GOOD TO KNOW: www.carnival.com/
Specialties:  Buffet, dining room, specialty restaurants, quick service
Gluten-free: Preorder for dining room, various items and some locations
Other: Gluten-free beer available
Note: Fill in the special dietary needs section when preregistering online and the info will be tagged to you in the dining room via your room number

I recently took a 7-day cruise through the eastern Caribbean on the Carnival Breeze - my first sailing with Carnival and also the longest cruise I've taken. The Breeze offers a wide variety of dining  options ranging from a large buffet with rotating hot items, salad bar and desserts to Guy's Burger Joint and fine dining in the Sapphire dining room. Overall, the food gets a solid B for variety and taste but Carnival loses points with regard to gluten-free options, labeling, staff knowledge, and a general lack of give a damn for guests with dietary needs. I get the feeling that Carnival WANTS to be good at accommodating dietary restrictions, they just fall short. 

GOOD TO KNOW: www.godominicanrepublic.com/
Areas visited: Altos de Cano Hondo, Las Terrenas, Punta Cana
Gluten-free: Native foods are corn, cassava, rice, plantains, seafood, chicken
Other: Rum is made from sugar cane and readily available everywhere
Note: Recommend using a English/Spanish food allergy card for ordering if not fluent in Spanish

​This post contains affiliate links. That means if you use them to make a purchase, I'll earn a bit aof money from the sale to save for my next gluten-free adventure.

So here's an idea, how about spending two weeks traversing a country whose primary language is Spanish.

No worries, I've spent time in Spain and took a couple trips to Mexico, I've totally got the necessities covered - beer, bathroom, and mumbling perfunctory greetings. Ok, so charades-ing my way through an explanation of food intolerances isn't a brilliant idea but packing a Spanish/English gluten allergy card is and it worked like a charm. In fact, my meals were clean and aside from a few sympathy looks, using the card made traveling and eating gluten-free meals in the Dominican Republic easier than in the USA.

First stop, an eco-lodge and a bit of culture shock . . .