Vegetarian food?

[Bellam]

I was just looking at scans of a room service menu that somebody posted. (Thank you, whoever that was!) Anyway, I noticed that vegetarian food wasn't clearly marked.

 

It's not always a problem. Some items are obvious; a fruit platter will always be vegetarian and bacon never will! Unfortunately, there are a lot of foods that might be vegetarian depending on the recipe. With baked beans and cheesecake there's really no way of knowing unless the cook tells you.

 

So my question is, how well labelled is food on RC ships? Will items in the Windjammer or the MDR be clearly labelled for vegetarians and people with allergies or will I have to ask my server a lot of questions every mealtime?

 

(I guess I've been spoiled because nearly all restaurants these days mark which dishes are vegetarian, which dishes contain nuts and so on. It was a real surprise not to see those little V symbols!)

[Rala]

They have a couple of vegetarian selections which are noted on the menu, but each individual menu selction is not labeled. You will probably have to ask questions. I would suggest talking with your head waiter on the first night. He can let you know what would be good choices for you for the next day. Also, be sure to let him/her know exactly what type of vegetarian dishes you are looking for (vegan, ovo-lacto, etc.) Good Luck!

[Luna]

If an item is vegetarian, it is marked with a "V" beside it. That's what I keep my eyes open for. Then I know I can eat it with a clear conscience.

[Luna]

Oops, sorry, I just realized you were asking about the room svc menu. They will also show it on your TV screen and there, I believe, is where it will indicate whether or not a selection is vegetarian, using the same method I just described in my previous post.

[Rala]

Oops, sorry, I just realized you were asking about the room svc menu. They will also show it on your TV screen and there, I believe, is where it will indicate whether or not a selection is vegetarian, using the same method I just described in my previous post.

 

Oooops! from me, too. Got to read more carefully. Obviously, I was talking about the dining room menu. Sorry, we never do room service, so I can't advise.

[amybeth4]

Will items in the Windjammer or the MDR be clearly labelled for vegetarians and people with allergies or will I have to ask my server a lot of questions every mealtime?

 

There is a little V next to the vegetarian items, but I don't recall having a selection every night. I DO remember eating the vegetarian chili (I'm not even CLOSE to vegetarian, but I was looking for something healthy) one night in the MDR and it was quite yummy.

 

I don't remember seeing little Vs in the Windjammer, but the food seems more obvious there. There's plenty of salads, beans, and one day they had Boca Burgers (ugh).

 

Never did room service.

[KKeeganS]

I'm not a vegetarian but I tend to lean more that way than toward the carnivorous. I'm just curious - what recipe for cheesecake would make it non-veggie?

 

Thanks!

[unklez]

Items are not always labeled as Vegetarian. BUT:

 

Windjammer has a good selection of vegetarian salads, soups, entrees, sides and of course desserts. IIRC, the soups were marked if they had meat and/or had chicken broth. Seefood - see food and eat it :D

 

For MDR, let your waiter know on first day and he should advise you of your options everyday.

 

At every meal, both Windjammer and MDR had an Indian entree and sides, most of the time vegetarian with a good descriptive label.

 

Much of the room service menu items were immediately obvious but not labeled. My wife is a vegetarian and she had no trouble picking out items from room service a few times.

 

Good luck and enjoy!

[amybeth4]

I'm not a vegetarian but I tend to lean more that way than toward the carnivorous. I'm just curious - what recipe for cheesecake would make it non-veggie?

 

Thanks!

 

I have a friend who's a fish-eating vegetarian (!) who stopped eating most cheeses when she discovered that most cheeses are made with rennet, which is made from some cow protein or something.

 

Most normal vegetarians I've met eat cheese, unless they're vegan then cheesecake has to really be out since it has cheese AND eggs! :)

[Rala]

I'm not a vegetarian but I tend to lean more that way than toward the carnivorous. I'm just curious - what recipe for cheesecake would make it non-veggie?

 

Thanks!

 

I am not a vegetarian or a vegan, but if someone is a vegan I believe they do not consume any animal products like milk, cream, cream cheese, butter, eggs. Some or all of these products would be in cheesecake. Any vegans out there who can elaborate further?

[Bellam]

So it sounds like there'll be a well marked veggie option in the MDR, that the room service menu is marked if you view it on the screen, but that labelling in the Windjammer can be hit and miss. Is that about right?

 

I'm just curious - what recipe for cheesecake would make it non-veggie?

 

I can think of three things...

 

The cheese itself might not be vegetarian. It depends on what was used to separate the curds and whey. Some cheesemakers use a fruit extract for this, others do it with cow rennet.

 

They might have used gelatin to make it set. Gelatin is an animal product.

 

Also, if it was made with eggs, a lot of vegetarians will not eat battery farmed eggs, only the free range kind. So that might be an issue.

 

It's easy if I'm making the cheesecake myself, (Or buying it from a store. I know what all the additive numbers mean and I can read an ingredients list super-quickly!) but in restaurants it can get tricky without clear labelling.

[KKeeganS]

Excellent to know, thank you. Cheesecake would seem like a no-brainer to serve to my veggie (not vegan) friends.

[spintowin]

I'm going on my 7th RCI cruise in August so I pretty much know what to expect for me as a vegan. NOT MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM. The chefs are not trained for this. (IMO) My first night in MDR, I told the waiter of my eating preference. He brought me a plate of broccolli. Therefore, I don't spend much time there, except to be with family. If you drink soymilk, you have to request it in Windjammer for they don't set it out. I tend to go for the Indian dishes but have to be careful because they use too much fat. I don't go on a cruise for the food... I would be the first to book an all veg. cruise! My favorite place in the world to eat is Candlelight Cafe in NYC.

[unklez]

I'm going on my 7th RCI cruise in August so I pretty much know what to expect for me as a vegan. NOT MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM. The chefs are not trained for this. (IMO) My first night in MDR, I told the waiter of my eating preference. He brought me a plate of broccolli. ......

 

May I ask why you choose to be a vegan?

[AnotherJenny]

I've only been on 1 cruise (12 days), and there was a vegetarian selection every night for dinner. Also, there was always "baked ziti" on the menu, but I never resorted to that. (I do eat fish and occasionally chicken, which I think I had one night for dinner.)

 

On the room service menu there were 2 items that I remember, a grilled veggie sandwich (which was small, but I really liked it) and a veggie pizza, which I didn't try, but my sister loved. There was also fruit and cheese plates, and I believe a salad.

 

Windjammer was a whole other story.

 

For breakfast there were not many choices. I don't really eat eggs, so I never waited in line for an omelet. I mostly ate bagels (it took me a few days to figure out that cream cheese is over near the dessert/ice cream station) and cereal on yogurt. But that's a pretty normal breakfast for me at home, so no complaints.

 

For lunch there was always pizza. There was only 1 day that the "pizza of the day" was vegetarian, but there was cheese or margarita pizza every day. The sandwiches never looked good to me, so I didn't try them, and I'm not sure if they make a veggie sandwich or not. But there was always PBJ at the condiment station. There were days when the only other option was a salad. They had a burger bar a bunch of times, but no veggie patties. Actually, that was ok, because to be honest, burger fixings weren't all that tempting. And when they had a taco bar, my sister had the idea to make nachos, genius!

 

We only did dinner in Windjammer twice. I wanted to try the stir fry noodle bar, but the lines were too long. The selections were basically like lunch. There was a pasta bar one night, they had a marinara sauce. They also had sushi, which had 1-2 veggie selections each night.

 

All in all, I never struggled to find anything. But I could see how a vegan would have a hard time, as they don't accommodate special requests very easily, if at all.

[ShillyShally]

I'm going on my 7th RCI cruise in August so I pretty much know what to expect for me as a vegan. NOT MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM. The chefs are not trained for this. (IMO) My first night in MDR, I told the waiter of my eating preference. He brought me a plate of broccolli. Therefore, I don't spend much time there, except to be with family. If you drink soymilk, you have to request it in Windjammer for they don't set it out. I tend to go for the Indian dishes but have to be careful because they use too much fat. I don't go on a cruise for the food... I would be the first to book an all veg. cruise! My favorite place in the world to eat is Candlelight Cafe in NYC.

 

I am vegan also and don't plan on the food being the highlight of our next cruise but hopefully we can survive. Of the 5 of us, my duaghter and I are vegan, my other daughter is vegetarian and my husband and son eat everything! We are used to it being harder to eat when out and about but hopefully the more passangers ask if they have options they will consider having some.

[ShillyShally]

May I ask why you choose to be a vegan?

 

I can't answer for the other poster but I know for me there are many reasons why I choose to be vegan and honestly it was the first time eating made sense to me. I've never looked back.

 

For me it's ethical, environmental, and so much more. And vegan food is delicious when done right!

[unklez]

I can't answer for the other poster but I know for me there are many reasons why I choose to be vegan and honestly it was the first time eating made sense to me. I've never looked back.

 

For me it's ethical, environmental, and so much more. And vegan food is delicious when done right!

 

Got it. Also, I read online about vegans after I first posted the question and am better aware now. I think fundamentally it makes sense to be a vegan - not gonna argue that at all - but moderation might work too. For example, if I were a vegan, on a cruise I'd become an lacto-ovo vegetarian and open up a whole lot more options. OTOH, if a lot more people became vegans the cruise-lines would start offering them more choices.

[ShillyShally]

Got it. Also, I read online about vegans after I first posted the question and am better aware now. I think fundamentally it makes sense to be a vegan - not gonna argue that at all - but moderation might work too. For example, if I were a vegan, on a cruise I'd become an lacto-ovo vegetarian and open up a whole lot more options. OTOH, if a lot more people became vegans the cruise-lines would start offering them more choices.

 

Very true - I know some vegans who do modify in situations where it can be impossible to find choices other than vegetarian. I'd love to see more options though - one day! :)

[TriGator]

I've been on two cruises as a vegan. One was on MSC and they did a great job catering to a vegan diet. The head waiter brought me a special meal each night. He was so kind and understanding. On Carnival it was horrible to find something to eat. By the 5th night I gave in and had a little meat with all my carbs and veggies. I'll be going on Royal Caribbean liberty of the seas in 6 weeks and I'm hoping to find some options to make the dining a little enjoyable. I definitely don't cruise for the food, but I am so excited for everything else about the trip!

[ShillyShally]

I've been on two cruises as a vegan. One was on MSC and they did a great job catering to a vegan diet. The head waiter brought me a special meal each night. He was so kind and understanding. On Carnival it was horrible to find something to eat. By the 5th night I gave in and had a little meat with all my carbs and veggies. I'll be going on Royal Caribbean liberty of the seas in 6 weeks and I'm hoping to find some options to make the dining a little enjoyable. I definitely don't cruise for the food, but I am so excited for everything else about the trip!

 

I'mlooking forward to hearing how it goes on Liberty! We just booked for Oasis for 2010 and I'm hopeful we'll find some options. If not I'll survive, even on pb&j, but some other options would be nice!