Eating on Semester at Sea and around the world (in 3 months)

As many of you have heard me brag about recently, i will be going on a 3.5 month journey with Semester at Sea. If you have not heard of semester at sea i suggest you check out their website SemesteratSea.org.
It is a college campus on a cruise ship that goes around the world giving students the opportunity of a lifetime+ college credits.
I will be visiting many countries, and although I have my triumph dining cards, many languages and cuisines are not covered in these tiny cards and any help that the forum can provide would be REALLY appreciated!
I will be visiting many areas in each country in addition to these port cities where the boat will be docked:
1) Cadiz, Spain (salmanica,granada, rhonda,arcos, sevilla ect...)
2) Casablanca, Morrocco (rabat, Marrakech, Volubilis/Fes ect...)
3) Acra, Ghana (Togo, Benin and Ganvie ect...)
4) Cape Town, South Africa
5) Port Louis, Mauritus
6) Channai, India (Kancheepuram/Mamallapuram, Agra, Varanasi, Nagarkoil)
7) Ho chi minh city (saigon), Viet nam ( also cambodia, Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay, Mai Chau Village, Nha Trang ect...)
8) Hong Kong/ Shanghi, China (bejjing, xian, Guilin/Yangshuo, Hangzhou, great wall ect...)
9) Yokohama/Kobe, Japan (Osaka, Tokyo, Ritsumeikan Univ. ect...)
10) Honolulu / Hilo, Hawaii, USA
11) San Diego California
12) we will be leaving from Halifax, NS, Canada August 28 but i will be there the night of the 25th till then so recommendations for halifax are also greatly appreciated although as with Hawaii and san Diego, i am not AS worried about communicating my needs
As many of you have heard me brag about recently, i will be going on a 3.5 month journey with Semester at Sea. If you have not heard of semester at sea i suggest you check out their website SemesteratSea.org.
It is a college campus on a cruise ship that goes around the world giving students the opportunity of a lifetime+ college credits.
I will be visiting many countries, and although I have my triumph dining cards, many languages and cuisines are not covered in these tiny cards and any help that the forum can provide would be REALLY appreciated!
I will be visiting many areas in each country in addition to these port cities where the boat will be docked:
1) Cadiz, Spain (salmanica,granada, rhonda,arcos, sevilla ect...)
2) Casablanca, Morrocco (rabat, Marrakech, Volubilis/Fes ect...)
3) Acra, Ghana (Togo, Benin and Ganvie ect...)
4) Cape Town, South Africa
5) Port Louis, Mauritus
6) Channai, India (Kancheepuram/Mamallapuram, Agra, Varanasi, Nagarkoil)
7) Ho chi minh city (saigon), Viet nam ( also cambodia, Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay, Mai Chau Village, Nha Trang ect...)
8) Hong Kong/ Shanghi, China (bejjing, xian, Guilin/Yangshuo, Hangzhou, great wall ect...)
9) Yokohama/Kobe, Japan (Osaka, Tokyo, Ritsumeikan Univ. ect...)
10) Honolulu / Hilo, Hawaii, USA
11) San Diego California
12) we will be leaving from Halifax, NS, Canada August 28 but i will be there the night of the 25th till then so recommendations for halifax are also greatly appreciated although as with Hawaii and san Diego, i am not too worried about communicating my needs
Also! Any advice for eating on a cruise or college dining room that is buffet-style would be helpful. I spoke to them RE: celiac and they said that they would let me know which foods are safe each day and that they have had many celiacs and other students with allergies survive it
Also any recommendations for packaged foods that I can pring along that can offer some nutrition and not just calories are appreciated
Thanks for your help!

Before going on a recent overseas trip, I went to Google's "translate" feature and learned how to say "I can't eat food with wheat, barley, rye, oats. Not a speck." It worked for me..

Sounds great! How about emailing as many relevant support groups as possible and taking it from there?

Of course you want to experience foods where you are, but having a stash of backup foods means you're covered if there's a gap somewhere along the route or to take a break from figuring out what's okay - - even if you don't use it.

I don't know all your logistics but... this sounds amazing!!

If there is one person in the kitchen you can meet with, to cover the basics - maybe 1-2 things you like - omelets and pan chicken for instance, that would help.

Maybe you can find something on this site for contacts - to check for safe places and dishes. http://www.glutenfree...
You might dig through a few to get to your stops. (Spain - http://www.celiacos.o... )

Your backup food depends on what you like when you just don't want to deal, you dont like the GF option, or when a meal "hasn't gone well"... Cans or packets of tuna, salmon, and crabmeat, to toss on rice, vegs, salad, etc. Small containers of Imagine veg soups, TastyBite, Kaweka curries - and if frozen's an option, Kettle Cuisine, Amy's, Organic Bistro...
There are some microwavable rices - Tasty Bite, Annies Rice Express is like 6/$15 on Amazon, even quinoa or Lundberg Risotto is add water, cover, microwave... If you need it, get gf soy sauce, mayo, soy milk, dressing. As long as there's space for it, I'd put everything in a plastic box.. The point is to not have food worries stress you out. Set it and forget it kind of a thing...

Of possible interest: http://www.gfadventur...

Unfortunately there is no microwave on the ship (fire hazzard they say...)
So i am limited to instant meals that are made with hot water (a la cup of noodles, bad example)
I have found a few instant rice meals and such, was hoping for something that I could combine with canned salmon and tuna..hmmm
I am most concerned with finding the names of specific dishes that are typically gf in their native language. For example; i know in India that Dosa, dal and rice are safe but i cant just eat carbs the whole time!lol
-Also, I cannot carry around a big bottle of tamari in viet nam or china or japan so I was hoping to find gf soy-sauce packets that i can buy in massive quantities. Any ideas?
Thanks again everyone!

btw... sorry i double posted the question! I'm not so computer savvy!

That's a shame abt the microwave.
Here's a Kari-Out soy sauce link: http://www.glutenfree...

There are web sites for celiac societies by country and you can find a contact to email, to ask about suggested foods, or places. They also sometimes have warnings, too.

India- http://www.celiacsoci...

Go to www.kariout.com for gluten free soy sauce packets.

-joanna

Hey Ashley -

The languages will be tough, but as far as gluten-free cuisine goes, it actually seems like you've chosen a good route to go (I just spent 4 months in the czech republic, and their cuisine was kind of a pain to navigate... I was also traveling all over Europe so that's where my random "general" comments come from lol).

Here are the recommendations I can give you:

CHINA: (I went to Beijing once for one week.)

• Just bring your cards and use them (and make sure they say "no soy sauce"). In my experience, the waiters will laugh at you and get other waiters and cooks who will also laugh at you. I'm not sure if it's because they've never heard of someone requesting no wheat and no soy sauce or if it's because something in the translation is off, but it was disconcerting at first, so just be prepared for it.
  
• Most of the time I was served vegetables in a clear, slightly salty sauce, so the soy sauce was a big help, because I had to eat a lot of rice to fill up. I found the kari-out sauce kind of flavorless, but it was good for adding much-needed moisture. Once I was served something that I think is Kung Pao Beef. It was so good!
  
• Try to go out for Hot Pot. I'm not sure if it is done all over China or just in Beijing, but you get steaming broth and you pick what you want to put in it (meats, vegetables, etc.), so you can make it gluten-free. Plus it's lots of fun!
  
• In the cities, you can always cheat and go American. I went to TGI Fridays and got a burger by pointing at the picture and saying "No Bread" (obviously, my waiters also spoke a little English... but most people don't). There are McDonalds and Starbucks.
  

SPAIN:

• Obviously you will have your cards and odds are that someone you are with will speak enough Spanish for you all to get by, but just know that you should be able to have paella and tortilla. You can get tortilla in pretty much any cafe, just make sure they don't put bread on the plate next to it (ask for it "sin pan").
  
• You should also be able to navigate tapas with pretty basic Spanish, asking for meats alone instead of on bread, and you can get potato-based things and olives (I love olives).
  

IN GENERAL:

• From my traveling, I've found that we often reinforce the stereotype of pushy Americans without even realizing it. Whereas in New York, everyone asks questions about their food and makes substitutes so that when we do it, it doesn't seem weird, people are less picky and demanding abroad, and I've had plenty of servers get visibly frustrated with me as I try to get my point across. So sometimes it's worth it to be pushy in order to get a great meal, and sometimes I would just settle for plain salmon and spinach and avoid the annoying tourist label, you know? Personal choice.
  
• I also learned that when dealing with a language barrier, you have to watch your server very closely. Did they actually understand what you just said, or are they just nodding? I always consider it a good sign if they go to the back to get someone else who speaks English better, because it means they understand you have a genuine problem. Sometimes I explained that if I ate the bread, I would get sick complete with a hand on my stomach and a mimed throwing up action.
  

I hope that helps... I am so jealous and I hope you report back to us on everywhere you go!!