Cruising with a food allergic child

[DVCDawn]

My family is booked for a 4-day cruise this July. My DD5 is wildly allergic to peanuts and I'm starting to get nervous already. I was hoping to get some advice from people who have already faced this. I have a long list of questions, but here are the biggies:

1. How does DCL handle food allergies? We have taken many trips to WDW without any reactions because the cast members and chefs have gone out of their way to make it safe and special for my daughter -- special desserts, etc. Do they do the same kind of things on the cruise line?

2.. Do you feel comfortable leaving your child in the Oceaneer's Club?

3. Has anyone's child had an allergic reaction requiring EpiPens onboard? How was it handled?

I know I sound like a nervous nelly, but, well, I am.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

DVCDawn

 

[CM_Mom]

You'll probably get MORE special attention on the ship than you get at the parks since you'll have the same servers each night. Make sure you make your servers and the head servers aware of the problem. That way they can check with the Chef if they aren't sure about how a dish is prepared.

When you complete the registration form for the club, take a minute to discuss your DD's allergy with the counselors. They don't serve snacks in the club so that should ease your mind some. Also, the FIRST thing that happens when a child is checked into the club is a squirt of handsoap and a trip to the sink to wash their hands. This prevents problems with illness but should provide a measure of protection for your DD also.

I think I'd probably take my child to meals myself just because I understand your paranoia.

Sorry I don't have any experience with EpiPens but I do know they have a Doctor and Nurses on board and on duty all the time. I would contact DCL and ask about the EpiPen so you know the policy.

 

[disneygatorfan]

1st, to ease your mind...DCL has a full medical staff on board, so they are very prepared to handle various medical emergencies. They would only be minutes away in the unlikely event your child had a reaction and needed assistance.

You can call DCL, or ask your TA to get you a special medical needs form that you can fill out detailing any medical needs that would need to be taken care of before hand (such as sharpie containers, storage for medicationi, etc. or other accomidations).

Also, the food and beverage staff on board is just as good at working with allergies as WDW. At the buffets, there is always a CM around who could answer questions about buffet selections. And for example, just on my recent DCL cruise the first thing Fitz, my server did after introducing himself was asked us if we had any allergies or special dietary needs. Each time I ate at a "sit down" meal with a different server on the ship (like the sit down breakfast or lunch, or palo) the server would ask the same thing.

You can also speak to the head server about concerns. You will meet them during your first dinner, and they usually stand right at the restaurant entrance as you come in.

They are very good at meeting everyone's needs. Have a great cruise!

 

[missmulan]

my son has allergies too. we carried an epi-pen junior with us. if you tell DCL about your son's allergies, your server and asst server will get notification. our server told us that he knows about our son's condition and he wanted us to know that "he knows, be assured".

the counselors will not administer any drugs. they will beep your pager if they feel they need you to come.

 

[Eeyore18]

I'm glad I came upon this thread, my 7 year old son also is extremely allergic to peanuts. We will be going on a land/sea in May. We will follow the advice of letting our servers know, and keep our epi-pen with us. Thanks for the advice!

 

[faireygod mother]

Let me tell you first hand how DCL handles food allergies. Last month we were on the Magic. My DGD (4) is highly allergic to Diary, Wheat and peanuts. The head server (Simon in our case) handles all special needs. He was very thourough the first night with his questions to include what happens. One night my DIL wanted her to have something off the menu, but Simon said NO because there maybe some cross contamination. My Dil was not happy (idiot) but we were very pleased that he did not want to take any chances. He did the same for my DN who is a vegatarian. I do not think you have any worries. My DH and I were very impressed and pleased at how strict they were with prep and content.

Relax and enjoy the cruise

 

[cruisenewbie2004]

My mother has a raw peanut allergy (but not cooked-go figure). Let me tell you, when she told the servers (they ask you on the first night and any time you eat in one of the sit down restuarants for other meals, the server asked us then, too) it was like a crack team went into action. Heck, one night I had the head server, our servers and a couple of folks I swear were bridge crew at our table discussing whether or not the sausage had cooked or raw peanuts in it or not. (I was like, good grief mom, just don't eat the dang thing).

And so you know, I have photos of the galley and every plated item says under it what possible allergens it might have in it.

As for kids, take them to meals yourself.

As for buffets, ask ahead of time.

I don't recall eating anything except for ice cream that had peanuts on it. They put peanute if you want on your ice cream at scoops. If you son truely is that allergic, I'd avoid that entirely.

 

[dizney-cruiser]

hello all!

i would like to share with all my food allergy story - i was on the disney wonder in october - i am allergic to citrus - nomally people dont seem to care too much about this allergy - they will serve me chicken with a lemon decorating the plate and not understand when i tell them we cant simply remove it and all will be ok

when i first got on the wonder i found out where to go to report food allergies - i was directed to one of the clubs - they marked it down on the sheet - then each night as i went to order my dinner the server would take all orders down except for mine - the head waiter would come over and see what i wanted - if he had any questions if there was cirtrus in the meal he would go talk to the chef - several times i was directed to other choices and one time they actually recreated the dish especially for me so there was no citrus in it!

i have never had so much attention in my life!

 

[3xthecharm]

My mother has a raw peanut allergy (but not cooked-go figure).

Cooking kills the active protein that causes the allergic reaction. Tell her to investigate the possibilities of having Oral Allergy Syndrome. I won't go into what it is. You can find out all about it from a search on the internet or asking an allergist. Many general practitioners are not aware of this condition.

My son has this condition. He is allergic to many uncooked fruits. The most common is apples.

 

[rsjj]

my DS-5 is allergic to peanuts. we did carry our epi-pen jr with us. never had to use it, thank goodness. anyways, before our cruise, dcl sent us a medical form that we filled out & faxed back to them, regarding my son's allergy. and when we checked him into the club the first day, we filled out that club form, and had a long discussion with the counselor regarding my son & his peanut allergy. she reassured us that they take these allergies very seriously, and if any child was to go with the club/lab for meal time, and if they were serving any peanut product (cookies, i.e.), they wouldn't serve them, not just to my DS, but to the entire kids. because they didn't want to take any chances. our DS went to meals with the club only twice. he knows he can't have anything peanuts.

as for meals with us, the servers asked us if our DSs had any allergies to food. when we questioned certain foods, whether they contained peanuts or was prepared with peanuts, etc, our servers bent over backwards getting the answers for us.