Vegan requirements

Quick question - is anyone who is a vegan had any issues eating in the Main Dining Room?* Or were you essentially forced to eat at either the Windjammer or the cafe on board?

*

Asking on behalf of a friend

Quick question - is anyone who is a vegan had any issues eating in the Main Dining Room?* Or were you essentially forced to eat at either the Windjammer or the cafe on board?

 

Asking on behalf of a friend

Best to have the friend contact special_needs@rccl.com and discuss the dietary restrictions.

My wife is a vegan. She always talks to the waiter on the first night in the MDR, then he send the head waiter to talk to her. She sometimes has difficulty getting then to understand that she can't have anything that has come from an animal, eggs, cheese, etc....

I can't remember what they did for her on the first night, but after the first meal they brought her the next nights menu to discuss if anything can be veganized.

One cruise was not so good, she would get a fruit salad for an appetizer, and another one for desert. Another cruise she got some variation of rice at every dinner. another cruise she got some sort of curry indian dish 4 nights in a row. Our last cruise was on Athem, on one of the nights they had on the menu a sweet and sour tofu, she was really looking forward to it, but they brought her something else.

The vegan deserts are almost not existant, although last time on Anthem was a bit better for her desert wise.

In the Windjammer, you have to be careful, best to find a chef and ask about vegan options. They put butter on just about everything. with some looking around she can usually get a pretty good breakfast and lunch.

Hope this helps....

Quick question - is anyone who is a vegan had any issues eating in the Main Dining Room?* Or were you essentially forced to eat at either the Windjammer or the cafe on board?

 

*

 

Asking on behalf of a friend

• It's not all that difficult. It just takes advance planning.
  
• Complete RCCL's Special Needs Form Note you're dietary needs in the section marked "Other" towards the bottom of the form - here's the link https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/guestSpecialNeeds.do
  
• After boarding go to the main dining and speak directly to the Matre'D. The first night is a little hectic with any special dietary need.
  
• Upon arriving at the MDR that evening let your waiter and Matre'd assigned to your table know. They'll work with to get a meal to your satisfaction.
  
• At the end of dinner the Matre'D will meet with to plan the next evenings meal and this will take place the rest of the cruise.
  
• If dining in the MDR for breakfast or lunch you'll have to let you waiter know as you won't be seated at your dinner table nor will have the same wait staff.
  
• In the Windjammer you can also speak to the Matre'D as they know better the food items that meet your needs. Additionally even the Windjammer will prepare something special .
  
• If you like Indian Food ask to see that menu as it has some vegan meals on it.
  
• Bottom line don't be afraid to ask.
  

Our last cruise was on Athem, on one of the nights they had on the menu a sweet and sour tofu, she was really looking forward to it, but they brought her something else.

 

Next time she sees something on the menu, she should ask about it. In this case, assuming the tofu is actually vegan, I'm sure the staff would have brought her one since it was on the regular menu that night.

Next time she sees something on the menu, she should ask about it. In this case, assuming the tofu is actually vegan, I'm sure the staff would have brought her one since it was on the regular menu that night.

The tofu was possibly fried in an egg batter.

I wouldn't count on the kitchen strictly adhering to vegan dictates. Your choices will be very, very limited. Stock used on board will almost guaranty to be chicken stock. Milk & eggs also widely used

A person in our party was vegan. Put information on our check in documents and talked to head waiter first night. They were very accommodating and gave them varied options each night. WJ just mainly stuck to fruit and vegetables and they didn't go hungry.

If you choose to do the main dining room be sure to avoid "my time"---you'll need to have the same "crew" each evening......my wife finds the windjammer easier

Paul

It's do-able, but definitely requires a set dining time, and patience. Agree about the desserts; I am GF and veg (try to avoid eggs but do eat dairy), and I had berries delivered pretty much every night.

I have found it is easy to print a little card with RED for items I don't eat (in my case, chicken, pork, beef, fish, seafood, gluten, barely, rye, farro, etc.) and GREEN for items I can eat (again, in my case, fruits, vegetables, tofu, dairy, corn, rice, soy, tofu, etc.). I made several copies and gave one each to our head waiter, waiter, assistant waiter, and they took one back to the kitchen. This helped override some of the language issues.

Also, my head waiter kept talking about "tofu cheese" which was confusing - I thought he meant Daiya, or something, and I kept telling him I didn't need it because I did eat dairy, but I would just love some tofu please. Turns out "tofu cheese" WAS tofu - he had never eaten it before, and since they had it on board cut up into squares (like a squares of cheese), he had just assumed it was cheese made of tofu. Good luck!