cereo

I have been eating gluten free for about 12 years now and have sailed with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Disney.

Celebrity Mercury did the best job of ensuring I did not have any problems. I was convinced the MDR staff were psychic as everyone seemed to know I needed gluten free and I never had to say anything twice. Only complaint was that the gf bread was bland and dry, but nobody ever tried to serve me regular bread. Celebrity got an A+

RCCL Mariner of the Seas did a pretty good job in the MDR and room service. I did feel the need to remind my servers occasionally--after eating gf for this many years, I can tell who "gets it" and who doesn't. But in the end they came through and I had no problems...until I went to the specialty restaurant, I'm pretty sure it was Chops. During dinner I started to feel bad (I'm very sensitive and have an almost immediate neurological reaction) the waiter swore everything he brought us was GF but a little later he came back to the table and said the Chimichurri sauce was not. Since I had to be more diligent and alert, RCCL got a B

Disney Wonder chefs were fine, but the waitstaff was surprisingly clueless. My second night I ordered onions on my steak. The waiter was arguing with me that I could not have onions because onions aren't GF.:confused: He couldn't explain why, but he knew it was so. Turns out, I couldn't have THESE onions because they were breaded and fried! I found this out because he brought them to me "on the side"...but on the side of my plate, touching my other food, not on a separate plate.

On all three lines, this is how the routine went:

Notify the cruise line well before your trip. Then, be sure to go to the dining room on embarkation day and discuss your dietary need with the Maitre d'. He might show you a menu and have you "pre order" your meal, or he might tell you the items you can have that night. Then each night toward the end of your dinner, he or the head waiter will take your order for the next night so they can plan and prepare accordingly.

I never eat at the Lido...people will unknowingly cross contaminate going from one dish to another with a utensil, plus the servers are usually way too busy to stop what they are doing to go back to the kitchen to ask the chef about ingredients, etc.

In general, cruising is one of the safest vacation options for us GF folks.

The cruise industry is really pretty dialed in on the topic.

I hope you have a great, healthy, gluten free trip!

OK, so it's not entirely a cruise-specific tip, but since most of us have to travel by airline to reach the port, I thought it would be appropriate to include a pre-cruise "I wish I knew before...".

I'm not much of a germophobe but my husband once told me about an article he read about germs on airplanes. He said the areas to be most careful of are the tray tables and the seat-back pockets. The article I've linked to explains (in graphic detail) why.

I travel a lot for work and after learning about this I began carrying antibacterial cleaning wipes (travel pack = $1.19) in my briefcase. As soon as I sit down, I wipe down the latch and edges of the tray table. Then I open it and wipe down the surface. The button to recline my seat is next. I don't touch the seatback pocket or its contents... (where do you think used barf bags and kleenex get stuffed?)...ewww.:eek:

The first time I did this I worried that I looked like a nut, and people stared. But after a few people told me, "That's a really good idea, I wish I had thought of it!" I stopped worrying what people thought and now I just offer one to the person sitting next to me. They almost always take me up on the offer.

I used to get sick frequently during or after business trips but since using this ritual, zero sick days...and zero sick days on a cruise is my goal.:cool:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/12/22/bt.germs.breed.on.plane/index.html

BTW, I'm a big fan of highlighters, power strips, magnetic 'fridge clips, door signs (though they must be whimsical or attractive--not trashy), over-the-door shoeholders, leaving tv on the "ship cam" channel when in an inside cabin, and thank-you post-its attached to tips for cabin steward. All have come in quite handy! Thanks to those who went before and posted those tips here (on this thread and others)!

I have never done a regular full size cruise, but I did go on a river cruise of the Nile with my father about 5 years ago. The rooms were really spacious, but didn't want to have to deal with smells from the bathroom, so we called our cabin bathroom - # 1 bathroom. If we needed a #2 bathroom, we found one else where on the ship. :o

OMG...BEST cruise tip EVER!!!! LOL I'm still giggling as I write this. I am going to combine this one with the tip about creating a special "Cruise ritual." From now on, as soon as we get into our room I will lay down the law: (pointing to tiny bathroom inside cabin) "Honey, this room is for #1..." then (pointing out door of cabin) "Anything out there is for #2!"

Thank you, thank you, thank you, tgnorton, you may have saved my marriage! :D

Don't worry, there's got to be a morning after.

Now THAT was hilarious!! Um, is my age showing?:o

Oh no, the tune is stuck in my head again...it took me something lile 4 years to get it out last time!!

I'd rather be stuck in an elevator with Klfhngr and his gas problem than with some of the folks I've read about on this thread!:p