Tips for child with Celiac Disease on Cruise?

[Gatordad815]

Hi all! My daughter was diagnosed with Celiac at age 2 and we will be taking her on the Disney Fantasy Eastern Caribbean 7 night cruise just after she turns 5 next spring. I've found very useful information on this forum about cruising with Celiac as well as from bloggers with Celiac who need to be completely gluten free (and I know from personal experience at Disney parks that Disney is excellent at accommodating severe food allergies). Most of the information I've seen about being gluten free on the cruise is geared towards adults, so I'm hoping there are resources geared towards young children that may give me ideas.

My specific questions are as follows:

1) does anyone here have experience with a young child with Celiac on a Disney cruise? Any trip reports or blogs specific to kids I should review in preparation for the trip?

2) any advice on what to do in Tortola or St Thomas with small kids in general (we will have our 3yo son with us too)? I'm thinking we will need to eat on the ship to stay safe but if others have different experiences or advice I would be grateful for it.

Thank you for any input!

 

[Msmit002]

Hello!

I have Celiac and I have not only spent plenty of vacations in WDW but we also sailed the Fantasy for 7 days as well. In a nutshell, the servers etc. take such good care of me that we are sailing a 14 night EBPC this fall and I'm not one bit worried.

First, make sure you give Disney a call and let them know that your daughter has Celiac and must eat a gluten free diet. Reason being, the head of dining (or equivalent) that orders the provisions for the sailing will needs to be sure there is enough gluten free items (think breads, breakfast items, etc.) and they gauge this by how many people request it. Second, as soon as you board, make a trip to the restaurant that is handling dining changes and as to speak to the head waiter who is handing your table in your rotation. He/She will confirm the GF designation for your daughter and may even be able to go over that night's menu to help 'pre-order' that night's dinner, making accommodations where possible/practical, so that your daughter's dinner isn't taking forever to come out.

Now, when I was on board, each night at dinner my server would hand me the next evening's menu and I would choose what I would like to eat. Now, of course there will be some things that just cannot be made GF. But, if they can do it, they will. I remember there was a soup that I really wanted to try and they made a special batch that was cornstarch-based as opposed to thickened with a roux. It was delicious. I have to be honest, I felt slightly guilty that they were making such a fuss over me because I don't expect it when I am at home and I dine out. (Then again, I pretty much stick the the few 'safe' places I can go to, so there is that.)

I ate all of my dinners in the main dining room except the night we at at Remy (OMG so fantastic.) I generally ate all of my breakfasts in the main dining room as well (I think Enchanted Garden) as I was able to talk to my server and ask for exactly what I needed. Even though I almost never had my head waiter and dinner servers in the morning, every one of the staff I encountered were absolutely knowledgeable, understanding and discreet.

Lunches were often eaten at Cabanas and the staff will happily bring you a plate of buffet items from the kitchen if you are concerned about cross-contamination from the utensils in the buffet line. I was even able to get GF pizza one day and GF chicken tenders (which I normally don't eat) and fries fried in a dedicated fryer.

All in all, I never got glutened when I was on board. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure that was going to be possible and I prepared for that possibility but I was fine. Again, I'm so confident that I'm trusting them enough to sail on a 14 night journey.

Excursions: these are tricky. I usually cannot eat anything they offer that is included in the fare. I pack Nature Valley Granola bars and Kind bars in my bag. I never had any issue with these items and they will get me through a morning or afternoon off the ship. But, I also make sure I eat a decent breakfast with plenty of protein and fats with moderate carbohydrates (because otherwise it's too easy to eschew the carbs altogether at breakfast) so that my breakfast has staying power. Once I get back to the ship, I make tracks to dining to refuel.

Kid's Club: plan on signing your daughter out at meatimes. While they *can* feed the kids there, it is almost never anything GF (think sandwiches) and be sure you ask a LOT of questions if your child decides to participate in any science experiments in the lab. I remember my son participating in an experiment and one of the components had gluten in it. Of course, the kids aren't eating this stuff but, it can transfer to their clothes etc. So just ask questions and just have her refrain from any that might be questionable. I can't remember if they had Play-Dough on board, but if you didn't know, that isn't GF either. Just FYI.

I hope this help! Have a fun! Your daughter will probably have a blast!

 

[cmph]

DH has celiac but is obviously an adult, so I can't help you out with the kiddo issue! I just wanted to note one thing you might try doing, if you haven't already - is searching here and elsewhere for kids with wheat allergies rather than just gluten intolerance or celiac. I know I for sure read a trip report here a while back about a child with a wheat allergy, summer 2015 ish. Clearly I know the two are quite different issues, living with this in my household, but in terms of food options/prep/ingredients - it opens up another avenue of first-hand reporting specific to kids. Kids' eating habits can be quite different than adults' eating habits, so I can understand why you'd want to look for more info. Good luck!

 

[Gatordad815]

Wow Msmit002 thank you for such a thoughtful reply! All great advice! Yes I was afraid that shore excursions would be tricky for eating and I definitely can relate to sticking to the very few safe places at home to eat out (thankfully my wife is a great cook & has gotten very good at making excellent gluten free food!)

I honestly am not sure if there would be shore excursions that would interest us notwithstanding the food issues as it's not like I could take 2 small kids scuba diving or parasailing! But if we could find a nice beach with safe food I wouldn't be opposed to it. But staying on the ship to enjoy the day with fewer crowds doesn't sound horrible to me either...

Fortunately my daughter (even at 3 1/2) is very contentious of asking if food is gluten free and will not eat it if my wife and I don't tell her it is ok to eat, so hopefully she stays that way. And thanks for the experiment tip! We are aware of the pitfalls of play dough...

Thank you again-much appreciated!

 

[Msmit002]

Pssst! And the Mickey Bars are GF. The Mickey Rice Krispie Treats, not so much.

 

[Gatordad815]

Yes I know about the Mickey bars which is awesome for her! At WDW it's always popcorn and Disney bars for treats which she loves!!!

 

[bbel]

We are aware of the pitfalls of play dough...

When they have play-doh out, all the kids have to have their bands checked for gluten allergies. They did stop using it for a time, I don't know if that's still a thing.
In science they use lick em stick ems, they use gluten free ones, and the kids use water to stick them, not lick them.

If/when you register for the kids club the CM (should) ask a million questions. E.g, touch or ingestion. Can they take part in certain activities, will they need to wear gloves. What special cookie will they need if they take part in cooking school?
If she did need to eat in the spaces, pretty much all the food that's served isn't ok, but you can order a special meal through your head server the day before that is then bought up, any kids with a special meal are sat at a different table to avoid cross contamination.
If you do register for the kids club, personally, I'd recommend getting the band onboard, purely because those CM get a lot more and more constant training in registration, especially around the questions to ask for allergies and medical conditions, and you're less likely to have phone calls from the club double checking what she can and can't have or do.

 

[Gatordad815]

When they have play-doh out, all the kids have to have their bands checked for gluten allergies. They did stop using it for a time, I don't know if that's still a thing.
In science they use lick em stick ems, they use gluten free ones, and the kids use water to stick them, not lick them.

If/when you register for the kids club the CM (should) ask a million questions. E.g, touch or ingestion. Can they take part in certain activities, will they need to wear gloves. What special cookie will they need if they take part in cooking school?
If she did need to eat in the spaces, pretty much all the food that's served isn't ok, but you can order a special meal through your head server the day before that is then bought up, any kids with a special meal are sat at a different table to avoid cross contamination.
If you do register for the kids club, personally, I'd recommend getting the band onboard, purely because those CM get a lot more and more constant training in registration, especially around the questions to ask for allergies and medical conditions, and you're less likely to have phone calls from the club double checking what she can and can't have or do.

When they have play-doh out, all the kids have to have their bands checked for gluten allergies. They did stop using it for a time, I don't know if that's still a thing.
In science they use lick em stick ems, they use gluten free ones, and the kids use water to stick them, not lick them.

If/when you register for the kids club the CM (should) ask a million questions. E.g, touch or ingestion. Can they take part in certain activities, will they need to wear gloves. What special cookie will they need if they take part in cooking school?
If she did need to eat in the spaces, pretty much all the food that's served isn't ok, but you can order a special meal through your head server the day before that is then bought up, any kids with a special meal are sat at a different table to avoid cross contamination.
If you do register for the kids club, personally, I'd recommend getting the band onboard, purely because those CM get a lot more and more constant training in registration, especially around the questions to ask for allergies and medical conditions, and you're less likely to have phone calls from the club double checking what she can and can't have or do.

Thank you for the helpful tips. I anticipate my daughter will go to kids clubs for a limited time each day but we will plan on her being out with us for all meals. I do have one question though. I am unsure what you mean by "If you do register for the kids club, personally, I'd recommend getting the band onboard...." forgive my ignorance (new to this!). Are you saying I shouldn't pre-register her and should just do so on ship instead? Not quite sure how it all works...

Thank you again!

 

[bbel]

Thank you for the helpful tips. I anticipate my daughter will go to kids clubs for a limited time each day but we will plan on her being out with us for all meals. I do have one question though. I am unsure what you mean by "If you do register for the kids club, personally, I'd recommend getting the band onboard...." forgive my ignorance (new to this!). Are you saying I shouldn't pre-register her and should just do so on ship instead? Not quite sure how it all works...

Thank you again!

If you pre-register you still have to pick up a band.
When you get the band they'll go over all the information in detail.
I didn't really mean anything by it. The CM in the terminal are great people, but the kids club isn't their job, so they know how to register but sometimes forget to ask extra questions, e.g. I've had a kid registered in the terminal before and their note will just say, 'celiac'. (Which is what theyre trained to do and not wrong) but that's not helpful to me, when I'm seeing which kids are in care near food time.
Whereas, the ones on board deal with it everyday and will ask a million questions, what can they eat/touch/be around. Do they need gloves. Do you want us to call you to pick up when food is in the space.
I'm not saying the people at the terminal won't do this, but from experience, it's annoying for people at both ends of the phone if I have to call you to double check, even more so when parents don't pick up the phone and a kid is upset because they were potentially denied an activity.

 

[dzorn]

Does anyone know if the soft serve ice cream if Gluten free?

 

[cmph]

Does anyone know if the soft serve ice cream if Gluten free?

I would guess the ice cream itself is, as I never saw a flavor like cookies-n-cream or anything obviously containing wheat; just vanilla, chocolate, and fruit flavors. But I would caution against getting it if cross-contamination is an issue. It's self-serve (unless they have a noro outbreak or something, I guess) so as you might imagine it's constantly being used by kids filling (not gluten-free) cones. They do have cups if you ask, but the cones are just there for the taking, next to the machines. There's no chance DH would ever take a chance under those circumstances, so we didn't ask about the ice cream itself.

 

[scottishclover]

Does anyone know if the soft serve ice cream if Gluten free?

Yes soft serve on the ship is gluten free. My husband who has Coeliac disease used a cup instead of a cone. As previous poster mentioned there is always the risk of cross- contamination but my DH never had any problems. There was often a CM there overseeing things. I have also read that the soft serve on CC is gluten-free too ( our cruise was to Norway so didn't get to verify that). Cruising to CC in 3 weeks though so will definitely check it out.

 

[dzorn]

Cross contamination is always a risk. DD is gluten free for other reasons. She may actually be celiac but she has been on the diet for 17 years and testing was not the same then as it is now.
Thanks.

 

[Msmit002]

Does anyone know if the soft serve ice cream if Gluten free?

It is, but of course, the cones are not. If I wanted ice cream, I would just walk by the beverage station, grab a cup and head over to the ice cream. I might have done this for breakfast. Maybe twice. Or every morning.