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When I wrote to the listserv, I had also emailed  Star Clippers about whether or not they could handle gluten-free on their clipper ships, because a group of friends have asked me to join them on a trip in the Baltics on one of their boats.  I'm still not sure that I'll go.  I wish there were other gf people coming with us, not just a group of sailing friends who are NOT on special diets.  Thanks.  Lin

I received a response from:
Judy Jacobs 
Dispatch Coordinator   of  Star Clippers Americas
760 NW 107 Avenue, Suite 100
Miami, Florida 33172 
PH: 305-442-0550 ext. 3018 
Fax: 305-442-1611 
Email: [log in to unmask] 

She said that the ships are informed, and they do their best, but it is possible they do not have access to all the products that  we have in the U.S. She also said she would be more than happy to speak with anyone with a complaint or a concern or a question.


Here are two posts I received from listmates.  I thought the top two were from two different people, but it seems it was just two different emails.

1. Just got back a few months ago.  They were just passibly GF aware in the dining room; however, everywhere else on the ship it was not very good.  Happy (?) Hours on deck weren’t so happy, nor were picnics on a beach.   They would argue for days that they didn’t have any gluten free cookies aboard for on-deck events, and then after days of my arguing back that they did, they dumped an armload of them on me to somehow distribute to the other GF passengers.  I didn’t know who they were but tried to offer them around and felt very uneasy when a random GF passenger would see me as if I were hoarding them…and if I had just set them out, ALL the passengers would have eaten them.  Very uncomfortable situation(s.)   When I would ask the waiters about GF, they would refer me to the guy who unlocks the food storage..who always seems to just have locked up and gone off duty with the key.  When I would ask the Maitre d’, he said he only puts out the food, that the chef is in charge of securing and preparing it.  And God forbid that you should ask the cook with a REAL ‘tude.
 To add insult to injury, when we went into our room to pack to go home, my bed was piled with GF products, as if to say, “Here, choke on these…we had them all along!”

We recently went on the biggest Star Clipper, huge actually.  I ate OK, and the actual dining seatings generally had the right stuff; but it was a bit of an armtwisting. One morning I overheard them serving a gal her GF French toast, which I had no idea they had; and then someone overheard me getting something they had no idea was available either.  So it was very random for anything other than dinner itself.  Just FYI, on any Clipper other than the biggest one, when dinner’s done, they move all the tables and chairs out of the dining room and break out provisions stored under the floor.  Anything that does not come out then and there, does not come out for 24 hours because they then reclose the floor.  So be there for that.

This one from another lismate recommends another company, but was considering Star Clippers. She wrote:  
I have had excellent support on the Windstar ships.  windstar is another company, the executive chief once prepared my meals. now they give me the evening menu in the morning and I indicate my preferences and they make GF if possible or make alternatives. they assign one waiter to me and he checks everything I
request with the chief.     http://www.windstarcruises.com/
Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC