allergic to shellfish). I felt more comfortable having the same server each night who knew (its a super severe allergy) and ncl made sure we had same table staff etc. both lines were careful im my opinion and I would guess most are : )

I would guess most do- no one wants to be sued : ) i have toured ncl and rcl's kitchen. Both have separate areas for everything which was nice to see. (My bro is deathly allergic to shellfish). I felt more comfortable having the same server each night who knew (its a super severe allergy) and ncl made sure we had same table staff etc. both lines were careful im my opinion and I would guess most are : )

On Carnival we mostly do ATD. The hostess brings your pre-printed order to your waitstaff. We've only have had two issues---Carnival classifies seeds as nuts and the special order can come out faster than the rest of the table.

At the end of the meal your waiter will take the next day's meal order.

Good to know! Since its a shellfish allergy the seeds would be ok in my situation and he is the slowest eater ive ever met so his food being early would be a plus : ) thanks for the info!

We returned last week from our second cruise on Royal and they were phenomenal with the allergies again. My son is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish.

I wish there was a private message function on CC. I'd love to compare notes with you. My daughter has the same allergies except for shellfish.

They were super cautious. We wanted to order a hot dog for my son, but they didn't have the labels for the hot dogs so they couldn't verify the ingredients.

I actually find this unacceptable. Any pre-made food loaded onto the ship needs to have accompanying ingredients list available. On our last RCCL cruise in 2009, it took them over three days to find the ingredients list for their dry pasta (to see if it contained egg). When pasta is an essential part of my daughter's diet, it severely limited her choices.

Here are my two reviews specifically related to food allergies...

Carnival Miracle (2011/2012)

Disney Magic (2015)

My family and I sailed on the Enchantment of the Seas - Royal Caribbean this summer and had a very traumatic experience with food allergies (my son and niece). I had contacted RC 3 times prior to the sail date notifying them of my son's food allergies. All 3 times I was assured that we would be accommodated and that it would be safe for him as long as we ate all our meals in the Main Dining Room (MDR). My sister had also contacted RC a few times for her daughter's food allergies and received the same reassurance.

When we wanted to eat at the Windjammer Cafe (lunch time - MDR was closed, something they didn't tell us when we were making cruise reservations), we received different answers from different staff members regarding what was safe to eat. Also, when we asked to see the ingredients label for some of the basic foods (pasta / bread), we were told that they didn't have it because it comes in bulk from outside. As a result of this, my son and niece had limited food options. My son was told all he could eat was rice pasta for lunch and dinner because the wheat pasta and bread had eggs in them. (My son is allergic to eggs, peanuts, tree nuts; however, it is usually safe for him to eat wheat bread / pasta / dairy, etc.)

Two days into our cruise, we were having dinner at the Main Dining Room. My son ate rice pasta with broccoli, french fries, and apples for dinner. At the end of the meal, a family member surprised my son and daughter with birthday cakes that were special ordered to be peanut / treenut / egg FREE. This family member had asked the head waiter / staff several times to ensure that these cakes would be safe for the kids with food allergies. Within 5 minutes of eating the cake (few bites), my son complained that his throat was itchy and hurting, his stomach was cramping and he started to make gagging noises to throw up. I rushed him to the restroom where I immediately gave him Benadryl to stop the allergic reaction and then to the Medical facility on Deck 1 to seek medical attention. When I went to the Medical facility, I realized that my sister had also rushed my niece down there because of an allergic reaction. My niece is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and coconut. She had throat pain, coughing, stomach pain and vomiting. She was also treated with Benadryl and started to feel better after an hour. We suspect that there was cross contamination of peanuts or tree nuts (allergens they both have in common) while making these cakes.

We had a poor experience on Royal Caribbean because they failed to protect our children from allergens even though they had assured us that the foods they were eating were safe. The staff was not well trained on answering questions regarding food allergies. Ingredient labels were not available when requested. Windjammer Cafe food labels and MDR menu items did not indicate presence of allergic foods. This type of service is unacceptable in a world where food allergies are on the rise in children as well as adults. Cruise lines need to make an effort to improve so that families like ours can safely enjoy cruising like everyone else does.

That's not very comforting - we are sailing on Explorer in December, my son (17 months when we sail) is anaphalaxtic to Dairy and also has egg and wheat allergies, severely restricting his diet at the best of time. I'm already concerned about his allergies on board - things like been offered GF bread but people not realising that most likely still has egg in it, etc.

Can I ask what you had done prior to, and once on board regarding your son's allergies? Were you in contact each day with the restaurant manager to select meals?

Also you mentioned the MDR closed at lunch time?? Is this every day as I was counting on eating there each day with my son in the hope they would be familiar with his allergies rather than risk the buffet.

Sorry to hear you had so much trouble with your cruise.

I'd like to bump this thread to see any updates from any cruise line. Thanks in advance.

I'd like to bump this thread to see any updates from any cruise line. Thanks in advance.

Just checked back here and noticed the bump. Here is our recent experience on Princess - not as bad as the Royal post above and we would consider Princess again but only trying their new Club Class or if they show that they are putting in new processes aboard their ships.

The following appeared on the Princess board:

We were on a 12 night British Isles cruise on the CB (July 2016). As we have always in the past, we contacted Princess explaining that our 12 year old son has a severe peanut/tree nut allergy and that even minute cross contact with the allergen could be life threatening. We "ask" whether my son's food can be prepared separately in order to avoid cross contact with the caveat that if not, we are okay not sailing. As usual, we get the response back from the Princess Access Office that they have been in contact with the ship and there should be no problem accommodating my son in the MDR but to avoid the lido buffet.

When we boarded, we went to lunch in the MDR and the headwaiter made arrangements for my son to have a safe lunch. At fixed early TD dinner that evening, we met our waiters and headwaiter who were great. The headwaiter arranged for a safe meal that evening but mentioned that no dessert could be guaranteed as nut free. This is what we were expecting based on our previous experience, especially regarding desserts. In terms of arranging meals for the following day, the headwaiter provided us with the dinner menu and told us that he would arrange for a nut free dessert (Chef's choice) every evening.

The next night, formal night, my son was served his starters and entrees and when it came time for dessert, the headwaiter came by and asked my son what he wanted off the menu. When we reminded him about our agreement regarding the special standing order for desserts, he told us he was going to speak with the Chef. Desserts are particularly problematic for cross contact with nuts as so many desserts use nuts.

When the headwaiter returned, he told us the only safe item was the Bananas Foster being prepared table side (actually in a central station in the dining room). We said okay, that would work.

However, my wife and son went over to the station and spoke with the headwaiter plating the Bananas Foster and right beside it was a massive plate of slivered almonds. When my wife explained about my son's allergy the headwaiter emphatically said that the bananas foster would be the worst because inevitably there were slivered almonds all over the place including the bowl of bananas.

We spoke with our headwaiter and basically were told that's all the Chef was willing to do.

Obviously, this made us concerned about all of our food. Was our food being prepared separately as was indicated by the Access Office? I went to seek out the Maitre'd and explained our situation.

He asked me what we would like. I said, all we wanted was for my son to eat safely and to follow the process that was agreed to by the Access Office and that we had experienced on past cruises - that my son's food be prepared separately (see my previous Princess posts). The Maitre'd said, no problem and that he would speak with the Chef personally. The next day, he met us at our table and said that he has arranged with the Chef and that my son's food would be prepared separately.

So far so good and we thought that the kitchen was following the agreed upon process. On the second last day of the cruise we went to lunch at the dining room. We gave our cabin number and the waiter (all the waiters were fabulous by the way) found my son's pre-ordered lunch. However, we heard him say to the assistant waiter that the Chef says my son's items don't have nuts so just pick it up regularly (ie don't worry about a special order). However, there were menu items with nuts including a salad. My son ordered a plain lettuce salad that inevitably would have been prepared in the same area. This set off alarm bells for me.

That evening for dinner I watched the meals being delivered to our table as well as tables around us. My son ordered pasta as did 3 or 4 people around us. The assistant waiter brought all the pasta orders together with none being indicated as prepared separately (usually a paper attached to the cover or a separate colored cover). When I asked whether the item was the special order, the waiter said, the "Chef says it is fine".

Once again, all the waiters were fabulous and could only do what the Chef indicated. Since there was only one more night left on the cruise I decided not to pursue it further. One pleasant surprise was that we found a fabulous sous Chef in the Lido that would go into the back and prepare/plate safe food for our son so many of our meals were there.

Not sure what the issue was whether the Chef was not following the processes set out by the company or if it is entirely up to the Chef's discretion on each ship. I have spoken with Princess Chef's in the past (usually thanking them for providing my son a safe meal) and they have told me that there is a separate allergen prep area on most ships. This included the Grand so I assume the CB has one as well. After the cruise, I contacted Princess with my feedback questioning them what is the company process for preparing allergen safe foods. I received a form response saying that my feedback was valuable and they would forward to the correct department.

Do not get me wrong, Princess is a very good cruise line. However, based on our experience last summer (both on the ship and afterwards) we do not feel comfortable sailing on the line with our son. If they cannot accommodate, I get that. Just state that you can't when the access office is contacted. We may try Princess again with Club Class dining with the hopes that the added service levels would get better accommodation. However, at this point we have had better experiences with other cruise lines. The main reason we cruise is to be able to travel the world with my son's allergies. If a cruise line cannot consistently provide him safe foods, it makes sense we look elsewhere.

Food allergies are on the rise especially among younger people. As cruise lines go for a younger demographic those lines that figure out how to accommodate genuine allergies should have a competitive advantage.

I hope our experience helps others. Please let me know if you have any specific questions.

Thought I would add this experience as well:

Here is the link to our experience on HAL in 2015. Between Princess and HAL, I think we would rate HAL over Princess.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2328606

Safe travels everyone.

Thank you so much for your contributions.

Carnival was awesome with our group. Two one year olds, my son is allergic to dairy and hazelnuts. Our friends daughter is allergic to peanuts/tree nuts. They would take their orders the night before. One night both kids had the same meal but they came with different sides due to milk in some of the sides. Another night we ordered pasta for my son and it had a cream sauce that they made special for him using soy milk. We even questioned it since it looked like a cream sauce and the waiter even took the plate with her down to the kitchen to double check and came back and told us all the ingredients they used in the sauce.

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