Vegetarian Specialty dining

[Shadabu]

No worries, many of us are cute on cruise critic...:evilsmile:

 

 

 

I appreciate your opinion. & I'm happy to see offerings beyond risotto & spaghetti with red sauce.

 

 

 

I, too, appreciate the opinions. My DD biggest concern was the lack of protein. I am hoping she finds the options, at the very least, more than tolerable. She is 16 and celebrating her 4th year vegetarian. She is excited about getting dressed up for the MDR and having a fancier dinner than at home. I want her dinner to be a nice experience like our. Fingers crossed.

 

 

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[OlsSalt]

Thank you for your knowledgeable trip thought all the special diet possibilities HAL makes available, just working within their regular menu offerings. I have heard the same thing about gluten-free requests - the items get packaged off site, and then re-heated once onboard in order to ensure its strict preparation purity. Makes sense. But that does put it down into the level of special diet airline food quality.

[dag144]

after 33 HAL cruises I

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After 33 HAL cruises I still try the vegetarian cruises. Best advice that I have received for the vegi dishes was "don't order anything that comes in a bowl)! Good advice. I often order the vegetarian entrees and a strange lot they often are. However, I don't go on HAL for the food in the main DR. I like a few cocktails and everything tastes the same. Go with a good attitude and you will love our cruise!

[shellsrus]

i have cruised as a vegetarian many times on HAL. from the special vegetarian menu I really enjoy the pasta fagioli, the spring rolls. and the lentil garbanzo salad. I sometimes mix these in with the regular menu vegetarian offering. At Canaleto I order the papardalle without the shrimp. Some nights i request a plate of vegetables that are served with the meat offerings.

[Shadabu]

Does your opinion hold for the appetizers?

 

 

 

I'll give several of them a try (entrees included) in a couple weeks when I am in Alaska. I eat poofed microwave food already. :o)

 

 

 

Hey TheCalicoCat,

 

I was looking back at previous posts and saw that you should be back from your Alaskan cruise by now. How was the vegetarian menu and food?

[draftxhorselover]

I noticed that several carnivore’s (bless their hearts) have weighed in on this subject and thought you all might like to hear from a vegetarian who spent 50 days on the Maasdam.

 

Here goes:

 

(don’t get hung up on Part I, it is all better in Part II)

 

Part I: the vegetarian menu

 

It looks fabulous; glossy, flowery prose and the menu is gigantic, over the top, impressive. About as authentic as your non-favorite politician! Obviously created by a knowledgeable chef but implemented by the chief plumber. Lets try and be nice, OK, I’ll try: The entrees taste like they were cooked in Seattle, dehydrated, rehydrated and ‘poofed’ in a microwave 3,000 miles away. Hey, it all looks good on paper. Now for the real world….

 

Part II: great vegetarian options on the regular menu

 

HAL salads are really good. Take advantage of them as entrée size portions on nights that you absolutely can not take single bite of another curryfied, glorified, mesmerized sounding vegetarian special of the day. HAL salad’s, super sized, along with wholesome whole grain rolls make a very satisfying main course.

 

The fruit soups although sweet are delicious.

 

Your waiter can preview each night the next days menu allowing you to order something special, such as a steamed vegetable plate for tomorrow. Additionally the dining room captain told me that anything served in the Lido nighttime was available even if not on the menu. I once took them up on that re a superb green sauced pasta which I wished I had remembered the name of. Likely pesto based.

 

The Dive In has a grilled mushroom burger that is quite good, but the mushroom disappears on the large bun. No problem, order a double minus the excessive cheese. Really good but the 2 mushrooms placed together have a tendency to slip, slide away. Simple cross slice the mushrooms into strips and reassemble. Don’t forget the fries; yummy.

 

I am told ships with remodeled Lideo buffets have a vegetarian pizza available and can be customized. A huge improvement!

 

Pinnacle Grill: the side vegetables are far superior to those in the main dining room. I eat here as often as my carnivore friend wishes, never tiring of their vegetables served as a vegetable plate entree. OMG, the whipped potatoes are the absolute best. Now I see that the Eggplant Parm. includes creamy polenta. I can hardly wait. Can anyone report on the Eggplant?

 

Canaletto: Their salads are all very good. I have enjoyed the Spaghetti Pomodoro often but once on the Zuiderman it tasted like fresh from a tin can. Maybe they ran out of the real McCoy. Oh yes, the Canaletto house red, Montepulciano D’Abbruzzoi (yes, wine is vegetarian!) is a good value. Speaking of wine, The Spellbound Cabernet on the Admiral’s wine package was so popular on my cruise that the cellar was emptied 3 times. To HAL’s credit they substituted even better wine at same cost. Another reason to love HAL!

 

You won’t have the least problem eating vegetarian, unless you try and stay on the special Vegetarian Menu (shudder).

 

I am resailing that 50 day cruise this Oct. and will sweetly (hopefully) decline that ***** vegetarian menu brought anywhere near my table.

 

bon appetit!

　

 

 

WOW.. Very helpful and thanks!!