Allergy experiences?

[mcarlson]

Hello Everyone!

 

I have two nephews, 4 and 1 who both have severe allergies. They both have anaphylactic reactions to nuts, and the youngest has a VERY severe allergy also to eggs, while the oldest is allergic to eggs, his reaction to them doesn't appear to be as bad but still serious. The oldest is also allergic to shellfish, but the youngest appears to still be ok for that one.... basically these two kids have allergies that are life threatening, not just mild that they could eat a little bit and have an itch.

 

I love cruising and would love to bring them with me one day when they're a little older. Is this going to be possible? Right now their parents say they will never be able to travel, ever.... and being such an avid traveller I just cannot imagine this. Is cruising with me a possibility for them? Any experiences would be greatly appreciated!

 

Megan

[A&Jfamily]

Hello Everyone!

 

I have two nephews, 4 and 1 who both have severe allergies. They both have anaphylactic reactions to nuts, and the youngest has a VERY severe allergy also to eggs, while the oldest is allergic to eggs, his reaction to them doesn't appear to be as bad but still serious. The oldest is also allergic to shellfish, but the youngest appears to still be ok for that one.... basically these two kids have allergies that are life threatening, not just mild that they could eat a little bit and have an itch.

 

I love cruising and would love to bring them with me one day when they're a little older. Is this going to be possible? Right now their parents say they will never be able to travel, ever.... and being such an avid traveller I just cannot imagine this. Is cruising with me a possibility for them? Any experiences would be greatly appreciated!

 

Megan

 

All you have to do is notify special needs dept and they will take care of everything. There are several posts on this board of adults with exactly the same issues and they have had no problems...food even prepared in a special area. You can meet with the maitre d' when you come on board, and they will even have you pick your meals a day in advance.

 

I understand mom/dad's fears and protection, but they are unfounded, at least as far as crusing goes.

[bennifer]

Just make sure you have at least an epi pen for everyone. Thats really a must if you will be eating out anywhere. You just never know. My ds12 is severely allergic to peanuts and we just let our servers know and have him always eat with us so we can better moniter.

[mcarlson]

Oh yes, they don't go anywhere without their epi pens! It's great to hear that Carnival is so accommodating, I will definitely share these posts with my sister, I am determined to get these kids traveling with their travel addict of an aunt : )

[travelntreats]

Hello Everyone!

 

I have two nephews, 4 and 1 who both have severe allergies. They both have anaphylactic reactions to nuts, and the youngest has a VERY severe allergy also to eggs, while the oldest is allergic to eggs, his reaction to them doesn't appear to be as bad but still serious. The oldest is also allergic to shellfish, but the youngest appears to still be ok for that one.... basically these two kids have allergies that are life threatening, not just mild that they could eat a little bit and have an itch.

 

I love cruising and would love to bring them with me one day when they're a little older. Is this going to be possible? Right now their parents say they will never be able to travel, ever.... and being such an avid traveller I just cannot imagine this. Is cruising with me a possibility for them? Any experiences would be greatly appreciated!

 

Megan

Although you can advise the cruiseline of dietary needs for passengers, the real answer to your questions lies in the parents final decision regarding if their children can cruise in the future. Until they are in agreement to let the kids travel, this is really a mute point, but a kind gesture on your part to want the kids to get out there and travel.

[tnt091605]

Lots of kids travel with several allergies. I have read a lot of threads on here about kids and adults being allergic to peanuts. They said contact the special needs department and also the MD and his staff about their allergies. They said the staff handled it really well.

 

I sure hate to hear that the parents are not making sure these kids can live normal lives with these allergies. They should be able to do about anything any other kids can do. They just have to be cautious.

[Wennfred]

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[mcarlson]

Although you can advise the cruiseline of dietary needs for passengers, the real answer to your questions lies in the parents final decision regarding if their children can cruise in the future. Until they are in agreement to let the kids travel, this is really a mute point, but a kind gesture on your part to want the kids to get out there and travel.

 

hahahaa I wasn't planning on stealing the kids....of course they'd have to let the kids travel with me, how else would I get them to a cruise? Point of the post was to get information I could give to my sister/bro in law to let them know if Carnival was good with handling these situations.

[poobears]

As a Mom I wouldn't allow a child with life threatening allergies to travel with someone else. I know you are probably the most responsible person in the world and would never let them in harms way but I just wouldn't do it, not until they are much older and responsible enough to manage their allergies on their own. They would travel, I wouldn't give that up for allergies. They would be traveling with us though, not someone else.

[mcarlson]

Good point, I meant the parents with us, a family vacation, my parents, my sister/bro-in law, my nephews and myself!

[poobears]

Oh so kids parents would be there with them. I would do that. I would make sure the boys stayed with me instead of in camp if they weren't old enough to resist eating/drinking something that maybe they shouldn't. Like if another child offered them candy etc.

 

A few precautions in place and it would be a great family vacation.

[Wennfred]

Call them today or Monday:

 

Guest Access Services department at 800-438-6744 extension 70025

[Sneezykevina]

I just want to state that as others have said, if you contact Carnival and let them know they will do everything possible to keep the food uncontaminated.

 

I am severly alergic to tree nuts (but not peanuts) and the 2 cruises we have been on the waiter always knew when we sat down for our first meal. Carnival does an amazing job at helping keep passengers safe (when they know about the allergies).

 

We are headed off on our 3rd cruise in June and it will be our kids first. Fortunately my son outgrew his milk and egg allergies so we only have to deal with me!

[travelntreats]

Please allow me to RE ENFORCE the need to verify with the restaurant manager, head waiters, etc. the dietary requirements regardless if you or your TA have provided this info to the cruiseline.

 

I have a client that just returned from =x='s Solstice and the cruiseline was not only advised well in advance of one of the passengers gluton free diet requirements, but also by the passenger when they boarded and met with the dining room staff including the chef's......You guessed it....On the 2nd night of the cruise, the passenger was served a dessert item that was filled with glutton and had a reaction to this and was ill throughout the cruise and basically ruined their cruise. The incorrect food that was provided had been documented by the passenger to guest relations while on the ship as well as the cruise director and all parties concerned.

 

After a letter was written to =x= now, we are now waiting to see what they plan on doing for the client given the severity of this issue and the inability to guarantee that food safety procedures were followed.

 

Just an FYI for folks with dietary needs.

[marygal]

I also have a peanut allergy and contacted guest services before I left for the, they were great about making sure that I didn;t have anything I was not supposed to have

[bellamom6]

Please allow me to RE ENFORCE the need to verify with the restaurant manager, head waiters, etc. the dietary requirements regardless if you or your TA have provided this info to the cruiseline.

 

I have a client that just returned from =x='s Solstice and the cruiseline was not only advised well in advance of one of the passengers gluton free diet requirements, but also by the passenger when they boarded and met with the dining room staff including the chef's......You guessed it....On the 2nd night of the cruise, the passenger was served a dessert item that was filled with glutton and had a reaction to this and was ill throughout the cruise and basically ruined their cruise. The incorrect food that was provided had been documented by the passenger to guest relations while on the ship as well as the cruise director and all parties concerned.

 

After a letter was written to =x= now, we are now waiting to see what they plan on doing for the client given the severity of this issue and the inability to guarantee that food safety procedures were followed.

 

Just an FYI for folks with dietary needs.

Just an FYI..you can see my thread on special diet on Carnival. Both myself and my daughter have Celiac Disease and are on a very strict gluten free/ dairy free diet. Carnival was made aware of this and we were required to provide doctors notes. I spoke to Carnival Special Services twice before our cruise and was promised a fridge would be placed in our room to keep our "special" gluten free food in that we were bringing on board the ship. Long story short...Carnival dropped the ball big time. No food was provided, the fridge was a headache to get. It was my daughters 7th birthday and I was told that they would make her a gluten free birthday cake...did not happen, I even brought mix like I was told to do.

 

The kids club made no effort to give her gluten free snacks so anytime she wanted one, we had to go down to the kids club to give her a snack. I have been dealing with this for over 10 yrs and know not to rely on anyone's word, so I packed a suitcase full of backup food for us. Thank goodness I did! Carnival is looking into it, as I understand, we were a "fluke". We are going on the Inspiration on 6/1/09. We love Carnival. Bottom line, always prepare. Does not matter how good any line is in the past...all it takes is one mistake and you can end up sick on your vacation..not fun for anyone! We had a great time and look forward to going again..

[shipty2]

I have an allergy to tree nuts among other things and also had an adult sister who died from an severe allergic reaction. I am very careful and have never had a problem on a cruise. As was posted previously you just let the special needs department know ahead then someone will review the menu with you.

 

 

http://store.safetytat.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_7

These kids tattoos for allergy alerts are cool.

 

 

http://www.iceideas.co.uk/nut-allergy-temporary-tattoo-travel-pack-60-p.asp

 

These too

[yogi2929]

Our DD15 is mildly allergic (rash) to peanuts and treenuts. We travel with friends whose son is extremely allergic to chocolate, raw egg whites and shellfish.

 

DD hasn't had a problem with nuts onboard, although the cheese plate does come with a piece of walnut bread. Our friend's son has had some issue with chocolate drizzled on the plates of some of the desserts. But it was our fault, we didn't inform the waitstaff in the beginning.

 

We avoid the Mongolian Grill. We do not know what is in the sauces- we havn't asked- and they just wipe out the pans between each use.

 

I only have experience with the 12-14 age group. We did have to fill out a form alerting the staff to their allergies. For what ever reason, nuts and treenuts are not on the checklist, but are put under 'other'.

[lizardhowson]

Hello Everyone!

 

I have two nephews, 4 and 1 who both have severe allergies. They both have anaphylactic reactions to nuts, and the youngest has a VERY severe allergy also to eggs, while the oldest is allergic to eggs, his reaction to them doesn't appear to be as bad but still serious. The oldest is also allergic to shellfish, but the youngest appears to still be ok for that one.... basically these two kids have allergies that are life threatening, not just mild that they could eat a little bit and have an itch.

 

I love cruising and would love to bring them with me one day when they're a little older. Is this going to be possible? Right now their parents say they will never be able to travel, ever.... and being such an avid traveller I just cannot imagine this. Is cruising with me a possibility for them? Any experiences would be greatly appreciated!

 

Megan

 

Isn't this a question which should be directed to their primary care physician ?

 

With all due respect, one couldn't possibly justify bringing them on a cruise because someone else related their experiences. The answers you get here are certainly not going to be from persons who have an accurate understanding of their food challenges.

 

And yes, everyone will tell you about Carnival's special needs department. From personal experience regarding my father, the promised accomodations never developed once onboard the ship. I see other posters have echoed the same lack of accomodation.

[zqvol]

Hello Everyone!

 

I have two nephews, 4 and 1 who both have severe allergies. They both have anaphylactic reactions to nuts, and the youngest has a VERY severe allergy also to eggs, while the oldest is allergic to eggs, his reaction to them doesn't appear to be as bad but still serious. The oldest is also allergic to shellfish, but the youngest appears to still be ok for that one.... basically these two kids have allergies that are life threatening, not just mild that they could eat a little bit and have an itch.

 

I love cruising and would love to bring them with me one day when they're a little older. Is this going to be possible? Right now their parents say they will never be able to travel, ever.... and being such an avid traveller I just cannot imagine this. Is cruising with me a possibility for them? Any experiences would be greatly appreciated!

 

Megan

Due to the nature of these allergies it is highly unlikely that any cruise line is going to be able to accommodate them. Eggs and egg products are in so many ingredients that it will be impossible for the cruise line to guarantee their safety. Listen to their mom, these kids are not traveling on any cruise until they get their illnesses under control.

[MamaParrotHead]

My son is also HIGHLY allergic to peanuts, and mildly allergic to eggs. We travel quite often, just come prepared and do our research.

 

I bring travel/premeasured Benadryl, his epipen, his inhaler and his battery powered nebulizer (he also has asthma). The only thing we've found so far that was BIG time stressful, and we wouldn't do again, was attempting to go to a baseball game. Which, considering my son is just 5 now, is kind of depressing. But the out of control peanut shells being flung everywhere was just too much.

 

We're taking the kids on their first cruise this fall. So far, I've found out many interesting things that hadn't occured to me thus far.

 

Booking our travel insurance when we book our cruise, rather than after we have our airfare booked, is a must, as asthma and food allergies are considered "pre-existing conditions".

 

Informing the airline of his nut allergy (which they said they appreciated), as if nuts are to be served on the plane, the flight attendant will pass out alternate snacks in the rows surrounding him, in an attempt to create a buffer zone.

 

I also informed Camp Carnival. The only wall I'm running into there is that they won't administer the epipen, should there be an emergency. Although after doing some reading, and because I'm planning on eating with the kids at meal times and such, they don't serve snacks when the kids are actually *IN* camp, plus the fact I'm going to insist on having a pager (as the smaller kids' parents automatically get one), so I can be notified immediately, should there be a problem. Carnival also states that they don't use peanut oil in frying their foods, which is my main concern. Everything else is just like eating at a restaurant...after inquiring and informing them of the circumstances, you take their word for it and hope for the best. Unless you're physically preparing every meal for the child, there's no way to be 100% certain. It does SUCK, but that's the reality of the situation.

 

Travel is too wonderful an opportunity to make my child live in a bubble. We come prepared, familiarize ourselves with the situation/s, bring his medical charts, he also wears a medicalert bracelet whenever we're not at home, we find out where the closest hospital is to where we're staying, etc.

[mcarlson]

hahaha it's funny that people flame you in a post asking about Carnival's allergy history. So for those who were confused, I'm not stealing the child, nor are the children able to get their "illness" under control... it's an allergy, it's not likely to go away. A doctor isn't going to tell these kids they can't travel... people live with allergies everyday. Obviously you have to be prepared, and talk to a doctor and develop a plan with Carnival that is the most likely to work. ah, sometime I hate these boards, I asked what people with allergies had experienced with Carnival, not sure how people took that to mean i was trying to get a guarentee of anything. If you lived with an allergy child you'd understand that nothing is ever guarenteed, I was simply wondering what the experiences have been.... :rolleyes:

 

And thank you for those people who gave that information, VERY helpful and some great tips for when the time comes that we do travel (hopefully!). I agree with what most of you said, traveling is a great experience and while it's stressful when dealing with allergies, pretty much every outing with my nephews has that added stress, to make sure we keep them safe and do everything in our power to see that they avoid what is harmful to them! Seems like Carnival would just be a call away to see if they could accomadate the allergies we're dealing with! Perfect!

 

Megan

[bellamom6]

See my earlier post...they do serve snacks in Camp Carnival to all the kids. They will make a note on what allergies are present in the Camp. We told them that our daughter could not have any wheat/ oats/ rye or dairy products. Her eating any of those would make her very sick ( Celiac disease). They would not allow us to leave her sealed, nut free/ allergen free snacks there just incase she was hungry.

 

The 3rd night, we did get paged b/c she was hungry and the snack they were having she could not have. I guess she was begging and begging for the snack ( cant remember what it was). They did call us and ask before they gave it to her ( thank goodness they did), turns out it was a wheat containing snack. So we went down and gave her a snack. Just be careful. She also has asthma so I totally understand the stress that adds on top of everything else.

 

I really came prepared with our own foods, which was a good thing. I also have a egg/wheat/ dairy allergy and lived on the deli turkey and my own snacks for the cruise. We still had a wonderful time, just had to be prepared.

[chuck95]

I think if I did go on a cruise with my food allergic daughter, I wouldn't put her in any sort of kid camp / day care. I'd have her with me at all times. I'd also consider briinging a cooler and suitcase-full of food for her. We don't trust restaurants to cook for her, and I don't think I could trust a cruise ship kitchen to be totally free of cross-contamination either.

[Pegs222]

hahaha it's funny that people flame you in a post asking about Carnival's allergy history. So for those who were confused, I'm not stealing the child, nor are the children able to get their "illness" under control... it's an allergy, it's not likely to go away. A doctor isn't going to tell these kids they can't travel... people live with allergies everyday. Obviously you have to be prepared, and talk to a doctor and develop a plan with Carnival that is the most likely to work. ah, sometime I hate these boards, I asked what people with allergies had experienced with Carnival, not sure how people took that to mean i was trying to get a guarentee of anything. If you lived with an allergy child you'd understand that nothing is ever guarenteed, I was simply wondering what the experiences have been.... :rolleyes:

 

And thank you for those people who gave that information, VERY helpful and some great tips for when the time comes that we do travel (hopefully!). I agree with what most of you said, traveling is a great experience and while it's stressful when dealing with allergies, pretty much every outing with my nephews has that added stress, to make sure we keep them safe and do everything in our power to see that they avoid what is harmful to them! Seems like Carnival would just be a call away to see if they could accomadate the allergies we're dealing with! Perfect!

 

Megan

 

Megan, I think you are a great aunt to not only want to take them on a cruise but find out first just what the risks are.

 

I am not so sure the risks that are involved would be a good idea to take them on a cruise. The ships are so big and I would imagine your nephews would want to get involved in the activities with Camp Carnival. I am sure the staff is very competent but there is still that risk that something could go wrong.