Gluten Free Diets in Europe

That's the main reason I have avoided cruises and AI.

I am one of the hypersensitive Celiacs and just a tiny bit of cross contamination gets me ill for days...even in my own home! :-(

1) Did you arrange this cruise through a tour company or directly with the cruise company?

2) A CRUISE director is the person who works for the cruise line and works with passengers as described in the previous response. A tour director works for a tour company which is why I asked the above question. (Some cruise lines call the person who is in charge of shore excursions the "tour director" but that person can't help with your problem.) Did the person you spoke to say "tour director" or "cruise director?"

3)If you did book with a tour company, contact them with your problem and see if they have a solution.

4) Go to Celiac Travel. There you can find restaurant cards that you can print out in numerous languages that will help the wait/cruise staff understand your needs. (When you go to the card page, you'll have to scroll down to find the choice of languages.)

5) This question has been asked numerous times. If you do a search you can find the previous threads which might give you some other ideas.

6) Gluten Intolerance is fairly common in Europe so I'm somewhat surprised with the answer?

I have many friends here in Germany and the UK who need to eat gluten free diets and they have no problems at all finding food here in restaurants. This is a very common ailment, thus it shouldn't be difficult for the cruise to accomodate you on this point.

Thank all of you so very much for replying--what a gift you all are!
We booked through a travel agent, then contacted Avalon by email. They told us to contact the cruise director--I misspoke when I said tour director. I'm just very disappointed with Avalon. This is the first time we've done a river cruise and for the price I expected more effort on their part to help.

While there are restaurants in Europe with GF menus, still be careful and speak with the manager/chef about your needs. Having a menu isn't enough, one must still be vigilant.

I ate at a couple of places in London with GF menus, and got quite ill because they used the same oil to fry my 'GF' fish in! But I did have excellent service and luck in Oxford and Abingdon in those places that I ate meals.

Be sure your cruise director fixes all of this before hand. I have heard about others who took cruises and had excellent service.

You won't be able to talk to the cruise director until you board the cruise. I suggest you print out some of the restaurant cards and let the wait staff know. I would be surprised if they, the wait staff, haven't dealt with this before.

When you talk to the company, you're talking to a reservations agent. They sit behind a desk all day but never get to work with the passengers face to face and in the field. Some may have never even been on a cruise.

Once you get on board, they'll do their best to take care of you. But remember, you still have to be vigilant.

Dawn
Costa cruise has a complete well tasting Gluten free menu as well as the airlines. I did this last year with them and never had any trouble. All the GF food id under lock & key in galley as we saw on our tour. The prep & cooking areas are separate so there is no cross contamination. I ask you to looking to this yourself and follow your dream of seeing Europe.

Thanks, Kim. How were the other accommodations on ship? Did you have a good time?

Eli, do you feel comfortable sharing what type of reactions you get? Mine take a bit to manifest, so I'm never sure if it's gluten or taking Excedrin. I have what is called collagenous colitis--auto immune disease. Not much known about it but when it flairs up, I'm usually incapicitated or let's say "homebound" or must know where every bathroom is located when I do go out. I am not diagnosed w/celiac so am not familiar with how extreme the reactions are. I am diagnosed with gluten intolerance and a tiny bit doesn't seem to bother me. The diagnosis was made with the saliva test, which most medical doctors dismiss but blood tests came back ok.

Sure Dawn, I don't have a problem sharing.

First of all, it took years before I was properly diagnosed. I even had gallbladder surgery for nothing! Symptoms were the same afterwards, with new doctors recommending gallbladder surgery after the fact, LOL

Anyway, my first reaction to being "glutened" as some say is mouth irritation. I develop canker sores within hours all over my mouth which are very painful. I also get skin rashes later on, abdominal pains, a nauseating sick feeling in my stomach, and generally don't feel well for days or sometimes weeks.

Thanks for sharing--what extreme reactions. On the other hand, you don't have to guess anymore what has happened. I'm sorry to hear that you went through unnecessary surgery. That is a phenomena that happens to too many of us!