kathyemma Posted May 24, 2018 #1 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Does HAL have an amazing vegetarian or vegan meal? If so, what is it? We sail on the Westerdam Sunday. TIA Kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Roz Posted May 24, 2018 #2 Share Posted May 24, 2018 I've had good vegetarian food on HAL, but I wouldn't call it amazing. Then again, I'm not a vegetarian. Try the mushroom stuffed ravioli. Roz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodjs Posted May 24, 2018 #3 Share Posted May 24, 2018 The chilli relleno is a favorite of ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellieanne Posted May 24, 2018 #4 Share Posted May 24, 2018 I know people there rave about the portobello burger at the Dive In, but I don't like it. I don't like portobello mushrooms and I wish they would have kept the veggie patty option they had pre-Dive In. But other than that, I find HAL does a great job with he daily vegetarian options in the Main Dining Room, and in the Lido though in the Lido, especially at the omelette and pasta stations, there is cross-contamination as they do not necessary reserve a pan or prep-bowl for vegetarians-only. So if you are bothered by cross-contamination, the Lido is probably not the best option for you. (On one of my cruises, a vegetarian was quite vocal in her objections to cross-contamination at the pasta/omelette stations - every day for the 11 days she complained about it, and while I understand her frustration, it really got old and uncomfortable to hear the complaints every day.) If you tell HAL before the cruise that you are a vegetarian, the waiters will bring you a vegetarian menu for the next evening after your meal each night. My vegetarian husband did that one his first cruise, and got not only the standard HAL vegetarian menu, but also a menu of the Indonesian vegetarian options for the next day. For his second cruise, may husband just went with the vegetarian options on the regular menu, as he didn't really like pre-ordering and locking in his choice 24 hours in advance. And there are plenty of options on the regular menu. Also, some of the Main Dining Room dishes can be made vegetarian -- especially the pastas and entree salads of the day, you just have to ask your waiter, they are more than happy to help and even offer suggestions as to the best options. I agree the chilies rellenos are great, though they can vary. On our last cruise 4 of the 6 diners ordered the chilies rellenos for dinner and 2 were mild chillies while 2 were much hotter chillies, and you couldn't tell until you cut into them. Really, my experience has been that there are plenty of good vegetarian options in both the Main Dining Room and the Lido. Sometimes the choices can rely too heavily on mushrooms as the "protein" but that's just my opinion and my dislike of portobello mushrooms. You absolutely will not go hungry trying to maintain a vegetarian diet on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV8rix Posted May 25, 2018 #5 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Well, TRUE vegan can be a problem on HAL. Depends upon your strictness. I'm personally a carnivore but have been taking notice of the veg offerings because a strict vegan friend of mine is contemplating a cruise. The vegetarian offerings on the menus are identified by a little leaf icon beside them. However.....you'll find that very many of them incorporate cheese, egg or other dairy into their ingredients. Yes, they don't have flesh meat so they may be considered vegetarian, but most of them are not truly vegan. However, I understand that you may request vegan and fill out a menu each evening for your dinner the following night. I believe that the rest of the meals (breakfast, lunch) are just up to you to manage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepWaterMariner Posted May 25, 2018 #6 Share Posted May 25, 2018 On the 2018 world cruise, there was a vegan entrée every night. My girlfriend is vegetarian and hated most of the vegan dishes. Her one favorite was spaghetti with meatless meatballs. The only soup that was vegetarian every night was chilled, with a rare appearance of a vegetarian hot soup. She ordered off the vegetarian menu when she couldn't make something on the regular menu work, but the vegetarian menu gets old over the length of a world cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aotmc Posted May 26, 2018 #7 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Here are my favorites/stand-outs: MDR: - Eggplant roll-up things (not sure of their name, they're stuffed with cheese). - Asian noodle dishes, there have been a few different variations and all good. - The French Onion Soup is veg (no beef broth), or so I was told, not sure if it changes according to ship/chef. - There is usually a cheese plate offered as dessert, but I often will order it as an appetizer with my salad. - Note: I have not enjoyed the veg Indian inspired dishes, and typically do not on HAL. Lido: - Breakfast- muesli (cold oatmeal) is so good! It is also offered in room service. (I always note I'd like a bowl of it, otherwise have been served a small glass). - Eggs benedict, they will offer a veg version with mushrooms or spinach. - Pasta bar, you can tell them what you like, they make the pasta to order. - Salad bar is top notch, tons of options. - If your ship has the Dive In portabella is great and the NY Pizza out at the sea view pool has make-your-own options. - The room service menu caprese sandwich is quite good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathyemma Posted May 26, 2018 Author #8 Share Posted May 26, 2018 Thank you for all the suggestions!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bUU Posted May 26, 2018 #9 Share Posted May 26, 2018 - Note: I have not enjoyed the veg Indian inspired dishes, and typically do not on HAL. I'm wracking my brain to try to remember which nationalities are heavily represented in the kitchens of which cruise lines. I'm pretty sure that Holland America's crew is heavily weighted toward Indonesians, while Carnival's crew is more heavily weighted toward Indians (and we had some incredible Indian food aboard Carnival Magic!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Roz Posted May 26, 2018 #10 Share Posted May 26, 2018 I'm wracking my brain to try to remember which nationalities are heavily represented in the kitchens of which cruise lines. I'm pretty sure that Holland America's crew is heavily weighted toward Indonesians, while Carnival's crew is more heavily weighted toward Indians (and we had some incredible Indian food aboard Carnival Magic!) I also have had some excellent Indian food on Carnival. Roz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepWaterMariner Posted May 26, 2018 #11 Share Posted May 26, 2018 - The French Onion Soup is veg (no beef broth), or so I was told, not sure if it changes according to ship/chef. The French Onion Soup was made with beef stock on the 2018 world cruise. They had a cream of onion soup that was vegetarian if the vegetarian happens to eat diary products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Divi Posted May 26, 2018 #12 Share Posted May 26, 2018 (y) Eggplant canneloni, any risotto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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