Carnival cruisers with food allergies, rejoice! The line has just introduced a new food ingredient program that will make choosing dishes easier than ever.
Carnival is launching a program called Menu Mate, which is the first of its kind among major cruise brands. It has been designed to mitigate the risk of allergic reactions and make accommodating passengers with special diets more efficient than ever before.
Here’s how it works: Staff will ask guests about their food allergies, and then enter them into the program via touchscreen tablets that will be found in restaurants across the fleet. The program, powered by CertiStar software, will then sort through all available options. It will display which items are allergen friendly, which can be modified to exclude allergens, and which dishes should be avoided.
Guests also have the option of using the Menu Mate tablet themselves, entering in their own allergy and dietary information and ordering from the options. This will include Menu Mate tablets on display near the Lido buffet stations, which will be available for passenger use.
“I’m a lifelong cruiser, with my first time on a Carnival cruise as a teenager, so I know firsthand how important it is to make the most of every moment with family and friends,” said Shandee Chernow, CEO and founder of CertiStar. “As someone with food allergies, I don’t want to waste time deliberating over what I can eat, so I’m especially excited to help share this effort with my fellow cruise lovers.”
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The goal of the program is to eliminate the lengthy process of discussion between guests, wait staff, and chefs over menu item ingredients and possible substitutions. This process also means that guests will no longer need to inform Carnival of their food allergies ahead of the sailing.
To ensure the program’s efficiency, Carnival’s culinary staff studied recipes and worked to capture any potential allergen conflicts by inputting ingredient information into the software.
“Making sure everyone is included in the fun and has the best experience possible is extremely important to us,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “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.”
Watch this video of a recent guest’s experience with Menu Mate to learn more:
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