Any experience with extreme dietary requests?

My family will be heading out on Star Princess in November and my sister's husband has some pretty extreme dietary issues. He gets very sick if he strays at all from the few foods he can eat (goat yogurt, some organic fruits/veg, and occasionally some meat), so they are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation.

He usually goes through 3-5 quarts of goat yogurt each day as his main source of nutrients and then whatever fruits/veg or meat to supplement. Should he request that they carry organic goat yogurt for him? Or should he try to bring his own and request a refrigerated storage solution?

Has anyone else ever had to ask for such extreme accommodations? And if so, was Princess willing/able to meet the need?

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!! :)

My family will be heading out on Star Princess in November and my sister's husband has some pretty extreme dietary issues. He gets very sick if he strays at all from the few foods he can eat (goat yogurt, some organic fruits/veg, and occasionally some meat), so they are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation.

 

He usually goes through 3-5 quarts of goat yogurt each day as his main source of nutrients and then whatever fruits/veg or meat to supplement. Should he request that they carry organic goat yogurt for him? Or should he try to bring his own and request a refrigerated storage solution?

 

Has anyone else ever had to ask for such extreme accommodations? And if so, was Princess willing/able to meet the need?

 

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!! :)

They already booked the cruise and did not research this first? :eek:

They already booked the cruise and did not research this first? :eek:

It does seem that should have been the first step. I don't think I have ever encountered goat yogurt on a ship, so I'm thinking it isn't a standard foodstuff. I'm also not sure if the fruits on the ship are organic. All he can do is contact the dietary dept. at Princess and see what they can do. Goat yogurt?

They already booked the cruise and did not research this first? :eek:

Yep! [emoji15] Our mom wanted to bring our whole family together for her 75th birthday, and cruising was her top choice. I think excitement for their first cruise overrode the food concern initially and then it was forgotten once the excitement of booking ended and real life resumed.

They are going to email Princess this week to see what they say--I just thought I'd check beforehand to see if anyone had prior experience/advice. Anyway, we are hoping for a good outcome--we'll see what happens!! [emoji5]️

Goat yogurt. Highly unlikely. Good luck getting this figured out. I sincerely hope it can come together. 3 - 4 quarts per day? That is a truckload of yogurt!

It does seem that should have been the first step. I don't think I have ever encountered goat yogurt on a ship, so I'm thinking it isn't a standard foodstuff. I'm also not sure if the fruits on the ship are organic. All he can do is contact the dietary dept. at Princess and see what they can do. Goat yogurt?

Yep, goat yogurt!!! [emoji238]

Poor guy got sick like 5-10 years ago and his stomach couldn't handle much of anything anymore. He lost about 40 pounds! Anyway, apparently goats milk is easier on digestion, and he found it is one of the few things he can digest. Crazy!

I have a cousin who won't eat anything cooked, so I know how the dietary habits of family members can complicate things. ;) She's also a vegan.

It looks like this is a 5 night cruise with 2 half day port days in the same tender port (in port 24 hours 1pm-1pm) so that does make it a little more manageable. Hopefully there will be some place in port where he could eat, and worst case he may be stuck with only fruits on the two sea days.

I would tell your relative to call Princess asap..not email. November is almost here!

I had a tablemate who was lactose and gluten intolerant as well as a diabetic..every night they cooked special for her. Every day she went over the next days menu with the staff. I felt Princess bent over backwards for her every request. She did notify Princess of her situation before sailing.

However, one gallon of goat yogurt a day is a totally different situation. The question most likely will be if your cousin can ship it directly to the ship. Not sure if that is a violation of food safety?? Good Luck.. hope mom gets her wish of the family together.

Hi,

You may get some replies if you post this in the "Disabled" section of the forum.

Pete

Have you check with the dietary folks at Princess?

Marisa Sanders

special diets

dietaryrequest@princesscruises.com

(661) 284-4450

Also you might want to check the availabilty of his needs in the ports you are visiting. Not sure if you can bring dairy products or fruits and vegetables on the ship. Good luck and I hope it all works out for you.

My family will be heading out on Star Princess in November and my sister's husband has some pretty extreme dietary issues. He gets very sick if he strays at all from the few foods he can eat (goat yogurt, some organic fruits/veg, and occasionally some meat), so they are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation.

 

He usually goes through 3-5 quarts of goat yogurt each day as his main source of nutrients and then whatever fruits/veg or meat to supplement. Should he request that they carry organic goat yogurt for him? Or should he try to bring his own and request a refrigerated storage solution?

 

Has anyone else ever had to ask for such extreme accommodations? And if so, was Princess willing/able to meet the need?

 

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!! :)

no cruise line will bring organic fruits for him or organic goat yogurt. And to be honest I really don't believe in such a sickness :rolleyes:

i

I'm sure that Princess will do all that they can. Just contact them now. Have a great cruise and please post back with the results.

The cabins have refrigerators--but not large enough to accommodate 7 gallons of yogurt. The temperature on them usually isn't that cold--probably not the recommended 34-40 degrees.

My family will be heading out on Star Princess in November and my sister's husband has some pretty extreme dietary issues. He gets very sick if he strays at all from the few foods he can eat (goat yogurt, some organic fruits/veg, and occasionally some meat), so they are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation.

 

He usually goes through 3-5 quarts of goat yogurt each day as his main source of nutrients and then whatever fruits/veg or meat to supplement. Should he request that they carry organic goat yogurt for him? Or should he try to bring his own and request a refrigerated storage solution?

 

Has anyone else ever had to ask for such extreme accommodations? And if so, was Princess willing/able to meet the need?

 

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!! :)

If he has a doctors letter stating that this is a medical need it will go a long way to making it easier. I agree with everyone else that you need to jump on this asap as if it were me I would be very concerned I was going to be on an unwanted 5 day fast!

That being said, what about goat's milk specifically dried goat's milk? I have seen that at wholefoods and other health food stores. He could bring along some probiotic/enzyme tablets to replace what he would have gotten in the yogurt to help his digestion. Since it is shelf stable and much lighter than yogurt, it might be easier.

As to the organic anything, I haven't seen that on any cruise line. My suggestion along those lines would be prepackaged dried fruits or vegetables.

Not to pry, but has he not had any success with any of the high end organic nutrition shakes/powders? While a lot of them are dairy based, there are more and more choices that are vegan and only contain organic ingredients. I have seen almost every combination of soy free, dairy free, grain free etc. I know it can be hard because they often have tons of ingredients and if you have food allergies you have to make sure that ingredient 105 of 125 is not something you are allergic to, but there just may be something that would work.

I hope you find a solution because I do understand. As a long time vegetarian , trying to be vegan, stuck with several food allergies (ugh!) person myself I know what a challenge it can be to travel.

Good luck,

Shannon

This may be an issue. Typically products brought on by passengers are not allowed to be stored or prepared in the galleys and the cabin coolers are not suitable for this.

They would need to source the product from one of their vendors or make very special arrangements so this needs to be addressed ASAP.

Fruits and veggies won't be an issue, they have a pretty wide assortment.

A very quick search of amazon reveals that they have a selection of flavors in small kid sized pouches of goat's milk yogurt. I don't think you would be able to bring them on the plane as carryon but I imagine that you could box up a bunch of the cases of them and check them as luggage and give them to the porters at the cruise terminal. Since they do not require refrigeration until opened no need to have princess store them. Since they are sealed, I think princess would approve them, but you need to ask.

They also have "instant" goat's milk yogurt - just add water, as well as goat milk protein powder. As these are both dry and sealed, they should be OK to travel by air and on to the cruise ship in your luggage.

Who knew? I guess amazon really does have everything.

If it were me, I'd start ordering a few samples now to make sure what ever you choose will work for 5 days.

A very quick search of amazon reveals that they have a selection of flavors in small kid sized pouches of goat's milk yogurt. I don't think you would be able to bring them on the plane as carryon but I imagine that you could box up a bunch of the cases of them and check them as luggage and give them to the porters at the cruise terminal. Since they do not require refrigeration until opened no need to have princess store them. Since they are sealed, I think princess would approve them, but you need to ask.

 

They also have "instant" goat's milk yogurt - just add water, as well as goat milk protein powder. As these are both dry and sealed, they should be OK to travel by air and on to the cruise ship in your luggage.

 

Who knew? I guess amazon really does have everything.

 

If it were me, I'd start ordering a few samples now to make sure what ever you choose will work for 5 days.

What a great reply. If I was the OP, I would be very grateful for this information. It's heartening to see some genuine concern and research from members.

That's a really sound idea. Never occurred to me that there would be yogurt of that type that doesn't require refrigeration.

A very quick search of amazon reveals that they have a selection of flavors in small kid sized pouches of goat's milk yogurt. I don't think you would be able to bring them on the plane as carryon but I imagine that you could box up a bunch of the cases of them and check them as luggage and give them to the porters at the cruise terminal. Since they do not require refrigeration until opened no need to have princess store them. Since they are sealed, I think princess would approve them, but you need to ask.

 

They also have "instant" goat's milk yogurt - just add water, as well as goat milk protein powder. As these are both dry and sealed, they should be OK to travel by air and on to the cruise ship in your luggage.

 

Who knew? I guess amazon really does have everything.

 

If it were me, I'd start ordering a few samples now to make sure what ever you choose will work for 5 days.

Wow, thank you all for your replies! I very much appreciate it!

I forwarded the tips about products on Amazon to my sister (Thanks CoffeHound!) and I am really hoping they can find one or two as a possible supplement for him!

When I called, I was redirected to email them, so I also am sending an email to the dietary address on their behalf in hopes that the ball will get rolling sooner than later.

I will update when we hear back from Princess! :)

Thanks again to all who replied!

As a longer term fix, he might do research on Fecal Transplant. A method to re-establish Flora in the gut.

I have a cousin who won't eat anything cooked, so I know how the dietary habits of family members can complicate things. ;) She's also a vegan.

That actually sounds pretty simple for the line, raw fruit and vegetables.

In other words stuff thy carry in quantity anyway.

Goats yogurt though???

As a longer term fix, he might do research on Fecal Transplant. A method to re-establish Flora in the gut.

Why do I need flora inside me?

Gut

Why do I need flora inside me?

 

 

Gut

I smiled as soon as I saw the name of the last person to post :-)