Dietary Restrictions

[Denali2003]

Hello.  Before I start this post, yes, I have contacted the Dietary Specialist regarding restrictions.  As well as put my restrictions in the Medallion App.  I would like to get other passenger's opinions regarding certain foods on the ships.  The specialist said to talk to the Maitre'd once on board.  My restrictions are a new thing - within the past 12 months.

 

I am unable to eat white breads, pastas, & rice. High sodium foods and high sugary foods.  I can eat whole wheat or gluten free foods.  I am not Diabetic nor do I have Celiac.  However, I do have the "side effects" from these.  

 

Does anyone know if I am able to get whole wheat pastas in the dining room?  What about Alfredo's?  Will I be able to get pizza or a calzone that is whole wheat or gluten free?  What about whole wheat soft rolls in the dining room.  I have in the past asked for soft white rolls in the dining room.  

 

Thank you for your help.

[hubble]

I'm not sure about the whole wheat pasta in the dining room, but they do have gluten free pasta which is delicious.  My husband would have their GF fettucine as an appetizer most nights.  I tried it and could not tell the difference between it and the regular pasta other than the noodle shape was round like spaghetti, not flat.  The waiter also always brought a tray of rolls & bread that was GF every night for my husband to enjoy.

 

As for pizza, Alfredo's did a GF one if you notified them 24 hours in advance.  I thought it was very tasty.  Not sure if they offer the GF version in a calzone.  I was told the pizzeria on the pool deck would do the same GF crust with advance notice, but we never personally tried it.  

[disneyochem]

You can get gf pasta and pizza easily on board.  But, most gluten free flour used by Princess is composed primarily of white rice flour.  You can request nutritional information from the kitchen to see what ingredients are actually used.  I did this (I have celiac).  I was also offered and taken on a tour of the kitchen where they prepared gf foods.

[Alaskanb]

We've found the head waiter to be very helpful and will advise on what meals can be adjusted to your needs. We prebook our meal, after dinner, for the next day  and have had some delicious sauces etc that are lower sodium. You may want to request GF sauces. 

[Denali2003]

Thank you all so very much!!!  I feel better knowing that I do have options.  Glad to hear that the ships carry GF food.  I'm also a Vegetarian, so I'm sure my meals will be very different from most people's.   Do you know if I can get GF pancakes for breakfast in the dining room?

[disneyochem]

1 hour ago, Denali2003 said:

Thank you all so very much!!!  I feel better knowing that I do have options.  Glad to hear that the ships carry GF food.  I'm also a Vegetarian, so I'm sure my meals will be very different from most people's.   Do you know if I can get GF pancakes for breakfast in the dining room?

Depends.  You can always get gf pancakes in the buffet but I didn’t have much luck in the MDR.  The staff said yes, no problems, but they had to go them from the buffet.  Sometimes I got them, sometimes I didn’t.

 

Meet with the Maitre’d on the first day.  She/he will help you with your cruise meals.  I usually eat breakfast in the buffet—the head chef will come out and walk you through the offerings telling you what is safe to eat.  Oatmeal and hot cereals are not gf so I usually just get yogurt, Cheerios and fruit.  Lunch and dinner I always eat in the MDR.  Your wait staff will be great in getting you the food you need.  They would had hand me a menu, asked me what I wanted and then would tell me if the chef could make it gf or not.

 

You might be surprised on how many folks eat vegetarian.  In fact, Princess always has a number of vegetarian entrees and appetizers on the MDR menu daily.

 

I frequently would just have the shrimp cocktail and the appetizer-size gf fettuccine for dinner with a nice glass of red wine.

[disneyochem]

Oh, I forgot to tell you that the International Cafe has a number of gf pastries and salads.  You have to ask for them since they usually don’t put them out in the case.

[geoherb]

Princess also has a vegetarian menu that you can order from a day in advance. One of our tablemates was a semi-vegetarian. She would eat some seafood. She always got to see the menu for the next night along with the vegetarian menu. She would pick and choose her meal from both menus. 

 

The best advice is be sure to speak to your head waiter and let him or her know of your requirements. DH has special dietary requirements, but he does not push it with the head waiter and just picks and chooses the things he can eat.

[caribill]

6 hours ago, geoherb said:

Princess also has a vegetarian menu that you can order from a day in advance. One of our tablemates was a semi-vegetarian. She would eat some seafood. She always got to see the menu for the next night along with the vegetarian menu. She would pick and choose her meal from both menus. 

 

The best advice is be sure to speak to your head waiter and let him or her know of your requirements. DH has special dietary requirements, but he does not push it with the head waiter and just picks and chooses the things he can eat.

 

Princess does not have a separate vegetarian menu. HAL does.

[Denali2003]

Thankfully I can eat Oatmeal.  I can eat whole wheat items.  I figured GF would be an easier option on the ship.  I had no idea I could get GF pancakes in the buffet.  Yay! 😀  Do they have to special make them?  I've been cruising since 2003 and never knew any of these wonderful things.  Probably because I never had these special dietary needs until now.  WOW, GF pastries at I.C.  Double Yay!!! 😍  Does the I.C. also have sugar free pastries?  Does the buffet or IC have dairy free yogurt?  I've only talked to the Head Chef in the buffet once.  It was in 2018 on our Hawaiian cruise.  There was only 1 or 2 Vegetarian options on the buffet.  I asked to speak to the Head Chef.  He came out and talked to me.  He said he was a Vegetarian also and was disappointed in the selections.  He then showed me the buffet menu for the whole cruise.  There was only 1 or 2 Vegetarian "entrees" .  After that every day when I went to the buffet, he would see me, come out and show me around and let me know what my options were.  One day they had spaghetti wrapped in Eggplant.  YUM!!!  That was delicious.  I told him.  He said "I made that!"  with a big smile on his face.  

 

I'm really hoping that with all the walking I will be doing on the cruise will also help me with my Neuropathy.  

[Denali2003]

What do you do for lunch on Embarkation day?

[donswife]

All dining venues have some sugar free dessert options. 

[disneyochem]

6 hours ago, Denali2003 said:

What do you do for lunch on Embarkation day?

Eat at whatever MDR is open that day.  Even though I haven’t had an opportunity to speak to the staff yet about my dietary needs, there is always something that I can eat and that can be easily changed for me on the menu.  Grilled chicken salad, etc.  

 

I don’t generally eat at the buffet (other than breakfast) because as a celiac I worry about cross contamination.  The other food places (Alfredo’s, Salty Grill) generally are not set up for food allergies on the first day—at least in my experience.
 

[disneyochem]

7 hours ago, Denali2003 said:

Thankfully I can eat Oatmeal.  I can eat whole wheat items.  I figured GF would be an easier option on the ship.  I had no idea I could get GF pancakes in the buffet.  Yay! 😀  Do they have to special make them?  I've been cruising since 2003 and never knew any of these wonderful things.  Probably because I never had these special dietary needs until now.  WOW, GF pastries at I.C.  Double Yay!!! 😍  Does the I.C. also have sugar free pastries?  Does the buffet or IC have dairy free yogurt?  

The gf pancakes are usually already prepared (stored in a warming drawer) but they will make fresh pancakes if requested or if they’re out of them.

 

I don’t know if IC has sugar free or not but I do know you can get sf desserts both in the buffet and MDR.

 

They may have dairy free yogurt—I can handle Greek yogurt so I get that at the buffet.  I have my lattes made with coconut milk and use almond milk with my cereal—there are lots of dairy free options!

[MsSoCalCruiser]

2 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

The gf pancakes are usually already prepared (stored in a warming drawer) but they will make fresh pancakes if requested or if they’re out of them.

 

I don’t know if IC has sugar free or not but I do know you can get sf desserts both in the buffet and MDR.

 

They may have dairy free yogurt—I can handle Greek yogurt so I get that at the buffet.  I have my lattes made with coconut milk and use almond milk with my cereal—there are lots of dairy free options!

I have never seen dairy free yogurt at the buffet.  I do send an email ahead of time with my dietary needs and then I talk to them when I arrive at the main dining room.  Here are a few dairy free things from the MDR.  

[Denali2003]

I've been following the current Majestic Princess sailing in Alaska.  A few people have posted pictures of the menus.  Surprisingly there are quite a few things I can eat.  I was very happy to see them.  I did email the Dietary Specialist inquiring if those items would be available on our Caribbean cruise in Dec.  I hope they are.  I know the menus change depending on which ship and where they are.

[Reydnn38]

On 7/24/2021 at 12:44 PM, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I have never seen dairy free yogurt at the buffet.  I do send an email ahead of time with my dietary needs and then I talk to them when I arrive at the main dining room.  Here are a few dairy free things from the MDR.  

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see these photos.  I can't eat any dairy and in the past when I cruised on HAL I ended up only having a choice of sorbet every night for dessert.  On the last cruise I brought my own diary free brownies onboard, plus some dairy free margarine (don't know if that was OK or not but it's what I did).  If Princess has more options I may be switching cruise lines!!

 

[mtnlvr53]

On 7/24/2021 at 2:36 PM, disneyochem said:

The gf pancakes are usually already prepared (stored in a warming drawer) but they will make fresh pancakes if requested or if they’re out of them.

 

I don’t know if IC has sugar free or not but I do know you can get sf desserts both in the buffet and MDR.

 

They may have dairy free yogurt—I can handle Greek yogurt so I get that at the buffet.  I have my lattes made with coconut milk and use almond milk with my cereal—there are lots of dairy free options!

Thanks for all the info. I am recently diagnosed with Celiacs and any information I can get eases my mind that I will be able to cruise and not just eat lettuce, jello and chicken 🙂. You mentioned oatmeal, is that a cross contamination issue? I have eaten oatmeal and didn't get any "upset" when doing so. At home, I eat gluten free oatmeal but I have eaten oatmeal at a hotel breakfast before.  Thanks!

Edited July 30, 2021 by mtnlvr53

[MsSoCalCruiser]

4 hours ago, Reydnn38 said:

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see these photos.  I can't eat any dairy and in the past when I cruised on HAL I ended up only having a choice of sorbet every night for dessert.  On the last cruise I brought my own diary free brownies onboard, plus some dairy free margarine (don't know if that was OK or not but it's what I did).  If Princess has more options I may be switching cruise lines!!

 

You need to send Princess an email prior to your cruise. They will talk to you each night in the MDR and you will place your order for dinner and lunch (for days that the MDR is open). I order the sorbet each night and the other desserts are a “surprise me“.  I have an extremely rare dairy allergy and they take excellent care of me so be prepared to be spoiled!  
 

Also, when you go to the Buffet let them know that you need to talk to someone because you have an allergy.  They will walk around the Buffet with you and tell you what you can and cannot have.  I’ve never seen a dairy free dessert in the buffet though.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

5 hours ago, Reydnn38 said:

On the last cruise I brought my own diary free brownies onboard, plus some dairy free margarine (don't know if that was OK or not but it's what I did).

 

Did you say brownies?  Where do you purchase dairy free brownies?  Yummy!

[caribill]

3 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

 

Also, when you go to the Buffet let them know that you need to talk to someone because you have an allergy.  They will walk around the Buffet with you and tell you what you can and cannot have.  I’ve never seen a dairy free dessert in the buffet though.

 

Not talk to just someone. Make it the headwaiter or the head buffet chef on duty.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Not talk to just someone. Make it the headwaiter or the head buffet chef on duty.

They are so wonderful. They help me every single cruise.

[Reydnn38]

11 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Did you say brownies?  Where do you purchase dairy free brownies?  Yummy!

For one cruise I bought out the Qdoba at the airport (theirs are/used to be dairy free) but for others I bake my own using the Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge mix box and then top them with Enjoy Life chocolate morsels which are allergy friendly.  I freeze them and carry them in a small insulated lunch bag with a frozen block until I can get into the cabin for a fridge - yeah I know it's a lot of effort but it's worth it to me to have something special. 

[Reydnn38]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Not talk to just someone. Make it the headwaiter or the head buffet chef on duty.

On one cruise the ship's head chef walked me through the buffet line but he told me to ask the servers to get some of the items (like grits or other things next to dishes with dairy) from the kitchen behind the lines because of cross contamination out on the actual line when they move a dripping spoon over several bowls of different types of food.  He made it sound like it wasn't a problem to ask the servers to do this.

 

[caribill]

21 minutes ago, Reydnn38 said:

On one cruise the ship's head chef walked me through the buffet line but he told me to ask the servers to get some of the items (like grits or other things next to dishes with dairy) from the kitchen behind the lines because of cross contamination out on the actual line when they move a dripping spoon over several bowls of different types of food.  He made it sound like it wasn't a problem to ask the servers to do this.

 

 

You are correct, it is no problem to ask the servers to do that.

 

But if you need to know which foods are dairy free, do not rely on the server's knowledge. Ask for the headwaiter or head chef on duty.