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Does Carnival have a Gluten free menu


flasaltwater

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I just learned I have Celiacs disease and now I am scared to death Im going to get sick or starve. Has anyone else ever had to deal diet restriction on a cruise?

 

Gluten-Free

The following Gluten-Free food items are readily available on board:

· Bread

· Pasta

· Cake

· Pancakes

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Yea, I am also gluten free, and was also afraid of getting sick while on our cruise. However, I learned from these boards, and then first hand that Carnival is very accomodating. I'm not sure that you need to contact special needs before hand anymore. I went to complete the form for our next cruise and it doesn't even have a space to write in and does not address dietary restrictions. Even after completing the form and sending it to special needs last time, all they had on my reservation was "food allergy". It wasn't specific. It was the same for another traveling us who had a peanut allergy. I went to the dining room and spoke with the Maitre'd as soon as we got on the ship. The hostess came to our table first thing at dinner that night and went over everything with me. She pointed out what was already gluten free that I could have for dinner the first night, then each night she would take my order for the next night. They can make pretty much anything on the menu gluten free. I had bread, chocolate melting cake, cheesecake. It is fabulous because at home, I either have to pay a lot of money to get things like that or make them all myself. She had pizza made for me in the main dining room for lunch and I had pancakes, french toast, etc for breakfast. The key is to always eat in the main dining room. Now, I have read that you can get help in regards to the buffet as well to determine what is and is not suitable to eat. I also read recently that they now have some items on the buffet labled gluten free. Oh, I almost forgot, my husband and I both had our birthdays on the cruise, so our kids were able to have the specialty shop make two gluten free birthday cakes, one chocolate and one white.

 

Research your ports before you go and find out what kind of eating places there are so you have an idea of where you need to go while you are there.

 

Have a great cruise! :)

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sorry to hear about your celiac..we have a very good friend with the same issue and I know its a challenge.

The good news ccl does a great job .As others have posted just call the special needs dept.. all will be well.

My friend travels for business, she is "on the road" about 80% of the time and tells me many stories on how many establishments do not get it right.

She traveled with us for a 6 day cruise and continues to Rave how well CCl was setup for it .. she didnt trust eating off the ship / in ports but loved the way she was taken care of on the ship.

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I agree with everything Soonerbaby says! I have cruised twice now gluten free and this July with my gluten free son (we are both Celiac). Let me just reassure you that you will have the most FANTASTIC dining experience ever! No other restaurant has ever catered to my gluten free needs the way Carnival does! The most important person in the dining room for you is the dining room hostess. She will come over to you every night and help you chose what you would like to have the following night or the next day for breakfast. They can make virtually everything on the menu safe for you to eat! I do have a gluten free dining review in my signature, just click on the Glory Cruise and you will see all the fantastic things I got to eat! Let me also say that Carnival allowed me to bring onboard Udi's gluten free hamburger rolls, hotdog rolls and bread so that my son and I could eat safely in the buffet as well !! I hope you have a fantastic time and if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask!

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Oh, I almost forgot, my husband and I both had our birthdays on the cruise, so our kids were able to have the specialty shop make two gluten free birthday cakes, one chocolate and one white.

 

Do you remember who you talked to about getting these cakes done? They told my fiance that they could not make gluten free cakes from the specialty shop. :confused: Thanks!

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I just learned I have Celiacs disease and now I am scared to death Im going to get sick or starve. Has anyone else ever had to deal diet restriction on a cruise?

 

You do not have to starve. And, you do not have to fill out any forms beforehand. But, you will need to report to the dining room (whichever one you are assigned to) first thing when you get on the ship to let them know. They have one host/hostess assigned to all of the "special needs" diners. He/she will tell you everything on the menu that you can have or that they can make special for you.

 

The one issue I have is that you have to order ahead of time. For example, you have to order the 1st night for the 2nd night's meal. While I understand the need for this for special orders (when they are making things on the menu that aren't normally gluten free), it is a pain. I'm one of those last minute deciders and rarely know what I want ahead of time. But, even if you don't tell them ahead of time, there are always at least a couple of choices on the menu that are gf...fish and rice, grilled chicken and veggies, steak and baked potato, etc.

 

Oh, and if you do go to the buffet in the morning for breakfast, they do typically have some gf bread (albeit not very good bread), omelets, fruit, etc. Just make sure to tell the omelet guy that you want fresh eggs - not the stuff they normally use.

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My DD requires a gluten-free diet. We are actually less stressed about it on a cruise than any other place away from home. Get in touch with Special Needs ahead of time. Make sure it's noted on your reservation. Although I understand it's fine to use it for the anytime dining, we prefer to have a set dining room time so that we will have the same wait staff.

 

The first day for the Windjammer, just mention it at the buffet and ask for someone to come show you what is fine to eat. Normally one of the chefs or maitre'd will come out to walk around with you.

 

Make sure you stop by the dining room during the time they have people meeting with the maitre'd. Make sure they have it noted.

 

The first night either your waiter or hostess will come around to tell you what is fine to eat. Before you leave the dining room they will bring you the next night's menu so you can order for the next night. Normally the majority of the items can be made gluten-free. They have gluten-free pasta, bread, sauces, and special gluten-free desserts. Starting on the second night your table staff will bring you out special gluten-free bread. For desserts, they can make the chocolate melting cake but alot of times they just use one of the other ones on the menu that are already gluten-free, ie. the cherries jubilee. The ice cream is gluten-free.

 

You will also be able to order breakfast and lunch (in main dining room) for the next day and they will have a ticket with your name, cabin, table number etc. waiting for you in the main lunch dining room. DD had pancakes, bacon etc. for breakfast. For lunch one day she had pizza.

 

It's easier to have all the meals you can in the main dining room. They truly take care of you. You will have a great cruise and no worries!!!!

 

My DD also celebrated a birthday onboard and we ordered a birthday cake from bon voyage. They made it gluten-free for her. It was supposed to be chocolate but ended up vanilla with a type of chocolate mousse cream in the layers. The consistency was similar to ladyfingers and was not bad. She really liked it.

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Yea, I am also gluten free, and was also afraid of getting sick while on our cruise. However, I learned from these boards, and then first hand that Carnival is very accomodating. I'm not sure that you need to contact special needs before hand anymore. I went to complete the form for our next cruise and it doesn't even have a space to write in and does not address dietary restrictions. Even after completing the form and sending it to special needs last time, all they had on my reservation was "food allergy". It wasn't specific. It was the same for another traveling us who had a peanut allergy. I went to the dining room and spoke with the Maitre'd as soon as we got on the ship. The hostess came to our table first thing at dinner that night and went over everything with me. She pointed out what was already gluten free that I could have for dinner the first night, then each night she would take my order for the next night. They can make pretty much anything on the menu gluten free. I had bread, chocolate melting cake, cheesecake. It is fabulous because at home, I either have to pay a lot of money to get things like that or make them all myself. She had pizza made for me in the main dining room for lunch and I had pancakes, french toast, etc for breakfast. The key is to always eat in the main dining room. Now, I have read that you can get help in regards to the buffet as well to determine what is and is not suitable to eat. I also read recently that they now have some items on the buffet labled gluten free. Oh, I almost forgot, my husband and I both had our birthdays on the cruise, so our kids were able to have the specialty shop make two gluten free birthday cakes, one chocolate and one white.

 

Research your ports before you go and find out what kind of eating places there are so you have an idea of where you need to go while you are there.

 

Have a great cruise! :)

 

My DH is gluten free also and was a bit depressed that he couldn't eat the warm chocolate melting cake but I see that you did~ I'm guessing that it is a flourless cake then?!?!?! He was happy when I told him though he is concerned about the chocolate as *some* chocolate can have gluten in it, but if you ate it, it must not!

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I take pre-packaged snacks on board to take with me into port. I took rice Chex with me last time as well, because I occasionally want cereal.

 

They fed me CRAB CAKES and warm chocolate melting cake and creme brulee and steak and baked potatoes (have your server bring you your own butter) and pasta and shrimp cocktails and...

 

I did the set dining time, and will again this time around. My server saved me a few times when they sent the wrong plate out, and made sure I had my own butter every night.

 

Yeah, I was impressed. Except for the bread. Nastiest GF bread I've ever tried (very salty), and I quit eating bread for about 2 years until I discovered Udi's because I didn't like the breads.

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My DH is gluten free also and was a bit depressed that he couldn't eat the warm chocolate melting cake but I see that you did~ I'm guessing that it is a flourless cake then?!?!?! He was happy when I told him though he is concerned about the chocolate as *some* chocolate can have gluten in it, but if you ate it, it must not!

 

Ask for it ahead of time. The regular ones have a bit of flour, but they told me when they gave me the recipe that I could just leave it out. They can make it GF, it isn't naturally GF.

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Yeah, I was impressed. Except for the bread. Nastiest GF bread I've ever tried (very salty), and I quit eating bread for about 2 years until I discovered Udi's because I didn't like the breads.

 

I, too, thought the bread they have is disgusting. After the first night of trying it at dinner I told them not to bother bringing it out any more. I would think that since they can make gf cakes, etc. they should be able to bake gf bread that tastes better than the stuff they serve. :(

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I, too, thought the bread they have is disgusting. After the first night of trying it at dinner I told them not to bother bringing it out any more. I would think that since they can make gf cakes, etc. they should be able to bake gf bread that tastes better than the stuff they serve. :(

 

If I thought they'd be able to toast it for me, I'd be very tempted to bring my own Udi's with me. :p

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Where did you keep your gluten free Udi's bread. Do you not keep it frozen? I would love to bring my own as well, becuase theirs is disgusting, but I was concerned how to keep it. I tried telling them I was gluten free a couple of cruises ago, but they were too strict with my choices and I didn't care for some of their GF bread and pasta, and now I just monitor myself.

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I was actually thinking about bringing some corn chips on the next cruise since the new menu will be in effect and they will be serving the guacamole and salsa as an appetizer. (I am hoping that the guacamole they serve is fresh and gluten free.) Does anyone know if Carnival has corn chips on board?

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If I thought they'd be able to toast it for me, I'd be very tempted to bring my own Udi's with me. :p

 

Where did you keep your gluten free Udi's bread. Do you not keep it frozen? I would love to bring my own as well, becuase theirs is disgusting, but I was concerned how to keep it. I tried telling them I was gluten free a couple of cruises ago, but they were too strict with my choices and I didn't care for some of their GF bread and pasta, and now I just monitor myself.

 

My DS is allergic to eggs and nuts (he used to be gluten free, but has outgrown his allergies to wheat, barley, and rye). Carnival allowed us to bring on items that needed refrigeration/freezing and store them in the galley. I brought on safe waffles, pancakes, bread, and frozen homemade cupcakes. They stored it all in the galley, and heated it up for us as needed. We just brought the items with us when we met with the hostess on the first day right after we boarded the ship. We're sailing RCCL over Spring break, and they seem to have a stricter policy about what you can bring on board (it has to be premade, factory sealed, and not perishable). I'm a little worried about having to rely on them to make egg free waffles/pancakes/desserts for my DS. With Carinval, though, they let us bring almost anything on board. --Katie

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My DS is allergic to eggs and nuts (he used to be gluten free, but has outgrown his allergies to wheat, barley, and rye). Carnival allowed us to bring on items that needed refrigeration/freezing and store them in the galley. I brought on safe waffles, pancakes, bread, and frozen homemade cupcakes. They stored it all in the galley, and heated it up for us as needed. We just brought the items with us when we met with the hostess on the first day right after we boarded the ship. We're sailing RCCL over Spring break, and they seem to have a stricter policy about what you can bring on board (it has to be premade, factory sealed, and not perishable). I'm a little worried about having to rely on them to make egg free waffles/pancakes/desserts for my DS. With Carinval, though, they let us bring almost anything on board. --Katie

 

Would RCCL maybe let you bring a manufactured egg substitute to be used in his?

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Do you remember who you talked to about getting these cakes done? They told my fiance that they could not make gluten free cakes from the specialty shop. :confused: Thanks!

 

Our kids just went to the specialty shops and ordered them. I believe I even read on here that you could do that. Maybe they didn't offer it yet on the cruise you were on? I would call Bon Voyage and ask them.

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My DH is gluten free also and was a bit depressed that he couldn't eat the warm chocolate melting cake but I see that you did~ I'm guessing that it is a flourless cake then?!?!?! He was happy when I told him though he is concerned about the chocolate as *some* chocolate can have gluten in it, but if you ate it, it must not!

 

Oh yea! And it was yummy! I'm not sure how it was altered to make it gf, but it was great. The hostess usually likes to "surprise" you with a different dessert each night, but you can request the melting cake.

 

OP, along with the snacks, etc that they allow you to bring on board, I got permission (with a doctors note stating necessity for gf) to bring 12 gluten free beers on board with me.

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