bakcd

Jules,

 

First of all, the Executive Chef onboard the Eclipse said that all sauces and meats are prepared gluten free (they use corn starch).

 

In the Oceanview Café (Buffet) all gluten free dishes were marked.

 

In all specialty restaurants (we did the 3 Dinner Package) we were asked as soon as we sat down whether we do have any allergies, food restrictions or intolerances.

 

I´d definitely would contact the special needs department ahead of the cruise (several weeks ahead! Food is ordered at least 2 weeks prior to the cruise). Onboard talk to the Maitre in the main dining room in the afternoon of embarkation day.

 

steamboats

I was just on the Silhouette and there were no gluten free markings in the Lido. There seems to be a problem of consistency throughout the fleet. I've read comments that stated the pizza in the Lido was wonderful and strongly disagree. I think it depends on which ship you sail.

The Silhouette had Canyon Bakehouse bread and a dedicated toaster but you needed to observe as there was no signage.

We enjoyed the Lawn Grill but the pizza was not edible, very dry crumbly rice flour crust. Dessert was fresh berries that were very good but no desserts on the menu.

In Quisine I was served focaccia that was also made with rice flour and little else. The topping was okay but the bread was next to impossible to swallow since it was so dry. What I could eat of the selections were okay but I don't know that I would dine there again. The only dessert was gelato which will not work for the many who are also lactose intolerant. The quality in both restaurants has slipped since we visited them last year.

I've experienced many excellent and knowledgeable servers in the past year but I have also encountered enough that had no clue to be very cautious.

We were on this sailing as well and enjoyed the trip. Do you remember the name of the comedian on the last evening?

Wallie

just re-read your post.

Where is there a "Special Needs" form?

I searched and searched and all I could find was something for physical handicaps so finally gave up and called the Captain's Club where a (fairly nasty) young woman told me she'd take care of it but I should have told my TA to do it.

We've been cruising for almost 45 years and I have NEVER had to have my TA take care of those little details! :(

I usually tell my TA that I require a gluten free diet when booking. I also follow up by completing that "Special Needs" form and write in my requirements. I'm sorry to hear you had an unpleasant experience with the Captain's Club line.

Just off the Silhouette this am. I found Canyon Bakehouse bread in the Lido along with a dedicated toaster, tongs, and a server who changes gloves. I also reqested the same bread at dinner. This was a major improvement. They had seven grain, raisen and rye.

Estrella Damm Duara beer was available inCellar Masters. If you want it when this bar is closed, talk with them and see if you can make arrangements to find t elsewhere. It was included inthe Classic beverage package.

The breaded pork chop is no longer gluten free but still was designated as gluten free. My daughter saw this evenings menu and the gf was removed.

As for the pizza crusts, cookies and other replacements, they are still better left alone as they are very dry. The second formal night I was served a sponge cake, peach, chocolate dessert that was very good. Perhaps there will be changes there as well.

The staff was very willing to help and pleasant.

The propulsion problems were fixed in drydock and everything is good this week.

For anyone who needs gluten free beer, you will find it in Cellar Masters.

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Onboard now. First sailing after drydock and no changes in our schedule. All appears to be good so far.

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Thank you for sharing your experiences. I board the Silhouette Sunday and am anxious to see if I have a more positive experience than I had when on the Infinity last March for 28 days. Celebrity thickens there soups with rice flour so if ingredients otherwise ok, than so is the soup. As for french fries at the burger bar, the fries are coated, not battered and I have had no ill effects. Ore Ida crispy fries are coated with starches other than wheat so I go with that.

It seems that most waiters think they can just remove something from the plate since the waiter in Blu shared that he just removed the crust from the cheesecake. That said, my dining experiences were better in Blu than the main dining room. They didn't even try to make my entrees appetizing. There seems to be a real need for training of the wait staff.

We cruise frequently and I have managed to eat safely at the buffet although it can be rather boring, especially at breakfast. My biggest complaint is with the replacement items. My experiences with the pizza crust, cookies, waffles, scones at tea, is that they are made with pure rice flour and do not result in a pleasant dining experience. I will try the pizza or waffles to see if they are any better. While other lines carry prepared replacement items, Celebrity prefers to make their own while having no knowledge of gluten free baking. My foccacia is much lighter than that served in the Tuscan Grill, not because I am a great baker but because I use recipes designed for gf baking. I also hope they have changed the brand of their bread. They have done a good job of altering some items on the dinner menu but fall far short in other areas.

I was able to enjoy gluten free beer, Estrella Daura, in Michael's Club and do hope they still have it available onboard.

I was on the Silhouette last January and my experience with the Grill was very good, I did avoid the pizza because of the crust they were using. I have enjoyed all of the specialty restaurants at one time or another, some are better than others. Bistro is always a favorite when I want a quiet, relaxed lunch.

I have never used Gluten Ease but my dh is picking up some today. I also carry the individual packs of soy sauce and may carry few cookies. I am looking forward to warmer temperatures.

On the Infinity I had Estrella Damm. It was kept in Michael's Club before it became a private lounge, the supervisor there made sure it was stocked in at least one other bar so I could find it during the day.

Coated fries, I have read ingedients on many coated fries and they are usually coated with rice flour. I haven't had a problem with them but would not tell anyone they are safe.

Goofysmom, you may want to write a letter to Michael Bayley and the culinary team. They could be commended for having stocked a better bread. I can't believe they are still making pizza crust and cookies with plain white rice flour. We recently sail with HAL, 14 days and the gluten free was so far above Celebrity. True, many items were purchased in the prepared form but they were good. I had pizza, burgers with buns, muffins, cookies, cereal, etc. in addition, not all desserts were dairy based. I am sure I will be doing a comparison on my next two Celebrity sailings.

On the Infinity, GF soy sauce was available one evening in the Lido but the next time I requested it, I was told it was returned to the kitchen and I could not have it.

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Do they have items for someone who avoids gluten, dairy, and must avoid nuts (the edible kind)?

They will make gluten free crepes on reqest. There may be a little wait. I usually let my server know I will be ordering a gf crepe when I am seated.

I do not think itwould be difficult to have them omit the nuts and dairy. The gf options include crepes, salads and sometimes the soup of the day. I sometimes order the savory crepe filling without the crepe and then enjoy the dessert crepe. You should be able to have the French dessert crepe.

I do not understand Celebrity's reasoning. They push the "modern luxury" idea while continuing to cut corners at every turn as their profits rise. Cheap tea bags are not modern luxury. Perhaps modern luxury only applies with extra charges.

They had rice, soy and almond milk on the Maasdam in August.

I must follow a gluten free diet and they do a good job with that. I did not reply since a mishap is not life threatening and I do not think there is a comparison there. Being sick is different than a life threatening reaction. Hopefully someone who is familiar with the handling of this type of diet will share their experiences.

I have never seen gluten free bagels offered on Celebrity. They do have bread but it is not one of the newer, improved brands.

Almond milk was available on the Maasdam in August. My dietary needs were better handled on this cruise than any sailing in the past 12 years.

In April on the Silhouette TA, the gluten free pizza was crap

They do have very good desserts in the MDR, also some nice stuff in the cafe Baco

There was gf soy sauce

Were most of the desserts dairy based? The only thing I found gf in Cafe Bacio, on the Infinity, were the cookies and they were only slightly better than sawdust.

I will be interested to hear your experiences on the Reflection. We sailed on the Infinity in May 2013, 24 days, and my experience was much like yours. We then sailed again on the Infinity in March 2014, 28 days and it was the worst cruise ever for gluten free. This is the only time I have ever been happy to leave a ship. I have been gluten free since 2001. In August of this year we sailed on HAL Maasdam, 14 days, and it was the best ever for gf.

I am booked on the Silhouette in January, this will be the deciding cruise on Celebrity for me.

If it is possible to carry the individual packets of tamari, I would. The gf version was available one day on the Infinity and then not available any day after that. There was no effort made to have it available past the one day.

We did this last year with Celebrity and thought it was a very nice day and we would repeat the experience. It was a leisurely day with a very good bbq typical of the area. Pitchers of beer and wine were on the table along with non alcholic beverages. For anyone who has to eat gluten free, it wasn't a problem. There were some activities available.

Just off the Maasdam this am and had the very best gluten free experiences ever. We had anytime dining. Things were okay the first three nights but then found a really great waiter who served us the remainder of our cruise. Although we enjoy a large table we were more than happy with our table for two at the rear window. Gluten free was well handled and special request attended to.

Dining in the Lido was also a good experience. Introduce yourslf to the restaurant manager or maitre'd. I enjoyed burgers from the burger bar on gluten free buns. We also dined in the Pinnacle.

Great question and topic. We have lived in the Northeast our entire lives and are within an easy days driving distance to all of New England. We have also cruised to 6 Continents and traveled to over 100 countries. And yet, we still love to do a Canada/New England cruise every few years. It is just a great area for a shorter cruise with some fabulous ports, the opportunity to have great food ashore (love that lobster), etc. Both the Canadian and US ports are near perfect for cruisers with a variety ranging from near-rural to large cities.

 

As to the fall foliage, we think this is a total crap shoot. Anyone who has lived in this part of the country knows that timing the foliage is very "iffy" at best. On 4 of our 5 Canada/NE cruises everything was green (even though it was supposed to be colorful). We were on one Celebrity cruise with over 200 Japanese who had spent big bucks to fly all the way to Quebec to see the foliage. The only thing they saw was green...and they were not happy. So we suggest folks take these cruises to enjoy places like Quebec City, PE Island, Boston, etc. And if you happen to get lucky with the foliage that is just like icing on the cake.

 

Hank

We have never done the fall foliage cruises as we have other obligations that time of the year. However, we have seen the fall foliage in our younger years so do know of it's beauty, if you hit it right. We find a great deal of beauty during the summer months and would never think of going to Florida or the Caribbean in the summer. Temperatures in the 60's and 70's are wonderful but we have experienced other extremes and been okay with them.

For most, travel to the port involves a flight which means restrictions on luggage weight. This now means I have to make a choice, do a load of laundry or carry two extra pair of shoes. Of course I carry two extra pair of shoes!

Since we tend to take longer cruises, 14 - 28 days plus pre or post cruise visits, we must do laundry. It is easier to take an hour or two and just do it than to have my clothes washed and dried at hot temperatures. I do not sit in the laundry room. If no laundry is available, I can do hand wash or make use of the available dry cleaning.

Just as many those in the North leave home in the winter in search of warm weather, many of us in the South leave home in the summer for cooler temperatures. We also love the beauty of the area, the local color, the ports without an abundance of jewelry stores, the seafood and the relative ease of travel to the port, as compared to an overseas flight. In any given summer we will either go to Alaska, Eastern Canada or head North on a road trip.

I looked for my 3 star pin this evening and could not find it. Will HAL reissue or sell me a replacement on my upcoming cruise?

On our recent Infinity cruise we immediately went to Bistro on Five to enjoy a quiet lunch with a couple glasses of wine. Two hours later we were in our stateroom when I realized I did not have my purse that contained cash, travelers checks, passports, cell phone etc. i went back to Bistro and my purse was returned intact. They could not tell me which of the wait staff had picked it up for safe keeping. It didn't take long to realize things could have turned out much differently. Kudos to the entire Bistro staff.

That could be true for several of us, but didn't we see the best years of cruising?