<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
1. My husband and I sailed on the Summit a couple of years back, for a
15 day cruise to Hawaii. It was the best, most accommodating cruise we had
ever taken. I've been a diagnosed celiac for nearly 40 years and have been
on many cruise lines in the past. Celebrity was the best, by far! The meals
were incredible. Every day I would be given the menu for the following day.
I would make my choice, and whatever I asked for was prepared gluten free.
Bread was made for me and even a small cake. Don't remember having pancakes,
though. They went out of their way to make it easy for me. The food was
delicious and so well prepared, frankly I missed out on nothing. Contact
their customer service office or contact the office of the maitre de or head
chef. If you can't get through, just bring along a box of gluten free pasta
and when you arrive on board, as soon as you can, go down to the main
dining room and speak to the maitre de or head chef and hand him/her the
pasta (have your name, seating time, and table number on the box).
I never once got sick. Yes, there were some things on the buffet menus that
I did avoid. One warning, not all the food service workers speak English --
most do, but not all -- so asking if
something is gluten free didn't always get responses. Just use
common sense.
Breakfast was usually an omelet. None of the dry cereals then
were gluten free (although now you could bring along a box of Rice Chex).
Lunches were easy -- lots of salads, which I
love. I did bring a loaf of gluten free bread with me ( I
wasn't sure they would have it on board).
you'll have a great time on the Summit. With a little common
sense you should have a painless trip. the only cruise line I'll choose will
be Celebrity.
2. You need to go to the special services department - 2 weeks before a
cruise is a bit late to contact them - Holland America and Royal Caribbean
required 90 days and Princess 60 days for notice of a GF diner. However
they do it so often now I do not know why they require so much notice.
Perhaps to get things on board while the ship is moving about?
http://www.celebritycruises.com/beforeyourcruise/faq/home.do?faqSubjectName=
Food+and+Beverage
<http://www.celebritycruises.com/beforeyourcruise/faq/home.do?faqSubjectName
=Food+and+Beverage&faqId=506&pagename=faq_answers>
&faqId=506&pagename=faq_answers
3. I went on a cruise on the Celebrity Solstice last November. Of the
8 family members, 4 of us are gluten free. The Solstice offered only one
type of bread that was gluten free and it was on our table every night.
However, who wanted gluten free bread when there were so many other
delicious items available? Strawberry soup anyone? Gluten free chocolate
mousse or cake? Frog leg soup? Everything was delicious. As directed in
the brochures, we emailed the cruise line upon booking that we were four
celiac who needed to eat gluten free. The first evening's meal was a bit
chaotic but they had many gluten free choices and the head waiter of your
table should know what these are. At each meal thereafter, we were given
the menu the evening before, before we left the table, and ordered for the
next night so that the dish could be made gluten free if it was not already.
They did have pasta available too. So, dinner in the dining room was easy.
Most other meals we ate at the buffet. There were always plain meats, eggs,
fresh fruit, etc. that we could have.
4. We have cruised several times with Celebrity and find that no two
ships are the same. On all ships they have brought bread with dinner.
Since we generally prefer to eat meals in the Lido, we do not go to the
dining room for breakfast or lunch. The bread is not to my liking and I ask
them not to bring it as I don't feel it is worth the calories which are a
problem for me.
5. Take time to go to www.cruisecritic.com
<http://www.cruisecritic.com/> and check the Celebrity thread. Do a search
there for gluten-free.
6. We just returned from the last two cruises on the Mercury cruise
ship before Germany bought it. The Summit is bigger than the Mercury is. We
are going on the Century to Hawaii for 15 days Oct 17th out of San Diego
where our daughter and her husband are stationed. As for gluten free on the
Celebrity or Royal Caribbean(RCL) they are fantastic. Celebrity or the
travel agent should be able to register you as g/f. What you do though
immediately after you get onboard is go to the dining room and talk to the
maitre' de and after each meal they bring you a menu for the falling day &
your waiter will make sure it is prepared g/f. As much as we cruise we eat
at the buffet for breakfast and lunch. If they have stir fry, try that.
All the vegetables and meat shrimp or chicken is all g/f and get the wide
rice noodles but they have the skinny ones also. I like mine extremely spicy
but not everyone does. At the buffet in the morning ask a maitre' de about
g/f pancakes and he will send someone to the dining room for them or bread.
There are a lot of celiac guests so they keep these items in stock.
7. I was on a Celebrity Cruise (Solstice) in November. They do have GF
pasta and bread (plain, sliced bread) and they can make GF pancakes, but I
found Celebrity difficult to work with to get my GF issue addressed. Even
though I placed a GF request with my cruise reservation, separately notified
them in writing (as they requested), and verbally verified with them before
sailing and once again onboard that they could handle my dietary needs, it
still took the dining room staff 2 full days to start understanding what it
was all about. My suggestion is to go to Guest Services immediately and ask
them who you can personally speak to in order to make sure you get what you
need. My experience is strictly with the dining room. We did not eat in any
of the specialty restaurants. I picked a few safe bets at some of the
breakfast buffets, and found a chef there who could answer my questions, but
generally I don't feel safe eating at buffets.
8. Check out Way of the Celiac Traveler Blog:
http://wayoftheceliactraveler.blogspot.com/
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