Adventures with a Child with Food Allergies - Carnival Miracle (12/28/11-1/5/12)

Table of Contents

Preface, Booking, Pre-Cruise - this section

Talking with Special Needs, Embarkation, Cabins - click here

Dining Room - click here (coming soon)

Horatio's Grill - click here (coming soon)

Other Notes about the Cruise - click here (coming soon)

Post-Cruise and Final Thoughts - click here (coming soon)

Preface

There are already plenty of reviews about this ship (which will be a moot point since it goes into drydock soon) as well as the ports of call. This review will mainly highlight everything else, but mainly Carnival's soft product as well as how well they did (and did not) accomodate a 7-year-old with her multiple food allergies. I'll also include some notes about booking our trip, pre-cruise stay, and post-cruise stay.

The Travel Party

Me, Mrs. Swede, Miss Swede (7f, asthmatic, and allergic to all nuts, dairy, and eggs), and Baby Swede (4f) : two previous cruises on RCCL (2003 & 2009)

Sister 1 - Mrs. Swede's middle sister, married with two kids (14f & 16m); youngest has some tree nut and fruit allergies

Sister 2 - Mrs. Swede's oldest sister, married with three kids (12m, 16f, and 18f); oldest has a gluten allergy

MIL Swede and FIL Swede - the parents

We live in suburban Denver while the rest live in Sweden. While everyone in the family has done some form of cruising (i.e., overnight ferries between various European countries), this is the first cruise (by CC definition) for Sister 2, her family, and MIL/FIL Swede.

Planning and Booking

Sister 1 and family took a cruise on the Carnival Valor over New Year's last year. They enjoyed it. So much so, they started suggesting the idea to the rest of the family. The idea gained more ground as FIL Swede decided to retire from the working world for the second time. During our annual summer trip to Sweden, we looked at multiple cruise offerings and decided the Miracle's itinerary (as well as price) worked out best for us.

Question: Am I allowed to say which TA I booked the cruise with? (And what site?) We were going to book five cabins: four balconies for the adults (one triple to accomodate for 12m and one quad for me and my family) and one quad inside for the teenagers. All quotes we received were basically the same fare, but one TA offered us just over $1800 (total) in OBC, which was significantly more than the others were offering. As an aside, we agreed that we would use the OBC we received towards gratuities and as much wine in the MDR as we could buy. The TA was friendly and helpful, especially since she had to call me in Sweden (or I would use Skype to call her); however, her knowledge of CCL seemed to be somewhat lacking, and I had to correct her on a few policies (i.e., teenagers can be in their own cabin if close enough to parents/grandparents).

The biggest rant I have with the TA, and it is probably my fault, was that I was not informed that we had to submit the exact name as listed in the passports. It's somewhat common in Scandinavia for people to have 3 given names (one given by the parents as well as one from each side of the family tree). Sister 1, Sister 1's husband, Sister 2's husband, and 12m all use their second name (as listed in their passport) as their common name. The TA said we would run into issues at embarkation since the first name officially listed on the passport is not what is listed on the manifest. Thus, we incurred a $50/person name change fee, which I think it's ridiculous since we aren't actually changing people.

In October, when the final payment was due, the TA informed us that our fares went down (about $225 per cabin, on average), thus we were only going to get $1600 in OBC. I thought since we were ES fares, all price adjustments had to have taken place before we put down our initial deposit? Regardless, saving a lot of money for a little less OBC? Sure! But wait for the surprise later in this report.

Each family had different sets of plans and priorities before the cruise. Sister 2's family was the first to book flights (in September). Their cheapest option was to fly in the day before embarkation (ARN-BCN-MIA) and stay at the Hampton Inn in Ft. Lauderdale. The rest of us eventually figured out that we should fly into Ft. Lauderdale a few days early and rent a house until the cruise.

Sister 1's family was next, but they were going to fly ARN-EWR-MCO on 12/19, visit Harry Potter's World, then drive down to Ft. Lauderdale to meet us. Due to Mrs. Swede's work schedule, we wouldn't be able to fly out until 12/24. Of course, trying to confirm MIL/FIL's plans is like trying to herd cats. It was finally in early November we got solid dates on when we should rent a house. "Too little, too late" could be an appropriate term for my search. However, after a weekend of searching, I was able to find an inexpensive 3-bedroom house in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and paid the deposit two days later.

Pre-Cruise

It's finally December. MIL/FIL Swede were the first to arrive on 12/18. The nexst day, after some calling and negotiating, they were able to get into the rental house two days earlier. Sister 1 and family arrived at the rental house on 12/23. We left cold, snowy Denver on the morning of 12/24. It was nice to be in 80-degree weather after an unusually cold November/December (I haven't seen my yard since before Thanksgiving).

We picked up the rental car, and the drive to the rental house took about 30 minutes (after a pit stop at Burger King). We greeted the rest of the family and enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner, right before a massive water main broke and knocked out service to over 250,000 people! I was texting with the home owner all evening, and service was eventually restored by 11:30pm (but a boil order was in effect through Monday). The girls even put out cookies and reindeer food for Santa in hopes they would find us, since we were 1700 miles further away than normal.

It was also around this time that we noticed that some family members were shuffled around in our alloted cabins. The TA that booked our trip was no longer with the company, and TA now assigned our account said there was nothing he could do since it was so close to sailing. We would have to get this adjusted on-board.

It was a very enjoyable stay in the rental house. It's somewhat dated, except for the iPod dock and three flat screen TVs, but it was perfect for our needs. The kitchen was adequate, and the screened-in porch/pool was the perfect place to hang out. We used the grill every dinner to cook our featured protein of the night. The house was just five blocks from the beach and four blocks from Publix, so the cars stayed parked most of the time. It was also nice to have been in Florida for a few days prior to the cruise. The night before the cruise, We eventually got a hold of Sister 2. Their flight came in a bit late, and they arrived at their hotel around 9:30pm and promptly fell asleep.

Thanks for reading this far, now onto the main feature!

Talking with CCL's Special Needs Department

Miss Swede's combination of allergies (nuts, dairy, egg) provides us a daily challenge in our life. Look at it this way: you're 7-years-old and going on a cruise where people are going to be indulging on wonderful desserts, but you can't have any of them because it's ice cream or the cakes/cookies have egg in them. How fun is that? For birthday parties that she attends, we have to bake our own cake/cupcakes and bring them. For classroom parties, we have to make sure the snacks/candies provided are safe for her to eat. We pack her lunch every day instead of being able to utilize the school's cafeteria.

In mid-November, we initiated contact with the Special Needs Department to inform them of Miss Swede's, 14f's, and 18f's allergies and note them in the records. Almost everywhere you go these days, gluten-free diets are addressed (including on CCL's website), so that was easy. 14f's allergies are pretty easy to avoid, and she already knew the drill of having to pre-order the night before in the MDR.

Because of all of the questions and requests we had, we were escalated to a manager.

Mrs. Swede: "Miss Swede drinks rice milk, can you provide that?"

Manager: "No, but you can bring it on-board yourself."

Mrs. Swede: "Do you offer dairy-free margarine on the ship?"

Manager: "I don't know."

Mrs. Swede: "Miss Swede can eat soy ice cream, do you offer that?"

Manager: "No."

Mrs. Swede: "Miss Swede also loves sorbets (not sherbert) for dessert, can you make that on the ship?"

Manager: "No."

So, again, we're back at a situation where Miss Swede has to settle for a fruit plate while others are enjoying ice cream, cookies, and cake.

Mrs. Swede: "How about we provide you with vegan recipes of various desserts? Many of them can be made with common ingredients and soy milk."

Manager: "Please e-mail me a list of ingredients and recipes, and I will contact the ship to see what can be done."

A few days later, we get a phone call back from the manager. The ship's chef said it would be possible. (Cue the confetti.) Nonetheless, we packed plenty of rice milk, soy chocolate pudding, dairy-free butter (e.g., Smart Balance Light or Fleischmann's Unsalted), a box of vegan mac n' cheese, shredded soy cheese, Sunbutter (sunflower butter, which tastes exactly like peanut butter), rice milk chocolate bars, and cookies for the 8-day cruise.

Embarkation

After returning rental cars and riding shuttle buses, the whole family, all 15 of us, were reunited again at Port Everglades by 11:45am. The lines to security and check-in weren't terribly long (the DB number on the S&S indicated we were about the 600th people to board the ship). There were some minor embarkation issues, mainly due to using on-line check-in and family members being unexpectedly switched. Eventually, we all boarded the ship and enjoyed the free champagne in the Atrium.

It was approaching 2pm, and we were hungry, so we all went to Horatio's for a small lunch (more on that later), given we had early dining.

On another note, each adult (over 21) brought two bottles of wine in their luggage. If they confiscated one from each of us, it wasn't a big deal, since we would get them back after the cruise, where were going to spend a few days in Miami. In the end, all 14 bottles of wine and 2 botles of champagne made it to our respective cabins.

Cabins

We all wanted to be on the same floor (but not next to each other), and the only floor that had a quad balcony and quad inside left was on Deck 6. We got a mid-ship balcony cabin (6227) while the others got aft cabins.

Our cabin was nice and surprisingly spacious, especially the bathroom. The girls fought over which one would sleep in the top bunk; we settled on an alternating schedule, with the occasional sleep-together in the top bunk.

We emptied the mini-fridge and put in our own foods. We were also given a larger bucket to chill our white wine in, along with a fresh supply of ice twice a day.

The glass on the balcony (that faces out to sea) was so dirty that the girls (both shorter than the railing) could barely see out of it, and having them stand on a chair was out of the question.

Our cabin steward, Jose, was very friendly, although we rarely saw him--but he and his team did a great job cleaning the room. The girls loved the towel animals, especially the monkey.

One complaint is that there isn't a binder with information in it anymore--i.e., room service menu, dry cleaning/wash-n-fold info, TV channel listing, etc. They are all kind of hidden on the multiple pages of papers you got every day, which made it difficult to keep track of.

(I will continue with the rest of the sections as fast as I can. Also debating whether to add pictures.)

Looking forward to the rest of the review.

Too bad about all of the issues with the TA - hope things worked out with very little hassle.

We are getting ready to sail the Miracle soon! I am anxious to read the rest of the review!

I am enjoying the review so far. I never took time to consider how difficult it must be to travel with food allergies! I am sure there will be many on these boards that will follow your review; thanks for all the details!

quote---In October, when the final payment was due, the TA informed us that our fares went down (about $225 per cabin, on average), thus we were only going to get $1600 in OBC. I thought since we were ES fares, all price adjustments had to have taken place before we put down our initial deposit? Regardless, saving a lot of money for a little less OBC? Sure! But wait for the surprise later in this report.

ES gives you the benefit of getting price drops after final payment.

The price drop affects the commissionable part of the cruisefare, hence less money for TA means less money for the clients.

Couldn't tell if this was a gripe or not. Enjoying your review. We also travel with allergies.

Couldn't tell if this was a gripe or not.

Not a gripe. Just curious.

Thanks, everyone. Might be a few days before part 3 is up.

We cruised with my 19 yeawr old son twice now who has severe food allergies .... most noteable milk and soy. We have had extremely good luck with the kitchen/chef on both cruises. The chef made sure my son had plenty to eat and made him fruit sorbet (I wanted some too it was so good) along with desserts that were dairy free. He ate better than he does at home!

Bacchus Dining Room

Gaudy. 'nuff said.

Day 1

After unpacking some things in the cabin, we went down to the MDR to speak with the Maitre d' and his staff. We were eventually left in the hands of Trishna, the Head Restaurant Hostess. We were given the usual "pick your daughter's meal the night before" spiel, but then we also talked about what we had discussed with the Special Needs Department. She said we could talk it more later in the evening. Fine.

At 6:00, we sat down for our first dinner, split into two tables at the very aft of the ship (which was nice). Pierre introduced himself, and we informed him of the three people with allergies. Miss Swede enjoyed a hot dog and french fries, along with fresh batch of strawberry jello for dessert. Trishna stopped by during dessert to get our orders for tomorrow night. We ordered some plain pasta, grilled chicken breast, and jello for Miss Swede.

After talking with her more, she suggested we bring down all the food we'd like for them to cook/serve (mac n' cheese, shredded soy cheese, soy chocolate pudding, etc.) as well as the recipes we sent to Special Needs (thank goodness I had printed out two copies).

Later in the evening, we stopped by the MDR again with the foods and recipes. We decided it was best if we ate at the MDR for breakfast and dinner every day. Trishna asked what Miss Swede would like for breakfast. We paged through the recipes and picked out Swedish pancakes (made with soy milk). Trishna quickly went into the kitchen with the recipe to consult with the chef, then came back saying they could easily make that. (Cue confetti again.) We arranged for a time to be seated at the MDR, and they would have the pancakes ready for us. It was also at this time we switched up tomorrow night's dessert. We showed Trishna the recipe for the vegan brownies, and she said it shouldn't be a problem. Our fingers were crossed.

Day 2

We arrive at the MDR at the pre-arranged time. The one really nice thing we see on the Maitre d's podium is a whole bunch of little strips of paper. Each strip identifies the person who have indicated they have special needs/diets (and a brief description). Every time someone with a special need/diet arrives, they give their piece of paper to the waiter. Now the waiter (which varied almost daily for breakfast) knows that someone has a food allergy/special need and should take extra precautions. The waiter then submits the paper to the kitchen for them to start cooking. Miss Swede's said (paraphrased): Allergies to nuts, dairy, eggs. Special order pancakes. Customer has supplied own recipe. Do not cross-contaminate.

Miss Swede's pancakes come out beautifully. Normally, you serve them with cream (we have soy whipped cream at home), sugar, and jam, but we let her have them with syrup throughout the cruise. She loved it.

At dinner, the look on Miss Swede's face when she was presented brownies was great. She devoured them.

The Rest of the Cruise

Breakfast was very typical. In the MDR, with Trishna greeting us from behind the Maitre d' podium. Miss Swede was served Swedish pancakes with maple syrup and orange juice. On days 5-8, we added bacon to the plate, which she enjoyed.

For lunch, we once ordered pasta with marinara sauce through Trishna to be delivered to our cabin via room service. From there, we took it to Horatio's Grill. Miss Swede didn't like the marinara sauce. On port days, we packed a lunch for her and took it onto shore. On sea days, we utilized Horatio's Grill (more on that in the next section).

Dinner was very easy to manage. The best part was that Miss Swede's dinner was ready as soon as we sat down (we also asked for Baby Swede's meals to be ready immediately, as well). That means the girls could finish their dinners, then be back in Camp Carnival by 7:15.

Dinners included: a huge, heaping plate of plain spaghetti with some dairy-free margarine, steak served with rice noodles and soy sauce, grilled salmon served with rice and soy sauce, and pizza with soy shredded cheese. Again, she didn't like the pizza sauce, which leads me to believe that no seasoning was used (i.e., horrifically bland to a 7-year-old).

Other desserts included: vanilla cupcakes (unfrosted) and ... sorbet (!), which was arranged by Trishna and made up in the Nick & Nora's kitchen. One night was raspberry (which she loved) and another night was mango (which she didn't like).

Room Service

We used room service once to deliver a plain ham sandwich. I stressed to the person on the other end of the telephone that my daughter has food allergies, and the sandwich should be made with a clean knife (as to avoid cross-contamination) and no cheese (or lettuce or tomatoes, as requested by Miss Swede). Fortunately, I was made aware ahead of time that the beach we were going to visit on Curacao (Playa Porto Mari) uses a lot of peanuts at their restaurant. Room Service delivered the sandwich in under 20 minutes. We packed it in a cooler bag with some other stuff, and Miss Swede enjoyed it on the beach.

Other Thoughts on the Dining Room

We absolutely appreciate the efforts Trishna and Pierre put forth in dealing with all of the special meal requests. Not once did Miss Swede, 18f or 14f have any allergic reactions (nor did we have to send anything back due to a wrong order). We, along with Sister 1 and Sister 2's families, gave them additional gratuity on the last day of the cruise.

However, there were some areas where Trishna dropped the ball. The first, in my opinion, was a very simple question: do the baguettes or rolls served with dinner contain any egg (or an egg wash)? We asked on the first night, then the second night, then the third night. It took five nights before she got us an answer. The second, perhaps more complex, was trying to determine if the margarine on-board contained milk. That answer took four nights to get a response (and, sadly, it does).

MDR dinner service, overall, was hit-and-miss. Bread service and water service (after the initial serving) was almost non-existent; I noticed tables around us getting multiple water and bread servings. We felt Pierre was working very hard while not getting too much support from his two assistants.

As for the food for the rest of us? It was also hit-and-miss. I do not expect the most amazing food I've ever eaten on a CCL (or RCCL) cruise. Some dishes were great, some were average, and some were just not good. There were some nights where I ordered only one starter, main, and dessert; while other nights, there were times I ordered multiples of each. Since I work in the IT industry, and given how computer-based the dining room operations are, you could easily figure out what the most popular dishes are, then re-arrange the menu to attempt to create an equal workload for the kitchen for each night. But I digress.

CCL, themselves, should start to consider providing more options for vegans/vegetarians. First and foremost, they should also start boarding dairy-free margarine as well as soy ice cream. You can provide so many more dishes and desserts if there was a diary-free margarine available. In addition, I love sorbets more than sherberts. It feels more luxurious. The MDR could have a featured one every night (okay, I'll admit they're most expensive, which is probably why they don't). I would also love to see CCL stock rice milk. It comes in shelf-stable packaging (i.e., no refrigeration needed), and has a shelf life of over a year. Lastly, they should have a booklet readily available which lists the ingredients for all food items made on the ship. It's not like the MDR or Lido chefs have much leeway in what they cook. They follow standard recipes as dictated by some grandpoobah CCL chef somewhere. Again, with all the purported cutbacks, I'm sure my requests would fall upon deaf ears.

This concludes probably the longest section of my review. I hope to have the rest of the sections done by the end of next week. Thanks for reading this far!

(Edited to add: shucks. Just noticed that the edit option disappears after a while. I was hoping to also update the first post. Oh well.)

Before I forget...

In October, when the final payment was due, the TA informed us that our fares went down (about $225 per cabin, on average), thus we were only going to get $1600 in OBC. ... saving a lot of money for a little less OBC? Sure! But wait for the surprise later in this report.

One night, we went to Guest Services to figure out the OBC situation and move monies around so that FIL Swede could pay for all of the booze we consumed in the MDR (ended up buying four wine packages, two extra bottles, two corkage fees, and a round of drinks at another bar).

Two cabins had $0 (yes, zero!), while the others some crazy amount that wasn't even close to how the TA said it would be split up.

As it turns out, we had been awarded our original OBC (a shade over $1800) instead of the $1600 as indicated by the confirmation e-mail CCL sent out after final payment.

Maybe that's why the TA is no longer working for that agency anymore? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info. My oldest is allergic to gluten, dairy, eggs and bananas. He is going on his first cruise this summer so it's nice to hear others experience.

I hope you send your suggestions to Carnival, along with the detailed accounting of your experience. I am not personally affected with food allergies or know anyone that is, but I can certainly appreciate the impact it has on families now because you presented it so well on here. It is certainly worth a shot and may save a family some frustration in the future.

I hope you send your suggestions to Carnival, along with the detailed accounting of your experience. I am not personally affected with food allergies or know anyone that is, but I can certainly appreciate the impact it has on families now because you presented it so well on here. It is certainly worth a shot and may save a family some frustration in the future.

JH said on his fb page that he is working on a master list of gluten free items available on all ships. This will be beneficial bc those of us with gf allergies will have a better understanding of what we need to pack with us. I dont know when this will be available as he said hes working with the chefs from each ship. Its a start in the right direction. I hope the list is completed before we sail in june.