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Dear Celiac Friends:

CRUISING GLUTEN FREE            By Janet Y. Rinehart, Houston
        Summer vacation this year was a 7-day cruise on the Holland America
Ryndam plus six more days of tours with a group.  I have to tell you
that we had a wonderful time, but more importantly I was treated royally
aboard ship in terms of my gluten-free diet.  I had read Linda Lgvogue's
March Internet summary page about cruising, which was helpful. The most
important point was to make contact well before the actual date of
embarkment.  Also, I have developed a generic letter to catering
departments that I have used for conferences/festivals I have attended.
I believe it is important to tell not only what I cannot eat but what I
can eat. It was a simple matter to tailor that letter to the cruise
specifics. I even offered a list of brand names for some of the staples
and the CSA restaurant card.  I was more expectant of a good outcome
because Holland America advertised attending to a gluten-free diet in
their literature. I called the toll free number, ascertained the person
in the ship services department with whom I should speak, and wrote to
that person.  He subsequently called me back twice to ask about specific
brand names they could not find in Vancouver (place of embarkment).  I
was even more assured since they took time to find certain types of GF
products.

        The first afternoon aboard ship I met with the supervisors of food
service. I offered them a Gluten-Free Pantry cake mix and bread mix.
They said they already had stocked my San-J Tamari.  I was feeling even
better.  The first and second night we both needed to get the process in
order and for the kitchen staff to find my supplies. The gluten-free
cereal available was a brand with which I was unfamiliar, but it
contained quinoa and amaranth, but no malt; as an alternative to eggs, I
sometimes ordered that cereal with no ill affects.  The area dining
supervisor and wait staff paid excellent attention to my needs. After
dinner, they would bring forth the menu for the next evening and I could
choose what I wanted. At first I chose plain fish or beef for the main
course. After a tour of the kitchen and speaking directly to two of the
chefs, I discovered they carried gluten-free pasta and sour cream. I
need only choose anything on the menu and they would make it gluten
free.  Gradually I became more adventuresome. I discovered gluten-free
chocolate cake one night.  I really felt decadent when they made French
onion soup and a special individual "baked Alaska" type dessert the
celebratory night when every table was presented with a larger version.

        I knew in advance that another celiac would be sailing, so I pursued
the food services manager to give me the name and cabin number.  Leah
and I met at one lunch.  She has not been on the gluten-free diet long,
and already by the third day she was getting bored with plain fare. She
didn't realize she could order special things in advance. I told her we
could order gluten-free bread at every meal we had in the main dining
room. I wish we had more time together to chat, although I had brought
along with me some special information for her: Dr. Harold Pruessner's
new article, a copy of Living Without magazine, and some information
from our chapter and CSA. We discussed the upcoming conferences of CSA
in Providence in October and CCA next May.

        I don't know if other lines go to the extremes to cater to a
gluten-free diet as did Holland America.  But the same principle of
writing in advance with your needs certainly applies in all cases. I
know our table wait staff may not remember other people from our week,
but I bet they will remember me!

        And we did have a wonderful time on board and off on shore tours. We
invited my husband's parents to accompany us, so we had a good reunion
after a year apart.  Coming from temperatures in the high 90's in
Houston, we were ready to embrace the 50 and 60-degree weather of the
seas and Alaska.  Seeing the calving on huge glaciers, seeing all the
wildlife from that ship and smaller tour boats was impressive.  Although
the touring after the cruise from Anchorage to Fairbanks was fun and
interesting, meal ordering at regular restaurants provided the same old
hassle with choosing plain fare and asking all the right questions.  The
availability of good, fresh seafood was always a treat, however.

        From this experience, I think I just might do very well eating
gluten-free in other places in the world if I use a cruise ship as the
base for meals and do shore tours doing the day.  I think traveling
abroad is a very real possibility now!