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Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all of your kind input on cruise experiences.  I have gone
and have come back.  My first and foremost advice is to have anyone
going on a cruise to bring all their own bread, rolls, cakes...

I was told that I should notify the maitre'd and the head waiter of the
diet.  Keep in mind that some workers on a cruise do not speak english
very well which was the case on this ship in the restaurant.

I was told that Carnival would accommodate my diet.  This really meant
that the chef would grill a steak or chicken breast with spices and no
marinade.  I was give a ton of fruit and salad (which kind of result in
bathroom trips in themselves) and baked potatoes.

I had brought 4 days worth of carbohydrates and when I gave them to the
head waiter to put in the fridge (ok-ed ahead of time through the travel
agent) he didn't tell anyone where in the fridge that he put them.  The
next meals had different head waiters.  I had to go a whole day with no
bread/rolls because they couldn't find my stuff!!!!!(Unfortunately that
was the night that they served me french fries which I found out was
fried in the same oil as breading).  Makes for quite a buzz from the
wine!

When my food was found I brought it all back to my room and just took up
the stuff I needed for each meal (rolls for dinner, scones for
breakfast).  This resulted in many trips up and down the stairs to my
room, good for the legs!

The cruise itself was fun, its just a shame that the meals were such a
struggle.  The waiter did his best to help me...The Maitre'd just
ignored me when I told him that my food had been lost and asked if he
could help me (I was polite about the whole thing, I wasn't about to
ruin my trip over it).  He never even came back to my table with an
update (like, I couldn't find it either).

Its possible to ignore the food all around if you keep busy on deck or
in the ports.   Keep your attitude up and have a great time.  They are
very structured so there is lots to do!

(The dacqueries are made from rum which is GF.  Watch out for most of
the umbrella drinks, they have vodka in them)

Some advice I rec'd from the list was prepare for the worst and hope for
the best.  I back that up 100% in recommending that any celiac who goes
on a cruise should bring enough bread products to last the whole trip.
Maybe they could freeze 1/2 of it while you keep the other 1/2 in your
room and only bring up the food you'd like at each meal.  Just make sure
you know which head waiter to retrieve it from  and make sure he's
around when you need it.!

Some cruisers had rec'd chefs willing to bake for them but I wouldn't
guarantee that and once on a ship, you're stuck!

Thanks Again for all your help in everything!

Shari Weber