keto/carnivore dining on Princess

[BirdandBaby]

I feel best when eating keto/carnivore style - any tips on maintaining this sort of "way of eating" on Princess? I think one of the great things about cruising is that you have a lot of choices, so I know that getting enough meat isn't an issue, just looking for things that have worked for some of you or things to look out for. For instance, can I get a cheese plate for desert in the MDRs? Thanks!

Edited December 3, 2019 by BirdandBaby
spelling

[reedprincess]

5 minutes ago, BirdandBaby said:

I feel best when eating keto/carnivore style - any tips on maintaining this sort of "way of eating" on Princess? I think one of the great things about cruising is that you have a lot of choices, so I know that getting enough meat isn't an issue, just looking for things that have worked for some of you or things to look out for. For instance, can I get a cheese plate for desert in the MDRs? Thanks!

Yes, chesse plate is readily available in MDR for dessert. You can also ask for it as an appetizer. Oil and vinegar readily available as a condiment. Extra Butte available.  Side of greens always available if you're more keto less carnivore. Buffet has cheese, salad bar, oil, butter, carving station, etc.  Desserts, besides cheese - berries are available, with cream. The sugar free desserts are not low carb/keto/carnivore friendly at all.  You can ask your waiter to not even leave the break basket.   Full fat cream is available for coffee or tea.  Skip the premade scrambled eggs at breakfast, they're made from a mix, and generally have pancake batter in them to help make them fluffier.  You can get fried eggs off the buffet or eggs cooked to order at buffet if you're willing to wait a few minutes. Same for MDR.  Bacon, sausages, etc all easily available.  Corn beef has potatoes automatically mixed in, skip 'em. 

The deck grill is great for quicker fill uos - burgers no bun, grilled chicken breast, etc.  Try not to even walk by the International Cafe - it's definitely NOT keto or carnivore friendly! Lol.  

Room Service is tougher, you'll need to remove items, deconstruct the food mainly, but you can get burgers and hot dogs easily.  The breakfasts are tougher, the egg sandwich can be deconstructed but it's a little messy. Some people have luck with writing in items like bacon or fried egg, YMMV.  If you're a drinker, I'm sure you already know your low carb friendlier drinks. You can bring aboard diet sodas if you drink them. Diet Coke and diet sprit available aboard.  

It's pretty easy to stay on track.  We both do quite well. We may have a small indulgence here or there, but we do plan for it and get right back on track.  We both eat keto for health reasons and can tell almost immediately when we've gone too far off track, so we don't stray really, even on vacation.   Our health is worth more to us than some foods.  Lol.

Enjoy!

 

[BirdandBaby]

5 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

We both do quite well. We may have a small indulgence here or there, but we do plan for it and get right back on track.  We both eat keto for health reasons and can tell almost immediately when we've gone too far off track, so we don't stray really, even on vacation.   Our health is worth more to us than some foods.  Lol.

Enjoy!

 

 

Thank you so much - exactly the info I needed! My plan is the same - maybe a couple of indulgences but mostly on track. I just find that I feel like hell when I go too far, so it's all about trade-offs. My keto drinks of choice are dry red wine and good whiskey. 🙂

Edited December 3, 2019 by BirdandBaby
spelling

[Yehootu]

They finally got Michelob Ultra that keeps me happy, and on track. Since July, 18days on ships and 27lbs down.

[Wishing on a star]

You will not have any problem on Princess!!!

They are heavy on meats, and light on starch.  Potatoes, rice, etc..are are more limited.  

Personally, my tummy likes some starch, comfort foods, so I might ask for extra on that.

The offerings in the MDR should work out for you. You can ask for an extra entree, maybe to share the protein, or ask for extra veggies.   You should be good at the Buffet as well.

 

The newer Royal Class ships have the better Buffet.  So, I kind of hope you will be on one of these ships!  

Ohhhh, I think maybe you will be on the Regal!

 

What we had a problem with, when they were changing over to the new not-so-better menus, was that we were served a lot of food that was overcooked, over processed, over salted/MSG, etc.   Hopefully that has improved and tweaked and ironed out.  The head chef and chefs on the ship can sometimes make a difference.

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by Wishing on a star

[Wishing on a star]

PS:  I am not the biggest wine expert.  I notice that you mentioned a particular type of wine.  If you might be a bot more picky,  then bring the two allowed bottles of wine onboard with you,  and maybe bring extras, and pay the $15 corkage.

 

[wrongwaywatson]

I do Keto, but chose to go off of it for my recent 7 Day Cruise on the Regal.   It would not be hard to do keto on the ship, as there are LOTS of protein sources.   On tip, if I was trying to stay keto, I would HAVE to avoid the International Cafe, LOL   Cheese and various types of meat were always available in the buffet.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

23 minutes ago, wrongwaywatson said:

I do Keto, but chose to go off of it for my recent 7 Day Cruise on the Regal.   It would not be hard to do keto on the ship, as there are LOTS of protein sources.   On tip, if I was trying to stay keto, I would HAVE to avoid the International Cafe, LOL   Cheese and various types of meat were always available in the buffet.

same here. I was on a low carb diet (and losing weight!) prior to the cruise, but we cruise on Princess for its food, so I dropped the diet for 7 days. But if you need to stay on keto diet for whatever reasons, you won't have any problems doing so, either in the buffet or in MDR. I skipped pretty much all of the starchy sides (potatoes and rice) with my meat dishes, but got a fair share of the desserts instead. Oh, and a ton of sugary alcohol! Yummy! I don't drink at all, except on a cruise once or twice a year, but we had a ton of non-refundable OBC, so we drank about 2 drinks per day each.

 

[kywildcatfanone]

Meat and cheese are readily available at every meal.

[grouchomarx]

The international cafe used to have a shrimp salad years ago, is it still available?

[JF - retired RRT]

39 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

The international cafe used to have a shrimp salad years ago, is it still available?

It's been there most of our cruises. Not necessarily every day.

[jrcruisealong]

I don't follow low carb strictly while I'm on a cruise but since I also feel better when I don't over do it too much, I ask that they not bring bread to my table. I won't eat it if it is brought out but why waste it. I also tend to stick to low carb appies, and often tell them to leave off the starches from my main and bring me extra veggies and butter. I also sometimes have more than one protein. I don't want to deprive myself so I tend to treat myself to more carbs at lunch or in the afternoon and try to go without at dinner and later. That way I'm not on a sugar high at night while I sleep.

[wrongwaywatson]

I had a Love Boat Dream every single night, except the one night we ate in the Crown Grill.   I also had a muffin or a donut (sometimes both!) every morning in the IC

[BirdandBaby]

19 hours ago, Yehootu said:

They finally got Michelob Ultra that keeps me happy, and on track. Since July, 18days on ships and 27lbs down.

Yay - that's my go-to beer. Congrats on the weight loss - that's impressive with so many days on ships.

[BirdandBaby]

18 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

The newer Royal Class ships have the better Buffet.  So, I kind of hope you will be on one of these ships!  

Ohhhh, I think maybe you will be on the Regal!

 

Yes, Regal will be our first Princess experience - the buffet seems pretty extensive. Fingers crossed on the quality. 🙂

 

[BirdandBaby]

17 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

same here. I was on a low carb diet (and losing weight!) prior to the cruise, but we cruise on Princess for its food, so I dropped the diet for 7 days. But if you need to stay on keto diet for whatever reasons, you won't have any problems doing so, either in the buffet or in MDR. I skipped pretty much all of the starchy sides (potatoes and rice) with my meat dishes, but got a fair share of the desserts instead. Oh, and a ton of sugary alcohol! Yummy! I don't drink at all, except on a cruise once or twice a year, but we had a ton of non-refundable OBC, so we drank about 2 drinks per day each.

 

I lost a bunch of weight on keto/low-carb/carnivore, but I also have some health issues it helps with, so I tend to try to stick with it. If it weren't for that, I would totally go off it for a cruise! Must admit what I miss most are those sugary alcoholic drinks. Still have good memories of the mudslides on Norwegian Breakaway.... sigh.

[kywildcatfanone]

I'm doing keto right now, have been for a couple of months, but for our upcoming cruise I'm going to enjoy.  Will I try to cut down on breads/potatoes, yes, but I'm a big meat and cheese fan, so I can fill up on items like that and still feel like I didn't miss anything. 

[lois1112]

22 hours ago, BirdandBaby said:

I feel best when eating keto/carnivore style - any tips on maintaining this sort of "way of eating" on Princess? I think one of the great things about cruising is that you have a lot of choices, so I know that getting enough meat isn't an issue, just looking for things that have worked for some of you or things to look out for. For instance, can I get a cheese plate for desert in the MDRs? Thanks!

I eat keto also............I've not had a problem on my last 3 cruises with Princess. 

[grouchomarx]

I am totally low carb. I recently survived a trip to Mexico without gaining weight, even though I cheated a little. My biggest fear on my upcoming cruise is the croissants.  And the hash browns.  I need to not even look at them, they are so good (at least they were last time I had them).  But I think I can have the willpower to be mostly good with a few cheats here and there. And be back on track when I return home.  A full blow pig out is not in my plans though.  Once I did that on an NCL cruise and gained 8lbs in one week!  Never again. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

20 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

The international cafe used to have a shrimp salad years ago, is it still available?

yes, but it's now in individual glasses, instead of a big dish.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

12 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

I am totally low carb. I recently survived a trip to Mexico without gaining weight, even though I cheated a little. My biggest fear on my upcoming cruise is the croissants.  And the hash browns.  I need to not even look at them, they are so good (at least they were last time I had them).  But I think I can have the willpower to be mostly good with a few cheats here and there. And be back on track when I return home.  A full blow pig out is not in my plans though.  Once I did that on an NCL cruise and gained 8lbs in one week!  Never again. 

Like I mentioned above, I went ALL OUT on our Regal Princess cruise last week, and by today I am back to my pre-cruise weight. So, it took 2 days to get back to it.

[RocketMan275]

I tried Keto but found there was too much fat that upset my digestive system.  I'm back to high protein/low carb instead of high fat/low carb.  It's a matter of what works for the individual.

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

4 hours ago, BirdandBaby said:

 

Yes, Regal will be our first Princess experience - the buffet seems pretty extensive. Fingers crossed on the quality. 🙂

 

it's a great buffet. You'll like it. Don't forget that it has several sections, so you have to make sure you go all the way to the back of the ship for the best stuff and specials (like seafood). The front section is mostly guacamole, tacos, sandwiches, make-your-own-salad and soups. Then the dessert section in the middle (weird, I know). Then 2 more sections with actual lunch/dinner foods, with a salad/cheese/fruit/nut/bread section in the middle of that.

The layout is unusual and may take some time getting used to, but once you get a hang of it - you get to explore every option.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

oh, forgot to say: their made-to-order omelettes are great and 2 stations are located all the way in the last row. There is a guy taking your order in front of the station, and they call your number when it's ready or you can hand your piece of paper to a waiter and they'll bring it out to you.

[pris993]

just off a cruise on the Coral, 15 day... we did the buffet every day, I did salads, plus protein.  we do room service for breakfast... I simply have coffee with cream.   Next cruise we will be on the Grand, will do the same plus Crown Grill, love sea bass and meat items.   I just try to stay away form carbs - desserts and bread.