Dream and food allergies

[jennifer in canada]

Wondering if anyone has recent experiences on the Dream and food allergies??we have a list of anaphylactic ones and in particular what to do about eating at castaway cay??

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

I've seen reports of special meals being made for allergy cruisers at CC. Not sure how that works.

The Dream, and her sister ship the Fantasy, have a separate galley for preparing meals for allergy cruisers. Make sure you communicate it before the cruise and follow up once on board to ensure it is in the system. Most of the dining room staff are very good about it but there is always the possibility of problems. If you have an issue, let your Head Server know so they can do everything possible to ensure the safety of the affected cruiser.

 

[OKW Lover]

Yes they will do this. Your TA needs to note the allergy on your reservation and you should talk to Guest Relations on board to get the details of where you can get special food items on CC.

 

[wlfans]

Our daughter has a Peanut Allergy. We sailed on the Dream about a month ago. first make sure your travel agent and/or Disney Cruise Line has it noted. She was able to eat at Cabanas. The protocol at Cabanas is as follow enter and ask for a head server. They then get a chef who will come out and ask what you would like. It's then made and brought to you. At diner in one of the restaurants you"ll tell you server. Again a chef will come out and ask what you would like from the menu and make suggestions. Overall, everything was very smooth. At Castaway Cay it's all buffet similar to Cabanas. So, as you enter near the buffet there will be Disney Cast members. Just walk up and explain your child has an allergy and a chef will be brought out to explain. What could be eaten. If you don't feel safe with the buffets you can have a sit down meal at one of the restaurants. I have to say it was all taken care of and we felt relaxed. If you have any questions ask a cast member an they will get the right person to you.

 

[natandscott]

I think it's also important to note that the Disney servers and chefs will HAPPILY oblige any food request for you. You don't need to feel like you'e creating extra work for them---they do this ALL of the time.

 

[mousemamma]

We traveled on the Dream when our son had 7 food allergies. Our servers at dinner were amazing. Especially for Castaway Cay. The night before CC at the end of dinner, our server asked what our son would like to eat at CC the next day and he would put the order in. Anything he wanted.

Then when all picked up our trays at CC for lunch, I mentioned that there was a special order for our son. Before we even started to move along the buffet line, they brought out his tray! It was fabulous. Had a metal warming cover over the plate and was wrapped in plastic wrap as well I think. And his name and our room number on it.

We have always had amazing service with DCL and allergies.

I would also talk to Special Services before you go. They are so helpful. We are traveling in Feb with 11 allergies this time. But give yourself some lead time. I spoke with someone at SS last week at length about the allergies and he needed time to call the ship and make sure that they have food he can eat. He called me back yesterday.

Have fun!

 

[kiford]

I have a seafood allergy - not life-threatening (although the results are still not pretty or pleasant for me). I didn't even report it to DCL. We were at WDW a few days before and I booked some restaurants there and noted seafood allergies. When we had dinner the first night at the MDR on the Dream, the head server came over and told me which items had seafood in them. I never thought anything about it until later when I realized that I hadn't even specifically told them. It must be on record either from the recent WDW trip or previous WDW or DCL trips.

I had an appetizer which had anchovies which I'm generally OK with in small amounts. We did a 3/4 day B2B cruise and had the same servers for both legs. When we came back around on the second leg to the same MDR and I ordered the same appetizer, my server reminded me that it had anchovies and asked if I'd had any problems with it the first time (I did not).

I have to say that I was impressed with they way in which they handled allergies. They take it quite seriously and I find that they are probably more careful than I am and I'm the one who has to deal with the consequences.

While I'm totally used to taking the responsibility for making decisions about food while keeping one eye on my allergies, WDW and DCL take it to another level in my opinion.

 

[jennifer in canada]

Sounds like they are as good as disney world.....I will be sure to contact guest services when we arrive on the ship and also let the servers know as well!

 

[ItAllStrtdWAMouse]

Sounds like they are as good as disney world.....I will be sure to contact guest services when we arrive on the ship and also let the servers know as well!

I recommend calling DCL prior to departure and having it attached to your reservation in addition to the above. If you have complicated allergies they may be able to make sure they have what they need onboard. They handled our wheat egg allergy well. We also had a special meal delivered to the kids club on the night our son ate there.

 

[sjsjbrook]

They take food allergies very seriously on the dream. My son has an egg and nut allergy. We are use to taking him out to eat at buffets and other eating out places, we are always careful in what we feed him. So we did not tell them in advance. At dinner we were asked so we told him.

They made his food separate and we had to preorder his food for the next night (not the best thing for a 3 year old who the next night wants something else and still doesn't understand his food allergies). They also made us order our food for the next day and asked us to meet with the head server at Cabanas and Royale palace, even on Castaway Cay. The one day my son really wanted chicken fingers and French fries and not the pizza we ordered, they did make it for him, we had to wait but it all worked out in the end.

My advise would to be over order what you want, so if they change their mind the next day they still have food options.

 

[cruisecrasher]

Sounds like they are as good as disney world.....I will be sure to contact guest services when we arrive on the ship and also let the servers know as well!

Not quite as good. My daughter has a dairy allergy (see trip report with her in signature) and I'm vegan. They have some options, but do best with 24 hours notice. Unlike the parks, space on the ship is very limited and therefore they don't keep much extra on hand. They can make stuff, if you're patient, though and we had great luck with that.

 

[IrenicMom]

When you complete your online check-in, there will be a form to fill out. I believe it's called the Special Services form.

My daughter is allergic to carrots (weird, yes, I know). I always fill out the form and fax it in before our cruise. We have never had anything but exemplary service in regards to her allergy. Some nights, they'll ask if she wants to pre-order for the next night (especially things like pasta sauces), others, she wants basics from the kids menu anyway.

They always take her order on a pink slip - which I assume is a signal that it's an allergy order. I never knew about the separate galley - that's fabulous!

 

[intertile]

We recently traveled on the Fantasy. My wife cannot have any Gluten in her meals. We informed DCL when the reservation was made, and made sure on the first night on the cruise to have our server know. The first night was the most difficult, but DCL did everything they could to accommodate. After that, every night at the end of dinner they would bring my wife the menu for the following night. This way she could choose almost anything on the menu, and the chef would prepare it just for her.

At lunch, she would merely have to tell the staff her allergy, and a chef would come out and prepare her meal especially for her. On CC they took her lunch order the night before and had it waiting for her at Cookie's. All in all it was a very pleasant experience. Communication and patience is key.

 

[tartemis]

Not quite as good. My daughter has a dairy allergy (see trip report with her in signature) and I'm vegan. They have some options, but do best with 24 hours notice. Unlike the parks, space on the ship is very limited and therefore they don't keep much extra on hand. They can make stuff, if you're patient, though and we had great luck with that.

I also have to say that Disney Cruise Line is not as good as Disney World. So much so that we aren't planning on cruising again until our youngest (who has the allergy) has either grown out of it or is older so that she can help recognize and avoid dangerous situations on her own.

DD3 is extremely allergic to Dairy, and to a lesser extent eggs and peanuts. They will make a separate meal for you IF you order it in advance. They will not, however, even attempt to make any accommodations through Room Service, on excursions or at any of the "quick-service" type places on the ship.

Also, even though we ordered a special meal for her at Castaway Cay, she had an allergic reaction (luckily just hives all over her chest, but scary nonetheless since she will go into anaphylaxis), so we spent a few hours at the Medic hut.

I guess what I found so frustrating is that nobody used any common sense. Allergy-free meals MUST be made in the separate kitchen. I couldn't just get someone on deck to take a little extra-care to make sure a new knife was used and that cheese wasn't put on a sandwich (as an example of something that we do countless times when operating in the "real world"). Therefore, we found things very limited and my daughter ate a lot of cereal and soy-milk.

At Disney World, on the other hand, we have never had any problems. Every restaurant -- buffet, sit-down, quick-service, has been able to accommodate her promptly and correctly.

 

[Jammy93]

I sailed on the dream about a year ago. I am allergic to shrimp but not other shellfish. I noted this on my reservation and so every night my server would have me select my dinner for the next night. I didn't mind at all... It just gave me something to look forward to. One night I ordered the crab cakes as my appetizer. Our server advised me that the crab cakes had shrimp incorporated into the dish and requested that I make another selection. Well to my surprise the next evening I had my crab cakes. The chef had prepared some for me without the shrimp ingredient. I thought that it was so thoughtful. It made a dcl lover out of me.