Room Service - Gluten Free

[CruiseShelly]

Will be on Gem 12/25/10. Any one have any experience ordering off the Room Service Menu and specifying "Gluten Free", as in requesting Gluten Free toast on the breakfast menu and actually getting Gluten Free? I've never tried getting gluten free from NCL's room service.

[garycarla]

To start with, room service is very limited menu. I would not get your hopes up, or depend on it. The dining rooms will take care of you though.

[VonChap]

Will be on Gem 12/25/10. Any one have any experience ordering off the Room Service Menu and specifying "Gluten Free", as in requesting Gluten Free toast on the breakfast menu and actually getting Gluten Free? I've never tried getting gluten free from NCL's room service.

 

Hi CruiseShelly,

 

I am also GF. Yes, I have ordered from the Room Service Menu but it is very limited for us GF people. My suggestion would be to use the door hanger menu for breakfast and write on it that you want GF toast. They need the extra time to find the bread, make your order in the separate area of the kitchen, etc. I have found that if I just call an order, the order takes a very long time if it includes GF products. All the GF products are stored in a special area of the galley.

 

I have had good luck ordering salads without gluten, eggs, hanburgers without buns, etc from the Room Service Menu.

 

Keep in mind that the brand of fries and yogurt that NCL uses are NOT GF. (unless they have changed the brand of yogurt to something that uses corn starch recently) Both are on the room service menu but we can not have them. :(

 

If you speak with the Maitre 'D of the MDR, they can assist with a room service order. You need to place the order early the night before for a breakfast order.

 

I would not plan to order a room service order to receive an early breakfast before an excursion. Everything GF takes extra time. For those mornings, I bring some zip lock bags and visit the buffet the night before. I get cheese, fruit, nuts, etc and store them in the fridge in our cabin for an early morning snack on the ship.

 

Have you placed an order for the GF specialty foods that NCL will stock for you? Muffins, waffles etc? Contact the Special Needs Deapartment and they will help you place an order. (For US home ports, you need to place the order about 3 weeks prior to the cruise and for a European cruise, about 2 months. They have an extensive list of GF fun food) All ships have GF pasta and bread.

 

Have a great GF cruise!

 

-Kim

[mjkacmom]

Hi CruiseShelly,

 

Keep in mind that the brand of fries and yogurt that NCL uses are NOT GF. (unless they have changed the brand of yogurt to something that uses corn starch recently) Both are on the room service menu but we can not have them. :(

 

Are the fries around the rest of the ship GF? My dd has celiac, and fries tend to be a staple for her when we eat out! I've already emailed the back the GF form.

[CruiseShelly]

Kim / VonChap -- Thanks! Good intel. I thought I had read somewhere that the Fries WERE GF, but I will recheck that upon boarding. I sent the GF request back ages ago, so hopefully they will have some supplies.

 

I do very well on Holland America so I am hoping that NCL will be accomodating as well. (we got to know the officer in charge of checking all the Room Service orders before they went out for breakfast on the Ryndam this summer and I could get anything I wanted GF and feel confident about it!!)

 

I know I'll be fine in the dining rooms, and can always find something at the buffet to eat even if I have to pass up what I'd really like to have. I will speak the head person upon boarding and arrange to eat at the same time each night with same table/waiter to make it easier on them and us. Kinda takes away from "Freestyle" but I am not a "Freestyle" kinda girl anyway!

 

I am SOOOOO looking forward to Christmas luncheon in the main dining room, Christmas dinner in the main dining room....you get the drift.

 

Anyone else's GF experience is welcome!!!!

[ks&ks]

We're leaving Sat. on our first gf NCL cruise. Thanks for the information about room service etc. We're very excited, but as you know with food allergies, we can always be a little bit nervous! I'll post a gf review when we get home. Anything gf cruisers can share with us would be so helpful for us!! This is our first time gf on NCL.

 

Thanks!

[VonChap]

Are the fries around the rest of the ship GF? My dd has celiac, and fries tend to be a staple for her when we eat out! I've already emailed the back the GF form.

 

As of April of this year, the fries on NCL ships were NOT GF. They will not serve them to you in the MDR when you ask and they will jump to get them away from you if they see you with them in the buffet.

 

I would LOVE to have some fries. So, if you hear that thare are GF, please post and let us know how you heard.

 

(they used to serve them to me in Cagneys. The last time we dined in Cagneys, I thought that the Maitre D was going to have a heart attack when he saw them on the way to our table. They changed the brand and said that I could no longer have them. :()

[VonChap]

We're leaving Sat. on our first gf NCL cruise. Thanks for the information about room service etc. We're very excited, but as you know with food allergies, we can always be a little bit nervous! I'll post a gf review when we get home. Anything gf cruisers can share with us would be so helpful for us!! This is our first time gf on NCL.

 

Thanks!

 

I take emergency food for shore excursions. You can take food off the ship as long as it is pre-packaged food. I take Larabars, GF crackers, etc. That emergency food has saved me several times in foreign countries where it was hard to find something GF during a tour.

 

I also take a box of GF crackers and get some cheese, shrimp, veggies, etc at the buffet for "happy hour" on our balcony.

 

Taking a stash of GF food in my luggage has made it easy to fit into any social sitaution on the ship or in ports.

 

.....I have read a few times on CC that you can make a special request to get some non-breaded hot wings at the Blue Lagoon. They do need to know in advance though. I am going to test that out in October. :)

 

I also post on our Roll Call to see if anyone else in our group is also GF. I have shared pizzas, birthday cakes, etc with other GF cruisers for some great meals. I think that NCL can pull of just about anything with some notice.

[VonChap]

Kim / VonChap -- Thanks! Good intel. I thought I had read somewhere that the Fries WERE GF, but I will recheck that upon boarding. I sent the GF request back ages ago, so hopefully they will have some supplies.

 

I do very well on Holland America so I am hoping that NCL will be accomodating as well. (we got to know the officer in charge of checking all the Room Service orders before they went out for breakfast on the Ryndam this summer and I could get anything I wanted GF and feel confident about it!!)

 

I know I'll be fine in the dining rooms, and can always find something at the buffet to eat even if I have to pass up what I'd really like to have. I will speak the head person upon boarding and arrange to eat at the same time each night with same table/waiter to make it easier on them and us. Kinda takes away from "Freestyle" but I am not a "Freestyle" kinda girl anyway!

 

I am SOOOOO looking forward to Christmas luncheon in the main dining room, Christmas dinner in the main dining room....you get the drift.

 

Anyone else's GF experience is welcome!!!!

 

You can eat in any of the NCL specialty restaurants too. Just tell the MDR Maitre 'D where you want to eat and they will get the menu and review it with you the night before your reservation. I have eaten in ALL the specialty restaurants and have never had a problem.

[CruiseShelly]

So much good information! I can hardly wait. I will readjust my "fries" expectations and look for other good things! Yes, anyone going on Gem soon that will be eating GF, please post back here when you return. Many thanks.

[ks&ks]

I take emergency food for shore excursions. You can take food off the ship as long as it is pre-packaged food. I take Larabars, GF crackers, etc. That emergency food has saved me several times in foreign countries where it was hard to find something GF during a tour.

 

I also take a box of GF crackers and get some cheese, shrimp, veggies, etc at the buffet for "happy hour" on our balcony.

 

Taking a stash of GF food in my luggage has made it easy to fit into any social sitaution on the ship or in ports.

 

.....I have read a few times on CC that you can make a special request to get some non-breaded hot wings at the Blue Lagoon. They do need to know in advance though. I am going to test that out in October. :)

 

I also post on our Roll Call to see if anyone else in our group is also GF. I have shared pizzas, birthday cakes, etc with other GF cruisers for some great meals. I think that NCL can pull of just about anything with some notice.

 

Thanks for the info. and great ideas. I would love to have a gf happy hour on our balcony! We've got a food suitcase that we started filling a few days ago with some snacks etc. I'm definitely going to get a couple of boxes of crackers! Do you happen to know if the frozen drinks like pina coladas served on the pool deck are gf?

[VonChap]

Thanks for the info. and great ideas. I would love to have a gf happy hour on our balcony! We've got a food suitcase that we started filling a few days ago with some snacks etc. I'm definitely going to get a couple of boxes of crackers! Do you happen to know if the frozen drinks like pina coladas served on the pool deck are gf?

 

I have been drinking margaritas and mojitos with no problems. Either or both the mud slide or the pina colada mix is not GF. I made the mistake of going on the Pub Crawl and not telling anyone that I was GF. I found out too late that I could not have one of those drinks. I cant remember which one it was though...so I would ask. (DH thinks it was the mud slide mix)

 

We ordered the Bar Set-Up for our October cruise. I am taking with me drink mixers from Baha Bobs. I have GF mojito and pina colada mix. They are also sugar free, but we use them at home all the time and love them.

 

Funny story: We were on the NCL Majesty (no longer in the NCL fleet) and a man sitting at a table near us in the MDR became livid and threw a huge fit. He was mad because the head chef kept coming to our table bringing plates full of food that was not on the menu. They were testing some GF products and recipes and were using me to taste test it all. The man was really mad because he thought I was getting too much attention from the chefs. I gained almost 10 pounds in one week from all the taste testing! (the angry man was in the middle of eating a plate of pasta, bread and drinking a beer.)

 

Have a great cruise,

 

Kim

[ks&ks]

I have been drinking margaritas and mojitos with no problems. Either or both the mud slide or the pina colada mix is not GF. I made the mistake of going on the Pub Crawl and not telling anyone that I was GF. I found out too late that I could not have one of those drinks. I cant remember which one it was though...so I would ask. (DH thinks it was the mud slide mix)

 

We ordered the Bar Set-Up for our October cruise. I am taking with me drink mixers from Baha Bobs. I have GF mojito and pina colada mix. They are also sugar free, but we use them at home all the time and love them.

 

Funny story: We were on the NCL Majesty (no longer in the NCL fleet) and a man sitting at a table near us in the MDR became livid and threw a huge fit. He was mad because the head chef kept coming to our table bringing plates full of food that was not on the menu. They were testing some GF products and recipes and were using me to taste test it all. The man was really mad because he thought I was getting too much attention from the chefs. I gained almost 10 pounds in one week from all the taste testing! (the angry man was in the middle of eating a plate of pasta, bread and drinking a beer.)

 

Have a great cruise,

 

Kim

 

Oh my gosh!! That is hilarious, I know you were shedding a tear! :D How cool is that to be a gf taste tester. I friend of mine does gluten free on Carnival and she informed me on Saturday that she thought I would be disappointed in the food. Hum...she's never been on NCL ever...it was very funny. I'm just looking for food that won't make me and DD sick! ;) I'm so glad to hear that other people have had great success with eating gf. We like to have fun too!

 

We've cruised on RCCL several times and they use Island Oasis mixes. I called the company the other day and they said they were gluten free. I haven't been able to find out if NCL uses Island Oasis mixes are not. I do like mojitos so that's great news! I'll look into some of the other dry mixes. We've order one bottle with the bar setup too. I saw the pub crawl and martini tasting on the dailies which look super fun but I was worried about the drink selections as well so we may skip them.

 

Thanks for information and a good laugh!

[xxoocruiser]

As of April of this year, the fries on NCL ships were NOT GF. They will not serve them to you in the MDR when you ask and they will jump to get them away from you if they see you with them in the buffet.

 

I would LOVE to have some fries. So, if you hear that thare are GF, please post and let us know how you heard.

 

(they used to serve them to me in Cagneys. The last time we dined in Cagneys, I thought that the Maitre D was going to have a heart attack when he saw them on the way to our table. They changed the brand and said that I could no longer have them. :()

 

Even if the brand of Fries is GF, you always have to be concerned about cross contamination. The deep fryers are also used to cook breaded items.

[cruisin0504]

Does NCL have Redbridge beer yet?

[Northerntraveller10]

Hi there,

 

My wife has celiacs and is on a strick GF diet, and found NCL has the best food for this, but Carnival is getting better too.

 

One biggy is let the line know ahead of time and extra items that are more specialty one are brought on board and once on board, meet with the matre'd. You can eat in the main dinning room for breakfast and lunch that is good and totally GF.

 

Some items on the room service menu is ok for GF diets, but very limited.

 

All food on NCL is made to order I was told and so can adjust most items for you in any restaurant on the ship. She has not been glutened yet in 6 cruises. The buffet is very tricky though.

 

You will find NCL is the best for GF diets.

[VonChap]

Does NCL have Redbridge beer yet?

 

Only if you pre-purchase it for yourself in the amount of a whole case. :( (You can purchase it through the ship's coordinator)

 

Oh, how I would love to have some Red Bridge on the cruise--but I can not drink a whole case of it. Some GF people are sending notes to NCL about the Red Bridge, myself included.

 

Kim

[VonChap]

Hi there,

 

My wife has celiacs and is on a strick GF diet, and found NCL has the best food for this, but Carnival is getting better too.

 

You will find NCL is the best for GF diets.

 

I agree! It has been years since I sailed on Carnival but I remember that I was always hungry. I have sailed on RCI, as recently as April 2010, and they did an excellent job of telling me what I could eat on the menu, but you could not ask them to modify items on the menu to make them GF. NCL will actually use the supplies that you pre-order to make you special items. For example, I have been ordering eggs benedict in the MDR for breakfast. (order the night before from the Maitre D and make sure that you get the English muffins on the pre-order food list)

 

NCL also does a great job with GF pizza and I usually order it if we go to the Italian specialty restaurant (order the pizza crusts in advance from the list)

 

I love the waffles with bananna sauce that they can make you in the MDR (pre-order the waffles from the food list)

 

The key is to let the Maitre 'D know the night before what you want to eat the next day. Even if you dont plan to eat in the MDR for dinner, stop by and discuss the next days food plan.

 

-Kim

[VonChap]

Even if the brand of Fries is GF, you always have to be concerned about cross contamination. The deep fryers are also used to cook breaded items.

 

So true. There is only one restaurant in our area that uses GF fries and has a dedicated fryer. (5 Guys Burgers) So many do not realize that chain restaurants use frozen fries that are dusted in flour. The flour makes the fries crispy and it keeps them from sticking together in the bag when frozen. They also use the fryer for other items during the day.

 

I have met so many people in our GF support group who can not figure out why they still dont feel well or cant figure out how they were "glutened" during the day. The culprit is usually fries. And I LOVE fries!

[ks&ks]

Only if you pre-purchase it for yourself in the amount of a whole case. :( (You can purchase it through the ship's coordinator)

 

Oh, how I would love to have some Red Bridge on the cruise--but I can not drink a whole case of it. Some GF people are sending notes to NCL about the Red Bridge, myself included.

 

Kim

 

We checked for our upcoming Epic cruise as well. We decided not to purchase a case either. Thanks for the recommendation about sending a note. I think offering this option would be a huge selling point for gluten free cruisers!:D

[ks&ks]

Sorry double post.

[ks&ks]

I agree! It has been years since I sailed on Carnival but I remember that I was always hungry. I have sailed on RCI, as recently as April 2010, and they did an excellent job of telling me what I could eat on the menu, but you could not ask them to modify items on the menu to make them GF. NCL will actually use the supplies that you pre-order to make you special items. For example, I have been ordering eggs benedict in the MDR for breakfast. (order the night before from the Maitre D and make sure that you get the English muffins on the pre-order food list)

 

NCL also does a great job with GF pizza and I usually order it if we go to the Italian specialty restaurant (order the pizza crusts in advance from the list)

 

I love the waffles with bananna sauce that they can make you in the MDR (pre-order the waffles from the food list)

 

The key is to let the Maitre 'D know the night before what you want to eat the next day. Even if you dont plan to eat in the MDR for dinner, stop by and discuss the next days food plan.

 

-Kim

 

Oh my, gf Eggs Benedict!! I wish there was a jump up and down smile. This was one of my favorite foods for breakfast on the ship before going gluten free...this would be gf heaven!

 

We've had good gf experiences on RCL as well and would consider them again in the future. Probably the main reason we've chosen to try NCL after going gf, is because of the wiliness to accommodate our diets. The gf reviews we've read for NCL were great! We've never sailed on Carnival and when we read the gf reviews they were mixed. Even my friend who made the comment about food on the ships, has had mixed results on Carnival with her last few cruises. We're so excited to try NCL gf, it's been 14 years since my last NCL cruise (not gf)!!

 

Our DD (8) will be cruising with us as well. Does anyone have experience with the kids club and Celiac Disease? We noticed on the dailies they have a birthday party and cupcake eating contest. We thought we would catch a show together that evening not risk cross-contamination etc.

 

We've pre-ordered our food in advance. When we order the food for the next day, do we just order dinner or breakfast and lunch as well?

 

Thanks for all the information. You all are the best! We're looking forward to wonderful gf vacation.

 

btw...We love Five Guys Fries! They're a great treat.

[Sauer-kraut]

Just wanted to point out that if you 'advertise' on your roll call you might get people to share a case of the GF beer. Many people just lurk and read the roll calls but don't want to get involved. (At least they do on ours) so maybe putting out there that you'd be interested in purchasing a case and would anyone like to get in and split the costs etc :)

[VonChap]

Oh my, gf Eggs Benedict!! I wish there was a jump up and down smile. This was one of my favorite foods for breakfast on the ship before going gluten free...this would be gf heaven!

 

We've had good gf experiences on RCL as well and would consider them again in the future. Probably the main reason we've chosen to try NCL after going gf, is because of the wiliness to accommodate our diets. The gf reviews we've read for NCL were great! We've never sailed on Carnival and when we read the gf reviews they were mixed. Even my friend who made the comment about food on the ships, has had mixed results on Carnival with her last few cruises. We're so excited to try NCL gf, it's been 14 years since my last NCL cruise (not gf)!!

 

Our DD (8) will be cruising with us as well. Does anyone have experience with the kids club and Celiac Disease? We noticed on the dailies they have a birthday party and cupcake eating contest. We thought we would catch a show together that evening not risk cross-contamination etc.

 

We've pre-ordered our food in advance. When we order the food for the next day, do we just order dinner or breakfast and lunch as well?

 

Thanks for all the information. You all are the best! We're looking forward to wonderful gf vacation.

 

btw...We love Five Guys Fries! They're a great treat.

 

I too would skip the cupcake night at the kid's club. That sounds like crumbs will be flying everywhere.

 

You can order all three meals the night before. Just tell the Maitre 'D where you will be eating for each meal. They log everything by your cabin number.

 

I would also take with you the list of foods that you ordered. I always take a copy of the fax or email. At first, they may have a hard time finding your box of food. If you show them a list, they will find it!

 

Please make notes or takes photos of your favorite GF foods on NCL. We read so many reviews on what gluten-people eat, I would love to read about what other GF people eat on their vacations.

 

Take care,

 

Kim

[ks&ks]

I too would skip the cupcake night at the kid's club. That sounds like crumbs will be flying everywhere.

 

You can order all three meals the night before. Just tell the Maitre 'D where you will be eating for each meal. They log everything by your cabin number.

 

I would also take with you the list of foods that you ordered. I always take a copy of the fax or email. At first, they may have a hard time finding your box of food. If you show them a list, they will find it!

 

Please make notes or takes photos of your favorite GF foods on NCL. We read so many reviews on what gluten-people eat, I would love to read about what other GF people eat on their vacations.

 

Take care,

 

Kim

 

Thanks Kim!!

We're super excited and getting ready to leave now!:) I'll be sure to post when I get back. That's a wonderful idea....