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I wanted to report on my 7 day cruise on the Royal
Caribbean cruise line leaving from Galveston, Texas on
Rhapsody of the Seas.  About a month before leaving, I
had my travel agent fax a letter from my doctor saying
that I required a strict gluten free diet.  My travel
agent contacted the cruise line about a week before we
left and verified that they had received the fax. I
have to say, there was still some initial confusion
about my dietary requirements amongst the kitchen
staff when I arrived at the ship.  It took  a visit to
the head waiter to get things in order.  I had hoped
that some special meals would be planned for me or a
least some GF desserts.  That didn't happen, although,
I did request some gluten free bread from the cook and
received it the next day.  The head waiter and I
worked together with the existing menu to make sure
that my food was safe.  I never became ill, so I
consider it a success.  I found out toward the end of
the cruise that the cruise line publishes a cookbook
that contain most of the foods served in the dining
room.  This is very helpful since it listed all of the
ingredients of the food they prepare.  It was about
$25 dollars.  I'd recommend anyone that cruises to try
and secure one before they travel. Maybe you could do
it on-line or through your travel agent.   It would be
very helpful.  One word of warning that I'd like to
pass along about cruise ships.  When you board the
ship you may be forced to eat buffet style until the
dining room opens for the first evening.  I tried to
pick and choose carefully from their selections, but I
never felt secure and no one seemed to know
ingredients.  Take some GF snacks with you or you'll
find yourself hungry that first day.  They next time I
travel, I'll also take some GF cake mixes.  I lived
off fresh fruit, which was wonderful, but It was still
torture to see everyone else enjoying all of these
desserts that I couldn't touch.  Also, if you're
trying to avoid eggs and dairy, this is nearly
impossible.  It seems like everything is cooked in
butter and full of eggs.  I normally avoid eggs and
dairy, but I gave up this restriction for the week.

I hope this helps someone considering a cruise.

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