Gluten Free menu items and snacks

[Kay2397]

My husband was just diagnosed with Celiacs. We go on our 1st cruise next month. We are still making changes at home and adjusting to his new diet. I have heard that DCL is very good with allergies. I was hoping some experienced cruisers with gluten allergies could share tips and let us know what some of your favorite meals and snacks were. Thanks!

 

[JMHDisney]

I cruised with a GF friend last year. Each night at dinner they would give her options for the next night so she could pick her meal. At buffets, she would tell them what she wanted and they would make a "clean" plate of it to be certain no one on buffet had
mixed up spoons between GF and non GF. I would say they accommodated her well but it wasn't like there were tons of amazing options for her. She's a good sport and not likely to complain about it, but I got the sense she was a little bored with the options by the end of the cruise. Palo did a lovely job with her meal though.

She got sick once on the cruise but she thought it was from something "GF" in port that actually wasn't.

 

[JMHDisney]

Meant to add, you can tell them about his needs in advance but main thing for us was just making sure all new servers were aware that it was an allergy, not a preference.

 

[Kay2397]

We are going to try to book Palo brunch. Were you referring to brunch or dinner at Palo?

 

[nancy drew]

I am gluten-free and vegan, and I ate like a queen on the Dream. My daughter has food allergies too, so we were dealing with a lot. Here is my advice:

1) Get to know your head server, and become his or her best friend. Compliment him or her genuinely, ask where s/he is from, have conversations that are not about food. Your head server will take excellent care of you, especially if you can be a kind, polite, friendly sort of person (and I have no reason to believe that you wouldn't be one!). Your head server will be the one coordinating your dinners in the main dining room, and will often be available at the buffet during breakfast or lunch. Ask him or her where s/he will be for the next meal, and if possible, go there. If not, ask who you should talk to when you arrive at wherever you are eating.

2) Be pro-active. This really should be the #1 rule, but I'm too lazy to switch them. I have heard stories of people who were irate that their diet was not accommodated, but upon probing it sounded like they expected everyone on the ship to know who they were and what they could or could not eat. When you arrive at the buffet, tell someone who works there that you are gluten-free and you'd like some assistance finding foods you can eat. After a few days you will know what to do, or what to eat, but for the first few visits to the buffet ask someone, and if they can't help you they will find someone who can. Know that you might have to wait while they make your food elsewhere, and that it might mean your food is coming from the opposite end of the ship 10 floors down. Eating at the buffet might not really be a quick meal (or it might, but be prepared that you might have to wait).

3) Don't wait for them to ask you what you want to order for the next night's dinner, ask them if you can see the next night's menu so you can place your order.

4) At dinner, if you like something a lot, tell your server and head server. They will make sure it is available every night. I had gluten-free bread every night because they knew I liked it, and they brought out a spread my son really liked because he went nuts for it on our first night. The chef also made me this amazing dish that wasn't on any of the menus, because the head server suggested it and knew his friend the chef would knock it out of the park. Another day at the buffet a different chef came out and asked me what I liked to eat and created a meal for me that was great.

5) Pre-order your lunch for Castaway Cay. While you can't take a meal off the ship, you can order your CC lunch at dinner the night before. They will tell you where to pick it up on the island.

6) You can only take packaged food off the ship, so if you are going on any excursion know that you might not be able to eat much at your destination, and plan accordingly. Bring a granola bar or something safe.

7) Again, don't assume that everyone on board knows about your needs, and you will be fine. Just politely let people know your needs, and they will gladly help you out. I pretty much behaved as I would at any other restaurant, except that the Disney Cruise Line food service people were WAY more knowledgeable about allergens and ingredients than most people I have encountered elsewhere.

 

[samily]

Make sure you have it noted on your reservation that he has a gluten allergy so that your servers are aware of it. My DH hates having to bring it up with everyone and finds it much better when the server brings it up first.

The last time we sailed DCL was in December and the MDR menus noted which dishes were gluten free. You could also request modifications to certain dishes to make them gluten free.

They have gluten free rolls, bread, hamburger and hot dog buns on board. I think they also had gluten free waffles and maybe muffins. They had Enjoy Life Snickerdoodle cookies too.

For snacks, there is fresh fruit and ice cream available most of the day. At the quick serve places on the pool deck besides burgers and dogs they can also make gluten free pizza, chicken fingers and cook the fries in a dedicated fryer so they are safe. We asked our head server to put in a slip for a standing order of chicken fingers and fries for the length of the cruise and DH would have that as his afternoon snack. Normally when you have an allergy order there, they have to call a manager over to write up the order, then the slip is given to a cook to prepare. Sometimes the manager is not there and you have to wait for them to arrive. Having the standing order in there at least saves that time waiting for the manager. It will still take time to prepare the food though.

I feel for you - my DH was diagnosed about a year and a half ago and it was rough but he feels so much better now. He is very sensitive to cross contamination so it is always worrisome whenever we eat out but he has done fine on all of our cruises. Just remember to bring plenty of prepackaged gf snacks for excursions and the airplane if you are flying.

Good luck!

 

[Shanti]

My husband was just diagnosed with Celiacs. We go on our 1st cruise next month. We are still making changes at home and adjusting to his new diet. I have heard that DCL is very good with allergies. I was hoping some experienced cruisers with gluten allergies could share tips and let us know what some of your favorite meals and snacks were. Thanks!

We liked the gluten-free pizza (they'll make a whole, individual-sized pizza just for you) you can get by the pool on the Magic.

Also, remember that you can always order Mickey bars, even though they aren't on the menu anywhere. You can order them for dessert, or from room service.

 

[BruinEd03]

Buy a box of gluten free ice-cream cones and bring it with you. The soft serve ice cream near the pools are gluten free, but there are no gluten-free cones.

Both Palo brunch and dinner were very accommodating. They will tell you exactly what you can and can't have. Also, the chocolate souffle for dinner - yup, they've got a gluten-free version.

The first day at lunch and at dinner at MDR, make sure the waiter knows that you need gluten-free food. For the rest of MDR, they will generally know that you have a gluten allergy. Though it can't hurt to double check. For the day at CC, as other posters have mentioned, they will make you a plate. However, just be prepared for the fact that it may be bland.

 

[Sir William]

DW is GF and generally has had no problems on DCL. We notify them when we book our cruise, and then a few weeks before we sail I double check to make sure they still have it noted on our reservation. Our first night, the servers identify her and help her with selecting a GF meal, but from then on she orders the next day's dinner, and often breakfast, at dinner the night before. At the buffets someone helps her identify what she can have, and often prepares her plate.

Her favorite snack and dessert onboard is ice cream. At the self-serve ice cream station on the pool deck she uses a cup instead of a cone.

As a side note, the galley has a separate station that prepares meals for guests with dietary restrictions. When I was on a galley tour, I saw DW's dinner order for that night posted at this station.

 

[JMHDisney]

We are going to try to book Palo brunch. Were you referring to brunch or dinner at Palo?

I was referring to dinner. We did both and she was fine at brunch but really loved the dinner. Also, I would agree with other posters on the GF bread in the MDR. She mentioned several times that it was super good so don't miss it!

 

[chirurgeon]

I sailed with friends who are gluten free. They were never hungry. Breakfast, our server brought them their own gluten free pastries and donuts, they had ordered the rest of the meal the night before. Not sure about lunch, we didn't have that together, but dinner, they had ordered the previous night and looked great.

 

[Kay2397]

Thanks everyone!

 

[ludari]

Just to reaffirm with what others have posted. I too recently traveled with my GF friend and we made sure that her dietary concerns where actually known when we booked. At our first meal we reminded our server of my friends GF diet and everything was handled great. At the end of dinner she would get a sneak peak at the next days dinner menu to make her selections. When we had brunch at Palo the chef actually came out to show her what she could eat and what he could prepare for her GF. My friend had nothing but great things to say about how DCL handled her dietary needs.

 

[PackYourPixieDust]

So I'm celiac and as such GF. I was just in the Fantasy and previously in the Magic. I was diagnosed 2 years ago so I still remember eating gluten

Dcl is amazing. Basically each night you look at the menu for the next night and just pick within every bring they are serving for what you want. They will attempt to make it gf for you if they can. The last cruise I had fried Brie and something else amazing that I didn't think was possible on that same night. The first night you have to order a gf noted option on the menu. The rest of the nights you just tell them what you want.

As others said- if you want to eat at the buffet for lunch you just find a chef and they will walk you through the line and them make you a plate from the back. Some things you'd think will be fine, aren't. Like the veggies. They are blanched in water that had pasta or something like that, so they have to do that separately in the back.

Both palo lunch and dinner are amazing!!! My favorite meal ever is palo brunch. There is one whole table that you cannot eat at but then there are 2 others that are awesome- this is true of you like cheese especially. As well as seafood.

Finally gluten free in Orlando wrote up a few posts about being celiac on DCL.

 

[Lambiebell]

I have never been on a cruise, but I found out that I had to cut out gluten right before a WDW trip. And really was scared and angry about it. Then Disney managed to make me really *like* gluten free food. So there IS hope!