Menu Mate

[CruisinginWonderland]

Has anyone used this new technology for allergy or food restrictions?

 

I’ve developed a more severe dairy allergy & I will speak to who I need to Day 1, but just curious if anyone has used this successfully? It’s fairly new, right?

Edited August 19, 2023 by CruisinginWonderland

[lasekeye]

I used Menue Mate on our last cruise.

It is a podium/stand set up in the Buffet area & manned by a Hostess.

I specifically need info if Shaq Chicken venue (on Celebration at the time), offered any non-breaded chicken (👋 celiac girl here).

The Hostess called …someone…and said if I would wait here, she would go check.  Well I said I would just go with her…we walked to the Shaq Chicken counter, where she went into the back area to confirm with the Chef.  A moment later she returned, and said that YES, they did offer Gluten Free chicken, even though it’s not on their menue…just need to ask!

So, yes, I have used the Menue Mate & I was pleased with the service.

[vwrestler171]

We've used it quite a few times for my daughters dairy allergy.  It works great, however on the last day trying to grab breakfast before debarking, there is not anyone there, at least not on the 3 cruises we've been on since the restart.  When I mentioned it to John Heald, he said they would do better at that so hopefully they have fixed that small issue.

[CruisinginWonderland]

Thank you both! I too have a dairy allergy, and it has become more severe than when I previously cruised. I’m really looking forward to using this!

[CruisinginWonderland]

On 8/20/2023 at 10:11 AM, vwrestler171 said:

We've used it quite a few times for my daughters dairy allergy.  It works great, however on the last day trying to grab breakfast before debarking, there is not anyone there, at least not on the 3 cruises we've been on since the restart.  When I mentioned it to John Heald, he said they would do better at that so hopefully they have fixed that small issue.

Any favorite dairy free items she loved?

[lasekeye]

NOTE - for everyone that has food allergies, you still need to be diligent in what you order or dish up at the buffet.

eg, a few cruises ago (not Carnival, but a cruise line that is usually regarded as a level above)…I was preparing to scoop some (labeled) quinoa salad.  I confirmed the description of the salad & it’s added veggies on the buffet label…then I noticed that it was actually couscous, not quinoa.

 

At first I was ready to walk away with an empty plate, but my concern for others (& I was kinda pissed-off that this “fancier” cruise line would make such errors.  Instead I caught the attention of a food counter staff, letting him know that one of the salad items was wrongly tagged.  He kinda brushed it off, “I’m sure it’s not wrong”…I persisted that a couscous salad is in the place of a quinoa salad, where he then said “oh, I’ll come switch the bowls”….again, I could tell that he didn’t understand the real issue.  He followed me to the salad bar, (expecting that there would be both quinoa salad AND a separate couscous salad with 2 seperate labels), I pointed to the salad & label in question, where he understood that there was a mix up, but he brushed it off “it’s ok, it’s very yummy, & that I would like it”.  He didn’t understand my description of allergies & how unsafe the label mix up was, so he went in search of the Chef.

 

I stayed put at the salad counter to warn others if they appeared to have some of the mis-labeled salad.  The Chef appeared & I had to show him the offending couscous salad/quinoa label…I actually had to scoop up a bit of the salad to my empty plate & pick up a few of the grains to “really show” him the error.  Chefs eyes grew wide when he finally understood the ramifications of the error & without haste, the salad & label were removed to the kitchen.  He was very apologetic & was relieved that I hadn’t eaten any of the wrong grain & he assured me that mistakes like this wouldn’t happen again.

[sparks1093]

We used it on Glory in April and it worked well for the two people in our party that needed it. DW is allergic to shellfish and is lactose intolerant, which is fairly simple (other than she tries to limit her intake of iodized salt because of the shellfish allergy). Our traveling companion has a list of allergies and sensitivities as long as your arm (such as, no corn based or soy based items in her food). Menu Mate really helped the staff let both of these ladies order things that were safe. Our head waitress would bring them the next day menus (sea day brunch and dinner) and they would make their selection. The waitress would confirm the lack of allergens OR the ability of the kitchen staff to prepare the item without the offending foods. I wasn't sure that it would actually work with sea day brunch, but when they showed up they informed the server who was then able to retrieve their order slip from the system and order their food. (And they do make WCMC without gluten for those who need it.) They were both very impressed with the handling of their orders.

[vwrestler171]

On 8/21/2023 at 11:18 PM, CruisinginWonderland said:

Any favorite dairy free items she loved?

Nothing that she can remember, it was just nice having a better idea of what foods were safe for her vs guessing.