We get asked a lot of questions about the food on board a cruise ship, especially Gluten-Free options. To help answer those questions – and help you plan out your dinners – we’ve posted the complete set of Gluten Free menus from our Carnival Firenze 5-night itinerary. Let’s dig into Carnival Cruise Line Gluten Free Menus (2024)!

Night 1 Carnival Cruise Line Gluten Free Menu

We’ve enjoyed a variety of the dishes found on the night one menu. And while the duck rolls may not look like the most appetizing of your appetizers, they’re delicious! The Seasonal Mixed Lettuce is, um, just a bowl of lettuce with toppings. I’d recommend trying the Pappa Al Pomodoro; it’s not for everyone, but we found it enjoyable. When it comes to entrees, the Ultimate Cobb Salad let us down. We were both really excited, but it was just kind of bland. The Cheesecake is always a hit, but if you’re feeling brave, try the Torta All’ Arancia.

Night 2 Carnival Cruise Line Gluten Free Menu

Night 2 is the Gala dinner on board. The Corn Chowder is our favorite app, but the Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese comes in a close second, but only if it is not dry. We’ve had this multiple times and it seems to be the most inconsistent of the salads. Speaking of appetizers we’ve had many times, the Beef Carpaccio is a dish that never disappoints.

As for entrees, you may notice one particular item missing from all Carnival Firenze Gala Night menus, and that’s the lobster tail. Mark always sticks to the Featured Indian Vegetarian on Gala Night and Rocky always orders the Slow Cooked Prime Rib.

For dessert on Gala Night, you should absolutely enjoy the Crème Brûlée. If you do order it, make sure to try the spoon test and lightly tap the top to see if they crystalized the sugar just right!

Night 3 Carnival Cruise Line Gluten Free Menu

My favorite dish is on the Night 3 menu, and that’s the Spaghetti Carbonara. I’ve been ordering it for years and I swear you’d never know it was gluten free! Tip: I order the appetizer portion as the entree portion is just too much. We also enjoyed the Hawaiian Shrimp Poke (without avocado due to allergy) for the first time. It’s sweeter than we expected, but pretty tasty. One of my favorite soups is on the Night 3 menu: the Zuppa Di Pasta Fagioli! Rounding out the apps, the Girod Street Salad from Emeril’s Select menu was… ok. I’d pick one of the above apps long before I’d order from Girod Street again.

For entrees, Rocky loves the Roast Leg of Lamb and orders it every time. I really enjoy the Controfiletto Di Roast Beef. It’s the same super tender roast beef Carnival has had on the menu for years, but since it’s an Italian ship, they somehow decided to make it Italian by changing the name and adding an Italian flag. I order it every time.

Desserts… Hmmm, I’m not a banana fan, but Rocky is. He’s ordered the Banana Cream Pie many times and he’s never disappointed. I tried the Crema Di Caffe and here’s what I will say: if you like coffee, you’ll like the very STRONG flavor of coffee in this dish. If you don’t like coffee, tonight you might want to stick with Fresh Tropical Fruit or a Cheese Plate.

Night 4 Carnival Cruise Line Gluten Free Menu

Night 4 has one of Rocky’s favorite appetizers, the Insalata Caprese (again, the same Carnival Caprese Salad, just with an Italian twist and Italian flag). He ordered this multiple times across our sailings and was disappointed each time, sadly. The tomatoes just weren’t ripe. It was oddly consistent. We think it’s a fluke as he normally loves this dish. I stick with the Smoked Poblano and Corn Soup. Mmm, I could go for a cup right now! I couldn’t get the Ceviche Crudo because the avocado was already mixed in, but it sounded really good. If you try it, let us know what you think!

Entrees on Night 4… I hate to be negative, but I might recommend skipping the Pepper Steak. It was dry and the presentation was terrible. I ordered it twice, and both times it was consistent. I can’t believe someone signed off on the presentation and that dish. The BBQ Pork Spareribs are good, if not a bit messy. I enjoy the Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese salad, but oddly, there’s almost too much salmon! When does someone ever say that? The Featured Indian Vegetarian is also really good on Night 4; I love any paneer though, so I might be biased!

For dessert, you have to get the Tiramisu. Even if you say, “But I’m not a Tiramisu fan,” get it anyway. It’s honestly our favorite dessert across any of the restaurants on Carnival, and there was something really special about it on Carnival Firenze. Of course, in case you don’t fall in love like we did, order a second dessert just in case. 😉

Night 5 Carnival Cruise Line Gluten Free Menu

Where has the time gone?! How is it already the 5th and final night of our cruise?? On the Night 5 menu, I recommend the Tuscan Minestrone. It’s my other favorite soup on Carnival. Both Rocky and I tried the Beet and Petite Greens salad and neither one of us were impressed. I’m not sure about the decision to add the peaches. But, if you’re feeling healthy, give it a try!

For entrees, we always enjoy jerk-spiced anything, however, the Jerk Spiced Pork Chop was overdone and a bit dry. It was really tasty, but I hope if you order it, the cook will be better. My favorite from this menu, however, is the Asian Chopped Salad With Chicken. Now, even though it sounds lovely, be aware it’s certainly not gourmet. The cheese is cut in cubes (odd) and the chicken is just cut up chicken nuggets/tenders. But it all comes together nicely (other than when you get a big cube of cheese you have to chew through). I LOVE the sauce and ordered extra, however, several folks on Facebook said it tastes like Ketchup. LOL

Finally, wrapping up our final dessert, I recommend the Spumoni Cassata. It’s really just Baked Alaska, but with a twist. I enjoyed this on each of my Carnival Firenze sailings and I hope you do, too! Especially as the crew sings the Bon Voyage “Leaving on a Fun Ship” song as you enjoy.

Still hungry for more?

We hope you enjoyed this quick look at all of the Gluten Free menus on board our 5-night Carnival Firenze cruise. But if you didn’t get enough, check out Carnival Cruise Line Vegan Menus page to see other options for your cruise – complete with photos of the various dishes!

You can also check out our playlist of Cruise Food Reviews on YouTube!