Gluten Free Vacation!

Our family loves to travel, but recently several members were diagnosed with Celiac Disease. We quickly discovered that eating out, let alone vacationing internationally, posed what seemed to be an insurmountable problem. After a great deal of research, I trepidatiously arranged a two week cruise, hoping that eating in a consistent environment would permit us to travel without fear of cross contamination or illness.

While we prefer more authentic cultural immersion and extended stays in our chosen destinations, we were thrilled that cruising presented a compromise, allowing us to balance travel with significant dietary/ health concerns.

With appropriate pre-departure notification, the crew on the Norwegian Sun successfully enabled our family to have a fabulous vacation with healthy, GLUTEN FREE cuisine that was varied and scrumptious. We spoke with Rosalia Dizon, the Maitre D, on embarkation and she arranged for us to eat in the same dining facility with a reserved table and assigned us a dedicated and knowledgeable waitstaff. This allowed us to prevent cross contamination and the need to repeatedly explain our dietary restrictions at every meal. Our waiter, Christopher Song, was impressively diligent and consulted continuously with the chefs, who often put together special dishes for our group of five. Although the crew was taking care of hundreds of guests, Christopher and Rosalia graciously made our dietary restrictions seem effortless.

While I would not typically chose to travel by cruising, NCL did a fantastic job and if you are looking for a GLUTEN FREE vacation, this is a manageable option. While I can't speak for other NCL cruises, I can confidently state that Rosalia and Christopher on the Norwegian Sun kept our family healthy and well fed and their hard work deserves commendation!