Quandry re Vegan, not Vegetarian, food on board

[Aislinncursala]

Hello: A Vegan diet was recommended by my physician six weeks ago for my diabetes. I am feeling much much better and my blood sugar is better. :)

 

However after 9 cruises when I could eat everything but milk and cheese - allergic to these; I don't know what to do.

 

I am not eating any animal products including meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese or milk products.

 

I looked at the Princess menus on another website and saw the food marked as vegetarian has milk, and cheese..

 

Anyone know anything about this?

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

On your cruise personalizer there is a section for special dietary requests,

 

should not be a problem, just complete it, once on board check with maitre d and your table waiter, that everything is OK.

 

yours Shogun

[Pam in CA]

You shouldn't have any problems. When in the dining room, tell your waitstaff and they will have the Head Waiter come by. He will drop off the menus and come back to discuss what you would like to order. They can modify most dishes or prepare something just for you. You can order all your meals this way, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

It's easier if you have traditional dining as you don't have to explain everything every night but if you have Anytime, it's doable. They can accommodate gluten- free and vegan without any problems.

 

On my last cruise, I traveled with a friend who is literally deathly allergic to shellfish. She was able to order her meals for the next day without any problems.

[Crzn-Life]

You shouldn't have any problems. When in the dining room, tell your waitstaff and they will have the Head Waiter come by. He will drop off the menus and come back to discuss what you would like to order. They can modify most dishes or prepare something just for you. You can order all your meals this way, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

It's easier if you have traditional dining as you don't have to explain everything every night but if you have Anytime, it's doable. They can accommodate gluten- free and vegan without any problems.

 

On my last cruise, I traveled with a friend who is literally deathly allergic to shellfish. She was able to order her meals for the next day without any problems.

 

Pam is correct. I eat mostly vegan and have had fantastic service and on my last cruise on the Coral in November, the food was excellent. We ate in the traditional dining room and every night the head waiter came by with the menus for the next day. Generally there wasn't much on them that I could eat so ordered special dishes each night. He also helped by making some great recommendations. One of my favorites was sauteed veggies (my choice of veggies) with tofu. They used a firm tofu and it was an exceptionally good dish. I would have eaten it every night except the head waiter would laugh at me and recommend something different. They also made a lot of special soups for me.

 

I don't know about breakfast since I never eat it. Lunch was iffy on port days because we had to either eat at the pizzeria or HC or the burger spot. Usually I opted for the veggie burger or salads from HC.

 

You can mark your personalizer, but your best bet is to talk to the maitre d' on embarkation day & he'll have someone help you with the 1st night's dinner and your headwaiter will be the one to assist you the rest of the cruise.

 

Have a great cruise and enjoy the food.

[alaskagirl2010]

[quote You can mark your personalizer, but your best bet is to talk to the maitre d' on embarkation day & he'll have someone help you with the 1st night's dinner and your headwaiter will be the one to assist you the rest of the cruise.

 

Have a great cruise and enjoy the food.

 

I actually found the MDR food rather bland. I did everything requested of me: I wrote Princess ahead of time notifying them of my vegan lifestyle, I met with the maitre d', I changed to traditional dining, and met nightly with the head waiter. But basically I had fresh pasta and tomato sauce most nights. I did order extra vegetable and they made lentil soup for me. My companions commented that they really didn't see how they had accommodated me. I happen to like spicy foods of every different kind of cuisine.

I found the HC much easier. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables. There was alway a vegan Indian dish and often a cold rice dish with tofu. Breaskfast was easy as the oatmeal is made without milk and soy milk is available upon request.

I also ordered fresh fruit in my cabin so a ready snack was available.

There is a website site called Happy Cow with a list of vegan friendly restaurants for may locations. I used that to research ahead for shore days.

[caribill]

It's easier if you have traditional dining as you don't have to explain everything every night but if you have Anytime, it's doable.

 

 

If you are in Anytime, I suggest uising the same Anytime dining room every evening so you can work with the same headwaiter each day. Your meal request will be kept according to your cabin number, so you would just tell the next day's waitstaff that you have pre-ordered and what your cabin number is.

[Crzn-Life]

I actually found the MDR food rather bland. I did everything requested of me: I wrote Princess ahead of time notifying them of my vegan lifestyle, I met with the maitre d', I changed to traditional dining, and met nightly with the head waiter. But basically I had fresh pasta and tomato sauce most nights. I did order extra vegetable and they made lentil soup for me. My companions commented that they really didn't see how they had accommodated me. I happen to like spicy foods of every different kind of cuisine.

I found the HC much easier. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables. There was alway a vegan Indian dish and often a cold rice dish with tofu. Breaskfast was easy as the oatmeal is made without milk and soy milk is available upon request.

I also ordered fresh fruit in my cabin so a ready snack was available.

There is a website site called Happy Cow with a list of vegan friendly restaurants for may locations. I used that to research ahead for shore days.

 

That's too bad you didn't get what you like. Among my special orders were curry (nice & hot), fajitas and stir fries. They would make the dishes as spicy as I liked. Sounds like your head waiter wasn't very helpful. Did they make special egg-free pasta for you?

[Pam in CA]

That's too bad you didn't get what you like. Among my special orders were curry (nice & hot), fajitas and stir fries. They would make the dishes as spicy as I liked. Sounds like your head waiter wasn't very helpful. Did they make special egg-free pasta for you?

I agree. They make vegan Indian and Indonesian food for the crew and I understand they can make it for passengers.

 

Some Head Waiters are more accommodating than others. :(

[alaskagirl2010]

Yes the pasta was fresh and egg free. It was often brought for everyone and everyone loved it. I'll be sure to make more suggestions next time.

I was also told that I could pre order lunch for the HC but we never knew what time we would be there and it was never a high priority for me.

On my next cruise I'm going to check into the possibility of a cheese less pizza. I could live with any non vegan elements in the dough.

[Loonbeam]

As always, one thing to be aware of with the buffet is cross-contamination. People are way too careless with utensils. In this case, it doesn't seem like its an issue, as traces of non-vegetarian food probably don't have any negative implications.

 

Also, when special ordering, don't be afraid to be specific. If you don't give them any clues, the headwaiters will be at their most conservative. We shared a table at AD with someone who was both allergic to nuts and eggs and a chef. The headwaiter brought out the menu for the next night and she simply told him how she wanted an item changed if possible. Asked her about it afterwards and she said the HW was nice enough but if she left it to him she'd be having rice and veggie every night.

[PunkiC]

Have you asked your doctor about alternative diets? A vegan diet is good for diabetes, but it is certainly not the only good diabetic diet, and not even necessarily the best. Of course your own doctor knows what's best for your body, but fish is usually highly recommended for diabetic diets.

 

I have two extraordinarily compliant friends who, upon learning they had Type II diabetes, immediately went on a Mayo Clinic Diet (which included fish), lost tons of weight, committed to working out 5-6 days a week, and within months had taken total control of their bodies and their health. They both had also suffered from heart ailments, so getting serious about becoming healthy was foremost in their minds.

 

I also have lots of other friends who, upon learning that they were suffering from Type II diabetes and/or heart disease, just kept on doing what they had always done, or made a half-hearted effort at change, and became worse and worse as time went by. One of these friends has had 28 stents and probably doesn't have long with us.

 

The good news is that, while it is tough sometimes to get started, it becomes easier and easier as time goes by to make healthy choices. Sounds like you have been doing a great job for the past few weeks. Keep up the good work.

 

Sorry you are allergic to milk products, but on the bright side, that eliminates a lot of desserts which you shouldn't be eating anyway.

[cvpends]

Many Indian dishes are vegan, and I've found Indian food to be some of the best on a cruise ship. The ideas posted by others are also helpful. Enjoy!

[Aislinncursala]

---------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you everyone for all your helpful suggestions.

 

 

I have controlled my blood sugar by food choices alone without any medication since diagnosed in 2005. I have been on several other food plans over the years however this one has me feeling the clearest and most energetic at six weeks now so I am willing to stick with it and see how it goes.

 

 

You have given me some great ideas. I appreciate all your responses.:)

[Aislinncursala]

Unfortunately this was very difficult. The MDR menus have many vegetarian choices but no vegan choices. The dietary staff seems to only know how to use cheese, milk or cream to create proteins for non-meat eaters. I had a wonderful team of head waiter and waiter who tried every evening to help me plan something for the next night but the chef/kitchen did not understand my suggestions. I was served a plate of small shell pasta with tomato sauce, a plate of gnocci with tomato sauce and so on... The Horizon Court Buffet was great many ethnic dishes- Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Thai, Mexican - had wonderful selections of grains, legumes, tofu, etc., etc. My DH and I finally ate one night at the Buffet we felt bad since our MDR staff tried so hard and we liked our table mates but it was a relief to have something good and healthy for dinner. I suggested in the comments that their dietary staff plan something for each meal that would be vegan and vegetarian since there were many vegetarian choices on the menu and most could not be adapted at all since the dairy was the integral protein combination in the offering. So live and learn. We are going to try Celebrity next before we settle on a cruise line to stick with so we shall see how they do with this. All the best and happy cruising. We thoroughly enjoyed this cruise in every other way.

[Pam in CA]

One thing to keep in mind is that not all chef's are the same even on the same cruise line. They are all a little different. For instance, several posted that they had no problems and were able to get what they wanted yet you had a different experience. That's very possible on Celebrity as well. You might find that they are able to provide you with what you want but the next time, a different chef won't. Keep that in mind and keep a record of which chefs on which ships were able to accommodate you to your liking. I think that's the most important thing regardless of cruise line.

[Casey12]

My son is vegan by choice. We struggled on the first couple of cruises but now know to meet with the head waiters. He is a very basic eater so it is not too big of a deal as he doesn't care about variety or eating different foods on different days. He is content to eat just vegetables for his meals.

[JustinPlusLauren]

I've always eaten strictly vegetarian on my previous cruises, but since have become vegan and I was hoping that there would be some good food options. Are they able to prepare any vegan desserts? Is the sorbet vegan? I like the sounds of the stir fried veggies and tofu, and was hoping I wouldn't end up eating pasta and tomato sauce every night!

[Casey12]

I've always eaten strictly vegetarian on my previous cruises, but since have become vegan and I was hoping that there would be some good food options. Are they able to prepare any vegan desserts? Is the sorbet vegan? I like the sounds of the stir fried veggies and tofu, and was hoping I wouldn't end up eating pasta and tomato sauce every night!

 

My son eats fruit. He doesn't seem to have many options.

[rdsqrl]

I've always eaten strictly vegetarian on my previous cruises, but since have become vegan and I was hoping that there would be some good food options. Are they able to prepare any vegan desserts? Is the sorbet vegan? I like the sounds of the stir fried veggies and tofu, and was hoping I wouldn't end up eating pasta and tomato sauce every night!

Sorbet is always vegan.

[Pam in CA]

I often pre-request a salad as my entree at dinner. You can always request a Cobb-like salad without the bacon, chicken and eggs, and perhaps more veggies. Everyone's tastes are different but I could be very happy with that. :) They have a yummy honey mustard dressing that isn't creamy; it's more like a vinaigrette. I don't know if it's vegan, though.

[JustinPlusLauren]

Sorbet is always vegan.

 

thank you! :)

[JustinPlusLauren]

I often pre-request a salad as my entree at dinner. You can always request a Cobb-like salad without the bacon, chicken and eggs, and perhaps more veggies. Everyone's tastes are different but I could be very happy with that. :) They have a yummy honey mustard dressing that isn't creamy; it's more like a vinaigrette. I don't know if it's vegan, though.

 

I like that dressing! I'm sure I could ask if it was vegan. If not, I like the balsamic vinaigrette too, which is most likely vegan.

 

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

[bjtomko]

I am just off Ruby and I am a vegan (macrobiotic) at home, but travel as a vegetarian. My experience was mixed.

 

I found breakfast to be easy to eat vegan at the sit down restaurant, but found the choices very lacking in the buffet.

 

For lunch, the buffet was very hard to eat vegan and vegetarian if your goal is to balanced. Sure there was fruit and salad, but most of the vegetables were starch based. The only real form of protein was from egg which I really did not want to eat. I was more satisfied at the sit down restaurant, but again not vegan friendly.

 

For dinner, I ate in the MDR (anytime dinning) every night. I was able to craft my own food every night besides the first night. For the most part, the menu is VERY poor for vegetarians who understand food science. If you just eat vegetarian and don't pay attention to the percent of carb, fat and protein you intake, I am sure it is fine. However, protein is very lacking in all their meals. I would speak with the head waiter every night and design my own meal for the next day. This worked just fine, however they sometimes were not prepared for me and it would take 20 minutes to make the meal from scratch. No issues for me as we were not in a hurry.

 

All in all, I would say you will be ok with breakfast and dinner, but will struggle with lunch assuming my experience was typical.

[caribill]

I

For lunch, the buffet was very hard to eat vegan and vegetarian if your goal is to balanced. Sure there was fruit and salad, but most of the vegetables were starch based. The only real form of protein was from egg which I really did not want to eat. I was more satisfied at the sit down restaurant, but again not vegan friendly.

 

For lunch, it is vegetarian and not vegan, but cottage cheese is usually an option that has proteen.

 

Also, the burger grill near the pool will have a vegeburger that is cooked separate from the meat burgers and with separate utensils.

[Crzn-Life]

...

Also, the burger grill near the pool will have a vegeburger that is cooked separate from the meat burgers and with separate utensils.

 

I've oredered many veggie burgers at the grill on the upper deck on several different Princess ships and not once was it ever cooked on a separate grill with separate utensils. They usually plop it on the grill next to the hamburgers. That doesn't really bother me since being a vegetarian for me is a personal preference, not a religious issue and the veggie burger doesn't taste like it has any yucky beef on it:rolleyes:.

 

Also when you order a veggie burger there will be a long wait because they are kept frozen and it takes about 15-20" to get it.