Food Allergies

[diz4me]

Hi all! We will be taking a 7 day Eastern this Fall and one of the children in our party has severe food allergies. As he is 7 years old, he is very good about staying away from dangerous foods himself. However, what is the food policy at the Oceaneer's Lab? Is eating allowed in the Lab? We would need to know the policy, as our 7 year old won't know what was left behind that he could come in contact with, especially peanut butter. In addition, how accomondating is the kitchen staff in regard to food preparation?

If there is anyone out there with knowledge on this topic, please advise us what to do. Thanks a million!

 

[bettemom]

Hi,

My adult daughter has severe allergies to ALL sea food.Our head waiter was constantly telling her what she could and could not eat....

I would advise you to let DCL know in advance about your son...This will put them on alert and help you when you board..

Have a WONDERFUL time and hug that young man...

 

[diz4me]

Thanks for the information and encouragement. I guess i will have to contact DCL direct and find out about provisions in OC for kids with food.

Anyone else with info, please pass it along.

Thanks so much!

 

[disneyfreak1]

I think I'm the expert in this area. My son is 7 years old and severly allergic to peanuts, eggs and all dairy products. We are sailing in 2 1/2 weeks and also sailed two years ago. My TA gave me a medical form for our pediatrician to fill out. The form was for the ship's doctor. Our first night at dinner, our server and head server already knew about Devin's allergies. Our head server had margarine and non-dairy cheese in his own personal refrigerator specifically for Devin. You can't get much better service than that. Since Devin can't have dairy products, there are very few desserts he can have. Jello was not on the menu, but they always had some in the kitchen and would bring that out for him. One thing I forgot to mention.....I received menus with ingredients from Disney and a phone call from the lady in charge of food and beverage. She informed me that it is very common to have children on board with food allergies and they are very used to dealing with it. Disney went way above and beyond the call of duty in my opinion. Devin did not eat with the Oceaneers Club because he was afraid to. Since we do have to carry Atarax and an Epipen for him, it would have made me nervous for him to eat with them as well. One night in the club, they had an ice cream sundae making party. They gave Devin a whole bag of Mickey gummies instead, so he was not left out.

If you have any more questions, just ask. I'll be happy to help you.

 

[my3kids]

We had a great experience with the food allergy attention on the cruise. I filed out the medical form that DCL provided and faxed it back right after the reservation was made. The first night at dinner the server said he knew all about the allegy and would tell us each night what we could or couldn't order.

 

[goofysgirl]

My 8 yr old princess is also allergic to Peanuts and Tree Nuts. I informed all counselors who would come in contact with her. They watched everything she would take from the buffets if she ate with her group. They were very aware of her allergy and made sure she did not come in to close contact with another child that may have had PB or anything with nuts.
If she ate with us, our servers told her exactly what she could have and what to stay away from. They had double the worries as I am deathly allergic to seafood.
November will be our fourth cruise. Our last three have been wonderful, and we have had no problems and not even ay scares. Disney is very good with food allergies. Just make sure to have your meds with you, in case the unforeseen should happen. But as I said I think any problems are very unlikely.
I also filled out a medical form prior to sailing so the ship's medical staff was aware also. Have a great cruise and don;t worry your son will be in good hands.

 

[diz4me]

Thanks for these great posts and for all the helpful information. I feel much better and reassured that Disney will work with us to ensure the safety of my nephew. Hope I have the same experiences with them that you did!

 

[gfolchick]

To those prior cruisers, where did you leave your EpiPen? Could you leave it at the Club/Lab or did you bring it to the medical center?

 

[SweetSpot]

Although I am sure almost everyone has had a good experience when it comes to food allergies and the dining staff you must still make sure not to let your guard down. We were unfortunate to have a head server who just couldn't get it through his head that I was severely allergic to shellfish. If there was shellfish on the menu that is what he would recommend to me and everytime I had to remind him that I couldn't eat it. The last night, because they had learned I like soup, the server brought me lobster bisque. I would have thought by then he would have understood I could not eat lobster. Fortunately, shellfish isn't that hard to detect in foods but nuts and eggs are easier hidden and you need to be more careful. From what I understand the vast majority of the servers on the ship are excellent (hopefully I get one of them next time) but I would contact DCL before the cruise and fill out the form. I am sure they would seat you at a table with a server who is very educated on allergies and the menus ingredients. You will find DCL is unbelievably accomodating when it comes to the special needs of children. I am sure if they are aware of the allergy they will go above and beyond to keep your son safe.

 

[goofysgirl]

Fortunately, Tara has never had a need for her epi-pen. I carried one as well as my Husband had one with him. We might be a little more lax, than if she had had any prior problems. We were steps away from her on the ship at all times. We carried walkie talkies and always had the club beeper. I am not sure of the policy of leaving it at the club, but they did ask us if we had our own pen with us when we checked her in.
I think filling out the Medical form prior to sailing helps alot.
Make sure to speak with your Head Server if you fill your server is not paying enough attention to your allergy.