Disney Cruise Line Dining

We booked a seven day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Disney Magic for the end of October, 2009. Our travel agent informed Disney that we were gluten free at the time of booking. Approximately six weeks before our departure, I sent in a medical form explaining in detail our specific dietary needs.

Dining aboard a Disney cruise ship has some distinct differences from other cruise lines. Each stateroom is assigned a table number and the same dedicated servers throughout the duration of the cruise. DCL offers rotational dining, in which guests experience one of three different restaurants each night with their assigned servers following along. Starting with the first meal, the head server came to verify our dietary needs and then shortly brought us a plate of warm gluten-free rolls. The first dinner was modified at the time we ordered, which meant my fish was served without the finishing sauce. After that we were able to preview the next night's menu and order before leaving the restaurant. The menus were practically endless in gluten-free selection and each pre-ordered meal was served as close to the menu description as possible. Some of my favorite dinners included; pasta with lobster sauce, a bowl of French onion soup with gluten-free bread and melted cheese on top, and veal scallopine served on top of a beautiful little scoop of gluten-free spaghetti. I can't remember the last time I had pasta in a restaurant!

Even though cruise lines are famous for their amazing and endless buffets, there was always at least one sit down restaurant open for breakfast and lunch aboard The Magic. For lunch we preferred to eat at the sit down restaurant. We found that by ordering even just an hour ahead of time enabled the restaurant staff time to adjust almost anything on the menu to our dietary needs. At each buffet, the head chef was always happy to walk through the buffet line as well as make something fresh for us in the kitchen. DCL makes it very clear that although they can attest to the ingredient used in the kitchen, they cannot make any guarantee once a dish is set on the buffet line. There is just no way of knowing if another guest inadvertently contaminated it. The chefs prefer to bring an allergy guest a meal directly from the kitchen although this will always be about a 15 minute wait. There were several items on the buffet that we felt comfortable with, such as the beef carving station, since they were not near any bread or wheat items.

There were a few items that my husband and I felt comfortable with at the buffets. An abundance of sliced fruit is the first item on the breakfast buffet so it is highly unlikely to be subject to cross-contamination. Likewise, the omelet bar is at a separate station and the items available for filling do not contain gluten. As with any food service, it is always prudent to double-check ingredients frequently.

During our trip, I had the good fortune to have coffee with the Executive Chef of the Disney Magic. Stefan Larsson has worked with various cruise lines for the past ten years and been with Disney for two years. He gave me a ballpark estimate that the Disney Magic has 25 to 35 gluten-free guests per voyage in addition to passengers with other dietary restrictions such as dairy, soy, and nuts. He was able to give me some insight on how DCL is able to accommodate allergy dining.

I learned that DCL has protocol set up for special dietary needs in which dinner orders are taken a day in advance, reviewed by the executive chef and prepared by the head and assistant chefs in the kitchen. With a day's lead time the kitchen can modify most anything on the menu to be gluten-free. DCL attempts to make much of their food allergy friendly by using dedicated fryers and non-gluten thickeners whenever possible. All crew members receive continuous training, including accommodating food allergies. In particular, the staff is trained to politely say no if a dish cannot be verified gluten-free. I especially appreciate this honesty rather than taking a risk with our health and completely ruining our vacation. DCL regularly stocks over twenty different gluten-free products including bagels, donuts, muffins, pasta, rolls, pizza crust, waffle and pancake mix, cookies, brownies, and mac and cheese. Of course items change over time and are subject to availability.