Dining with a peanut allergy

[quandrea]

We have three voyages booked--QM2 this fall and then QE in Feb 2017 San Francisco to Sydney and QV March 2017 Sydney to San Francisco. My daughter, 6, has a life threatening peanut allergy. How will they accommodate for her allergy? Will she need to eat solely in the Britannia restaurant or will there be other venues that can accommodate her needs? I'm thinking lunch in the pub and Sir Samuels would be nice. Of course there is tea in the Queens Room. Would I be wise to bring aboard peanut free treats for her or do you think she will be able to have the odd safe treat that is prepared on board? Will room service be out?

[Salacia]

"Q. What happens if I have a food allergy/intolerance?

Please call our Customer Contact Centre on 0843 374 0000 (Calls cost 3p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge) or your local Travel agent with details of your specific allergy/intolerance and we will notify the Maitre' D prior to your voyage."

copied from https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/before-you-sail/allergy_intollerance

 

I've also seen it recommended that you inform the staff at the Purser’s Desk as soon as you board, and remind your server at every meal.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Salacia

[zider]

Your Daughter is Allergic to Nuts & their by Products & the only place that she will be able to Eat with a high level of Safety will be your allotted Restaurant All other outlets including Room service will have a high risk of X contamination as they do not have a separate preparation area.

[quandrea]

Your Daughter is Allergic to Nuts & their by Products & the only place that she will be able to Eat with a high level of Safety will be your allotted Restaurant All other outlets including Room service will have a high risk of X contamination as they do not have a separate preparation area.

 

That's what I was thinking was the case. Do you think we will be happy eating in the dining room or perhaps cancelling makes better sense.

[keithm]

We have three voyages booked--QM2 this fall and then QE in Feb 2017 San Francisco to Sydney and QV March 2017 Sydney to San Francisco. My daughter, 6, has a life threatening peanut allergy. How will they accommodate for her allergy? Will she need to eat solely in the Britannia restaurant or will there be other venues that can accommodate her needs? I'm thinking lunch in the pub and Sir Samuels would be nice. Of course there is tea in the Queens Room. Would I be wise to bring aboard peanut free treats for her or do you think she will be able to have the odd safe treat that is prepared on board? Will room service be out?

Personally, I'd not risk the chance! You've got staff prepping food for 2000+ pax & one slip up could be disastrous! I'd contact the cruise line to get better info. than I/others can provide.

[Jacqueline]

A six year old child's condition can change very quickly. While I know that Cunard has excellent medical care, to me, this sounds like a dicey voyage. You will be far from care in the Pacific at times.

I guess the question I would ask myself is, what happens and can they take care of the situation onboard should she have full scale reaction? I have a lot of scenarios in my mind as a former EMT that I wouldn't post on a cruises board. Cruise ships are well equipt but they may not have pediatric sizes of every last piece of equipment required.

At the end of the day, a crew ship is a very confined area with thousands of people. I don't think you can be guaranteed of anything.

[quandrea]

A six year old child's condition can change very quickly. While I know that Cunard has excellent medical care, to me, this sounds like a dicey voyage. You will be far from care in the Pacific at times.

I guess the question I would ask myself is, what happens and can they take care of the situation onboard should she have full scale reaction? I have a lot of scenarios in my mind as a former EMT that I wouldn't post on a cruises board. Cruise ships are well equipt but they may not have pediatric sizes of every last piece of equipment required.

At the end of the day, a crew ship is a very confined area with thousands of people. I don't think you can be guaranteed of anything.

Yes I'm leaning towards cancelling. There is just something in my gut these past few days telling me not to go. Perhaps because final payment is coming due soon.

[Jacqueline]

I am more cautious than usual right now. I had a freak fall onto a hard concrete floor in Easten Bhutan last month and broke a hip. We had been hiking through mountains! I am a fit healthy person or I might not have survived the ordeal. I had to have surgery in a remote substandard hospital and then a second surgery in Bangkok before finally making it home three weeks ago. Being seriously injured in a remote area is frightening because of the loss of options and somewhat akin to a cruise ship far from port.

I do have great medical insurance but it doesn't cover all the extra air fare and hotels and other expenses incurred. I did get a $55,000 medjet and $8,800 helicopter as well, so the big charges were covered.

[Salacia]

I am more cautious than usual right now. I had a freak fall onto a hard concrete floor in Easten Bhutan last month and broke a hip. We had been hiking through mountains! I am a fit healthy person or I might not have survived the ordeal. I had to have surgery in a remote substandard hospital and then a second surgery in Bangkok before finally making it home three weeks ago. Being seriously injured in a remote area is frightening because of the loss of options and somewhat akin to a cruise ship far from port.

I do have great medical insurance but it doesn't cover all the extra air fare and hotels and other expenses incurred. I did get a $55,000 medjet and $8,800 helicopter as well, so the big charges were covered.

 

Jacqueline, and yet - despite all that - based on your previous threads, you are hoping to make a transatlantic crossing soon if your doctors give approval. So perhaps that is also the key piece of information for the OP: ask your daughter's doctors to evaluate the response you receive from Cunard and make your decision based on solid information combined with your gut feeling as a mother.

 

BTW, peanut allergy suffers hopefully saw this Hostess recall alert: http://abcnews.go.com/US/hostess-brands-voluntarily-recalls-zinger-ding-dong-peanut/story?id=39639534

 

Best wishes,

Salacia

[BlueRiband]

You would never be able to take her on a vacation.

 

You would run into the same worry and concern to take her on a land based vacation - that the chefs in a restaurant are careful about peanut products. She's probably safer on a ship. While cruise ship chefs are not trained dieticians those preparing the special diets deal with lactose, gluten, and other food intolerances every day. Your best bet is the main dining room where the Maitre D' is aware of your daughter's needs.

 

As for the peanut-free snacks, there would be no problem bringing them on board provided they are sealed and a widely recognized brand. It would be a problem on shore excursions however since you would not be allowed to take them off the ship regardless of where they were manufactured. This is especially true for Australia where even breath mints and sticks of gum cannot be brought ashore.

[Jacqueline]

I put up a thread about medical emergencies at sea which was very reassuring!

I agree with Salacia that the main thing is to get the all clear from the child's doctor who is in the best position to make a medical decision, knowing the case history and possible medical support that could be required in an emergency.

After my daughter was hospitalized I actually spoke to the shops doctor in advance of our Tahiti cruise ! She had been in an ICU.

I think it's a bit dire to say that the family could never go on vacation.

My concern for myself was being at sea, days away from a port. In this case it is true as well, as it is a transpacific crossing. The OP used the words "life threatening" which I told at face value. Anaphylaxis is a life threatening reaction which impairs breathing and can send the body into shock. I wouldn't assume that a ship has those the equipment and and resources to treat a six year old, for days onboard as it is distinctly different than what is required for an adults. They cant be expected to perform the functions of a pediatric ICU.

That said, I would go back to my and Salacia's point that the physician in consultation with the cruise line can best advise the parent.

[quandrea]

Thank you for the replies. I spoke with Cunard today. They advised me to write a letter to Onboard Services. I have done so. The allergies are noted on her file, and have been since booking. I'm going to call her allergist today and arrange to speak with him once I have heard back from Cunard.

 

When we do travel, it is usually to Walt Disney World where they are excellent regarding allergies. She can eat freely and safely in any restaurant on property. We also have access to a kitchen there and I prepare breakfast, snacks and at least one meal a day.

 

I will see how I feel after my discussions with Cunard and my Doctor. The question of the medical centre's ability to handle an incident is not lost on me. There are other threads that detail Cunard's ability to handle allergies, however, there are just as many threads that detail horror stories where the cruise lines have nearly killed people. All very sobering.

[quandrea]

Heard back from our doctor. He said that we have to ensure the meals are prepared in a peanut/treenut free kitchen. Fruit needs to be cut with a clean knife, away from the kiwi. He suggested carrying two epi-pens and Benadryl, which we always do.

 

Cunard got back to me. They have forwarded my questions on to the special diets department and the medical department. I will wait to hear back and see if their accommodations match those required by my doctor.

 

He says we have to behave as we do at home when dining out. If the ship cannot make us feel comfortable with their accommodations, we shouldn't go.

 

I put all this out there so that anyone else with questions might be helped. There is lots of info out there about RCCL, Princess and NCL, very little about Cunard. Even their website is vague.

 

One thing that did concern me was that I needed to speak to three people at Cunard before I got an email address that worked. That is not encouraging.

[bluemarble]

quandrea,

 

Would you be able to share the e-mail address you were provided if it is a general e-mail address that could be used to communicate food allergies to Cunard? DW also has nut allergies. Not so severe that her food needs to be prepared in a totally nut free kitchen. But she does need to be sure the food itself does not contain any nuts.

 

I used to inform Cunard of this before each voyage via an e-mail to "diets.reservations@carnivalukgroup.com" and always used to receive a prompt reply. Last voyage however, I got no reply and Cunard had no record of her food allergies. I now call Cunard customer service to make sure they are aware of her food allergies (which of course is a sensible thing to do in any event). But having an e-mail address to provide additional confirmation might also be helpful.

 

Regards,

John.

[quandrea]

Sure.

 

Cunardonboardservices@cunard.com

[bluemarble]

Sure.

 

Cunardonboardservices@cunard.com

 

Thanks, quandrea.

[ClanMcLean]

Hi Quandrea,

 

We're traveling with our 6yr old in July who has several severe food allergies, including peanuts, tree nuts and dairy.

Like you we travel with 2 X epi pens and lorapaed.

We ended booking Queens Grill, as we can basically order what ever we need for him. We were advised by the diet team at Cunard to avoid the buffet.

I'll let you know how we get on [emoji4]

[quandrea]

Hi Quandrea,

 

We're traveling with our 6yr old in July who has several severe food allergies, including peanuts, tree nuts and dairy.

Like you we travel with 2 X epi pens and lorapaed.

We ended booking Queens Grill, as we can basically order what ever we need for him. We were advised by the diet team at Cunard to avoid the buffet.

I'll let you know how we get on [emoji4]

 

Thank you so much! I feel a little better since talking to my doctor. Truth be told, I think it's the longer voyages next year that are scaring me more. At least in Canada/New England we will be near shore. I plan to avoid the buffet and bring safe snacks.

 

What is lorapaed?

 

I will anxiously await your reply in July!

[ClanMcLean]

Hi,

Lorapaed is just an antihistamine.

Not sure how many kids you have, but we looked at getting connecting balcony rooms to start with, but Grills was only about $3k (NZ) more and offered much better dining options and a bath, which I love [emoji4]

Edited June 8, 2016 by ClanMcLean

[balf]

Compare dining at a shore based resteraunt where medical help could be some time arriving (in UK usually para medic followed by ambulance) with dining on a Cunard ship where help is literally minutes away.

 

Most seasoned Cunard cruisers will have seen the medical team running to an incident. I know where I would rather be if I ever had a problem.

 

David.

[quandrea]

Hi,

Lorapaed is just an antihistamine.

Not sure how many kids you have, but we looked at getting connecting balcony rooms to start with, but Grills was only about $3k (NZ) more and offered much better dining options and a bath, which I love [emoji4]

 

We are five. It gets pretty pricey, but thanks.

 

Compare dining at a shore based resteraunt where medical help could be some time arriving (in UK usually para medic followed by ambulance) with dining on a Cunard ship where help is literally minutes away.

 

Most seasoned Cunard cruisers will have seen the medical team running to an incident. I know where I would rather be if I ever had a problem.

 

David.

 

Yes, you are right. We saw Celebrity's medical team at work first hand. My daughter's twin had a fall in our stateroom just prior to debarkation. Called the front desk. The whole team was in our room in seconds. Elevators were commandeered for our use and he was stitched up, given antibiotics and released within the half hour. It was impressive. An over reaction for a fall, but impressive.

[Jacqueline]

Best to you, Quandrea! You have been really diligent in sorting it out, leaving no stone unturned. Have a wonderful voyage with your family. I know we have memories to last a lifetime cruising with our children over the years.

[quandrea]

Heard back. Received a very satisfactory response. Here it is.

 

The Food & Beverage Manager has reviewed your email and has stated that your information regarding the allergy will be communicated to the staff and accommodations will be done to prevent any contamination, it's been suggested that meals should be in your main dining room, avoid the buffet and if you are wanting to go to the specialty restaurant the headwaiter will be able to communicate with the head waiter of the restaurant.

 

 

Dr Benjamin Lloyd also reviewed your email and has stated that they do carry anaphylaxis treatment, however if this is a severe and regular occurrence then he suggest that it would be helpful to have a treatment plan from the doctor that can be kept in the medical center and has suggested that you travel with more than 2 epi - pens. Other than this he's stated that it will not be a problem.

 

When we see her allergist in July, I will get him to write up a treatment plan. Thankfully her condition is not a regular occurrence, but it is severe. I will feel better having the treatment plan in place. We will have extra epi pens too. I feel Cunard has handled this well and feel much better. I think part of my fears come from stepping out of our travel comfort zone.

[Bedruthen]

I would want to know if Cunard have a completely separate food preparation area.

Having travelled with a relative with an extreme nut allergy, I do know that on P&O they declared that all food for someone with a nut allergy is prepared in a separate area of the kitchen.

The other possible risk area is when the dishes are brought from the kitchen to the table. Our relative always orders a dish which no one else has chosen, so that the plates cannot get mixed up.