Vegetarian review with photos: Crown Princess (Feb 5-9 2016)

[Sattvika]

I'm a lacto-vegetarian (i.e. no meat or eggs but dairy okay) with some additional dietary restrictions. I did this short cruise to see if I could be accommodated. Bottom line: I think you could probably eat decently regardless of what your restrictions are, but the variety of what you're offered probably depends on who's looking after you and how enthusiastic they are to help you.

 

I was in traditional dining on the Crown Princess (LA, San Diego, Ensenada) February 5-9, 2016. Prior to the cruise I had entered my dietary request in the Cruise Personalizer and called Princess to confirm. I got their standard email about the menu items marked 'V' being vegetarian and to ask a Head Waiter or maitre d' about specific ingredients. I tried to find out whether items marked 'V' could contain eggs but received no reply. Looking at the menu on board 'V' items can clearly contain egg (and dairy), so to Princess 'V' = LACTO-OVO-VEGETARIAN.

 

The first day on board I received a note in my room reminding me to discuss my dietary request with a head waiter or the maitre d'. At dinner I gave this note to my waiter, who called the head waiter to take down my request. As many others have reported, the head waiter simply brought me the next day's menu each night so I could pre-order with slight modifications to ingredients if necessary. Since we did not have much time the first night, he had the kitchen prepare me this dish of sautéed vegetables and tofu:

 

 

For the next night, I ordered pad thai without egg:

 

 

The head waiter came to me the third night and told me the dish I had ordered suddenly couldn't be prepared, so they gave me the sautéed vegetables and tofu from the first night again. For the final night I ordered deep-fried battered eggplant with rice and some kind of spiced mango:

 

 

Each night there was also a cold soup served in a glass that always looked something like this:

 

 

Fruit was usually the only appetizer I could have, but one night there was veggie sushi that was actually really good:

 

 

The desserts were all "vegetarian", but this meant they could have eggs in them. The only item that definitely did not contain eggs each night was the fruit sorbet, which I didn't really like. One night I asked the head waiter if any of the other items might be eggless, and instead of checking for me, he simply said, "99% of the desserts have egg." What about the ice cream? "The recipe for ice cream generally calls for egg." He couldn't be bothered to check.

 

I also ate in the main dining room the one sea-day it was open for lunch. The waitress that day was decidedly more helpful than the head waiter I had at dinner. I ate a stuffed yellow pepper:

 

 

There was a nice vegetarian sandwich and Moroccan crock-pot available from room service, and the room service breakfast was simple but good. I wish my head waiter had been more enthusiastic about helping me. I have heard of people getting special dishes not on the menu in order to fit their requests. However I still enjoyed all the food I was offered and would consider another cruise in the future.

[dsrdsrdsr]

I think for Princess, V means it doesn't have dead animals in it. To have a labelling system that covers all different subsections of vegetarians, those who eat eggs but won't have milk, those who will have milk but not eggs, those who will have free range eggs but not battery, those who will eat fish but still claim to be vegetarian, vegans, fruitarians, etc etc etc - not practical.

 

Did the system of ordering the day before, not work for puddings?

[Sattvika]

I think for Princess, V means it doesn't have dead animals in it. To have a labelling system that covers all different subsections of vegetarians, those who eat eggs but won't have milk, those who will have milk but not eggs, those who will have free range eggs but not battery, those who will eat fish but still claim to be vegetarian, vegans, fruitarians, etc etc etc - not practical.

 

Did the system of ordering the day before, not work for puddings?

 

Yeah for sure. I just would have appreciated a reply to my email requesting clarification on the definition of the 'V'.

 

I think it could have worked for anything if I had a head waiter that was a little more interested in increasing my options, but the one I had didn't seem to be. There was an eggless tapioca pudding one night:

 

 

(The forum wouldn't let me include more than 6 pictures in one post so I left this one out.)

[GUT2407]

My wife is Vegan (will settle for Vegetarian if she has to) and has only once even met with the Head Waiter, she has never had any issue getting something to eat.

 

But maybe she isn't too picky, as she is happy with just a big plate of vegetables maybe with some sauce.

 

Never had a problem with desert either.

[shredie]

Those veggies with tofu look pretty good. :) Where are Justin and his friend (name is gone from brain) who eat vegan on Princess? They have some great advice.

[Keith1010]

Great writeup and enjoyed the photos.

 

Keith

[victory2020]

I think we were sitting across from you in the Botticelli. I did notice a lot of things on this cruise were a little sub par. I'm sure if you go on Princess again you will find the head waiter a little more helpful.

[Sattvika]

I think we were sitting across from you in the Botticelli. I did notice a lot of things on this cruise were a little sub par. I'm sure if you go on Princess again you will find the head waiter a little more helpful.

 

That's hilarious! Were you the lady whose roll rolled off the table the first night? :D

 

I think you're probably right. I did enjoy the food I got, but I think it could have been better if the waiter was more enthusiastic. I am thinking of trying again on Princess.

[CoffeHound]

I think for Princess, V means it doesn't have dead animals in it. To have a labelling system that covers all different subsections of vegetarians, those who eat eggs but won't have milk, those who will have milk but not eggs, those who will have free range eggs but not battery, those who will eat fish but still claim to be vegetarian, vegans, fruitarians, etc etc etc - not practical.

 

Did the system of ordering the day before, not work for puddings?

 

I honestly think it would be possible for all cruise lines including Princess to do a better job without much trouble. Celebrity already marks items as gluten free if they are with a small symbol and then has another small symbol for vegetarian. If the chefs are following standard recipes, it shouldn't be that big of a deal to add another symbol for Vegan.

 

At restaurants in my area the symbols are often placed next to menu items in parenthesis if the item is not normally gluten free or vegetarian or vegan but can be made so on request.

 

I totally agree with your point that it is impossible to cover all contingencies, and having a severe food allergy myself know that for some people relying on the symbols is not advisable for everyone, but as a Ovo-lacto vegetarian for 20+ years with strong vegan leanings, a little more information, especially at the buffet would make things a lot easier for everyone.

 

Also, while I do feel that the system of pre-ordering does work, you really are at the mercy of the staff you are working with. I have experienced some super successful cruises on Celebrity food wise (my most travelled line) and some not so great. I have now had the same experience on Princess. Although I will point out things have gone better on the longer cruises than the short three day tester cruise we took (must be a vegetarian thing :)).

 

To the OP, know that (except for the Indian food on the buffet) I think the vegetarian food on Princess is as good as or better than on Celebrity. My only real criticism thus far is that the default cheese seems to be Swiss cheese which I do not like. Several nights on our last cruise the vegetarian entrée was made with Swiss cheese so it was vegetables, rice and tofu for me!

[victory2020]

That's hilarious! Were you the lady whose roll rolled off the table the first night? :D

 

I think you're probably right. I did enjoy the food I got, but I think it could have been better if the waiter was more enthusiastic. I am thinking of trying again on Princess.

 

Yes, that was me! I'm falling off my chair laughing!!

Of my 16 Princess cruises this was the most lackluster on dining among other things. The 7 day Pacific coastal up to San Francisco is a great cruise to try & they have a good promo with onboard credit going on now.

[TracieABD]

Thanks for all of the info and photos.

 

I was a lacto-ovo veg for years and years, and when the food is well prepared, I typically default to vegetarian selections. I have found Princess to do really well with this.

 

Of course, if you do not eat meat, then you have to miss out on the fabulous twice baked goat cheese souffle... tragic!

[vjmatty]

Thank you so much for posting this thread..... I stopped eating meat about two years ago and haven't been on a mainstream cruise since that time, so I had no idea Princess even served tofu dishes. From the pictures it looks like it was somewhat well prepared instead of just cutting and throwing it into any old dish. Was the consistency ok and did it seem like they knew what they were doing with it?

 

My bigger issue when it comes to vegetarian dining is normally with the chefs and not the waitstaff. It's too bad about the headwaiter's lack of enthusiasm in your case but if you have someone in the kitchen doing their best I find that to be helpful. The restaurant industry, at least in the US and especially chain restaurants like Olive Garden, tends to treat vegetarians the same way that the fashion industry treats plus sized women.... they don't care, so they don't try. They figure that if you aren't eating meat you probably don't care how your food tastes, so most of it is bland, repetitive and unimaginative. Even worse, sometimes you can't even order a pasta dish without the chicken or shrimp because they buy everything already made from Sysco and just reheat at the restaurant.

 

Again I appreciate your posting, I am sailing on Grand in April and though I do eat eggs and dairy I am a little concerned about food choices.

[Sattvika]

Yes, that was me! I'm falling off my chair laughing!!

Of my 16 Princess cruises this was the most lackluster on dining among other things. The 7 day Pacific coastal up to San Francisco is a great cruise to try & they have a good promo with onboard credit going on now.

 

That's amazing! Thanks for your suggestions. Too bad we never talked on the cruise, you seem to be an experienced cruiser from whom I probably could have learned a lot.

[Sattvika]

I had no idea Princess even served tofu dishes. From the pictures it looks like it was somewhat well prepared instead of just cutting and throwing it into any old dish. Was the consistency ok and did it seem like they knew what they were doing with it?

 

I'm glad you found the thread useful. When you tell Princess you're vegetarian, they send you a standard email which states, "Tofu, egg-free pasta and vegetarian burgers are available onboard and can be prepared in a variety of styles." The tofu I ate was actually really good. It was not seasoned much, just fried in a good amount of oil, and it was crispy and tasted fresh. I actually ordered it again the second night because the portion of the pad thai was a bit small for me, and ended up getting it again the third night because they weren't able to make what I ordered. So while I enjoyed it, three nights in a row was a little much.

 

My bigger issue when it comes to vegetarian dining is normally with the chefs and not the waitstaff. It's too bad about the headwaiter's lack of enthusiasm in your case but if you have someone in the kitchen doing their best I find that to be helpful. Again I appreciate your posting, I am sailing on Grand in April and though I do eat eggs and dairy I am a little concerned about food choices.

 

I've heard that there are a lot of Indian chefs on cruise ships, who are able to make vegetarian Indian dishes easily (and may even be vegetarian themselves). I wasn't offered anything like this even though I suggested it to the head waiter. The waiter didn't seem put off or inconvenienced by my requests so I don't know whether my real problem was the kitchen. The only person who made a comment on my being vegetarian was a guy at a shared lunch table who remarked, "I'd be vegetarian too, but I figure if God intended us to be vegetarian, He would have made animals out of vegetables." :rolleyes: But he seemed like one of those people who feels he has to say something about everything...

 

I am sailing on Grand in April and though I do eat eggs and dairy I am a little concerned about food choices.

 

In any case, I think my major obstacle was not eating eggs. So since you eat eggs you will have NO problem at all. Best of all, you'll be able to enjoy all of the yummy desserts at dinner as well as the constant stream of cookies and treats at the international cafe all day, as well as the desserts available from room service 24-hours. I would not be concerned at all, you're going to have a blast!

[vjmatty]

I'm glad you found the thread useful. When you tell Princess you're vegetarian, they send you a standard email which states, "Tofu, egg-free pasta and vegetarian burgers are available onboard and can be prepared in a variety of styles." The tofu I ate was actually really good. It was not seasoned much, just fried in a good amount of oil, and it was crispy and tasted fresh. I actually ordered it again the second night because the portion of the pad thai was a bit small for me, and ended up getting it again the third night because they weren't able to make what I ordered. So while I enjoyed it, three nights in a row was a little much.

 

 

 

I've heard that there are a lot of Indian chefs on cruise ships, who are able to make vegetarian Indian dishes easily (and may even be vegetarian themselves). I wasn't offered anything like this even though I suggested it to the head waiter. The waiter didn't seem put off or inconvenienced by my requests so I don't know whether my real problem was the kitchen. The only person who made a comment on my being vegetarian was a guy at a shared lunch table who remarked, "I'd be vegetarian too, but I figure if God intended us to be vegetarian, He would have made animals out of vegetables." :rolleyes: But he seemed like one of those people who feels he has to say something about everything...

 

 

 

In any case, I think my major obstacle was not eating eggs. So since you eat eggs you will have NO problem at all. Best of all, you'll be able to enjoy all of the yummy desserts at dinner as well as the constant stream of cookies and treats at the international cafe all day, as well as the desserts available from room service 24-hours. I would not be concerned at all, you're going to have a blast!

 

Thanks again! I forgot to ask you in my last post, from what I recall on Princess they always had fettucini alfredo on their every-night menu. Was that not an option for you? I find that is sometimes a choice for me in restaurants though only as a last resort because I really hate to eat anything that heavy.

[Sattvika]

Thanks again! I forgot to ask you in my last post, from what I recall on Princess they always had fettucini alfredo on their every-night menu. Was that not an option for you? I find that is sometimes a choice for me in restaurants though only as a last resort because I really hate to eat anything that heavy.

 

I asked about this the first night. The conversation with the head waiter went something like this:

 

"No that has eggs, you won't be able to have that."

 

"What has eggs? The pasta or the sauce? I was told you have eggless pasta onboard."

 

"No it can't be made without eggs."

 

"Oh okay, I was just thinking if it was just the pasta--"

 

"No, not possible."

 

He wasn't unfriendly about it, just didn't seem willing to try.

[vjmatty]

Wow that must have been frustrating.... i'd like to say I would have tried to change dining rooms or sections within, but I know I'm the type to avoid conflict especially on vacation so I would have dealt with the limited options as well. Even though I don't avoid eggs I do find that a lot of things have gelatin, everything from vitamins to yogurt dip can' contain it as an ingredient, so it can be stressful and time consuming to even go shopping.

[Clarea]

Enjoyed the review, thanks!

[veggie59]

I feel your pain.... I am a long time "veggie". Cruising is always an experience for me for sure. I had been still consuming dairy on my last Princess cruise 5 years ago and still had many issues. I no longer consume dairy and am now a vegan. We have a 10 day cruise coming up and i think i will be eating lots of salad...unless they run out of iceberg lettuce like the last Princess cruise.

 

Cruisers beware as the information between the chefs and waitstaff is not always correct. I had been told some desserts contained no egg and dairy to later find out that info was not correct. What about people with allergies? One night I was ordering a black bean soup that was marked vegetarian. I asked it it had chicken or beef stock or other animal ingredients in it. I was told it was okay for me to consume. I insisted that the waiter double check. He came back and said it was fine for me. A few minutes later another waiter came out and said that another chef said it had chicken stock in it. After a conversation with the head waiter I was told there had been a change to the recipe and that the menu had not been changed. What? You just can't do that.

 

So....I always email ahead of time and get the standard..."talk to the head waiter onboard". I replied back about the availability of iceberg lettuce for salad and non dairy milk at the coffee bar. The reply said they can't guarantee food items and that soy milk would be available in the dining room and room service per request. I don't drink soy milk but do like almond or coconut milk...soy if I have too...in my iced coffee. So...I guess the coffee bar is out?? :(

 

One perk....I will most likely loose weight on the cruise like i did last year on a NCL cruise lol. I am glad there is usally plenty of fruit onboard..... Now if they only had a made to order juice bar for my green juice.... :)

[victory2020]

That's amazing! Thanks for your suggestions. Too bad we never talked on the cruise, you seem to be an experienced cruiser from whom I probably could have learned a lot.

 

Yes, too bad we didn't speak. I was interested in your special items - some looked very good.

Too bad you got a head waiter who seems to have not put in much effort. He was probably near the end of his contract & burned out.

[h-sar]

On each of our 9 Princess cruises, we have requested Indian vegetarian at least two or three times per cruise. This has been a quick discussion with the head waiter the night before. In fact, this past new years, my husband, who does not eat meat on Sundays, asked the head waiter if they happened to have any Indian vegetarian already prepared that night, which was the first night of our cruise, and they did! On the Regal, we were not able to specify which dishes we wanted, but got whatever the chef decided to make for everybody who wanted Ind. veg that night. It was always amazing. The MDR Indian food is always much better then the Indian food in the buffet and Indian vegetarian will be egg free. It is too bad it was not offered to you, but on the other hand, it might not even be a cuisine you like :).

 

For those of you who might be leery of ordering Indian vegetarian for fear of putting the kitchen to extra work, please know that they make it every night as a number of guests request it. This, according to a conversation with one of the Indian chefs who came out last year to see how our Indian meal was being enjoyed by our table.

Edited February 22, 2016 by h-sar

[Sattvika]

Wow, if I had known Indian vegetarian was an option, I definitely would have tried to ask for it. I had read about Indian vegetarian offered on Royal Caribbean, but didn't know it was available on Princess. Thanks so much for this information, I will definitely ask about it next time!

[shredie]

Wow, if I had known Indian vegetarian was an option, I definitely would have tried to ask for it. I had read about Indian vegetarian offered on Royal Caribbean, but didn't know it was available on Princess. Thanks so much for this information, I will definitely ask about it next time!

 

Yes, some of it is very good. There are often crew members on the ships who get it for their regular mess. Last month on the Crown, there was an Indian lunch in Cafe Caribe, and although some of it wasn't vegetarian, it was all delicious.

[suzieb25]

The only time I've experienced difficulty finding vegetarian choices was my last short coastal on the Crown in January. My friends were having sushi in Vines (the only thing available), so I went over to the I/C where I was sure I would find something and join them. On that day, there was no veg sandwich at all and the only option was the beet salad again which is great but not every day, so I had to go up to the buffet Yes, there is one veg entree on the menu in the dining room but it really would be nice to have choices like everyone else. Princess has some fantastic pesto pastas which are never on the menu on the short cruises anymore. My favorite is the Linguine Al Pesto All Moda and you can order it as an appetizer. On a 5-day cruise on the Star in November, we had a fantastic attentive maitre 'd (Marius from Romania). When I mentioned my favorite pasta was not on the menu, on the last night he surprised me with Penne Alla Arrabbiata, another pesto dish and also gave me the recipe. It would be helpful if they could post some little signs in the buffet above the entrees as to what the ingredients are. Cafe Caribe was a big disappointment as far as the Mexican food options. One day there was some sort of a bean casserole on the menu in the dining room. Maybe it was better than it sounded but it did not appeal to me, has anyone tried it?

[suzieb25]

I did order the Indian vegetarian once on the Golden. Although it was very good, they brought it in several massive bowls, more like serving bowls, all plopped in front of me. I was kind of embarrassed by the huge feast and never asked for it again!