Review - My not so positive vegetarian and gluten free experience (long)

[momof3hungryboys]

We sailed on the Freedom at the end of April, beginning of May.

 

My 3 sons (16, 13, and 9 years old) are the vegetarians and I'm usually vegan/gluten free but decided to go vegetarian for the week to make life a little easier. I have a gluten intolerance, so this is not a choice for me.

 

When I first contacted RCCL they said to speak with my waiter in the main dining room once I got on the ship. On the first evening I explained that my children were vegetarian and I was vegetarian/gluten free.

 

On the first evening my children ordered the vegetarian entree. There was nothing that I could eat, so I requested a baked potato and steamed veggies. I wasn't offered any other suggestions.

 

At the end of my meal I was bought the menu for the next day. Since there wasn't anything I could eat as an entree I requested a vegetable curry since I had read here that this was an option.

 

My children could usually find something from the starters, then besides the pasta and sauce that was always available there was only 1 vegetarian entree, plus they could eat something off the dessert menu.

 

I did get into a disagreement with a waiter concerning the dessert menu because none of the desserts are marked as being vegetarian (although as a cook/baker I know many of them should be). We had a question because one was listed as having gelatin and it was unclear if the mousse like desserts contained gelatin. I couldn't seem to get an answer, which I found very frustrating. Plus, there seemed no incentive on the part of the waiter to find out this information for me. So, I had to use my best judgement on this.

 

My children found the vegetarian entrees to be hit and miss. About half the time they would declare them "not good" and leave them. The 1 vegetarian option was not usually very creative or tasty.

 

I also spoke to the head waiter about being vegetarian/gluten free but he seemed more interested in saying his spiel about I hope you have a fabulous time, meal etc…. So no help there from him. :(

 

So, on night 1 I got to eat a baked potato and veggies, night 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 I got to eat a vegetable curry. On night 5 I tried the gluten free pasta and sauce which was sadly inedible. At a loss of what else to ask for and receiving no suggestions from my waiter my choice was very limited.

 

The assistant waiter couldn't seem to remember that I was gluten free and offered me bread every night. Then he would remember to bring me some gluten free bread.

 

I could usually find a starter to eat and desserts were limited, although they did offer to bring me some fruit.

 

One evening my son asked about a salad that appeared to be vegetarian from the description but didn't have the "V" symbol. When he asked about it, he was told that it wasn't vegetarian because it contained cheese. Really, the kids had been eating cheese all week and cheese is considered vegetarian. After the waiter checked he reported that it was indeed vegetarian.

 

We found the menus to be inaccurate at times. Plus, some of the descriptions left a lot to be desired. There seemed to be no interested in offering me suggestions for meals and there was certainly a lack of knowledge on the part of the wait staff. I'd be extremely concerned if I had celiac disease or some other serious allergy.

 

All-in-all a very frustrating time in the main dining room. Had it not been for the fact that we were dining with other meat eating family members we would have skipped the whole thing entirely.

 

So, was the Windjammer any better? If you are a vegetarian and you just love eating LOTS of fruit and salad you'll probably be okay. As for vegetarian entrees - other than pizza or pasta - you're going to be disappointed. All those hot buffet bars and most of the time not a single vegetarian entree in sight. We found a vegetable curry twice, the other times they had added some kind of meat to it.

 

At this point I won't be cruising RCCL again. I do like cruising but I would go with another cruise line that offers more vegetarian options. I read that Holland America has a vegetarian menu with 20 different choices. Plus, when we cruised on Disney Cruise Line I think there was usually at least 3 vegetarian entree choices each evening.

 

I knew that cruising as a vegetarian/gluten free person I would have a hard time. However, the lack of knowledge and the unhelpful staff were a surprise. I thought that my children would have an easier time since they are just vegetarians, but sadly finding suitable options was not always easy to them either and the choices that were available were very limited and not always very good.

 

We commented after the cruise that we didn't see any beans or tofu offered on the salad bar, or some kind of entree made with these ingredients. Which is very strange to us since we eat them daily at home.

 

I don't think being a vegetarian is that unusual in this day and age, and more and more people seem to be switching to a plant based diet. It's unfortunate that the meals on our RCCL cruise were disappointing.

 

I've read other reviews here from vegetarians, vegans, and gluten free people. I didn't have the same experience. Another member reported that all the dressings contained gluten. I was given the salad dressings, so I don't know if this is the case. I also have an intolerance so a tiny bit of gluten isn't going to really affect me. The same poster had said that the staff made her special items like gluten free cupcakes and other items for desserts - nothing like that here, just the offer of fruit.

 

Overall we did have a good cruise, other than the falling down the stairs on the first night. On the first night they only had one show at 7 pm. I didn't get out of dinner until 7:30 because I was left waiting and waiting for the next days menu while everyone else at the table left. Then when I went to the theater to find a seat in the dark, I missed a step and fell down the stairs. So for the rest of the trip I had a very swollen leg and bruises, the biggest bruise was the size of a grapefruit.

[petesweet]

Sorry for your disappointing experience. I will be interested in other comments since FOS is on our radar for the future.

 

Kathy

[ECpirate]

I'm disappointed to read this. While not strictly vegetarian, I often choose to eat meat-free meals and feel better when I do not eat meat every day. I wish you had been offered more variety. It sounds like this area could use a lot of improvement and some consistency. Thanks for your review.

[TN56]

I am sorry you had such a bad experience on the FOS . My DD and I were the Freedom. I am pescatarian, dairy free and gluten free as well as allergic to corn. Our first two dinners on thr freedom were a nightmare - waiters who acted like I was a pain and night 2 dinner was 2 shrimp contrails and overcooked steamed veggies. The 3rd night we found Francesca! She was so awesome! She brought me menus for the next day and helped me special order every meal. She saved saved my cruise! We were on My Time Dining so we could keep switching waiters :D

[bay guy]

Sorry for your bad experience. When we were on Allure last December with our DD, who has a gluten intolerance and tends to eat more of a vegetarian diet, and her husband, the head waiter came to our table every night with the following night's menu and helped her choose what she wanted to eat. He had a very thorough knowledge of the ingredients in the menu items. He also offered to have the chef prepare anything my DD wanted if she didn't see it on the menu as long as they had the ingredients.

I guess it comes down to the willingness and ability of your waiters to meet your needs, as another poster mentioned, because it does seem that RCI has taken these things into account for special diets. Perhaps better training of staff would correct the problem.

[MJonTravel]

Sorry to read this. Fortunately, we (or my DW rather) had the opposite experience on Allure. Staff bent over backwards to accommodate Gluten, dairy and soy restrictions.

 

I should add that somehow or another, her dietary restrictions were attached to our reservation. Everyone from the MDR to all the specialty restaurants seemed aware of it...and I think went above and beyond to make sure she was taken care of.

[NorbertsNiece]

Cheese may not necessarily be vegetarian..... it was wise of them to err on the cautious side.

 

Wish you'd seen my blog of how I turned around my GF experience on Freedom in March.... truly awesome service.

[LuvWilliam]

I'm sorry this was your experience... DH and I are both strict vegans and we always eat in the windjammer. Just easier for us than to explain our needs to the waiter over and over. We just load up on salads (with oil and vinegar) fruit and baked potatoes. Wish RCI would come out with a vegan menu- my dream!

[BeachChik]

I understand that it must have been frustrating to find things acceptable to eat. However there was one thing you mentioned that I don't necessarily agree with. You point out that the crew had a lack of knowledge about vegetarian options. Even in today's world I wouldn't say that being vegan or vegetarian is common. I personally don't know anyone and I wouldn't know what is acceptable or not acceptable to eat. And if I were vegan/vegetarian I would not expect wait staff at a dining facility to know either. My opinion is that if you make a choice like this then only you can be responsible for checking what is offered and making appropriate choices on what to eat. Same as if you have a food allergy. And the reality is with 3-4 thousand people on any given ship I am sure it is difficult to try to accommodate everyone's dietary restrictions/needs.

 

Just look at the threads going now. Someone allergic to MSG, someone allergic to gluten. Someone saying that the steward is not allowed in their room at any time due to religious reasons. I'm sure they try to accommodate everyone. (Just realized some of these things are on the carnival board but doesn't change the fact that many people have special requests that they try to accommodate)

[DM_KidAtHeart]

Our experience on FOS says you have to keep trying different waiters until you find a good one who will be helpful with special dietary needs. This does mean I think you should do MTD if you have special dietary needs so that you can keep trying different ones.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing your review.

 

Keith

[tellyaddict]

We have just come back from the Indy, sailed twice before with the same ship. Although I can't agree with the op and the mdr as our waiter offered my vegetarian sister all the information she wanted and even offered one night to get the chef to make anything she wanted. However in the wjammer she was really disappointed nothing was labelled as suitable for vegetarians and found it was very difficult to find anyone who could really help. The previous cruises were much better as everything had a clear v when suitable.

[anandaindonesia]

Vegetarians want to cruise and need to eat too.

 

Most vegetarians, due to the limited food items they will eat, LOVE to have varieties.

 

By nature, to keep their appetite fresh, vegetarians tend to be more creative in selecting their day to day meals.

 

It's not enough just to have pasta everyday, or indian curry everyday, or garden salad every meal. Variety and creativity is the key.

 

We all like to have choices. To limit our choice to just one entree - even if it is tasty - makes me feel 'less happy' than our fellow cruisers.

[kevinyork]

Vegetarians want to cruise and need to eat too.

 

Most vegetarians, due to the limited food items they will eat, LOVE to have varieties.

 

By nature, to keep their appetite fresh, vegetarians tend to be more creative in selecting their day to day meals.

 

It's not enough just to have pasta everyday, or indian curry everyday, or garden salad every meal. Variety and creativity is the key.

 

We all like to have choices. To limit our choice to just one entree - even if it is tasty - makes me feel 'less happy' than our fellow cruisers.

 

I agree. My partner is vegetarian and having got off Adventure a few weeks back I can concur the options are limited. If all passengers had one appetiser and one entree choice they would be in uproar but it seems ok to offer that to vegetarians. We did find a bit more choice in the windjammer though although nothing is labelled as vegetarian.

 

Cheese can or cannot be vegetarian and for RCI to err on the side of caution and show anything containing cheese as not being veggie is lazy.

 

Celebrity and P&O have separate vegetarian menus as well as the veggie options on the main menu.

 

I know some say 'they will cook you anything' but this seems hit and miss. If this is the case why dont they volunteer that info to everyone?

[room010]

Chefs on large mass market cruise ships creating many thousands of meals per day on strict budgets simply don't have the resources to create a wide range of interesting and varied menus for passengers with special dietary needs.

 

There is usually something suitable available but it may be from a very limited choice. The same applies to shore based restaurants. It's up to those of us on special diets to come up with creative selections from the sometimes limited choices available. It is also true of course that many wait staff on land and at sea really don't understand that chicken isn't a vegetarian option and that vegans don't eat omelettes!

[UntrainedBrain]

The mistake was complaining to the Waiter as he is not in charge of the Kitchen. Get up, find the manager and have the manager resolve it.

 

Asking a waiter to fix a menu problem is like complaining to a gas station attendant about the Gulf oil spill in that it is not his responsibility, nor his job, nor of of any interest to him to solve your problem.

[jkskrap]

The mistake was complaining to the Waiter as he is not in charge of the Kitchen. Get up, find the manager and have the manager resolve it.

 

Asking a waiter to fix a menu problem is like complaining to a gas station attendant about the Gulf oil spill in that it is not his responsibility, nor his job, nor of of any interest to him to solve your problem.

 

That's not exactly true, my untrained friend. I understand your point, but the wait staff can usually fix what needs to be fixed --- and it is certainly in his/her best interest to solve the problem. I agree that finding a manager as a last resort is a good idea.

 

To the OP -- That stinks. My daughter and I ate the vegetarian "choice" each night and enjoyed all but one. I agree that we could use a better selection, for sure. All in all we thought we had great food, though. It's also too bad the waiter didn't take care of you. On the Freedom we had early seating and our waitress, Coleen, was fantastic!

 

It's getting better. The more people that ask for vegetarian items, the better the selection will become. And folks, thousands & thousands of people are turning veggie every year. If you don't know one now, you will very soon!:D