As with most modern cruise lines, it’s nearly impossible to go hungry on a Carnival ship.
But for some passengers craving a really specific dish, sometimes their “hanger” can get the better of them.
This may be the case for a recent female passenger who wrote to Brand Ambassador John Heald to complain that she couldn’t get a gluten-free taco from the Blue Iguana Cantina while sailing onboard Carnival Liberty.
The quick service dining venue, which offers authentic Mexican cuisine on the Lido deck, can be found onboard 23 of Carnival’s 27 ships.
“A lady wrote to me last week because her cruise on the Carnival Liberty was ‘ruined’ and has asked for a 50% refund because she couldn’t get a gluten free taco at the Blue Iguana,” Heald shared on his public Facebook page.
It’s unclear if the passenger follows a gluten-free diet by choice or out of medical necessity.
Either way, there are plenty of other gluten-free options onboard served in the Lido Marketplace buffet, the main dining rooms, and at the specialty restaurants.
“The beards have added a superb gluten free menu to the dining room and gluten free items on Lido…we do not yet have a gluten free tacho ummm, thing. And today I will ask the beards to see if we can add one,” Heald said in response to the complaint.
While the brand representative had sympathy for the passenger’s dietary restrictions, she wasn’t going to get the refund she wanted with so many other options available onboard.
In the hundreds of comments that replied to Heald’s post, most agreed that the complaining passenger was overreacting.
Carnival Caters to Dietary Restrictions
Contrary to what this particular Carnival cruise passenger may believe, Carnival actually does a great job of accommodating food allergies and dietary restrictions to keep everyone safe and fed.
The culinary teams are able to accommodate vegetarian, low-cholesterol, low-fat, low-carbohydrate, low-sugar, and gluten-free diets pretty easily and without advance notice.
Kosher meals can also be accommodated, but have to be requested at least three weeks prior to embarkation day.
One way Carnival does this is by using the first-of-its-kind Menu Mate program across all its ships that maximizes transparency surrounding the ingredients used in food served onboard – eliminating unpleasant surprises from unexpected ingredients.
Lido Dining on Carnival Cruise Line (Photo Credit: Melissa Mayntz)
“Our ships are equipped with Menu Mate™ food ingredient program fleetwide to accommodate guests with food allergies. Easily operated on touch-screen tablets at food venues, the Menu Mate food ingredient program is powered by award-winning CertiStar software to mitigate the risks of allergic reactions,” reads Carnival’s website.
At each dining venue, crew members will ask guests about dietary needs, logging dietary restrictions into the Menu Mate program.
If preferred, guests can even enter their own restrictions into the program and are able to speak directly with the chef when necessary.
Read Also: How to Truly Enjoy Your Dining on 3 Major Cruise Lines
From my personal experience sailing on Carnival Radiance at the end of September 2024, the crew members were extremely accommodating and careful about dietary restrictions.
A member of my family who sailed with me has Celiac disease, meaning she can have no gluten or cross-contamination with gluten.
At every meal, the waiters listened to her carefully about her restrictions and always prepared her meal in a separate place away from gluten-containing ingredients. She didn’t have a single bad reaction during our cruise.
