Is it safe to cruise on RCCL if you have fatally severe food allergies?

[GuavaTechAngels]

I have two beautiful nieces who are 4 & 6. The older one has fatally high food allergy reactions to:

 

Peanuts

Eggs

Soy

Shellfish (no lobster or crab)

Tree Nuts

 

Her younger sister has the same level of sever food allergies to:

 

Eggs

Shellfish (no lobster or crab)

Tree Nuts

 

I did a search and read some posts about people taking their food allergic kids on cruises in the past. We were thinking of taking a cruise during Thanksgiving of 2016 on the Harmony of the Seas.

 

Is it safe for them?

[Clarea]

"Fatally" sounds way too dangerous to me, I would not risk it.

[Biker19]

On land, would you entrust their lives to a complete stranger who will have them over for a meal?

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Do they go to restaurants at home? How do they protect themselves there?

 

If they don't go out to eat at home, I think a cruise ship isn't a good idea.

[goodycruising]

If the worst happened, then the medical treatment could be very expensive, and getting medical insurance could be an issue with pre existing conditions. I would look at how that might cost you more than you might think to be medivaced or something?

 

It sounds like a very difficult task to avoid all those foods on a ship that is trying to feed thousands. I know they do their best for special requests, but the only way you could know is to give the company a call and ask to speak to someone higher up. Not the first person on the phone.

Edited October 15, 2015 by goodycruising

[A&L_Ont]

"Fatally" sounds way too dangerous to me, I would not risk it.

 

I agree with Bob, especially when the ship can't get to a full working hospital in minutes like on land. Sure onboard medical can help, but the for a fatal allergy reaction I would not risk it either.

[dcgrumpy]

Do they go out to eat at home?

 

Is it ingestion only? Or do they have to worry about cross contamination?

 

My daughter is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, peas, chickpeas and a few other things. We had no problems on IOS. But her allergies are ingestion only.

[Anita Latte]

Royal has a system in place to deal with food allergies.

 

You MUST eat in the MDR. NO other food source on ship can be considered safe.

 

You MUST preorder food. That is, you must place your order for all the food that you plan to eat the next day on the day before...usually during your dinner meal. You will want to establish a relationship with your wait staff and the head waiter over that staff.

 

Be prepared for boring, bland...BLAND food. You will get a slightly different version of the same thing day after day. Mom dealt with no soy, no eggs, and no gluten. Everyday she ate unseasoned protein (chicken, steak), a baked potato and steamed broccoli.

 

Considering how there is a lot of food all over the ship that will be off limits...and how the MDR isn't always open for lunch (port days) and how there are limited hours (breakfast) for when you might want to eat...and given the adjective FATAL...I would vote NO for a cruise.

 

If the limitations aren't a big deal...Royal does have provision for being able to take on many food items if you have allergies. I would get into contact with the Special Needs people at Royal and get their feedback.

 

Edited to add...if their allergies also react with inhaling the allergen? NO. DEFINITELY NO. There is food everywhere...just EVERYWHERE on a cruise ship. (I know someone with a fatal peanut/tree nut allergy that will never be able to fly anywhere because of the risk of being in an airplane.)

Edited October 15, 2015 by Anita Latte

[spookwife]

NOT safe under any circumstance. an epi is good for what, 20 minutes? just long enough to get you to a real hospital. there are no real hospitals onboard equipped to handle severe anaphylactic reactions. Hospitals in port often require you to pay UP FRONT and are not necessarily going to be modern or adequately equipped.

 

stick with Disney. they at least can handle it far easier.

[knittinggirl]

That's a lot of food to need to avoid on a cruise ship!

 

I told the waiter about my pecan allergy, and he brought me the menu each night for the next day. He also told me to be careful in the different venues. He wouldn't give me any ice cream because they didn't wash off the scoop between flavors. Some waiters are more conscientious than others. Usually, something prepared especially for you ends up being boring and bland.

 

The epi pen is definitely a must, but I've heard a cruise ship is a good place to have a heart attack, because of the fast response. But they'll probably put you off at the first port, and you may not like the hospital. One of our dining companions on our last Alaska cruise had a sore leg, and after several visits to medical, they arranged for a trip to the ER in Juneau. BUT he was back on the ship by the time it sailed.

 

Be sure to have trip insurance that includes pre-existing medical. I'd also get medjet assist, so you can be returned to your home hospital.

 

Doesn't the Windjammer label their food w/ specific allergies?

 

Keep in mind the man that just died biting into a s'more, thinking it was hershey's not peanut butter cup. Also, it only takes a taste w/ no swallowing to force some into shock.

 

Also, MDR is closed on port days, embarkation day and disembarkation day.

Edited October 15, 2015 by knittinggirl

[davy jones]

I imagine that it is possible to work extensively with the food manager and ship doctors, and make sure that sufficient quantities of meds are available on board (if needed). However, based on what you said, I personally would not take the risk of being at sea, away from a land based hospital.

[NewSalt]

I was going to wait to respond to your question until I saw the previous post.

 

 

No to Disney - absolutely, positively NO. NO. NO. NO.

 

 

We have sailed on four cruises, two with Royal, with my DGSs who have multiple allergies: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish.

 

The cruise line does a fantastic job with handling allergies. There is a separate kitchen in which they prepare that food, limiting the possibility of cross-contamination. It does limit you to eating in the MDR, but, considering all the other difficulties parents of children with allergies face, that's a minor one. On days when the MDR is not open, we simply asked for the maitre d' of the venue in which we were eating (even at Labadee) and he obtained the pre-ordered meals. I can't really vouch for the taste of the food, but then my tastes are not those of a small child either.

 

The wait staff and kitchen are fully knowledgeable about handling allergies. I heard a waiter in the WJ mention the possibility of cross-contamination due to utensils to another diner.

 

There's a reason we've vacationed on cruises since we saw how well they handled allergies on our older DGS's first cruise.

 

 

However, the worst day of my life was at Disney World. Although we had fully explained DGS's allergies to the chef, he was mistakenly given gluten-free bread instead of dairy-free. He went into anaphylactic shock, and the restaurant staff had no idea how to handle it. Fortunately, my DD and DSIL used the Epi Pen (they always have several with them), but the ambulance was very slow in responding. Because the ambulance had no means of transporting DGS2, who was about three months old, DD could not ride with her older son. It took almost an hour for Disney to provide transportation for her, but the worst part was that, to spare the other restaurant customers the sight of a distraught mother, they had her wait outside, next to the dumpsters, in 90-degree-plus heat, with her infant. Disney also left us stranded at the hospital, after having told us they would provide transportation back to our Disney hotel. They never called to check on his condition. I've heard so much about the Disney efficiency. We saw nothing but chaos and lack of compassion.

 

Sorry for the rant. I've asked my DD to tell you about our very positive experiences on cruising on Royal.

[knittinggirl]

 

The cruise line does a fantastic job with handling allergies. There is a separate kitchen in which they prepare that food, limiting the possibility of cross-contamination.

I wonder why they don't prepare ice cream in their separate kitchen? Is this all ships, or just the larger Royal ships?

 

On Legend, I told the waiter to rinse off the scoop between ice cream servings. I was pretty horrified that they wouldn't clean the scoop between servings, or clean the equipment. Makes me wonder how much other bad stuff gets in the food because they don't clean their equipment enough.

 

Now I'm really getting so high on the horse, they'll need wings!

 

We were looking at some ice cream the other day, and I picked the chocolate fudge thinking it would be safe. But the label said it was made w/ the same equipment that had been exposed to tree nuts! Good grief! Don't they wash their stuff? Didn't Blue Bell have a huge product recall for months due to salmonella! Wonder if they had the same disclaimer on their labels.

Edited October 15, 2015 by knittinggirl

[johnjen]

I'd leave the nieces at home. You're also taking them away from needed urgent land-based care and you'd pay a fortune if they needed to be medevac'd off the ship.

 

That's just my opinion but it's up to you.

[Paulette3028]

I have two beautiful nieces who are 4 & 6. The older one has fatally high food allergy reactions to:

 

Peanuts

Eggs

Soy

Shellfish (no lobster or crab)

Tree Nuts

 

Her younger sister has the same level of sever food allergies to:

 

Eggs

Shellfish (no lobster or crab)

Tree Nuts

 

I did a search and read some posts about people taking their food allergic kids on cruises in the past. We were thinking of taking a cruise during Thanksgiving of 2016 on the Harmony of the Seas.

 

Is it safe for them?

 

I am sure the status is more "potentially fatal" as per the food allergies....but the question the parents needs to ponder is 'how do they protect their children when taking them to restaurants or to the homes of people who may not be very very good friends?"

 

It is difficult, no matter how careful a facility wants to be, for a large kitchen catering to thousands of people to cater to every food issue for everyone on board. I am sure they put forth an outstanding effort -- but the cruiser needs to be their own overall advocate during every meal.

[mommyloves2cruise]

As NewSalt explained, my son has many food allergies. He is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish. He has been on four cruises, first when he was 14 months old. We continue to cruise because of the thorough way that they handle his allergies. The attention and care that we have received on Royal made our vacations spectacular. My son still talks about our Head Waiter on a weekly basis.

 

As a food allergy mom, I can tell you that eating out anywhere is terrifying and your nieces' parents need to decide how comfortable they are. I have called each time before we cruise to ensure that they have the medical capabilities to help in an emergency.

 

We carry several AUVI-q injectors with us which we keep in a FRIO case to keep temperature controlled. When we board, we meet with the Maître D before to make sure they have our allergies documented. We also do traditional dining so that we have the same waitstaff each night. We also only discuss our allergy needs with a Head Waiter or chef, the waiters seem anxious to help, but do not seem to fully understand our needs to the extent that the Head waiters have done.

 

On each cruise, our Head Waiter would meet with us to plan the meals for the next day. Every time, the Head waiter has gone above and beyond to make sure we are comfortable and our son is safe. They have also tried diligently to offer a variety of food for us, but my son is not very adventurous with food (can you blame him?) So he chose to have the basic grilled chicken, grilled steak, vegetables, fruit, French fries, and baked potatoes). They did have many more options for him, For breakfast, he had cereal, bacon, grits, oatmeal, they had safe pancakes for him but they were also gluten free and he wasn't thrilled with them.

 

On our last cruise, we were seated next to another family with food allergies. Our head waiter told us that he had 6 tables with allergies at the late seating. This and the many posts that I see on my allergy support group boards makes me think that cruising has become a popular choice with families with allergies because the cruise lines are so accommodating.

 

We are not comfortable eating in ports, so I pack juice boxes and a lot of factory sealed snacks to bring with us. I also brought some extra special desserts (chocolate chip cookies and favorite candy bars) since the milk and egg allergies can limit dessert. However,they did make jell-o in his favorite color for him each night.

We also bring our own lunch for embarkation day since the buffet is hectic and we are more comfortable this way.

 

Again, as a food allergy mom, I know that traveling with allergies is scary and I don't want to push your family one way or the other. I feel that cruising is a safe option for us and it is the only vacation where I have felt comfortable. It is much easier than going to a new restaurant each night and having the conversation with a different person each time, not knowing if they understand our needs and possibly having to leave.

 

Royal Caribbean has handled my son's allergies much better than Disney did. He has also been offered a wider variety of food than he was offered at Disney.

 

I would be happy to give you my email address if you or your niece's parents have any specific questions that they would like to ask.

Edited October 15, 2015 by mommyloves2cruise

[sjb317]

My concern would be with the medical staff: how experienced are they in handling a pediatric emergency? I would not risk taking children with such potentially serious reactions on a cruise ship unless I knew the on board medical staff had the specialized training to deal with a compromised child.

 

Sherri:)

[Paulette3028]

As NewSalt explained, my son has many food allergies. He is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish. He has been on four cruises, first when he was 14 months old. We continue to cruise because of the thorough way that they handle his allergies. The attention and care that we have received on Royal made our vacations spectacular. My son still talks about our Head Waiter on a weekly basis.

 

As a food allergy mom, I can tell you that eating out anywhere is terrifying and your nieces' parents need to decide how comfortable they are. I have called each time before we cruise to ensure that they have the medical capabilities to help in an emergency.

 

We carry several AUVI-q injectors with us which we keep in a FRIO case to keep temperature controlled. When we board, we meet with the Maître D before to make sure they have our allergies documented. We also do traditional dining so that we have the same waitstaff each night. We also only discuss our allergy needs with a Head Waiter or chef, the waiters seem anxious to help, but do not seem to fully understand our needs to the extent that the Head waiters have done.

 

On each cruise, our Head Waiter would meet with us to plan the meals for the next day. Every time, the Head waiter has gone above and beyond to make sure we are comfortable and our son is safe. They have also tried diligently to offer a variety of food for us, but my son is not very adventurous with food (can you blame him?) So he chose to have the basic grilled chicken, grilled steak, vegetables, fruit, French fries, and baked potatoes). They did have many more options for him, For breakfast, he had cereal, bacon, grits, oatmeal, they had safe pancakes for him but they were also gluten free and he wasn't thrilled with them.

 

On our last cruise, we were seated next to another family with food allergies. Our head waiter told us that he had 6 tables with allergies at the late seating. This and the many posts that I see on my allergy support group boards makes me think that cruising has become a popular choice with families with allergies because the cruise lines are so accommodating.

 

We are not comfortable eating in ports, so I pack juice boxes and a lot of factory sealed snacks to bring with us. I also brought some extra special desserts (chocolate chip cookies and favorite candy bars) since the milk and egg allergies can limit dessert. However,they did make jell-o in his favorite color for him each night.

We also bring our own lunch for embarkation day since the buffet is hectic and we are more comfortable this way.

 

Again, as a food allergy mom, I know that traveling with allergies is scary and I don't want to push your family one way or the other. I feel that cruising is a safe option for us and it is the only vacation where I have felt comfortable. It is much easier than going to a new restaurant each night and having the conversation with a different person each time, not knowing if they understand our needs and possibly having to leave.

 

Royal Caribbean has handled my son's allergies much better than Disney did. He has also been offered a wider variety of food than he was offered at Disney.

 

I would be happy to give you my email address if you or your niece's parents have any specific questions that they would like to ask.

 

Wonderful to read this!

[mommyloves2cruise]

I forgot to add .....

We make sure to document the allergies when we make reservations. We also contact the Special Needs department several weeks before we leave,

 

We make sure to buy trip insurance. I believe you need to purchase it within 30 days ( not 100% certain on the exact number) since food allergies are a pre-existing condition.

 

Since we mostly get the food from the MDR on the days it is open (your head waiter will make arrangements with you if the MDR is closed for lunch) we found that it was hard for our 5 year old and two year old to sit at sit down meals three times a day every day (and behave the way they should) so several days we went to get their lunch from the dining room and they ate it in the more relaxed setting of our room while we had room service and we all could relax on the balcony or watch a movie. I am sure you could do this and bring their food to the pool. Three meals a day in the MDR can take up a large part of your day.

[RCAlltheWay]

I wonder why they don't prepare ice cream in their separate kitchen? Is this all ships, or just the larger Royal ships?

 

On Legend, I told the waiter to rinse off the scoop between ice cream servings. I was pretty horrified that they wouldn't clean the scoop between servings, or clean the equipment. Makes me wonder how much other bad stuff gets in the food because they don't clean their equipment enough.

 

We were looking at some ice cream the other day, and I picked the chocolate fudge thinking it would be safe. But the label said it was made w/ the same equipment that had been exposed to tree nuts! Good grief! Don't they wash their stuff? Didn't Blue Bell have a huge product recall for months due to salmonella! Wonder if they had the same disclaimer on their labels.

 

In high school I worked at a popular ice cream chain store. We always put the scoops into a small sink that had a constant stream of clean water rinsing the scoops as the dirty water drained. We did not use soap between scoops, but in my personal opinion that is a tad bit overboard. All of the equipment was wiped clean and washed thoroughly at the end of a shift. I would imagine that factories do wash their equipment regularly, but have to state that it is exposed to tree nuts for liability purposes regardless.

[BecciBoo]

I wonder why they don't prepare ice cream in their separate kitchen? Is this all ships, or just the larger Royal ships?

 

On Legend, I told the waiter to rinse off the scoop between ice cream servings. I was pretty horrified that they wouldn't clean the scoop between servings, or clean the equipment. Makes me wonder how much other bad stuff gets in the food because they don't clean their equipment enough.

 

Speaking of Legend, she probably has a problem with the chefs. While we were on her and in the Diamond lounge, another patron had specifically notified the Concierge of her shell fish allergies including the bit about cross contamination. But not once, but twice the utensils, trays and tongs that held shrimp were also used for half a plate of other finger food and she had to be taken to the clinic the second time. The chef came up there and there was a big stink. Sounds like a huge risk to me. But there are a lot of people with allergies who cruise all the time.

[judymag]

Royal have a disclaimer at the end of there menu explaining that there kitchens are not allergy free environments I think it would be to dangerous I've a cousin with a severe nut allergy also cross contamination can be a problem think it would be better to stay on dry land

[GuavaTechAngels]

On land, would you entrust their lives to a complete stranger who will have them over for a meal?

 

When the girls are invited to birthday parties, my sister asks the parents what food will be served. If there is any risk, then she politely declines the invitation.

[GuavaTechAngels]

Do they go to restaurants at home? How do they protect themselves there?

 

If they don't go out to eat at home, I think a cruise ship isn't a good idea.

 

Their father is a chef and restauranteur. They only eat at his restaurants and the restaurants where he knows the owners.

 

As a plus, his restaurants have gained a local reputation for being safe for families with children who have food allergies, no matter the severity.

[GuavaTechAngels]

Do they go out to eat at home?

 

Is it ingestion only? Or do they have to worry about cross contamination?

 

My daughter is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, peas, chickpeas and a few other things. We had no problems on IOS. But her allergies are ingestion only.

 

At home, they only eat at their dad's restaurants and restaurants where they have spoken to the owners.

 

She is quite sensitive. Ingestion would be really bad. There have been times when she's displayed a reaction to cross contamination.