Question re Food Allergy

We are sailing on Viking on June 27th. How is Viking dealing with passengers with food allergies? I have a severe allergy to garlic and have made Viking aware of this through our TA and with numerous phone calls, from the time we made our initial reservation. Each time I have been told, "yes, that's been noted in our records and will be accommodated". After reading several posts about the inconsistencies in the dining areas I'm getting really worried. Garlic is a hidden ingredient in so many dishes I don't know how I'll be able to safely eat anything. On past cruises (on other lines) I've been well taken care of by the maitre'd and the wait staff. I've always made it a point to use fixed dining so I would always have the same staff. I was told that would be the case on Viking, but it doesn't sound at all that this is what will happen in reality.

Can those of you currently on board give me some idea of what I should expect? Is there anybody in particular I should speak to when we board? Any advice?

Thank you!

Welcome to cruise critic.

If I was in your position, I'd be worried.

I'd be VERY worried. Viking is singularly unresponsive to dietary requests and requirements.

We are sailing on Viking on June 27th. How is Viking dealing with passengers with food allergies? I have a severe allergy to garlic and have made Viking aware of this through our TA and with numerous phone calls, from the time we made our initial reservation. Each time I have been told, "yes, that's been noted in our records and will be accommodated". After reading several posts about the inconsistencies in the dining areas I'm getting really worried. Garlic is a hidden ingredient in so many dishes I don't know how I'll be able to safely eat anything. On past cruises (on other lines) I've been well taken care of by the maitre'd and the wait staff. I've always made it a point to use fixed dining so I would always have the same staff. I was told that would be the case on Viking, but it doesn't sound at all that this is what will happen in reality.

Can those of you currently on board give me some idea of what I should expect? Is there anybody in particular I should speak to when we board? Any advice? "Thank you!

Like you, SeattleBB, I have a severe allergic reaction to two items, red wine and olive oil which I have advised to Viking on the Guest Information Form for my 50 Day cruise in March 2016. Reaction to red wine is easily avoided, but, as with the garlic, olive oil is a hidden ingredient. On past river cruises with Viking the maître d' would meet me at the restaurant door with menu in hand showing which meals were either cooked in or contained olive oil. Thus not once did I suffer a reaction to spoil the cruise.

Unfortunately, because Manfredi's is an Italian Restaurant in which use of olive oil is synonymous, it is off my culinary agenda and I accept that as a fact of life. But I need to have the confidence that any other food on the menu in any other of the restaurants is olive oil free....fingers crossed that the maître d' is up to speed with the info I have provided on the GFI and that Viking's communication skills improve manifold.

Hate to inform you, but communicating this on your GIF is going to do you no good. Total lack of communication between LA office and ship. My advice is once you board find the restaurant guy with 3 1/2 bars on his sleeve and talk to him. Although there is no fixed dining in the Restaurant, INSIST that you be assigned to the same waiter (they will do this...I can tell you this personally) so you're allergies will be known to the waiter. In Manfredi's almost everything has garlic and olive oil. Chef's Table ingredients might be hard to determine as the combination of ingredients is a bit strange. Eating in the World Cafe could also be dicey as the staff at the counter probably has little idea of what actually is in the food, and their language skills are somewhat less.

Thank you id4elizabeth. That is exactly the information I needed. So, it's the maitre'd I need to talk to when we board? Is he/she usually in The Restaurant? Do you (or anybody else on this thread) happen to have his name? Have you been able to have the same waiter throughout your cruise? Sorry for so many questions, but I've been caught off guard with the information I've been reading about Viking's lack of concern and responsiveness to food allergies.

Sounds like I better bring along a jar of peanut butter....or plan to live on salad with no dressing, desserts, and wine. Hmmmm. :)

Avonglen, I can see where an allergy to olive oil would be difficult since, like garlic, it is so often a hidden ingredient. Hopefully, things onboard Viking will have improved by the time you cruise next year. I'm quite concerned about how I will fare next month. Like you, I've always had the experience of the maitre'd giving me a menu with "safe" items circled and I've never had a problem on a cruise. The maitre'd will get to know me well on this cruise and I'll advocate for all food allergies! This is my first sailing with Viking....and I hope to survive it. :eek: I'll report back when we return.

Jean-Pierre is the Food and Beverage Manager (F&B Manager) and is probably the 3 1/2 striper Elizabeth is referring to. I don't know if he will still be on board. Several of the "head" folks are leaving on May 30 since their 6-month contacts are up since they started working in November, 6 months ago. (Most of the line crew [housekeeping, wait staff, including 1-stripe Head Waiters] joined Viking in February and they stayed in a hotel in a Venice suburb for their training.)

SeattleBB. You indicate in your posting that you are "worried" because of your food allergies. To say that you should be worried is an understatement. I would be way beyond worried. I would bring an allergy crash team with you! If you are depending on Viking to protect you, regardless of written and/or verbal communication, you may have misplaced confidence. On a side note, my wife is a vegetarian, and notified Viking previous to embarkation and frequently when onboard. It was not unusual when she ordered a caesar salad (in the Restaurant) for it to come with anchovies and chicken (even when giving the order a few minutes before, requesting no anchovies and/or chicken). My advice is make sure you have additional medical coverage, this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

I would make no reliance on having submitted information previously to Viking HQ and their computer systems. Ship personnel and systems do not seem to be cognizant of anything from LA other than basic booking information.

A couple we met on a Viking excursion reported having confidence and success only in dealing with The Restaurant and Manfredi's and they've been on since Istanbul so that is a lot of meals. He had a hidden ingredient allergy to gluten but only risks feeling queasy and uncomfortable. He also had a nut allergy but I don't know the extent of his reaction. I would think a meeting with senior chef personnel in Manfredi's would be required and need only be done once as they have a fixed menu with only a daily fish and daily pasta special. But that covers only dinner and is popular among those with reservations.

Chef's Table serves the same menu in a nine day cycle. Depending on the length of the cruise you would hit 2-3 cycles. For each cycle you could talk to chef personnel as the food and wine pairings are relatively fixed.

When meeting with The Restaurant chef personnel I would also ask them about the Room Service Menu in addition to breakfast and dinner. I've posted a scan under the Viking Menu topic and it "seems" to be comprehensive in listing ingredients but whether a sauce, dressing or presentation flair is added to the plate you would need to ask.

The World Cafe would seem problematic if your reaction is severe. Knowing the safe dishes would involve reviewing a 14-15 day menu cycle with personnel as well as any side dishes outside of cycle prepared foods. I would be careful about tongs and serving spoons as passengers serve themselves and such utensils can start with one item and end up on a different item. There is a cooking station in the Cafe where some items are continually prepared and some are custom made. However, the same cooking pans and surfaces are reused from batch to batch so you could order something without a garlic ingredient sauce for instance but the pan likely will have sauce residue from the prior batch. Another example is they custom grill two meat/seafood items at lunches and dinners. But I often see the cooks spreading a oil or salt mix on the cooking surface before grilling and they may not think to tell you about whether garlic is in that prep item. The good news if you like breakfast is the rotation of breakfast items is less variable and I would think garlic free.

Mamsen's has a straightforward menu but a quick search on Google mentions garlic as a popular ingredient in Norwegian cooking. I would think The Restaurant prepares those items as well. But you could enjoy their waffles and baked food items.

The Pool Grill has a simple fixed menu along with a salad and fruit bar. I don't recall seeing ingredients or prep items being used outside of those listed in the sandwich items themselves.

Lastly, make sure you check any long excursions to see if a lunch is Viking included or not. On the two excursions we've been on where lunch was included all the groups touring the destination descended on a single restaurant that brought out food items in waves batch prepared for everyone. No customization was offered that I know of. Some may report a different experience perhaps by discussing with the local guide who is often in phone contact with the restaurant managing arrival times, headcounts, etc. You mighht have to buy your own lunch nearby or perhaps the restaurant would allow you to order individually as an accommodation.

In Paris our dining companion skipped all the bread items and had to skip the salad after he was fortunate to spot the few walnuts included. He was please to see the main course was chicken and roasted potatoes which would not have worked for you because of garlic.

Many thanks everybody for the advice given above. I guess the maître d' will get to know me pretty well on the 50 days I'm aboard the Star and the other staff at the other food outlets as well. I can only keep my fingers crossed that it all works out and I shall certainly hit the Restaurant's maître d' the very first meal on board. Mind you, if I can spend 3 months travelling in the Middle East without any dramas, surely I can manage to avoid the dreaded olive oil for 50 days!! Strangely, I can eat olives "till the cows come home" without any problems, just so long as they have been soaked in brine first. Apparently my allergy is caused by a chemical in the seed which gets crushed along with the flesh when they press olives to make the oil.

I don't know how similar the service is on Viking Ocean compared to the Viking River Cruises, but on previous river cruises when we told the maître d' that my wife needed to be gluten free, they really went all out for her - even bringing her gluten free appetizers and toast in the mornings. Of course the river ships are much smaller so perhaps easier to get such personal attention.

I don't know how similar the service is on Viking Ocean compared to the Viking River Cruises, but on previous river cruises when we told the maître d' that my wife needed to be gluten free, they really went all out for her - even bringing her gluten free appetizers and toast in the mornings. Of course the river ships are much smaller so perhaps easier to get such personal attention.

Agreed, bobinnv, really well looked after on the Viking river cruises I have undertaken, both on board and on the shore excursions that involved meals. Communication between Viking admin, cruise staff and tour guides worked very well in ensuring my need to avoid olive oil.:)

I don't know how similar the service is on Viking Ocean compared to the Viking River Cruises, but on previous river cruises when we told the maître d' that my wife needed to be gluten free, they really went all out for her - even bringing her gluten free appetizers and toast in the mornings. Of course the river ships are much smaller so perhaps easier to get such personal attention.

I, too, saw that on their River Cruise. The head chef came out every morning to discuss a dinner menu with a passenger because of her allergies. Hopefully they will get the same treatment on an ocean cruise.

Food allergies are the cause of many hospitalizations and deaths. True food allergies are not too be taken lightly and certainly would not want to trust that the food is safe based on a whim that Viking does it just fine on their river cruises, so they must have a similar safety net in place on the ocean product. I can tell you from what I have experienced, the river ocean cruise product is the antithesis of their river cruise product. Think of it, Viking cannot handle the simplest of issue on their oceans product, how about trusting your life to them?

Food allergies are the cause of many hospitalizations and deaths. True food allergies are not too be taken lightly and certainly would not want to trust that the food is safe based on a whim that Viking does it just fine on their river cruises, so they must have a similar safety net in place on the ocean product. I can tell you from what I have experienced, the river ocean cruise product is the antithesis of their river cruise product. Think of it, Viking cannot handle the simplest of issue on their oceans product, how about trusting your life to them?

Of course food allergies are not to be take lightly and are life threatening. There are no guarantees anywhere one dines even in a restaurant at home.

Restaurants at home do not request written notification (of allergies) in advance of dining there (in Vikings literature they send you, they request that). Additionally, I have found people with food alleges to be quite proactive in informing the restaurants of their allergy. I am not sure which leg of the trip you were on, but from what I saw (in my 21 days) you were on your own. Management was non-existent, non-responsive and clueless.