Low Sodium and NCL

[lmcgrail]

Prior to embarking on the NCL Spirit Transatlantic (4/15/12), I was determined to stay on my low sodium. For over a year, I had been strict with sodium and consuming less than 2000 mg per day. I called the Access Desk ((866) 584-9756) a couple of months before sailing. I called NCL directly even though I had used a discount online travel agency as the travel agent gave me different (and ultimately incorrect) information from what I had researched online. Per NCL, I was to contact the group services coordinator once I got onboard.

 

I had lunch in the Windows dining room on the first day and told the waiter that I was on a special diet. From then on, the Assistant maitre d’ (Dhuri) would bring me the menu for the next night, and I would order off of the menu. At lunch the first day, I ordered dinner for that evening. I ordered the Shrimp Scampi over risotto for that evening. At dinner, I would just inform the waiter that I was on a special diet and what my room number was. Another diner at my table also ordered the Shrimp Scampi and allowed me to taste his. I’ll admit as a test to see if my dish was really prepared low sodium. The regular Shrimp Scampi was so salty and to me inedible after having eaten low sodium for over a year. The last picture below is a picture of the Shrimp Scampi.

 

Breakfast was pretty easy to eat low sodium and I could get eggs or an omelet prepared fresh, fresh fruit, and toast. I had lunch in Windows dining room and would request my meals to be prepared without any salt being added.

 

I had signed up for the Chef’s Table without any expectations that NCL would prepare those dishes special for me. The Chef’s Table was scheduled for Friday night and on Thursday I met the Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef (Mate) at the Food & Beverage Fair. The second picture below is a picture of Mate and myself. I took a few minutes to tell them how much I appreciated the effort that their staff had made in preparing my low sodium dishes and how delicious the food had been. Mate told me that he was responsible for all of the special diets and just let him know if I wanted anything. Mate asked me if I had ordered any of the soups; at that time I hadn’t because I didn’t know that they made their own broth and he could reserve me some of the soup prior to it being seasoned. I also mentioned to Mate how much I enjoyed the vegetables that came with me meals; for me they cooked perfectly as I like my vegetables barely steamed and still very crunchy. From then on, I got extra vegetables on every plate! I did mention that I had signed up for the Chef’s Table but told them I understood if it was not possible to have my dishes prepared as low sodium.

 

Well, the next night at the Chef’s table NCL exceeded all of my expectations by a mile. As the waiter set my first course down on the table, he whispered to me “no salt”. Every course was prepared as either low sodium or no salt added even the asparagus soup. I tasted another diner’s soup and it was very salty. When he tasted mine, he said it was sweet and he liked it better. Another diner, with the veal course, requested me sauce which was done as low sodium. The executive chef went above and beyond to make my Chef’s table dinner special for me.

 

I ate most nights in the Windows dining room but did eat one night at Le Bistro. The evening before Dhuri, the ass’t maitre d, brought me the menu for Le Bistro so I could order ahead and made sure that my order was communicated to Le Bistro. The first picture below is a picture of Dhuri and myself. At the specialty restaurant, I told the waiter that I was on a special diet and had pre-ordered along with my room number. From there everything went smoothly and the food was fantastic.

 

One evening in Windows, there was some confusion with the staff not being able to find my pre-order. Dhuri was called as he was not in the dining room at that time; he immediately came and had the issue resolved in no time.

 

Almost all of the pasta dishes are served with a cheese sauce. I love pasta and wanted to order the ravioli for dinner. Mate paired my ravioli with the best marinara sauce. I could have licked my plate clean. From then on, whenever I ordered pasta, it came with Mate’s marinara sauce. At dinner the last night, Mate printed out his marinara sauce recipe for me and we talked about how he makes the sauce low sodium. I haven’t tried it yet at home but plan on it soon.

 

Overall thoughts on NCL and the low sodium:

1) Call the access desk ahead of time

2) Let the wait staff know when you get onboard

3) Pre-order meals for dining rooms and specialty restaurants

4) Ask for what you want, NCL was extremely accommodating and went above and beyond to get me food that I liked

5) Be flexible, there were a couple of items that I wanted that were just impossible for them to serve as low sodium. For example, I ordered the Prime Rib but was served the New York Strip. I went with flow as the Prime Rib had already been seasoned with salt.

 

You can be on a special diet and still have a great cruise!

[Zeno]

This is good news for us - since on our upcoming cruise we want to be as low-sodium as possible.

[che5904]

Thank you for this. Time and again a new cruiser will be concerned over special diet requirements and wonder if NCL is successful in meeting those needs. It is nice to see that the system does work and they can meet special diet needs.

[mking8288]

With age comes wisdom and awareness of exercising more discretion with our daily carbo, sugar & sodium intake - sailing NCL or otherwise, LOL.

 

Generally, we do not need to follow a low sodium diet but even at home & while dining out, we tend to watch our intake accordingly - and it kept our family doctors happy when our lab results come back - the MDR's Cooking Light Menu is usually a good starting point for us.

 

The soup selection, however, is where we usually have the most "trouble" with - regardless of what it is - perpetually high in sodium content & taste, and, I've commented on it on each & every guest surveys that we've filled out as our feedback. The exception being the cold soup choices offered as they tend to be lower in sodium.

 

As OP noted, I concur that there are certain dishes naturally high in sodium & thus best to avoid it completely - but with calories listed for the daily "Cooking Light" and being mindful of their soup offering, we've managed rather nicely so far.

 

We're sailing on a different line earlier this month, and their soup choices as offered in the MDR were indeed, lower in sodium ... so they could do it, we sure look forward to NCL making the transition. (If it's too blend, one can easy sprinkle salt over it - but if its salty to begin with, it's ruined)

[palmyrafan]

Prior to embarking on the NCL Spirit Transatlantic (4/15/12), I was determined to stay on my low sodium. For over a year, I had been strict with sodium and consuming less than 2000 mg per day. I called the Access Desk ((866) 584-9756) a couple of months before sailing. I called NCL directly even though I had used a discount online travel agency as the travel agent gave me different (and ultimately incorrect) information from what I had researched online. Per NCL, I was to contact the group services coordinator once I got onboard.

 

I had lunch in the Windows dining room on the first day and told the waiter that I was on a special diet. From then on, the Assistant maitre d’ (Dhuri) would bring me the menu for the next night, and I would order off of the menu. At lunch the first day, I ordered dinner for that evening. I ordered the Shrimp Scampi over risotto for that evening. At dinner, I would just inform the waiter that I was on a special diet and what my room number was. Another diner at my table also ordered the Shrimp Scampi and allowed me to taste his. I’ll admit as a test to see if my dish was really prepared low sodium. The regular Shrimp Scampi was so salty and to me inedible after having eaten low sodium for over a year. The last picture below is a picture of the Shrimp Scampi.

 

Breakfast was pretty easy to eat low sodium and I could get eggs or an omelet prepared fresh, fresh fruit, and toast. I had lunch in Windows dining room and would request my meals to be prepared without any salt being added.

 

I had signed up for the Chef’s Table without any expectations that NCL would prepare those dishes special for me. The Chef’s Table was scheduled for Friday night and on Thursday I met the Executive Chef and Executive Sous Chef (Mate) at the Food & Beverage Fair. The second picture below is a picture of Mate and myself. I took a few minutes to tell them how much I appreciated the effort that their staff had made in preparing my low sodium dishes and how delicious the food had been. Mate told me that he was responsible for all of the special diets and just let him know if I wanted anything. Mate asked me if I had ordered any of the soups; at that time I hadn’t because I didn’t know that they made their own broth and he could reserve me some of the soup prior to it being seasoned. I also mentioned to Mate how much I enjoyed the vegetables that came with me meals; for me they cooked perfectly as I like my vegetables barely steamed and still very crunchy. From then on, I got extra vegetables on every plate! I did mention that I had signed up for the Chef’s Table but told them I understood if it was not possible to have my dishes prepared as low sodium.

 

Well, the next night at the Chef’s table NCL exceeded all of my expectations by a mile. As the waiter set my first course down on the table, he whispered to me “no salt”. Every course was prepared as either low sodium or no salt added even the asparagus soup. I tasted another diner’s soup and it was very salty. When he tasted mine, he said it was sweet and he liked it better. Another diner, with the veal course, requested me sauce which was done as low sodium. The executive chef went above and beyond to make my Chef’s table dinner special for me.

 

I ate most nights in the Windows dining room but did eat one night at Le Bistro. The evening before Dhuri, the ass’t maitre d, brought me the menu for Le Bistro so I could order ahead and made sure that my order was communicated to Le Bistro. The first picture below is a picture of Dhuri and myself. At the specialty restaurant, I told the waiter that I was on a special diet and had pre-ordered along with my room number. From there everything went smoothly and the food was fantastic.

 

One evening in Windows, there was some confusion with the staff not being able to find my pre-order. Dhuri was called as he was not in the dining room at that time; he immediately came and had the issue resolved in no time.

 

Almost all of the pasta dishes are served with a cheese sauce. I love pasta and wanted to order the ravioli for dinner. Mate paired my ravioli with the best marinara sauce. I could have licked my plate clean. From then on, whenever I ordered pasta, it came with Mate’s marinara sauce. At dinner the last night, Mate printed out his marinara sauce recipe for me and we talked about how he makes the sauce low sodium. I haven’t tried it yet at home but plan on it soon.

 

Overall thoughts on NCL and the low sodium:

1) Call the access desk ahead of time

2) Let the wait staff know when you get onboard

3) Pre-order meals for dining rooms and specialty restaurants

4) Ask for what you want, NCL was extremely accommodating and went above and beyond to get me food that I liked

5) Be flexible, there were a couple of items that I wanted that were just impossible for them to serve as low sodium. For example, I ordered the Prime Rib but was served the New York Strip. I went with flow as the Prime Rib had already been seasoned with salt.

 

You can be on a special diet and still have a great cruise!

 

Thank you so much for posting this information for us. I am recently new to a Gluten-Free diet, but have heard others say that the shiip went above and beyond with their Gluten Free or Low Sodium Diets. It's nice to know that NCL values their cruisers enough to want to make their experience the best it can be.

[teeny25]

Always good to hear postitive stories about special diets being accommondated!

 

I've been vegetarian for 12 years and was satisfied with options on the menus I have seen. I was suprised when we booked that our cruise consultant suggested I still let the main dining room know to get even more options-what service!

 

Your advice sounds good for others with special request.