Help for vegans

[teacher34]

Hello, 

my daughter and her husband plus her in laws are all going with us on the New England cruise in October of 2019. They are all vegans and have asked me if there would be anything they could eat in the dining room so we could all have dinner together. I wasn’t sure about the Indian food that is offered every night. Is that vegan ? Also, is it exactly the same every night ? We will be on the “new” Sunrise. I would appreciate any help ! Thanks.

[MikeMSD]

You will need to speak to the Maitre D upon boarding and explain the dining restrictions. They will probably need to pick in advance on the menu for the next night for vegan preparation.

[30scruiser]

Most if not all of the Indian dishes will have yogurt or butter in them, but if they like Indian food they could request that some be made vegan for them. They will definitely work with them to make food that meets their needs and preferences 

[bakersdozen12]

Rather than waiting until you board to spring your families dietary needs on the staff, your best bet would be to contact Carnival’s special needs department before you sail. If anything, they will be able to answer all of your questions. Good luck, and enjoy your cruise!

[HangryGrl]

We are vegans just off the Breeze a few weeks ago. Having done a few cruises now as vegans we have found that doing a set dining time vs anytime dining worked out better for us as we had the same waitstaff every night (avoids confusion and having to explain things each night) . You could also probably do anytime, go at a set time each night and request the same waitstaff for the whole trip. On previous cruises we have picked our meals for the next night before leaving the dining room each night. The maitre'd would go through the regular menu and tell us what could be adjusted to meet our needs. This past cruise however they just told us our dinner (appetizer, entree and dessert) would be a surprise each night.  The food was good for the most part but we probably preferred choosing more. I also am not really a dessert person but I felt bad not eating at least a little each night. Our waitstaff was great though, the best we have had yet. Let me know if you have other questions. 😊

[bahacca]

HangryGrl- I'm cruising with friends who are vegan. I've heard that lunch is the most difficult. Are the beans AND rice at Blue Iguana vegan? Do you know if you are allowed to bring on your own vegan cheese in a sealed package to make a pizza?

 

[Elaine5715]

11 minutes ago, bahacca said:

HangryGrl- I'm cruising with friends who are vegan. I've heard that lunch is the most difficult. Are the beans AND rice at Blue Iguana vegan? Do you know if you are allowed to bring on your own vegan cheese in a sealed package to make a pizza?

 

If the cheese was sealed, yes.  You would need to put it on your pizza yourself.

[bahacca]

Will they then fire the pizza, or do you have to put it on after it is in the oven?

 

[HangryGrl]

From what I have been told both the rice and beans at Blue Iguana are fine. There is also an option at the pasta bar, Cucina Del Capitano, which is free during lunch. I'm sure you could probably take vegan cheese with you as long as it lasts out of the fridge until you get to your room. We personally don't like any of the vegan cheeses very much so we just did the pizza without any cheese. We did take a bottle of vegan ranch dressing with us which ended up being great for pizza, salads and potatoes. The buffet was somewhat difficult. Mostly salad offerings with maybe one random other option each day. I will say that Royal Caribbean was much better as far as buffet options overall. 

Edited December 29, 2018 by HangryGrl

[bahacca]

Did you happen to try the veggie burger?

 

[HangryGrl]

I don't think they would put it back in the oven for you after you add the cheese but you could ask. The pizza was pretty hot so it might melt on its own. 

We didn't do Guys at all this time, the line was always really long and they were only open for lunch or early dinner so the timing didn't work out. I did do one last time we were on carnival about 2 years ago and I think it was ok if I remember correctly. You have to ask them not to "float" your bun though also to make it vegan. 

[bahacca]

Thank you! We are on Imagination, so no Cucina. I'll warn them about the bun at Guys. 

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, bahacca said:

Will they then fire the pizza, or do you have to put it on after it is in the oven?

 

You will need to put in on after they give it to you.  Once your "pie" is in the oven, they couldn't tell which is which.  They also tend not to allow other ingredients that aren't on the pizza menu.   

[chicchic325]

Make sure you tell your relatives to check out the....other social media site that starts with an F....group called "Vegans Crusin' with Carnival" They have tons of tips and ideas of people who have been vegan on cruises. 

 

The rice at Blue Iguana is reported to have butter in it, you they will need to check with them on board. The mushrooms at the Pizza joint also have butter on them...on some ships, you need to check on board.

 

Don't bother calling special needs/guest services before you board that won't do anything for "choice" options like veganism. You do need to check the fun times on the first day on board to see when the Matire D has time to talk to saliors- go talk to them and you will be able to pick your meals. (and possibly explain veganism). 

[teacher34]

Thank you so much for all this information ! I now have several ideas of how to proceed. Thank you all for your help !