Food has been a major draw for anyone who takes a cruise.
The big cruise lines including Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) and Royal Caribbean International (RCL) offer a huge array of dining choices ranging from pizza and burgers to fine dining.
Basically, from the second you step onboard, the cruise lines make it very easy to eat not just three meals a day, but as many meals as you want with multiple snacks in between.
It's a lot of food with an average Royal Caribbean or Carnival cruise ship offering multiple free venues.
There is the main dining room, a buffet, pizza, snack, and usually at least a couple of other options, along with for-fee dining that ranges from steakhouses to hibachi, Italian, Mexican, and more.
You won't go hungry on a cruise no matter what your preferences are, but cruising has been a challenge for people with dietary restrictions.
But if you have an allergy, don't eat certain foods, or have health reasons to avoid various ingredients, it can be challenging to know what you can eat on a cruise. Royal Caribbean and Carnival try to be accommodating.
Your main dining room waiter will usually be able to handle any request, but in other venues it can be more of a challenge to find out exactly what's in each item you want to eat.
Now, Carnival has introduced a new piece of technology that may help people make food choices that meet their preferences and keep them safe if allergies are an issue.
Image source: Carnival.
Carnival Has a New Food Tool
Carnival has begun rolling out Menu Mate, a new food ingredient tool that will help passengers know what's in each menu item.
The new tool will be offered on touch-screen tablets at food venues across the Carnival fleet. It use software "to mitigate the risks of allergic reactions," according to a press release,
"The new program is the first of its kind among major cruise lines," Carnival shared.
“Making sure everyone is included in the fun and has the best experience possible is extremely important to us,” Carnival President Christine Duffy said.
“We are always looking for new ways to help our crew enhance our guests’ experiences, and that’s exactly what this new program is doing on our ships for those with food allergies.”
Menu Mate takes a system that was once manual, where you had to work with your main dining room waiter or a different person at each venue, and makes it more automated.
The new Menu Mate food ingredient program works simply for both guests and crew. Staff will ask guests about food allergies and enter any restrictions into the program. The software will then sort through all available options and display which items are allergen friendly, which options can be modified to exclude allergens and which selections should be avoided. If preferred, guests can also use the Menu Mate designated tablet themselves to enter in their own allergy/dietary information and then order from the options curated to meet their needs.
It's an elegant solution to something that a big problem for the people it impacted, and, in some cases, a life-threatening one.
"The program eliminates the lengthy process of conferring between guests, wait staff and chefs over the ingredients of menu items and possible substitutions. Now that the process of selecting items with allergen friendly ingredients is simplified, it is also no longer necessary for guests to inform Carnival of food allergies in advance of their cruise," Carnival said.
How Does Royal Caribbean Handle Food Allergies?
Royal Caribbean still uses what would have to be considered the classic cruise line approach to food allergies.
The company shared on its website that it can accommodate a variety of food needs including allergies, gluten-free, kosher, low-fat, and low-sodium meals.
It also offer a variety of vegetarian options at each meal in the main dining room and in the Windjammer buffet.
Those meals do not require giving the cruise line any advance notice.
"Lactose-free/soy milk, ensure, and kosher meals are available at no extra charge. All you have to do is notify us at least 45 days prior to sailing (90 days for European/South American Itineraries)," the company shared.
Vegan menus are available upon request in the main dining room.
Passengers can also email their dietary needs to the cruise line within that time-frame at special_needs@rccl.com.
Those emails should include the guests' names, booking number, ship name, and sail date.
