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

Summary 2:
We just did (a celiac family of 4 with 2 teenagers on a strict gfdiet). We were 
on Oosterdam, 7-day Mexico cruise out of San Diego. Itwas fantastic!!! We 
had no problems with food at all. The food wassuperb too! My only 
recommendation (if it's not too late) is to pick thetraditional dining at a set 
time at the same table with the samewaiter. We didn't, so we had to explain 
our needs almost every night -kind of annoying, but not a show-stopper. 
Except for the first nightwe pre-ordered our dinner the night before. The first 
night we justpicked the safe options. They are extremely knowledgeable 
andaccommodating. For breakfast and lunch we ate in the Lido deck. They 
had GF bread forsandwiches and french toast, etc. Introduce yourselves to 
the person in charge of food (white jackets)on Lido and in the dining room, 
and they'll always go out of their wayto help. We would go again in a minute. 
Email if you have more questions.
*****
I have done two cruises with Holland America (Alaska & Baltic region), with 
very good attention to my gluten-free diet.
One must eat in the main dining room to get GF bread for any meal.  The 
waiter gives you the menu for the next day in advance and you choose what 
you want, and they try to make it GF as closely as possible to the original. 
 
You must communicate clearly in advance that you need a special gluten-free 
diet.  When you board, try to get an appointment with the Restaurant 
Manager, Kitchen Manager or Chef to go over the details.  You may want to 
bring a GF cake mix with you for desserts (especially the final banquet meal 
where they light up cakes and parade around), or even GF pasta. 
******
I traveled with Carnival and Princess which are sister companies of HA.  Notify 
the company a month in advance -- I do a letter first then follow it up about 
a week later with a phone call.  Find out who you can speak to on the ship to 
arrange your GF dinners each night.  Breakfast is easy enough without help 
and lunches, if they don't have sit down choices stick to salads and other 
things that are safe.  Sometimes there is someone you can ask at the buffet if 
you are persistent.
*******
Go on that cruise! I did a 17 day cruise on them and was treated like a 
princess! Make sure you phone the Special Services department as listed on 
the internet and they will fax/e-mail you a set of papers where you can pick 
what food you will like to eat. They cannot guarantee they will get all the 
food however they do their best and they had more on board when I got 
there. I had Kinnikinnick muffins, bagels, pankaces (Do not know whose), 
Bread that changed every night on about a 3 night rotation, etc. As it was a 
long cruise I got tired when they started repeating some of the meals as there 
were only a few I could eat from the menu (lunch and dinner) - so one day 
they made me macarroni and cheese for lunch!
*******
We travelled with them on the Alaskan tour last summer.  I had difficulties on 
the land portion of the trip.  Many stops are in the back country with few food 
options.  On an eight hour bus ride a box lunch was provided.  I checked the 
contents and advised my tour guide that it was not gluten free.  We made a 
special stop along the route to pick up my gluten free box lunch only to 
discover it was exactly the same as everyone else's.  I got by with cheese 
sticks from our two lunches.  Another day we were on an all day bus trip that 
stopped for lunch at a bakery!  I ordered a sandwich without the bread.  The 
cruise portion of the trip was far more satisfactory.  I had notified Holland well 
in advance of my needs and they were taken care of on the ship.  Gluten free 
baked items were available for breakfast in our stateroom.  They provided 
gluten free sandwiches upon request and even sent a gluten free pizza base 
up to the casual dining deck so I could have lunch there.  In summary, it is 
much safer on the ship and very nice to have tasty choices at every meal.
 

Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
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