Dining with Low sodium restrictions

[mina]

Hi all.  DH now needs to eat low sodium due to having a double bypass.   There is no place to specify this on the medallion app for our cruise in February.  How do we notify them of this restriction?  Has anyone eaten in the specialty restaurants, like crown grill, with dietary restrictions?  Do you notify them in advance.  Thank you, this is all new to us!  

[JF - retired RRT]

9 minutes ago, mina said:

Hi all.  DH now needs to eat low sodium due to having a double bypass.   There is no place to specify this on the medallion app for our cruise in February.  How do we notify them of this restriction?  Has anyone eaten in the specialty restaurants, like crown grill, with dietary restrictions?  Do you notify them in advance.  Thank you, this is all new to us!  

In the Personalizer (online), click on (I know this makes no sense) "Bed Requested" (in our case, it says Queen bed requested), near the top are boxes for each guest with "Print Travel Summary" in green. Look closely and one of the choices in that box is "dietary requests".

Also, once on the ship, you should meet with the head waiter (just tell your waiter, if you haven't been approached already) and he will make arrangements each day to help you with selections.

[beg3yrs]

You can specify dietary restrictions in the Personalizer on the web. Go to your specific cruise then click on the Check In icon. The next page will have something like this:

Click on the Dietary Requests link and from there it's pretty simple to make the advance notification.

 

DW is allergic to gluten so we're familiar with this drill. There are several things you can do once on board.

 

1) If you're an MDR junkie (we are), meet with the headwaiter in advance to be sure the information on your restriction has reached them. He or she will give you instructions as to how to proceed in the MDR. Personally we like to have the same servers for the full cruise so they get to know our restriction. Once that's established the headwaiter will know to see you each evening with the next day's meals so you can preselect what you'd like. They will also have recommendations for you as to what would be good with your restriction.

2) In the buffet you can ask any of the staff on the line if you could talk with the "Chef du partee" (I'm not sure of that spelling) and he or she will walk you through the line letting you know what's ok and what isn't.

3) For the specialty restaurants, just tell them when you make your reservation about the restriction. They'll note it and your server should then be aware.

 

[mina]

Thank you both, I did go to the dietary restrictions, low sodium is NOT one of the options to select.  Only gluten, allergies on the medallion!  However, I found it through the clicking on bed requests!  So thank you!  .   

Edited August 21, 2022 by mina

[cr8tiv1]

Under Check in

Dietary Restrictions

Fill out and don't forget to send

 

You won't get cheese, gravies, French Onion soup, and a bunch of other things that I will "cheat" on and take a few bites.  Princess' soups are very salty.  Under restrictions, they are pretty bland.  

 

The following are available with a written request:

^*Contact’s Email Address

^*Dietary Restriction for  

^*Check which restriction(s) you would like to make

Kosher meali

Baby foodi

Food allergyi

Distilled water (for CPAP machine use ONLY)i

Vegetariani

Low salt/Low sodiumi

Diabetic/Sugar-free mealsi

Edited August 21, 2022 by cr8tiv1

[mina]

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Under Check in

Dietary Restrictions

Fill out and don't forget to send

 

You won't get cheese, gravies, French Onion soup, and a bunch of other things that I will "cheat" on and take a few bites.  Princess' soups are very salty.  Under restrictions, they are pretty bland.  

 

The following are available with a written request:

^*Contact’s Email Address

^*Dietary Restriction for  

^*Check which restriction(s) you would like to make

Kosher meali

Baby foodi

Food allergyi

Distilled water (for CPAP machine use ONLY)i

Vegetariani

Low salt/Low sodiumi

Diabetic/Sugar-free mealsi

Thank you.  I was able to send the request thru the website, not thru medallion.  I got a message that said request sent.  DH is lamenting about not getting his fettuccine Alfredo or new York cheesecake,   so we have negotiated a one meal exception.  He does not do the soups nor care a lot for the sauces, so I think he will do good.  

[cr8tiv1]

17 minutes ago, mina said:

Thank you.  I was able to send the request thru the website, not thru medallion.  I got a message that said request sent.  DH is lamenting about not getting his fettuccine Alfredo or new York cheesecake,   so we have negotiated a one meal exception.  He does not do the soups nor care a lot for the sauces, so I think he will do good.  

 

I enjoyed my meals without the sauces.  Got tired of the steamed vegetables (need to ask for some other choices).  I have a low sodium by choice, not for health reasons.  So a little indulgence here and there was "accepted" by MDR staff.  Missing Alfredo is a big thing.  Missing cheese on the Eggplant Parmesan was a downer.  Missing cheese on French onion soup/why even have it...etc

[NavyVeteran]

The main thing in the MDR is to order from the headwaiter (not the waiter) one day in advance, so that they can modify the selections.

 

In a specialty restaurant, I recommend going to the restaurant the night before your reservation and talking with the head waiter there - don't rely on telling someone on the phone when you make your reservation or entering it in the app (although you should probably do those things too). That way, he can tell you what is available that would meet your restrictions and he can arrange to modify something for you.

[KreinKrunker]

In June on Royal Princess, the headwaiter allowed me to order from the dining room menu for lunch the following day.  That was really nice, but the first time that has happened.

[Tweedy]

On 8/21/2022 at 8:18 AM, mina said:

Hi all.  DH now needs to eat low sodium due to having a double bypass.   There is no place to specify this on the medallion app for our cruise in February.  How do we notify them of this restriction?  Has anyone eaten in the specialty restaurants, like crown grill, with dietary restrictions?  Do you notify them in advance.  Thank you, this is all new to us!  

 

 

If eating in the main dining room, on the first night let your waiters know you have a food restriction.  First not is always the most difficult so you really have to make the choices yourself as they won't have anything prepped.  You can then ask to speak with a head waiter about the dietary restriction.  He will visit your table each night at the end of your meal and bring you the menu for the next night where you can choose your meal which will be prepped low/no sodium.

 

On our last cruise pre-covid, I had the best head waiter and he made sure to come.  If you do plan on eating in the Crown Grill, you can visit the night before and let them know you will be there the next night.  They will put a note on your reservation and do their best.  No fancy salts with the steak.

[cr8tiv1]

A great head waiter will show up at the Specialty Restaurants with a menu for the next night.  Now, that is service!

 

 

[MissP22]

18 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

A great head waiter will show up at the Specialty Restaurants with a menu for the next night.  Now, that is service!

 

 

We've never experienced that in a Specialty Restaurant, only in the regular DR. I suppose they have to know what to defrost for the next nights meal. 

[c-boy]

27 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

We've never experienced that in a Specialty Restaurant, only in the regular DR. I suppose they have to know what to defrost for the next nights meal. 

or maybe they didn't want you to come back  (?)

[1emerald1]

So I would like a low sodium, but not a no sodium.  Is that possible?

[beg3yrs]

7 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

So I would like a low sodium, but not a no sodium.  Is that possible?

Absolutely. Just be sure to ask in advance.

[1emerald1]

18 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

Absolutely. Just be sure to ask in advance.

Thank you!

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, 1emerald1 said:

So I would like a low sodium, but not a no sodium.  Is that possible?

 

The Assistant Manager (aka head waiter) has always mentioned this disclaimer.  They try to do as best as they can, but several ingredients may contain salt that is out of their control (cheese, broths, tomato sauce, etc).  

[1emerald1]

19 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

The Assistant Manager (aka head waiter) has always mentioned this disclaimer.  They try to do as best as they can, but several ingredients may contain salt that is out of their control (cheese, broths, tomato sauce, etc).  

That's okay, as long as I can get them to tone it down somewhat.  I have a chronic ear disease that is affected by salt.  Not to mention the swelling of my ankles the first day on board!

[MissP22]

1 minute ago, 1emerald1 said:

That's okay, as long as I can get them to tone it down somewhat.  I have a chronic ear disease that is affected by salt.  Not to mention the swelling of my ankles the first day on board!

Same here and I switched to low salt during my last cruise aboard the ship. They were very accommodating. 

[cr8tiv1]

It took me several "return from cruising" that I noticed a rise in my blood pressure, swollen ankles, and water retention.  Ha Ha...I always had a doctor's appointment scheduled for after a cruise (including weight gain).  Now, the problems are not as noticeable AND I don't schedule doctor appointments right after returning.  

 

It has made a difference.  I don't cook with salt at home.  But the soups are very bland and not as "creamy".  I'll take the trade offs.  I can always add salt (which I rarely do).  Love my french fries without salt.