Princess and gluten free diet

Has anyone requested a gluten free diet when cruising with Princess and if so how was the food? Do they have a special menu each day or do they just adjust what is on their regular menu? I know how difficult it is to stay gluten free at home, I was just wondering how it will be on a cruise.

Are you able to do this with PC dining? Sissy

Sissy, I'm so sorry so you haven't had a reply, lol! I am wondering the same thing. I am booked on a cruise in December and noticed (haven't noticed it before on my other two cruises) that there is an option (on the cruise personalizer) to check for special requests for "gluten-free". I checked that, plus I noticed that there was a link to follow for more info...that link said to fax a letter to Princes (and it gave the department and fax number), which I've also done. Now I'm just waiting for some info...not sure what to expect or whether or not they'll contact me before the cruise, lol.

We'll see how it goes. I didn't know about my gluten intolerance on the other two cruises I've been on, so it wasn't a specific conern for me then although I instinctively avoided gluteny items...I CAN say that the staff was generally VERY good about cooking my meals exactly the way I needed them. I don't know how sensitive you are to cross-contamination, I appear to be about medium...not extremely sensitive (at least not enough to ruin my trip), but sensitive enough that I'd want to make sure I could avoid it if possible.

Are you booked on a specific cruise yet? {Edit, ha, once I finished posting I saw your signature, lol!}

I am very interested in finding this out as well. I just found out about my Celiac's disease last Wednesday and the first thing I thought about was our upcoming cruise in April. I don't know much at all about living gluten free so I will have a lot to learn before the cruise!

Hi Alaska...have you found www.celiac.com yet? Great info and they also have a forum...there are some older threads in the travel section on cruises which are encouraging.

I haven't heard a word yet from Princess, and from what I understand from reading these board is that I probably won't. But someone told me to talk to the maitre'D when I get on board...I chose anytime dining which will make it a bit harder but traditional dining wasn't available anymore.

My wife has celiac and she like the glutenfreegirl.com site. Lots of links and info.

We haven't been on Carnival. RCCL and NCL were both helpful once we were aboard. Preboarding notification of her dietary needs didn't seem to make an impact. Try, but be sure to meet with the maitre d' when you get on board. It was amazing what NCL had on board.

I did traditional dining in May on Sapphire Princess. The head waiter (maitre`d) brought me the next night's menu every evening. With his help, I chose what I wanted to eat for the next evening. Your waiter and assistant won't be much help. You really also need to know what you can have, but the head waiter will be a lot of help, usually! I had cruised several times, on most lines, before I was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago. I was helped very little on my first cruise GF, on a Princess ship, but have fared better since.

I just returned from an RCI ship and they were not much help. The head waiter was knowledgeable, but my waiter was NO help! If I asked a question, he did ask the head waiter for me, though. But, I had ice cream or sherbet every night, and they repeatedly brought it with the cookie stuck in it! I didn't think a bit of cross-contamination bothered me before, but it appears the less gluten I ingest, the less it takes to bother me. I had some digestive probs onboard, but not bad. I had to send prime rib back once, as it came with gravy, and don't think it said so on the menu. And on Princess, you can always get a nice chicken breast or steak, with a baked potato and steamed veggies. Take your own dressing, as I wouldn't count on theirs, unless you like vinegar and oil, and I don't! I buy individual packets from the gluten-free pantry, online. Or, maybe you can get them at a health food store. I am fortunate to have a small GF store 10 miles away, and they are now carrying the packets. They don't need refrigeration, and I carry one in my purse, always!

I would always request traditional dining. In fact, even if you are assigned anythime, I would immediately, when onboard, go see the maitre`d and request to be given traditional. Having the same waitstaff is sooooo much easier!

I have never done anything to inform Princess of my dietary needs, other than the personalizer. But, it may help them to know how many people to expect with these needs. They brought me GF bread every night. Not great, as I find most breads to not be anyway! But, not bad. For breakfast, I go have an omelette made to order in the buffet. I guess the cross-contamination on the pan didn't affect me. I also eat fruit. You can also take your own cereal in a zip-lock baggie, order room service with milk and fruit, and some brands of the yogurt. The brand Upstate has corn starch in it, and sets okay with me, although technically not GF, as it is not processed in a GF environmwnt. Just depends on how sensitive you are.

Any questions, email me,as I have cruised 24 times, 9 ships GF!

nitabacruiseratyahoodotcom

Thank you Nita and Beach2Sea! Great info! I'm going to go check out the website now. :)

Donna, you are quite welcome! I agree, the celiac.com site is where I found lots of info, including lists of forbidden foods. I'll check out the other site, too, hadn't heard of it! Thanks beach2sea! :)

Also after any updated info here. My wife is celiac ( or coeliac as it is spent in OZ).

We will heed the earlier advice of getting to know the maitre'd.

Most items are ovious if OK or not. The main issue comes from gravies, sauces, additives, dressings etc.

Definite OKs - All fresh meats and seafood, Fresh salad & vegetables, Dairy.

Becomes a problem to a coeliac when flavours are added: gravy with wheat based thickeners, MSG, many salad dressings. Late last year we dined at a restaurant in Nth Queensland and were surprised to find a selection of several gluten free cakes. Someone had made a specific effort to cater for this dietary need. To emphasise the lack of understanding here, we had to send the first effort back as it was served on a bed of un-requested caramel sauce ( with gluten).

We are hoping to get us much info upfront before our Princess cruise. My wife figures the worst thing about being coeliac, is that she has to explain all the time, and many waitpersons respond with what is gluten.

Noted an earlier post regarding sherbets. Sherbets (or sorbets) usually contain a wheat based glucose that is on the bad list. You would need to check ingredients before eating these.

Sorry, I've been away from the site for a while, lol. Just getting around to planning our next cruise.

My cruise in December went very well. Think I only got "glutened" one time...my own fault. I really should have known better...the little slices of meat (looked like small slices of roast beef) had a mustard like coating, which I should have suspected, lol.

I ate a lot at the buffet, but also ate at the anytime dining rooms. I had very good luck everywhere. At the buffet, on my very first day, the head cook happened to notice me staring at some of the dishes and asking about ingredients. After explaining why I was doing that, he went through everything that I could have there, and from that day on kept a look out for me. I made sure I gave him a very good tip when I left the ship, lol.

I contacted the Maitre'd the first day on the ship and he was very good about explaining to the waitstaff my needs. I was very lucky to get a good waiter as well, who really scrutinized my dish as it came out of the kitchen that night, lol.

I'm now planning my next trip in October and hoping I have as good luck. :p

Having returned from our Alaskan cruise on HAL's Statendam, we're ranking them the lowest of our three cruises in regard to special dietary needs for celiac. Number one goes to NCL. RCI a close second.

Sounds like Princess is a good choice. Now that we're hooked on cruising, we need to find something for 2008.

While most cruise lines will tell you they will accommodate a gluten free diet, my only experience has been on our last five cruises with Princess, Emerald and Ruby. We just finished a back to back Feb. cruise. on Ruby. My expectations are high and they met them. My first Gluten Free cruise was three years ago and it was a challenge for everyone. Things have changed considerably. The dining room staff is very helpful and I could not cruise 20 days without them. The food is excellent. I had things not on the menu, like a large garden salad simply because I asked for them. The only change I would make at dinner is a better dessert selection. Simple chocolate mousse would be great. We eat breakfast in the buffet areas and there is plenty of fruit, eggs, yogurt and much more to choose from. They have added a gluten free cereal but I always bring my own favorite with me. At lunch or any other time I simply had to ask a supervisor or chef if a dish was gluten free, and always found something delicious. In the International Cafe area I always found desserts. They also had shrimp and other temptations. The specialty coffees were great. I had gluten free pizza three times and after some adjusting by the chef it was great. It is important to tell the truth when asked "how was the pizza?".How can they improve food for the next person if you say everything was great when it was not? I did have bun-less burgers and hot dogs with french fries on deck, I never asked if they were gluten free but did not react to them. Sometimes just seeing the meat is not on the same grill as the bread and the french fries are not fried with anything else is enough for me. I do see a tendency to cook from scratch which doesn't work with muffins and pancakes. There are a hundred mixes out there that are ten times easier to make and taste a lot better. This is a learning experience for everyone and kindness and courtesy are key. I must add that while I have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I do not believe I am one of those people who are ill for a week from a glutening. I am very careful at home and the diet has worked. I have been on the diet for three years and actually found when I got home I was being glutened by a so called gluten free ice cream. I realized that for three weeks I was on the ship one of my symptoms went away. Hmmm! I am not including a review of our cruise other than to say we are experienced cruisers with five cruise lines and we had a great time. My intent here was to give some advice to those of us on this diet. When I was first diagnosed I thought "I can't cruise anymore". Not true. It is so important to ask questions and give them feedback. Happy cruising!

I am very interested in finding this out as well. I just found out about my Celiac's disease last Wednesday and the first thing I thought about was our upcoming cruise in April. I don't know much at all about living gluten free so I will have a lot to learn before the cruise!

Princess will help you keep well . . .follow the tips on the post.

Have fun !

Coline, Manitoba Canada

I did my first cruise on the Golden Princess to Alaska. I found the waiters to be very caring and helpful. I found the gluten free baked goods made on the ship to be awful. I would recommend bringing your own bread and baked sweets from a local bakery. I had a celiac reaction after eating lunch on the day of a scheduled pre-paid excursion. I would recommend not eating in the dining rooms and hour or two before and excursion in case of a reaction. I ended up not going on the excursion and wasting the money. Princess does not give you a gluten free menu to choose from. I ordered my food a day ahead with help from the head waiter. It was annoying to have to have to explain and disclose my medical condition every time I ate. It would be much better and more private to have a special menu. I was disappointed over all with the food on the cruise. There weren't any flavors that really popped. Nothing had any heat or spice. And I found most of the desserts to be overly sweet. The only really good sweet baked goods I received on the shipped were the store bought cookies. My favorite dessert on the cruise was a chocolate rice pudding with coconut cream. I hope this helps!

I just returned from Ruby Princess and was delighted with the gluten free options (and a gluten free dessert at the buffet every day!).

Each night I could peruse the next night's dining room menu and pre-select my dinner choices.

It was pretty easy to pick out what was safe at the buffet but there were also plenty of people available to ask. I tried the gluten free pizza on the first sea day which was bleh but I am kinda picky about pizza.

The International Cafe also has a gluten free dessert option every day.

If there was ever a question, I stuck with items that looked right and never had a problem.

Bon Voyage!

My husband and I went on a cruise around Italy in October, 2012. We were on the Pacific Princess. I had been diagnosed with Coelic disease about 9 years ago and I was concerned about going on the cruise. But I did not have to worry! I sent a letter ahead of time to Princess as requested, telling them that I would would need food prepared gluten free. I received a 2 page letter back from them telling me that they would bake GF breads, and prepare GF foods and not to worry. This was so true. I was waited on every night by our captain in the dining room and chose from the menu what I would have the next night. The desserts were fantastic. I had creme brulee and flan with fresh fruit. I felt like a queen! I even had something like an egg mac muffin before our excursions! I hope you all have as much fun as I did!

We are on the Coral Princess in March and I am a little concerned about eating GF. I was diagnosed last Sept with Celiac. I received an email from Princess that they are aware of my needs. Just hope the food is good, as I have always had a good experience with eating on past cruises. I appreciate the encouragement here.

I've recently been diagnosed as gluten intolerant (not celiac) and it's been a tough adjustment on my everyday life. I find I can still eat small amounts of gluten without a huge reaction, but if I over-indulge my body definitely feels it, and I don't want it ruining my vacation.

I had considered going on my next Princess cruise without mentioning anything and policing myself, but given some of the comments in this thread I think I may tell them I want to go gluten-free. If they are going to prepare GF breads and desserts at the quality I have seen from Princess in the past, I'm sure I won't feel like I'm missing anything.

We are on the Coral Princess in March and I am a little concerned about eating GF. I was diagnosed last Sept with Celiac. I received an email from Princess that they are aware of my needs. Just hope the food is good, as I have always had a good experience with eating on past cruises. I appreciate the encouragement here.

If you still peruse these boards, can you let us know how the GF options were on your cruise? We are looking at sailing on the CB in January out of Houston and have a passenger who requires this need as well.

We were on Caribbean Princess the end of 2013 and just returned from an Alaska cruise on Celebrity Solstice. The gluten free experience on Princess was much better on Princess. Don't just believe the menu code on the Celebrity because crispy fried mushrooms were billed as gluten free but on questioning the waiter who checked with the chef, the dish was not gluten free. I got a lot of the same dessert on Celebrity as opposed to the wonderful variation on Princess. I was disappointed that the Celebrity was much worst in the GF category. The rest of the experience was great.

I just returned from the June 28 sailing on the Golden princess. I ordered gluten free and dairy free meals and all worked out great. The head waiter took charge of my meals and I was able to,pick out my meals the day before and have them made to meet my needs.

I felt great during the trip and had NO episodes that triggered a bad response.

Good food, but even better service....

Sent from my iPad using Forums