best cruise line for gluten free food

Home » 10 Best Cruise Lines for Gluten Free Food

10 Best Cruise Lines for Gluten Free Food

Last updated on March 7th, 2024 at 01:23 pm

A quick background…

A Gluten-free diet excludes the protein gluten, which includes the exclusion of wheat, rye, and barley. The diet has been known to aid people who are diagnosed with celiac disease in managing its symptoms.

This form of diet has become widely popular among people who aren’t diagnosed with a gluten-related medical condition. It has been claimed that going through this nutritional regime improves health, aids in weight loss, and increases energy, although more research is still needed.

People who adhere to gluten-free diets ( like Keto for example ) and who would like to go on a cruise have to go through the extra burden of meal planning, restaurant research, and preparing packed food and items from their kitchens.

There is good news for those people as all cruise lines, without exception, now offer gluten-free meals.

All a prospective cruiser has to do is to make the request in advance and give the cruise line notification prior to their sail date.  Notifying a cruise line of an incoming gluten-free cruiser (or cruisers, as is more usually the case) gives them ample time to order larger quantities of gluten-free ingredients.

This allows the cruise line plenty of time to lay in the amounts necessary and ensure that all requests are met.

For those who are interested in taking a gluten-free cruise, we have listed below 10 of the best cruise lines for gluten-free food.

1. Royal Caribbean

The Royal Caribbean menu is incredibly helpful for those who are trying to avoid gluten. Amazingly, every night they provide at least one (on most occasions several) gluten-free appetizer, a main dish, and dessert. They offer gluten-free sandwiches, pastries, and pizzas from separate cooking areas to avoid cross-contamination.

Be sure to contact your travel advisor, Certified Vacation Planner, or the cruise line directly and request that the gluten-free remark be noted in your reservation details.

If your reservation is made online through royalcaribbean.com, add your request to the “update personal information.” section.

To cover all your bases, you may also send an email request to [email protected] ; be sure to include in your e-mail the guests’ names, booking number, ship name, and sail date, then your email will receive an automated response.

If you want to experience the ultimate in a gluten-free vacation cruise, Royal Caribbean and AMAWaterways have partnered to offer Celiac Cruise . Offering cruises around the world, this offers a worry-free experience.

Traveling can be a challenging undertaking that can make staying at home the best, but not the most fun, option.

Now the whole family can experience new places and make lasting memories without the anxiety that accompanies menu options that may or may not be truly gluten-free. You can explore places like the Caribbean, Greece, Alaska, the Danube River and Amsterdam.

AUTHOR NOTES (2023)

In 2019 we were seated with a guest who was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease. She communicated clearly with the waiter and the assistant at each meal. Each interaction was respectful and they went above and beyond to provide a safe dining experience.

However, recently we were made aware that Royal Caribbean’s new menu as of January 2023, isn’t offering Gluten-Free options as freely as it did in the past. Long-time cruisers who sailed RCL for over 20 years have not been happy with the Gluten-Free options.

2. Carnival Cruise Line

Since Carnival has a large fleet of ships and is noted for being a famous commercial cruise line, they are adequately stocked all the time for gluten-free cruisers.

Without exception, all of Carnival’s cruise ships serve gluten-free bread, different kinds of pasta, pizzas, and desserts.  They also have a well-known restaurant called Guy’s Burger Joints, where you can get bun less burgers and French fries as gluten-free options.

In the Main Dining Room, the evening meal will have a “featured gluten-free” menu that includes an appetizer, entree and dessert. In the past, although Carnival offered gluten-free options, the icons and notes on the menus were not consistent. 

The dedicated gluten-free menus will take the guesswork out of ordering. Just make sure to ask your waiter for the menu. Carnival also offers Menu Mate, which is a food ingredient program that helps accommodate guests that have food allergies.

Staff enters dietary restrictions into a software program that sorts through all options and displays those items which are allergen-free for the guest. You can find a Menu Mate tablet on display near the Lido buffet stations. 

Gluten-free beer is also available onboard Carnival’s cruise ships, and if you request ahead of time, the chefs can bake you a gluten-free cake.

3. Cunard Line

A cruise line committed to providing deluxe accommodations on the seas, the Cunard team oversees dietary specifications in a professional manner.

All of the ships in the line employ specialist head waiters and chefs to manage special dietary requests, and they’ll coordinate with you about the options available.

Gluten-free breads are available throughout meal times, and sauces are whipped up separately to meet dietary requirements. On top of this, gluten-free kinds of pasta, biscuits, cookies, and cereals are provided throughout the cruise.

To ensure you receive gluten-free service aboard your Cunard cruise, you are required to inform your operator at the time of booking and confirm the request at the purser’s desk when you board the ship.

4. Holland America Cruises

They made dining for cruisers with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities more convenient by marking food items without gluten with the symbol of wheat next to their descriptions. Customers can also request gluten-free buns in their Dive-In burgers.

For your special dietary needs that require assistance, you may contact Holland America Cruises Ship Services at least three weeks prior to your departure at 1–800–541–1576.

5. Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian offers a handful of gluten-free options onboard as part of their regular menu, including pre-packaged cookies & toast. But with advanced notice, they can prepare gluten-free pastries, pasta, and even pancakes.

Gluten-free dessert options include ice cream, souffle, and creme brulee. Always coordinate with your head waiter, and Norwegian Cruise Line will pull out all the stops whenever possible.

6. Princess Cruises

They offer a variety of gluten-free products such as bread, cereal, spaghetti, and macaroni. They have created a special gluten-free mix that they use to make cookies, cakes, muffins, pancakes, and pizza crust. Princess Cruise will accommodate guests with any special dietary needs.

Like any other cruise line, it is crucial to notify them in advance, at least 35 to 65 days in writing, depending on the particular cruise you’ll be booking.

Another perk of booking a balcony cabin or above, by giving them a head’s up, you can order a deluxe balcony breakfast or dinner (for a fee,) and they will include items such as gluten-free muffins, French toast, pancakes or kinds of pasta.

7. Disney Cruises

Disney theme parks have earned a successful reputation when it comes to accommodating special dietary needs, and Disney cruises did not fall far from the tree.

Simply make a note of your gluten intolerance or any other nutritional restrictions when booking your trip.

Onboard Disney Cruises, they sell their famous gluten-free popcorn, grab one and take it to the cabin for a snack.

During breakfast, you will not be limited with their pastry spread such as muffins, toast & pancakes. To keep up with their awesomeness, they also prepare gluten-free donuts. You can wrap up your dinner with gluten-free desserts.

8. Seabourn Cruise Line

Famous for providing luxurious cruises, Seabourn Cruise Lines guarantees your gluten-free needs are met by arranging a variety of gluten-free pastries, and even breadsticks.

All menu items are provided with a clear gluten-free label. Chefs are fully equipped to make any menu item as long as requests are made in advance.  You can specify your gluten-free needs on Seabourn’s pre-cruise online portal prior to cruising.

9. Azamara Cruises

Though Azamara is a small cruise line, they can provide the necessary accommodations for gluten-free cruisers.  Specify your gluten-free orders the night before, they can make pancakes, waffles, and other items.

You can enjoy gluten-free dinners, particularly in their 2 specialty restaurants, Aqualina and Prime C. They offer a choice of whole-grain dinner rolls, hamburger & hot dog buns, various gluten-free pasta, risotto, rice noodles, some soups, gluten-free soy sauce, pancakes, waffles, plain bagels, muffins & cookies.

If you are planning to book a suite, expect the butler to drop by with coffee and tea along with the most delicious gluten-free scones, jelly, and whipped cream

10. Regent Seven Seas Cruise Line

A luxury cruise line, Regent Seven Seas goes above and beyond in making a gluten-free alternative for almost any item on the menu.  In addition to all the gluten-free staples such as bread and various kinds of pasta, Regent goes the extra mile in ensuring that you don’t miss out on delicious dishes.

For instance, at Regent’s Chocoholics high-tea service, offer an entire gluten-free menu, consisting of finger sandwiches and gluten-free desserts such as meringue and fruit tart.

Additionally, MSC Cruise Lines

Another cruise line that caters to its passengers gluten free needs, is MSC. MSC has partnered with the Italian Celiac Association to create an extensive gluten-free menu.

These options are available for breakfast, lunch and dinner at all of the restaurants onboard the Preziosa, Fantasia, Orchestra, Poesia, Musica, Splendida, Magnifica and Divina. 

MSC follows strict regulations when preparing their gluten-free menus onboard, and all gluten-free products are stored in designated areas and one kitchen on each ship is reserved exclusively for the preparation of gluten-free dishes. 

Head over to Adventures of a Gluten Free Globetrekker , which is a gluten free travel blog. On this website, there are posted MSC’s gluten free breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.  There are also gluten-free lunches that you can get packed for shore days. 

Communication is Key to a Successful Gluten-Free Cruise

Cruise lines are very good about going above and beyond when it comes to meeting the requirements of guests with special needs .

The most important element in the success of a cruise with a Gluten-Free diet is communication. Communicate with the cruise line and your wait staff. Always be kind, courteous, and respectful and you will be sure to have a great gluten-free cruise!

This page contains affiliate links for which we may receive financial compensation when a purchase has been made through one of our affiliate partners.

About Jonathon Hyjek

Jonathon is the tech guy behind CruiseportAdvisor.com. When he's not stuck in front of his computer, Jonathon enjoys travel & cruising (even after being on a cruise ship that caught fire - a story for another day!)

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Celiac Cruise

Families and individuals who are gluten-free due to Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity know that travel can be a burden and at times, scary—if you choose to travel at all.

You leave your kitchen and home grocery stores behind and enter a world that is often unknown. What if there’s nothing safe to eat? What will my options be? They say it’s “gluten-free” but how do I know?

These are the reasons Celiac Cruise and Total Travel and Events have partnered with Royal Caribbean and AMAWaterways to offer gluten-free sailing options in the Caribbean and Europe!

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By Jefferson Adams

By Jefferson Adams • March 20

Carnival Cruise Line Introduces Dedicated Gluten-Free Dining Options

Celiacs invited to embark on a journey of flavor and inclusivity as carnival commits to providing dining experiences for all gluten-free passengers..

Celiac.com 03/20/2024 - For travelers with celiac disease or gluten sensitivities, dining out can often feel like navigating uncharted waters. Carnival Cruise Line has heard the call for smoother sailing and responded with the introduction of a 'Featured Gluten Free' menu, available every evening in the Main Dining Room. This new menu streamlines the dining experience, offering a selection of appetizers, entrees, and desserts that are guaranteed to be gluten-free.

Previously, gluten-free options were scattered throughout Carnival's menu, making it challenging for guests to identify suitable choices. The dedicated gluten-free menu marks a significant improvement, providing clarity and peace of mind for those with dietary restrictions. From classic favorites like spaghetti carbonara to Carnival's signature melting chocolate cake, guests can indulge in a diverse array of gluten-free delights without compromising on taste or quality.

Dedicated Gluten-Free and Vegan Menus

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12): Carnival's commitment to dietary inclusivity extends beyond the introduction of the gluten-free menu. Recent initiatives, such as the rollout of vegan menus and the adoption of Menu Mate software, demonstrate the cruise line's dedication to accommodating the diverse needs of its passengers. By focusing on dietary accommodations, Carnival ensures that all guests can enjoy a memorable dining experience, regardless of their dietary restrictions.

As Carnival Cruise Line charts a course towards a more inclusive future, other cruise lines are sure to take notice. By setting the standard for dietary accommodations, Carnival is paving the way for greater inclusivity within the cruise industry. With plans to expand the accessibility of the gluten-free menu through digital platforms, Carnival is poised to lead the charge towards a more inclusive and worry-free dining experience for all passengers.

So, hoist the anchor and prepare to set sail on a culinary adventure like no other. With Carnival Cruise Line's dedicated gluten-free menu, smooth sailing and delectable dining await all passengers, ensuring that every voyage is a journey to remember.

Read more at bnnbreaking.com

• carnival cruise line
• gluten-free

User Feedback

Recommended comments.

Posted March 25 //--> Posted March 25

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This is fantastic news but when they say “dedicated” do they mean a separate kitchen area, dedicated oil, awareness of cross contamination etc., or just a separate menu? 

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Posted March 26 //--> Posted March 26

And when does the gluten-free menu offerings begin?

Posted March 27 //--> Posted March 27

I wonder if this will be offered in the buffet area as well. Perhaps they’ll just do a better job of labeling gluten-free dishes. They’ve been quite poor in doing this in the past. I’ve noticed most other cruise lines have been way ahead of Carnival ships in dealing with gluten-free passengers in the past. I’d also recommend doing as their competitors do and offer a gluten free beer. 

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Jefferson Adams is Celiac.com's senior writer and Digital Content Director. He earned his B.A. and M.F.A. at Arizona State University. His articles, essays, poems, stories and book reviews have appeared in numerous magazines, journals, and websites, including North American Project, Antioch Review, Caliban, Mississippi Review, Slate, and more. He is the author of more than 2,500 articles on celiac disease. His university coursework includes studies in science, scientific methodology, biology, anatomy, physiology, medicine, logic, and advanced research. He previously devised health and medical content for Colgate, Dove, Pfizer, Sharecare, Walgreens, and more. Jefferson has spoken about celiac disease to the media, including an appearance on the KQED radio show Forum, and is the editor of numerous books, including "Cereal Killers" by Scott Adams and Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.

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Gluten Free Cruising Options

Sue is the Operations Manager at the Atlas Travel Network with over 25 years of experience in the travel industry and has coordinated travel for hundreds of large travel groups she also suffers from Celiac Disease.

I will state with certainty that your experiences can and will vary. I have gone on 60+ cruises, even the same ship in May and then again in October of the same year. The options & my overall experience could have been more consistent. Based on that fact, we welcome and appreciate any personal experiences you can share about a recent cruise with our readers in the comment section of this post.

In recent years, gluten-free cruising has become more and more accessible, with nearly all major cruise lines increasing their gluten-free celiac friendly options aboard their cruise ships.

Yes, cruise ships are celiac friendly and you can contact the cruise line ahead of time to discuss your options. Many lines have celiac friendly gluten-free menus available in the main dining room and buffet. They may also have gluten-free room service options.

They all offer options, but Royal Caribbean and Carnival have an excellent reputation with gluten-free cruisers. Whether you are gluten-free due to Celiac disease or avoiding gluten for other health reasons, more and more cruise lines can now provide plenty of delicious, safe options.

Page Contents

Here are some tips for gluten-free cruising and some of the best gluten-free cruise lines.

Advance notice – contact the cruise line ahead of time.

While the major cruise lines have started to offer more standard gluten-free food on their cruise ships, many prefer you to provide notice of your dietary requirements right after booking your trip. Providing advanced notice to the cruise line means they will be sure to stock up on more gluten-free ingredients and provisions for your cruise. Most cruises already serve gluten-free breads, pizzas, and pastas but may not include gluten-free desserts and beer. Your ship’s maître d’ will also be aware since it will come up when your key card is run to take you to your table, and they will be able to advise you what menu items do not contain gluten and can also handle any special requests you may have. We suggest meeting with the maître d’ each day and pre-ordering food for the next day. This holds true for even dining at a specialty restaurant. Many cruise lines have a special needs form that needs to be completed in advance, or you will need to provide the information in your online profile. We suggest doing this at least 4 to 6 weeks in advance. Your travel agent will be happy to assist you.

Alert the staff to your needs. Check in with the maitre’D, head waiter, and dining staff about safe gluten-free choices. I have Celiac and want to feel “normal,” especially on vacation. Therefore, I don’t want to find the chef and talk about what is safe on the buffet line or order my meal the night before, but the truth is if I don’t do these things and speak up about my likes and dislikes, the experience is not the same. When I stop being embarrassed or frustrated by my condition and talk to the chef, 9 times out of 10, it goes better than expected. Suddenly, I am being offered items even off the menu that can be prepared for me the next day. Ask about sanitation protocols regarding gluten. The crew should be able to tell you how they clean surfaces, utensils, and dishes to avoid cross-contamination.

Watch the Buffets

Although buffets will have gluten-free items, the chances of cross-contamination are quite high. You also can’t be certain if flour was used in any of the sauces offered on protein dishes. We suggest the main dining room or even fresh grilled items by the pool as an alternative to eating at the buffet. If you go to the buffet, find a chef and have them walk you through their gluten-free options for the day. Look out for hidden sources like soy sauce and thickening agents. Ask questions about ingredients. I avoid the buffets as I have gotten sick even when eating items that were gluten-free, so I can only assume it was cross-contamination.

Go Prepared

If you spend long days in port, plan ahead and take some backup items, such as Kind bars, trail mix, or chips. Research gluten-free dining options at ports of call if you plan to eat off the ship. You may or may not be able to find anything gluten-free easily while walking in port, particularly in the Caribbean, where many things are fried. Most ports in Europe and larger cities have plenty of gluten free options, but it’s still a good idea to have something with you just in case. If you are not part of a shore excursion and on your own, check the internet ahead of time and look for gluten free restaurants in the ports you are visiting. Bring some ziplock bags from home. Grab a few extra gluten-free muffins or pastries from the buffet or dining room and store them in Ziploc bags in your stateroom. They can certainly come in handy when you need a late night snack.

Express Appreciation

The bar staff, servers, and room attendants get tips on cruises, but the chefs do not. If one of them went above and beyond, mention their name at the end of the cruise on the survey. Other options are to buy them a small gift in port or give them a tip.

If your budget allows it, discuss with a travel consultant the benefits of booking a suite. Many ships offer an exclusive specialty restaurant for suite guests to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which means there is a dedicated kitchen, and they cook for fewer guests than the main dining room. It is easier for them to cater to your specific needs and wants. If a suite is not within your budget, consider saving up for a specialty restaurant. These meals can range anywhere from $15 to $75 pp, depending on the ship and menu, but you are going to get a fantastic selection of menu items not found in the regular dining room.

Here is an overview of various cruise lines and how they handle gluten-free food items.

Celebrity Cruise Line Gluten Free

Celebrity has a reputation for having many gluten-free options for guests, particularly in their specialty restaurants. Even in the regular dining room, there is a special order line in the galley where meals are prepared to avoid cross-contamination. All food and beverage crew are required to complete Dine Aware training, which educates them on food allergies. I experienced this firsthand in the main dining room. The waiter brought bread for the table, including some gluten-free bread for me, but he took it further and brought me my own butter. Not every waiter realizes it gets complicated to share the butter with those who do not have gluten-free allergies. While on the new Celebrity Edge cruise ship, I was so excited to not only find an extensive gluten-free only bar in the buffet area, but there were also clear signs on all food items throughout the entire buffet area, so I knew what was safe without asking. One evening, they had an amazing cake (picture above.) I tend to enjoy salty over sweets, but I still think about this slice of cake months later. It tasted like an elegant wedding cake with a light raspberry filling. My only mistake was thinking they would offer it again on the cruise, and it was only available that one night. Had I known, I would have gotten a few slices to return to the cabin!  Celebrity Cruises  itineraries are now also available for booking.

Holland America Gluten-Free

Holland offers several gluten-free options on all of its menus. With 24 hours notice, they stated that they could make just about anything, including gluten-free pasta, bagels, pancakes, waffles, and even Asian dishes using tamari. In the main dining room, Holland America tends to have more gluten free options each night as part of their regular menu than other cruise lines. Most ships offer hamburger & hotdog buns and gluten-free pizza at the New York Pizza bar. The best gluten free meal, I feel, can be found at their Asian restaurant, Tamarind. The Thai chicken & rice soup was delicious. For dinner, I had Szechuan shrimp, which was great.  Holland America Cruises  is now available.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Gluten Free

Royal Caribbean is another popular cruise line that thoroughly caters to gluten-free cruisers. They offer plenty of gluten-free sandwiches, pastries, and pizzas with separate designated cooking areas to avoid cross-contamination. Most people don’t realize they can go to Sorrento’s, the pizza place onboard, and order a gluten-free pizza. We just cruised on the Mariner of the Seas, and I could order gluten-free pizza via room service, but it took about an hour and a half to arrive, so be sure to plan ahead. At Sorrento’s, they make it fresh in about 25 minutes. I also went to Izumi with my family and watched the chef cook, but my food was prepared in the back with gluten-free soy sauce. The rice was slightly bland, but they did give me extra tamari. I was just happy to enjoy the evening with my family. The next day, I took a sushi class, and again, I was set up with my own station. My krab and tempura shrimp were replaced by ahi tuna (yum!) They went to great lengths to ensure there was no cross-contamination, including cutting my rolls in the kitchen with a separate knife. I am no expert, but I think my sushi rolls pictured below didn’t come out half bad! Please note that eel sauce has gluten, so only tamari, ginger, or spicy mayo must be used on your rolls.

I also ate at Chops Steakhouse. The goat cheese salad caught my eye and is usually not gluten-free because it is served crispy with a breading, but they made me one without the breading. I then ordered shrimp cocktail. The kitchen staff was unsure of the cocktail sauce, so they made some from scratch, which was delicious. On our last day, we ate at Jamie’s. They gave me the most delightful bruschetta with gluten-free bread and my own plate of cheese and meats to avoid cross-contamination with my family, who were served various appetizers to share. If I had any comment, it would be about limited dessert options. Izumi only had fruit, and Chops & Jamie’s Italian had a pavlova or lemon sorbet. In the main dining room, they had creme brulee or ice cream. It was not a big issue for me because I was always too full for dessert from all the great food.

Royal Caribbean also offers gluten-free beer on its cruise ships. Browse  Royal Caribbean Cruises  to explore cruising options and find more information about the cruise line.

Update:  We just sailed on the Allure of the Seas. I was pleasantly surprised at a few things. In the main dining room, I asked for french onion soup (thinking they would only give me the broth & cheese.) It took some time, but the chef made it for me with gluten free bread. It was delicious! There was a wine sauce available for the filet, which was not gluten free; once again, the chefs prepared a gluten free wine sauce. I found the Coastal Kitchen, which was for suite guests, could have been more accommodating overall. They had a handful of gluten free items on the menu for breakfast, lunch & dinner, but even though it was a smaller kitchen, they did not take the time to make any adjustments to dishes that had gluten.

Norwegian Cruise Line Gluten Free

Norwegian has a number of gluten-free options onboard automatically, including pre-packaged cookies & toast, but with advanced notice, they can arrange gluten-free baguettes, buns, pasta, and even gluten-free pancakes. How about chicken parmesan or crab cakes? Just work closely with your head waiter, and NCL seems to pull out all the stops whenever possible. Gluten-free dessert options include ice cream, souffles, and creme brulee. Browse  NCL Cruises  to see which ships and itineraries are available.

Princess Cruises Gluten Free

Currently,  Princess Cruises  offers a variety of gluten-free products such as bread, cereal, spaghetti, and macaroni. They also have a special gluten-free mix to make cookies, cakes, muffins, pancakes, and pizza crusts. In addition, they offer gluten free beer and vodka on request. Princess is happy to accommodate guests with special dietary needs; however, it is important to notify them in writing at least 35 to 65 days in advance, depending on the cruise. If you like seafood, we highly recommend Steamers restaurant. Also, if you book a balcony cabin or above, you can order a deluxe balcony breakfast or dinner (for a fee,) and they will include items such as gluten free muffins, french toast, pancakes, or pastas when arranged in advance.

Disney Cruise Line Gluten Free Does Disney cruise do gluten-free? Just as Disney theme parks have an excellent reputation when it comes to accommodating those with special dietary needs,  Disney Cruises  are no exception. All they ask is that you make note of your gluten intolerance or any other dietary restrictions on your reservations when you book your trip. One unique thing they offer is popcorn for sale, which is gluten-free, like the Disney Parks. It’s easy to grab and take to the cabin for a snack. They have the typical muffins, toast & pancakes for breakfast, but again, something I have yet to see on too many cruises: they will make gluten-free donuts. On the private island, Castaway Cay, grilled items are available on gluten free bread, including burgers & hot dogs. You will even find gluten free cookies for dessert. At Flo’s Cafe, you can enjoy crispy chicken strips & fries (on my list of comfort foods I miss being able to order when out!) If you splurge for a specialty restaurant, you can order a fantastic chocolate souffle at Palo – place the order when you order your dinner so they have time to prepare it.

Carnival Cruise Line Gluten Free

Due to Carnival’s large fleet of ships and status as a popular commercial cruise line, they are one of the best-stocked cruise lines for gluten-free cruisers. All of Carnival’s cruise ships serve gluten-free breads, pastas, pizzas, and desserts. At the popular Guy’s Burger Joints, you can get bunless burgers and french fries as gluten-free options. Read more and see the menu on our blog,  Which Carnival Cruise ships have Guy’s Burger Joints onboard . Gluten-free beer is also available onboard Carnival’s cruise ships, and the chefs can bake you a gluten-free cake if requested ahead of time.

Seabourn Cruise Lines Gluten Free

Luxury cruise lines, like Seabourn, go above and beyond to cater to gluten-free cruisers. Known for ultra-luxury cruises, Seabourn Cruise Lines ensures your gluten-free requirements are met by providing a variety of gluten-free breads, buns, baguettes, and even breadsticks. All menu items are labeled gluten-free, and chefs are more than willing to make any gluten-free menu item if requested. Seabourn also has a pre-cruise online portal where guests can specify their gluten-free needs prior to cruising.

Azamara Cruises Gluten Free

Like other small ship cruises, my recent experience with Azamara gluten-free cruising (on the  Azamara Pursuit cruise ship  8-night sailing in South America) was mostly excellent. They offered a choice of whole grain dinner rolls, hamburger & hot dog buns, various gluten free pasta, risotto, rice noodles, some soups, gluten-free soy sauce, pancakes, waffles, plain bagels, muffins & cookies. Let me go through the negative first since there is little to mention. At the lunch buffets, the options were more limited. Although they could make pancakes, waffles & other items for breakfast, you have to order them the night before as you do on the large cruise ships. Dessert options were limited. That being said, it was a completely different experience for dinner, particularly in their two specialty restaurants, Aqualina & Prime C. We ate at these 6 out of 8 nights since it was included with the cabin category we booked. In Aqualina, they had carpaccio & antipasti as options and an amazing white bean or Tuscan lentil soup. I was interested in pancetta-wrapped scallops, which also came with crispy calamari that was not gluten free, so I asked if I could get just the scallops. The dish came back, and much to my surprise, they had also breaded the calamari with rice flour so I could enjoy it like everyone else. You can also have risotto and pasta made with various sauces. At the steakhouse, there were again a few soup & salad options, steamed veggies, twice-baked potatoes & gluten free french fries. My favorite part of the day was tea time! For suite guests, the butler would come around with coffee & tea daily and a selection of baked goods. They offered the most delicious gluten free scones with jelly and whipped cream I have ever tasted. Overall, it was a great cruise experience. I never felt stressed about ordering and had no cross-contamination issues.

Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines Gluten Free

Another impressive luxury cruise line, Regent Seven Seas, is willing to make a gluten-free alternative for almost any menu item. In addition to offering all the gluten-free staples such as breads and pastas, Regent goes the extra mile to ensure you are not missing out on delicious dishes just because you have a gluten-free diet. For instance, Regent’s Chocoholics high-tea service offers an entire gluten-free menu consisting of finger sandwiches and gluten-free desserts such as meringue and fruit tart. Browse  Regent Cruises .

Be Patient and Remember to Relax

The most important thing is to  Be Patient and Remember to Relax . Sometimes, no matter how many precautions you take, you get exposed to gluten while traveling. If you are traveling with friends or family who are not Celiac, they don’t completely understand the stress & anxiety avoiding gluten can cause. That does not mean you are alone. Thousands of people are going through the same thing, but don’t let it stop you from traveling. Go with rest and relaxation in mind.

If you are somehow exposed to gluten, take steps to speed up your recovery. My physician prescribes something for nausea that I always have with me. Take digestive enzymes such as GlutenEase, gluten digest, or gluten defense.* (*Of course, speak to your gastro prior to taking any of these supplements.*) I also find activated charcoal pills help me. Double up on your probiotics for a few days after gluten exposure. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids. Teas with chamomile, ginger, or peppermint are good for the digestive system. Rest allows your body to repair the damage, so read a book or nap. Ships have some amazing spa treatments that you should consider. Lastly, ease back into solid foods for the first 24 hours. Chicken broth, mashed or baked potato, baked fish or chicken, and steamed veggies are easier to digest than raw foods and heavy meats. Remember that feeling tired, anxious, down, or irritable is okay.

I assure you that the positive experiences and lasting memories from travel outweigh any obstacles.

Have you had any positive or negative experiences with gluten-free cruising? Please share your comments below.

Note: We share tips for health, travel & preparedness, but this is not official medical advice. Please get in touch with your medical professional if you have questions or symptoms.

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I just returned from an Alaskan cruise on the NCL Jewel I did inform them when I booked that I must eat gluten-free. At my first meal, I was introduced to an employee, Cris, who met with me each day to select gluten-free options that could be prepared for me in the main dining room, alternate free dining room, and the specialty restaurants where we had reservations. I was very pleased with that service. Many offerings were altered for me so I could eat them. I also was impressed that all of the waitstaff seemed knowledgeable about what gluten-free means and were able to make suggestions or find out information about ingredients from the kitchen staff. Anyone who has tried to eat gluten-free in many restaurants knows that most waitstaff and even cooks seem completely unaware of whether their foods contain wheat flour. It was so nice not to have to go through the usual contortions to get this information from the NCL staff. Eating at the ship’s buffet was a bit more of a challenge since I am also avoiding carbs. They do list which main dishes on one station are gluten-free, but these mostly included only roasted meat or poultry and high-carb items. There was a station with Indian and other Asian foods which looked appetizing, but almost none were gluten-free. It would have been nice to see more buffet items prepared without flour or with gluten-free soy sauce: soups, noodles, Indian dishes, desserts.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It is refreshing to hear that staff are being better trained. It’s taken several years, but it does finally feel like Celiac is being taken seriously and the food options are now expanding. I do agree that the buffets are still an issue with no only with limited food options, but with the concern of cross contamination as well. I currently avoid eating at the cruise buffets to be safe.

Great post! Thank you.

I have cruised on Celebrity, Crystal, and Carnival, with Celebrity being my ship of choice. I hope to do a Disney cruise, too. Disney is amazing at gluten-free.

I would add that if a person does get cross-contaminated on a cruise, to be sure to report it to the ship right away. That way, they can maybe make adjustments so maybe it doesn’t happen to someone else.

On one cruise sometime back, a specialty restaurant messed up by serving me an appetizer with barley in it. I assumed it was brown rice. Not! After taking a couple of bites, I asked the waiter if it was rice, and that’s when I learned it was barley. No fun.

When the mistake is an out-and-out error such as this and not just cross-contamination, and you have witnesses, then report it for sure. I was given a generous future cruise credit. I was careful to not get angry and to speak of the servers with the highest respect.

I was excited to hear that The Edge has a dedicated line in the buffet! I hope the pizza station is far removed from it. On The Eclipse, the pizza prep area is on a counter in front of guests — flour and all. Since flour stays airborne and can settle on anything, I avoided the buffet completely. (I’m just that sensitive.) That said, I have had OUTSTANDING meals on Celebrity and excellent service. I can hardly wait to go back.

In addition to the products you mention for cross-contamination, I have had good results with a newer product called GlaidinX You might want to check it out.

Thanks again, and happy cruising!

Thank you so much for your comments & tips. I never considered the flour situation in Celebrity’s buffet area while they are tossing the pizza dough. The Edge exclusive gluten free section is at the entrance of the buffet with no pizza nearby. As guests walk around, other items are available and noted on a card above the dish if they are gluten free, but this is where cross contamination could certainly occur easier. Also a great point that if we report any incidents, this will help the ships make continued improvements so that we can all enjoy our cruise without anxiety or worse yet, getting sick. Since I make it a habit to take a gluten blocker with any meal I am uncertain of, I will certainly give GlaidinX a try. Again thanks for sharing!

I have Celiac Disease and am very sensitive to even tiny amounts of gluten. I was delighted to learn around 2013 that some cruise lines are very accommodating, but from experience with about 8 cruise lines, I have decided to never again take a cruise with some of them, but I can feel quite safe with others. Top of the list for taking Celiac Disease very seriously are Viking (both river and ocean), Tauck, Windstar, Regent Seven Seas, and Queen Mary 2. I had more than one bad experience on both Princess and Holland America; as a result, I will not sail with either of them again. I understand from Celiac friends that Disney is also excellent, but I have not yet taken a Disney Cruise. Unfortunately, the cruise lines that handle gluten-free the best also tend to be relatively expensive, but the higher cost is worth it if I can relax and enjoy the trip without being nervous after one or two bad experiences.

Thank you for your comment. I agree that the upscale cruise lines offer not only a better variety, but also a safer environment, as they are cooking for less people. I am sorry to hear that you felt ill on both Princess and Holland in the past. It can certainly ruin a vacation. Although not always possible, it’s always greatly appreciated when a maitre de or chef personally takes the time to meet with a guest the first day of cruising. It seems to make all the different in what types of meals are available and ensuring the food is properly prepared.

Just returned from an Alaskan cruise with Holland America–it was a nightmare and we were ready to leave the ship at the first port. My husband wrote a lengthy note to the hotel staff and they called us in for a meeting, convinced us to stay and that they would accommodate my Celiac disease requirements. However, this meant that I had to choose my dinner the day before, had to eat at a specific time, and the buffets basically were off limits for me as nothing was labeled and the wait staff had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if something was gluten free. The staff said to just pick the gluten free options, but several times for both lunch and dinner, there were none listed on the menus. We will never go on a Holland American cruise again.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I know how stressful it can be and how it can ruin the vacation. One of the most frustrating things is having to order food for the next day as I am never certain what I will be in the mood for. Although there is no excuse, I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that cruises just resumed a couple of months ago after COVID and they are dealing with training a lot of new staff. That being said, we were just on the Celebrity Apex this past week and they had plenty of gluten-free options not only for main dining, but also in the dedicated buffet section.

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Interested in a Dedicated Gluten Free Cruise?

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Gluten Free on a Cruise: Celiac Safe Dining on the High Seas

If you're reading this, my guess is you're considering hitting the high seas, but you’re worried about whether you can stay safely gluten free on a cruise.

I’m here ease your mind. Maintaining your gluten free diet on a cruise is completely possible. Let me share a few tips from my own cruising experience.  

There is lot's of info here, so you can read through or use the links below to jump to the sections that interests you.

Choosing Your Cruise Line

Letting the Cruise Line Know About Your Needs

Dining gluten free on a cruise ship, enjoying stress free shore excursions, gluten free alcohol on a cruise ship.

Concluding Thoughts

Gluten Free Cruising: Choosing Your Cruise Line

The first step is selecting a cruise that will meet all your needs. Most cruise lines are expert at dealing with dietary requirements, so I expect you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Choose Your Cruise Experience First

Cruising is about more than just food and cruise lines offer diverse experiences.  Some have massive ships that accommodate thousands of passengers. You'll find night clubs, casinos, and common areas with the feel of shopping malls.  Some center around families with merry-go-rounds and water parks. Others like my recent Viking cruise have smaller ships and offer a more personalized feel. They focus on service and exemplary shore experiences. Prices vary too,

My advice is to choose your cruise experience first.  This is about the vacation of your dreams. Once you’ve homed in on a few cruise lines that offer what you’re after, then investigate how they will handle your need for gluten free food .

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Cruise Lines that Offer Safe Gluten Free Dining

My most recent experience was an amazing Mediterranean cruise aboard the Viking Saturn.  Viking, although pricey, is known for their exceptional service. They turned out to be a gem for me and my dietary restrictions.

• I was able to personalize my profile, so all the ships staff knew about my restrictions.
• Buffet items were tagged with allergens and presented on small trays that were changed often.
• Restaurant staff were knowledgeable and able to customize meals to suit my needs.

From the moment I stepped on board, exhausted from a marathon day of air travel , I was nothing but impressed.  Staff were accommodating about every aspect of our comfort, and they were genuinely concerned about my well-being.

Other Cruise Lines That Offer Gluten Free Food

My other encounter with gluten free cruising was Vancouver to Alaska with Holland America.  They did a good job though their approach was very different. Each evening, the chef presented me with the next day's menu so I could choose my meal. Then he ensured that it was safely gluten free.

I've also heard good things about AMA Waterways, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Disney.

Dedicated Gluten Free Cruises

Are you very worried about cross contamination? If so, a dedicated gluten free cruise may be right for you.

Expedia Cruises in Ottawa , ON is offering a gluten free European river cruise in May 2025.

Celiac Cruise partners with Royal Caribbean and AMA Waterways to offer several voyages per year.

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Step two is to inform the cruise line about your dietary restrictions. Most ask about this during the booking process, but if they don't, reach out and let them know. Be clear that it's not a preference but a serious health need and ask for confirmation that they can accommodate. You won't be their first gluten free guest so they'll know exactly how to assist you.

If you have other restrictions let them know that as well.

Once you've booked your cruise, you'll likely need to set up an online profile. You can note your gluten free requirement there as well.  Staff will have access to your profile and will be ready for you.

Cruise ships generally have several dining options:

• A buffet for casual dining with lots of options that will change over the course of the voyage. 
• A la carte restaurants that will likely require a reservation.  These may be semi-casual or formal. 
• Snack bars or grills where you can grab a bite any time of the day or night. 
• Room service which is often 24 /7 and may or may not be complimentary.

At The Buffet

Buffets can be a source of anxiety. Gluten free and gluten containing dishes are side by side creating the opportunity for spill over and for sharing of spoons and tongs. But there are ways to reduce the risk and put together a safe gluten free meal at the cruise ship buffet.

• Talk to the buffet staff and find out how to identify items that are gluten free. Some cruise lines will use labels, or some will have a staff member take you on a walk about.
• Walk through the buffet to get a feel for the presentation and the process. For example, on our recent Viking Mediterranean cruise I was happy to see the allergen tags. Also, small trays of food that were changed regularly reduced the risk of cross contamination .
• Go early if possible. The less time food sits on the buffet, the less chance of cross contamination.
• If you're nervous, ask to have a plate made up from food in the kitchen that's not been out on the buffet.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience aboard the Viking Saturn. We ate most meals at the buffet with no issues.

• Breakfast always included fruit, gluten free bacon, sausages, and bread. Gluten free waffles could be made to order.
• Lunch and dinner showcased a range of naturally gluten free meats and vegetabl e options, with a different roast at the carvery each day. I could always put together a satisfying and safe meal.
• Each day featured at least one gluten free dessert though they weren’t always dairy free .  No worries though, I could count on fresh fruit and vegan gelato or sorbet.  I ate more ice cream on my 13-day Mediterranean cruise than I have in the last year. Walking tours were a good choice.

A La Carte Restaurants

Cruise ships typically have an array of specialty restaurants that will likely cater to your gluten-free diet. Themes and choices will vary by cruise line, but you'll find some variation of the following:

• International cuisines like Italian or Asian
• A steakhouse or grill offering meals centered around protein.
• Gourmet restaurants offering fine dining, wine pairing, or tasting menus with several courses.
• A main dining room that offers a new menu each day.

There were three restaurants on board the Viking Saturn:

• The Chef’s Table was a food and wine pairing experience, and the menu changed every three days.  Substitutions were no problem and the chef even made me a special gluten free apple crumble for dessert.
• Manfredi's, the Italian Restaurant offered a classic Italian menu.  They also substituted to meet my dietary requirements. 
• A third restaurant called simply The Restaurant offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner with no reservation. The gluten free bread was so soft and warm that I asked for the recipe.  Turned out it was a Schar Ciabatta.  My lentil soup and fish curry were delicious as was the cherry streusel dessert.

I was especially impressed that staff had my profile at their fingertips and were aware of my needs.

Cruising isn't just about the food; it's also about exploring new destinations. Embrace the unknown and I promise you'll find some unforgettable cultural experiences. With a little planning, being gluten free on a cruise can include the adventure of trying local, authentic cuisines. Here are a few tips for doing so safely:

• Research local cuisines before you embark on your cruise. Understanding common ingredients and where challenges may lie will help to reduce stress. The Mediterranean countries we visited were all celiac friendly.
• Look up local celiac associations . They often have great advice for tourists and resources for finding gluten free food. The Italian Celiac Association is especially helpful.
• Print off gluten free travel cards in the local languages . 
• The Find Me Gluten Free app has crowd sourced reviews of restaurants worldwide. It helped me find the most amazing pizza I’ve ever had in my life! No, I’m not exaggerating.  Naples, Italy is the birthplace of pizza and I totally understand the hype.  My new mission in life is to learn how to duplicate that Neapolitan pizza crust.
• Join gluten free travel groups on social media. You can post a question like “I’m in Split, Croatia today, any recommendations?” You’ll get helpful suggestions from other travelers.
• If you book tours that include food , check with your cruise director or the tour company to ensure they can offer gluten free alternatives.
• Pack a snack just in case.  Gluten-free protein bars, nuts or dried fruit are nutritious and easy to carry.  I always pack an emergency granola bar, but I brought the same one home that I started with.  No trouble finding gluten free food in the Mediterranean.

Back on the ship there’s sure to be nightlife, so let’s talk about alcoholic beverages.

Most cruises offer a variety of wine , beer, and spirits. There may be a drinks package that you can buy in advance, and some offer complimentary wine and beer with meals.

For you and me with celiac disease, it's essential to know which drinks are safe and which to avoid. Most hard liquors are gluten free as are wines, ciders , and some hard seltzers.  There are gluten free beers but they're not common on cruises.  I did find gluten free beer in several of our ports, so that was an unexpected treat. 

You can find more information about safe alcoholic beverages on my gluten free alcohol page.

Gluten Free on a Cruise: Concluding Thoughts

I know embarking on a cruise seems overwhelming.  You’re giving up control of your food and that’s scary.  I’d like to encourage you to embrace the uncertainty.  You can stay safely gluten free on a cruise.  Better awareness of celiac disease had led to better accommodation worldwide, even in the middle of the ocean.

 This is an adventure, and like any adventure, it's unpredictable and exciting.  Don’t pass up the trip of a lifetime because of dietary restrictions.

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Interested in a dedicated Gluten-Free cruise?

Hi, I'm Patty.

I'm a lifelong student of food and natural healing.

Soon after my celiac diagnosis in 2012, I enrolled in the Chef's School at George Brown College in Toronto and earned my Culinary Skills diploma with a focus on nutrition and healthy eating. 

Cooking has changed my life and given me my health.  I wish the same for you.

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The Definitive “Which Cruise Line is Best For Gluten Free?” Post

Uncategorized

September 25, 2013 by roseman

For people who are on a gluten free diet and are considering a cruise, this is the question to ask.

And it has been asked, many, many times. The funny thing is, if you read the answers, they are all over the map. Pretty much every cruise line has been nominated as the best for gluten free. This is not helpful!

Let’s say that you’ve done a search for ‘best gluten free cruise line’, picked a post and decided that their choice (let’s call it Awesome Cruise Line) is the right one. You then second guess yourself, and do a quick confirmation by searching ‘Awesome Cruise Line gluten free’. What comes up but a list of food horror stories that people have had who tried to cruise on Awesome gluten free.

Never fear, I am now going to provide the definitive answer to that question. Ready? Here it is.

All of them. None of them.

You’re welcome.

I suppose if I’m criticizing other people for being unhelpful, I probably need to provide a bit of an explanation for that answer.

A Typical Claim

Let’s start by looking at a standard attempt to answer the ‘which is best?’ question, this one sent to me by email (line names changed of course):

I for example have tried many  – I think CruiseWoo is AMAZING with allergies (staff advised they get 3 months of training) whereas every other cruise line has been a serious challenge for me from CruiseFun to CruiseWhee to CruiseYay to CruiseYippee.

And the response I sent back:

Interestingly, by far our worst experience was on a CruiseWoo cruise. We had several times where the staff didn’t have a clue about the whole preordering thing in general, we had one day where literally three meals had to be sent back because they had wheat products in them, I had one guy trying to convince me that couscous was gluten free, and the head chef for the MDR eventually had to reassign one of the chefs who was working in the allergy prep area because they made so many mistakes. Our ‘goto’ Maitre d’, in a rare moment of candour, let us know how frustrated he was being on that ship, because despite how many times they train or talk to the staff, many of them just don’t give a shit. We’ve had mostly good on CruiseFun, but still enough bad to be on our toes, though they tend to be the line we use the most. We haven’t done the super high end ones, but even on the somewhat higher end ones it’s been a mixed bag. Our one CruisePomp trip was mostly okay safety-wise but very boring (i.e. just removed offending ingredients), and one trip on CruiseFancy had overall good food, the most awesome Maitre d’ who totally went above and beyond for us, and a few great waiters, but also a few who were complete idiots. When I was researching the book, I spent a lot of time searching through Cruise Critic forums and found a similar pattern, where you’d get both lots of very good and very bad experiences on pretty much every single line. That included most of the luxury lines too (e.g. CruiseStuffy, CruiseRigid).

A Quick Review

First, a brief reminder how pretty much all cruise lines deal with gluten free or other special diets.

You see on their website that the line handles gluten free diets. When you book, you or your travel agent lets them know about your diet, well ahead of time. When you first get onboard, you go find the Maitre d’ or restaurant manager, confirm your dietary needs with them (if they were even passed on to the ship at all), and find out about the onboard procedures and options available.

For your dinners, you’re given the menu for the next night at the end of the previous dinner. You then preorder your meal, which gives the galley staff time to prepare a suitable variation that deals with your particular special need.  If you use the buffet, you ask lots of questions and be very careful about cross-contamination.

Why the Cop-out?

I think ‘which cruise line is best?’ is the wrong question. If you think about it, you’re asking which organization has the best policies and procedures. And face it, on that front, most of them are more-or-less the same. You might quibble a bit about which one has the best fleet-wide recipes or sources your favourite brand of gluten free products, but that is all a bit subjective.

The reality is, it’s the staff onboard that you’ll encounter that make the real difference. Your particular waiter for example. They can be extremely knowledgable about gluten free dining, they can be extremely careful, accommodating, have a sixth sense about when mistakes were made, and unobtrusively predict your every need ahead of time. Or… well, the opposite of all those things.

The thing is, every line has both great and not-so-great staff . And even with extensive training, the not-so-great ones aren’t going to become great.

Most importantly, the differences in staff have a far greater impact than the differences in policies and procedures across different cruise lines. The best staff member on the cruise line with the worst procedures is going to provide you with a much better gluten free dining experience than the worst staff member on the ‘best’ line.

The real problem is, you can control what cruise line you can pick, but you can’t control the individual staff members you encounter. That’s why there’s so much emphasis on asking which cruise line is the best.

You’re probably thinking I’m trying to win some kind of award for the most unhelpful post ever. Fear not. Here’s what I think you should do.

Pick the cruise that is the best fit for your schedule, desired itinerary, demographic and budget. Verify that the policy is that they can handle gluten free, and comply with any requests they make about letting them know in advance and when onboard. When onboard, know and follow their policies and procedures.

Practice defensive eating. Always be on the lookout for mistakes. Learn about the common types of mistakes that are made, and why they are made. Learn how to identify the staff members who really know what they’re doing. Learn the best techniques to resolve problems with staff when they do occur. Learn how best to communicate.

Raise mistakes and difficulties you encounter with supervisors, positively and constructively. Most will assume everything is fine until they’re told otherwise, and most people don’t bring problems to their attention. Give them the information they need to provide extra training or redistribute staff the best that they can.

The biggest section of my book, by far, is about working with staff, and that’s because that is the thing you can do well that makes the biggest difference. The reality is you have to see yourself as a partner to the staff in making sure you have a cruise full of successful gluten free dining experiences.

The idealistic corporate ‘just let us know in advance and everything will be taken care of’ just doesn’t fit with reality. It’s also about the worst thing they can say, because it raises your expectations to an unrealistic level.

I know that’s not as neat and tidy (or short) an answer as ‘CruiseSuperAwesome’. And it’s true, if I just told you one line, you might luck out and have a perfect experience. But you also might not. I’d much rather you went in with realistic expectations, prepared, and ready to put in a small amount of effort, and that way you’ll have a great chance of having a great experience.

January 30, 2014

Just my experience… Have gone on two cruises, one as a diagnosed celiac and one pre-diognosis. Holland America’s Eurodamm was a very good example of what you are talking about. On a 7 night cruise, we had waiters that were very knowledgeable and on one night, the waiter was pretty much an “also ran”.

The gluten free food was delicious. I’ve never had such good pasta. Getting the menu the night before was great and of course there were always the naturally gluten free choices such as steak, shrimp, salad available. This was only guaranteed in the dining rooms.

Lunch and breakfast were more of a challenge although the cook at one booth was gf aware and could always scare up some toast or a waffle. Lunch was basically salads/soup.

All in all, I was very satisfied with the level of knowledge and willingness to accommodate my dietary needs. My travel guide faxed info to the cruise line at least 2 months in advance and they were aware of my gf status when I checked in.

Very nice of you to make your book free. Thank you.

March 23, 2015

I just cruised on The Emerald Princess and had a great experience eating gluten free. I notified the cruise line at booking, confirmed 45 days prior and checked in with the dining room head the first night. I believe the reason behind the great experience was that we had traditional dining so we had the same waitstaff each night(actually after a mistake at 2 tables the first night, our waiter was switched to ensure no more problems). The dining room also sat all the tables who had special dietary needs in the same room we quickly realized as each table had one person who pre-ordered for the next day. On the first night the head waiter explained where to order when at the buffet as they have an area where made-to-order food is prepared. This way each morning I could get gluten free toast from a toaster that wasn’t cross contaminated and an omelette with all GF ingredients. I did my part is being careful, asking questions and at times was asked to put in an alternative order if something couldn’t be made gluten free (but this alternative was never used). Additionally the head waiter had all of us eating GF name our favorite dessert then each night one of these was served so we each got our favorite once (we could also get creme brûlée, ice cream, fruit or cheese if we wanted in addition or instead). Overall I had great gluten free food and was never sick-I can’t wait it cruise again!

June 16, 2016

I had a wonderful experience on the Viking cruise line sailing the Rhine. My travel agent had notified them upon my booking of my CD. When I arrived on the ship, I met with the maitre d, they went above and beyond to make sure I did not get ill. They were very attentive to my needs, and accomodating. I would give them a score of an A+.

July 25, 2016

Hi Jacqueline, I am considering the same cruise you wrote about and also have CD. I am curious as to what kinds of meals they prepared for you? I’m hoping to be able to enjoy some wonderful European delights and not just plain meats and vegies with ice cream or fruit for dessert. If I may also ask, when on land, did you find the towns were familiar with gluten free as they are in England and Ireland? Thank you.

February 19, 2018

We have been on two Viking cruises- they were gluten free aware- but both times the ship was unaware when we got there- the second time we had doubled checked a week before. It was similar to restaurant experience in the US . However, on one of the group day trips to Paris, the word did not get out- I was given sautéed zucchini for lunch . period. The Rhine was safer- a stop at a local dept store had a large gluten free section, so I had safety snacks. Not horrible, not overwhelming

January 30, 2017

Went on the Regal Princess in 2015, the GF experience was amazing. They offered two rotating unique baked GF desserts each day – cake, tiramisu, tortes, you name it – not just ice cream! GF muffins, pancakes, toast, etc. all on demand in the Lido for breakfast. GF Pizza at the pizzeria – yum! Great GF service in the main dining room. And to confess, we would eat at the MDR for dinner, then go to the Lido because the food was just that good. Also, the specialty steak house was excellent, with a huge range of different foods to try, and well worth the extra cost. Had lobster there for dinner… and lobster for dessert.

Despite walking an extra mile or two on purpose, still gained a couple of pounds on the cruise…

James Ingram

May 5, 2017

Lucky you !We have just been on Caribbean Princess had the opposite experience NO choice of desert jelly or tapioca most nights.. one night due to mix up we got NO food, muffins and scones hard and horrible only rice bread no GF pizza, pastry waiter was very sarcastic, waiters sighed when you asked for GF food

May 7, 2017

We just did our first on Princess (Star). Was decidedly a mixed bag, though on the plus side we’re not dessert people to begin with. Hope to do a post about it soon.

February 22, 2018

We have sailed with Holland American Nieuw Amsterdam with a true celiac. Passenger’s name even had a “C” posted on her room card. First lunch upon boarding was confusing, but a wait staff directed us to a chef. He spend 20 minutes taking the celiac around the entire buffet. We get a guaranteed dining table (with very aware staff) because of her, not so for insulin dependent passenger. Each night, a menu was given for the next day to make choices. The celiac was so excited to have such great food. They even created a yummy cheesecake for her birthday. Next month, sailing through the Panama, and worried about lunches being served on excursions. HAL will check with each excursion and if they are not comfortable with the food served, will pack the celiac a picnic lunch to take along. We found that if staff were not a 100% sure if something was GF, they quickly found someone who was. Liike to read about other cruise lines

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How to Stay Gluten-Free on Your Cruise

By Thomas Faddegon

Cruiseline.com

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Virgin Voyages Gluten-Free Dining Guide

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When talking to people that have done cruise holidays, you often find one of their top things to talk about is their food experience. However, from my experience, it can often feel like an afterthought if you are gluten-free; that’s why it’s so fantastic that Virgin Voyages gluten-free dining is one of the best experiences at sea.

Table of Contents

When it comes to Virgin Voyages, they are no different on this; the only thing is they have taken the cruise ship dining rule book and torn it up.

So what have Virgin done that can be so different that they have torn up the rule book, I hear you say……..

Like many other cruises, Virgin Voyages is a full-board experience. However, that’s where the similarities in the food concept end. Virgin Voyages has over 20 eateries to explore and discover, making it the perfect cruise for someone like me who loves my food.

Especially seeing I also need to eat Gluten Free, Virgin Voyages make it so easy and enjoyable. I’ve never been made to feel like an inconvenience to the crew or had to spend my voyage having Food FOMO!! 

The most significant difference for those who are gluten-free and have experienced a main dining room on other cruise ships is not having to order your meal the night before, having to guess what ill want to eat in 24 hours after just finishing my current meal!)

How does dining work on Virgin Voyages?

So let’s start by talking logistics – when it comes to evening meals at the 6 main eateries onboard, you use the Virgin Voyages app to book a time slot. So 6pm is the first seating, with availability up to 10pm.

On average, it takes about an hour to eat your meal. So when planning your evenings, make sure you factor in the time you want to eat and how long it may take to ensure you can attend the evening activities and entertainment. 

The most popular window is between 7:30-8:30, so if you usually dine around that time, make sure you plan ahead and book as soon as possible. 

How does Virgin Voyages Gluten-Free dining work?

First, your server will always check for any allergies on the table when you are seated. The menu is clearly marked if any items are 100% not available Gluten Free; the remaining items are usually available with a minor substitution. 

If there is something you really fancy, ask the server if it’s possible to have it and they will go and check with the Chef. This has improved so much within the first few years of Virgin sailing, with more and more alternatives becoming available as Chef’s bed into the menus.

I have to say, overall, Virgin Voyages has been the best cruise line for my allergy I have experienced. There has been a lot of thought put into the menus to ensure they can be easily tweaked or made 100% gluten-free, offering more choice than any other cruise line. To this day, after 4 voyages and over 20 nights onboard, I’ve yet to have any allergy reaction.

Book your Virgin Voyages Cruise Today

If you would like to book your Virgin Voyages Cruise today, you can use the below link to see the latest offers and self-service your booking. Any bookings made using this link will be linked to Magical Traveller (it will say Sold and Serviced by Kieran Miller at the top); you will have complete control over your booking and can pay Virgin Voyages directly.

If you book using our Book and Go link by clicking the image below, we will add bonus sailor loot to your account as a thank you, $25-$200, depending on cruise duration and cabin purchased. Sea Terrace cabins receive $100 on sailings four nights or more as a guide. An email will be sent within 24 hours from Magical Traveller confirming the loot will be added within 30 days before you sail.

If you would like to add hotels and accommodation, don’t hesitate to contact us, and we can make your cruise a fully ATOL-protected holiday.

The Six Main Eateries

Let’s start with the evening dining experience, as this is the most significant difference from other lines. You have 6 main restaurants to choose from for your evening meals…. and these are speciality level restaurants included in your cruise fare.

So let’s take a look at them one by one.

Pink Agave – Deck 5 AFT

My personal favourite, Pink Agave is an elevated Mexican dining experience. I love this restaurant because 90% of the menu is Gluten Free; it also has my favourite decor/atmosphere of the restaurants on the ship. One of my favourite dishes on the menu is the corn nibs. I know cron nibs, something so simple, but once you try them, you will understand! You can also arrive early and have a drink at its beautiful Bar.

The Test Kitchen – Deck 6 AFT 

This restaurant will be like Marmite with sailors. You will either love it or hate it! 

I love it, and there’s currently no other cruise ship where you get this food/theatre experience where you would not have to pay a surcharge. I highly recommend everyone try this 6-course dining experience, and when you do, pick the drink pairing. 

You get to enjoy a pairing of wine, beer, cocktails or non-alcoholic cocktails for each of your courses, it’s a gastro journey, and I love it. The pairing is an extra cost of $25/$35, depending on which you choose.

Sadly some courses aren’t available gluten-free. However, the crew explained that to me and offered an alternative course for me when that was the case. So it was clear they had their bases covered for people with allergies, and I always felt like I had the main experience, not a secondary option.

Extra Virgin – Deck 6 AFT

You will love this Italian at sea, with fresh handmade pasta. One of my favourite dishes is the Wagyu Starter, the memory of this as I wrote this made me smile and my mouth water! 

Again for those who are dining Gluten-free, this restaurant fully caters for you with fresh gluten-free pasta. When it comes to pasta dishes, you can have them either as a main or a side. So you can quickly end up having a 4 course or more meal here without realising! 

Razzle Dazzle – Deck 5 AFT

This is a Vegetarian forward restaurant; don’t let that put you off. You should definitely try it out as the food is delicious, and even if you aren’t happy about the idea of a no-meat meal, they also have a naughty side to the menu with meat options. 

The menu has clearly been designed for those with allergies, as there’s very little on the menu that isn’t available gluten-free short of a few substitutions.

This restaurant also has a great little bar at the back available any time, so a perfect place for pre/after drinks!

You can also come here for breakfast and Brunch, so make sure you have plans to visit to try that menu also.

The Wake – Deck 7 AFT 

This is a more traditional menu of steak/seafood, and I do like this restaurant as the steak is beautiful. However, it is the most lacking when it comes to Gluten Free options if you want more than the main steak and a limited number of sides.

There are limited options for starters or gluten-free side dishes on the menu. If you are used to having limited options, you may not notice, but when the other dining locations have such a fantastic range of choices, the lack of choice at the Wake stands out.

Hopefully, with feedback, this will change as the menu evolves! However, the Brunch here as Gluten Free is fantastic, with more options available and bottomless mimosas always going down well.

Gunbae – Deck 15 AFT

This is a lively group dining experience, with a strong chance you will be seated with other guests to make up a table in a Korean Style BBQ dining experience. 

Every meal begins with a drinking game, and Soju gets the meal, and the atmosphere started; things can get loud quickly.

One thing to note, to ensure there is no cross-contamination, gluten-free food is barbequed on a different grill, so you sometimes will have to wait for the crew to grill food for you whilst others are enjoying their food. It can make you feel a bit disjointed from the rest of the table as they enjoy each course from the central BBQ, and you have to wait for your food.

What’s Breakfast and Dinner like onboard Virgin Voyages?

Breakfast/lunch and dinner – galley – deck 15 aft – .

I love this place as it’s set up as a food hall with different vendors. Most of the food is made to order to reduce food waste, but it also allowed Virgin to elevate its fast-casual dining options.

Around The Galley you will find:-

Sushi Place

During breakfast, you can find bento-style fruit boxes and sushi bento boxes during the day. Nothing comes with breadcrumbs, and gluten-free soy sauce is available; this is a perfect grab-and-go option as the food is pre-prepared and easy to take to the nearby pool deck or back to your cabin.

Noodle Around

Sadly nothing here is gluten-free, but you can get ramen from this location. 

The Daily Mix

This is the place to head if you like a salad for lunch. You can make your own salad and choose your dressing. During breakfast, it is a Bagel Bar, where you make your own bagel, and yes, they have Gluten Free bagels; however, it’s not listed on the menu; just ask the crew for them. 

Let’s Taco

Here you will find soft Gluten free tacos with different fillings. The nachos are also gluten-free, but portions are more snack size.

Hot off The Press

This sandwich bar offers pressed and toasted sandwich options, all available on gluten-free bread.

Dinner & Dash – 

24 hours cooked breakfast, with made-to-order omelettes, British and American style bacon, and everything you need for a hearty breakfast. It’s perfect at 4am after you’ve left The Manor, which happens more than I’m willing to admit.

There’s also a rumour that tatter tots are available here, but we’ve yet to have them on our four voyages…

The Burger Bar

Says what it does on the tin; here, you will find burgers for breakfast, dinner and lunch. Gluten-free bread and buns are available.

This is the bread bar and bakery; sadly not a lot for us gluten free here, but they do make some beautiful creations.

Sweet Treats

They have some fantastic cake options throughout the day, including a range of gluten-free options. The caramel macron is fantastic. If you find the choice small or limited, make the crew aware that you are gluten-free, and they will let Chef know to make something extra the next day. 

For breakfast, this is where you will get fresh fruit, yoghurts and oats from.

Frozen lollies/ice pops, open from lunchtime onwards.

Grab & Go

There are fridges located near the entrance that offers quick food to go. The food changes through the day, so there’s always something new, and allergens are clearly marked. They also have fresh fruit like apples etc. You can also find one of these on Deck 7 aft as you come in/out from the Dock. 

Grounds Club Too

The place to head for your caffeine fix. Drip coffee is included in your cruise fare, but Grounds Club is where you will find speciality coffee and teas. If you need a pick-me-up shot of alcohol, ask for a Café Corretto, the perfect way to start your day!

I know you’re saying to yourselves, he said over 20 eateries, where are the rest, so here we go….

Sun Club Cafe – Deck 16 FORWARD

This eatery is a little hidden, with very limited hours in the early afternoon, but you can get Poke bowls here. These can be made gluten-free. Just ask.

Lick Me’ Til Ice Cream – Deck 7 MID – 

This place is an Ice Cream lover’s heaven. You can choose from 5 different flavour cones and a rotating selection of ice cream flavours. You can have 2 scoops of the same or 2 different flavours. Cones aren’t gluten-free, but they have cups available.

Pizza Place – Deck 7 MID

This is my favourite pizza place at sea (it used to be Disney Cruise Line). You can choose one from the menu or create your own pizza. The gluten-free pizza base is the best on any ship by far.

Just be aware if you are dancing in The Manor and feel hungry, Pizza Place closes at 1.30am, so you will need to be there by 1.15, and there may be a long line as it is popular with sailors to take back to the cabin!! 

The Grounds Club – Deck 7 MID

Similar to the one in The Galley, this slightly larger location also serves a range of Speciality Coffee and Teas. In addition, it has a fantastic range of complementary pastries, muffins and cookies. 

Drinks here are at an additional cost. Included drip coffee is available from The Galley.

Sadly, I’ve not found any gluten-free cake or cookies here. That being said, the social is only 20 steps away.

Social Club – Deck 7 MID/AFT

This area is the closest to a sports bar, where you will find Air Hockey and board games. It also serves hot dogs, chicken wings and a fantastic-looking Pretzel. You can have a hot dog without the bun; nothing else is gluten-free from the main Bar. 

However, the sweet counter does have a range of Gluten Free options. The Brownie and Peanut Brittle are my favourites, and I stock up on a few to take back to our cabin for a snack! You can also get a range of Speciality Milkshakes, both spiked or not, for an extra charge.

The Dock and Dock House – Deck 7 AFT –

Located at the rear of the ship, these two venues share a drink and food menu. 

The Dock is an outdoor venue that offers beautiful daybeds to relax and unwind in the sun. Alternatively, The Dockhouse is located inside and has the added benefit of coming with air conditioning. 

Both spaces are lovely to relax, socialise and unwind in and, from time to time, will offer live music and quizzes/games run by The Happenings Crew. 

The menu here has a range of mezze-style small plates, which you can order anytime from the nearby crew. There’s a lovely range of cold or hot items, with my favourite dish being the Watermelon salad, it’s so tasty and refreshing, it’s so simple, it’s perfect! 

Almost every item here is gluten-free, often being as simple as to come without the pita bread. 

All the above food is included in your cruise fare, and there are very few upcharges for food onboard Virgin Voyages. Each of the main eateries will have a handful of items you can splurge on if you would like, but it’s in no way necessary. An example would be the tomahawk steak on The Wakes menu.

Virgin Voyages is by far the best gluten-free experience I’ve had on a cruise ship. The menus are both exciting and inclusive. In addition, the crew know the menus well and can suggest alternatives or substitutions quickly and easily. 

If you are a regular cruiser and worry about being gluten-free, have no fear, the food on Virgin is the best we’ve had at sea, including us gluten-free folks. 

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Gluten Free Dining Tips For Cruisers

If gluten is your kryptonite, chances are you either have a sensitivity to gluten or celiac disease. Taking a cruise vacation sounds fun but when you think about what you are going to eat, it becomes quite stressful. Gluten allergies, sensitivities, and celiac disease have become a common ailment that restricts diets and the cruise industry has taken notice. The good news is they have also taken action. Cruise lines such as NCL, HAL, Crystal, and Princess have altered some of their menus to include gluten-free options. Here’s how you can have an awesome gluten-free cruise vacation!

Notify Cruise Lines About A Gluten Free Requirement Before Cruising

Contact the cruise line before your sail date to alert them you require a gluten-free experience. Try to contact them as early as possible and make sure you don’t wait until the last minute. The cruise line needs time to prepare for your arrival so your food options are always available. For example, Norwegian Cruise Lines needs to learn about your diet restrictions ahead of time so they can order the right ingredients to make gluten-free rolls, hamburger buns, baguettes, pasta, pancake flour, and more. Also, Holland America can offer gluten-free muffins, hamburger buns, hot dog buns, premade desserts, and pasta as long as you alert them ahead of time.

Don’t let a gluten-free diet ruin your cruise vacation. Plan ahead by contacting the cruise line about 30 days prior to your sail date, pack gluten-free snacks to bring with you, and find the gluten-free options in each restaurant and food spots throughout the ship.

If you have specific questions about what is or isn't allowed on the cruise ship to help maintain your specific diet, it is always best to contact the cruise line directly. Thankfully most major cruise lines have made it very easy for gluten free cruisers to maintain their diet.

Gluten Free and Food Allergy Cruise Line Resources

Norwegian Cruise Line Accessibility Assistance

Carnival Cruise Line Guests With Disabilities

Royal Caribbean International Special Diet Guest Accomodations

Holland America Line Special Dietary Restrictions

The Main Dining Room Is A Gluten Free Cruiser's Best Friend

Most upscale and luxury cruise lines offer gluten-free meals in specialty restaurants and the dining room. The galley may even have a dedicated area to avoid any cross contamination to ensure your gluten free items stay that way. Additionally, by dining in the main dining room, you can ensure that the dining team is aware of your needs.

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Please fill out the form below and Heather from Flow Voyages (or a representative from CruiseWestCoast.com) will contact you as soon as possible.

For immediate help, please contact Heather directly: 630-779-9301 or : [email protected]

Despite this, gluten free cruisers should still make a habit of speaking to the Maitre D every evening to go over the menu for the next day. This will save you time and make your cruise meals easy to find and eat. This will also give the dining room team to suggest additional gluten free options, as well as share insights about dishes that might be available in other parts of the ship as well.

If you forget to speak to the Maitre D, speak to your server and ask them to recommend gluten-free options from the menu. You will be surprised to learn there are appetizers, desserts, and gluten-free main courses. 

Buffets Aren't Easy For Gluten Free Travelers - But Not Impossible!

The buffet is often a difficult place to find gluten-free foods because most dishes are prepared in large quantities and without regard for food alergies. Despite this, many buffet restaurants will be able to offer baked goods such as bread but you can find other healthy items you can eat such as vegetables, salads, and protein options. With advanced notice, you may even be able to have one of the chefs provide you with a tour of the buffet area that highlight the gluten free options available that day.

Some Cruise Lines Are Better Than Others In Identifying Gluten Free Options

Holland America purposely highlights gluten-free items on their menus to make things easy for passengers to order without speaking to a Maitre D. Royal Caribbean’s Park Café offers gluten-free sandwiches and specifically uses a separate microwave and Panini press to prepare gluten-free options. They go above and beyond to avoid cross-contamination which makes passengers who eat gluten-free feel safe and happy.

Where to Find Gluten-Free Beer

An ice-cold beer while on a West Coast cruise vacation is the perfect way to relax. Royal Caribbean offers Estrella Daura gluten-free beer and you don’t even need to give advance notice. Estrella Daura is also available on all US-based Carnival ships as well. However, if you are sailing on Norwegian Cruise Line, you need to preorder more than 30 days before sailing. They need time to order cases of Redbridge brand beer for their gluten-free passengers.

Where To Find Gluten-Free Pizza

Carnival, Norwegian, Holland America Line, and Royal Caribbean all offer gluten free pizza dough in their pizza restaurants. While some have it ready to go for any guest who requests it, other ships require you to request the accomodation in advance.

Gluten-Free Travel Snacks to Pack

While your meals in specialty restaurants and the main dining room will be gluten-free, it might be difficult to find snacks to enjoy in between meals. Keep in mind it’s especially difficult to watch other passengers gorging on ice cream and other items you can’t have so make sure you pack the following gluten-free tasty snacks for you to enjoy.

• Gluten-free snack bars
• Plantain chips
• Dark chocolate
• Dried fruit
• Hard fermented cheeses
• Gluten-free crackers
• Peanut butter
• Almond butter
• Gluten-free granola bars
• Travel size hummus or avocado dip

Before you pack these items, check with the airlines to ensure you can bring this type of food item on the plane. Some airlines have strict guidelines and the TSA changes their rules from time to time. Stay updated on what types of foods you can bring with you through security and plan ahead of time.

Find Your Favorite Spots on the Ship That Offer Gluten Free Options

Take the time to find all the food spots on the ship to ensure you have as many options as possible. Chances are you will find your favorite little gluten-free pizza kiosk, snack bar, and a restaurant that you favor. Do your best to visit these eating spots frequently throughout your cruise to help lower your anxiety about finding gluten-free food. This way you will already know where to go and you will even become friendly with the staff running the food service area.

Chances are you will find your favorite place to have breakfast overlooking the ocean and enjoying every moment of your cruise vacation.

Inspiration for Your Gluten-Free Journey

Insider’s Guide to a Fantastic Gluten-Free Disney Cruise

In the celiac community, cruise lines have a stellar reputation for providing safe food for gluten-free cruisers. While Disney Parks are pioneers in accommodating food allergies in the theme park world.

When you put Disney and cruising together, gluten-free travelers experience the best of the best in Disney Cruise Line (DCL) vacations.

First-time gluten-free cruisers will be floored.

DCL provides more than simply gluten-free food. You’ll have excellent gluten-free food, endless options, quality, and variety that is equivalent to the “regular food” others are eating. It’s an exceptional experience for those of us who usually have to plan, prepare, and tote food on vacation.

Some of the links on this post are affiliate links. To learn more, visit our Disclosures .

Is a Disney Cruise Right for You?

Disney cruises are particularly suited for:

• Celiac cruisers: Read this entire post to learn why!
• Disney Fans: Disney themes are everywhere.
• Families with young children: Aside from the Disney theme, every kid-friendly detail is covered, particularly in the awesome kids club.
• Families of four, and especially families of five: Disney staterooms are larger than most cruise lines, giving you more room to move around comfortably. There are cabins that sleep five, making it a real bargain for families of five fitting in one stateroom.
• Travelers with multiple allergies or special dietary needs: Disney is amazing with this, whether you have two dietary needs or eight.

A Disney cruise may not be a good fit for:

• Folks who don’t enjoy Walt Disney World or Disney films.
• Travelers working on a tight budget: A Disney cruise is a premium product at a premium price.

A quick word about the last one. We’ve all been there. Sometimes, the budget just doesn’t match the dream. It’s okay to tweak the dream. Pick a different cruiseline with a current promotional offer. Most cruise lines are highly-skilled at accommodating celiac disease and gluten intolerance, and often at a much more affordable price point than Disney.

If you think a Disney Cruise is a good fit for you, read on.

Pre-Trip Preparation

Notify Disney before your trip that you are on a gluten-free diet. Complete DCL’s “Request Special Services” form online up to three days prior to embarkation.

Follow up with a phone call or have your travel agent call to make sure everything is properly noted. This is not absolutely necessary, but it is an added safeguard.

If you have questions before you sail or complex dietary needs, you can email [email protected] .

Read and understand DCL’s allergy guidance .

Review the basic dining options on your particular Disney ship . DCL has five cruise ships:

• Disney Wish (the newest and largest)
• Disney Dream
• Disney Fantasy
• Disney Magic
• Disney Wonder

The restaurants vary a bit by ship , particularly on the Disney Wish. On all ships, you will have some version of main dining restaurants, a buffet option ( Marceline Market on the Wish and Cabanas on the other ships), adult-only upscale restaurants (extra charge), quick-service options on the pool deck, and in-room dining.

Pack essential snacks for your cruise. While Disney will have you covered on the ship, you’ll want prepackaged snacks on hand for excursions. The rest of the items on the following snack list are completely optional.

Snack Packing List

• Prepackaged nuts, crackers, and protein bars : Prepackaged snacks are critical and will hold you over on excursion days and for your trip home. Disney’s guidelines require that the items are factory-sealed when you board.
• Gluten-free ramen in a cup : This is another great option for excursions and the flight home. It’s perfect if having a hot meal on the go is important to you. You’ll just need hot water from a server at your excursion restaurant or from a flight attendant.
• Water: Most beverages are included on your Disney Cruise, but not bottled water. At nearly $30 for a 12-pack of water delivered to your stateroom, some cruisers bring their own water. It must be factory-sealed and in your carry-on luggage . Better, yet, bring a refillable water bottle, which you can fill on the ship and take off with you for port excursions.
• Candy: You can buy candy at the ship’s movie theater snack stand, but you’ll have your gluten-free favorites (and save a few dollars) if you bring your own.
• Reusable straws: Like most cruise lines, Disney offers no straw or paper straws only, and some brands contain gluten.
• Gluten-free sprinkles: Add these to your soft-serve ice cream. Many, not all, Betty Crocker sprinkles are labeled gluten-free.

Embarkation Day

Visit the Onboard Dining Session on the first day during boarding hours. When you arrive on the ship, ask a cast member where the dining session is being held. Head there to speak with dining leads. Let them know you have celiac disease and they can answer any questions and put you at ease.

You have a few options for your first lunch on board:

• One of the main dining restaurants will be open. You can order off a menu and get familiar with the process of the main dining rooms. Be sure to mention your dietary restrictions when you order.
• Enjoy a buffet at Cabanas (or Marceline Market on the Wish). Ask for the head server, who can walk you through the buffet pointing out gluten-free dishes. The server can bring you safe food from the kitchen, not directly off the buffet, due to cross-contamination.
• Head to the pool deck and order casual, quick-service food.

At dinner on the first night, your assigned server will show you which menu items are gluten-free. Options will be more limited for this first dinner.

After dinner, your server will help you select food for the next day.

Express your dietary needs and any special requests clearly on the first night. Your server will follow you each night as you rotate through the main dining rooms, and can provide a better dining experience with this information.

Have reasonable expectations for embarkation day and then set them very high after that. The first lunch and dinner menus have fewer options for last-minute modifications. But the following days, with advance notice, the chefs can work Disney Magic.

Main Dining Restaurants

DCL offers nightly rotational dining in its three main dining restaurants. The themed restaurants vary by ship. Disney will assign you a schedule that rotates your party through each of the dining rooms at dinner. As you rotate rooms, your assigned server, who knows your dietary needs , rotates with you for every dinner!

Note: You’ll choose a nightly seating time (early or late) prior to sailing. Early dining books up quickly, so make that selection as soon as your Advanced Booking Window opens, if early dining is important to you.

Disney’s allergy guidance notes that the main dining restaurants and specialty restaurants have more resources to meet dietary needs and requests. If you wish to eat entirely at these table service restaurants, each ship has at least one main dining restaurant open for breakfast and lunch .

Tip! Request gluten-free rolls with dinner.

Sometimes you don’t know what you want. We’re used to so few options. Being asked, “well, what would you like?” can be overwhelming. Refer to the regular menus for inspiration or keep an eye out for something that looks good at another cruiser’s table.

If you’re disappointed with a particular night’s dessert, ask for a donut, ice cream, or Mickey bar, all of which can usually be served quickly on the spot.

Disney’s wait staff is generally wonderful. If you are unlucky and yours is not helping you have a fabulous food experience, please politely ask for the head waiter. If you are a bit uncomfortable “rocking the boat”, the head waiter usually does a nightly check-in at each table.

Unrelated to gluten, the art in Animator’s Palate (on every ship but Disney Wish) is particularly spectacular and unique for Pirate Night. You can contact DCL prior to the cruise to request a dining rotation that has you in Animator’s Palate on Pirate Night. Requests aren’t guaranteed.

Gluten-Free Menu Options

Disney Wish has a separate food allergy menu. Some of the allergy-menu dishes are only on the allergy menu and not even listed on the regular menus.

The Disney Dream, Fantasy, Magic, and Wonder have gluten-free items clearly marked on the regular menu.

Menus are available as a hard-copy, traditional menu in the restaurants or via the Navigator app:

Preordering Food for the Next Day

After dinner each night, your server will have you select your meals for the next day. You may order all your meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Preordering is great for the pickiest of eaters (you can order mac & cheese every night) and for the most adventurous cruisers, as it opens up the most options.

While preordering does cut down on spontaneity, it means your food will be ready with the rest of your party’s food, and the chef will have more flexibility in granting your requests.

Don’t like the menu options at the following night’s rotational restaurant? Simply preorder from any restaurant’s menu. Your food will still be served to you at your assigned restaurant.

You aren’t limited to the dishes marked gluten-free. If your favorite dish is on the regular menu, but not gluten-free, just ask if there’s a way the chef can make it gluten-free.

Make Special Requests!

Just ask! The chefs are incredibly accommodating. Let them know what you need. If you want chocolate cake every night, simply ask your server. Make these special requests the day before.

Order pasta. As my favorite food, pasta is always on my wish list. Even if it’s not marked gluten-free on the menu, most of the pasta dishes can be made gluten-free.

Picky eaters are a Disney specialty. Kid favorites like mac & cheese and chicken tenders are available gluten-free. If your child wants gluten-free grilled cheese for every dinner, just make your special request to your server.

Like to be surprised? For dessert, ask for the chef’s choice and let Disney surprise you. Or make special requests: flan, creme brulee, flourless chocolate cake, orange almond cake, carrot cake, cheesecake, brookies, cookies, ice cream sundaes, and sorbets are all available, with notice.

Savvy gluten-free cruisers make chef’s choice special requests like “chef’s choice cake”, “chef’s choice sundae”, and “chef’s choice chocolate dessert”.

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Marceline Market or Cabanas Buffet

Cabanas , on the Disney Dream, Fantasy, Magic, and Wonder, offers a breakfast and lunch buffet.

On the Disney Wish, Marceline Market offers Disney’s take on a Food Market with several stalls serving buffet-style breakfast and lunch.

Don’t risk cross-contamination by eating off the buffet. Request food from the back or place a preorder.

You can preorder your buffet breakfast or lunch with your server the night before to save time and have more options. Let the head server in Cabanas/Marceline know about your preorder when you arrive at the restaurant, and it will be delivered in about 5-10 minutes.

If you don’t preorder, I recommend heading to the buffet about 30 minutes before the rest of your family. The gluten-free food will be ready when the gluten-eaters show up to hit the buffet.

Breakfast offerings include gluten-free donuts, muffins, waffles, pancakes, and French toast, along with naturally gluten-free items, like bacon, omelets, and fruit.

Order Mickey waffles at least once.

Ask your dinner server which day(s) they are serving churro Mickey waffles, and order your gluten-free churro Mickey waffles the night before.

Buffet lunch options include salads, soups, meat and fish dishes, sandwiches, pizza, pasta, fruit, and desserts.

On most nights, Cabanas and Marceline Market, transform into a sit-down, casual restaurant for dinner. Check the Navigator app for the schedule on your particular cruise. Note, your regular server will still be at your assigned rotational restaurant, so make your dietary needs clear to the Cabanas/Marceline server.

Pool Side Quick-Service Options

There is no shortage of kid-friendly food on the pool deck.

A fan favorite is endless soft-serve ice cream. Ask for a gluten-free ice cream cone from the cast member by the soft-serve ice cream machine. The staff will change gloves before getting you a gluten-free cone.

Or make a float. Get soda from the fountain, then add soft serve.

The pool deck has several food counters where you’ll find salad, chicken tenders, pizza, hotdogs on a gluten-free bun, burgers on a gluten-free bun, and fries.

Everything takes a little longer to make safely gluten-free, but the gluten-free pizza can take particularly long, about 15-20 minutes. Order before you are hungry and while the kids are busy with other activities.

Looking for the best celiac favorites around the ship? Check out 18 Gluten-Free Favorites for Your Upcoming Disney Cruise for drool-worthy inspiration.

Specialty, Adult-Only Dining (Extra Charge)

Adults-only dining options are available on each ship. They require a reservation and are not included in the price of the cruise (additional charge).

Specialty Restaurants vary by ship:

• Palo Steakhouse (Wish) and Palo (Dream, Fantasy, Magic & Wonder) are more affordable than the other options.
• Remy (Dream & Fantasy)
• Enchanté by Chef Arnaud Lallement (Wish)

These upscale, specialty restaurants accommodate gluten-free in full Disney fashion, from gluten-free bread service and chocolate soufflé at Palo to wagyu beef and buttermilk chocolate at Remy. You won’t be disappointed if you decide to splurge on one of these restaurants.

Brunch at a specialty restaurant is a great option on a sea day!

These specialty restaurants are popular. Prior to sailing, book an Advance Reservation .

In-Room Dining

Items marked as gluten-free on the in-room dining menu are limited. But this is Disney! Just ask.

You can usually order Mickey bars 24 hours a day, via in-room dining.

Some items on the room service menu are not marked gluten-free but can be made gluten-free upon request.

Popular gluten-free room service items include Kinnikinnik Donuts, a fruit & cheese plate, cookies, fries, pizza, and burgers on gluten-free buns.

Hot meals may require extra notice and patience, but donuts are available quickly. Sometimes the donuts show up as a whole box!

As you will find all over the ship, special requests are often honored for room service. All I had to do was ask, and berry smoothies were delivered to my room with breakfast.

Gluten-free hot items from room service should be ordered earlier in the evening or the chef may be gone for the night. If Disney can’t accommodate your late-night request, ask for a Mickey bar for your midnight snack.

While most room service items are complimentary, some items, like candy and alcohol are available for a charge.

Even when ordering complimentary items, tips are appropriate for this extra service.

Royal Court Royal Tea or Olaf’s Royal Picnic (Extra Charge)

Olaf’s Royal Picnic (on the Wish) and Royal Court Royal Tea (on the Dream, Fantasy, Magic, and Wonder) are premium character dining experiences for children, available at an extra charge. Your party must have at least one child ages 3 to 12 and at least one adult.

There are other opportunities for character meet-and-greets , that are included in the price of your cruise, without the fancy food experience.

Both the included and extra encounters book up quickly, usually in advance of sailing.

The premium experiences are pricey and deserve the extra effort of an allergy consultation. Discuss the menu with cast members at the Onboard Dining Session on embarkation day.

There are food activities in the kids’ club that involve gluten, such as cookie decorating.

These activities are pre-scheduled and in one area of the club. Cast members clean up thoroughly after the cooking events.

I simply make other plans for my daughter during those activities, so she isn’t in the kids club feeling left out. If your child would rather be in the Kids Club, there are plenty of other activities happening for kids not participating in the food project.

Outside snacks are not allowed in the kids club.

However, lunch and dinner are served there. Work with your regular server from the main dining restaurant rotation to pre-order a gluten-free meal with your child’s favorite foods.

Eating successfully gluten-free and free of cross-contamination (which for celiacs is the only kind of gluten-free there is) can vary by location.

If you are on a Mediterranean Cruise, you will find a higher level of celiac awareness at the ports. In the Caribbean, it’s more challenging.

Research your destinations in advance. Use the Find Me Gluten Free App for reviews or reach out directly to restaurants on/near your excursion to determine if you can be accommodated. Find Me Gluten Free has a free version and a paid, premium version. (Use the code GOGLUTENFREELY for $5 off the premium version.)

Consider shorter excursions, so you can get back to the ship for meals. For example, my family opted for a half-day dolphin encounter over an all-day experience.

Eat a big breakfast on the ship.

Pack snacks. Crackers, protein bars, nuts, chips. Disney only allows pre-packaged food back on the ship, so just open what you plan to eat or expect to toss already opened products.

In a pinch, ask for prepackaged Udi’s muffins or Kinnikinnik Donuts and take them off the ship for the day. Discuss options with your server at dinner.

Check port restrictions for your destinations. Some ports will not allow you to take anything off the ship. Others will allow only prepackaged foods. There are often restrictions regarding fruit, meat, and dairy.

Head straight to the pool deck for a late lunch when you return to the ship.

If you are close to the port (not always possible), you can head back to the cruise ship for lunch, and then venture back out for exploring in the afternoon.

Castaway Cay, Disney’s Private Island

Preorder your food for Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas.

Choices typically include burgers, hot dogs, chicken strips, BBQ chicken and ribs, salmon, rice, corn on the cob, french fries, veggies, baked potatoes, potato salad, potato chips, cookies, ice cream, and spice cake.

Allergy meals are picked up at Cookies 1 on Castaway Cay. They are made on the ship and then brought to Cookies 1.

Order more food than you think you’ll eat. They’ll have it ready for you, but they can’t make more on the spot if you decide you want a burger to go with your ribs.

Soft drinks, soft-serve ice cream, and pre-packaged potato chips are available on the island.

Debarkation Day

Debarkation Day breakfast has fewer options, for everyone, but especially for guests with special diets. Here are some options:

• Sit-down breakfast in a main dining restaurant with your regular server.
• Buffet breakfast at Cabanas or Marceline Market. Options are more limited than on other days.
• Order an extra dessert on your last night, get it to go, and eat it for breakfast.
• Order Kinnikinnik Donuts from room service before midnight the night prior.

Note: room service is not available on the last morning.

With either the main dining restaurant or buffet, preorder your breakfast with your dinner server, so it gets a little extra attention in the rush of debarkation day.

Heading Home

Traveling by car or continuing your vacation at a nearby hotel makes it easy to stop by a safe restaurant or a grocery store after disembarking the ship.

For those heading straight from the ship to the airport, it is more challenging. Here are a few easy options:

• Pack enough prepackaged snacks (nuts, crackers, protein bars) to last for your travel day.
• Pair your prepackaged snacks with fruit, cheese, meat sticks, and yogurt purchased at an airport shop for a picnic-style meal.
• Starbucks, ubiquitous at airports, sells fabulous gluten-free marshmallow dream bars for dessert. They are like a rice crispy treat, but better.
• Consider airport restaurant options. For example, Orlando International Airport has Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s, and Chick-fil-A, depending on your terminal. These three restaurants are not dedicated gluten-free but have good gluten-free protocols. Always ask about cross-contamination and safety protocols when ordering. Note that airport restaurant locations usually have smaller kitchens and limited menus, so stick to a picnic if they don’t pass your safety questions.
• Pack gluten-free Ramen in a cup for the flight home. Ask your flight attendant for hot water, and you’ll have a hot meal.

Disney Land & Sea Vacation

A Disney Land & Sea Vacation is a back-to-back visit to Disney parks AND a Disney cruise on one amazing vacation.

Most often, the land portion is a Walt Disney World trip tied to a cruise out of Flordia, but you could easily add Disneyland in California to a cruise departing from San Diego, or a Paris Disneyland stopover to a European Disney cruise.

If you are going to splurge on an over-the-top Disney Land & Sea Vacation, I recommend doing the land portion first. The parks are just as safe for gluten-free food as the cruise ships, but they require a lot more work, planning, walking, and long days. The cruise ship feels more like a relaxing vacation and is the perfect way to end your Disney dream vacation.

Related Posts:

• Celiac Cruise: The BEST Way to Cruise Gluten-Free
• How to Cruise Gluten-Free on Royal Caribbean
• 18 Gluten-Free Favorites for Your Upcoming Disney Cruise
• 21 Top Tips for a Gluten-Free Disney Vacation
• Best Gluten-Free Food at Disney World

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Thanks so much for sharing! You have made me so excited to cruise! Do you know if they use separate gluten free fryers for the fried food ie fries, donuts etc?

You’ll love it! Disney really understands cross-contamination. The donuts are prepackaged, historically from Kinnikinnick. Gluten-free fried items like chicken tenders and French fries are not made in shared fryers. I always ask for a chef at the buffets and make sure I’ve communicated that I have celiac disease to the maitre d and my waiter in the rotational dining rooms.

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Gluten-Free Travel With Me

  Travel stories and reviews from a gluten free traveller

Sky Princess Staycation Cruise 10/09/21

This review covers a three night “staycation” cruise on the beautiful Sky Princess cruise ship. Another new cruise line to add to our ever increasing list, and again, we were looking forward to our cruising experience and finding out how well we would be catered for as gluten-free cruisers.

Sky Princess is a new ship, only coming into service in February 2019. At full capacity she holds 3660 passengers, for our particular cruise there were around 2000 passengers aboard. Compared to the minimalist design of the atrium on Britannia, I thought Sky Princess was elegantly stylish, and quite luxurious yet modern in appearance. She has a piazza rather than an atrium, and this is light and airy with some beautiful glasswork. To be honest, whilst all these ships are very different in their designs in the atrium/piazza areas, I haven’t found one I don’t like yet!

Compared to my previous two staycation reviews, I felt a little rushed on this trip, and didn’t have the chance to sample many places to eat, or collect information. The main reason for this is that our cruise was a themed cruise, with guest speakers, and we spent the majority of the first day listening to talks by them, and about half of the second day too. This obviously impacted on my ability to get round the ship and eat food (or at least find out about it!) So there may be a little bit of information lacking. However, we are going on a two week cruise on the same ship late in October, so I should be able to get information about anything I’ve missed!

Booking and Prior to Cruising

I booked our cruise direct with Princess via telephone, and of course mentioned that we are both gluten free, and that I am also a vegetarian. Princess told me I needed to go onto the Medallion app and add it in there. Whilst the Medallion app caused no end of trouble when we were on board, this was actually an easy (and trouble free!) thing to do on it. The app is used for everything, from adding your documentation and choosing an arrival time for check in, to ordering drinks and food on board, to finding your way around. When it works it is fantastic, however more often than not we experienced problems with it.

There is a section both on the website and on the app to complete for any allergies, intolerances etc. On the website, click on the check in button, then scroll down and there is a section for each passenger that says dietary requests. It isn’t strictly accurate, as you have to say you have an allergy to wheat rather than it saying gluten free, but there is also a comments section, so I ensured I filled this in to say I was coeliac. If you click on the circle with an “i” inside it next to food allergy, then it brings up information with drop down sections. There is a gluten-free/no wheat section, where it provides details about foods they carry on board, and also how you can order gluten-free beer (for $108 for 24 bottles, a bit of a cheek when the majority of people will have already paid for a drinks package). Similar can be done on the Medallion app, click on “my preferences” and from there go into dining, you can then mark yourself as being gluten free.

As soon as we boarded we went to our muster station to be checked in, and then dropped our hand luggage in our cabin. When we got to the cabin, we’d been left notes regarding our dietary requirements asking us to contact the restaurant manager upon arrival to the dining room to assist us. We decided to check out Alfredo’s for lunch first, then headed to the main dining room after that.

Alfredo’s Pizzeria

Unlike MSC Virtuosa and P&O Britannia, the Sky Princess (and other Princess ships) has an additional restaurant to eat in which is included in the cruise fare. Alfredo’s Pizzeria, as the name suggests, is a pizzeria that serves hand stretched pizzas, as well as calzones and some other dishes. When researching our cruise, I had read forums stating that they did gluten-free pizza, so we decided to go and test it out for lunch.

As soon as we spoke to the restaurant host we both felt completely reassured that they knew what they were doing. Straight away when mentioning being coeliac, she talked about how the GF pizzas were prepared separately to ensure there was no cross contamination. This made us feel very safe. She went through the menu with us, confirming that all starters except one were gluten free, and that most main dishes on the menu could be adapted to be so (although sadly not the calzones). The host also stated that she liked to always have one gluten-free dessert, although that wouldn’t necessarily be something that is on the menu. The second time we ate there, it was panna cotta.

The gluten-free pizzas are slightly smaller than the standard ones that are made there, but they are the perfect size for one person! We both found them to be a little crispy (although the second time we ate there, they weren’t as crispy), but both very tasty. We enjoyed it so much there that we went back for lunch on our 3rd day!

Buffet Lunch

We carried on our exploration of the ship by checking out the buffet. The World Fresh Marketplace and Horizon Court Buffet are essentially the same place, as one seems to merge into the other. We were both very disappointed to find that nothing was labelled as gluten free, with the exception of one dessert (a mango cheesecake) that was displayed next to all the other desserts. There was a box of gluten-free cookies kept behind the counter separately from everything else which you could ask for. These went very nicely in a cup of ice-cream from Swirls (see later)!

As per advice on previous cruises, I looked for a chef with a tall hat and told him that we were both gluten free. He quickly went through what was GF on the buffet, but it was quite rushed. On our next cruise, I will definitely try actually eating at the buffet for lunch just to see how it is dealt with, and if they get you a separate portion from out the back.

Interestingly, when we went back a couple of days later, just for a look, there were some dishes that were marked as gluten free. Not many, and only at one end of the buffet. It felt like a strange half-hearted attempt to label some things up.

Quick Serve Eateries (Lido Deck)

Aside from the buffet, there are a couple of options for quick eating round the pool on Sky Princess. Slice, as you can probably guess by the title, is a pizza place, and The Salty Dog Grill does burgers, hot dogs and fries. I didn’t find the time to eat at either of these places, but did have a chat there on the first day. At Slice we were told that gluten-free pizza is available, and it is made out the back so kept away from everything else.

The Salty Dog Grill stated that the only thing we could eat from there was the fries. I intend to try and find out a little bit more about this on our next cruise in October.

If you want a sweet treat, then Swirls is also on this deck, close to the entrance to the buffet. Swirls serves soft scoop ice-cream (vanilla, chocolate, or mixed) in cones (not gluten free) or cups. When I first asked there, I was told by the member of staff working there that the ice-cream wasn’t gluten free. However, I later checked with a restaurant manager who confirmed that it was, along with all gelato on the ship (more about that later!). The restaurant manager recommended that either a manager or a chef should always be asked about that kind of thing, as not all of the staff on the quick serve places have great English, so there can sometimes be an issue with them understanding exactly what you mean.

We actually found this problem at the bar too. I wanted a mudslide (my favourite drink!) and asked the server if the mix was gluten-free. She came back to say she had checked with the bar staff and it wasn’t. We were both a bit puzzled by this and wanted to know whether it was the mix or the syrup that was the problem. My husband asked to see the ingredients for both, and it turned out that both of them were fine. I don’t know if it was because the packaging didn’t specifically say gluten free that they got confused, and it’s obviously better for them to be safe. However, I’m glad my husband checked so I could drink my own body weight in mudslides for the duration of the cruise!

Pre-Ordering Meals in the Main Dining Room and the MDR Menus

I had pre-booked all of our dinner times/restaurants on the Medallion app before we even boarded the ship (you can also do this or amend/cancel bookings whilst on board). On our first day, we thought it might be a good idea to visit the main dining room (MDR) to see if we could pre-order anything for dinner. The restaurant host explained that we didn’t need to, and that we would be “looked after.” Of course, being both vegetarian and gluten free, this led to a not great experience for me at dinner time, so it was a little frustrating they hadn’t been able to help more earlier in the day.

At dinner, we were able to see the menus for the following day (both lunch and dinner) and place an order. Nothing at all is marked on the menus as being gluten free, which I feel is a glaring omission and not at all helpful. MSC produce a separate gluten-free menu, and P&O mark everything up on their standard menus, so Princess is definitely lacking in this respect. It is clearly a decision they’ve made to do this, as they don’t label up the buffet either. In my opinion all it does is make it more difficult for everyone involved, as when you pre-order for the next day, you have to rely on the head server knowing what can be made gluten free.

On our staycation cruise, they had afternoon tea in the MDR at 3pm both days. Unfortunately, we didn’t get chance to go and check it out due to being so busy. However, I did ask the restaurant host who stated that we would be best to order this in advance. On the Princess website it says that afternoon teas are a feature every day, so I’m hoping that on our longer cruise in October we can test them out.

Main Dining Room Dinner

As I mentioned earlier, dinner the first night wasn’t a great experience. Nothing marked up on the menu as gluten-free, and our server didn’t seem to have much of a clue, so he had to get the head server over who went through our options. Of course, it was all meat and fish, so fine for my husband, but I was offered gluten-free pasta with a sauce (I plumped for tomato based, but could have also had a creamy type sauce). Interestingly, although it was the head server who went through all the options, they don’t actually take the order, and get the server back to do that. Again, very different to the other two ships we’ve been on this year.

We were given gluten-free bread, which was just basic sliced bread. Throughout the whole cruise there didn’t seem to be any rolls, only basic sliced bread or for a couple of meals a bread with nuts in, which looked to be homemade (and was very nice).

Food arrived promptly, and was always hot. I did double check with the head waiter, who confirmed that like other cruise lines, they have a separate area of the kitchen to prepare all the “allergy” meals, and specific allergy chefs dealing with them.

Dessert wise, there was a flourless chocolate cake on the menu that the head server confirmed was gluten free, as well as crème brûlée and all of the ice-cream. I’d noticed that at lunchtime, there had been a Nutella gelato on the menu, and asked if it was possible to get some of that. They managed to find some for me, and it was delicious. From looking at the lunchtime menus, it looked as if there was a different flavoured gelato on offer each day. The flourless chocolate cake, although tasty, was unfortunately as solid and heavy as a brick, and the gelato definitely made up for it!

I’m not a fan of fruit really, and when the head server told us that the gluten-free dessert each night would be a surprise, I knew that fruit would be likely to feature heavily! I asked him if the surprise could be chocolate based, reminding him that as well as being gluten free it would also need to be vegetarian (so no gelatine), and he said he would pass it on to the chef. For the remaining two dinners and the lunch we had in the MDR I did indeed get tasty chocolate desserts, so that was a definite positive.

For pre-ordering, the head server would give us the menus for the following day, then write down our order. If the vegetarian meal couldn’t be adapted to be gluten free they would ask me to suggest something, and there was always the back up option of pasta. In some ways it is nice being able to suggest things, but at the same time, because it’s supposed to be fine dining (to a degree obviously!) I don’t always know what to ask for, and am unsure of what they can and can’t do. Again, this is something for me to find out more about on our longer cruise in October.

Buffet Breakfast

We decided to check out the buffet for the our first morning. As with the previous day, nothing was labelled up, so we asked a chef with a big hat to go through everything with us. Apparently the omelette station is gluten free, and there is also a fresh egg section (we didn’t try either of these). I was very happy to be told the hash browns were gluten free, as I’d missed those on our previous two cruises. Again, no vegetarian gluten-free sausages for me though. We told the chef what we wanted to eat, and were told it was safe to select those items from the buffet. As the buffet is served by staff, I felt safe with this, but when buffets go back to self-serve I would definitely want to have fresh food cooked out the back to avoid cross contamination.

There is gluten-free bread available if you ask, which they will toast for you on a completely separate grill. There are also gluten-free cornflakes available in a big box behind the counter which you can ask for.

In the pastry/muffin area they had three different muffins which were marked as gluten free. We took one of each to try (they were clearly made on board) and although they looked good, they were so dry! For anyone reading this that loves baking, if you haven’t heard of her then Becky Excell has amazing recipes for gluten-free goodies. She also has two books out, and I am seriously thinking of noting down a couple of her recipes and taking them on board our next Sky Princess cruise, as they definitely need a bit of help in making edible cupcakes/muffins!

There was also an unfortunate incident with butter at breakfast, which we did report. It does highlight the importance of making sure that you ask for fresh portions of things, as they can so easily be contaminated. With the butter, it was in a large bowl, kept behind the counter and away from the bread, and being served by a member of staff. When my husband brought it to the table, I could see that there were bits in it. On further investigation it turned out that the server behind the counter wasn’t always using a spoon to transfer the butter, and instead was handling the bread/toast, then with the same gloved hands was scooping out butter. Easy to see why the butter was full of crumbs when this was happening!

Main Dining Room Lunch

We just did this once, but it worked well. Having pre-ordered the previous evening, food arrived promptly and was tasty. We were able to get white wine vinegar for chips, and Heinz tomato ketchup, which is gluten free. The brown sauce onboard was HP, which isn’t GF, but as always we had taken our own brown sauce on board. I had ordered a pasta dish, and my husband had a burger and chips.

The surprise dessert was a chocolate layer cake. Looked amazing, to the point that the table next to us commented on it! The actual sponge was a bit dry, but the layers meant that overall it was was quite nice.

Main Dining Room Breakfast

As per other meals, nothing is marked up on the menu as gluten free. Essentially, they have the same food as the buffet, so it very much depends on what kind of environment you’d like to eat in. Unfortunately, they seemed to be having some kind of nightmare the morning that we went. We were seated at 9am, and didn’t receive any food until 10am! The couple on the table next to us stated they’d been in the MDR the previous day at a similar time, and it hadn’t taken anywhere near as long, so I think we were just unlucky.

The International Cafe

Located in the piazza, the International Cafe is open 24 hours a day, and provides numerous (included in fare) snacks that change throughout the day. It’s not great if you’re gluten free, but I was told that the crudites were safe, along with the hummus. They also have some gluten free desserts (actually labelled as GF too!), although they are stored in the same cabinet and close to the none GF desserts. You can ask for them to get you a fresh one. If you have other dietary requirements, like I do as a vegetarian, you do need to check what’s in the desserts. There was a lovely looking hazelnut mousse that was labelled up as gluten free, however, when I enquired, it had been made using gelatine, so I was unable to eat it.

Late Night Snacks/Room Service

If you are a night owl and get hungry later on, your options are potentially a little limited. We didn’t get the chance to investigate room service, which is a shame, as with the Medallion app you can get it delivered to you anywhere on the ship! We regularly saw people having snacks delivered to them in bars etc, which is a really good idea. On our longer cruise, I intend to check out room service and find out if there is anything that is safe for coeliacs on there. If there is, then that would be a fantastic addition to snacking!

As mentioned above, the International Cafe is open 24 hours, so it’s possible you might find something there. The buffet is also open late, and my husband went up there one night to try and get us some french fries. It was after 10pm, and he was unable to get any, as they’d used the fryer for gluten containing items. Good that staff knew this so didn’t make us ill, but not great it had happened in the first place. The Salty Dog Grill was already closed, so not possible to get any from there after 10pm.

If you are likely to be hungry later in the evening, it’s definitely a good idea to check out when quick serve places shut so you don’t get caught out!

Speciality Restaurants

Due to how busy we were on this cruise, we didn’t get chance to go to any of the speciality restaurants, or even go and have a chat with them about their menus. The additional (extra charge) restaurants available on Sky Princess are Bistro Sur La Mer, which is seafood, Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria, Crown Grill, which is a steakhouse and Chef’s Table Lumiere, which is described as “an extraordinary treat” and a “perfect culinary journey for any special occasion.”

I know it’s not a restaurant, but there is a paid for gelato shop in the Piazza. It was the ONLY place on board where I saw allergen information displayed, which I think is unacceptable – if they can do it in one place, then they should be able to label up more effectively in all their eateries. The toppings are not gluten free, but the sign on the counter states you can tell them of any allergies and they will get you fresh gelato from the kitchen. I believe it is this gelato that they have in the main dining room at lunchtime – as previous mentioned, the nutella one is amazing!

Disappointingly, there is no gluten-free beer on board the ship. The only way to get some is to make an order through Princess prior to cruising, for which they will charge you $108 for 24 bottles. If you don’t have the drinks package, then I guess it could be argued that that works out to be cheaper than pub prices, so not bad value. However, the majority of passengers on board are likely to have a drinks package (the Princess Plus fare costs £30pppn, and includes drinks, tips and WiFi, so in my opinion you’d be mad not to take it!) so it seems very unfair to make people pay extra for gluten-free beer, and not even stock it unless specifically ordered and paid for.

For other drinks there were no problems, and as I mentioned before, we checked out the syrups and mix for frozen drinks, and these were all gluten free.

Prior to the cruise I’d read very positive reviews about Princess and how they deal with gluten-free cruisers, so I was expecting big things. Overall I was left a little bit disappointed, and Princess definitely have room for improvement.

The positives : Alfredo’s Pizzeria was a definite highlight of our trip. We both felt incredibly safe eating there, helped by the fact that the restaurant host was spot on with her knowledge about cross contamination as soon as we mentioned being coeliac. Just like on P&O, it was great to have some flexibility in where we could eat, and not just be limited to the MDR like on MSC. I really appreciate anywhere that makes that bit of extra effort to ensure all passengers, even those with specific dietary requirements, can have choice in where they eat. The food itself was nice, and was always beautifully presented in the MDR and hot. I very much appreciated the chef taking the time to make me safe, chocolate based desserts. The helpfulness of staff once they understood you was also very positive.

The negatives : The lack of labelling everywhere has got to be the biggest negative for Princess. To not have anything marked on any menu anywhere is, to be frank, poor and needs to be changed. It makes it harder for staff, because passengers have no clue which meals to even start with when asking for more details, so you’re relying on serving staff knowing all the details. We found that staff attitudes and general engagement with passengers was very mixed – our server on the first night was a little bit sullen and not particularly chatty. He didn’t seem to have much idea of what was in the dishes, and didn’t make us feel safe in any way. Contrast that to our last night in the MDR, and we had a really happy, chatty server who seemed to be very enthusiastic and wanting to engage. It’s amazing the difference this can make. Other than the odd dish in the buffet, there were no labels in there either. Also, where they did have gluten-free desserts labelled, these were in close proximity to other desserts, so not necessarily safe in terms of possible cross contamination. This was similar to how things were displayed in the International Café. A final negative from me is the lack of gluten-free beer. Other cruise lines manage to deal with this and have it on board and easily available.

Overall I think it’s a bit of a mixed bag for Princess. I WOULD be happy to cruise with them again (which is a good job seeing as we’re going on a two week cruise soon!) There is plenty of choice for eating, and the quality of the food itself is great (apart from the muffins at breakfast, they definitely need some help there!). What lets them down is the lack of labelling and the lack of understanding in some places where they have gluten-free food right next to none GF food, where it can easily be contaminated.

I would probably rate Princess above MSC, even though MSC produce an actual gluten-free menu. The reason for this is purely down to the flexibility of being able to eat in other places rather than being stuck in the MDR. Alfredo’s is a great addition to included in your fare eateries, and it’s great that coeliacs can eat safely in there.

Out of the three staycation cruises we’ve done so far, P&O are definitely the winners in how they cater for gluten-free cruisers. Not perfect, but their well labelled menus in the MDR and dishes in the buffet, along with cakes, bread and crackers being kept in an entirely separate section of the buffet, meant that it was much easier to know what you could eat.

If Princess could be more like P&O, particularly when it comes to labelling, then they would definitely make it easier for both staff and passengers.

Up next – our 4th and final summer staycation cruise aboard the Disney Magic!

2 thoughts on “ Sky Princess Staycation Cruise 10/09/21 ”

Really interesting reading this all the things you have said I agree with 100 per cent , I was so disappointed with Princess. One of my very first cruises was with princess and newly diagnosed with ceolics got treated so well they cooked my special deserts and was so helpful. But they really are not very good any more , yes take Beckys book with you next trip. Would love to know the best cruise line to go with.

That’s a shame to hear that they’ve gone downhill.

As for the best cruise line for gluten free, I can only comment on the 4 cruises I’ve done this summer. However, Disney was absolutely outstanding, streets ahead of the other three.

I’ve heard really positive things about Royal Caribbean, but have never sailed them. Hopefully one day soon.

We have a Celebrity cruise booked next year, so looking forward to trying them out.

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A Guide to Gluten-Free Dining on Norwegian Prima

Like many people with Celiac Disease my first questions any time I travel are “what I am going to eat?” and “where can I eat safely?” The minute I decide on a destination, I’m all over the internet looking for the best places to get a gluten-free bite to eat. Being on a strict gluten-free diet for medical reasons means when I’m looking into a vacation like a cruise , the first thing I need to know before I book is what my dining options are.

Ready to start planning? Explore all Norwegian Prima cruises .

When Norwegian’s newest ship, Norwegian Prima started cruising, I had the privilege of being one of the first to experience this ship on a cruise out of NYC. With a whole new ship comes a whole new set of dining options—and some familiar favorites. Some of those new options make cruising easier for anyone with special dietary needs.

As someone with Celiac, I also have to look into potential sources of cross-contamination to eat safely. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to find gluten-free food on board Prima that was not just safe, but absolutely delicious. I travelled with back up snacks-like I always do-that could be a meal if I needed them to be but was delighted to find that while they were good to have on shore, I didn't even need them once on board.

Indulge Food Hall on Norwegian Prima

The big game changer on Norwegian Prima is Indulge Food Hall . You can get cuisines from all around the world all in one place. Even better, meals here are included with your cruise! The food hall is made up of several stations, each with its own cuisine and the menu varies a little bit by meal and by day. Finding out what would be gluten free and Celiac-safe was pretty easy. I was able to walk up to each station and ask the staff. There was always someone who was able to answer my questions.

My favorite part of Indulge by far is Tamara, a restaurant where you can get classic Indian favorites like Dal and Aloo Gobi along with Tandoori dishes, curries and even (safely fried!) Papad with a variety of chutneys. I went back to that station twice during my trip-okay, maybe it was three times if I'm being honest-because I just could not get enough.

The staff were very friendly and extremely helpful and showed me how to enter my dietary needs into the tablet ordering system so I could order seconds (which I absolutely did) from any table in the food hall without having to come back up to the restaurant and talk to the kitchen staff multiple times.

Pro tip: If you have specific dietary needs, I highly recommend starting your first meal at Indulge by asking the staff how to flag your dietary concerns when ordering on the tablets at each table in the food hall. It utilized the “name” field on your order and was a little tricky to find, but knowing how will make ordering food simple and stress-free for the duration of your trip.

Tamara was my personal favorite, but I was able to find more gluten-free options at other stations around the hall as well. The smokehouse offered a lot of smoked meats that were gluten free without the BBQ sauce, and there were plenty of soup and salad options. The menus change for lunch and dinner and sometimes stations have different menus depending on the day so it's worth checking out the menus or checking in with the staff before ordering to see what's available.

RELATED CRUISES: 7-Day Caribbean: Harvest Caye, Cozumel & Roatan 10-Day Northern Europe from Reykjavik to London: Iceland & Norway 10-Day Caribbean Round-trip New York: Bermuda & Dominican Republic

Complimentary Dining On Board

I was also impressed with the other complimentary dining on board and all the care the staff took to ensure I could have a safe, gluten-free meal. Hudson’s and The Commodore Room — complimentary, main dining rooms with a restaurant feel— were both fantastic. The menus had both gluten-free and vegetarian options marked so I had some idea of what I could order going in, but the waiters helped me find a starter, a main course and a dessert that were all Celiac-safe. Even when narrowed down to what was gluten free and could be prepared without cross contamination, there were still a lot of options to choose from. My favorite was the Risotto Al Funghi, a creamy risotto with lots of wild mushrooms, but I also enjoyed grilled Atlantic salmon with quinoa.

These two locations were also where I found the best breakfast options as well. They had gluten-free bagels one morning that they could toast under a lamp so no toaster was involved, and I could get eggs, bacon and fruit. Hudson's and The Commodore Room were both great for breakfast when I had time to relax and enjoy a bigger meal but Indulge was perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast on port days. I could get a quick yogurt and a banana along with some coffee to keep me going before heading out on an early morning shore excursion.

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Specialty Dining On Board

I did one night of specialty dining at Food Republic where you get a fusion of different cuisines from around the world. Because of all of the sauces, noodles and fried foods, I needed extra help navigating this menu. I got a lot of assistance from our server, Roseann. She knew all about cross contamination and was able to talk to the chefs to find out exactly what they could make for me. As it happened, they were able to make me one of my favorite dishes of all time: calamari. They fried it in a separate pan with separate oil and made the batter out of cornstarch instead of flour. It was fantastic. Since it wasn’t too busy, Roseann also was able to work with the chefs to make me a sushi roll featuring salmon and mango. All throughout, Roseann and the chefs were kind and helpful. I had a lot of fun talking with them and had a great dinner, too.

Pro tip: Be sure to fill out a Guest Special Needs Request Form ahead of your cruise, 45 days prior to sailing. Learn more in the Allergies & Medical Needs section of our site.

Whether you take the opportunity to try specialty dining or not, anyone with Celiac, a gluten allergy, an intolerance, or other dietary need will be able to cruise easily—and deliciously—on Norwegian Prima.

Best cruise food: These are the 6 cruise lines with the best food at sea

My mouth is watering just thinking about writing this story. As I sit here and recap all the lines I think are worthy of inclusion under the title of "best cruise line food," it's apparent how much cruise ship meals have evolved.

In the early days of cruising, travelers could only choose between set seating in the main dining room or a trip to the buffet for a more casual experience. These days, passengers are spoiled for choice, with some of the world's largest vessels offering dozens of options each.

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Among the staggering number of cuisines are pizza and burgers, sushi, steak, Italian, French, Indian, Mexican, Asian-fusion and diner fare, to name a few. Toss in partnerships with big names like Thomas Keller, Jacques Pepin, Matt Lambert and Guy Fieri, and you've got a recipe for dining success.

Nearly everyone who cruises looks forward to the food. Whether your palate is completely unsophisticated, or you're searching for a highbrow epicurean experience, this list rounds up the best cruise lines for food.

Note: These are my favorite cruise lines for food, listed in alphabetical order.

Carnival Cruise Line

Warning: I'm about to make a lofty and controversial claim. Carnival Cruise Line has the best all-around food of any mainstream cruise line. The food quality is even more surprising because its fares are some of the industry's lowest.

In addition to a pleasant variety of cuisine in its ships' onboard buffets, passengers will find delicious options on the main dining room menus daily. (One of the best-kept secrets is the line's Indian cuisine. If you don't see it on the menu, ask.)

Sure, Carnival has added-fee dining in the way of steak and seafood, but in terms of free fare, Carnival has the most impressive array of alternative dining options for which you won't have to shell out anything extra. In particular, I give special nods to Guy's Burger Joint by Guy Fieri; the BlueIguana Cantina, which offers Mexican food; Big Chicken, Shaquille O'Neal's chicken eatery; and Pizza Pirate or Pizzeria del Capitano (depending on the ship), which are renowned for their simply drool-worthy pies.

However, if you're in the mood for a splurge, you can't go wrong with a visit to Emeril's Bistro, which serves New Orleans-style a la carte items in partnership with chef Emeril Lagasse; Rudi's Seagrill, a seafood restaurant that's the brainchild of chef Rudi Sodamin; or Bonsai Teppanyaki.

Holland America Line

Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that Carnival's sister brand Holland America is also tops when it comes to offering some of the best cruise dining. The line largely shies away from the flashy bells and whistles of other cruise lines. (You won't find zip lines or roller coasters on board.) Instead, its focus is on providing solid core amenities like a wide variety of truly talented musicians and, of course, food that stands out.

Everything I've ever eaten in the main dining room has been utterly delectable, and you absolutely can't beat grilled cheese sandwiches or pea soup from the complimentary Grand Dutch Cafe on the line's newest ships.

Chef Rudi Sodamin's quirky but tasty creations also make an appearance at the Sel de Mer seafood restaurant, where you can try steak, seafood, fish, duck and lamb dishes, as well as vegetarian options. The whimsical food faces you'll see on your plates are an added bonus. Meanwhile, Pinnacle Grill has some of the best steaks I've ever eaten on a ship (or on land, for that matter), and if you enjoy Asian cuisine, Tamarind is definitively worth the extra cost.

Further, HAL's food isn't just tasty; it's fresh and fairly sourced, too. The line has worked with James Beard Award-winning chef and Culinary Council member Ethan Stowell to create a series of special menu items for its Alaska voyages. The dishes use sustainable and certified Alaskan seafood sourced through a partnership with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and certification by Responsible Fisheries Management.

Oceania Cruises

Upscale cruise line Oceania packs a ton of restaurants onto its small ships, but you won't find a bad option in the bunch. Whether you value dining variety and tasty meals or you truly are a food snob, Oceania will surely come through with a win. How could it not with Jacques Pepin and Giada De Laurentiis contributing to the menus? Even better, all but the fanciest wine-paired special meals are included in the fares.

The line's smallest ships offer two specialty dining venues — a steakhouse and an Italian restaurant — in addition to the Grand Dining Room, with its expansive international menus, and the Terrace Café, a high-end buffet serving sushi, French cheeses and gourmet ice cream. Its largest vessels feature four reservations-only restaurants, adding in French, American and pan-Asian, depending on the ship.

Oceania puts just as much attention to detail — and deliciousness — into its smaller venues. Waves Grill on the pool deck goes beyond cheeseburgers to salmon sandwiches and Wagyu beef burgers. Its afternoon tea is a marquee event, with waiters wheeling carts of goodies through the observation lounge. On Vista , you can start your day on a high note at Aquamar with multiple types of avocado toast and freshly made juices blended with therapeutic spices. Its evening pizzeria is not to be missed, not only for the Italian-style pies but for the enticing burrata menu.

Finally, real gourmands looking for the ultimate dining experience can pay extra for wine-paired dinners that rival the most luxurious feast you've had on land — or a more expensive cruise line. Oceania puts so much stock in these meals that the line has built intimate dining rooms into its ships, reserved exclusively for these foodie events.

Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours

To me, truly great food balances top-notch ingredients, impeccable flavors and creative presentation in such a way that makes even the pickiest of eaters happy. Too often, I've found myself at chichi restaurants that use weird ingredients (read: animal organs I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole), focus on looks over taste or make portions so tiny that they leave my stomach rumbling. Of all the lines I've sailed, luxury brand Scenic checks all the right boxes — a balance of the former with none of the latter.

From simple foods like eggs at breakfast in the buffet to the absolutely next-level chef's table I experienced on expedition ship Scenic Eclipse — a vessel with an impressive number of dining options given its size — the food was tasty and well-prepared.

But that doesn't mean it wasn't creative. For example, the chef's table offered up candied foie gras (or, in my case, candied date) lollipops and cured meat made to look like cigars with ash — but it wasn't a case of form over function. The flavors were spot-on, and substitutions were available for picky eaters like me and a vegetarian travel companion.

Somewhere in between the no-reservations buffet and the invitation-only chef's table lie equally impressive reservation-required options like Koko's Sushi (don't miss the homemade cotton candy), Night Market teppanyaki and French restaurant Lumiere, which somehow managed to win over even this notoriously anti-French-cuisine cruiser.

Seabourn Cruise Line

Luxury brand Seabourn Cruise Line serves outstanding food in all of its venues, including The Restaurant main dining room and The Colonnade buffet, both of which switch up their menus each day. Even the cafe found at the central hub of Seabourn Square — part lounge, part customer service area — is excellent, as are nightly casual menu options, served outdoors on most ships.

Beyond that, the line's small-ish vessels don't have a ton of additional options, but what they lack in number, they make up for in sheer quality.

A prime example is Earth and Ocean, a dinner experience at The Patio (found at The Grill on some ships), served alfresco. Enjoy a selection of both land and sea options bursting with flavor and served with flare. Examples might include Belgian endive salad, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, rib-eye steak, seafood bouillabaisse, baked Camembert and a salted caramel gelato sundae. Whatever you do, don't miss the homemade breadsticks.

Also, look for the new Mediterranean restaurant Solis debuting on ships this year.

Another luxurious standout is Seabourn's popular "caviar in the surf" event, held once per cruise. Waiters wade into the water at a beach while passengers are ashore and serve caviar and other accompaniments from trays. (On cold-weather voyages, the event is set up on tables on one of the outer decks instead.) Note that you can also order free caviar at any time of day if a craving strikes.

Virgin Voyages

When Virgin Voyages debuted, it did away with the traditional main dining room experience and, instead, added nearly a dozen restaurants that rival the ambience, quality and creativity of any upscale eatery on land. It also eschewed the idea of a traditional cruise buffet and replaced it with a food court. Additionally, it has gone out of its way to cater to dietary restrictions, with plenty of choices for vegetarians, vegans and cruisers who are gluten-free.

All of the options are included in the price — except for a new dinner theater experience on Resilient Lady — which represents a terrific value without sacrificing quality. Having partnered with famed chefs — including Matt Lambert of New York's The Musket Room; Sohui Kim of Insa, The Good Fork and Gage & Tollner in New York; and Silvana Salcido Esparza of Barrio Café in Phoenix — the line offers cuisine that runs the gamut from Mexican, Italian and steak selections to Korean barbecue, vegetarian-focused fare and even molecular gastronomy.

As for the line's new dinner theater option, it's not just a feast for the eyes. The food is fabulous, too, featuring intriguing dishes with an Indian flare that are seasoned just right.

Feeling like something more casual? Passengers can enjoy nearly round-the-clock personal pizzas, happy hour mezze platters, ice cream scoops and diner snacks like soft pretzels, hot dogs and candy — all complimentary. For something casual but more substantial, they can head to The Galley, a collection of food court-style counters serving diner grub, noodle bowls, paninis, salads, tacos, grab-and-go sushi and desserts, among other bites.

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