CRUISING WITH DISNEY & ALLERGIES:

As promised, here is an overview of our experience with food allergies and Disney Cruise Line. Just a few weeks ago we were able to sail on the Disney Dream for 7 nights in the Eastern Caribbean. I was honestly a little nervous about the dining options that would be available for Michael.

For those of you who don't know, my husband Michael has EoE, which is an autoimmune disease. As a result, he has a lot of food restrictions. Prior to our cruise I added his main allergies to special requests under our reservation. At home we avoid a number of additional ingredients, but for the cruise I listed Gluten, Dairy, and Soy as his allergies. These are the three ingredients that really make him feel bad, while others are ones we avoid for good measure. I also added my own gluten and dairy allergies. While I can tolerate very small amounts of these, I know that I can't eat very much of them before I start feeling bad.

Our first dinner was at Royal Palace. This dining location has a French American theme. We ordered from the lighter fares options and got the baked salmon and roasted chicken. At this point, I thought that I could order only items marked as gluten and dairy free on the menu. To be honest, neither of us loved our first meal. It was a bit un-flavorful and had the taste of a heart-healthy meal with very little salt, oils, or flavorings added. I'm sure it's a great fit for those who need this type of diet; it just wasn't the type of food that we love. Our dessert each evening was the chef's pick. I'm sure you could request something, but we enjoyed waiting for this surprise each evening (More on this below).

Before we left our waiter asked us to order the next night's dinner ahead of time. Allergy meals are custom-orders in the kitchen so they tend to take longer. Because of this, each evening, they asked us to submit our order for the following dinner. Since we were traveling with our family, this worked really well and allowed all of our meals to come out together.

The next morning we had breakfast at Royal Palace. At breakfast and lunch you are given the option of sit-down dining during a specific time frame, or you can get a meal at Cabanas Buffet or one of the quick-service locations. We had a great breakfast, and there were a lot of options available to us!

At Cabanas we found a lot of options on the buffet (If you have a question about an item, the staff members are very happy to help). At Luigi's Pizza and Cabanas you can order gluten and dairy-free pizza that's actually really good! I ate this for lunch on a couple of our days at sea. At quick-service locations a cast member will come out to take your order, and it does take a few minutes to prepare your meal. The wait was never excessive, but it's something to know about. If you're with a group you might want to pop in a couple of minutes early if you'd like to place a special request.

Our second evening was at Animator's Palette. This was a fun, bustling restaurant! Crush is on the screens that surround groupings of tables. If you've been to Epcot and have seen Turtle Talk with Crush, this has a similar feel. Children love this restaurant! Our dinner here was similar to the evening before. I did love that they brought out gluten-free bread and dairy-free butter for us when they brought bread and dip for the rest of the table. It was a nice treat!

When it was time to place our order for the next night's dinner I saw scallops and Sea Bass on the main menu from Enchanted Garden. These are two of my favorite foods, so I thought I'd give it a shot! I asked if I could get both of these even though they weren't marked as gluten and dairy free and I was told absolutely!

This was a game changer - guests with allergies can order off of the main menu and items will be altered as needed to accommodate allergies. All of our meals after this news were delicious!

I tried to order dishes that I thought could be made dairy and gluten-free. For instance, I didn't order pasta with alfredo sauce, because I know that doesn't really work for our allergies. We did however get a delicious pasta with scallops and a marinara-type sauce later in the week.

The rest of our meals were great! My piece of advice is to ask for what you really would like. The cast members are very kind and will do their absolute best to get it for you! We enjoyed Scallops, Sea Bass, Pork Tenderloin, Chocolate Mousse, and so many other yummy dishes!

Honestly, one of the best, if not the best, part of the Disney dining experience is the Cast Members. They quickly learn your preferences and begin to automatically bring out your favorites. Michael requested fries on our first night, but we were told they had a soy coating. Every evening beyond that first night, our server brought out fries that had been made specially, like they looked like a whole potato that had been sliced and fried. They cut up your children's food for you, and delight them with Mickey-shaped ketchup art. Dining on board is a great experience with both children and allergies!

On our anniversary night, which happened to be Pirate night, we had a special surprise. The chef had made a Chocolate Mousse Cake prepared for our allergies. It was SO good! Maybe the best gluten and dairy-free dessert I've had!

To sum up, Disney Cruise Line does a great job with allergies! I would absolutely recommend them to those who are concerned about food allergies. If you have any specific questions, please let me know. I'm more than happy to help in any way I can!