Does Carnival Offer Oak Milk or Almond Milk ?

[phoneman69]

Sailing on the Freedom in September of this year in 17days. wife is lactose intolerance and looking to see if ship offers a non dairy alternative. 

 

[Essiesmom]

It will be available in the buffet at breakfast, in MDR ask.  Other times of day, just ask.  EM

[CascaisCruiser]

It is also available at the Coffee Bar is you plan to have any specialty coffees. 

 

[phoneman69]

12 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

It will be available in the buffet at breakfast, in MDR ask.  Other times of day, just ask.  EM

Thank you She was really concerned were she can not have dairy 

[CruiserLucas]

Just sharing my experience, and maybe it's gotten better over the past year as they get back to running normally and increase supplies and training... We had a very tough time on both our cruises last year in August and December. Both of us are lactose intolerant and in the main dining room they could not understand wanting non-dairy milk. First time it was like "Well, what do you want?" So we'd ask for coconut milk, which is what we prefer. They'd come back and say not available, then more "what do you want? Want the chef to come talk to you?" No... I just want you to tell me what you have that's not dairy creamer. lol So they'd leave again to find out and come back and only had soy milk, which is fine, but really weird they wouldn't be prepared with at least knowing they have 1 non-dairy alternative available. After that we'd just ask for soymilk to make it easier on everyone and straightforward, but if you're choosy on what non-dairy milk you get, it could be hit or miss.

Personally, I don't like almond milk for my coffee, so I'd forgo it altogether if that's all they had. But a struggle to get it figured out when ordering stuff. 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, CruiserLucas said:

Just sharing my experience, and maybe it's gotten better over the past year as they get back to running normally and increase supplies and training... We had a very tough time on both our cruises last year in August and December. Both of us are lactose intolerant and in the main dining room they could not understand wanting non-dairy milk. First time it was like "Well, what do you want?" So we'd ask for coconut milk, which is what we prefer. They'd come back and say not available, then more "what do you want? Want the chef to come talk to you?" No... I just want you to tell me what you have that's not dairy creamer. lol So they'd leave again to find out and come back and only had soy milk, which is fine, but really weird they wouldn't be prepared with at least knowing they have 1 non-dairy alternative available. After that we'd just ask for soymilk to make it easier on everyone and straightforward, but if you're choosy on what non-dairy milk you get, it could be hit or miss.

Personally, I don't like almond milk for my coffee, so I'd forgo it altogether if that's all they had. But a struggle to get it figured out when ordering stuff. 

Good information, thanks. DW actually (though not lactose intolerant, but wanting to avoid cholesterol) does use almond milk (regular unsweetened) in her coffee.

[gazingm42]

We call ahead of time which we have for October cruise. We talked to the special needs group. We preordered the almond milk for the MDR. We request 2 gallons for the week. 

[phoneman69]

On 9/1/2022 at 5:21 PM, gazingm42 said:

We call ahead of time which we have for October cruise. We talked to the special needs group. We preordered the almond milk for the MDR. We request 2 gallons for the week. 

Now there;s a thought. Nice idea

[tmp1127]

I contacted the Special Needs Department and was given permission to bring 4 cartons of my own unopened oat milk batista size.

I carried these in my carry-on along with the letter of approval from the Special Needs Department.

 

I bought my carton each morning to the coffee bar with no issues.

Hope this helps.

 

[WendyVF]

In June, they did not have it on the buffet on the Magic and it took forever each night to get any in the dining room for my grandson.  The people at the coffee bar took a liking to him and made sure they had almond milk on hand each morning.  Towards the end of the trip they were running very low so they made sure to set some aside.  

[chicchic325]

My understanding is they only offer soy milk onboard, at least that is what all the people in the Vegan's Cruizin With Carnival FB group report form their trips. 

 

You can call/email special access, but they will probably tell you they can only accommodate you in the main dining room. This is false. I recommend emailing the Maître D. 

 

On embarkation day, go to the Maitre D's check in area and talk to them about the fact that she is lactose intolerant. They should help you figure it out. Then each night, you should be able to pre-order for the next night/day and know what does and does not have dairy in it. 

 

In the lido deck, they have what is called "Menu Mate" stands which you can input what you can't have and it lists what's on the menu that she can eat. 

 

Be careful on specialty restaurants- they don't always list everything. Like the pasta Cucina place- they don't say they add cheese on top, but they do.  

 

Be ready to ask and talk to everyone before you eat and be prepared for it to take longer. 

[phoneman69]

19 hours ago, chicchic325 said:

My understanding is they only offer soy milk onboard, at least that is what all the people in the Vegan's Cruizin With Carnival FB group report form their trips. 

 

You can call/email special access, but they will probably tell you they can only accommodate you in the main dining room. This is false. I recommend emailing the Maître D. 

 

On embarkation day, go to the Maitre D's check in area and talk to them about the fact that she is lactose intolerant. They should help you figure it out. Then each night, you should be able to pre-order for the next night/day and know what does and does not have dairy in it. 

 

In the lido deck, they have what is called "Menu Mate" stands which you can input what you can't have and it lists what's on the menu that she can eat. 

 

Be careful on specialty restaurants- they don't always list everything. Like the pasta Cucina place- they don't say they add cheese on top, but they do.  

 

Be ready to ask and talk to everyone before you eat and be prepared for it to take longer. 

Thank you for the update. will surely look for the Menu Mate as i have never heard of it. I am going to try and take a container of Almond milk unopened at boarding on Saturday and see what happens.

[3smithboys]

When I was on the Mardi Gras this summer, I was able to get almond milk in my specialty coffee. I asked about oat milk and they didn’t have that.

[cooncat_mom]

I’m sorry to hear about the lack of vegan foods, as I’m also quite lactose intolerant and doing our first Carnicl cruise in YEARS come October. (Royal has a vegan appetizer, soup, entree and dessert every evening in their MDR with almond or soy milk pretty readily available.  It was very nice!)

 

@phoneman69 Does your wife know that Lactaid now has chewable tablets? You take 1-2 before eating and can have one more 30 minutes later if you’re still eating dairy. I actually had my first Crab Rangoon and slider cheeseburger in YEARS! It’s easy to slip 3 of them in a purse or pocket too since they’re individually wrapped.

[DPTexas]

We have enjoyed almond milk each morning at breakfast in the MDR on four Carnival cruises since the restart.  We simply asked for it without thinking we needed to request it ahead of time.  These sailings were on the Dream and Breeze, so not sure if that makes the difference.  Crossing our fingers, it is available on the Panorama early next year.  Hope this helps.  

[tmp1127]

Just wanted to give an update since I posted my original question.

 

We sailed on the Conquest in September of 2023 and they had oat milk at the coffee bar only, which worked for me on this trip. We cruise often on the Liberty for weekend getaways and the consistently have soy and almond milk at coffee bar, lido and main dining room.