KDK

As someone with a husband and daughter who are celiac, this was incredibly helpful. I am so happy they were able to accommodate your dietary needs. Wonderful photos and great descriptions. Thank you so much!

Hi Everyone, 
I have celiac disease. Celiac disease is a hereditary autoimmune disease. When people with celiac disease consume gluten it triggers an immune response in their body that damages their small intestine's lining which is painful, leads to malabsorption of nutrients, and if untreated can cause long term complications like cancer.  Celiac disease is fairly common but severely undiagnosed. It effects about 1% of the world worldwide, but 90% of people with the disease are undiagnosed. The ONLY treatment for celiac disease is a 100% strict gluten free diet. 
I just got off my first cruise and it was aboard Harmony of the Seas! When I was researching my cruise I looked for detailed gluten free dinning reviews but didn't really find any so I figured I would write one once my cruise was over! 
Make sure to email the special needs email account for Royal Caribbean before your cruise. All the specialty restaurants knew about my allergy before I even said anything because I took this step. 
The Main Dinning Room
The main dinning room was the best and easiest place to eat gluten free. I opted for a traditional dinning time so that I could have the same waitstaff each night and they could become familiar with my dietary restriction. There is a separate allergy kitchen in the main dinning room and all my meals were prepared there to prevent cross contamination. My waiter told me that I could basically order anything off the menu and he would ask the chef if it could be made gluten free. There are obviously some limitations to this. For example a pastry would not be able to be made gluten free. Additionally sometimes I got something slightly different things then what I ordered. For example I asked if the chef could make me a brownie one night and instead I got a flourless chocolate cake. I didn't mind this substitution at all and as someone with a dietary restriction I'm always just happy to be accommodated at all. I didn't find my waiter had a good understanding of gluten free food but he was always happy to ask the chef any questions I had.
Overall the quality of the gluten free substitutions was quite good, but not always. For example the chef made me gluten free fish and chips and breaded it with some kind of tempura type batter and it was exceptional. Whereas on a different night the chef made me gluten free chicken cordon blue and breaded it with some kind of cornmeal which was dry and not very good. Regardless I always appreciated the chef's attempt. The gluten free substitutions are not tried and tested recipes so there will obviously be misses, but there will also be lots of hits! Just order multiple dishes and you are bound to like something!
The other thing you should know about the main dinning room is that for the most part you need to order your allergy dishes the day before. The first night you will have to stumble through but after that the waiter will bring you tomorrow's menus and you can order what you want for the next day. I pre-ordered breakfast and dinner every day. 
The last thing I'll say about the main dinner room food is that I sometimes found the food had clearly been pre-cooked for me and then sat around waiting for me for too long. On the flip side sometimes my food would be running behind and take longer then expected. I actually liked these times though because then my food would come out extremely hot, fresh, and was tastier! 
Here are photos of my main dinning room food:  
Appetizers: 

Arugula & Radicchio Salad 
 
French Onion Soup. This was incredible! I had it like 4 times!

Cheese Plate. There was also gluten free bread available each night that was just ok. I forgot to photograph it. 

Iceberg Wedge 

Braised Beef Short Rib. Super good!

Fish and Chips. This was fantastic!
 
Roasted Chicken Breast. This was super tasty, although a bit dry.
 
Wild Mushroom Risotto. Fabulous. 

Greek Vegetarian Mousaka. This was very tasty but a bit too salty. 

Pesto Vegetarian Pasta. I found this sauce very bland. 

Lemon Butter Baked Cod. This was super tasty but the fish was definitely overcooked. 

Chicken Cordon Blue. I appreciated the chef's effort on this one but the cornmeal was too dense for a breading and the chicken was super dry. 
 
Stuffed Portobello Mushroom. Exceptional. One of my favourite dishes. 

Broiled Lobster Tail. 

Pan Seared Barramundi. This was my least favourite dish. The fish tasted really fishy like it was off, the sauce was bland, an the potatoes were not cooked. 
Desserts: 
The kitchen was much less able to provide gluten free desserts which makes sense. I mostly got puddings, custard, and ice cream. 

Creme Brulee. This was the best gluten free dessert available and it's on the menu every night!

Flourless Chocolate Cake. This was made special for me and was super good! 

Chocolate mousse. Excellent! 

Bananas Forrester. Excellent!
Breakfast in the Main Dinning Room
I had breakfast in the main dinning room everyday and really enjoyed it!
 
French Toast and Sausage. I generally didn't enjoy the gluten free bread on the ship but drenched in egg and sugar it was delicious. The breakfast sausage was to die for!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes. These were just ok. 

Gluten Free Eggs Benedict. Amazing and it was so nice to be able to have a safe Eggs Benedict. 
The Windjammer
I didn't love dinning in the Windjammer. None of the food was labeled for allergies so I would have to get a chef to walk me through the buffet to show me what was gluten free. The chefs where super friendly and helpful but you go to a buffet for convenience.
  
The curries seemed to always be gluten free in the windjammer but make sure to double check. There was always some type of gluten free bread available. 
There was also a gluten free dessert section in the windjammer that was behind glass. I was super excited about this but I found all the desserts not sweet enough. I think Royal Caribbean is trying to capture the "healthy eating" crowd with their gluten free desserts and most of these tasted bland and not decadent enough to be a good dessert. 
Sorrentos

I was OBESSED with the gluten free pizza at Sorrento's. You could only get gluten free pizza by the whole pizza not the slice (which was fine with me!) and it took about 10 minutes to make. They cook the pizza in the same oven as the regular pizza BUT the cook it on a separate tray and use dedicated gluten free utensils to handle and cut it. I found that the pizza was sometimes slightly undercook because it wasn't directly touching the oven so just ask them to cook it for a few extra minutes and it will be delicious! 
Jamie's Italian 
 I didn't pre-order here but they knew about my allergy when I arrived. They had gluten free pasta and bread. I forgot to ask if they cook gluten free pasta in clean separate water but I felt fine after this meal so I assume they must. 

Meat Plank

Truffle Pasta. It was incredible. 

Raspberry Gelato. 
Sabor 
 Sabor was my favourite meal on the ship! I also didn't pre-order here. The chef was able to make me everything I asked for but he had to make it fresh and heat up clean deep fry oil so it took awhile. This didn't bother me at all as I had a few margaritas while I waited! It may be a good idea to try and pre-order here though!

Queso with Chorizo. So so good. 

Beef Barbacoa Tacos. The best thing I ate on the ship! 

Chicken Flautas

I didn't order this but this coconut flan magically arrived at the end of my meal and was delicious! 
Coco Cay 
I was pleasantly surprised with the gluten free options at the buffet at cococay. They said the could make me a fresh burger or sandwich in the back free of cross contamination. There was also a mexican station where everything was gluten free except the flour tortias. I wasn't sure if the corn tortias were cooked on the same grill as the flour ones so I just made myself a bowl. 

Pulled Pork, Chicken. Mexican Rice, Beans, Salsa, Sour Cream, Guac, and Cheese
Final Tip
The Promanade Cafe has gluten free cookies stashed behind the counter. Just ask for some!

That ends my gluten free review of Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed eating all this delicious food!

The regular Chicken Cordon Blue is dry too.

I would prefer to eat at the MDR every night, but some people in my party like the idea of a themed buffet. Are there any specific cuisine nights on the Allure Western Caribbean cruises that are stand out?
My daughter is interested in either the Caribbean dinner theme or the Mexican. 
In your opinion, is it worth it? 

Mama Mia at the Royal Theatre; listening to music at Central Park and at Dazzles; aquashow; dining at 150 Central Park

Seriously?  I went on it on Liberty last week.  My wife and friends made me do it. I'm in my 60s.  Everyone was giving me tips.  My wife knew, but no one else did.  I grew up in a beach community, and surfed a bit as a kid, but pretty much went to body surfing for the last 40 years.  I told everyone the truth: "This is my first time".   I had zero problems. Even on my knees. I got a lot of "DUDE!"s. But I just didn't get the appeal.  Real waves are just so much better. 

Mama Mia, Aqua show, and Central Park 

I love doing the standup surfing on the Flowrider, to me it's alot of fun and I get a very good workout from it.  I don't get to do Flowboarding on land (no Flowrider near me) so I try to get as much time in on the ship as I can.

We went on Feb. 2020 right before Covid shut things down.  Mama Mia and the ice show were fantastic!

Central Park... Day and night was my favorite... It's such a beautiful area.  We loved vintages (now Giovanni's) and the trellis bar.  Simply give yourself time to enjoy the neighborhoods and the peace and beauty of the ship.  We also loved 150 Central Park :). The aqua show and theater shows (when they come back) were not to be missed!  Jane

Right when I disembarked in Skagen, there are little fisherman huts where you can eat. Skagen Fiskerestaurant was very good and my whole family enjoyed it.  I'm not sure if you can walk right from port into the main little town, but once you are there you can rent bicycles and have a great time! We also thought the Skagens Museum was lovely. 

My favorite thing I did on Allure was sit on the Suite deck and read. Also get the signature roast beef sandwich from Park Cafe. The aqua show and ice-skating shows were also really good. I went Oct 2021 so there were some things that weren't available. 

In November, we enjoyed a lot the aqua show.  Especially my wife with the men divers.

Check Allianz Travel Insurance. They seem to be a recommended source. They may have a plan for you. 

We currently use the Allianz annual policy, after lots of research. They have a nice variety of choices. 

Another vote for Allianz. Cheaper policy better coverage. You can also increase individual coverages in the policy too. We increased cancellation coverage because we have 2 big bucket list cruises this year (one being overseas) and with Covid (and war) we wanted to be sure we were covered for potential losses. We have All Trips Premier which is an annual policy

Royal improved the coverage it offers through Archer, but the policies we have from Allianz are better, as others have indicated.  For us, the itinerary is a factor.  We have used Royal's vendor for some simple Caribbean itineraries.

AIG worth looking at, especially if you are price-sensitive.

Yes, they do!
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/does-royal-caribbean-offer-religious-services-onboard

I just checked the app for my April 10th cruise on Allure of the Seas and it doesn't have that wording in the JR description.

Thank you for your advice. I did just that and it was as simple as it could be!

This is EXACTLY what I do when I sail.  The big 32 ounce ones are good if you have some wine as well.  We walked around in the terminal while switching from the first cruise to the second on our B2B and enjoyed it thoroughly, lol.  Usually at breakfast I will fill it up in the Windjammer (32 ounce one will take just over 3 glasses) and then will fill up again around dinner most of the time.  
I think all restaurants have the complementary drinks available but the selection will sometimes vary from day to day and venue to venue.  I personally like the lemonade, lemon-lime, and fruit punch but the strawberry-kiwi can be ok.  The thing I have noticed is they are all sour like they have no sweetener in them so I generally add about a packet of the pink stuff per cup but the strawberry-kiwi seems to take two.  With the covid protocols being relaxed they may be able to just fill it up for you but I that may not always be possible.  I know with the protocols I just filled up with the cups that were available and no one seemed to mind a bit.

You can buy package just for those who want it. Not required for everyone in cabin. 
 
Yes. In your planner go to previous purchases and cancel water package. Then buy refreshment package.

I believe they will accommodate a do-your-own if you like.  I would ask in advance.

Yes. Every location will have complimentary water......but sometimes they will not have iced tea or lemonade after a certain time. I don't think anything is actually 24hrs on RCG ships, maybe to 2am or so. You can take any drink anywhere you want on a ship.