Vegan

[happy trailer]

You might want to read this:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2276902

[cloud_nine]

To whoever asked about veggie burgers: there are veggie burgers but I'm unsure if they are vegan or not. You can get them in Johnny Rockets (the Soy Bocca burger) or in the windjammer but you might have to ask for them the day or night before - my head waiter on Jewel organised veggie burgers for me for lunch in the windjammer the next day - just needed to find a supervisor to tell them so if this is something you're interested in ask your head waiter. You can also ask for a supervisor or manager in the windjammer to take you through everything that is vegan and I suggest you do this as it is hard to know what is in everything otherwise.

[klct39lg]

To whoever asked about veggie burgers: there are veggie burgers but I'm unsure if they are vegan or not. You can get them in Johnny Rockets (the Soy Bocca burger) or in the windjammer but you might have to ask for them the day or night before - my head waiter on Jewel organised veggie burgers for me for lunch in the windjammer the next day - just needed to find a supervisor to tell them so if this is something you're interested in ask your head waiter. You can also ask for a supervisor or manager in the windjammer to take you through everything that is vegan and I suggest you do this as it is hard to know what is in everything otherwise.

 

Thank you!

[kevinyork]

To whoever asked about veggie burgers: there are veggie burgers but I'm unsure if they are vegan or not. You can get them in Johnny Rockets (the Soy Bocca burger) or in the windjammer but you might have to ask for them the day or night before - my head waiter on Jewel organised veggie burgers for me for lunch in the windjammer the next day - just needed to find a supervisor to tell them so if this is something you're interested in ask your head waiter. You can also ask for a supervisor or manager in the windjammer to take you through everything that is vegan and I suggest you do this as it is hard to know what is in everything otherwise.

 

 

 

Getting them to cook. Veggie/Vegan burger on a grill that isn't used for meat burgers of handling them with utensils used for meat may prove more troublesome though.

 

 

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[Charger2008]

Thank you!

 

These burgers are actually just the frozen Boca burgers you can purchase at your local grocery store (four to a pack for about $3 - $4). I would not pay the $6.96 Johnny Rockets cover charge for a frozen veggie patty. I am pescatarian (eat fish) and I have to say, the tuna salad sandwich at Johnny Rockets was quite tasty :D

[Mellowjourney]

I saw a really interesting documentary about the food on Oasis of the Seas. The food for the MDR, Johnny Rockets, and the specialty restaurants is often the same food, cooked by the same staff in the same kitchen but they have one line that goes out to the MDR and one to the other venues.

 

https://youtu.be/sIwrP5IFAbc

[bobvb22]

I'm Vegan and was on Freedom this year. The Windjammer was great, the MDR was terrible. they brought tasteless and low imaginative food. I just ate pasta and then went to windjammer. When I was on Disney, the head waiter met with me the night before and we planned the meal for the next day. I had a great meal everynight, but on Freedom no such luck. I am not sure about other ships.

[Tif1171]

I believe they have soy milk in the windjammer (buffet) but you need to ask a server :)

[euphio]

I guess it depends on your specific experience but here was ours:

 

My wife is a pretty strict vegan. We went on the FOS last year. She told Royal ahead of time and was notified that vegan food would NOT be guaranteed. We went anyway and she had a great experience.

 

As has been mentioned above, the Windjammer was a pretty easy place for her to get vegan food, especially the Asian area with Indian and Japanese food.

 

As for the main dining room, we told our waiter and head waiter the first night and they bent over backwards to make sure she not only had good food but even had choices each night. She picked what she wanted the night before and without fail her food was good to great each night.

[bobvb22]

That is great your waiter took care of your wife. I too told them I was Vegan when I booked, and also talked with my waiter and head waiter. My head waiter said dont worry we will bring you something. So every night it was a"mistery" dinner. I had no idea what I was getting until my food arrived. It was usually some form of unseasoned vegetables or beans.

 

the next time I am going to talk with the waiter every night before and ask what options are available the next day.

 

When I talked with RCCL via phone when I booked my next cruise, the person told me to ask what is in the windjammer. As any meal in the windjammer can be brought to the MDR.

[OliverTheCat]

On our last cruise on Oasis we were told the veggie burgers in Windjammer and on island Labadee were both vegan. We just had to ask the cooking staff in Windjammer for the burgers and they made them to order (15 min wait). Same on island. We were not happy at all in MDR on either Freedom or Oasis with vegan offerings so we just did buffet each night or the Italian place Giovannis on Oasis (which went above and beyond for us). We like to bring our own shelf stable food in luggage (I bring oatmeal/Larabars/Nutritional Yeast/etc.) We ask for soy milk in Windjammer and they bring us a glass when needed. You gotta get creative sometimes with offerings...but then again, my stomach is not fond of the indian offerings. As long as they have veggies, grains, beans, and veggie burgers (that I can cut up and get creative) we are happy folks for dinner.

Edited October 4, 2016 by OliverTheCat

[YogisWifey]

I don't have much experience with vegan entrees on Royal, however, some small vegan appetizers & desserts that are great are the chilled fruit "soups" and sorbets in the MDR and of course the table side Guacamole at Sabor. I'm sure you will be able to find plenty to satisfy your diet onboard! Have an excellent vacation!

 

 

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[happy trailer]

I don't have much experience with vegan entrees on Royal, however, some small vegan appetizers & desserts that are great are the chilled fruit "soups" and sorbets in the MDR and of course the table side Guacamole at Sabor. I'm sure you will be able to find plenty to satisfy your diet onboard! Have an excellent vacation!

 

Those chilled fruit soups are often dairy. The MDR has sherbet-which is dairy- not sorbet.

Edited October 4, 2016 by happy trailer

[YogisWifey]

Those chilled fruit soups are often dairy. The MDR has sherbet-which is dairy- not sorbet.

 

 

Yikes! I must have been sorely misinformed about the chilled soups! :( thanks for the info

 

 

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[klct39lg]

I am hopeful that I will find lots to eat on the Lido. I am not likely to meet with the head waiter nightly to arrange meals, it's just not something I am comfortable doing.

[happy trailer]

I am hopeful that I will find lots to eat on the Lido. I am not likely to meet with the head waiter nightly to arrange meals, it's just not something I am comfortable doing.

 

You need to ask for the head chef the first time you go to the buffet, who will show you which items are vegan. Do not assume! Each ship- even within the same cruiseline- is different. I have run into situations where NONE of the bread or pasta was vegan, and the rice and cooked vegetables all had butter. Even the offerings in the raw salad bar are dependent on the ship, with some having such a big variety that you can easily put together a very good meal each visit, while on other ships you will find no beans and a very limited selection of vegetables. In that case, you can ask them to provide you with a vegan dish (usually it will be offered at that point).

 

For an idea of what can go wrong (and how insensitive people can be about it), read the link I posted previously, about my experiences on Rhaphsody last year: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2276902. In brief: I was hungry for NINE days.

[FalklandIslander]

Getting them to cook. Veggie/Vegan burger on a grill that isn't used for meat burgers of handling them with utensils used for meat may prove more troublesome though.

 

On the larger ships the solution is to open a vegetarian and vegan dining venue with its own kitchen. On smaller ships, there might not be enough vegetarians and vegans yet to justify a separate dining venue.

[klct39lg]

You need to ask for the head chef the first time you go to the buffet, who will show you which items are vegan. Do not assume! Each ship- even within the same cruiseline- is different. I have run into situations where NONE of the bread or pasta was vegan, and the rice and cooked vegetables all had butter. Even the offerings in the raw salad bar are dependent on the ship, with some having such a big variety that you can easily put together a very good meal each visit, while on other ships you will find no beans and a very limited selection of vegetables. In that case, you can ask them to provide you with a vegan dish (usually it will be offered at that point).

 

For an idea of what can go wrong (and how insensitive people can be about it), read the link I posted previously, about my experiences on Rhaphsody last year: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2276902. In brief: I was hungry for NINE days.

I've read the entire thread. Very helpful, yet disappointing. We are only taking a 5-day cruise, so we will bring some prepackaged foods to supplement what is available. If nothing else, I wish cruise lines would label vegan entrees, so that we may cobble together a meal without causing a fuss.

[cloud_nine]

If nothing else, I wish cruise lines would label vegan entrees, so that we may cobble together a meal without causing a fuss.[/Quote]

 

I wouldn't hold out much hope. They can't even label all the vegetarian things properly! I've often been struggling in the MDR to find something on the menu to eat when the head waiter says "well what about that?" And I say well it's not labelled as vegetarian, only to be told that it in fact is suitable. Also trying to find out if something is vegetarian at the buffet is a nightmare. And they never label the desserts in the MDR so each time you have to ask, does this contain gelatine?

[kevinyork]

I wouldn't hold out much hope. They can't even label all the vegetarian things properly! I've often been struggling in the MDR to find something on the menu to eat when the head waiter says "well what about that?" And I say well it's not labelled as vegetarian, only to be told that it in fact is suitable. Also trying to find out if something is vegetarian at the buffet is a nightmare. And they never label the desserts in the MDR so each time you have to ask, does this contain gelatine?

 

 

 

I totally agree. I started a thread two weeks ago after we found out on Eclipse that any vegetarian marked dish on the menu with cheese contained animal rennet (the head chef confirmed only paneer cheese is truly vegetarian). We asked about the veggie pizza in the buffet that has a vegetarian symbol and the next day the vegetarian symbol disappeared. That thread didn't go down too well with people saying we should ask if the cheese is ok if we are fussy vegetarians? Erm, shouldn't a dish marked as vegetarian actually exclude any meat or products containing meat! I emailed the UK Managing Director who's initial response included a line saying she thought all cheese was vegetarian.

 

I also agree re the buffet. Their labelling is questionable and asking staff is a minefield and unreliable. Deserts are out of the question as they don't have a clue re gelatine.

 

 

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[Florida Fan]

My experience has been negative as well. Every night it seemed my choice was pasta or a dairy-covered something. I think the Royal Caribbean meal planners might want to do a little research into nutrition and how to use spices and plant-based protein. It's honestly not hard to come up with imaginative, tasty vegan meals.

[kevinyork]

My experience has been negative as well. Every night it seemed my choice was pasta or a dairy-covered something. I think the Royal Caribbean meal planners might want to do a little research into nutrition and how to use spices and plant-based protein. It's honestly not hard to come up with imaginative, tasty vegan meals.

 

 

 

I agree. Yet if you bring the matter up pre or post cruise all they say is speak to your waiter. The same waiter that doesn't know deserts can contain animal gelatine or cheese can contain calves stomach extract.

 

 

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[Arubamoose]

My daughter is vegan and most recently we did the Allure. We had MTD and made sure we reached out to the maitre'd. He was much more helpful than the waiters. He made sure she was taken care of. Had a number of Indian/Asian entrees. Lots of salads and a few pasta dishes. Lots of steamed veggies.

 

Eating in the Windjammer for breakfast and lunch was easy too. The best find was the Solarium Bistro. Fantastic!! Tofu options!! Even dessert.

 

Soy or nut milks are nonexistent.

 

We just got off the Anthem last week and I think she would have had a tough time. Solarium Bistro was terribly disappointing. Windjammer didn't really have yummy Indian/Asian vegan options either surprisingly.

 

 

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[happy trailer]

My daughter is vegan and most recently we did the Allure.

 

Eating in the Windjammer for breakfast and lunch was easy too. The best find was the Solarium Bistro. Fantastic!! Tofu options!! Even dessert.

 

Very curious- did you check with a chef in the Windjammer, to see which items were vegan? I was on Allure two years ago, and when I asked about vegan options when I was in the WJ they called a chef from the kitchen to speak with me. He told me that there was one bread which was vegan, but also warned me that none of the pasta sauces on the ship were vegan, that most of the pastas were made with eggs and all of the pasta in the WJ were buttered, and all of the rice and cooked vegetables were coated in butter- and that aside from fresh fruit, there were no vegan options on the ship for dessert unless I paid for sorbet in the ice cream parlor. I'll never forget him, though, because after he gave me that news, he told me not to worry - that anytime I came into the WJ I should ask for him, and he would be delighted to make me a veggie stir fry with tofu served over butter-free rice. (He did a couple of times that week, always with a smile, and it was always delicious.).

 

(If you read the thread I posted earlier, you will find a reply toward the end from a family who sailed one of the Oasis class ships and also got the same responses to their vegan enquiries that I did.)

 

I agree about the Solarium, though- I was pointed to a couple of yummy salads, and those along with raw veggies and fruit made for great meals. But I was told that none of the cooked selections were vegan.

Edited October 6, 2016 by happy trailer

[klct39lg]

Just off our cruise on the Brilliance. We had a great time.

 

I ate in the lido for all but two meals, other than the vegan cafe in KW where we had lunch.

 

I did my best without asking the crew if things were vegan. Most mornings I had hash browns, fruit, English muffins with peanut butter, or oatmeal. Or, some combo of those items. The fruit was very good! I had a soy latte each morning from cafe lattitudes.

 

For lunch and dinner, I had fries and a hummus and vegetable sandwich, and more fruit. I could taste butter in the Indian entrees and rice, so I avoided that. There was usually a pasta and sauce offered (I had pasta and sauce 3 times). Most times there were steamed vegetables and baked potatoes. One night, they had the wok going and I had a wonderful vegetable stir fry.

 

The first sea day we had the tutti salad in the MDR.

 

The last two evenings, we ate in the MDR because my husband wanted to try the fish entrees. On those evenings I had spaghetti pomodoro one night and the sweet and sour soy chicken the last evening, both were pretty good but I skipped the rice because I could taste butter. There were no desserts for vegans that I saw, and the only starter was eggplant and kalamata tartare...God awful. Looked like a can of chunky cat food turned over on a pita stick.

 

I didn't go hungry. The food I had was good. I wish there were more options, maybe someday.