Diary of a Celiac

Monday, May 27, 2013

Gluten Free on the Disney Fantasy!

We sailed on the Disney Fantasy August 4th thru the 11th.  As with any travel I always pack up some gluten free snacks for the just in case occasions.  I bring Larabars!  Quick, Easy and always safe!
Day 1
We arrived on the cruise ship on the 4th.  For those of you who have cruised previously, the first thing the cruise lines do is direct everyone to the buffet.  I went up to the buffet and spoke with the one of the chefs and he advised us what our options were.  We selected which foods we would like and he went back and prepared our food for us.  They literally went back to the kitchen and prepared our food!  This definitely reduces the chances of cross contamination.  I then met with the dining staff to confirm that my daughter and I were registered as requiring a gluten free diet.  They confirmed that we were listed as gluten free.
Our dining rotation began at the "Enchanted Garden".  What a beautiful dining room!  Our Server was Gonsalo.  He advised that we could order what we wanted and the kitchen staff would prepare it for us.  After our meal he presented us with the menu for the following night and we selected what we would like to have the following night.  My husband loved this . . . . . he always wanted to know what he could have the following night!  The only disappointments were the gluten free bread and the dessert.  We were not given an option on desserts and the gluten free bread in disgusting.  I have been gluten free since January and the only time I was impressed with the bread was bread from Against the Grain in Vermont.
Day 2
We went to the "Royal Court" for breakfast and just advised our server that we were gluten free and they again prepared our food.  They also had gluten free donuts. . . . this is something we normally do not have at home, but we did try them and were pleasantly surprised!  Also, I have to say . . . .the coffee is the best coffee!  I had seen on a blog that I follow that the Disney Fantasy had gluten free chocolate chip cookies so we asked about them at breakfast and they went and brought us a plate of them!  We did not eat them for breakfast . . . . . not then anyway!
At lunch time we went to the buffet.  I am always nervous going to a buffet, but Disney exceeded all of my expectations!  I just asked for the chef and we had a repeat performance of the previous buffet experience.
At dinner time were wereDinner #2  The dining room was the "Royal Court".  This is their very formal looking dining room.  Again we were served the disgusting bread. . . . my daughter will eat it, but only the crust part.  The meal was amazing!    Desert was delicious!  Creme Brulee'!
Day 3
We arrived at St Marteen!  We went to breakfast at the buffet.  This time we were helped by a Chef  whose name was Levi Bailey.  He prepared our breakfast for us and it was delicious!  My daughter and husband went off on an excursion  "Sea Trek Helmet Dive".  I did not go . . . . . I am absolutely terrified to be under water.  Instead I stayed on the ship and relaxed. . . . and by relaxed, I mean that I went to the spa!  : )
When they returned we went up to the buffet for lunch and again Levi helped us with our food selections.  For dinner we were at the "Animators Palate".  What an amazing restaurant!  It was so exciting to watch the reactions of all the children!  That Crush  "The turtle from Finding Nemo"  actually converses with the guests at the table was so amazing.  The food again was amazing.
Day 4
We arrived at St Thomas!  We again went to the buffet for breakfast.  We had to be ready for our excursion at 9:30, so it was an early day.  Levi again helped us with our breakfast selections.  I tend to stick with omelets because I know that I will always like them.  My daughter tried the pancakes and she was not happy with them.  She makes pancakes at home using gluten free Bisquick with a little vanilla and some chocolate chips and they are very good.
Dinner was back in the "Enchanted Garden"
The cruise ship had Pirate night on this night and fireworks off the back of the ship!  What an amazing site!
Day 5
We were at sea.  The food was great and dinner was again in the "Royal Court"
Day 6
We arrived at Castaway Cay!  This is Disney's private island.  This is the only place that I did not feel handled our gluten free request as well as the other dining venues.  We ate off the same buffet line as others who may or may not be as careful as we are.  The corn on the cob (which we normally would have eaten) was right next to the hamburger buns.  If anyone had picked up a bun and a crumb fell off, we would have had cross contamination.  So we passed on foods that were near the food with gluten in them.  The BBQ'd Ribs were delicious and we did not get glutened!
Dinner was back in the "Animators Palate"  Again we were impressed with the technology that the dining room has!  We drew pictures and they animated them while we were dining.  Our pictures were dancing on the screens!!  Dont misunderstand, our drawings were not that great but we were very impressed with the technology!  Dinner again was amazing!
Day 7
We arrive back in Port Canaveral.

Things I learned about being gluten free on this cruise:
Try to find a chef and stick with that one chef!  If you are on the Disney Fantasy, please ask for Levi!  He did an amazing job meeting all of our dietary needs!  He was super friendly and very helpful!
Confirm that you are registered as gluten free when arriving on the ship.
Get cookies! The cookies are from http://omgitsglutenfree.com/
Relax and know that they are going to take care of your dietary needs!

Disney by far exceeded our expectations on everything . . . . . .except for the gluten free bread . . . . . yukk