Specialty Dining for Vegetarians?

[Independent]

Any suggestions for good uses of the specialty dining meals for a couple of life-long vegetarians?  Will be on the Bliss next month and wonder if anyone knows of something enjoyable to use up the FAS meal package?  We don’t have any other dietary concerns, fine with dairy and eggs.  We are not triggered by others nearby eating meat, although Brazilian steakhouse style might not be our first choice 🙂.

 

We usually just skip the specialty dining, but hey, CC folks may have some other advice.  Thanks in advance!

[mapleleaves]

Even at Cagneys it wasn't an issue being a vegetarian. I told the server up front that I didn't eat meat so I ordered a side salad and several appetizers.  Instead of a side salad, they made a large salad with cheese, hard boiled egg, avocado, apple. ( similar to a Cobb Salad)

[dbrown84]

Although not your first choice, I'd still recommend the salad bar at Moderno.  You can also get meatless options at Teppanyaki.  Should have no problems putting together a great meal in the Italian restaurant

[rjm11]

Le Bistro has a very good vegetarian dish in puffed pastry.... and some salad and soup options that would work for apps.

[Independent]

Thank you!  Sounds as though we will find some good things to eat.

[Sailing12Away]

Have you looked at the menus yet? 

 

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/bliss/whats-on-board/specialty-dining?cid=PS_DIG_NA_NA_GOO_NA_NA_NA_NA_NA_NA&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyMKbBhD1ARIsANs7rEEqj-LBEXbDEeqf4PKhwx9ZJJwxYNOF9EQH8mZ1ucBllTIQVIcf2QcaAooKEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Not sure if you do seafood at all, but Ocean Blue also has a roasted cauliflower steak and a quinoa & kale salad side dish that they could probably do as a larger entrée sized portion for you.

 

Los Lobos has a lot of veggie friendly dishes, or ones that you could easily ask them to hold the meat from.

 

Food Republic is often open for lunch on sea days. You can get 4 plates for 1 credit, so can always go there and share 4 plates to try it out. The shishito peppers are a favorite of mine.

 

La Cucina you can always do a large dinner size portion of any of the pastas. Or, do a small pasta with a veggie pizza - the pizza is actually good. We usually get a pizza to share and bring half back to the room in a takeaway box to munch on later.

 

So yeah... there's lots of options for you out there. And if the meal is free with the FAS, why not try it, even if it's just for one of each side offered and you can always fill up at the buffet afterwards if you're still peckish.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, Independent said:

Any suggestions for good uses of the specialty dining meals for a couple of life-long vegetarians?  Will be on the Bliss next month and wonder if anyone knows of something enjoyable to use up the FAS meal package?  We don’t have any other dietary concerns, fine with dairy and eggs.  We are not triggered by others nearby eating meat, although Brazilian steakhouse style might not be our first choice 🙂.

 

We usually just skip the specialty dining, but hey, CC folks may have some other advice.  Thanks in advance!

So scan through the menus and see if you find anything to your liking. Here are menus from the Breakaway and Encore, the Bliss' sister ship. 

 

 

 

 

[Independent]

Wonderful, thank you.

[YVRteacher]

Hi!  I’m a vegetarian and specifically cruise NCL for their ability to provide amazing vegetarian food.

Your best options include Ocean Blue, Los Lobos, Teppanyaki and Moderno.  At Ocean Blue, the beet salad and the roasted cauliflower are delicious.  The roasted cauliflower takes about 25 minutes to prepare as it is marinated in Moroccan spices and comes topped with roasted nuts, grapes and herbs.  This is my all-time favourite dish on NCL.

At Teppanyaki let them know ahead of time you are a vegetarian.  Your food will be cooked in the back so it is not cooked on the same grill as the meat and seafood and it will not be cooked in lard and chicken fat.  
Most soups on NCL are made using animal products so only eat the soup if there is a plant symbol beside it on the menu.  Every menu in the main dining room will have vegetarian items marked with a 🌱.

Los Lobos is fabulous for vegetarian selections.  Again, let them know ahead of time because  a lot of the dishes that one would assume to be vegetarian contain lard and you will need them to prepare your food without it.  I highly recommend the tableside guacamole, quesadillas, vegetarian tacos, nopales and the beignets for dessert.  Best margaritas on the ship, too!

There is no point using a specialty dining credit at Cagney’s.  I do eat there because the people with whom I travel like it, but I meet with the maître d ahead of time and arrange to go into Moderno and prepare myself a plate of food from the salad bar.  Cagney’s has a tomato and onion salad and some sides that are vegetarian but it won’t be a great meal for you (this is my opinion.). They used to have a tomato soup and grilled cheese appetizer but that changed when the meals were revitalized fleet-wide.

 

For lunch, the Indian food station in the Garden Cafe is excellent.

 

Food Republic would not be worth you using a dining voucher as there are very few vegetarian options.  I tried to adapt there and couldn’t.

Edited November 13, 2022 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

Forgot to add that I personally don’t like the vegetarian puff pastry at Le Bistro.  I do love their goat cheese croquettes appetizer and what I order for a main course is a salad and all the vegetables that are served as sides.  They have a lentil side that is delicious but you need to prearrange for it to be made with vegetable stock.  The mushroom soup in Le Bistro is outstanding but it too needs pre-ordering so it can be made without chicken stock.

[Independent]

Ah, this answers so many questions!  While we ask about meat broths and lard, it would not have occurred to me that asking in advance would be useful.

[racephoto]

On 11/13/2022 at 3:52 PM, YVRteacher said:

Hi!  I’m a vegetarian and specifically cruise NCL for their ability to provide amazing vegetarian food.

Your best options include Ocean Blue, Los Lobos, Teppanyaki and Moderno.  At Ocean Blue, the beet salad and the roasted cauliflower are delicious.  The roasted cauliflower takes about 25 minutes to prepare as it is marinated in Moroccan spices and comes topped with roasted nuts, grapes and herbs.  This is my all-time favourite dish on NCL.

At Teppanyaki let them know ahead of time you are a vegetarian.  Your food will be cooked in the back so it is not cooked on the same grill as the meat and seafood and it will not be cooked in lard and chicken fat.  
Most soups on NCL are made using animal products so only eat the soup if there is a plant symbol beside it on the menu.  Every menu in the main dining room will have vegetarian items marked with a 🌱.

Los Lobos is fabulous for vegetarian selections.  Again, let them know ahead of time because  a lot of the dishes that one would assume to be vegetarian contain lard and you will need them to prepare your food without it.  I highly recommend the tableside guacamole, quesadillas, vegetarian tacos, nopales and the beignets for dessert.  Best margaritas on the ship, too!

There is no point using a specialty dining credit at Cagney’s.  I do eat there because the people with whom I travel like it, but I meet with the maître d ahead of time and arrange to go into Moderno and prepare myself a plate of food from the salad bar.  Cagney’s has a tomato and onion salad and some sides that are vegetarian but it won’t be a great meal for you (this is my opinion.). They used to have a tomato soup and grilled cheese appetizer but that changed when the meals were revitalized fleet-wide.

 

For lunch, the Indian food station in the Garden Cafe is excellent.

 

Food Republic would not be worth you using a dining voucher as there are very few vegetarian options.  I tried to adapt there and couldn’t.

Really helpful info here, thank you. 

[Ladyshopper23]

I've got the same dilemma, as I'm also vegetarian. However, I have the added complication of having to be gluten-free as well. My husband is also gluten-free, but eats meat and fish, so not anticipating so much of a problem for him.

We have 3 free speciality meals to use up on NCL Star later this month, and the menus aren't really that helpful, as there are no allergen markings on them. I've booked Moderno based on the salad bar alone, and also La Cucina (am assuming they can do some veggie GF pasta or similar), but am struggling to know where to book for the 3rd (plus it now won't seem to let me online, so will sort it when I get onboard).

I'm planning on visiting the restaurants when we're onboard and having a chat, and seeing what they can do.

[YVRteacher]

Your best bet is to meet with the special diets coordinator on the first day.  You tell them where you want to eat and they will tell you what they can make that is gluten free and vegetarian.  You would do this instead of going to each restaurant.  It takes a little bit of planning but it’s totally worth it.

 

Yes, they have gluten free pasta at La Cucina.

 

I did an NCL cruise where I needed to eat gluten free vegetarian and it was easy and fine.

 

NCL even has gluten free English muffins and they are sooooo good.

[Ladyshopper23]

16 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Your best bet is to meet with the special diets coordinator on the first day.  You tell them where you want to eat and they will tell you what they can make that is gluten free and vegetarian.  You would do this instead of going to each restaurant.  It takes a little bit of planning but it’s totally worth it.

 

Yes, they have gluten free pasta at La Cucina.

 

I did an NCL cruise where I needed to eat gluten free vegetarian and it was easy and fine.

 

NCL even has gluten free English muffins and they are sooooo good.

That's great to know, thank you. I've had a google about and found mixed information about NCL in general, but had picked up on there being a special diets co-ordinator, so will definitely make sure I look out for them. Do they tend to be based somewhere, or do I need to go to a dining room and ask to speak to them?

I've packed a lot of snacks just in case (it's a 2 week transatlantic with a lot of sea days) as I'd rather be prepared just in case! Hopefully I won't need them though. 
 

[weltek]

In my scan of menus, Los Lobos has a lot of options (heck, I bet even the ceviche--without fish--would be good!). The few Ocean Blue options SOUND really tasty. You'd both just probably end up eating the same thing, which might be a bummer for you. 

 

[darkhorizon]

On 11/16/2022 at 12:46 PM, Ladyshopper23 said:

That's great to know, thank you. I've had a google about and found mixed information about NCL in general, but had picked up on there being a special diets co-ordinator, so will definitely make sure I look out for them. Do they tend to be based somewhere, or do I need to go to a dining room and ask to speak to them?

I've packed a lot of snacks just in case (it's a 2 week transatlantic with a lot of sea days) as I'd rather be prepared just in case! Hopefully I won't need them though. 
 

 

Hey, how was your experience? Which restaurants and vegetarian food did you try? Any recommendations? Also, how was your experience with the special diets coordinator? Did it make a difference?

[Ladyshopper23]

6 minutes ago, darkhorizon said:

 

Hey, how was your experience? Which restaurants and vegetarian food did you try? Any recommendations? Also, how was your experience with the special diets coordinator? Did it make a difference?

We had a great experience! The special diets coordinator made such a difference to our gluten free dining experience. I think it's really good having one specific point of contact. They must get in so steps during the day though, they are literally running between restaurants at every meal service!

I've written up our experience on my blog (as per my signature), so if you want to have a read of that it will give you the full breakdown of everything, including photos of menus and food. We had 3 brilliant speciality meals at La Cucina, Moderno (even as a veggie I had a really good experience as the salad bar and all the sides they give you were fantastic for GF, plus the special diets coordinator brought me up a main course I'd ordered the day before) and also at the Teppenyaki place.

We're cruising again on NCL twice this year - once at the end of this month on Dawn (sister ship of Star), then later on in the year on Getaway. I'm hoping that those experiences are just as good. 

[mjkacmom]

53 minutes ago, darkhorizon said:

 

Hey, how was your experience? Which restaurants and vegetarian food did you try? Any recommendations? Also, how was your experience with the special diets coordinator? Did it make a difference?

We’ve had great experiences with gluten free. Note the dietary restrictions on your reservation, and if you go to the MDR for lunch they will usually come to your table and explain the process.

[www3traveler]

There is currently a very long thread by a lady from Vancouver, British Columbia who is a vegetarian and all the problems she is having currently on The Star.

 

I think that anyone with a dietary issue may have different responses from staff depending on the ship.  From what I am reading responses seem to vary from ship to ship.  It should be consistant across all the ships but apparently, that is not the case--sadly.

[mjkacmom]

39 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

There is currently a very long thread by a lady from Vancouver, British Columbia who is a vegetarian and all the problems she is having currently on The Star.

 

I think that anyone with a dietary issue may have different responses from staff depending on the ship.  From what I am reading responses seem to vary from ship to ship.  It should be consistant across all the ships but apparently, that is not the case--sadly.

That could also be a one off, we had no issues on the spirit, gem, jewel or breakaway.

[www3traveler]

Just now, mjkacmom said:

That could also be a one off, we had no issues on the spirit, gem, jewel or breakaway.

She has not had issues on either The Spirit or The Jewel, just The Star.

[Burrata]

I cruised on the Star (Iceland/Greenland) July of this year. There were some minor food/service issues but I didn't really let it bother me. The itinerary was too good to pass up and other cruises that sail in that part of the world can be very pricey! 

 

There is always at least 2 vegetarian options in the MDRs every day, both lunch and dinner. I primarily eat vegetarian and could always find something that I enjoyed. Also ate at La Cucina, Le Bistro and Teppanyaki, all had good options for me. 

 

The salad bar in the Garden Cafe was good and had lots of variety. The veg Indian dishes at the cafe were also good. The Indian food on the Epic was not very good at all! (April 2023)

 

I think if you want vegetarian meals that are not on the menus it would be challenge. 

 

[wally4ever]

3 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

That could also be a one off, we had no issues on the spirit, gem, jewel or breakaway.

Based on reputation, the Star seems to have problems that aren't present on other NCL ships.  Which stinks because I'd love to do a South American cruise.

[Burrata]

13 minutes ago, wally4ever said:

Based on reputation, the Star seems to have problems that aren't present on other NCL ships.  Which stinks because I'd love to do a South American cruise.

I would sail the Star again if it had a desirable itinerary. Just because one person is not having the best experience with vegetarian food options on the ship, it would not stop me from booking.

 

If you read her review, she wants custom meals and the Star is not able to fulfill all of her requests to her satisfaction. 

 

The MDR menus are fleetwide and have plenty of options for vegetarians.

 

I would love to sail the Panama Canal!