josprince Posted December 10, 2023 #1 Share Posted December 10, 2023 Thanksgiving family cruise on the Anthem and was disappointed in the option (not options) for vegan meals both in MDR and Wndjammer. One appetizer, one main, and one dessert in MDR. The entree for Thanksgiving dinner was a stuffed bell pepper which was also offered earlier in the week. One evening in the Windjammer, after consulting with the chef, he was only able to identify two vegan items - sourdough bread and couscous casserole. It was frustrating to find that the head chef and the dining staff kept confusing vegan with gluten free. There was vegan cheese for pizza at Sorrentos, but only on gluten free crust. We cancelled reservations at Jamie's when the offering for vegans was limited to rice pasta. Pre cruise conversations with Special Needs resulted in assurance that vegans would be accomodated. A plant based diet is not unusual, and getting wide acceptance. What's your experience on this topic? Is it peculiar to the Anthem? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not-enough-cruising Posted December 10, 2023 #2 Share Posted December 10, 2023 Plant based dining on Royal Caribbean (all ships) is nearly non existent. It is a handful of options recirculated all week; and the culinary staff has absolutely zero idea how to prepare them properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
European_CruiseGirl Posted December 10, 2023 #3 Share Posted December 10, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, josprince said: Thanksgiving family cruise on the Anthem and was disappointed in the option (not options) for vegan meals both in MDR and Wndjammer. One appetizer, one main, and one dessert in MDR. The entree for Thanksgiving dinner was a stuffed bell pepper which was also offered earlier in the week. One evening in the Windjammer, after consulting with the chef, he was only able to identify two vegan items - sourdough bread and couscous casserole. It was frustrating to find that the head chef and the dining staff kept confusing vegan with gluten free. There was vegan cheese for pizza at Sorrentos, but only on gluten free crust. We cancelled reservations at Jamie's when the offering for vegans was limited to rice pasta. Pre cruise conversations with Special Needs resulted in assurance that vegans would be accomodated. A plant based diet is not unusual, and getting wide acceptance. What's your experience on this topic? Is it peculiar to the Anthem? Yea many places do that: combine gluten free and vegan (and usually lactose free too). Trust me: it is just as frustrating for gf people to get their gf pizza made with vegan cheese and not normal cheese than it is for vegans to get their vegan pizza with gf crust 😑 But for many restaurants they want to just combine all possible dietary restrictions into one dish... Edited December 10, 2023 by European_CruiseGirl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipgeeks Posted December 10, 2023 #4 Share Posted December 10, 2023 My experience, as primarily a vegetarian, was that there were only vegan, but no vegetarian, options. Something vegan in all categories of all MDR dinners, but nothing with real cheese or eggs, for example. Another case of combining. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatka Posted December 10, 2023 #5 Share Posted December 10, 2023 56 minutes ago, shipgeeks said: My experience, as primarily a vegetarian, was that there were only vegan, but no vegetarian, options. Something vegan in all categories of all MDR dinners, but nothing with real cheese or eggs, for example. Another case of combining. Vegan dishes are already vegetarian, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mittens101 Posted December 10, 2023 #6 Share Posted December 10, 2023 We got back from a cruise on the vision on the second. I’m a vegetarian with a n eggplant allergy. They did accommodate my needs in the main dining room one night when the only vegan option had eggplant. One of my frustrations is that the portions are much smaller than normal portions. It’s bad enough that they only give one option but they think because you are a vegan you don’t eat. I’ve been on two rc cruises and lost weight each time. The windjammer had a small veg section with three options sometimes with eggplant in it. Next year we are trying celebrity then the year after back to princess. I don’t mind vegan vs vegetarian but give me some food man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florida Fan Posted December 10, 2023 #7 Share Posted December 10, 2023 My experience is negative too. I don't know why Royal doesn't add some bean options, Thai food, more Indian recipes...the choices are wide. Their food selections are not. Princess could teach them a thing or two. I've been very disappointed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseMomTX Posted December 10, 2023 #8 Share Posted December 10, 2023 There is usually a vegetarian Indian dish available each night in the MDR just ask. We went on the Carnival Dream in August and my husband ate vegetarian in the MDR and they had better & tastier options from what he remembers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasukkie Posted December 11, 2023 #9 Share Posted December 11, 2023 I've commented on every cruise survey about the size of the vegan portions. I'm not vegan but I generally eat less meat, just my preference. Some of the options are okay taste wise but they are appetizers, not full dinners. Why not a big bowl of pasta/rice with veggies and beans? Just keep it simple. I'm surprised the Windjammer wasn't better. They usually always have rice and some sort of plain steamed vegetables. Then there are the Indian options which may or may not be vegan. There is a vegan veggie burger that they will cook upon request (at least in the past). There's usually peanut butter. I know this is just scraping by. Other cruise lines do a better job. I'd recommend Virgin Voyages for an all-around better food experience, especially for vegans and vegetarians. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovesthebeach2 Posted December 11, 2023 #10 Share Posted December 11, 2023 They used to have a vegan/vegatarian menu you could request that had a few choices, but unfortunately when they changed the menus this year they took away that menu and only have the 1 choice for each course. I’m not vegan but I don’t eat meat, and I have mentioned it on every survey after a cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted December 11, 2023 #11 Share Posted December 11, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, lovesthebeach2 said: They used to have a vegan/vegatarian menu you could request that had a few choices, but unfortunately when they changed the menus this year they took away that menu and only have the 1 choice for each course. I’m not vegan but I don’t eat meat, and I have mentioned it on every survey after a cruise. The fact they took away the separate menu tells me that people rarely ordered off of it. That's why they took away escargot as a nightly item. For as popular as it was among those who like it, those who like it were in a minority. Of course those who want or need a vegan diet are put in a bind, but it's a balance between catering to a small minority vs. having costly inventory just sitting there. Edited December 11, 2023 by smokeybandit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasukkie Posted December 11, 2023 #12 Share Posted December 11, 2023 The inventory isn't costly though. Meat is very expensive. Beans and grains are cheap and shelf stable. I think if they did a better job with meals that just happened to be vegan more people would order them. Ultimately it could save the kitchen money. Maybe people could get their multiple lobsters back with the savings. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovesthebeach2 Posted December 11, 2023 #13 Share Posted December 11, 2023 9 hours ago, smokeybandit said: The fact they took away the separate menu tells me that people rarely ordered off of it. That's why they took away escargot as a nightly item. For as popular as it was among those who like it, those who like it were in a minority. Of course those who want or need a vegan diet are put in a bind, but it's a balance between catering to a small minority vs. having costly inventory just sitting there. True, but when I would ask for the vegetarian menu, others at our table of 8 asked to look at it too, and started to order things from that menu. So part of the reason that there was wasted food may have been due to the fact that people that weren’t vegetarian weren’t even aware there was another menu! so it’s too bad it wasn’t included in the main menu. I think it’s harder for vegans to find things than for vegetarians who will eat cheese. I always can find things to eat off the menu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mittens101 Posted December 11, 2023 #14 Share Posted December 11, 2023 12 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said: True, but when I would ask for the vegetarian menu, others at our table of 8 asked to look at it too, and started to order things from that menu. So part of the reason that there was wasted food may have been due to the fact that people that weren’t vegetarian weren’t even aware there was another menu! so it’s too bad it wasn’t included in the main menu. I think it’s harder for vegans to find things than for vegetarians who will eat cheese. I always can find things to eat off the menu Aw cheese now that’s another issue. A lot of the hard cheeses are made with animal rennet. 9 hours ago, Jasukkie said: The inventory isn't costly though. Meat is very expensive. Beans and grains are cheap and shelf stable. I think if they did a better job with meals that just happened to be vegan more people would order them. Ultimately it could save the kitchen money. Maybe people could get their multiple lobsters back with the savings. When I was on the Royal Princess a few sails ago, the buffet was stacked with incredible vegan and vegetarian options. I kept commenting to the crew how great it was. I was told that the chef had a choice what was prepared and he took great care to ensure that there was a lot of plant based recipes used. They said a lot of what is cooked is up to the chef. I can’t say that is true for all cruise lines but I tend to believe that, because even princes was hit or miss back then depending on which ship you were on. Maybe the chefs need to be educated that vegan and vegetarian options can be eaten by non vegetarians as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatka Posted December 11, 2023 #15 Share Posted December 11, 2023 Princess is more “foodie” line, although our last cruise (New Year 2020 on Crown) was a bit disappointing in food department. My husband likes to order a steak. Even simple steak was not on daily menu. And other selections were nowhere near of what they offered in the past. RCI invests more in amusement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mittens101 Posted December 11, 2023 #16 Share Posted December 11, 2023 5 minutes ago, Tatka said: Princess is more “foodie” line, although our last cruise (New Year 2020 on Crown) was a bit disappointing in food department. My husband likes to order a steak. Even simple steak was not on daily menu. And other selections were nowhere near of what they offered in the past. RCI invests more in amusement. And that’s why we’ve been in search of another cruise line. Tried Royal Caribbean again hubby was happy with the food selection me not so much. We were on sky last year and that wrote Princess’s toe tag for awhile. I’ll find something or maybe by the RC or princess will get straightened out in the kitchen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatka Posted December 11, 2023 #17 Share Posted December 11, 2023 4 minutes ago, Mittens101 said: And that’s why we’ve been in search of another cruise line. Tried Royal Caribbean again hubby was happy with the food selection me not so much. We were on sky last year and that wrote Princess’s toe tag for awhile. I’ll find something or maybe by the RC or princess will get straightened out in the kitchen. We just finished our #60 cruise. 31 out of which was with other 7 lines. We cruised with 8 up to 2021 when we switched completely to Royal. We know that there are at least 3-4 lines out of our list which offer better food. Princess was our #1 together with Celebrity at some point. They had huge seafood buffets … and overall food was much better. RCI just works better for us now. Especially as we now cruise 3 times a year during colder season out of Northeast. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nina nina Posted August 18 #18 Share Posted August 18 I agree. I recently went on Freedom of the seas for a week and at the end I was so sick of the same food as a vegan. Pretty much ate a lot of salads in the windjammer which is not necessarily a bad thing except the salad toppings and choices were the same every single day. There was a gluten free section but nothing was labeled as vegan. Lots of Indian food which wouldve been great except everything had cream or paneer. I agree with another poster that a few Indian or thai options everyday for vegans would've been amazing and such a simple solution. Vegan is also vegetarian so everyone should be anle to enjoy these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted August 18 #19 Share Posted August 18 9 minutes ago, Nina nina said: Vegan is also vegetarian so everyone should be able to enjoy these. Welcome to CC. The omnivores on CC may not agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverbeenhere Posted August 18 #20 Share Posted August 18 If you think vegan and vegetarian dishes are limited. Try doing a b2b2b… Wash, Rinse, Repeat… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare orville99 Posted August 18 #21 Share Posted August 18 (edited) 1 hour ago, Nina nina said: Vegan is also vegetarian so everyone should be anle to enjoy these. Not true. Vegan is a much more restrictive diet than vegetarian. RCL serves vegetarian, not vegan. Edited August 18 by orville99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not-enough-cruising Posted August 19 #22 Share Posted August 19 4 hours ago, orville99 said: Not true. Vegan is a much more restrictive diet than vegetarian. RCL serves vegetarian, not vegan. But Vegan food is Vegetarian. I believe that was the point 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BecciBoo Posted August 19 #23 Share Posted August 19 18 hours ago, Biker19 said: The omnivores on CC may not agree. Especially the carnivores. Just tell your waiter on first night you cannot have anything prepared with animal fats or flavorings. To each his own. Personally I think there are plenty of choices for everybody. I'll take everything that you guys leave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare orville99 Posted August 19 #24 Share Posted August 19 (edited) 12 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said: But Vegan food is Vegetarian. I believe that was the point All raw food components used in Vegan entrees may be vegetarian, but not all vegetarian food is Vegan. The requirements for food preparation to qualify as Vegan are significantly more strict than preparation for vegetarian. For example, I could saute a steak for a meat based entre and then wipe out and use the same pan to saute portobello mushrooms to substitute for the steak in a vegetarian version of the same entre. A Vegan would never use a saute pan that had touched meat. Strict Vegans won't even accept using the same prep kitchen as one that preps animal proteins. Edited August 19 by orville99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BecciBoo Posted August 19 #25 Share Posted August 19 Pity 😇 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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