Disney Cruise with Food allergies?

[sanrio]

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has ever gone on a Disney Cruise with food allergies. Is it even possible? I know at WDW it is possible to make special arrangements with certain restaurants so the food is prepared separately to avoid cross contamination but I am not as confident about a cruise ship. Our two children both have food allergies that are life threatening.
Thank you!

 

[mdvlprof]

DCL is wonderful. They make accomodations. Meet with MaitreD and waiter and tell them what you need. Talk with Special Needs folks ahead of time. There should also be a form you can fill out - make sure you list allergies.

 

[AllergyFreeMouse]

I have a good friend who sailed out of Florida. Their son has a deadly peanut allergy. The chef personally called them to ask if they had any special requests that he could purchase for them on the stop in Key West.

The real key (no pun intended) is to be sure they know you're coming. DCL recommends at least 4 weeks notice. 1-800-951-3532

Call and confirm a week or so before, and again as soon as you arrive to check in. Once on board, as suggested by mdvlprof, become very friendly with the head waiter, and meet the chef.

 

[Piper]

Good -- another of my questions answered before I even asked! I have an uncommon allergy to mango and cashews (and it is anaphalactic.) It is amazing how many things have mango in them! Looking at the Parrot Cay menu, I think this may be a risky restaurant for me!

 

[clanmcculloch]

Check out this blog about eating GFCF on a Disney Cruise. http://www.lauraschmittne.com/2011/01/disney-cruise-gluten-free-dairy-free.html

 

[snorris49]

Thanks for the link. I'm hoping to do a cruise sometime in the near future...and it's good to know what DCL can do...

 

[Talking Hands]

Good -- another of my questions answered before I even asked! I have an uncommon allergy to mango and cashews (and it is anaphalactic.) It is amazing how many things have mango in them! Looking at the Parrot Cay menu, I think this may be a risky restaurant for me!

Have the same allergy plus shellfish and dairy. I ate very well on my cruise. Not to worry

 

[Mish]

We did the cruise and my son is allergic to tree nuts and sesame seeds. They were great. Our MaitreD and waiter were great. It was my sons birthday and he could not eat the cake that they give for the Birthdays. Our maitred had a special cake made. In the Buffet the person in charge met with you and walked you through the whole buffet and told you what was allowed. Hope this helps. Michelle

 

[Fl Dis Mom of 3]

Thanks for this post. We sail in Sep. and did not even think of calling for my DH's food allergies. Thank you so much we would have overlooked this untill we where on the ship.

 

[Selket]

I have been on two DCL cruises and was thinking of a cruise this summer (I had one booked actually) - and spent some time on the DCL board here reading about people's experiences.

Primarily - you will be fine - they will make you food - and perhaps great food - but they can certainly accommodate the food issues.

I will add that on one of my other cruises (on the Magic) the maitre'd (the guy in charge of the dining room who was supposed to help us out) ONLY wanted to serve my son things that were made from scratch - but we were talking about plain rice and plain chicken (no chicken nuggets, no pizza, nothing remotely interesting). He is only allergic to peanut/tree nut and shellfish. I told him that my son isn't going to be happy eating such plain food - which was nothing like what the rest of us were eating and he just got annoyed with me and threw up his hands and was like "oh well - then you take responsibility.....!"

I should have had a private moment with him at that point but I was sort of taken aback (this was our first cruise). Our 2nd cruise, everyone assured me things were fine or they'd make him something similar (no boiled chicken - yeah!). I've read that someone was told on the new ship that they should ONLY eat at the sit-down places with their child - none of the buffet areas - no fast food (pizza/burgers). Some of the confusion over this just made me cancel my cruise this summer - I'll wait until more reports come in about what is going on.

I did fill out all the medical forms, called ahead, etc.

You might want to cruise on over to the DCL board here and ask how things are lately - especially if you are on the new ship. Hopefully they will be as good as the parks!