Food allergies

[mbw12]

has anyone had experience with food allergies and specil meal requests? My son is allergic to peanuts, and my daughter has a dairy allergy. I looked at some of the sample menus listed on websites, and it seems like every dessert at dinner has ice cream in it. Do they have any non-dairy alternatives (Rice Dream?)

Also, since my kids (ages 6 and 4) will be spending time int he kids clubs.....how do they handle food allergies?

 

[my3kids]

They do not eat in the clubs. If you take your children to meals with you and not send them to dinner with the children, then you won't need to worry about time in the club. There is a medical form you can request from DCL or your TA can request to for you. It needs to be filled out and faxed back to the line. I did this and by the time I boared, everyone was aware of the allergy and told me items I could not each each night.

 

[tvguy]

First thing our server said on the first night at dinner was "does anyone have any food allergies?".
I have NEVER seen any food operation so aware of food allergies.

 

[ivanova]

my husband has a nut allergy - we told our server the first night - for the rest of the cruise he & the head server were very dilligent about telling us what menu items he needed to avoid, including what would be served on Castaway Cay for lunch.

 

[froggymomma]

mbw12, we went on the 4-day Wonder last October with my 4DS who has a dairy allergy. We did what has already been mentioned regarding noting the allergy on our reservation and faxing in the medical form before the cruise. We avoided most buffets and took advantage of the excellent service in the dining rooms for most meals. At the welcome buffet we told the head server about the allergy and a chef came out to walk me through the line so I could make safe selections for my son.

For dessert they provided rice dream - they asked the first night if it was okay and on subsequent nights they always brought his special dessert.

His meals were wonderful! He had steak and fries. The chef made him special dairy free ribs (in PC I think) and specially breaded chicken fingers another time. Soy milk and dairy free cereals were always available. As a parent it was extremely relaxing to know I did not have to worry about every detail.

He did not eat in the clubs. With the number of children they are dealing with and with all of the "standard" children's fare having dairy I was not comfortable. Plus, he had a great time in the restarants with our servers.

Any specific questions, let me know!

 

[mbw12]

thanks for the info, Kim (froggymomma!)

I thought I posted a reply to this.....but I can't find it.....so here goes again....hope it is not a duplicate!

anyway, a few questions for you:

Do they always have Rice Dream onboard or is it something I should call in advance and ask them to have?

Also, you say that your children did not eat meals in the kids clubs....which is what we plan on doing also. However, I am worried about whether or not they give them "snacks" in the kids clubs??

thanks in advance for your help!

Bobbi

 

[mbw12]

thanks for the info, Kim (froggymomma!)

I thought I posted a reply to this.....but I can't find it.....so here goes again....hope it is not a duplicate!

anyway, a few questions for you:

Do they always have Rice Dream onboard or is it something I should call in advance and ask them to have?

Also, you say that your children did not eat meals in the kids clubs....which is what we plan on doing also. However, I am worried about whether or not they give them "snacks" in the kids clubs??

thanks in advance for your help!

Bobbi

 

[froggymomma]

Glad I could help Bobbi.
First, no - we did not request that they have Rice Dream in advance. It seems to be standard non-Dairy offering.

When you sign up for the Kids Clubs there is a detailed form you fill out. You sit in small groups to do this and the CM reviews each one. We went over DS allergies in detail. In my experience they did not offer snacks like crackers or cookies in the club. The only time food was an issue was if there was a scheduled activity that included pizza or ice cream in which case we just did not take my DS to the club for that activity. They make a green slime and I was able to verify in advance that there was no dairy in the ingredients.

I don't know how sensitive your DD is, but if mine gets touched by something/someone who has touched dairy without washing their hands he will get hives. One thing I was very glad to see was that the first thing the CM did whenver you dropped your child off at the club was to wash their hands. No contact reactions!

I would readily recommend a DCL vacation to anyone who has to deal with food allergies.

 

[rsjj]

my DS (4) has peanut allergy...and i mentioned it to the counselor when filling out the form at the club, had the medical form filled out prior, mentioned to the waiter, etc. anyways, the counselor at the club told me and another parent at the table who happen to have a child with peanut allergy also that they take food allergy very seriously. and if your child is allergic to something, and at dinner/lunch time, if that child is attending and go with the club to eat, they will not serve that item to ALL the kids! so for example, if my DS was going with the club for lunch, and for dessert, they had chocolate chip peanut butter cookies, they'd toss out all the cookies (maybe not toss out, but you know) and not even serve them there at all! and the counselor also mentioned that it's happened, where the kitchen would make a bunch of something (usually dessert), and when it's meal time, and a child is attending with food allergy that matched the food, they would not serve it, and it'd be just that! all that food wasted or whatever they do with it.

but i recall thinking, oh gosh! so the other kids don't get dessert, due to the few. now as a parent of a child with peanut allergy, that's very comforting to know! and am glad that they do take it so seriously!