You know, the issues of food allergies goes well beyond the pirate cruise. And I know that for me, my disapointment in my kids not going on the cruise is more because its ANOTHER thing that they cannot do, not because its so awful that they miss one event.
Having a nut or peanut allergy is a life changing event. It truly changes how your life works. Sending my son to school each day is a leap of faith- I put my son's life in someone else's hands, because exposure to tree nuts will be extremely dangerous for him. His got a great teacher, he's 5 and well aware of the rules (ie: we dont eat anything unless Mommy tells him it is ok or Mrs S- his teacher- checks it). DS will turn down bday cake everywhere because he's worried. This allergy sets him apart, makes him different than other children. And its a noticeable difference. DS cannot just go to soccer, we have to make sure that we are in charge of snacks. Birthday parties are the same, it requires checking the cake, the snacks, the child next to him. We cannot just go to a movie, we have to check whats offered for food without him to make sure that there are no major allergy foods that could be airborne. We cant walk past a candy store in the mall. We cant eat out whereever we want, we have to check the menus, talk to the kitchen, look at ingredient lists. There are so many things that we cannot do and so many things that my son misses.
I know for us that part of what makes WDW a vacation is the ability to eat out, to not worry quite as much, to not have to keep DS away from events. Is there a risk involved? Absolutely- and we pay attention to everything every where. We check his skin if he begins to cough, because it could be the beginning of an allergy. But overall, its a little easier and its worth the $$ because of this. Its nice to watch DS be a child, not a child who is aware of how severely he would react if he eats a brownie with nuts in it.
Besides the obvious, another huge problem is the many people with an opinon on nut/peanut/other food allergies. I've heard so many comments from people who do not have food allergies and whose children do not. Many along the lines of "my child/I have the right to eat XXX and its not fair that since a child might die from it I have to be denied". I hear the "my kid only eats peanut butter" (which prompted me once to hand out the number to a feeding therapist as PB is not that healthy a food). I've heard "it cant be that big a deal, I'll give that kid a pb sandwich and see what happens". And Iv'e heard "that mom just overreacts, it cant be as bad as they say". I'm very disapointed in society that they value a food over another person's life- and that this is an acceptable behavior.
The thing about nut alleriges that make them unique is the food itself. Nut protein (the part that the allergy is to) is a very sticky, very light protein. It floats in the air and sticks to things much longer than things like milk do. As a result, the allergen can last for quite a while. Nut protein is also known to provoke a much more serious reaction than other foods, requiring much less protein for a severe reaction.
RE: peanut allergy, according to the FDA, the amount of children with PA has doubled between 1997 and 2002. 1 person in 25 has a food allergy at some degree. Shellfish allergies are the top allergy provoking life threatening reactions, with nuts (tree and peanut) as the 2nd. Tree nuts and peanuts provoke the most severe reaction through all methods- airborne, contact, digestion.
In the end, this is a life threating problem for many people. Food allergies change people's lives and unlike lactose intolerance, motion sickness etc, a person's life is at stake. In addition, we live in a society that is not tolerant of this fact and places desire for a food over others lives. Many companies do not label products with allergen warnings, though its gettings better.
Is this stressful? Amazingly stressful. Do we deal with it? Of course, my child is worth everything to me and I'll do whatevere I need to to protect him. But it would be nice if I had some support- and that's one thing I love Disney for. Am I sad that I had to cancel the pirate cruise? Yes. Its just not worth the risk though it would've been nice for DS to do something without the spector of this food allergy over his head. A parent with a child with a severe food allergy, of any type, lives in a state of stress and fear. And if we're angry, so be it. Unless you live with it, you dont understand.
Bri
If you can't have peanut butter, someone mentioned that their child can't be on the boat with dairy products, so no cheese sandwiches. Are you going to have just jelly? How about children that are allergic to things like strawberries and other things like that? What about children with wheat and gluton allergies? If you start changing and substituting it just makes problems for someone else. 
