Vegan on Solstice ... new! Oceanview Cafe

We all do realize that a vegan section isn’t just for vegans, right? We can all use it, just like the ‘asian’ or ‘mexican’ food sections aren’t for a set nationality.

Much of it will be selections we are familiar with, just done in a manner without any animal products, such as chicken broths or milk and so on.

Den

We all do realize that a vegan section isn’t just for vegans, right? We can all use it, just like the ‘asian’ or ‘mexican’ food sections aren’t for a set nationality.

 

Much of it will be selections we are familiar with, just done in a manner without any animal products, such as chicken broths or milk and so on.

 

Den

Thanks, Den... very well said!

Plenty of space for one or two ‘Special’ areas....

I think one of the things all of us like about OV is we can browse and have choices...why should guests with specific diets not have a few items to browse too rather than have to decide on a Monday what they might fancy on a Tuesday!

I'm not sure I agree. The Oceanview Cafe is fairly well organized and utilized, space cannot be created. Something has been eliminated. Adding sections for small groups takes away choices for the large majority of cruisers. Maybe the people who need or want glue free, vegan, etc should follow Bo's advice and simply request a day early.

Actually, I was suggesting for foods which anyone can or will eat without restriction, can make a request a day early to have.

Many of us on different eating lifestyles, do not ask that the world be turned upside down to solely accommodate us, only a slice of it.. LOL

The large majority of cruisers will still have the lions share of food space dedicated to them anyway, a station or two will not be missed, I Am sure...

bon voyage

bigbeergut - I am always interested to read posts from a wide swath of views... I don't think a station offering something else needs to be "eliminated" there are generally multiples of most things and taking one of those duplicate stations out of rotation to offer something different isn't really eliminating anything. I have a very good friend that is vegan, so when she was near me in Boston for work (FEB 2017), I drove out to meet her and spend the weekend. Being a bit of a foodie myself, I knew she would be surprised if I found some options to try that would work for her as well. I have to say that I was completely blown away with good vegan options when they are done right. While I don't have a lot of confidence that Celebrity will make a vegan station as good as their Indian station, I do hope it works out for those that are vegan or with dietary restrictions.

 

EDIT: In case you decide to reply to my post, I had not read all the way through before starting my post. I agree with TeeRick, even if you don't. There has always been a couple of duplicates. I doubt that the stirfry will be eliminated, but realize that it isn't offered every night, either.

v - believe me, X is trying to get it right, yet without those of us who are vegan speaking up on how to improve the offerings, then they will go lacking...

For example on our Millennium sailing last July, it took a few days for them to get it right, yet by the end of the sailing there were great selections of food not only in OVC but in the MDR as well...

Thank you for your thoughts - bon voyage

Thank you so much for sharing!!! hoping the Vegan Station is still going when we board the Solstice in December :)

Heather

I'm not sure I agree. The Oceanview Cafe is fairly well organized and utilized, space cannot be created. Something has been eliminated. Adding sections for small groups takes away choices for the large majority of cruisers. Maybe the people who need or want glue free, vegan, etc should follow Bo's advice and simply request a day early.

Vegan is food without animal products.

With the majority of the Cafe being “meat-centric”, I am sure that a small, dedicated space for those who do not consume animals (or their by-products) is not “taking away” from the incredible choices that are offered to those who do eat animals.

I am so thankful to see this message thread and read the encouraging news that more choices are offered to us, other than lettuce & tomato sandwiches ;)

From my observation no station was eliminated. Stir fry was still there. Evening special “theme” station was still there — last night was Eastern European. Carving station was still there — last night was salmon wrapped in pastry.

They simply did not duplicate one station, and moved some things from one station to this one (rice, corn).

This was a win-win situation.

Vegan is food without animal products.

 

With the majority of the Cafe being “meat-centric”, I am sure that a small, dedicated space for those who do not consume animals (or their by-products) is not “taking away” from the incredible choices that are offered to those who do eat animals.

 

I am so thankful to see this message thread and read the encouraging news that more choices are offered to us, other than lettuce & tomato sandwiches ;)

There's no way it doesn't take away from existing choices in the buffet. Iff a station has been duplicated then it's because the items in that station are in high demand. Eliminating stations that are duplicated is probably the last option. Eliminating existing options will reduce the choices for the majority of the passengers. I wonder if the Retreat area with the new Edge Revolution will have a lot of vegan choices.

From my observation no station was eliminated. Stir fry was still there. Evening special “theme” station was still there — last night was Eastern European. Carving station was still there — last night was salmon wrapped in pastry.

 

 

 

They simply did not duplicate one station, and moved some things from one station to this one (rice, corn).

 

 

 

This was a win-win situation.

cruisestitch - thanks for giving us your first hand reporting. As usual, always great! [emoji3]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There's no way it doesn't take away from existing choices in the buffet. Iff a station has been duplicated then it's because the items in that station are in high demand. Eliminating stations that are duplicated is probably the last option. Eliminating existing options will reduce the choices for the majority of the passengers. I wonder if the Retreat area with the new Edge Revolution will have a lot of vegan choices.

Perhaps some of these choices were included in different areas of the buffet, and just gathered together and labeled as vegan. It certainly saves people a lot of time in line. For those who are avoiding meat and dairy in their meals it is no longer necessary to ask what ingredients are included in a dish. For example, many people are allergic to shellfish, vegan dishes are safe for them to eat.

There's no way it doesn't take away from existing choices in the buffet. Iff a station has been duplicated then it's because the items in that station are in high demand. Eliminating stations that are duplicated is probably the last option. Eliminating existing options will reduce the choices for the majority of the passengers. I wonder if the Retreat area with the new Edge Revolution will have a lot of vegan choices.

Bigbeergut guy, I think you are reaching a bit. If something is popular and is duplicated, and for some reason they remove one for a vegan plate, then when the remaiing one gets close to being depleted, the attentive waitstaff replace it, and that won’t adversely impact the ‘majority’ and meets other people’s requirements, and, as pointed out before, a different option will be available for all, including us meat eaters. That’s my experience with popular and ‘exotic’ choices. When it’s low, it’s refilled. Fixed!

Den

I agree. Big beer gut guy is reaching. We are talking about the evening buffet in Oceanview. It’s not like lunch we’re nearly every table is occupied and people are racing around searching for food. This is the dinner buffet. They sometimes don’t even have every station open at dinner. Because there isn’t that much demand. There was no negative impact for other diners. For instance the corn and rice were actually duplicated, available at both the vegan and the hot entrée stations. I will try to go again tonight for further pictures.

I agree. Big beer gut guy is reaching. We are talking about the evening buffet in Oceanview. It’s not like lunch we’re nearly every table is occupied and people are racing around searching for food. This is the dinner buffet. They sometimes don’t even have every station open at dinner. Because there isn’t that much demand. There was no negative impact for other diners. For instance the corn and rice were actually duplicated, available at both the vegan and the hot entrée stations. I will try to go again tonight for further pictures.

Thank you cruisestitch for keeping us posted. It is much appreciated and this was great news for me today to read this.

Still amused of how this may be perceived as “taking away” from those that consume animals. This small dedicated station at the Dinner Buffet is what? 5% of the entire menu being offered?

Again - many, many thanks for the news and sincere gratitude to Celebrity for recognizing the need for said station.

I'm not sure I agree. The Oceanview Cafe is fairly well organized and utilized, space cannot be created. Something has been eliminated. Adding sections for small groups takes away choices for the large majority of cruisers. Maybe the people who need or want glue free, vegan, etc should follow Bo's advice and simply request a day early.

I am not Vegan but I do feel that those who are should have some choices too. They should not have to make food choices in advance. The Vegan station is for everyone so how can the items there take away from the choices “the large majority” is making? I have eaten in the OV buffet many times and I have never encountered insufficient choices nor do I anticipate that I will now that a Vegan station has been added.

I don’t follow a vegan diet, but I would gladly choose some of these offerings, so nothing is being “taken away” from me.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

There's no way it doesn't take away from existing choices in the buffet. Iff a station has been duplicated then it's because the items in that station are in high demand. Eliminating stations that are duplicated is probably the last option. Eliminating existing options will reduce the choices for the majority of the passengers. I wonder if the Retreat area with the new Edge Revolution will have a lot of vegan choices.

Or the stations were duplicated because they didn't want to make extra menu items. Yes, having the same thing in two places can help traffic flow, but you keep ignoring the fact that some (maybe many) people will take advantage of these new items, thus eliminating the need for duplicate stations.

As others have implied, you should stop making this claim when you're not even on the ship.

Or the stations were duplicated because they didn't want to make extra menu items. Yes, having the same thing in two places can help traffic flow, but you keep ignoring the fact that some (maybe many) people will take advantage of these new items, thus eliminating the need for duplicate stations.

 

As others have implied, you should stop making this claim when you're not even on the ship.

Thank you for being rational about this - your and others comments in support of everyone's ability to find something to eat in our chosen dietary requirements aboard is greatly appreciated.

Notwithstanding, that others have pointed out that 'most' everyone can eat what we eat, rather they want to or not is a different issue.

bon voyage

Not sure what ax is being ground and why, but some posters, but there’s a lot of wild speculation going on. Retreat won’t even be a food venue other than perhaps hors d’ourvures (sorry for butchered spelling) and afternoon tea.

Not sure what ax is being ground and why, but some posters, but there’s a lot of wild speculation going on. Retreat won’t even be a food venue other than perhaps hors d’ourvures (sorry for butchered spelling) and afternoon tea.

Your attempt was very close and the best I have seen in a while.

hors d'oeuvre

[url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hors%20d'oeuvre?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=h&file=horsdo01][/url]

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hors%20d'oeuvre

Or the stations were duplicated because they didn't want to make extra menu items.....

If anyone really believes the Celebrity staff is this lazy, then perhaps you need to find another cruise line. All of the space is currently utilized and if something is added them something must disappear. I've never heard anyone suggest there are too many choices. Good luck with whatever they remove, I hope it's not something that you enjoyed.

So, I asked today and was told that no, nothing was removed. That station had been empty last week.

Some things were rearranged. The corn and rice had been on a different station and were moved to the vegan station. More to come.

If anyone really believes the Celebrity staff is this lazy, then perhaps you need to find another cruise line. All of the space is currently utilized and if something is added them something must disappear. I've never heard anyone suggest there are too many choices. Good luck with whatever they remove, I hope it's not something that you enjoyed.

Since information in a first-hand report from somebody on a cruise ship giving their real time assessment isn’t sufficient reassurance that something wasn’t removed, what will suffice???

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great! I try to go vegan/vegetarian once or twice a week so am happy to see this offered.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

So, I asked today and was told that no, nothing was removed. That station had been empty last week .

Ms. Stitch,

Thanks for posting. You always post useful information. :)