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Following my post regarding listmates experiences cruising with Carnival I was 
overwhelmed with replies and had to abandon responding to each individually 
as good manners would require!  For a bit of context, we had just returned 
from a Royal Caribbean cruise which we had planned well before our son 
received a confirmed diagnosis (just two weeks before the trip).   We went 
with good intentions of keeping the diet as best we could bearing in mind it 
was all new.   We did contact the cruise line in advance as so many of the 
responses indicate to do and were advised to speak with the maitre d’ on 
board.  In fact we could not locate him and spoke instead to the Head Waiter 
of our section – he, as well as our waiter, seemed very familiar with our 
requirements and I was relieved not to get a blank stare.   We were provided 
with GF bread in the dining room which my son loved (like cake!) and the 
following evening’s menu was brought to me at dinner to point out selections 
that were available.  

In practice, we often ate in the cafeteria area as that suited our schedule and 
dress code preferences....and tried to make “educated guesses” – salad, 
vegetables, fruit, rice, potatoes and plain looking foods without sauces.   
Being so new, my objective was to “minimize the damage” – obviously not the 
ideal approach and in fact we somewhat abandoned the whole thing in the 
last three days, writing it off as his last opportunity to enjoy these foods.   
Since receiving all these responses and bearing in mind that Carnival has 24 
hour pizza, my son’s favourite food, we have decided that it would be unfair 
and somewhat irresponsible on our part to put such temptation before him.   
Vacations for us will be options that allow us to stay near urban areas and do 
some cooking ourselves, such as timeshare and house rentals.   He is now 
100% on a GF diet; he is doing well and looking forward to GF camp.    I hope 
that the summary below is helpful to others and I want to make sure that you 
know how much I appreciate the time you all took to respond.

1. General - contact the cruise line beforehand and advise of requirements; 
contact the maitre d on board and speak with a chef if possible (choose a 
quite, non-service time), eat mainly in the dining room, build relationships with 
buffet/cafeteria staff; take own GF snacks; be polite but persistent; choose 
late dinner service as your order may take longer and you won’t run into a 
next sitting; make intelligent choices, be prepared for staff that don’t 
necessarily speak English well; bring your own pizza shells.
	
2. Carnival – overall not good although a couple of positive experiences, 
servers indicated that they understood but offered selections that were 
suspicious or definitely off-limits.  Even when advised in advance no 
preparation was made on board. Not as careful as other cruise lines.  Special 
desserts prepared. Good experience with the efforts of certain staff – not 
necessarily the cruise line.

3. Holland America – generally positive experience, could depend on who the 
executive chef is and how much s/he can be bothered.  Even ice cream 
always came with a wafer even when asked not to. GF muffins provided at 
breakfast; some help available at the buffet.  Cruise line faxed list of GF 
provisions beforehand to choose from – had bagels, cereal, pancakes, etc.

4.Celebrity – universally positive experiences – menu selections were prepared 
in a GF manner.

5.Royal Caribbean – experiences were good – servers were helpful and 
alternatives offered; sometimes would make exceptional effort to make GF 
desserts, other times not.

6.Norwegian – effort slightly below that of Royal Caribbean; sailing scheduled 
for this August and list was given by the cruise line to choose so they are 
supplied on board (this seems great – would be interested to hear how it turns 
out in practice) 

7.Princess – “fantastic” – let them know your requirements well beforehand by 
faxing to their dietary-related department. GF crackers, bread, cornbread, 
muffins, pasta provided.  Very accommodating.

8.Queen Mary (P&O, I believe) – GF bread provided even 10 yrs ago – 
probably better now (is she still sailing?)

9.Other – referred to a GF group in NY who has a member that organizes GF 
trips [log in to unmask] or 631/926-3696 (hope I share a referral 
fee!!)

Lisa

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