Yes, Special Diets Can Be Kept Afloat

A standard joke told by cruise directors at welcome-aboard parties is, “You came aboard as passengers, and after a week of dining you’ll go off as cargo.” Although nearly everyone laughs, weight gain is a fear that many cruise passengers face. After all, eating is a major pleasure of a cruise vacation, and aboard most ships there are three full-service meals a day, plus midmorning snacks, afternoon tea, and midnight and 24-hour buffets, not to mention assorted grills and ice cream service.

Despite the abundance of food, passengers can minimize the amount of weight they gain on vacation by eating low-calorie, low-fat spa and vegetarian options, which are standard on many shipboard menus. And they can exercise excess calories away. Aboard the newer, larger ships, there are more exercise options: pools, spas and exercise areas with treadmills, stair machines, and jogging and walking tracks.

But what if you have special dietary needs, such as diabetic, gluten-free or lactose-free, kosher or perhaps spicy Asian vegetarian?

Even the large ships will accommodate some special diets, such as low salt, low fat, low sugar or vegetarian, but your chances of getting a diet that requires special preparation--Asian vegetarian, gluten-free, macrobiotic, lactose-free, fructose-free and diabetic menus that even have desserts--are better aboard smaller and, in most cases, more expensive ships, such as those of Seabourn Cruise Line, with advance notice.

Toni Neumeister, vice president of food and beverage for Crystal Cruise Lines, offers suggestions for passengers requiring special diets:

* When searching for a cruise, contact the lines to ask whether they can handle your diet.

* Arrange for special diets through your travel agent if you are booking at least 30 days in advance. Usually the line’s onboard guest services department will contact passengers to learn their dietary requirements and purchase the food, prepare the menus and notify the ship. In some cases, special food items may have to be flown to the vessel. Passengers may have to pay extra for the product, shipping and inspection fees.

* Make sure your dietary requirements are in the record when you book passage. Then, when boarding, check with the dining room maitre d’ to make sure kitchen personnel are aware of it.

* Aboard the ship, contact the headwaiter in the dining room, identifying yourself and your diet needs. If you are allergic to a particular item, let your waiter know, since some soups or sauces could contain that item without your knowledge. This is also true for anyone traveling with a small baby. Before sailing, check with the line to see if they will provide infant formula. And be aware that there are differences between U.S. and European formulas.

* If you plan to eat one night in an alternative restaurant instead of the main dining room, notify the headwaiter ahead of time and, if it’s possible, he will arrange for your dietary items to be available.

* Most important is communication with the wait staff. If you ask the wait person if he or she speaks English and the reply is, “Si, un poco,” find another waiter who speaks your language. Then dine at the same table with the same waiter throughout the cruise.

On premium lines the staff in all restaurants should make an effort to accommodate dietary requests. Again, notify the guest services department well before sailing.

Orient Lines, a division of NCL, has separate kosher kitchens aboard its ships. The line is offering a series of kosher cruises on the Crown Odyssey and Marco Polo. Offered on western Mediterranean and Scandinavian itineraries between April and October 2003, the package features menus prepared by kosher chef Malcolm Green, lectures, Jewish-oriented shore excursions and performances by renowned cantors. A supplemental fee from $175 to $565 will cover meals on board and ashore, tours and pre- and post-sailing stays and transfers.

Kosher menus are available on a number of ships, including First European Cruises, which requires three weeks’ notice to serve frozen meals on trays for an additional charge of $20 a day for lunch and dinner. First European also offers vegetarian, low-salt, low-fat dishes with no advance notice, although it helps to mention important dietary restrictions when booking.

Luxury lines, such as Crystal Cruises, are able to offer more variety on a kosher menu. Crystal buys frozen kosher dinners from a supplier in London, but also offers a “kosher-style” menu prepared with separate pots and pans in a separate part of the galley. Passengers can use the same plates, silverware and glassware throughout the cruise if they request it. The plates will be new upon the guests’ arrival. Kosher wines are also available. Aboard Crystal ships, kosher meals can only be served in the dining room.

For more information, contact a travel agent or Orient Lines, (800) 333-7300, www.orientlines.com; First European Cruises, (888) 983-8767, www.first-european.com; Crystal Cruises, (800) 820-6663, www.crystalcruises.com.

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Cruise Views appears twice a month. Harry Basch travels as a guest of the cruise lines.