Generally speaking we found life on board ship as a vegan to be a fantastic experience, the crew were very attentive (although sometimes not understanding what vegan was) and quickly learnt our preferences when we stuck to the same restaurant.
The canteen style restaurant was a little bit more hit and miss, particularly with other guests mixing tongs if vegan options like chips were put next to burgers, sausages and bacon, although we did mention this to the crew. On a few occasions they also served a big dish of fries but mixed in cheese toasted sandwiches, again contaminating the fries so we couldn’t have them.
Being vocal, letting the crew know your preferences and then actively pre-booking and asking for meals to be modified we found was a great way to enjoy a cruise as a vegan.
Things to do in advance
- Contact cruise company advance and check that the bedding is vegan
- Notify the cruise company in advance that you are vegan, they then have the option of adding this as a notification on your booking.
- Take protein on board! We found many of the meals is quite lacking in protein so had to stock up in port
Restaurant tips
- 3 different types of restaurant, all offering different styles of dining. We didn’t eat in the à la carte restaurants, so can’t comment on the experience there.
- Remind often. We did find that we had to be quite vocal about being vegan, but our faces were soon recognised and our experience was then very good.
- Tell restaurant manager and stick with that restaurant
- -Pre order for next day by looking at menu
- Ask to adapt recipes
- Enquire about each meal eg. Lentil spaghetti and garlic bread
- Give specialist restaurants notice e.g. pizza 🍕
- Pre order supper from the lunch menu
General observations
- Meals were lacking in protein
- Good options for milk
- Room service not vegan friendly
- Some dishes could be vegan but aren’t!
- a lot of salad and fruit salad
Other considerations
- Customise manicure or treatments to have no milk
- Sharing tables is a great way to meet others, but be aware that food might come out at different times if you have preordered.
- Wine, lots of vegan options and clearly labelled.