Food allergy disclosure

[sciencewonk]

I disclosed my food allergy to HAL prior to our last cruise, which was our first cruise post-COVID.  We have our second cruise coming up.  Do I need to repeat the disclosure or does HAL now have that permanently on file?  BTW, HAL did an excellent job taking care of my needs.

[OlsSalt]

Renew your requests for each cruise. And then check in with the dining staff in the main dining room to reinforce that notification.

 

HAL does process thousand and thousands of passengers on each of its many ships. So there is probably no secure nor automatic follow-up on your very original request from a prior cruise.

 

Glad to hear you had such a positive first experience. Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[azalice]

Yes, as stated, call special services at HAL and let dining manager know as soon as you arrive. It has worked well for me during many cruises.

[BetsyS.]

I agree with others above that you should notify HAL again of your food allergy in advance. My travel agent did it for me. On embarkation day, you can remind the staff in MDR.  The staff in MDR gave me a dinner menu for the next night and they are very conscientious about it. I filled out what I wanted for dinner for the next night. HAL does a great job with this.

[DaveOKC]

With something this serious I would over notify HAL and not rely on them having a record of it.  Also, as already stated, be sure to tell your dining room staff.

 

[Cruise Suzy]

I fill out a form for each cruise.
 

From HAL's Accessibility FAQ:

For guests with food intolerances or allergies that are not life-threatening, please contact our Ship Services Department at (800) 541-1576. For guests with life-threatening food allergies, we ask that guests provide detailed information to our Guest Accessibility Department by completing a Special Requirements Information (SRI) Form. Guests should indicate on this form which foods may potentially cause a severe reaction.

 

The Special Requirements Information (SRI) Form can be found at

https://book.hollandamerica.com/specialServices/login.action

[Haljo1935]

I complete the form for each booking. 

Safe travels  - enjoy your cruise!

[c-cruise]

In our experience the form isn't strictly necessary. I've done it beore, but also forgotten to do it. Either way just let them know on the first night and they will bring you the next evenings dinner menu in advance. This works well even with "As You Wish" dining as they will record your cabin number on the menu and then whatever waiters you have the next evening will be able to reference the pre-order by cabin number.

 

Lido is still a challenge with food alergy...

[alwaysfrantic]

I filled mine out online this time and submitted it.  
 

 

[sciencewonk]

Thank you, everyone, for your input.  I will fill out the form again before my next cruise.

 

Also, advising the dining staff is a good idea.  The first thing I did on our first night dining in the MDR was to tell our waiter about my allergy.  He always provided the next night's menu at the end of the meal.  The only drawback was that by the time the next night came around, I usually forgot what I ordered!

[Haljo1935]

Last cruise, my server would always say "now your homework" when he brought dessert and the next nights menu. Of course, I was full by then, so very little actually sounded good. Maybe that's a good thing - I may have selected differently had I seen it before eating.🙄

Table mates liked getting a preview of the next night.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Haljo1935
Added text

[OlsSalt]

On 8/7/2023 at 12:13 PM, c-cruise said:

In our experience the form isn't strictly necessary.

 

 

Best to let the ship know ahead of time so they can  plan for for best service and to have adequate provisioning on hand. That way those who do need these special diet accommodations are not limited by those who chose not to notice the ship upfront.

[c-cruise]

4 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

 

Best to let the ship know ahead of time so they can  plan for for best service and to have adequate provisioning on hand. That way those who do need these special diet accommodations are not limited by those who chose not to notice the ship upfront.

I agree, best to let them know in advance. I wouldn't think most people are intentioanally choosing not to notify them, but it is pretty easy to overlook the form or not even know about the food alergy form to begin with (I totally forgot about it on our last cruise). With or without the form, I would still notify the wait staff so they are aware. Particularily if doing as you wish dining with a different waiter each night.