Food Allergy Information

Hello!

I thought I would share this email I received from RCI's special needs department. I have a severe tree nut allergy and reached out to them a few days ago. In the past, I was always told to just alert the dining room when I got on board. This response is a bit different and provides good information for those concerned about eating on a ship with allergies:

Thank you for contacting the Access Department.

Tree Nut allergies are handled on a daily basis on all sailings of our ships.

Our galley has a separate galley area from the main production area to prepare meals for guests with allergies and to avoid cross-contamination of the meals. Our Food and Beverage Staff attend recurring training programs regarding allergy protocols.

During the booking process, we ask that the guest choose a set dining time versus My Time Dining. This will provide the guests with a dedicated serving staff for the cruise.

Once the guest is onboard, we ask them to visit the dining room, introduce themselves and speak with the dining staff to advise of the Tree Nut allergy and the dining staff for their table will be advised.

When the guests eat in the Windjammer, please ask for a manager so they can arrange to get a meal from the galley. This will avoid any cross contamination that may occur at the buffet.

When eating in specialty restaurants or other food venues, it is important to advise our staff of the allergies.

If you have any other questions, please contact me.

Thanks to Bob for posting the email address:

special_needs@rccl.com

Sounds like it would be wise to let everyone know. Also, do your due diligence to double check. I'm sure they will do their best but will not be taking on any liability. Happy Cruising!

We just returned from a great week on Allure. One grandson has severe allergies to nuts and other related foods.

RCCL was right on it, paid a lot attention to the concerns and we had no problems.

The staff would give us the menu for the next night's dinner and he would order ahead for special care.

I received the same letter from RCCL regarding my granddaughter who will be joining us for her first cruise on AOS next week. She has a peanut allergy. We were not told anything about set time dining, as we had already chosen MTD. We always have MTD and usually end up with the same waiters each night. On our last cruise, the first night our waiter asked us if we had any allergies. Hopefully, she will have a good cruise with no food reactions, and so will the OP.

We were on the Indy last month for 8 nights. DW has a serious allergy to anything that ever swam. You would be surprised how many foods we don't think about that have some kind of fish oil or paste in them. We wrote to Special Needs well in advance and got a nice reply. We booked MTD but made reservations for the same time every day. The first day on board we talked at length with our waiter, his assistant and our head waiter. They made careful notes, they talked to he chef, they talked to the maitre'd. Every night at the end of dinner they brought us the next day's menu so she could make sure there was something she could eat and enjoy. The one night there was a problem they offered to make her a plain grilled chicken dinner. They were on top of it every single day and the podium staff made sure we had the same team each night but one night we crossed them up and brought a guest so we were seated else where but since DW pre-ordered her dinner each night the podium staff knew and had a slip of paper with her order that went with us and again, no problems. They went all out for us and it made a huge difference. They do take allergy issues very seriously.

Me and my partner have sailed on several RCCL cruises and have mixed responses with her having a severe peanut and tree nut allergy. On all trips we give advance notice and on the first day go speak with dining manger to introduce ourselves. On Explorer my partner was given a dessert with nuts in it and was told to just pick them out. On Indi I had a massive argument wit the sous chef in the wind jammer as he refused to provide us with a portion of food that was being hot held beneath the counter that would be free from cross contamination, then later on in the same cruise was provided a pasta dish for her with pine nuts through the dish. However last year on Navigator staff couldn't be more helpful.

I just want to clarify I have cruised about 30 times with several different cruise lines including RCI and have never had an issue with cross contamination. I have sometimes been given the menu in advance on both Carnival and RCI each night so I could pick out my preferred dishes. Sometimes, I have just been directed to avoid a certain dish. However, my main objective was to point out that in the past, when I have notified RCI on the phone, they have always directed me to simply speak with dining room staff on the ship. This is the first time I have been told to ask for a manager at Windjammer (which I try to avoid due to allergy concerns) for special service and to avoid MTD. I hope everyone who is sailing with allergies and other concerns find some comfort in knowing that RCI takes these limitations and accommodations seriously.

Me and my partner have sailed on several RCCL cruises and have mixed responses with her having a severe peanut and tree nut allergy. On all trips we give advance notice and on the first day go speak with dining manger to introduce ourselves. On Explorer my partner was given a dessert with nuts in it and was told to just pick them out. On Indi I had a massive argument wit the sous chef in the wind jammer as he refused to provide us with a portion of food that was being hot held beneath the counter that would be free from cross contamination, then later on in the same cruise was provided a pasta dish for her with pine nuts through the dish. However last year on Navigator staff couldn't be more helpful.

Wow sorry you had such a bad experience on Indi. I have run into that issue with pine nuts in the past - some chefs don't seem to understand that pine nuts are a tree nut (and will kill me too!). I have also been told to just "pick those nuts out." Explaining my allergy is parts per billion doesn't seem to make a difference. :rolleyes: Hope you have better experiences going forward because allergies are nothing to mess around with!

I have allergies to different herbs and spices. We have cruised 35 times on different cruise lines and have always asked for anytime dining. This month we cruised to Norway and decided to get assigned seating on Holland America. I had the same waiter every night, but the mistakes were made by their assitants picking up the wrong food even though mine was waiting in the galley. I also had a hard time eating lunch in what is their Windjammer because the staff has to serve you and they kept using the same serving spoons. I had to call this to their attention several times.

So to me, based on my experience, it doesn't matter if you have the same waiter every night or not, what matters is that they pay attention to what they're doing.