First time as a celiac - Oasis

[sarahsentry]

Hoping for tips and tricks on how to stay Celiac safe on Oasis of the seas next month.  

I've cruised with Royal before but this will be my first as a celiac and nervous about it all.  Any general tips you have would be greatly appreciated.  

 

Also ...

1. Should I have my file flagged ahead of time? would that do anything?

I know to go talk to someone in the main dining room right away and get a recurring dinner reservation at the same table each night so I can have the same waiter and ask to pick the next nights dinner at the end of each night.

2. Windjammer - what can I do here to ensure no cross contamination? This will be a popular option for my son and husband so would be good to know how to eat safely here.

3. what about places like the central park cafe. can I eat here? if so what is safe and/or what should my protocol be for talking with staff to find safe food.

4. Promenade eateries? I heard that gf cookies are available and even gf pizza at the pizza place. Is that safe cross contamination wise?

5. we have an outside balcony for the first time and might do breakfast there once or twice. Any special protocols I should follow?

6. We picked an itinerary that stops at both labadee and coco cay so I can have access to RCI food. Can anyone give me an idea of what that will look like or how I can operate on shore?

7. Lastly, we don't fly out until 9pm on the day we get off the ship. Anything I can try to bring off ship with me to survive the day? will probably spend time at the science museum and then dinner at FLL if anyone can speak to safe options there.

Thanks so much!!!

[smokeybandit]

There really is no benefit to flagging your reservation beforehand. I'm sure many will disagree, but that's been my experience.

 

All of those places are safe to eat. They key thing is advertise and ask questions. The dining crew does a good job asking about food allergies, but don't at all be bashful in letting them know or asking any question even as trivial as you might think it is.

For departure, my wife always grabs stuff from the windjammer to make some sandwiches (travel with ziplock bags for this reason) to get her through the travel day.

[taglovestocruise]

Just mention it to the Maitre D. They will visit you each night at the end of your meal and go over everything on the menu for the following night. My wife has allergies and the staff is overwhelming with help and suggestions. So much so that she no longer talks to them about allergic reactions. Same pretty much holds true for the Windjammer Managers. 

[khm1]

I think that emailing special services would be very helpful. Your dining reservations will all contain prior information about your dietary requirements. You do not want to take a chance on cross contamination. In the windjammer and other venues, you will likely need to speak to the staff each time you attend. With any premade reservation, the staff will know ahead of time and will consult with you without you having to ask. 
 

I have a DS who is celiac and I have researched this extensively. He hasn’t sailed since he has completely changed his diet, but we have traveled a lot. I find that generally, the earlier the staff is notified, the better the experience will be.

[Desert Dawg]

For future reference check out Celiaccruise.com.  We are leaving on our third celiac cruise next month.  Highly recommended.

[DadOfTheSeas]

My wife is celiac and she has found that cruising is the easiest way for her to travel.

 

We always email special services to let them know. We also note it when we book and it shows up on our invoice under her name.

 

Talk to the maitre d at the MDR, and also make sure.your waiters know. They take your order the day before for the next night.

 

Nothing to stress about, you won't be the only one and they really go above and beyond to make it enjoyable 

[ecslady]

I've only sailed a few times as I was diagnosed with Celiac a little over a year ago.  I bring my own bread as I'm picky about my bread and I have found the GF bread on Oasis, plus other RC ships not to my liking. I also bring some of my favorite snacks, so they can be readily available. Eating in the MDR is easier than the Windjammer.

[smokeybandit]

19 minutes ago, ecslady said:

I have found the GF bread on Oasis, plus other RC ships not to my liking.

The bread was a lot better before the shutdown.  But as you know from having to eat GF bread, there's a lot of crappy GF bread out there.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

We were on Oasis last FEB my mum is a celiac. So for breakfast the lovely head of the park cafe would get her gluten free toast or bread rolls. Also bags of gluten free cookies. In evenings we ate at the buffet. She spoke to the head chef and he got one of his chefs, guy called jamie to make her a fresh gluten free meals on request. He would give her options and surprise her. The food was really good and she was well looked after. 

Only point to note in the buffet do not trust the cake signs. Some cakes looked identical yet the signs said either gluten free or not. Best stay away from them tbh. 

 

Also pizza place you can ask for a gluten free pizza 👍

[sarahsentry]

14 hours ago, Desert Dawg said:

For future reference check out Celiaccruise.com.  We are leaving on our third celiac cruise next month.  Highly recommended.

We looked at this but the price markup was significant and I'd read in many places that it should be safe on regular weeks so we didn't do it.  Sounds nice to have it all extra safe though.

[D4]

I am celiac and cruise a couple weeks each year.  

 

I bring a lot of prepackaged snacks with me for my travel days to and from the ship (2 flights each way), to eat on the ship, and at ports. 

 

You're not supposed to bring ship food off the ship.  They have dogs sniffing everyone's bags at some ports looking for food, but prepackaged food is ok. 

 

I bring an unopened jar of cashew butter in my checked luggage.  I bring several bags of tiny milk chocolate chips (from the baking aisle), Rice Krispie treats, protein bars, etc. in my carryon luggage.

 

The Windjammer has yogurt in big bowls that people scoop out of.  I ask the worker for individual yogurts (they keep them in a fridge behind the counter.)  I put them in our cabin fridge to eat later as snacks with my cashew butter and chocolate chips.

 

I eat lunch every day at El Loco Fresh.  The first day of each cruise I talk to the head person there to make sure I know what is gluten free.  I don't take anything from their condiment bar because of the possibility of cross contamination.

 

I always get early dining and preorder my food for the next day.

 

i trust the desserts at the Cafe Promenade because they are behind glass and you have to request them.

 

I'm very careful in the Windjammer buffet.

 

Have fun!