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

[graceinmelbourne]

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

 

Hi Dee,

 

Thanks for your reply. It was interesting to read of your experiences. You are obviously very sensitive when it comes to gluten having had that reaction to the air borne particles in such a short time. I would say the vast majority of people would not react like that but as you said there are some people who are at the extreme end of the spectrum. The woman who runs the coeliac society where I work is a coeliac and coincidently her husband is also a coeliac. His profession is a baker so he spends his days baking bread in a flour filled environment. It has not had any negative effect on him but I wonder if he makes a conscious effort not to open his mouth or perhaps he wears a mask. I will ask her about that. It would be very easy to ingest some flour in that environment.

 

Obviously you have travelled a great deal so have plenty of experience travelling on a gluten free diet which can be a challenge especially in certain countries. How long ago were you in Australia? We are lucky here in that there is a good level of awareness and it is improving all the time. We just had our Coeliac Awareness Week and there was plenty of publicity on radio, magazines, newspapers and tv which was great. This is thanks to a very well organised coeliac society which does a great job raising awareness and educating.

 

I look forward to your response regarding my questions re. gelato. and further gluten free discussions. I am also interested in what awareness is like in Canada and if you have a simliar set up with regards to a coeliac society or equivalent.

 

Good tip by the way regarding the cruise ship toaster. When we were on the cruise they toasted my daughters bread somewhere else in the kitchens. I didn't like the look of that toaster either .

[graceinmelbourne]

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.

 

I am very interested in hearing about your experiences on Oasis of the Seas. We are thinking of going on the Oasis next year. We had a great experience on RCCL Brilliance of the Seas in Europe but I would love to hear about the Oasis specifically. Our daughter is the celiac and she is 14 years of age. She never tries to eat food she shouldn't so we are lucky in that respect. She is probably too careful in fact. There are so many more places to eat on the Oasis compared to the smaller ships so I am wondering whether they are up to speed in each of the food outlets.

[graceinmelbourne]

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.

 

 

Sorry I answered your other post without realising you had a further post down the page. Thanks very much for posting this. Very interesting to hear about what your son ate on the Oasis. Our daughter had a wide variety of food in the MDR besides steak such as seafood, salads etc. Steak is always a good option but it can get tedious after a while. Did he try the salad bar that they have in the MDR on sea days. I think its called the Tutti Salad Bar or something. I am guessing they have it on all the RCCL ships. They have all the salad ingredients behind the counter and you just point out the ones you want in your salad and they make it up for you. Most of the ingedients were GF as were most of the dressings. I tried to get her to try grits but we don't have grits here and it didn't look particularly appetizing. Breakfast was mainly pancakes, bacon, potatoes, fruit, smoked salmon etc. The frozen yoghurt machine was visited way too often and they gave her oodles of icecream for dessert. So were the Johnny Rockets fries GF?

 

Again thanks for all your useful information.

[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.

 

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.

I've had a hard time forcing myself to come back to this thread, so obviously (to me) on some level I had real problems with these posts, much as I tried not to. So let me start with a the most important tips I can give - more generic than ship related - then I'll see if I can get into a little more depth and then help bring this back on topic.

The "experts" on celiac/ gluten sensitivity/ intolerance are the unmasked guts of the people who have the problem. If your child or gluten-sensitive friend says "I have a reaction to XYZ" -believe them. Don't let anyone tell them they are wrong/ making it up/ not in accordance with someone's reading or differing from the current level of science of the day.

No matter how well meant, reading about the reactions is not the same as actually having them. Use all the gluten-free sites, stay up on the current science, read the different POVs (including mine) but only use them as a guide.

We all have many symptoms and reactions we share, but we also all differ. (One of the latest research trends suggests as many as 15 different variants.) Time will tell.

There is a lovely line in a Buffett song about "the pleasure being worth all the pain" and that is certainly true when it comes to dealing with gluten issues. Most of us have played the "eat it anyway" game at some point after we became aware of our problem. This will change for each person over their years of living with the reactions. For me, after 12 years of conciously dealing with this, my gut is getting nastier and I am finding less and less is worth the pain.

My second tip on this line of thought -

Do everything you can to get your child or celiac "unmasked." This might mean avoiding that favorite snack once in a while to make sure it is still okay. Until the gut has been well rested and safe for a while it may not react and give warning when it should.

"to be continued"

Edited May 23, 2011 by cruznut1111

[cruznut1111]

I want to take a little space here to relate what the best current science and experts were saying back in the late 1940s and the 1950s.

"There was no way the mac and cheese/ muffins/ bread pudding/etc. could be making my stomach hurt." "I was a 'picky' eater who needed more discipline." "I should be made to eat every bite." I should not be allowed to leave the table and run to the bathroom." "Celiac was only found in 1 in 100,000+ and we had no family history." "I was just trying to get out of doing the after dinner cleanup." "I was dramatizing to get attention." Oh yeah! If I sound a little bitter when I find science that disagrees with my personal knowledge and experience, I have a long history of how much damage can happen.

By the time the 1960s came around I was fully "masked" and could eat glutens all day long with no problems... except for the cramps and anemia and the hidden damage. The 1970s, 1980s and most of the 1990s passed with no problems - except for lots of illness.

Then one day in the late 1990s, after all the doctors, dentists and assorted specialists had looked at me for decades, a physical trainer looked at me and said "no way your lean body weight should be this light. Have you had a bone density test?" All those years of eating gluten gave me more than washboard fingernails and a "thick waist." They also gave me hollow bones. In my 50s I had the bones of an 80 year old.

So to wrap this little piece up. My first point is "Trust your kids." Nutritional science has come a long way over the past 60 years, but in another 60 they will know things they never thought were important now. If there is a conflict, consider going with the "rumors" rather than the science.

The second thing I need to say to all you parents of celiacs and gluten sensitive kids is "Good for You!" Your efforts on your childrens' behalf will save them years of pain.

Now for your tip - you can set your Google alerts to send you all the latest news about gluten / celiac every day.

 

[graceinmelbourne]

I've had a hard time forcing myself to come back to this thread, so obviously (to me) on some level I had real problems with these posts, much as I tried not to. So let me start with a the most important tips I can give - more generic than ship related - then I'll see if I can get into a little more depth and then help bring this back on topic.

 

The "experts" on celiac/ gluten sensitivity/ intolerance are the unmasked guts of the people who have the problem. If your child or gluten-sensitive friend says "I have a reaction to XYZ" -believe them. Don't let anyone tell them they are wrong/ making it up/ not in accordance with someone's reading or differing from the current level of science of the day.

 

No matter how well meant, reading about the reactions is not the same as actually having them. Use all the gluten-free sites, stay up on the current science, read the different POVs (including mine) but only use them as a guide.

 

We all have many symptoms and reactions we share, but we also all differ. (One of the latest research trends suggests as many as 15 different variants.) Time will tell.

 

There is a lovely line in a Buffett song about "the pleasure being worth all the pain" and that is certainly true when it comes to dealing with gluten issues. Most of us have played the "eat it anyway" game at some point after we became aware of our problem. This will change for each person over their years of living with the reactions. For me, after 12 years of conciously dealing with this, my gut is getting nastier and I am finding less and less is worth the pain.

 

My second tip on this line of thought -

 

Do everything you can to get your child or celiac "unmasked." This might mean avoiding that favorite snack once in a while to make sure it is still okay. Until the gut has been well rested and safe for a while it may not react and give warning when it should.

 

"to be continued"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello again,

I am sorry if my posts upset or bothered you in any way. That was not my intention. I don't doubt that you have had the reactions that you have had. I understand that there are a small percentage of celiacs who do have more extreme reactions to things that most would not and perhaps the medical/science fraternity doesn't understand why as yet. Yes, the experts world wide have been saying for over 10 years that glucose syrup is okay as there is no detectable gluten but I have had a few people say to me that they feel that they do react and are extremely sensitive. Part of my job is a support for newly diagnosed celiacs and those who have been celiac for a while. My job is to educate and inform them of the latest information and research. I have come across people on internet forums, at the support centre and who I have met who are unnecessarily restricting their diet because they don't understand what they can and cannot eat or on the other hand are eating gluten without realising it. There are also many uninformed people with regards to celiac disease. On the cruise I went on last year I met 2 American women who were eating Kellogs cereals not realising that they could not have malt extract. Of course I explained to them why they shouldn't be eating it but they didn't really care and continued to eat it. You said that you couldn't eat gelato in Italy because most of it was not gluten free whereas I begged to differ and say that most gelato we came across was in fact gluten free. I am assuming the reason that you think it is not gluten free is because of the glucose syrup??? I believe you if you say that you react to glucose syrup but I also think that most celiacs would not and it would be safe to consume for them. As I said I am not doubting your reaction to the toaster situation or the gelato. That is your experience and you understand yourself better than anyone. As you said you can take all the advice on board but it is up to the individual what they do or don't do and to work out what is right for them.

Edited May 28, 2011 by graceinmelbourne

[cruznut1111]

Hello again,

 

I am sorry if my posts upset or bothered you in any way.

"No worries, mate."

 

I just got back from the gluten-free bakery & market - blueberry pie, snickerdoodles, scones and chocolate brownies. When our local baker found himself needing to be GF, he came to a great solution and started a new business. I'm trying to be supportive, but it is packing on the pounds. Never had that problem in the '90s when everything tasted like cardboard.

Edited May 28, 2011 by cruznut1111
The dog sent the message before I was done

[cruznut1111]

Gelato in Italy sounded like heaven, so when we went in 2008 I had practiced all my phrases like "sono celiaca" and "sans glutin" and was ready for major indulgence.

 

In Naples I had great success at a little shop on the way to the museum. The woman went to the back, got a clean scoop, scooped from the front instead of the back and I was a happy camper - no problems.

 

Got to Florence, went through the same routine, but- big miserable problem. In Rome- 1st shop - a Mom and Pop- great. 2nd day, new shop and despite all their care- big problems. I decided to give up and regroup. I just can't take chances like that. The pain is not worth the pleasure for me.

 

When we went back in 2010 I knew from all my reading I wasn't alone in having problems with the gelato, but didn't have a clear idea why. But I did find out about Grom and knew that there was a company that would assure me of a safe experience. So for me, why bother risking it.

 

In Paris I found a great looking gelato chain shop where they understood GF. One of the workers had an aunt who was GF. They would only let me have sorbet, but couldn't give me any detail. Just that her aunt couldn't eat anything other than sorbet. Well, the sorbet was wonderful so no problem. The next day - of course we went back- the manager was there and explained to me that the ingredients were "supposed to be" gluten free, but they weren't always and they never knew what was "actually used." He said that if I had only minor problems, perhaps it would be worth a try, but they had lots of reports that there were problems. He suggested I stick with little shops where they made their own gelato on site and could tell me what they had used.

 

Now we are talking vanilla in all cases where I ate gelato.

 

I know better that to risk chocolate. (In Belgium I went to 9 chocolate makers asking if anyone had heard of making the chocolate without flour. Got 9 "nos". As one explained - "if it doesn't have flour, it isn't Belgium chocolate."

 

Dee

[Pompeyboy]

I'm glad I looked at this particular thread. I have recently seen a review of the Brilliance which was none to complimentary regarding how they had been treated in relation to their food allergy( they do not mention what particular allergy they suffer with) which concerned me as I will be on her with my OH in October.

Having seen a couple of recent posts stating that they had been treated well on the Brilliance it has put my mind at ease. This will be our first cruise on RCCL so I was hoping that there would be the same good experiences as on previous cruises with Celebrity, P & O and Fred Olsen who have all catered for me extremely well.

 

This is an excellent thread - thankyou :):)

[graceinmelbourne]

I'm glad I looked at this particular thread. I have recently seen a review of the Brilliance which was none to complimentary regarding how they had been treated in relation to their food allergy( they do not mention what particular allergy they suffer with) which concerned me as I will be on her with my OH in October.

Having seen a couple of recent posts stating that they had been treated well on the Brilliance it has put my mind at ease. This will be our first cruise on RCCL so I was hoping that there would be the same good experiences as on previous cruises with Celebrity, P & O and Fred Olsen who have all catered for me extremely well.

 

This is an excellent thread - thankyou :):)

 

Hi:)

Well as I mentioned in my previous posts we had an excellent experience on the Brilliance. My daughter was well and truly fussed over by the waiters, the head waiter and the chef. I heard there were over 25 other people on board requiring a gluten free diet. I did meet a couple of American ladies who were celiac and they had a positive experience also. Mind you they were cheating a bit eating Kellogs cereal. With regards to the Windjammer ask to speak to the head chef? of the Windjammer. He will walk you around and point out which items are gluten free. I even sent him an book that we have here which lists ingredients and whether they are gluten free to help him and his staff identify gf foods. I am not sure if the same guy is still there. His name was Paul and he is English. I would recommend eating in the Main Dining Room as much as possible as you get to select your meal for the next night and they adapt it to gf if they can. It is a much nicer eating experience in the MDR anyway but the waiters get to know you and your needs there. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

[Pompeyboy]

Hi:)

Well as I mentioned in my previous posts we had an excellent experience on the Brilliance. My daughter was well and truly fussed over by the waiters, the head waiter and the chef. I heard there were over 25 other people on board requiring a gluten free diet. I did meet a couple of American ladies who were celiac and they had a positive experience also. Mind you they were cheating a bit eating Kellogs cereal. With regards to the Windjammer ask to speak to the head chef? of the Windjammer. He will walk you around and point out which items are gluten free. I even sent him an book that we have here which lists ingredients and whether they are gluten free to help him and his staff identify gf foods. I am not sure if the same guy is still there. His name was Paul and he is English. I would recommend eating in the Main Dining Room as much as possible as you get to select your meal for the next night and they adapt it to gf if they can. It is a much nicer eating experience in the MDR anyway but the waiters get to know you and your needs there. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

 

Hi

 

Many thanks for the info

 

I do tend to stick to the MDR for eating in the evening as like you say the waiters get to know you and your likes/ dislikes. Roll on October!

[graceinmelbourne]

Hello again,

 

I am sorry if my posts upset or bothered you in any way.

 

"No worries, mate."

 

I just got back from the gluten-free bakery & market - blueberry pie, snickerdoodles, scones and chocolate brownies. When our local baker found himself needing to be GF, he came to a great solution and started a new business. I'm trying to be supportive, but it is packing on the pounds. Never had that problem in the '90s when everything tasted like cardboard.

 

Gluten free food takes so good now that is it often hard to tell if it is gluten free or not. Pastry is the only thing which is hard to do gluten free, it tends to be hard in texture. What is a snickerdoodle??

[graceinmelbourne]

Gelato in Italy sounded like heaven, so when we went in 2008 I had practiced all my phrases like "sono celiaca" and "sans glutin" and was ready for major indulgence.

 

In Naples I had great success at a little shop on the way to the museum. The woman went to the back, got a clean scoop, scooped from the front instead of the back and I was a happy camper - no problems.

 

Got to Florence, went through the same routine, but- big miserable problem. In Rome- 1st shop - a Mom and Pop- great. 2nd day, new shop and despite all their care- big problems. I decided to give up and regroup. I just can't take chances like that. The pain is not worth the pleasure for me.

 

When we went back in 2010 I knew from all my reading I wasn't alone in having problems with the gelato, but didn't have a clear idea why. But I did find out about Grom and knew that there was a company that would assure me of a safe experience. So for me, why bother risking it.

 

In Paris I found a great looking gelato chain shop where they understood GF. One of the workers had an aunt who was GF. They would only let me have sorbet, but couldn't give me any detail. Just that her aunt couldn't eat anything other than sorbet. Well, the sorbet was wonderful so no problem. The next day - of course we went back- the manager was there and explained to me that the ingredients were "supposed to be" gluten free, but they weren't always and they never knew what was "actually used." He said that if I had only minor problems, perhaps it would be worth a try, but they had lots of reports that there were problems. He suggested I stick with little shops where they made their own gelato on site and could tell me what they had used.

 

Now we are talking vanilla in all cases where I ate gelato.

 

I know better that to risk chocolate. (In Belgium I went to 9 chocolate makers asking if anyone had heard of making the chocolate without flour. Got 9 "nos". As one explained - "if it doesn't have flour, it isn't Belgium chocolate."

 

Dee

 

We were going to go to Grom in Florence but I forgot the address and we coudn't find it. We ended up going somewhere else that made their own. As you said if they make their own gelato it is usually okay, but if they buy it in from somewhere else that is when you can strike trouble.

 

I didn't realise that Belgian chocolate had flour in it. Do you mean the hand made type or the boxed varieties?? Is it for dusting the moulds? I am pretty sure that Guylian Belgian choc. is gluten free but the boxed variety might be different to the hand made choc that you would find in Belgium.

[graceinmelbourne]

Hi

 

Many thanks for the info

 

I do tend to stick to the MDR for eating in the evening as like you say the waiters get to know you and your likes/ dislikes. Roll on October!

 

 

One more thing - at lunch time on sea days they have a great salad bar in the main dining room. You can pick and choose your ingredients and they make up a big salad for you. Delicous and plenty of gluten free options.

[cruznut1111]

We were going to go to Grom in Florence but I forgot the address and we coudn't find it. We ended up going somewhere else that made their own. As you said if they make their own gelato it is usually okay, but if they buy it in from somewhere else that is when you can strike trouble.

===========

Oh my, I can certainly see how you came to that conclusion after going back and rereading what I wrote. Thanks for pointing it out. What I meant was - IF you can find a place that makes it on the premises and can assure you they are using good GF ingredients, and IF you and they can converse well enough, and IF they say they know enough about GF that you are comfy about it and IF they show by their actions that they really do.... then go for it!

All of the shops I went to were small, but my results really varied. Asking a shop to do a GF serving is time consuming, so we always buy a scoop no matter what. My DH ends up eating a lot more gelato than he intends this way. Except when we go to GROM we only order one serving because we never know if I'll be able to eat it. If we don't like what we see, it's his. If we do, he "changes his mind" and orders one as well.

My Gelato tip - stick with GROM to be very safe. The one in Florence is one street down from the front of the duomo on the right side on a little street jutting off from the bell tower. The alley is only about 4 businesses long and the line into GROM is about half of that.

==========

No, I have no interest in this company except for how impressed I was with their understanding and extra care.:D

[cruznut1111]

I didn't realise that Belgian chocolate had flour in it. Do you mean the hand made type or the boxed varieties?? Is it for dusting the moulds? I am pretty sure that Guylian Belgian choc. is gluten free but the boxed variety might be different to the hand made choc that you would find in Belgium.

 

We were at the Guylian store- on the street running parallel to the water where the Holiday Inn and Rocks market are- in Sydney back in 2009 when I tried to get chocolate and they alerted me to a problem and advised me not to eat it. Before that I thought only Godiva had the flour.

Here is what they say on their website-

Is there gluten or barley malt in Guylian chocolate?

We cannot guarantee that Guylian chocolates are gluten free. The following Guylian products contain traces of gluten:

Chocolate truffle seashells and extra dark seashells

Guylian's Temptations, Individually wrapped chocolate truffle seahorses

Guylian's Temptations, Individually wrapped milk chocolate truffle seahorses

Guylian's Temptations, Individually wrapped extra dark chocolate truffle seahorses

La Trufflina

Opus

Solitaire

No Sugar Added chocolate bars

 

==============

 

Oh, snickerdoodles are soft sugar cookies with cinnamon on top. A very old fashioned cookie, probably from Europe.

[graceinmelbourne]

We were at the Guylian store- on the street running parallel to the water where the Holiday Inn and Rocks market are- in Sydney back in 2009 when I tried to get chocolate and they alerted me to a problem and advised me not to eat it. Before that I thought only Godiva had the flour.

 

Here is what they say on their website-

 

Is there gluten or barley malt in Guylian chocolate?

We cannot guarantee that Guylian chocolates are gluten free. The following Guylian products contain traces of gluten:

Chocolate truffle seashells and extra dark seashells

Guylian's Temptations, Individually wrapped chocolate truffle seahorses

Guylian's Temptations, Individually wrapped milk chocolate truffle seahorses

Guylian's Temptations, Individually wrapped extra dark chocolate truffle seahorses

La Trufflina

Opus

Solitaire

No Sugar Added chocolate bars

 

==============

 

Oh, snickerdoodles are soft sugar cookies with cinnamon on top. A very old fashioned cookie, probably from Europe.

 

 

It's funny you should mention Guylain chocolate. We had a friend over for dinner and she brought us a box of Guylain chocolate. On the back it does say 'May contain traces of nuts and gluten'. As far as the ingredients go it is fine but it is whether they are using that statement to cover themselves or whether there is a genuine risk of cross contamination I don't know. Sometimes when there is a 'may contain' statement I call the company to find out why. Sometimes other gluten containing products are made on the same line so there may be some contamination but other times they just put it on there because they make gluten containing products in the same factory (not on the same line).

[cruznut1111]

ThermaCare heat wraps for the back can be wrapped around the belly to help ease the pain.

I used this trick on one of our recent cruises, but forgot about it until last week when I had to use it at home. On the precautions side (I do seem to love those) do be sure to wrap over a tee-shirt to keep from burning the skin.

========

I make sure I have enough wraps for every long flight (for the back- once I'm through security it goes on) and a few to spare in case I get a major gluten reaction.

 

[cruznut1111]

GAR-FAVA flour is wonderful for pasteries.

Gracie- I think you mentioned something about "less than stellar" gluten free pastries. See if you can find some different Gar-Fava flour mixes. Of course, even better is finding a baker that uses it. I had gone so long without any pastery, I had to ask my husband to check if it was as good as I thought..... 1/2 a pie later he decided it was pretty good.

[Twibbs]

 

Gluten free food takes so good now that is it often hard to tell if it is gluten free or not. Pastry is the only thing which is hard to do gluten free, it tends to be hard in texture. What is a snickerdoodle??

 

A snickerdoodle is a lovely cinnamon-y sugar cookie. They can be hard or soft, depending on who made them.

Edited August 15, 2011 by Twibbs

[sgrho1]

I've read almost all of the 4 pages in this thread but I haven't seen any mention of experiences on Disney. I'm traveling in November on the Dream with my son who needs to avoid dairy, glutens and nuts. Thus far, I'm a bit concerned about his options on Disney. We don't pay all this money for him not to be able to eat - that's half the fun of cruising (LOL).;)

 

Any feedback anyone has had on any of the Disney ships would be appreciated. I plan to tip well to ensure my son is treat well. Luckily even at 6 he is very vocal about not having things that will make him sick.

[Twibbs]

I've read almost all of the 4 pages in this thread but I haven't seen any mention of experiences on Disney. I'm traveling in November on the Dream with my son who needs to avoid dairy, glutens and nuts. Thus far, I'm a bit concerned about his options on Disney. We don't pay all this money for him not to be able to eat - that's half the fun of cruising (LOL).;)

 

Any feedback anyone has had on any of the Disney ships would be appreciated. I plan to tip well to ensure my son is treat well. Luckily even at 6 he is very vocal about not having things that will make him sick.

 

No personal experience, but lots of reviews online: http://www.google.com/search?q=disney+cruise+gluten-free&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[Drift Wood]

Wish I had found this thread when I was looking before I sailed (I think more people need to put Gluten Free in the titles of their posts and make them more descriptive/informative) but I am so glad it's here as I have been looking for the right forum to post my gluten free gripes. Hopefully the louder we speak up the more likely we are to see change. I don't see my gluten intolerance as a disability, illness or hassle and I don't see why other people should treat me with any disdain because of it.

 

We have just returned from 12 days in the Baltic on RCI Jewel. Whilst you can hop off the boat and find wonderful gluten free pastries and cakes in both specialised and regular bakeries in Sweden (we visted both Stockholm and Gothenburg), along with GF in most Macdonalds (if that's your sort of thing) the GF experience on board the Jewel was pretty dismal. By the end of the trip I felt very much humiliated by staff who were too busy or ignorant to be bothered to help me. In any case the 'normal' food on the Jewel varies from good to inedible.

 

I feel RCI, on this ship at least, are just not really trying. In fact cruise lines in general need to cotton on to the fact that there are are lots of coeliacs out there and mostly they travel with families or friends. If they do not cater for the coeliac in the group then the whole party will go elsewhere next time so mulitplied up that's quite a lot of disgruntled people. All it takes is a separate area to cater for speciality foods and special diets (not just GF) and healthy eating, with careful labelling, separation to avoid cross contamination and an appointed catering crew member with dietary knowledge to make contact with those on board with special requirements to ensure they get a VARIETY of safe foods. Surely they are missing a trick here - they could make healthy eating a selling point. We don't all want beans, chips and burgers coeliac or not. Have just read about the processed eggs - glad i did not have any of those.

 

I cruised 10 years ago on the old Airtours Sunbird and they did much better than this. As knowledge of Coeliac disease amongst the general public is much better now than it was then I really assumed that my experience would be even better this time. There is no excuse in this day and age for RCI's performance here.

 

I will post a full run down of my experience here when I have calmed down.

 

:mad:

 

Regards

 

Drift Wood

 

PS. The ship and the cruise by the way were fantastic (apart from the Northern European weather).

[bakcd]

Drift Wood, I'm looking forward to reading your review. As far as things changing, I'm not sure they will since people do not speak up. They are satisfied to be served the same quality bread that was available 10 years ago. They do not mind not being included in tea, dessert extravaganzas, etc but prefer to simply accept the few offerings sent our way.

[graceinmelbourne]

Wish I had found this thread when I was looking before I sailed (I think more people need to put Gluten Free in the titles of their posts and make them more descriptive/informative) but I am so glad it's here as I have been looking for the right forum to post my gluten free gripes. Hopefully the louder we speak up the more likely we are to see change. I don't see my gluten intolerance as a disability, illness or hassle and I don't see why other people should treat me with any disdain because of it.

 

We have just returned from 12 days in the Baltic on RCI Jewel. Whilst you can hop off the boat and find wonderful gluten free pastries and cakes in both specialised and regular bakeries in Sweden (we visted both Stockholm and Gothenburg), along with GF in most Macdonalds (if that's your sort of thing) the GF experience on board the Jewel was pretty dismal. By the end of the trip I felt very much humiliated by staff who were too busy or ignorant to be bothered to help me. In any case the 'normal' food on the Jewel varies from good to inedible.

 

I feel RCI, on this ship at least, are just not really trying. In fact cruise lines in general need to cotton on to the fact that there are are lots of coeliacs out there and mostly they travel with families or friends. If they do not cater for the coeliac in the group then the whole party will go elsewhere next time so mulitplied up that's quite a lot of disgruntled people. All it takes is a separate area to cater for speciality foods and special diets (not just GF) and healthy eating, with careful labelling, separation to avoid cross contamination and an appointed catering crew member with dietary knowledge to make contact with those on board with special requirements to ensure they get a VARIETY of safe foods. Surely they are missing a trick here - they could make healthy eating a selling point. We don't all want beans, chips and burgers coeliac or not. Have just read about the processed eggs - glad i did not have any of those.

 

I cruised 10 years ago on the old Airtours Sunbird and they did much better than this. As knowledge of Coeliac disease amongst the general public is much better now than it was then I really assumed that my experience would be even better this time. There is no excuse in this day and age for RCI's performance here.

 

I will post a full run down of my experience here when I have calmed down.

 

:mad:

 

Regards

 

Drift Wood

 

PS. The ship and the cruise by the way were fantastic (apart from the Northern European weather).

 

 

Hi Drift Wood,

 

What a shame that you didn't have a good gluten free experience aboard your cruise ship. It seems to that as far as RCI goes that even though they do say that they can cater for those on a gluten free diet that the experience can differ from ship to ship. Our experience aboard RCI Brilliance of the Seas was great. They went out of the way to ensure our daughter had plenty of food options. I think it might depend though on the head chef and the wait staff as to how it is handled. Our waiter was knowledgeable about a GF diet and the head chef came to our table on the first night to talk to us about it. The head waitress also was very knowledgeable and told me there were at least 25 other coeliacs on that particular cruilse. Obviously they do get many passengers with food allergies and intolerances so RCI need to educate their staff across all ships. As you said it would be very helpful if in the Windjammer they labelled all the foods with signs indicating if they are gluten free, dairy free, nut free etc. We avoided the Windjammer and stuck to the MDR most of the time which was a much more pleasant experience anyway.

 

I read many positive reports about RCI and how they handle the gluten free diet before we went and we were happy with our experience with RCI. Unfortunately for you the ship you were on was not up to the standard that would be expected from RCI. Perhaps you should send them an email letting them know of your dissatisfaction.