Gluten-Free Tips and Ideas (aka Allergies= PIA)

[ks&ks]

My son was just diagnosed in September, after we had made this reservation. He loves to cruise! We cruise with neighbors and there are always many boys his age in our group.

My concern is that he will be going around the ship with his buddies who will be able to eat anywhere as well as eat all of the forbidden goodies like pizza.

I immediately had the travel agent register him as needing gluten-free dining. Of course everyone says that it isn't a problem in the MDR and that you can ask at other venues to see what’s available. I just know how very embarrassed my son feels about the extra work it takes on his behalf. I’m hoping to make his time on board easy as he will be going around the ship on his own.

So...I plan to take notes and video my efforts on board the Oasis. I plan to post them so that everyone can know the "teen/child" perspective when they travel with their GF kids. I see so many posts about adults or children who have counselors or parents with them at all times but not many posts for the "tween" group.

I've done a lot of work already by calling the cruise line direct and speaking to a special needs representative. Not bad, but not very enlightening. I was told that I had to check at each food station and talk with the Food Managers. I've also called Johnny Rockets headquarters about their food.

I’ll post more as I put it together.

 

Ampere,

We're gf as well and we love to cruise! We look forward to your review when you get home. We hope you have a wonderful gf vacation!!:)

[Islandergirl]

Allergies and food intolerances are such a pain. I am not celiac, but I do not tolerate gluten well. I am also lactose intolerant and allergic to garlic. Garlic is my "scary" food. It is in everything and it seems these days chefs love to smother it on everything. This summer will only by my second time travelling since eliminating all of these foods. I went to Jamaica last fall (all-inclusive) and was very hungry. I am a little nervous about the foods that will be on the ship. I am planning on taking some food with me, especially for the ports. Hopefully all of us poor non-foodies will be able to find something to eat!

[Xewrsw]

I found these two sites for allergy specific, non refrigerated, meal boxes. I am going to order a few to have on hand in case I need one for an excursion for my Celiac son. I know that one can bring snacks, but these boxes are a nice addition. Check these two sites out:

http://www.Minimus.biz and http://www.Gopicnic.com

[cruznut1111]

Thanks for those websites and your great idea about gathering information for the teens. I'vebeen worried about the possibility that the thread would die like some of the others, so it is wonderful to see three posters.

 

Our cruising time has wrapped up for a while, but I will be coming back to visit CC and this thread. Looks like it is in good hands.

[Xewrsw]

This is a portion of the letter that I received from RCI after I contacted them directly to confirm my travel agent's gluten free dining request for my son on board the Oasis:

 

We can accommodate some special dietary needs, such as food allergies and

gluten-free, vegetarian (except for vegan and lacto-ovo vegetarian), low-fat,

low sodium, Lactaid®/soy milk, Ensure® and kosher meals, at no extra charge.

Below is a description of each and the requirements prior to sailing.

(I've edited it down to just gluten free for this blog)

 

Gluten-free/ Celiac Disease:

Although we do not have a separate gluten-free menu, there is a daily

alternative menu that includes a la carte items, such as beef, chicken, fish,

plain white rice, plain baked potatoes and vegetables. In addition, many items on the menus can be modified to eliminate sauces or other elements that may contain gluten protein. We also provide gluten-free bread that is baked onboard.

This request must be made a minimum of 45 days before the sailing. To submit

your dietary request, please contact our Certified Vacation Planners directly at 1-800-205-9812. If you have booked through a travel agency, please have your travel agent note your request in your booking. Kindly note, it is recommended that guests bring their own packets of salad dressings and dry, nonperishable snacks onboard. However, guests are not allowed to bring onboard any perishable food items.

 

Additionally, please meet with the Senior Head Waiter or the Maitre d' in the dining room as soon as you arrive onboard, so the dining staff can identify your seating location and answer any additional questions you may have.

 

Due to United States Public Health Services regulations, we are unable to store, prepare or serve any meals that have been brought on by the individual passenger. These meals will be discarded immediately once onboard.

[Xewrsw]

My gf son and I just returned from our E. Caribbean Oasis cruise.

We spoke with the dining room Maître’d upon boarding. Get there early. We were there at 11:30 and already, there was a line. Next, I went to speak with the head chef at each dining venue. Don't waste your time with the food staff! Go straight to the chef. They were extremely accommodating. Even when busy! I can't say enough about the wonderful staff on board this ship.

That said, if you are traveling GF don't worry about putting on any weight. The frozen custard station by the pool only had cones. My son asked for a cup at the bar and got a large beverage cup without a spoon. With the lines at the machines and the slow speed with which it dispensed, my son decided not to use the large cup for fear of mutiny. He was embarrassed. He did find that the Wipe-Out Cafe at the rear by the sport court also had a frozen yogurt machine. Since it is a fast food buffet, he could grab a bowl and a spoon to use and get the frozen yogurt right there.

But being a tween this put him out of place with his group as they could jump from the pool to get their treat. They did spend a lot of time at the back end of the ship though so he did have a chance to eat a plain burger and frozen yogurt back there.

The French fries on the ship are coated with wheat. The steak fries and hash brown potatoes found in the main dining room, and the fries and breakfast potatoes at Johnny Rockets were the only GF food, other than meat that he regularly ate.

He does not have a severe reaction if he eats gluten. So for this reason I didn’t worry too much about him grabbing a burger at the Wipe Out or Windjammer buffets on his own with his friends. I knew from research that Johnny Rockets was going to be a fall back. He ate lunch there often and ordered a shake too. They were awesome to him there too. Note that you are going to pay a $5.00 cover and $5.00 for the shake at Johnny Rockets. Of course my son was a generous tipper too!

For breakfast we ordered room service, bacon and potatoes with milk for the cereal that I brought and hot water for our cocoa. He also went to Johnny Rockets (free) for bacon and potatoes and hot chocolate. In the main dining room he had grits, bacon, potatoes and pancakes. The pancakes were not as good as my gf pancakes at home. (Kind of rubbery)

At dinner we had the most amazing staff. I tipped Sabbanni, his waiter, and Ricardo our head waiter on the first night. Sabbanni put a large platter of Steak Fries on the table every night, right in the center of the table, for all of the boys to share when the bread came out.

I was so impressed by this gesture. He didn’t want my son to sit there and salivate while the other boys chowed down on the bread and butter. The French fries had gluten so he made sure to have the steak fries available.

My son chose to have steak just about every night. So he had steak, steak fries, and a vegetable. He also had the grilled chicken and a burger once.

The burgers on board are thin patties. JR's offers a thicker burger option.

My son is 12 so he spent most of his time at the back end of the ship where the flow riders, sport court, zip line, rock climbing wall, putt putt course and teen lounge are. And…yes he lost weight.

Here is the breakdown for tween GF survival:

Bkfst- Johnny Rockets-potatoes, bacon, ham, eggs, cocoa/ Main Dining- potatoes, bacon, grits, fruit, pancakes/Solarium-fruit, whole eggs (not prepared) grits/ Windjammer-didn’t go but assume it is the same (ask about the eggs)

Lunch-Johnny Rockets-burger, fries, shake/ Windjammer buffet -burger patty and fruit/ Wipe-Out-Café-burger patty and frozen yogurt

Dinner-Main Dining-Steak, grilled chicken , steak fries, burgers

For a tween the other venues were too much work and too much time.

[cruznut1111]

Ampere-

 

Thanks for adding a much needed facet on this thread. With tweens there are other aspects of special dining to be considered.

 

I know that RCCI is one of the harder lines for me on the GF, so it would be interesting to hear how Tween GF works on NCL or Oceania. Hope you and your son had a wonderful time.

Dee

[ks&ks]

Ampere,

Thanks for posting your experience! It's been a couple of years since we've been on RCCL gf. :)

[advancedsociety]

Anyone have a child that has a Gluten, casein corn nut & soy allergy? Need advise as i'm cruising soon on the NCL dawn

[cruznut1111]

Anyone have a child that has a Gluten, casein corn nut & soy allergy? Need advise as i'm cruising soon on the NCL dawn

 

No, but you are on one of the most "with-it, they-get-it' lines cruising. Just be sure to call the Special Needs department soon so they can get special plans lined up for your child.

[Irish90Cruiser]

Just wanted to update this thread with our recent experience with my DD who has celiac. On boarding day we went to the Windjammer for lunch and the first thing I did was find a sous chef to take us around and point out what items were gluten free. They had a pretty good assortment - there is always a carving station and a potato dish. The salad bar is fine. French fries are not ok because they use the same oil for frying other things. For dessert, the jellos, puddings and ice cream are GF. There were always bowls by the ice cream machine so she was able to get it whenever she wanted to. On day 2 (and every day thereafter) I noticed that directly above the little signs that identify the food items, they had an extra sign that identified the item as gluten free, so we didn't need to ask anyone after that. This also helped when she was roaming around with her friends because sometimes she is a little shy about asking for help. Also on Day 2 for breakfast, we asked a sous chef for some gluten free bread. The gentleman said he would go down and get some and keep it up in the Windjammer so it would be available all week. So my daughter was able to have GF toast every morning. I will say that I think they used the same toaster so if you are very sensitive this may not work for everyone. On the morning of Day 5, another sous chef overheard us asking someone else for the GF bread. He came over and said he takes care of allergy issues and asked if we needed anything else. We said no, the toast was fine. He then offered to make my daughter some GF pancakes with whatever she wanted in them - blueberries, raspberries, chocolate. We didn't want them that morning but he asked what time we would be in the next day and he said he would be there to make them for her. And he did just that the next day. We were very grateful but she did say mine were better ;).

 

We had sent in the e-mail with the special dining request before the cruise so in the main dining room they were prepared with GF bread for my daughter from the first night on. She ended up just getting the grilled chicken breast for dinner that first night because they didn't have any time to make something special for her. For each other night of the cruise the Head Waitress would come over at the end of the meal and take her order for the following night's dinner. If she wanted something that had gluten in it they would make a special version of it for her without gluten (by using cornstarch instead of flour in the sauce, etc). On a couple of the nights there weren't any desserts that were GF. Ice cream is always an option, but our Head Waitress (Emilia, who was AWESOME) would always make an extra effort. One of the nights, she brought out the GF mango parfait from the previous night because DD had really enjoyed it. The next night she told my daughter that she would have the chef make a special dessert for her and surprise her. It ended up being a baked, spiced apple served with ice cream. My daughter was in heaven because she said it tasted just like apple pie. On the last night, tiramisu was one of the choices and my daughter wanted to try it. So Emilia said she would have them make a special one for my daughter. So my husband gets his and it is the square piece that eveyone else gets, and they bring out my daughter's and it is in the tulip shaped chocolate cup that they use for the tiramisu in Portofino. Hers had just the mousse in the edible cup. It was amazing!!

 

So, I can only say positive things about our experience. I feel like the staff makes every effort to accommodate dietary restrictions. We cruised on the Serenade 2 years ago and even though we were happy then, there seemed to be a lot more options for my daughter this time around.

[the queen of clutter]

I wanted to keep this thread alive and kicking so it will be updated often for all of us, so I thought I'd toss in my 2 cents worth.

 

I am allergic to multiple items, but when cruising I just worry about gluten since most of the staff understands the GF diet.

 

One reason I love cruising is the fact that a GF diet is available. On a long road trip it's difficult enough trying to get the whole family to decide on a restaurant, and then I have to figure out what, if anything, I can eat.

 

I have had mostly good experiences with my GF diet on RCCL, Celebrity and Carnival. There are frustrations at times, esp. if your head waiter isn't helpful.

 

To me the worst thing about eating the GF diet is ordering your dining room meal the night before. Usually the head waiter/waitress comes up during dessert--my main course ;) and I pick what I'll have the next evening. We have early dining and there is typically a day or two during the cruise that I don't feel like rushing to the dining room. If I don't show up I'm usually chastised the next night. The funny thing is the nights I skip are usually "standard" fare, nothing made special. So, even at 58 years old, I feel guilty if I don't go to the dining room every night. I so wish they could hand you a menu, like Outback Steakhouse and other restaurants do.

 

Another stressful thing about the GF diet is lunch: standing in front of the buffet not knowing what is safe. I've never had any luck with anyone in the buffet area helping me, on any of the cruise lines/ships. Usually I'm stuck with a salad. I couldn't believe it when I read that one poster had GF posted on dishes at the buffet! I wish everyone would do that. I will say that the desserts in the buffet on CCL's Fantasy were pretty lousy--mostly cheesecakes that had little flavor :(

 

On Carnival you can now get GF pizza and you can choose your toppings! On my March (2011) cruise I was so excited, but thought it was terribly salty and had trouble eating it. I also thought the GF bread served in the dining room was too salty. I love salt so this was unusual and maybe it was just me.

 

Speaking of the GF bread in the dining room: this hasn't happened recently, but on two different cruises I've been served moldy bread towards the end of the week. As I'm sure you know, GF breads don't have preservatives in them. And it's funny, because towards the end of the cruise I usually receive toasted GF bread for dinner.

 

Carnival also offers GF pancakes (I think are pretty good) and French Toast (haven't tried that) in the dining room for breakfast. Also, if I eat breakfast in the buffet area I go to the omelet station and ask for a fried egg. As someone mentioned there's a good chance that the scrambled eggs have gluten in them. Many restaurants put pancake mix in their scrambled eggs to make them thicker.

 

I used to like RCCL's food best, but on my last cruise with them (2010) the food wasn't all that good. On Carnival I didn't like the food on the July 2010 cruise, yet on the same ship last month it was great!

 

Hope this helps someone!

[bakcd]

I, like you, was surprised to see that one ship labeled buffet foods as gluten-free. I make this suggestion on my cruise comment card at the end of each cruise.

 

I've found each line to handle things a bit differently but do manage to cruise safely with Celebrity and Holland America. I usually eat breakfast and lunch on the lido deck and sometimes find things limited but can usually find something that works. I have not found scrambled eggs that contain pancake batter, they are using eggs in plastic bags, they may be powdered. I don't care for the way they cook them but request fried or scrambled with real eggs at the omelet station or a poached egg. I may carry Gluten Freeda Instant Oatmeal packs the next time - I believe the water for hot tea is hot enough to add half the water - let it soften a couple of minutes and then add the rest. Udi's bagels will keep for 5 days or so if you purchase them before boarding and they were frozen. I can enjoy a half bagel for breakfast or use the whole bagel for a burger bun.

 

At the buffet, I always look for the maitre'd on duty and let him guide me. If I have a special request, they will take care of it. On Celebrity Constellation we enjoyed lunch a couple of times at the Bistro on 5 where they prepared gluten free crepes. There are days I resort to a plain burger and fixings. If I was not dining in the dining room at night, I would let them know the night before. One night we enjoyed dinner on the lido deck and they fixed a stir fry for me. I carry Tamari sauce and they used that. I make individual packets using my sealing machine. If I like toast a breakfast I request if from the matre'd and have them toast it in the main kitchen rather than on the Lido deck. There is a delay but it is not long.

 

Constellation did not have replacement items other than bread and pasta. Desserts were limited to dairy based. Foods were nicely sauced and better than previous cruises.

 

Holland America allows you to preorder many items including breads, cereals, cakes, cookies, muffins and pizza crusts. They use Kinnikinnick products.

 

No line is perfect but I've found both to be acceptable. Granted, it sometimes get boring but we've come a long way in the last 4-5 years.

 

No one should chastise you for not showing up to dinner, you are the customer. If possible, even at lunch, if you know you are not going to go to dinner, just let them know. I'm sure you can call the dining room and leave a message.

[the queen of clutter]

I, like you, was surprised to see that one ship labeled buffet foods as gluten-free. I make this suggestion on my cruise comment card at the end of each cruise.

 

I've found each line to handle things a bit differently but do manage to cruise safely with Celebrity and Holland America. I usually eat breakfast and lunch on the lido deck and sometimes find things limited but can usually find something that works. I have not found scrambled eggs that contain pancake batter, they are using eggs in plastic bags, they may be powdered. I don't care for the way they cook them but request fried or scrambled with real eggs at the omelet station or a poached egg. I may carry Gluten Freeda Instant Oatmeal packs the next time - I believe the water for hot tea is hot enough to add half the water - let it soften a couple of minutes and then add the rest. Udi's bagels will keep for 5 days or so if you purchase them before boarding and they were frozen. I can enjoy a half bagel for breakfast or use the whole bagel for a burger bun.

 

At the buffet, I always look for the maitre'd on duty and let him guide me. If I have a special request, they will take care of it. On Celebrity Constellation we enjoyed lunch a couple of times at the Bistro on 5 where they prepared gluten free crepes. There are days I resort to a plain burger and fixings. If I was not dining in the dining room at night, I would let them know the night before. One night we enjoyed dinner on the lido deck and they fixed a stir fry for me. I carry Tamari sauce and they used that. I make individual packets using my sealing machine. If I like toast a breakfast I request if from the matre'd and have them toast it in the main kitchen rather than on the Lido deck. There is a delay but it is not long.

 

Constellation did not have replacement items other than bread and pasta. Desserts were limited to dairy based. Foods were nicely sauced and better than previous cruises.

 

Holland America allows you to preorder many items including breads, cereals, cakes, cookies, muffins and pizza crusts. They use Kinnikinnick products.

 

No line is perfect but I've found both to be acceptable. Granted, it sometimes get boring but we've come a long way in the last 4-5 years.

 

No one should chastise you for not showing up to dinner, you are the customer. If possible, even at lunch, if you know you are not going to go to dinner, just let them know. I'm sure you can call the dining room and leave a message.

 

Thanks for the good info. You made me hungry!

 

The CCL Fantasy offered pasta but I didn't like the sauce so never tried it again. There is also a wok area on lido deck and I've had some yummy stirfrys there. I ask for no sauce and they look at you odd but will do it! By mid-cruise everyone has discovered the wok and it gets very crowded.

 

The pancake mix is added at restaurants other than cruises. Sorry I didn't make myself clear on that. I was told by the head waiter that the plastic-bag scrambled eggs contain gluten.

 

For some reason I never thought about calling the dining room when I made the last minute decision to not go to the dining room. Maybe it has to do with the cabin I had once with the odd phone--every time I tried to call room service or housekeeping I got the Captain! I was so embarrassed but they never fixed the phone so I stopped trying :)

 

I get chastised because I tend to allow it....some people call it too nice. It's just the way I was raised. At 58 it's a hard habit to break ;)

 

I like Kinnikinnick products. Maybe I have to try Holland America sometime!

 

Last year our RCCL cruise had a huge cruise critic group online (our roll call thread is still rolling). One of them was a food rep and attended a trade show right before we sailed. She brought me a very large shopping bag filled with goodies :) I would sneak to my cabin to snack, LOL.

 

Thanks for your info!

[bakcd]

I've also asked about eggs and were told they were safe. I think is best to ask a maitre'd or the chef.

 

I know what you are saying about being nice, we learn these lessons over time. It has happened to me but I don't plan on it happening again. I am a good bit older than you.

[DebJ14]

I've also asked about eggs and were told they were safe. I think is best to ask a maitre'd or the chef.

 

I know what you are saying about being nice, we learn these lessons over time. It has happened to me but I don't plan on it happening again. I am a good bit older than you.

 

Carnival's special needs department told me that the scrambled eggs and omelets are not made with fresh eggs and that the processed egg mixture they use is not gluten free. They told me to always ask for fresh eggs whether at the omelet station or in the main dinng room. I have found Carnival to be much more accommodating that Royal Caribbean.

Our last RCCL on the Voyager was a disaster. The head waiter told us the waiter was in charge of our GF diet. He only gave us two choices of entree nightly that could be made GF. We knew this was BS having sailed on the ship several times before. We ended up eating in Portofino 4 nights because they were so much more helpful than in the MDR. Our waiter in the MDR also served the Captain's table so our table literally got no service on the nights that officers dined there. We will ask for a different location next cruise after that experience if we discover that our table is next to the Captain's table.

[bakcd]

Funny, I've always been given different information. For me it doesn't matter, I prefer the whole egg either fried, poached or in an omelet. I carry some granola with me and can always make a yogurt parfait for breakfast as a change. For me, a Lara bar with fresh fruit also is a nice breakfast.

 

We once had unpleasant tablemates and sat with them throughout the cruise. We have decided that we would never endure that situation again and ask for a change early on by going to the restaurant manager and then the hotel manager if the first did not work.

 

I find the person who makes my trip most enjoyable is the maitre'd and tip him extra at the end. We have done the anytime dining on Celebrity and Holland America the last 3 cruises and it worked well. It also makes it easy to not go to the main dining room. They also recognize me at the buffet and take care of me there.

 

I would like to see every gluten-free cruiser ask for things to be labeled on the buffets and safe desserts be provided there as well. They may need to be covered but at least have one choice available. As a growing community, we need to work together for change. On our last cruise I complimented them for the more appealing main courses and then requested the other two changes.

[CruiseVacationQueen]

Recently returned from sailing GF on the Carnival Miracle... entire cruise was a huge food success!

 

The hostess Milana received the e-mail I sent to the special needs dept... everything was very organized and we were made to feel like Rock Stars the entire cruise!

 

We also ate at the Steakhouse and at the Chef's Table... cannot say enough about those venues! Yummm!

 

Highly recommend Carnival for gluten-free cruising! No problems at all, including the buffet and Room Service! Plenty of whole fruit available all week for snacks. Also carried on a bag of apples, several bags of nuts and a jar of peanut butter for "just in case" and to eat when going ashore. Plenty of food onboard. Never felt deprived!

Edited April 11, 2011 by CruiseVacationQueen

[graceinmelbourne]

We sailed on RCCL Brilliance of the Seas and had a great experience re. gluten free food. Our teenage daughter is the celiac and we informed RCCL well before the cruise. On the first night the head chef came over and introduced himself to us. We also had a phone call from the executive chef asking us if we needed anything. Each night our daughter was served gluten free bread and she had many GF options from the menu to choose from. SHe basically chose what she would like off the menu and the chef would endeavour to make it for her gluten free. Of course there were some things on the menu that were obviously not gluten free or were not easily adapted so she didn't chose those. The chef even made her extra desserts and went out of his way to make sure she enjoyed her dining experience which she did. She really was spoilt and fussed over by the waiters and head waiter.

 

Now I don't know if this is the normal service that a celiac would get. I work for the celiac society in Australia and mentioned that I was writing an article for our national magazine re. gluten free experiences on board RCCL. I did mention this to RCCL before the cruise as I wanted to chat to the chef about how they managed gluten free diets. I wonder if they went the extra mile because of this???? Apparently there were 25 other celiacs on that particular cruise and I imagine they would have got similar excellent service from RCCL. I did speak to other passengers who were celiac on the cruise and they were very happy.

 

So based on our experiences I can definately recommend RCCL Brilliance of the Seas for a very positive gluten free experience.

[graceinmelbourne]

When you consider the difference in cost - $32 a case on land, $135-165 on board, you may want to rally for the privilege of bringing your own on board ;).

 

Oh - one or two more GF hints-

 

BUFFET TOASTER - I had two reactions on the Dawn. It wasn't until the second one (I wasn't eating) that I realized I was actually blimping from the gluten in the air. The first time we were sitting at a table that was close to the toaster. The second, I was standing near the toaster waiting to speak to the allergy maitre 'd. I know that this happens with peanut allergy and I know that "odor is particulate", but this was a first for me. YMMV

 

Surprises on the DAWN - I gave the maitre 'd lots of leyway for each day's meals and I got to eat a number of things I would never have thought to ask for. So don't limit yourself to your normal gluten-free choices. If something sounds yummy, ask if it can be fixed for you.

 

I am really surprised that you had a reaction from being near the toaster. You actually have to ingest gluten for it to have an effect. Are you sure it wasn't something else keeping in mind that it takes at least 20 minutes and usually more than an hour for for a reaction to happen as the gluten needs to travel to the gut first.

[graceinmelbourne]

Allergy Card - I mentioned how to do this a few posts ago. It worked beautifully! In Luxemberg one waitress read in French and her assistant in German. In Barcelona they were so happy to see I had translated into Spanish AND Catalon they gave me lots of special attention. I wore out 3 copies.

 

GROM Gelato - One of the worst things about going to Europe and seeing all those lovely gelato shops is the realization that all but the sorbets have gluten. GROM has one flavor with gluten and all the rest are gluten free. Even better is the gluten-free plastic box with it's own cups, scoops and spoons. I went to the website and printed out a list of all the locations where we might be going. Ended up trying four of them. Loved the smart way they behaved in all of them. There are shops in many ports - NY, (Paris), Venice, Florence (right of the duomo) and LA is coming.

 

Florence, Italy - I got to eat pizza!! There is a restaurant near the duomo on the left side called La Botteghe di Donatello. They have one page of their menu that lists gluten free items.

 

Italy - gluten free products everywhere there was a green or red cross

 

 

Why do you think that all gelato except for the sorbet has gluten in it? In my experience the majority of gelato is gluten free in most cases except for those that obviously have wafers, biscuits, cake etc mixed in. Is it the glucose syrup from wheat you are concerned about that is sometimes used in ice cream? Glucose syrup from wheat is gluten free as there is no detectable gluten due to the processing. Having said that I do always ask and check and did so in Italy. The majority of gelato was gluten free even the non sorbet variety with a few exceptions. I found this to be the case in at least 6 places that we visited in Italy. Sorry I am not trying to sound like a smart a**e but I work for the coeliac society so I am very up to date with information related to coeliac disease.

[bakcd]

GracieinMelbourne, I am always happy to see good, up-to-date information posted. To further your statement concerning glucose syrup, Shelley Case in the most recent printing of Gluten-Free Diet, A Comprehensive Resource Guide, states that you find insignificant levels of gluten in glucose syrup (R5 ELISA) and goes on to say "The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has permanently exempted wheat-based and barley-based glucose syrups from allergen labeling based on this recent research.

 

I enjoyed gelato more than once on our recent Celebrity cruise onboard the Constellation.

 

I do hope your experience on the Brillance was not solely due to your intentions to write an article but because the cruise lines see the need to step up to the plate. When your article is published, please post a link here so we may all read it.

[graceinmelbourne]

GracieinMelbourne, I am always happy to see good, up-to-date information posted. To further your statement concerning glucose syrup, Shelley Case in the most recent printing of Gluten-Free Diet, A Comprehensive Resource Guide, states that you find insignificant levels of gluten in glucose syrup (R5 ELISA) and goes on to say "The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has permanently exempted wheat-based and barley-based glucose syrups from allergen labeling based on this recent research.

 

I enjoyed gelato more than once on our recent Celebrity cruise onboard the Constellation.

 

I do hope your experience on the Brillance was not solely due to your intentions to write an article but because the cruise lines see the need to step up to the plate. When your article is published, please post a link here so we may all read it.

 

Thanks for your further information re. glucose syrup. Glucose Syrup, caramel and dextrose has been deemed safe for celiacs for about 10 years here. I know that has been the case in Europe also. Wheat starch is allowed in some European countries but it is not considered to be safe in Australia and I think that is the same in the U.S.

 

I think the article should be printed in the June issue. The magazine comes out 4 times a year. There is a backlog of travel articles that needed to be published so mine had to wait. I do wonder at times if that made a difference to our experience. I would like to think that all passengers who require a special diet are treated the same. I will post a link when it is published.

[cruznut1111]

I am really surprised that you had a reaction from being near the toaster. You actually have to ingest gluten for it to have an effect. Are you sure it wasn't something else keeping in mind that it takes at least 20 minutes and usually more than an hour for for a reaction to happen as the gluten needs to travel to the gut first.

 

Well hello Graceinmelbourne! I had come back to comment on the message from Irish and found oodles of questions. It might take me a while to get all the answers, but let me get started.

 

First let me say how impressed I was with the work of the Celiac groups when we were in Australia. Loved going to restaurants and seeing the GF by the menu items. Some places like Sydney and Melbourne were really on the ball. Still, I found it was best if I only used the GF as a beginning and then still asked all my questions and then listened for some of the "hidden" problems.

 

Now, to the question of the toaster. Yes, I have read the 20-60 minute rule according to some of the Celiac Groups and I would love for that to be true for me, but it isn't. My best guess is that I'm not alone on this. I have had reactions as short as 5-7minutes with some types of gluten and as long as 45-60 on others.

 

On the question of "ingestion" - Yes, I get it. It is really easy to think of "ingestion" as just eating, but it really isn't. If I had kept my mouth shut I may not have had a problem, but I was chattering away, having a good time and really didn't think about all the particles in the air. In both occassions I was in the area close to 30 minutes. I don't think there would have been a problem if I had just been walking through.

 

When I wrote the original comment, I knew it was the first time it had happened on ship and was thinking it was the first time ever. A couple weeks ago I had to go into a local bakery and had a similar reaction. Talking about it with my DH, he reminded me that it had happened @12-15 years ago in a bakery in Canada that had a high level of flour in air.

 

Having someone staying up to date on all the new research is really great. Any time we can learn without experiencing pain I call it a big win.

 

However, there are those of us who have sadly been on the cutting edge of gluten knowledge and learned a bunch of things the hard way. I'm sure the research is coming, but my gut doesn't wait. It reacts now... and it really hurts. As all of us with gluten problems have learned -YMMV.

 

Oh, hate to leave without a hint.

Ask your waiter to use the Salamader when he toasts your bread. This will eliminate the cross contamination from regular bread going thru toaster.

 

I have to get back to work, but I'll come back in a few days and we can talk gelato. (Sadly, I do have to stand by what I said- wish I didn't!)

 

DEE

[Irish90Cruiser]

First, thanks to Dee (cruznut1111) for starting this thread. It has been really helpful to me to hear about other people's experiences. I feel so hopeful for my DD that things will get easier for her and others who have to live with celiac.

 

Also, I too am looking forward to reading graceinmelbourne's article when it is published.

 

Thanks for all your info and tips everyone!

 

Katie