Vegetarian Experience

[Brucemcdou]

Hi - Moom2 - so how was your cruise? You decided on the NCL Jewel, right? Were you able to find veggie options in all the restaurants on board? What did you think of the service and the ship?

 

I have a question about Royal Caribbean - Arubamoose described her good experiences on Royal Caribbean but I assume you're talking about the main dining rooms. How about the specialty restaurants on board? We're mainly Celebrity cruisers, and we'll be on the Jewel OTS next August, which has both a Chops steakhouse and a Portofino Italian restaurant. We assume the Italian restaurant will be very easy to navigate for a vegetarian, but how about the steakhouse? Has anyone had some experience with asking them to accomodate you? My partner is perfectly happy if a chef can assemble a plate of "sides" and make it look nice, he just doesn't appreciate an attitude about it. Sometimes land-based steakhouses can be kind of rude to a vegetarian who "dares" to eat there! We like trying out all the specialty restaurants on a ship for the different experiences, but wouldn't want to pay extra for a less-than-great experience.

 

Thanks in advance for any experience you have with RCCL!

[earthfarie]

I would also recommend HAL. We are sailing with them Nov. 5, and have sailed with them two other times previously. Their food was always delicious and they try very hard to cater to your needs.

[icehatchling]

I would also recommend HAL. We are sailing with them Nov. 5, and have sailed with them two other times previously. Their food was always delicious and they try very hard to cater to your needs.

 

earthfarie: could I beg a favor from you? We are sailing the Zuiderdam in April, and I have heard that the dining room has a special vegetarian menu that you can ask for, but no one seems to be able to provide a copy of the menu, or a summary, or even more than one or two of the dishes. When you get back in November, could you post a little bit about the vegetarian menu options on your HAL cruise? It would help me out a lot! Thanks very much, hope you have a fantastic time.

[earthfarie]

I would love to do that. I know alot of people out there would love to have more up to date details on menu options. I will let you know as much as I can when I get back. Only thing is, how do you post? You mean here on this board we are on right now, about vegetarian dining? Or start a new one? I will have to look into it before I go so I can post it as soon as I get back. Look for it around the 20th of Nov. as our cruise is 11 days, and it will take me a couple of days to get it together when I get back. Thanks, Amy:)

[icehatchling]

I would love to do that. I know alot of people out there would love to have more up to date details on menu options. I will let you know as much as I can when I get back. Only thing is, how do you post? You mean here on this board we are on right now, about vegetarian dining? Or start a new one? I will have to look into it before I go so I can post it as soon as I get back. Look for it around the 20th of Nov. as our cruise is 11 days, and it will take me a couple of days to get it together when I get back. Thanks, Amy:)

 

amy, i eagerly await your post! just hit "post reply" to this thread, or go in the cruise foodies main forum and hit "new thread."

 

hope the cruise was amazing. (c:

[kinoglaz]

Well, this thread began with a person describing a not-so-great vegetarian experience on the NCL Dawn, which happens to be the ship we chose for our first cruise. I really hope for a better experience. I like the idea of Freestyle cruising, but getting a different waiter each night may pose some problems. I studied the menues that I found on the web... Breakfast concerns me the most. My wife and I are taking our 2 year old (also vegan) along with us and I know we have to take certain snacks with us. I was told by NCL that soymilk is available onboard, but would they cook oatmeal with it, or are we stuck with eating nothing but cold cereals?

What about that separate vegetarian menue on NCL line?

Any info or tips would be greatly appreciated.

[mailbroad]

Hello. The initial post was made by moom2...my mother! My husband and I were also on this cruise. I was also a bit disappointed with the vegetarian choices but I managed to gain 6 pounds!

My husband and I are going on the Sun in December and are now better informed about vegetarian dining. Upon arriving onboard, after checking out the cabin, we plan to immedietly ask to speak to the maitre'd of each main dining room. We will ask about the vegetarian menu.

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

Just off the Zaandam 4/4/06.

HAL had great selections for Vegetarians!! Portions were generous, flavor was wonderful, presentation was ok.

I'll list as much as I can remember...

Room Service

Breakfast...OJ, apple juice, prune juice, V8, grapefruit juice, tea, coffee, milk, cereals, toast, english muffin, bagel, croissant, blueberry muffin, danish, various fruits (melon, orange slices, etc), yogurt (plain or fruit), eggs or eggbeaters (scrambled or cheese omelet -both came w/ hashbrowns)

Lunch/Dinner/24hrs...cheese platter (asst cheeses with crackers, bread, & fruit), Vegetarian omelet, Vegetarian pizza (mushroom & bell pepper listed, but you could request anything you wanted. The pizza was made to order with a homemade crust and had a super sweet sauce-we both liked it alot!), Thai Vegetarian Wrap (tomato tortilla with eggplant & sprouts and a few other veggies I don't recall). Other than desserts these were the only Vegetaran items listed, desserts were ice cream, cake, or choc chip cookies

Lido Buffet

Breakfast...there was an omelet station in which you could order any combination of eggs, eggbeaters, cheeses, and veggies, buffet had same as room service but more fruit juices (grape & others), more fruit, scrambled eggs (they looked runny, but they also had a separate pan of well-done eggs), hashbrowns, pancakes (plain & blueberry), french toast, waffles

Lunch...for lunch options I was disappointed, nothing was marked Vegetarian and the staff didn't always know what was and sometimes they didn't even understand. Be careful-we tried what appeared to be plain rice and it strongly tasted of chicken broth, so we threw it out to be safe. There was always salad & veggies, but they never looked fresh or tasted good. There was always some type of fruit, pasta (w/ marinara or alfredo), cold pasta salad, mashed potatoes, french fries, new potatoes, there was an Asian station in which you could have them make stir-fried veggies, and the best (in my opinion ;) ) was the sandwich station in which you could have a made-to-order sandwich of fresh veggies a/o cheese (grilled if you liked), on any type of fresh bread (foccacia, Italian, wheat, white, etc).

Dinner...I would stay away from the Lido for dinner! They only had the same entrees as the dining room (which means only ONE Vegetarian entree-which was not marked & nothing from the Vegetarian menu), and they did not include any of the chilled soups or Vegetarian appetizers from the dinner menu. All rolls & garlic bread in the Lido also were hard every time we tried them-for lunch or dinner (in the Dining Room they were always soft and fresh!)

Desserts...the desserts in the Lido always seemed bland or stale. We only found something tasty and fresh maybe 2 or 3 times, even though we sampled from there nearly daily. The ice cream was ok, the vanilla I found to be good, while the chocolate was bland and didn't taste like chocolate to me. My in-laws and many people on these boards have raved about the bread pudding, we tried it twice and both times it was bland-almost to the point of being tasteless, overly wet/soggy, and a huge disappointment.

Terrace Grill

Lunch/Snack...the grill offered veggie burgers in which they kept separate and wrapped in tin foil! There was also a taco bar in which you could make veggie or bean tacos, but I am not sure if the refried beans are Vegetarian or not. There was also various Vegetarian pizzas available (we saw mushroom & cheese, black olive & tomato, zucchini & onion).

Pinnacle Grill

Dinner...The Pinnacle only offered one Vegetarian entree which was the mushroom ravioli, which was on the regular menu one night. They also offered several Vegetarian appetizers if I recall correctly (baked potato, etc).

Rotterdam Dining Room

*I saved the best for last!!*

We never ate in the dining room for breakfast or lunch so I'm not sure what they offered. We heard some people complaining about how long it took to receive their food though.

We ate off both the Regular & Vegetarian menus, so I will list things I remember or we ate, and then mark from which menu they were from, R or V. There was only 1 soup & 1 entree I didn't care for, and it wasn't that they weren't good, they just didn't appeal to me. Our service was amazing. We always received our food promptly with a smile, and never had a complaint about anything! We ate in the dining room every night except one (we had to get up super early for a shore excursion the next day, we had the main dinner, upper @ 8pm, and we usually didn't finish until 10pm or later). All chilled soups were Vegetarian. We only tried one salad, but I know the Vegetarian menu had at least 2 others available. We had the spinach salad with artichoke hearts and tofu dressing, which was just ok. I'd say 80% of items on Vegetarian menu were marked Vegan.

Bread

Rolls (White)

Black Forrest

Zucchini Bread

Rye

Pumperknickel

French

 

Soups

Chilled Blueberry (blueberries & champagne) R

Apple Vichyssoise (apple brandy w/ diced granny smith apples) R

Mango Gazpacho (mangoes, onion, & cilantro) R

Strawberry Bisque R

French Onion V

Vichyssoise (chilled potato & leek, very frothy & buttery) V

3 Berry Minestrone (strawberry, blueberry, & raspberry-I think) R

Gazpacho (chilled tomato & cucumber) V

Vegetable V

 

Appetizers

Tropical Fruit Dish (watermelon, pineapple, canteloupe, guava) R

Melon Plate (watermelon, honeydew melon, canteloupe, grapes) Alt to R

Watermelon Cocktail (watermelon, honeydew, mint, orange rind) R

Tomato Pesto Toasties (sun-dried tomato pesto sauce on toast with grilled onions) V

Guacamole w/ Nachos V

Asparagus Rolls (asparagus wrapped in filo dough w/ an herbed cream sauce) V

Fruit Cocktail w/ Curacao R (there was another fruit cocktail w/ a different liqueur another night, but I don't recall which)

 

Entrees

Parmesan Eggplant Orzo R

Cheese Tortellini in an Herbed Nutty Sauce V

Baked Veggie Lasagna w/ Garlic Bread (I had this 3 times-very good, first 2 times was in a white cream sauce, 3rd time in a marinara) V

Picatta of Vegetable (eggplant & zucchini breaded in parmesan w/ whole wheat cous cous) R

Southwest Cheese Manicotti R

Vegetarian Chili w/ Corn Muffin (chili was chickpeas, onions, tomatoes - muffin was very sweet) V

Mushroom Ravioli R

Eggplant Picatta R

Tofu Kebabs V

Indian Red Lentil Dahl (we both love & often eat Indian food, this did not compare, was just ok) R

Sweet & Sour Tofu R

Vegetable Cutlet w/ chickpea & tomato salad (one of my faves-had both an Indian & Italian flavor) R

Spicy Stir-Fried Tofu (stir-fried veggies & tofu on glass noodles-very spicy, but was DH's fave meal!) V

Corn Fritters, Grilled Tomato, & Black Bean Salsa V

 

Desserts (in case you're curious ;) )

*Also offered were various sugar-free desserts, fruit, or ice cream.

Cappucino (complimentary only in dining room with/for dessert)

Cheese Platter (asst cheeses, fruits, crackers, & bread)

Vienesse Apple Struedel (sp?) w/ vanilla sauce

Tiramisu w/ raspberry sauce

Peach Flambe

Strawberry Cheesecake

Chocolate Souffle w/ rum sauce

Crepes Suzette

Caribbean Rum Cake w/ vanilla sauce

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

Baked Alaska

Kahlua Creme Brulee

Cheesecake Sampler (included plain, choc chip, & raspberry)

 

Again, I am sure I am forgetting plenty-there were more soups, appetizers, entrees, and more desserts. No need to fret, plenty of (very tasty) variety for us veggies on HAL. :D

Hope this helps!

[icehatchling]

Thanks so much for posting this. My mouth is literally watering. I leave for the Zuiderdam tomorrow, and I don't anticipate going hungry. It all sounds GREAT.

[mailbroad]

moom2 (original poster and my mother) is now on the Oosterdam... hopefully she will post her food experiences when she returns!

[moom2]

Hi Brucemcdou, if you are still interested, so much later, I have to tell you that we never went on the cruise.{ 9/3/05} The day we were supposed to fly to London to get on the NCL Jewel I was in the hospital. A long story with a {so far} happy ending. We did however go on the HAL Oosterdam in April. The vegetarian food was really good. There was a seperate menu which we used sometimes, other times the vegetarian selection on the regular menu was fine. There were a few things that were outstanding such as the curry, but I forgot what the others were,

We are going again on NCL and the Jewel 8/27/06 cruising the Mediteranean. Am on a diet now in preperation for all the culinary excesses to come.

[frogfuzz]

NCL Majesty was horrible. I really ate a salad and cold baked potato a lot of nights veg food (& hubs regular for that matter) was awful

 

RCL food has been very good. Tablemates never knew I didn't eat meat. I loved it as it is uncomfortable having to explain and justify not eating meat. And loved loved loved the lunch create your own pasta station in the dining room.

 

The problems I always have is room service menu not having a selection when we want a snack and too lazy to go get food

 

My husband and I have a Jack Sprout/Wife thing, I eat no meat he eats no vegtables.

 

Thanks for the Holland menus

[mailbroad]

NCL Majesty was horrible. I really ate a salad and cold baked potato a lot of nights veg food (& hubs regular for that matter) was awful

 

This is good to know because we have been thinking about taking the majesty to Bermuda...however we are going on a E. Car. on HAL in April cruise so Bermuda and the bad food on the Majesty can wait!:D

[love2306]

so does carnival offer this special menu too? Anybody have good experiences? I know they put one choice on the menu but the idea of a complete veggie menu would be very exciting.

[Curt Jerome Wild]

so does carnival offer this special menu too? Anybody have good experiences? I know they put one choice on the menu but the idea of a complete veggie menu would be very exciting.

 

Jumping in...

Just for an example, here is an entire sample menu from Carnival, where I figured out everything that was vegetarian (including which soups didn't use chicken stock)...

Then needless to say, as soon as I figured this all out, they updated the menu! (sigh)...

But it will give you a lot of specific ideas and examples and it's still pretty similar;) ...

Dinner Menu - Day 1

Starters and Salads

Tropical Fruits Marinated with Lime Juice and a Touch of Tequila

Crema Di Funghi Selvatica

Gazpacho Andalouse

Mixed Garden and Field Greens

Hearts of Romaine Lettuce with Cherry Tomatoes

Main Courses

Ziti with Italian Sausage, Assorted Bell Peppers and Fresh Mushrooms (they’ll make this without the sausage)

Madras-Style Vegetable Curry

Desserts and Cheeses

Orange Cake

Guava Cheese Napoleon

Decadence of Chocolate

Black Forest Gateau

Ice Cream - Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry Butter Pecan

Sherbet - Orange, Pineapple, Lime

Cheeses - Port Salut, Brie, Gouda, Imported Swiss, Danish Bleu

Dinner Menu - Day 2

Starters and Salads

Fantasy of Tropical Fruit Berries

Ragout of Wild Mushrooms

Strawberry Bisque

Mixed Garden and Field Greens

Main Courses

Trennette Putanesca (you can ask for this pasta without anchovies)

Grilled Brochettes of Fresh Garden Vegetables

Desserts and Cheeses

Banana Gateau

Swedish Almond Chocolate Cake

Passion Fruit Indulgence

Cherries Jubilee

Ice Cream - Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry Butter Pecan

Sherbet - Orange, Pineapple, Lime

Cheeses - Port Salut, Brie, Gouda, Imported Swiss, Danish Bleu

Dinner Menu - Day 3

Starters and Salads

Tender Hearts of Tropical Palm and California Artichokes

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Mixed Garden and Field Greens

Hearts of Iceberg Lettuce

Main Courses

Penne Mariscos (ask for this without the shrimp/scallops)

Baked Herb Polenta

Desserts and Cheeses

Marbled Kahlua Cheesecake

Key Lime Pie

Chocolate Souffle

Ice Cream - Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry Butter Pecan

Sherbet - Orange, Pineapple, Lime

Cheeses - Port Salut, Brie, Gouda, Imported Swiss, Danish Bleu

Dinner Menu - Day 4

Starters and Salads

Grilled Baby Vegetables

Chilled Cream of Lyches

Mixed Garden and Field Greens

Hearts of California Artichokes, Vine-Ripened Tomatoes, Fennel Roots

Main Courses

Farfalle with Smoked Turkey Tenderloin and Green Asparagus Tips (obviously ask for this without turkey)

Black Bean and Vegetable Enchiladas

Desserts and Cheeses

Coconut Cake

Old Fashioned Apple Pie

Tiramisu

Chocolate Tres-Leches

Ice Cream - Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry Butter Pecan

Sherbet - Orange, Pineapple, Lime

Cheeses - Port Salut, Brie, Gouda, Imported Swiss, Danish Bleu

Dinner Menu - Day 5

Starters and Salads

Vine-Ripened Beefsteak Tomatoes and Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella

Southwestern-Style Egg Roll

Mixed Garden and Field Greens

Curly Endive and Thinly Sliced Cucumbers

Main Courses

Penne Tossed in a Tomato-Cream Sauce with Vodka and Caviar (you can ask for this without caviar)

Vegetarian Lasagna with Spinach, Mushrooms and Ricotta Cheese

Desserts and Cheeses

SC Lemon Cake

Strawberry Cheesecake

Chocolate Mousse

Hazelnut Creme Brulee

Ice Cream - Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry Butter Pecan

Sherbet - Orange, Pineapple, Lime

Cheeses - Port Salut, Brie, Gouda, Imported Swiss, Danish Bleu

Dinner Menu - Day 6

Starters and Salads

Freshly Grilled Portabella Mushroom and Hand-Picked Mesclun Lettuce

Mixed Garden and Field Greens

Main Courses

Penne Siciliana

Assorted Fresh Vegetable Princess

Desserts and Cheeses

Tropical Fruit Platter

Baked Alaska

Amaretto Cake

Dutch Apple Pie

Ice Cream - Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry Butter Pecan

Sherbet - Orange, Pineapple, Lime

Cheeses - Port Salut, Brie, Gouda, Imported Swiss, Danish Bleu

Dinner Menu - Day 7

Starters and Salads

Chilled Supreme of Fresh Fruit with Peach Schnapps

Mango Cream

Mixed Garden and Field Greens

Vine-Ripened Tomatoes and Cucumber Slices with Fresh Chives

Main Courses

Fettuccine Tossed in a Mushroom Cream

Zucchini and Eggplant Parmigiana

Desserts and Cheeses

Poached Williams Pear

Grand Marnier Souffle

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Cappuccino Pie

Ice Cream - Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry Butter Pecan

Sherbet - Orange, Pineapple, Lime

Cheeses - Port Salut, Brie, Gouda, Imported Swiss, Danish Bleu

 

Enjoy!

CJW

[love2306]

Yes I know of the normal options and such - actually I'm glad carnival changed their menu - seems like they kept some of the orignal veggie offerings and added more. The new menus are posted in the CArnival forum... But still nobody with an additional veggie only menu expirence at carnival?

[love2306]

I'm back from the Carnival Valor. Sorry to say Carnival does not offer an additional veggie menu. Very sad. I did not starve but their fresh fruit and steamed veggies were staples in my evening meal. Carnival changed the menu recently and took out some of the vegetarian options i had previously enjoyed. I ordered the veggie entree every night to try, some nights were better than others. Maybe it was was me but seemed they might've gotten a little too creative. Again I didnt starve and i wasnt afraid to "create" my own meal. The new alternative selections part of the menu was nice.

[chrissiecruiser]

I sailed on the Maasdam in May 2006. They bent over backwards to to please me. Beyond the call of duty.

 

Every evening the maitre d' was waiting, yes, waiting, for me at my table with the vegetarian menu in his hand. He asked me if there was anything that I wanted that was not on the menu, he would try to get the kitchen to cook up for me.

 

The food was delicious all week. The Lido was very tasty, without sacrificing anything....I was very impressed. Great selection, never ate the same thing twice.

[croozymooner]

My husband and I spent 11 nights on Celebrity for our honeymoon two years ago. Be sure to request the separate vegetarian menu as it won't always be offered but if you ask, they are happy to oblige. The dinner selections were wonderful--and there were always vegan options which were clearly marked, too. Although we are not vegan, we have family members who are who were always afraid to cruise and now they can!

 

Lunch in the main dining room was slow if you picked from the vegetarian menu so we generally ate at the lido or the grill.

 

I highly recommend Celebrity for the vegetarians and vegans. We are going on a Holland American cruise soon so I'll post when I get back!

[FoodieGirl_VeganBoy]

I remember looking through the boards before to find out about what options were specifically available for vegetarians, I was worried he'd be eating a lot of salads, pastas, and sauteed vegetables.

 

Now that we are back from our cruise on Grandeur of the Seas, I have to say that Royal Caribbean accomodated his vegetarian dietary need beyond our expectations.

 

Breakfast and Lunch always had options at the buffet and dining room. We aren't really breakfast eaters, but for lunch he enjoyed the one vegetable curry dish they seemed to always have at the Windjammer. If we had lunch at the dining room, there was always a vegetarian selection or two. Once we had the vegetarian burger, which turned out to be a homemade patty created from mashed potatoes and broccoli. Usually I make fun of his Morningstar burgers, but I found this burger delicious.

 

For dinner they always had a few vegetarian appetizers and one new entree to select from besides the pasta with marinara sauce. These varied a lot each night so he never found himself repeating anything. I took pictures of the menu displayed by the doors every day as proof that he could choose from

appetizers such as Melon and Mango drizzled with ginger syrup, Vidalia Onion Tart, Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho, Orange Carpaccio, Chilled Golden Pear soup, Vegetable Spring Roll, Fire Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, etc.

to entrees such as Grilled Mediterraneous Quesadillas, Eggplant Mozerella Towers, Vegetarian Chili, Vegetarian Bami Goreng (for Caribbean night), Risotto Primavera, Asian Fried Tofu in Red Curry, etc.

 

Where RCI went above and beyond though is that after the first night when we told our head waiter and waiter about requesting Indian Vegetarian meals, from the 2nd night they always had a new dish waiting for him. After the first Indian dish of simple vegetable curry (the same thing as in the Windjammer), I guess he passed the test because they started giving him more authentic Indian food which included fresh papadum every night (which I also stole from since they brought out a whole basket just for him) and a different curry every night, along with a broth and a little yogurt dish. Again, I took pictures many nights if you want to see.

 

A couple times he conversed with the head waiter and waiter (both Indian) with what the chef (also Indian) could make based on what he had eaten before and what he liked. He requested peas or spinach, and the next two nights he had both! They didn't have paneer and substituted tofu instead, but it was spicy, flavorful, everything tasted great!

 

Thus, even though we were beat and wanted to just get room service, even when we weren't hungry, we found ourselves at the dining room every night just to see what they had in store for him. I was relieved I never had to worry about whether he was enjoying his meals- usually dining out with him is such a pain, and it was really a true vacation to have that worry taken away for a week. Lots of range, lots of personalization to his taste, it was wonderful.

[para]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to post your vegetarian experience and menus. I am a vegetarian and I am cruising for the first time on Elation in May. I look forward to trying all the different veggies options available to me. This thread really helped me get an idea of what to expect food wise.:)

[sanjosebarbie]

I think cruising is great, because the chefs are so accommodating. I'm sure they get bored making the same old same old, because they seem to welcome the experience of creating something new. I eat fish now, but I used to be a vegan (still don't want to eat other meats or dairy or eggs), and every time I went out to a decent restaurant (basically, any restaurant with a real chef, as opposed to a chain restaurant where they just cook what they're told to), I always ended up with the best meal of anybody, and they would all just end up drooling over my fabulous looking dish. I would just tell the chef "I'm a vegan, I hate olives, but I like just about everything else...surprise me." You would not believe how awesome my food always looked. On a cruise, if you let them know in advance, they'll do the same thing. They don't advertise it on the cruiselines, but I can tell you that I never had a problem (I told the maitre d' my first night, and he told the chef). I did bring my own soy milk, but I was always able to get some when I asked for it.

 

I'm so sorry to read some of these posts about difficulty eating out as a vegetarian, and I feel lucky to live in California, if only for this reason (granted, it is difficult justifying my mortgage payments by saying that at least I have access to great restaurants:D). I can eat vegan at most of the restaurants I go to. At the others, i go for fish prepared without butter.

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

Just off the Westerdam, did b2b cruises to the Western & Eastern Caribbean. HAL said they change their menu every season, both the regular & Vegetarian, so the Vegetarian menu was completely different from last year, but I recognized many things on the regular menu from last year. However, the room service menu was exactly the same, minus the (veggie) pizza-they no longer offer pizza on the RS menu since the pizza station in the Lido is open from 11:30am-1am.

HAL once again went above and beyond our expectations. The food was excellent, the options & portions were plentiful, and the presentation was very good! Not to mention the staff was very friendly & accomodating! Twice they served us a full dinner in our room (once I wasn't feeling well-had to much sun, & the other we wanted to go to bed early for an early excursion the next day).

When the staff found out we like Indian food, we were told there was an Indian chef onboard and we could have him make us anything we wanted-we could suggest a dish or let him make what he wanted, which we took advantage of 5 times! 4 times he made us whatever he wanted - various curries, once we asked for Masala Chole. Every dish was fantastic, each time different - different spices w/ different levels of heat, different vegetables, one dish with tofu, the rest without. All with rice and sambal.

Every morning we had room service - usually eggbeaters, fruit, english muffin, juice. Lunch was always in the Lido, either veggie sushi, veggie pizza, or sandwiches from the deli. But the other options were there-salads, veggie stir fry, veggie tacos/burritos, veggie burgers from the grill, pasta, fruit, steamed veggies, bread, etc.

 

Here is a copy of the current Vegetarian Menu:

Appetizers

Vegetable Sushi (DH had this and liked it)

Terrine of Fresh Vegetables (I had this once and did not care for it - finely chopped veggies in jello :eek: )

Crispy Noodle Salad (we both had this several times and really liked it-crispy rice noodles with pea pods, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and sweet & sour dressing)

Melon Cocktail (did not have but is honeydew, cantaloupe, & watermelon)

Hot Appetizers

Timbale of Asparagus (DH had this once said it was good-was an asparagus mousse w/ a basil tomato sauce)

Vol-Au-Vent with Artichokes (we both had this several times, although everytime it was made with asparagus and not artichokes-it was very good!)

Soups

Vegetable Consomme (I had this once, it was very good - clear veggie broth with chopped mushrooms, carrots, onions, and broccoli)

Cream of Carrot & Ginger (did not try)

Celery & Stilton Soup (DH had this once or twice and said it was good)

Chilled Raspberry Soup (both of us had this at least twice-very good)

Entrees

Tempura Vegetables (DH had this once & split with me-very good, was mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and carrots, deep fried in batter)

Tofu Stroganoff (I had this once, very good, firm tofu with onions, mushrooms, garlic in a paprika sauce)

Artichoke Florentine (DH had this once, said it was a veggie version of eggs benedict-artichokes instead of english muffin)

Hodge Podge of Escarole (DH had this once, I tried it, we both liked it-mix of mashed potatoes, escarole, and fried tofu)

Eggplant in Chickpea Dough (DH had this once and didn't care for it-eggplant slices were really thick)

Struedel of Fresh Asparagus (I had this 3 times, one of my fave dishes-asparagus in mashed potatoes in filo dough, baked, served w/ veggies & boiled potatoes)

 

Other items we had off the regular menu:

Caribbean Fruit Medley

Watermelon Cocktail

Sailor's Fruit Cocktail in Curacao

Baked Brie

Chilled Apple Vichyssoise

Chilled Blueberry Soup

3 Berry Minestrone

Strawberry Bisque

Eggplant Manicotti

Creole Style Cheese Manicotti (we both liked this alot, had twice)

Mushroom Struedel

Broccoli Tempura

Veggie Cutlet w/ Chickpeas (this was our favorite dish, had twice!)

Farmer's Pot Pie

Tiramisu

Caribbean Rum Cake w/ Vanilla Sauce

Opera Cake

Hot Fudge Chocolate Sundae

No Sugar Added Black Forrest Cake

Coconut Blanc Manger

Dark Chocolate Avalanche Cake

Cappuccino Cheesecake

Vanilla Creme Brule

Baked Alaska

 

Other Vegetarian items on the regular menu, we did not try:

Mango Gazpacho

Mushroom Ravioli

Picatta of Vegetables

Leek & Spinach Flan

Apple Tart

Strawberry Cheesecake

[rodneyandtina]

We have been on five cruises and for us HAL (Maasdam) had the best vegetarian food and the best service in the dining room. The vegetarian selections were quite delicious and creative. I remember enjoying every single meal (I think we went to dinner every night).

 

Although I don't remember all of the details now, I just remember that HAL wow'd me with their food while the remaining cruise lines left me disappointed. A couple of things I should mention is that the Maasdam was our first cruise experience (2005) and we were new to vegetarianism at that time. It's possible that I've become more picky about my veg*n food and/or used to cruising and thus more critical.

 

You can see the lines we've been on in our signature. We also just finished a cruise on the Caribbean Princess this week. Our experience with dining there was terrible. We actually ended up in a fight with a head waiter and we eventually stopped going to the dining room altogether.