Kids Club vs Food Allergies

[Caronrick]

Looking for the past cruisers experience. I expect my son will want to spend a lot of time with his friends in the kids club. How are the staff on the Breeze with dealing with kids with food allergies come meal time if he wants to participate in their meal time events or if he wants to spend the whole day in there?

[SadieN]

A lot is going to depend on what type of allergy your child has and what age group s/he is in. If in doubt ask the counselors. They will know what is to be served.

 

There will be an Allergy Form to fill out. Surprisingly enough 'Peanuts' and 'Treenuts' have to be written in. We have had no problem when sailing with kids who have had allergies to nuts, treenuts, eggwhites, chocolate and shellfish.

 

The meals I have seen and my kids have participated in have included-- pizza, chicken tenders & fries (the peas and carrots have been discontinued as no one seemed to touched those), smoothies, soda, chips pretzels, etc. Never saw a nut or even PBJ sandwiches. YMMV.

[Sammycupcaker]

My daughter is allergic to both peanuts and tree nuts. The counselors were really good about making sure she wouldn't eat anything she shouldn't. They asked about M&M's since they are manufacured in a plant that uses peanuts..

[lemonysnicker]

We sailed the Glory and had no issues with food allergies. DS (6) was in CC for maybe three hours total during the entire cruise.

 

Your mileage may vary, but -

 

- Much of it depends on the allergy. Tree nuts and peanuts, no problem. Those are the common ones. The hostess/MD didn't bat an eye when I told her about my tree nut allergy, but DS has a dairy allergy (it's a bit more specific than that, but for the sake of argument, "dairy" sums it up - it's actually an allergy to beta lacta-globulin, a protein found in dairy) which seemed to cause a bit more difficulty.

- CC wanted me to pick DS up and keep him with me for their scheduled meal time, because the CC meal was something he could not have due to allergens/cross-contamination.

- MDR was great - hostess brought me the next day's dinner menu every night, to choose what DS would eat the next day. He was a little confused, but happy when he received his dinner before anyone else. They brought him a special dessert and he commented that he really liked it - so they made him special sorbet every night for the rest of the cruise, and even made him an allergen-free Warm Chocolate Melting Cake on the last night.

 

I know that this wasn't your original question, OP, but we did have some issues in the MDR for brunch (and you might have this issue if you use ATD and get a different waitstaff every night). I was told by one waiter that, because DS and I didn't choose his breakfast/brunch ahead of time, I was assuming full responsibility for him. Um... okay, I didn't actually know that I could get the brunch menu ahead of time, but there you go. Not sure if that was a faux pas or not - we ended up hitting the omelette station most mornings and had the wonderful cook make dairy-free scrambled eggs for DS.

 

I'd say that your ease/difficulty would depend mostly on what the allergy is.

 

They don't give cell phones out for children over 5, but if the allergy was a big risk and you felt safer, you could probably get one. I had DS's medication with me, but they assured me that he wouldn't be eating anything while in CC (although he came out one day with a tube of "sand art" candy) and I wasn't concerned.

 

Another thing I'd suggest - AllerMates gear. They have stickers, EpiPen cases, and snap-on bracelets. DS and I each had them for our allergies, and they were SO HELPFUL and a visual reminder of the allergy for the staff at CC, the MDR staff, etc. We received plenty of compliments, and it's a great thing to have for someone who is young.

 

Hope this helps!

[serene56]

are the staff on the Breeze with dealing with kids with food allergies come meal time if he wants to participate in their meal time events or if he wants to spend the whole day in there?

 

 

camps are not opened all day. they close for lunch and they close for dinner.

On the kids activity pages they list the kids meal choices for that particular evening. You take the kids and drop them off at the lido deck for their dinner. You can then tell the counselor what they should not be eating.

 

the first day at orientation you are asked to fill out a paper-- you can get those pages under MANAGE MY CRUISE when you sign the kids up for camp.

[irishnyc]

In our experience the counselors are excellent with allergies. The allergy kids had different color name tags than the others. DD has a yogurt allergy and they checked with us before all crafting/play that involved food even if there was no yogurt or dairy involved.

[Caronrick]

Thanks all for the replies! A great help!

Another question more specific than the last now! For those whos kids require Epi-pens or the like, did you leave it with your child? Leave it with the staff? Will the staff even accept responsibility for the meds?

Again, thanks for the replies, you are all a huge help!

[Mommypig]

Thanks all for the replies! A great help!

Another question more specific than the last now! For those whos kids require Epi-pens or the like, did you leave it with your child? Leave it with the staff? Will the staff even accept responsibility for the meds?

Again, thanks for the replies, you are all a huge help!

I

Somewhat different medical issues, but when cruising with my very asthmatic 7 yr old grandson on the Spirit a 18 mos ago, the CC staff were familiar with the use of his nebulizer and the symptoms to watch for. He had a wristband put on that indicated his medical issues. We were given a cell phone for them to contact us. They also took the kids to lunch whose parents were on an excursion. I was very impressed with how they barricaded off a long banquette and surrounding tables to keep all the children separated from the other diners.

 

I had 5 kids and spent 12 years working in after school child care. The CC staff were awesome and so much more than just child care. They truly understand that kids want to have fun on a cruise and they provide it. The kids loved the activities and begged to go as soon as it was time.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[foxesden1]

The first time we sailed with CCL they left my daughters epipen in the kids club, and they were in a different part if the ship. I know this because when I picked her up i asked for the pen, ( royal we leave it for the week) and they all looked shocked, and it turns out no one even knew my daughter needed a epipen, :mad:

[Caronrick]

 

Another thing I'd suggest - AllerMates gear. They have stickers, EpiPen cases, and snap-on bracelets. DS and I each had them for our allergies, and they were SO HELPFUL and a visual reminder of the allergy for the staff at CC, the MDR staff, etc. We received plenty of compliments, and it's a great thing to have for someone who is young.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Awesome Suggestion! I have never heard of them before but will check them out right away! Thanks!!

 

R