<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thank you to everyone who responded with information from their experiences
with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines.  Below is a summary of all
of the comments.


I've never cruised on the Norwegian Lines but I do
cruise on Royal Caribbean at least once a year.  They
are great!  Simply tell your head waiter of your needs
and they will take wonderful care of you.  My last
cruise was in May and they actually made fresh, hot
bread during the 1st dinner.  I highly recommend Royal Caribbean. 


We went on a cruise to Bermuda with Royal Caribbean last year.  When we
booked the cruise we notified them of my husband's gf status.  When we were
on board we also went and notified the Head Waiter of the need for gluten
free foods.  They were very accommodating and had gluten free rolls for him
at dinner, went over the meal with him before it was served and even had
gluten free French toast.  He was able to find food that was suitable at the
buffet too.


I just got back from a cruise on Norwegian.  It was wonderful!  They bent
over backwards to be sure my meals were safe.  Tell them you are celiac when
you book your cruise.  Then you should also e-mail the special needs people
and let them know.  The maitre'd will come to your table and work with you
on placing your order.  They checked and double-checked with the chef to be
sure my meals were gluten free.  It was great.  I felt perfectly safe eating
on the ship.  They even assisted me at the excursion desk when I went on an
excursion that included lunch.  I could tell them I wanted gluten-free
waffles or pizza for the next day and which restaurant I would be eating in,
and they would have the waffles or pizza for me.  They also had gluten-free
bread in the dining rooms, although it wasn't very good bread.  They would
bring me 6 slices every time!  I'm sure other cruise lines will also cater
to the special diet, but Norwegian was really great about it.  I was very
careful at the buffets and only ate there once or twice.  But the maitre'd
in the buffet area would check with the chef and tell me which dishes were
gluten free.  Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful trip!  I love
cruising and feeling completely safe about eating!


Royal Caribbean is much better trained and predictable.I have been on 20 
cruises.  I also like the Carnival "Spirit" or  "Freedom."  The executive 
chef  on the Spirit is very knowledgeable about gluten intolerance.  He has 
even developed a gluten free desert menu for every night on the cruise. His 
name is Ramesch.


I have been on Royal Caribbean and I do not think they had a separate menu.
They did give me gluten free bread. The problem that I ran into is that
because the servers were all foreign-they did not usually understand, but
you just have to remind the head waiter and they will give you the menu
options for the day. I am not extremely sensitive as far as cross
contamination goes so I cannot give my opinion about that because I'm sure
everything is cooked in the same areas.  Hope this helps a little.


I have done a Norwegian Caribbean cruise that was delightful.  They were 
wonderful.  The maitre'd did an excellent job of taking care of me.  Both of
my brothers have been on Royal Caribbean and have been very pleased with
their experience with them.


I have gone on a Norwegian line  cruise.  They were accommodating, but I 
stuck with one restaurant and made the assistant there my best buddy, 
ordering what I'd like in advance.  They even managed some bread for me. 
Lunch was a big problem, though as it was a buffet and I didn't want to 
bother anyone and wasn't sure I could take a chance anyway.  However, 
breakfast and dinner were just fine.


My family and I recently traveled on Norwegian.  My dad and I are both
celiacs.  I'd say it was an overall positive experience.  They had GF bread
and pasta available, but there were several communication breakdowns.  My
dad and I had to go each day to order our meal 24 hours in advance.  This
was a bit tedious because you had to decide which dining room you wanted to
eat in the day before.  However, the chefs were excellent at altering
recipes so we could eat things we wanted.  A couple times our orders were
mishandled or unknown to the waiter, but we eventually always got "safe"
food.  It helped to be familiar with and check in with all the dining
managers upon our arrival at the dining room, who then frequently visited
our table to make sure our meals were properly prepared and everything was
OK.  In the mornings, you have to flag down a manager to get toast, which
took about 10 minutes as they had a dedicated toaster on a different floor.
 There were some minor inconveniences, but neither my dad nor I were sick
during our trip, so that makes it a great experience!


Royal Carribean was an outstanding GF experience.


I've been on two RCCL cruises since GF and they do a fine job of making sure
your meals are GF.  You have to talk to a representative about 3 weeks prior
to sailing to set it up and again to the host once you get on the ship.


I had a wonderful experience on Norwegian (and not just because it was my
honeymoon!). They bent over backwards for me.


We just got back from an Eastern Carribean cruise with Royal.  They were 
wonderful to my daughter & she had no problem having a variety of foods 
available to her.  We did bring pancake mix, syrup & pasta with us &amp; gave it 
to the chef.   We felt they were more savvy than Holland America which we 
went on 2 years ago, & more fun!  Good luck.


I just returned from a Royal Caribbean Alaskan cruise on Tuesday this week. 
I loved the cruise, however, their idea of providing gluten-free meals was 
twice slices of gluten-free bread at dinner each night and fruit for 
dessert.  I ordered off of the regular menu and was told it was being 
prepared gluten-free but it wasn't.  Thankfully I had taken some of my own 
food and only supplemented my diet with dining room food so I didn't get to 
miserable but I would think twice before going on another RC cruise.

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