Vegetarian Foodie Experiences

I am not a vegetarian but I like vegetarian food. Plus members of my family are vegetarians so this is something I have to consider when booking cruises. Often, I feel vegetarians are made to feel second class without the same level of choice and options that others enjoy.

So how about a thread to share our vegetarian experiences. Good and bad cruise lines.

I will kick things off by suggesting that from cruise lines I have sailed with in recent years (Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, P&O, Cunard, Princess), the cruise line that showed most innovation when it came to catering for vegetarians was P&O. This was on Ventura. Great veg options in the Glass House plus good innovative options on special menu.

Princess and Cunard were disappointing. Nothing positive to say about either.

Vegetarians do have fewer options, because they are eating less of the available food...when you cut out meat, eggs, dairy, it certainly limits choices!

I think it really depends on the chef on any ship, and how familiar they are with vegetarian menus.

Many vegetarians do eat dairy and many eat eggs as well (they are known as ovo-lacto) vegetarians. Those who cut out all animal products or those things produced by animals like honey and eggs are vegans. Most chefs are totally familiar with vegetarian fare...some not so much with vegan. :)

I have been on Carnival, Princess and Royal Caribbean.

Even though i am not vegetarian myself, i have always had the option of asking the waiter for an vegetarian option.

Typically there is an indian style curry ( vegetarian ) that is not always listed on the daily menu. I have seen this on pretty much all my cruises. Just ask your waiter.

You can also talk to the maitre'd to ask for other vegetarian options. They are almost always accommodating.

I am not a vegetarian but I like vegetarian food. Plus members of my family are vegetarians so this is something I have to consider when booking cruises. Often, I feel vegetarians are made to feel second class without the same level of choice and options that others enjoy.

 

So how about a thread to share our vegetarian experiences. Good and bad cruise lines.

 

I will kick things off by suggesting that from cruise lines I have sailed with in recent years (Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, P&O, Cunard, Princess), the cruise line that showed most innovation when it came to catering for vegetarians was P&O. This was on Ventura. Great veg options in the Glass House plus good innovative options on special menu.

 

Princess and Cunard were disappointing. Nothing positive to say about either.

DH and I travelled on Holland America's Veendam last Spring, and we will be leaving for another cruise on the Veendam in late April of this year. Most of the time I choose to eat Ovo-Lacto vegetarian. I had no problem finding ovo-lacto vegetarian food in any of the venues except for the Pinnacle Grill Steakhouse, where I opted for the very delicious fish option. There are a lot of pasta options in MDR, and the Lido. There is a good salad selection in the Lido buffet salad bar, and good vegetarian soups and sandwiches in the Lido as well, and a yummy portabella burger in the Dive-In snack bar by the pool. DH is not a vegetarian by any means, and we both thought the food was mostly good to excellent on the Veendam. As I said I am not a strict vegetarian and I can't speak about vegan options as I didn't look for that. But fwiw we liked Holland America's food.

Lorie

Excellent thread! I'm not vegetarian but I often get annoyed when menus are too focused on meat being the accent of the meal. There's so much wonderful flavors in vegetables, eggs, and dairy that it's a shame when a menu doesn't take advantage of highlighting that. Sometimes I'm not in the mood for meat but would prefer something else, thank you for listing cruise lines and on-board restaurants where chefs flex a bit more creativity with veg, legumes and dairy.

Mrs gut tries to follow a vegan diet, will settle for vegetarian (will once in a blue moon cheat and have a little meat) never had a problem getting something to eat that suits her.

Sometimes has to ak, but even that's rare.

After many great cruises as a vegan on various lines, I had a very unfortunate experience on RCI's Rhapsody of the Seas:

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

I thought it was good on the Princess, they showed innovation i thought and sometimes the vegetarian options were even more interesting than the meat.

Most of my cruised have been with Royal Caribbean but I am going to give a special mention for P&O, especially the Ventura.

I have sailed on P&O ships a number of times. Ventura is my favourite. They really seem to make a lot of effort for vegetarians. Quite a few innovative dishes and of high quality. They even have a vegetarian version of full English breakfast.

Of all the cruise lines, P&O ranks highly IMO as being vegetarian inclusive. Some of the most memorable vegetarian meals I have had are in the Glass House.

On top of good menu options, you are given the option of previewing the next day's menu (lunch and dinner), picking an item off it (say a lunch item for dinner) or ordering from a fixed vegetarian menu.

I haven't had any problem getting vegetarian meals on a cruise but it is very limited. That just doesn't bother me, and I go in with the expectation that I'll be eating at the buffet often.

I've been vegan for the last four years so my upcoming cruise will be even more limited in food options. I can create very interesting and delicious dishes in my own kitchen and I do. Living in such a meat and dairy-centric culture, I don't expect the mainstream to be able to do that - especially when they are feeding the masses!

The worst vegetarian dishes were on RCI - but most of the food was not very well received in my party, so it was not just about the vegetarian dishes.

Norwegian and Princess are very acceptable in my experience.

and the choices are fine for salads as I can make my own at the salad bar but entrees are a whole other matter.

I don't care for the spice palate of Indian food which seems to be the go-to for vegetarian entrees. I don't mind if it is there for those that like it, but how about OTHER choices? Mexican! Fresh quacamole, veggie fajitas, etc. are too infrequent and I get tired of pasta.

I stll eat chicken but no seafood (never liked it, anyway). Will eliminate the chicken eventually and know the options will get harder when that happens.

I would pay more for certified organic food.

Been on cruises before but my upcoming Princess will be my first as vegan. Vegan wasn't even an option on the food allergy section so I went with vegetarian and lactose intollerant - hopefully that will mostly cover me. I'm not a huge salad eater so it should be interesting - I'll let you all know in a couple weeks!

The best veggie meals that I've had on a cruise have been on Cunard.

I am lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and I find that the cruise ship chefs don’t understand vegetarian protein. Most of them have vegetarian options that feature lashings of cheese. This is okay for a few days, but I start to miss tofu, tempeh, pulses (though you do see the odd chick pea) and balanced protein options (e.g. brown rice and cashews, eaten together). I find myself eating more eggs and MUCH more cheese than I usually do, and I have raised the issue on the last few boats I’ve known.

I have sailed with:

Cunard (QE and QM2) food was delicious, especially the twice-baked goat cheese soufflé on QE, and I did get tofu twice and lentils once; NOTHING for me in specialty French-style restaurants, don’t even bother asking.

HAL (Amsterdam) had pleasant food, one dish per day, largely cheese based; they did at that stage have a Pinnacle Grill option, and I enjoyed that experience.

Silversea (Silver Cloud) was a wonderful experience, where vegetarians have a Day 1 interview with chef and restaurant manager and are told they can request tofu or quinoa with any meal choice; I did so several times, and the experience was a good one. They can’t do enough to make guests happy.

Uniworld (SS Antoinette and River Beatrice): Antoinette was the usual cheese-based single menu option. Beatrice most boring food ever.

Beatrice was far and away the worst experience foodwise – though we loved the ship itself and the staff (generally). The food was vegan and consisted of vegetables stuffed into other vegetables – every night – and salad for lunch. When a kindly waiter asked me, late in the cruise, how the food was, I’m afraid I told him – boring and tasteless and protein-free. Next thing, a large, angry chef arrived at my table, demanding to know what was wrong with his food! My partner was very diplomatic, explaining that his food was consistently creative and delicious, and how sorry he felt for me. We spoke about vegetarian protein, and the chef had tofu on board. He cooked a delicious stir-fry for me the next day. The irony here was that the Captain was vegetarian! I felt so sorry for him, eating stuffed potato or stuffed capsicum night after night. I hope I did him a service.

APT (AMAKaterina, otherwise known as Mstislav Rostropovič) had a vegetarian hot option every night and some interesting starters. Food quality and interestingness dropped off late in the voyage, but this is not unusual; in my experience, food is always more varied and creative early in the trip. Vegetarian choices were largely cheese-based, but the vegetables and what they did with them varied. I’m afraid I filled up on the delicious cakes a few times – there is endless choice for dessertarians!

Thinking of sneaking some tofu on board next trip. I'm certain they won't screen for it!

I've sailed three times on Holland America as a vegetarian. I find it a bit strange to have to decide the night before what you will feel like eating the next night, but aside from that, my experiences have been quite varied. My first cruise was on Statendam and the vegetarian menu was limited, but the staff was very responsive and the cruise was just 7 nights. Vegetarian options on the land portion of the cruise in Alaska were sketchy, but the HAL tour guide went out of her way to get me a vegetarian option, even stopping the bus at a Fred Meyer to buy me yogurt when one of the venues had absolutely nothing better to offer than slices of processed American cheese.

My second cruise was on Amsterdam and it was so dreadful I swore I would never cruise on a HAL ship again. Despite ordering the previous night, I never received my entree before the rest of the table was eating dessert. Often what appeared bore no resemblance to what I had ordered. I complained to the maitre d', to the dining room manager, to the hotel director and nothing improved. When I wrote the company, they desribed how the system is supposed to work and offered a credit on a future cruise.

Last year, I couldn't resist a 22-day Mediterranean on Zuiderdam and I used a significant part of my luggage weight with food just in case. I had a delightful experience every meal of the cruise. I ordered the night before, but our steward was great about letting me know what would be on the general menu as well, so I had great variety. I happen to love fruit soups, so I sometimes ate two bowls of fruit soup and had a salad, When our steward discovered I liked the fried bananas at the Indonesian luncheon, the bananas made random appearances at our dinner table. I mentioned that I loved the carrrot/ginger soup in the Pinnacle, it made a couple surprise appearances at our table in the MDR. Could not have been a better exerience. Yes, they do rely heavily on cheese and tofu for protein, but they tried very hard to give me good food and a variety on such a long cruise.

I've sailed on a few different lines and found that by far P&O offer the widest range for vegetarians. I still have to be careful though as a few of the so called vegetarian dishes contain Parmesan or another non vegetarian cheese. I'm still amazed at the amount of times I'm asked if I eat fish when I tell the wait staff I'm vegetarian, perhaps a training issue for them in the difference between a vegetarian and a pescatarian.

@ goddessofstrife: I don't know about the tofu: in today's hyper-security-consciousness, they might think it's some form of plastic explosive!:rolleyes:

And while I'm not a vegetarian, DW is, and I have learned through her cooking to appreciate a well-turned culinary phrase that doesn't contain meat.

Ditto and ditto again on the joys of legumes/pulses/beans; as long as I'm getting adequate protein to make me feel satisfied, and the flavor is there, I'm in! Bring 'em on! :D The ironic thing is that lentils have an extremely short cooking time and can be made up into so many simple yet delicious dishes; prep time should be on the bottom of the reasons why they are not more available.

I thought it was good on the Princess, they showed innovation i thought and sometimes the vegetarian options were even more interesting than the meat.

Agree with that, a few times I thought "Gee I should have ordered vegetarian/vegan like Mrs Gut"

I'm not a vegetarian, but my wife is and I prefer vegetable-based meals. It's really difficult to make decisions on onboard dining based on the reviews of meat eaters. People often seem to be ranking restaurants based on the availability of an expensive meat product (Aka lobster) or how well they cook steak, neither of which are considerations for us. We cruised on NCL Sky a few years ago and it was very hit or miss. The first few meals in the MDR were dreadful, she kept being served piles of unseasoned roasted or sautéed vegetables with nothing else alongside. Boring, and not filling. After we spoke to the waiter we were able to order Indian or Mexican for the rest of the cruise. Speciality dining was great in the Italian restaurant, lots of veggie pastas, but the highly reviewed French place was a total bust. More plain roasted vegetables with a weird cheese spread on top. We're cruising on Celebrity next and are hoping the food will improve.

Reporting back from the Celebrity Solstice. Overall we were really shocked by how meat and 2 sides focused the menus were in the MDR. The staff really struggled with vegetarian dishes, most of the non-Indian vegetarian options we tried were terrible. We're not picky, but it was really bad: cheese ravioli served on a vinegary ketchup-like tomato sauce, a mushroom risotto with the flavor and texture of dirt. How do you mess up risotto?!?! We ended up ordering a collection of sides the first night and our waiter served it with half a chicken on top.

The good news is after night one we were able to order off the Indian menu ahead of time for dinner, which was usually all vegetarian and really good. We tried the Bistro on 5 and their only options were salads, and they weren't very good ones. We also tried lunch at the MDR, which was a bust. The waiter was flummoxed when we asked for vegetarian options and said they only had vegetarian food at the buffet. The menu only offered a starter salad. We asked if they had bread and cheese and he ended up having some brought down from the buffet. Thank goodness we weren't vegan.

Overall, we had better food and service on Celebrity than we did on NCL, but our servers on NCL were way more comfortable with and familiar with vegetarians. Maybe because it's more common with the younger cruisegoers on NCL?

I am a vegetarian that in addition to not eating meat, I don't eat eggs and use Almond milk, though I do eat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese. We usually cruise Disney or RCI with some Carnival thrown in. I don't like the Indian Vegetarian options , I prefer simplly prepared fresh vegetable dishes which are not usually an option. I can often times find 2 apps of which one is a salad, and ask for a baked potato. I would love to see a wider offering of vegetarian dishes in the main diningroom.

My father is a strict vegan. He would not cruise for many years for fear of not having enough to eat. We convinced my folks a few years ago to cruise (we actually purchased the tickets so they had no choice but to go) and now they love it! They mainly eat at the buffet (Celebrity/RCCL) and he has had no problems asking for soy drink in the morning and at night he eats tofu (he asks for it on the first night and they remember him) and veggies. He was impressed with the selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts. I am a vegetarian so not as limited as he is with food consumption. My husband and I go to specialty restaurants and if we do not like the menu selection in the MDR we go to the buffet (check out the menu early in the day) or get pizza, etc. We have yet to starve!

We cruised to Alaska on HAL with our 10 year old granddaughter. Her dietary regime includes vegetarian, gluten free and casein free foods. We filled out request forms well in advance of our trip and we made menu selections with her the night before each dinner. Our waiters were well aware of her requirements and careful to meet them. Our only complaint was that we were never seated with other guests, depriving the three of us of the chance to interact with others. We wondered if that was a result of our food issues or the fact that she was a child.

We sailed on Holland America through the canal for 22 nights and I thought the vegetarian options were awesome! I don't remember them repeating anything...but that could just be my "selective" memory. I didn't have to order the night before like one previous poster did. There was one eggplant dish that I absolutely loved---and I don't like eggplant!