Disclaimer: I have found a way to veganize almost everything so when we eat at home we never feel deprived. I sometimes forget that others are not so motivated to be creative with making gourmet vegan food. I am not satisfied with eating salads or a plate of vegetables for meals. I want the same attention given to my menu as my fellow passengers'. I can't imagine the cruise lines would make much money if all they had for their customers was salad.
The Good and Bad News
Before we left, our travel agent told the cruise line that we are both vegan. I also called them a week before our cruise to make sure it was noted in their records and was assured it was and that we'd have plenty of options.
Just to be on the safe side, I organized a Meet & Mingle with the members of the Cruise Critics roll call. This is a group of active users on the website all traveling on the same ship's sailing. This Meet & Mingle gave us a chance to meet so many great people from all over the country (three were vegan!) but my ulterior motive was to meet the Food and Beverage Officer.
During our first exploration of the ship we were delighted to find a little burger bar on one of the upper decks. Uptown Grill is tucked out of sight but has its own bar and a made-to-order burger cafe. Veggie burgers were available with an array of toppings and when we asked if they were vegan, the chef assured us they were but guided us away from one of the buns that wasn't vegan. Dr. D. and I both had a delicious veggie burger with caramelized onions and guacamole!
Although our first meal onboard was a success, our first experience with the restaurant staff wasn't. We chose to have dinner at one of the main dining rooms, Taste. Taste and Savor are twin restaurants across from each other on Deck 6 Aft and like the other main dining rooms, O'Sheehan's and Manhattan Room, they offer the same menu every night.
We spoke to the hostess about our vegan dietary needs and were told they couldn't accommodate us on the first night. This seemed silly to me as it wasn't as if they planned on making a special stop for tofu the next day but we accepted it. They provided us with grilled vegetables with rice which is the usual meal we get when a kitchen isn't familiar with cooking for vegans.
The next day was the Meet & Mingle where we met many of the officers. I managed to pull the Food and Beverage Officer Frank aside as the group was breaking up. I told him about our experience with dinner the night before and he assured me that wasn't supposed to happen. He immediately took out his cell phone and placed a call before leaving me with a promise to take care of the situation.
We returned to our cabin later that day to find a message waiting for us. It was Johnson, a maitre'd who wanted to talk to us that evening about our dietary needs. We arranged to meet at Taste at dinner.
Johnson turned out to be a towering man from India with a deep voice and excellent command of the English language. He asked us what we'd like to eat and offered to make us tofu scramble, burritos and other tasty vegan meals. He told us that it didn't matter which dining room we chose to eat in; we were in the system and the kitchen was ready to take care of us.
This really put my mind at ease knowing we would not be consigned to eating salad for 12 days.
This plan worked in theory. The first dinner after our discussion with Johnson was wonderful! Tomato soup, spring rolls and yummy stir fried vegetables with rice. However, what we learned was that because you don't have the same server every night, many of the other servers were unprepared or unaware of what we'd been told even though we were "in the system". This meant explaining our needs at every single meal which became very tiresome after a while.
Overall, the cruise was a combination of good and bad experiences:
- We found that breakfast was our easiest meal. I love grits and Dr. D. is happy with oatmeal with soymilk. We both love fresh fruit which you can find in abundance in the restaurants and at the buffets.
- Salad choices were excellent and you weren't stuck with non-nutritional white lettuce (a useful phrase I learned from a friend). Lots of field greens and toppings aplenty!
- We were told one day at lunch at Taste that they had nothing but grilled vegetables for us so we headed for the buffet for salad and french fries. Just as I had finished some terrible tasting spinach and split pea balls from the buffet, a server arrived from Taste with a tray of vegan food: mushroom and onion quesadillas (no cheese), black bean soup and a really delicious tomato and avocado salad. She was trying to make it right after the original server had screwed up and we really appreciated the extra effort.
- A tasteless watery tofu scramble was served to us for breakfast.
- We enjoyed a wonderful vegan Indian Dal that was actually on the regular menu.
- Johnson surprised us with two delicious little chocolate cakes covered in strawberries made just for us! The man sitting next to us asked us where we got it so I guess it looked better than what the rest of the passengers were eating.
- One night we had vegan gnocchis that were very tasty!
- Avocado toast (hard to screw that up) was another breakfast option we had a couple of times.
- I didn't think it was possible to make a bad tasting marinara sauce but that's what we had on our special order spaghetti one night. I never knew Chef Boyardee worked for the cruise lines.
The most frustrating thing of all was having the dining staff ask us, "what would you like to eat?" My answer could have been, "how about some Seitan Scallopini like they make at Blossom or a Reuben like we get at Strong Hearts Cafe or maybe a couple of amazing vegan donuts like the ones from Dun-Well Donuts?" None of the other passengers are asked what they would like to eat. They're given a menu of great options from which to choose.
The Ports
The best meal we had on vacation wasn't on the ship. It was in St. Thomas at a little place called Natural Livity.
I was fortunate to have WiFi in St. Thomas and found Natural Livity on Trip Advisor. The smells of Caribbean spices greeted us as soon as we opened the door to this tiny restaurant. Each day brings a new selection of at least a dozen different entrees from which to choose. You pick them out and they spoon them onto your plate. No icky buffet here!
We opted to eat outdoors in their little courtyard where you could hear the Caribbean music coming from the speakers above. Dr. D. got a plateful of Caribbean spiced food that he loved and I had the most delicious lentil burger I'd ever tasted.
It truly was the best food we had all week.
I also have to give props to Mystic Man Tours. We gathered 10 members of our Cruise Critics group for a private charter on one of their catamarans in St. Lucia. It was heavenly! The staff was helpful and cheerful and provided us with all the rum punch we could drink.
More importantly, they were able to make us a delicious vegan lunch of beans and rice with some greens on the side. I did not have to go out of my way to get this; I simply told them ahead of time that we needed a vegan meal and they cheerfully accommodated us.
Tips for Future Cruisers
- Keep in mind that you are in the minority and no one will go too far out of their way to make your meals special the way they do for omnivores.
- The Food & Beverage Officer is far more accessible than you may think.
- Ask to have a private meeting with the Food & Beverage Officer early in your cruise and have a list of ideas for him as well.
- Don't be afraid to ask for special meals. It's the only way cruise companies will know that vegans are willing to spend their money with them.
- Always be polite and smile. This approach will get you far more than if you demand special treatment.
- Don't assume everyone knows what vegans won't eat. Most cruises don't have a vegan option to check when noting dietary preferences and will check the vegetarian option instead.
- Research vegan restaurants at your ports of call prior to leaving on your trip. You may not have WiFi and will want to explore what's available in the different islands or countries. I found out afterward about a lot of great places we could have visited but it was too late by the time I got the information.
My biggest mistake was having high expectations. I know now that cruises are not the best way for vegans to vacation. So many of the activities are centered around food and until things change dramatically I'll be finding another way to spend my vacation time.
If you want to have a guaranteed all-vegan experience, book your next cruise with Holistic Holiday at Sea or check out this option from Vegan Cruise Planners. Bon voyage!
