Anyone ever attempt to eat gluten free off the ship?

[Denine]

We are cruising in September. We will be in Cozumel. In the past, we have enjoyed Pancho's Backyard. This time, our DD (10) needs to eat GF. I was wondering if anyone has tried eating here or anywhere off the ship GF? What were your experiences.

I would hate to come back to the ship while ashore so she can eat. I do plan on taking packaged GF snacks ashore with us.

 

[carmie3377]

I have never eaten there but since we will be in Cozumel in 3 weeks, your post inspired me to look up Pancho's Backyard. I was scrolling through pictures on tripadvisor and one of them at least (haven't made it all the way through) was labeled as gluten free. Maybe there will be a decent selection there . Good luck

Anyway, looks like we'll be stopping by Pancho's for a good lunch and drinks . THANKS.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[n8nally]

I would think lots of Mexican food would naturally lend itself to being gluten free.

Corn tortillas, chips, rice and beans, meats (typically they are served grilled, not breaded and fried), lettuce, tomatoes, cheese. All naturally gluten free without having to be labeled as such.

The only thing I'd watch out for are flour tortillas (flautas, chimichangas, quesadillas, etc.) and sour cream, which sometimes has an emulsifier that is not gluten free.

 

[PWammy]

You may want to ask them how they season their foods, prepared seasoning and spices often have wheat flour mixed in them.

 

[Melissa R]

I have to eat gluten free. We just went on a western Caribbean. I emailed Paradise Beach ahead of time asking about gluten, and they gave me one general suggestions in email and told me to ask for one of the managers I think. I didn't, though - I just ordered a grilled fish platter.

In grand cayman, we went to the turtle farm. The restaurant there said something on the menu about asking about allergies, so I mentioned that I ad to eat gluten free and was thinking of the grilled fish salad, and she said yes, that was good.

Any time I'm eating some place I'm not used to eating, I'm always nervous having to rely on others to give me accurate information. But I didn't get sick, so I think what I had was safe.

If you can try to plan ahead where you're going to eat, I'd suggest emailing those locations ahead of time. I also carried gluten free protein bars everywhere we went off the ship, just in case I didn't feel comfortable.

 

[Denine]

Thanks for the replies.

Dd may just have to eat corn chips and salsa. She used to get the quesadillas, but I know those are made with flour. I have foreign language cards that I can copy that say she can't eat gluten and all that that entails.

 

[Msmit002]

If this helps....

In the 8 years since my Celiac dx, Mexican food/restaurants have been my safe haven for eating out. That and barbecue joints. While trying to converse with people who do not speak English well can be scary when trying to deal with a food allergy/intolerance (precisely why I haven't had Chinese food away from home in 8 years), Mexican food is one cuisine that I have found easy to navigate without issue on my own without help. When all else fails, a grilled protein with a baked potato and a salad is a safe meal and I can usually find anywhere.

Lastly, Make sure you have already contacted Disney to have the GF designation assigned to your reservation so that they plan on having enough GF foods on board (like GF bread, muffins, waffle mix etc. etc...)

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Denine]

If this helps....

In the 8 years since my Celiac dx, Mexican food/restaurants have been my safe haven for eating out. That and barbecue joints. While trying to converse with people who do not speak English well can be scary when trying to deal with a food allergy/intolerance (precisely why I haven't had Chinese food away from home in 8 years), Mexican food is one cuisine that I have found easy to navigate without issue on my own without help. When all else fails, a grilled protein with a baked potato and a salad is a safe meal and I can usually find anywhere.

Lastly, Make sure you have already contacted Disney to have the GF designation assigned to your reservation so that they plan on having enough GF foods on board (like GF bread, muffins, waffle mix etc. etc...)

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks for the info. The language barrier is why I plan on taking the GF cards in Spanish. We will also be in Cartegna and I really want to do an excursion there. We will see how it goes.
DCL has already been contacted about the GF need. Just trying to plan for off the ship at this point.
While DD is a more adventuresome eater than most kids or even teens from what we have seen, she still doesn't have an adult palate. Just trying to figure out my options so we can be prepared.