ScottyCruise Posted February 11, 2018 #1 Share Posted February 11, 2018 I’m on the Oasis of the Seas this Sunday 18/2/18 and it’s my first cruise. I know right. I’m wondering how the catering is and has been for those with specific dietary needs. TIA Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepings5 Posted February 11, 2018 #2 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Not sure about Vegan but my teenage daughter is Gluten free and they have been amazing at accommodating her. She gets made to order food at windjammers and everything. We tell them upon arrival and they get the chef to talk to us. She always enjoys the variety available to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewSalt Posted February 11, 2018 #3 Share Posted February 11, 2018 We cruise with our DD and her family, which includes our DGS, who has multiple severe food-allergies. AAMF, his allergies are the reason we cruise. The dining services personnel are very knowledgeable, accommodating, and pleasant. Talk to the maitre d' and your captain. There are always vegan options available, but your waiter will be able to steer you to your best options. I was impressed one day in the windjammer when a passenger asked a waiter if some food item contained a certain ingredient. He said it did not but warned her that there was always a possibility of cross contamination with the serving utensils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepings5 Posted February 11, 2018 #4 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Buffets are not good for any kind of allergy because of cross contamination. We tend to stay away from them as the last thing we need on vacation is a sick child. But as i said they will make special items for allergy people at windjammer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted February 11, 2018 #5 Share Posted February 11, 2018 I’m on the Oasis of the Seas this Sunday 18/2/18 and it’s my first cruise. I know right. I’m wondering how the catering is and has been for those with specific dietary needs. TIA You should notify the cruise line of your dietary requirements: special_needs@rccl.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxoocruiser Posted February 11, 2018 #6 Share Posted February 11, 2018 I’m on the Oasis of the Seas this Sunday 18/2/18 and it’s my first cruise. I know right. I’m wondering how the catering is and has been for those with specific dietary needs. TIA Sent from my iPhone using Forums The Main Dining has some items marked with a V but not certain if that means, Vegetarian or Vegan. If you like Indian food you can ask the Matre D to see that menu. Typically the first evening in the dining trying to request special dietary meals can be difficult but the staff will work with you. Going forward the Matre D will come to you each evening to go over the vegan items available and you'll order at that time for the next day Suggest after boarding you go to the dining room to speak to the Matre D. Was note your dietary needs noted in your booking as well as complete RCCL's online special needs form ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerif Posted February 12, 2018 #7 Share Posted February 12, 2018 There have been tons of threads on this subject. Just do a search under vegans. One problem is that the staff may understand vegetarian but not necessarily vegan. You will need to be somewhat proactive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffy116 Posted February 12, 2018 #8 Share Posted February 12, 2018 We were seated in the MDR next to a couple who were vegan. They were accommodated with dishes and each evening they were consulted on their preferences for the next night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkhouse Posted February 12, 2018 #9 Share Posted February 12, 2018 We were seated in the MDR next to a couple who were vegan. They were accommodated with dishes and each evening they were consulted on their preferences for the next night. We had a vegan in our table and they came to them each evening to tell them what options they had. But make sure you get the same table/waiter every night and let them know when you get there the first night exactly what you require. They ate a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables from the WJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottyCruise Posted February 12, 2018 Author #10 Share Posted February 12, 2018 We had a vegan in our table and they came to them each evening to tell them what options they had. But make sure you get the same table/waiter every night and let them know when you get there the first night exactly what you require. They ate a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables from the WJ. Thanks everyone. I’ll be sure to follow your advice. What’s WJ stand for? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accio_7 Posted February 12, 2018 #11 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Thanks everyone. I’ll be sure to follow your advice. What’s WJ stand for? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Windjammer, it’s the buffet restaurant onboard. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pellaz Posted February 12, 2018 #12 Share Posted February 12, 2018 On my recent cruise on the Indy, I was surprised to see that they had repurposed the "Jade" counter in the Windjammer to "Vegan Corner" -- with a temporary sign. It looked as if the entire counter contained vegan items. However, I think that was done just for the full-ship music charter I was on, as a presumably one-time thing. There was also a less temporary-looking Gluten-Free "island" in the Windjammer. THAT sign appeared to match the other permanent signage in the WJ and so it was probably not added solely for the music charter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrojanUSC Posted February 12, 2018 #13 Share Posted February 12, 2018 My experience, as others have alluded to, they are very good with allergies. However, with dietary preferences, not as much. You are dealing with people from all over the world and in many of their cultures, the concept of vegetarianism, and especially veganism, is completely foreign to them. Many have never even heard of the concept until their ship life. So you may need to explain your specific needs to them. For example, my friend is a vegetarian. They brought him a squash soup at Park 150, only later did we realize it was made with chicken stock. The crew never realized the error as they assumed since there was no actual meat it would be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2150 Posted February 12, 2018 #14 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Can someone tell me where I can find the Maitre D to speak with? Are they just at the dining room entrance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted February 12, 2018 #15 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Can someone tell me where I can find the Maitre D to speak with? Are they just at the dining room entrance? I would try there first, and if they are not there, ask whoever is there to call them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CatLadyFemme Posted February 13, 2018 #16 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I am vegetarian and GF, but don't eat eggs. I have found, as others have said, that people often don't understand what certain dietary needs mean. I made a little quarter sheet of paper with items I did not eat in red (in my case, meat, fish, gelatin, eggs, rye, wheat, barley, etc.) and suggestions of items I CAN eat in green (tofu! veggies! fruit! rice! corn! soy! etc). My partner made fun of me, but our waiter, assistant waiter, and head waiter each took one and referred to it each night to make sure my food was safe. There also may be some odd understanding. My head waiter kept offering me "tofu cheese" and I explained it was ok, I ate regular cheese. However, I kept asking for regular tofu, and they told me they only had tofu cheese. Then one night, the woman at the table next to us was vegan, and I saw that she had cubes of tofu stir fried with veggies. I pointed at it, and asked if I could have that, and my waiter said "that? That's tofu cheese!" He was Moldovan and his language barrier meant he assumed that cube tofu was like cubes of cheese made out of tofu. In hindsight, very funny, but at the time, I couldn't figure out why they kept offering me veggies with tofu cheese. So be creative as need be, but you will definitely be able to eat no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkieplug24 Posted February 13, 2018 #17 Share Posted February 13, 2018 they had a small vegan section in the buffet on the navigator on my last RCI cruise but be careful as someone had laid it out incorrectly the vegan and the vegetarian where right next to each other and on two occasions i saw quorn items in the vegan section. Quorn contains dairy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BekkaW Posted February 13, 2018 #18 Share Posted February 13, 2018 The Main Dining has some items marked with a V but not certain if that means, Vegetarian or Vegan. If you like Indian food you can ask the Matre D to see that menu. Typically the first evening in the dining trying to request special dietary meals can be difficult but the staff will work with you. Going forward the Matre D will come to you each evening to go over the vegan items available and you'll order at that time for the next day Suggest after boarding you go to the dining room to speak to the Matre D. Was note your dietary needs noted in your booking as well as complete RCCL's online special needs form ? The V is vegetarian, there is often dairy in these dishes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
num1crewsfam Posted February 13, 2018 #19 Share Posted February 13, 2018 From my own personal experience, a vegan diet is doable for sure, just not necessarily easy. Before our cruise we filled out the special needs dietary form and received an email back from Royal saying they were unable to support a vegan diet, but could make their vegetarian options and vegan as possible (whatever that means). We boarded the ship and went to the dinning room to speak to anyone that might help us. We were told to speak to our head waiter that evening. No one really understood what we were asking for at first. We were shown the next nights menu after dinner so we could choose our meal and they could remove dairy and meat as required. Our head waiter, Dan, tried so hard to make sure we had at least one option. On the second night he presented us with a small vegan menu. There were 4-5 choices and we found them all to be great. Essentially, they were all curries that were probably made for the crew and they brought us bowls of them. We loved them! Our assistant waiter thought it was “disgusting” we were eating food made for “them”. (Her words). The naan and roti were wonderful. Found out the last sea day they actually have veggie burgers in WJ, you just had to ask (would have been nice to know about 9 days earlier, but oh well). It seems Royal will work with you if it’s allergy related, not so much (in my experience) if they view it as a “choice”. Good luck! With some perseverance, I’m sure you will be well fed. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd_at_sea Posted February 13, 2018 #20 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I've looked at the menus online and it seems like almost none of the desserts are listed as vegetarian. Do they not list it if it contains eggs? I've been trying to figure this out for the last 2 weeks. The chilled fruit soups are never listed as vegetarian too which I thought was odd as I can't imagine it had meat broth in it. For example, the banana rum soup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
num1crewsfam Posted February 13, 2018 #21 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Most, of not all, the fruit soups contain dairy. Even though technically that still makes them vegetarian, that may be why? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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