Food Allergy Questions for Adventure of the Seas

[Storm730]

Hello,

 

We will be sailing on the Adventure in a couple of weeks and I wanted to know if anybody had any information on how Royal Caribbean adventure of the seas handles food allergies for soy, and peanuts. It's listed in our reservation but I'm just concerned about the waitstaff and food that we can eat.

 

Does anybody have any information or experience they can share?

[Clarea]

I would also contact [noparse]special_needs@rccl.com[/noparse] and make sure they are aware of the dietary restrictions. What would normally happen on board is that the headwaiter would go over the menu with you the night before so you can make your selectopns for the next day and they could prepare them accordingly.

[vacajuls]

We have sailed with Royal several times with a very severe peanut allergy. We have been on Adventure, Allure and Oasis. I always have it noted when making our booking, then follow up with an email to the special needs dept. as stated in the previous post.

I have to admit, I really don't think that is all that effective to notify ahead of time, but, I always do to cover ourselves. The most important thing is to speak with the maitre de/ head waiter immediately upon boarding. Some times they have it noted, some times not.

Once the Maiter de is aware, he will advise your dinner waitstaff. It is your responsibility to always advise staff at breakfast and lunch. Do not assume they will already be aware.

I spoke to one of the headwaters at length on our last cruise. He explained that they all have very extensive (fleet wide) allergen training. I have always felt safe with my daughter. They will always error on the side of caution if a food product could even be in question.

We always take packaged desserts with us.(I feel that has the greatest chance of cross contamination).

[mccannme]

Do you go to the main dining room upon boarding to speak with them or somewhere else? Thanks for the advice. We have done the two "pre trip" items but want to make sure everything is set when we get on board!

[Clarea]

Do you go to the main dining room upon boarding to speak with them or somewhere else? Thanks for the advice. We have done the two "pre trip" items but want to make sure everything is set when we get on board!

I'd go to the Main Dining Room and speak to whoever is there at the entrance. They can get the appropriate officer to come and speak to you..

[mommyloves2cruise]

We have sailed in the Explorer and Liberty with food allergies and both experiences were phenomenal.

My son is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish so we do not have experience with a soy allergy. However, out allergies are pretty extensive so if they can keep us happy, I am sure they can do the same for a soy allergy.

I don't want to repeat what has already been stated, but I do have a few tips that have helped us.

We only arrange our meals with a head waiter, if the MDR was closed and we had to eat in the buffet they always arranged for a specific person to help us.

Lunch on embarkation day is crazy, you won't meet with your Head Waiter until dinner so we always bring lunch for the first day with us. It might take a while to get everything straightened out the first night, so just expect a longer meal and be patient.

We always bring factory sealed snacks for port days because we are not comfortable looking for safe food in different countries.

We also bring some of our own special desserts for dinner. Our allergies a every limiting and there are only so many times my son will eat jell-o.

We bring several epi-pens with us. We use FRIO to keep the temperature regulated.

We do go to the MDR as soon as we board to make sure everything is documented.

 

 

 

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[Member123]

A soy allergy is, in my opinion, something you have to be hyper-vigilant about and not take any chances. As I have a soy allergy, I can speak specifically to the problems that you might encounter with it.

 

#1: Never, ever ASSUME that something is safe. For example, if you know the recipe for basil pesto (typically basil leaves, pine nuts, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Pecorino cheese), you might think that a sandwich that has brie, basil leaves, ham, and pesto would be safe. It MIGHT NOT BE. On a recent sailing on Serenade of the Seas (February, 2016) the basil pesto was made with SOYBEAN OIL.

 

#2: Watch for more than just soy as an ingredient in the food available. Ask to see the can of aerosol oil that they are using to spray the crepe pan, the waffle iron, the skillet that they're using to cook eggs and the one for omelettes. When I asked the buffet manager what was in the oil, he said it was "vegetable" oil; it was SOY. I asked to read the can; I pointed out the soy ingredient list to him. FYI.

 

#3: Be aware that someone working in the buffet, restocking the food on offer, doesn't necessary have real knowledge of the ingredients in the food. If asked whether the food has soy, they will normally respond with "no; we use vegetable oil." Consider this a Red Flag; even though soy is "technically" a bean and, therefore, a legume and wouldn't be identified as a "vegetable" and you think that you're getting good information... be aware that you might not be. Ask specifically what type of vegetable? When confronted with that question, most of the time you'll receive an "I don't know."

 

#4: There is a Head Chef in charge of the buffet. Ask for him. When he arrives, he will escort you through the buffet and let you know the items that he knows for certain do not contain soy. You'll be surprised at your limitations. The reason is that they don't really read the label ingredients on the food that is presented; all of the processed food is considered to be "at risk" if it contains any type of breading or marinade.

 

I'm discussing the buffet with you simply because you will be eating there on port days as the MDR is closed for lunch.

 

#5: If you enjoy salads and you want a dressing other than olive oil and balsamic vinegar, bring your own. The other dressings on offer are made with soybean oil. Yes, all of them.

 

It's a bit late to get involved with the Special Needs Department. They require at least 30-days notice before sailing of any specific stock items that they may need to have on hand. That's why they allow you to bring on board any type of special foods that you may require as long as they don't need refrigeration. You can stock as much food in your stateroom as you desire, but you cannot use their refrigeration nor can you use their galley for food preparation. I was told this; I've never brought on food, but I thought you might be interested.

 

Bottom line is that you will need to be vigilant. As long as you're aware, you'll be fine. But, in this instance of soy allergy, you may be faced with limited choices and require quite a load of patience.

 

If I raised any further questions for you, I'll do my best to answer them. It's rough business to have a soy allergy and not be in charge of your own food. I know.

[Storm730]

Thank you all for the information. I will heed all,of the warnings, especially the buffet.

[moopetguy]

I'm really glad that many others have had positive experiences with food allergies on board RCI ships. However, I have not, so I wanted to share my experiences as a cautionary tale so people don't let their guard down.

 

I have a peanut and tree nut allergy, but do not suffer from anaphylaxis and it is not life-threatening to me. So I have been fortunate in that regard.

 

I have previously posted about my allergy experience on board RCI ships here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48787734&postcount=22

 

And despite the experiences I described in my post linked above, I feel comfortable eating almost anything on board except that which specifically contains peanuts/tree nuts. I watch out for myself and avoid situations in which I suspect cross-contamination by the front-line crew.