From Worried to Wonderfully Fed: My Gluten-Free Journey on QM2

I'll be honest: when my husband first suggested we book a transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2, my stomach dropped. Not from excitement—from pure panic. For the past five years, I've managed celiac disease, which means absolutely no gluten. At home, I control my kitchen. At restaurants, I grill servers and chefs until they know exactly what I can eat. But a cruise ship? Seven days at sea with thousands of people and meals I couldn't inspect? It seemed like a recipe for disaster, literally and figuratively. My husband kept insisting that Cunard would take us seriously. "They're known for their elegance and attention to detail," he said. "If anyone's going to handle dietary needs, it's them." I wanted to believe him, but I'd heard too many horror stories from other celiacs about cruises. What if the kitchen staff wasn't trained? What if there was cross-contamination? What if I spent thousands of dollars only to spend the week eating salads and feeling miserable? About two months before we were set to sail, I did something I should have done sooner—I actually contacted Cunard directly. I emailed the dietary services department for QM2 with a detailed explanation of celiac disea…