letsgoplaces

I recall many years back when we had booked with Princess our ship the sun princess was given scathing reviews. Rooms were dated and in fact our room had chips in the counter and some subtle staining on the carpet. You could see the wear and tear on this older ship with some rusts spots here and there. It was an older dated ship. While on our trip an engine caught fire due to electrical issues. We were stopped in the water for an entire day waiting for parts and technicians to be flown to us. Our sewer backed up a tad in our room. Princess gave us each 200.00 OBC and a 200.00 refund each on our fare. My point is despite the older ship with issues and the news we would have to miss a port due to the mechanical problems we had the BEST TIME. In fact it ranks as one of our favorite cruises. Why? Because we were NOT suffering in -50 below temps back home in northern MN, we had sunshine on our faces and we enjoyed meeting people who became our friends. The attitude you take with you is probably the most important part of your cruise.

Have a great time on your trip. Our first cruise was on the Constellation and each cruise after whether there was dust in our room or not has been so much fun.

AmberCascades......YES an excellent point!!! As a matter of a fact many of the "fresh" items that were in the buffet stations had numerous bottles of soy sauce near them and I realized that the stir fry cooks were using soy sauce mixed with oil to cook these items. I too can NOT have gluten....its not a fad with me its a serious medical issue. and yes there are numerous spices that have FILLERS which contain gluten and therefore cause great pain to an unsuspecting person. There were fried potatoes that looked as if they only had pepper on them ....however I asked the chef and found out that yes they had flour sifted over them before frying....while I had PLENTY to eat that isnt the point...the point is making known what the allergens are if any in the food being offered.

I was actually referring to labels on items that have gravies etc and not broccoli which of course would be a no brainer:rolleyes: Some of the items on the buffet that had sauces and or gravies were made with corn starch or rice flour which could be GF and others made with wheat flour....to distinguish one from the other, labels would be required. Apparently the Celebrity staff didnt consider this to be a foolish request as they are already putting the labels in place per numerous other requests. While you feel the need to eat a certain way due to health concerns etc others do not have as many restrictions as you do and labels would be helpful to them. While you dont miss your bread others do, and I was giving my experience in order to be helpful. I certainly do feel that Celebrity is outstanding as far as offering high quality food for many different diets. However improvements can be made and according to the staff I spoke with they agreed.

Hello I am just off the summit and this is my experience. We asked each venue that served liquor if there was GF beer. There is not. They do have one cider onboard and the manager of Michael's Pub told us he's been trying for over a year to get GF beer in his venue without success. He told us he has had hundreds of inquiries about GF beer in the last two years and is frustrated that he can't get it for that ship. The dining room menu is clearly marked as to which items are GF but as reported not the desserts. You can always have creme brule', ice cream and gelato as they are GF and available each night. The buffet is where the trouble really lies. I had a meeting with the maitre'd and he ended up bringing higher ranking officers to sit in and listen to my requests. It seemed very positive and the feedback was that they are working hard to get GF items marked in the buffet area as well as offer MORE GF items in the buffet...in particular desserts which at this time they dont have any GF desserts in the buffet. while a person can always go to the main dining area to eat GF its difficult and inconvenient when everyone in your party is eating at the buffet and you are expected to basically sit there and watch. The officers I spoke with were VERY concerned about this situation and seemed to already have ideas in place that are to be implemented soon. I have sailed HAL, Princess and Celebrity and there is no question that Princess handles the GF situation better than any of them. However that said there is also no question that Celebrity has MUCH BETTER food....quality of food is better and much more interesting ways its prepared and served. This was the consensus of each member of our party aging in the range from 27 to 58 years all having sailed with numerous lines in the past. Celebrities food was outstanding in all areas of the ship. I did however make my own GF oatmeal bread, GF Grain free " rye" bread ( its amazing) and GF banana muffins and brought these with me in my carry on luggage ( yes its legal to do so as I called and asked the airlines....southwest airlines). The GF bread they give you is ok but not the best by any means. So while everyone else chomped on the delicious bread basket at the beginning of each meal I was able to eat my " rye" and oatmeal breads which are delicious and made me feel a part of the dinner experience. To date the Summit is our favorite ship and the food was absolutely amazing. As a side note on the main dining menu items are labeled GF as well as Sugar Free and Vegan depending on your needs. Each night as an alternative to dessert they have a cheese/fruit plate with delicious cheeses, nuts, fruits and high end crackers. There is a gelato station on deck 5 where they serve handmade gelato that is out of this world. I waited a few times after dinner to go and get my dessert there. I will check back and answer any other questions you may have.

Hi I received the same message from Celebrity and it mirrors my response from Princess last year. My cruise last year with Princess was wonderful in regards to the GF food items. I did exactly what they told me and met with the maitre de' and when I wanted something from the buffet dessert area they brought out GF items that had been prepared. The Celebrity response is the same so I'm expecting they will have plenty for me to eat as well. Please post here when you return from your cruise and let us all know how it went. I"m sure there are many others besides myself that would like to know.

Thanks for the replys. I did do the search and read numerous things but there seems to be conflict as to whether it was a good experience or bad and similiar conflict as to them having the beer....yes they do....no they dont...etc....I guess I was hoping for more recent experiences. Also reading through many of the posts in the celebrity discussion you will find that the majority of the posts were hijacked into talking about something other than Gluten Free and/or a different line was discussed ( RCL or Princess HAL etc) . Thats why I specifically asked about the ship Summit on Celebrity.

And as far as bringing the redbridge beer on yourself is this something I could get in San Juan ( where we leave from) or not? Its really not a huge deal just wondering. thanks again!!

Hi we are sailing the summit next February and I now need to be gluten Free in my diet. I have read posts in the cruise foodie section but it seems not many posters have traveled on Celebrity and in particular the Summit. Please if anyone has any information to relate about how they managed their Gluten Free diet on this line or ship I would be so appreciative if you would relate your experience. I have not tried the Redbridge Beer but wondered if it was offered on this ship? any and all information relating to your GF experience would be very helpful to me. Thanks.