Vegetarian/Lighter Dining Options?

[btobey]

When DH and I went on our last cruise (Celebrity), I noticed that at dinner in the main dining room, some guests requested a separate vegetarian menu. I'm not a vegetarian, so I didn't request it myself, but in retrospect, I wish I had, as I think that there were many evenings when I would've enjoyed lighter vegetarian fare (eg, as opposed to meat/fish every night).

 

Can anyone tell me how dining options such as vegetarian are handled on HAL? Are separate menus available, or is everything on the main menu? I am spekaing mainly with respect to dinner in the main dining room. Thanks!

[Juanita462]

Have never heard of a vegetarian menu in the dining room.

There is a vegetarian entree but it is always a pasta dish and my

friend said it was always cold.

 

I would love to be able to order a plate of steamed vegies

as their usual vegies are loaded with salt - have never done

that yet.

 

Being pre-diabetic I can't eat pasta as it shoots the blood sugar

right up - love it though, but not cold.

 

Will be interesting to see if anyone knows if a vegetarian menu

is available. On one thread someone mentioned ordering a plate

of raw vegies for every night - said it kept them away from the

bread basket and was healthier than the salted cooked vegies.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

If you make a request thru your travel agent to HAL before boarding, a vegetarian menu will be made available to you. The same applies to low-fat, low-cholesterol, diabetic, low-sodium, etc. Your TA (or you, if you're not working with a TA) will submit a form via HAL's Accessibility and Compliance department, which then notifies the ship's culinary department. Please click here for a list of HAL contacts, including the A & C department. You may need to scroll down a little to find it.

 

In addition, you will find "Greenhouse Spa Cuisine" selections on the daily menu. There are many healthy and light alternatives available to you on HAL.

 

Karin

[btobey]

Thanks Karin! Like I said, I'm not actually a vegetarian, so I don't really want to request a special menu or anyting, but it's good to hear about the spa cusine options. I certainly love things like beef, veal, and lamb, but I might want something a bit lighter/healthier on occasion...

[Jemima]

Some food dietary/medical requests have to be done ahead and in some cases do require the form Middle Age Mom mentions. Vegetarians don't do these forms, but should give this information at booking time. It can also be given to HAL after booking if someone forgets. The dining room manager has a list of those requests. There will usually be a note in your cabin when you board to see the maitre 'd the first night. If not, mention it to him or your head steward right away the first evening.

[Jemima]

Have never heard of a vegetarian menu in the dining room.

There is a vegetarian entree but it is always a pasta dish and my

friend said it was always cold.

QUOTE]

 

Yes, there is always a vegetarian entree on the menu and there is also a special vegetarian menu as well as some other special menus. Orders from a special menu must be made the previous evening.

 

The vegetarian entree on the regular menu is NOT always pasta. Most of the time it isn't. It is not cold and ours have never arrived cold.

 

HAL regular menus now often have a pasta entree and may, I don't recall, have an entree marked spa. The pasta entree more often than not isn't vegetarian. The spa entree may or may not be the same as the vegetarian entree. Vegetarian entrees are not always light.

[takemewithyou]

btobey- I just had a thread on the spa menu - you may want to look at it. It is probably on page 2 here now or you can do a search to find it. :)

[takemewithyou]

Just brought the spa menu thread back up for you.

[May4]

Have never heard of a vegetarian menu in the dining room.

There is a vegetarian entree but it is always a pasta dish and my

friend said it was always cold.

 

 

Oh, sorry that your friend experienced that but on the many occasions that I've chosen the vegetarian dish for dinner, I've been very pleased with it. The entrees are hot and quite lovely. May I recommend the veggie cutlet (often available on the 1st night) and the Tofu Ring (a sweet and sour shrimp type of deal but with tofu?) By the way, the pasta dishes are pretty good too.

 

Bon apetit! (sp?)

[O2cruise]

And the Vegetarian Spring Rolls are great!!! We were told that there are so many vegetarians sailing now that HAL no longer wants this information in advance of sailing, but you do have to order from the vegetarian menu the night before if you don't want to order what's offered on the regular menu for the vegetarian selection.

[sail7seas]

It is very easy for vegetarians to find multiple selections for their meals. Same for folks who just plain want to eat healthy. It is as easy as could be to go through the menu each night and find a choice which fits into your healthy way of eating. Sauces can always be had on the side or omitted.....there is always the choice of grilled salmon, chicken breast or steak.

 

IF you wish to make good choices according to your way of eating, it will be no challenge at all.

 

[Desdemona01]

I've never informed HAL in advance. I talk to my waiter the first evening and he then brings the vegetarian menu and the next evening's menu to me each evening so that I can decide if I want to order from the vegetarian menu or the veg-friendly entree on the main menu. As stated above, the entree on the main menu is not always pasta and cold--the cutlet and sweet-and-sour tofu are some of my favorites. The HAL vegetarian menu has many wonderful offerings and, frequently, my non-vegentarian friends also try some of the dishes.

 

The Pinnacle Grill offerings are not favorable to vegetarians, I might add.

[sail7seas]

Pinnacle Grill is not vegetarian friendly.

 

However, while I fully understand that fish does not fit into a vegetarian's diet, I do know people who eat a vegetarian style diet in all ways except on occassion they will have either a piece of salmon or swordfish. I have never seen them eat anything other than that which does fall into the vegetarian diet, but obviously there are some who will sometimes eat fish.

 

Pinnacle does offer a wonderful salmon entree.

 

IF that falls into acceptible for you. (Don't blast at me...... these two people have been vegetarian for 30+ years and for all those years, have, on occassion had a piece of fish.)

 

[btobey]

Okay, so it is sounding like there IS a separate vegetarian menu after all? Do they frown upon guests asking for both the regular and the vegetarian?

[Desdemona01]

They've never seemed anything but helpful when providing both menus, in my experience. But, to be clear, if you're ordering from the vegetarian menu you need to place the order the night before. Not so with the main menu's vegetarian-friendly offerings. This is why they bring both menus the previous evening--so that you can see if the item from the main menu works for you, or else order from the vegetarian menu. Some days I ordered my entire meal from the vegetarian menu and others I may just order the appetizer or the entree. They do have some of the best vegetarians offerings I've found in my 20 years of being a vegetarian.

[Desdemona01]

Pinnacle Grill is not vegetarian friendly.

 

However, while I fully understand that fish does not fit into a vegetarian's diet, I do know people who eat a vegetarian style diet in all ways except on occassion they will have either a piece of salmon or swordfish. I have never seen them eat anything other than that which does fall into the vegetarian diet, but obviously there are some who will sometimes eat fish.

 

Pinnacle does offer a wonderful salmon entree.

 

IF that falls into acceptible for you. (Don't blast at me...... these two people have been vegetarian for 30+ years and for all those years, have, on occassion had a piece of fish.)

 

 

I know what you mean. I have a good friend who insists that she's a vegetarian but eats fish. A true vegetarian's creed is "nothing with a face" but, frequently, people who just avoid red meat refer to themselves as vegetarians. This has contributed to the confusion of those who prepare and serve food. (this is what happened in my experience in the Pinnacle--they wanted me to order fish when their only pasta offering wasn't available). Our dining room here at work has that same problem--I can't safely order food there because they frequently use chicken stock or use fish in foods that they insist are vegetarian.

[O2cruise]

I can't safely order food there because they frequently use chicken stock or use fish in foods that they insist are vegetarian.

 

Desdamona - I can really relate to your post. My sis is the vegetarian and she swears she is going to change careers and go into the "teach you how to simply and easily provide vegetarian offerings" for restaurants, especially hotel restaurants :) Also agree that the Pinnacle is totally not vegetarian friendly - and in fact once they realize there is a "vegetarian" among you - become downright hostile.

[caviargal]

 

IF you wish to make good choices according to your way of eating, it will be no challenge at all.

 

 

I agree and have never had a problem. I always request sauces on the side and plain broiling for my seafood dishes and have never had a problem. I stick to my normal eating routine on cruises and HAL is always very accomodating.

 

If one does not want the particular vegetarian offering for that meal, it is possible to simply ask for a plate with a few of the veggies being served that evening.

 

As for cold food, I sent back 2 of 5 entrees on my last Celebrity cruise, namely fish that was overcooked, tasteless and lukewarm. HAL does a great job with seafood and my dishes arrive hot and perfectly prepared.

[mamaofami]

 

IF you wish to make good choices according to your way of eating, it will be no challenge at all.

 

 

I agree, Sail. But, I was wondering. If you have to order vegetarian choices the night before, and you have AYWD, how does your choice get to the right server and table?

[sail7seas]

I agree that HAL does a good job with fish. That was not always the case IMO but in recent years, I have very much enjoyed the seafood choices I have ordered.

 

[sail7seas]

I agree, Sail. But, I was wondering. If you have to order vegetarian choices the night before, and you have AYWD, how does your choice get to the right server and table?

 

 

Ahaa...... therein lies one of the rubs, IMO

 

I think the best way for them to handle that is for the AYW person to have to be a little more regimented than the rest. If they require foods that have to be ordered the night before, Chef and servers need to have an idea what time they will be dining and it would be easier on servers if they were always at the same table.

 

So......AYW is going to be very hard for the staff to handle for the people who order their dinners the night before.

 

I am sure those who designed the program have better answers than me but I'm all ears waiting to hear how it works in real life application.

[Desdemona01]

I agree, Sail. But, I was wondering. If you have to order vegetarian choices the night before, and you have AYWD, how does your choice get to the right server and table?

 

Another reason I will dig my heels in and fight for a table in the traditional dining area...and probably won't be cruising with them if they go totally AYW

[O2cruise]

The one thing that will help with the AYW dining is even though you tell the waiter after dinner what you want the next evening, you still semi-order the next night at dinner. That way, you can also have something vegetarian off the regular menu (i.e. salad or appetizer), and then you just say and l placed my order for *** last night. Hopefully, it will work, cause I'm afraid the AYW is going to happen fleet wide . . . and stay around

[Desdemona01]

The one thing that will help with the AYW dining is even though you tell the waiter after dinner what you want the next evening, you still semi-order the next night at dinner. That way, you can also have something vegetarian off the regular menu (i.e. salad or appetizer), and then you just say and l placed my order for *** last night. Hopefully, it will work, cause I'm afraid the AYW is going to happen fleet wide . . . and stay around

 

And I have nightmares about it happening like it does when I fly. I preordered my veg meal several weeks before my most recent round-trip overseas flight and had to explain, each flight, that I did so. They had the meal for me but I got it as everyone was finishing.

[JonV]

We recently sailed on the Amsterdam and didn't find out that there was a vegatarian menu until the last night of the cruise. We called HAL in advance and they said they had plenty of vegetarian offerings but beans with meat in it is not vegetarian. Nor is the split peas soup with ham. Many of the vegetable we did have were overcooked until they were mushy and very unappetizing. When we tried to order garden burgers on the Lido deck they told us they didn't have them and to have a hamburger without the cheese. We ate a lot a meals off the ship and brought food onboard. We tried to talk with a manager to voice our displeasure and were pleasant but we were told he would call us back but never did. We did get a call from the purser asking us what the problem was and we told them but they NEVER told us about separate menu until we went to front desk again to ask to speak with the person in charge of food on the last day and they told us about the separate menu and we were furious.