Teen DD Vegan - Dining Anxiety

[ButterflyDisneyMom]

My 15 y.o. DD is a strict vegan (no meat, eggs, milk or even honey) and she is worried that she won't be able to eat anything on board. Anyone have experience / advice for special diets like this? I did call and inform them but they told me that for sit down meals she will be accommodated but not at counter service places. Does this mean she will be struggling at breakfast & lunch? I am hoping at the least fruit will be available at breakfast & lunch and maybe salad at lunch?

TIA!

 

[Vicky29]

Lots of fruit - Watermelon, strawberries, bananas etc. available all day on the pool deck. There was also salad available, and certainly some of those were without dressing - things like cherry tomatoes etc.

There were always lots of different salads available inside on the buffet too - most did have dressings on but hopefully some of the dressings will be ok. Fries are readily available if those are ok too.

 

[kcashner]

She can CHOOSE to have a sit down meal for breakfast and lunch.

What they are saying is that if she goes to a counter service place, they will not assure her that the oil used for cooking stuff, etc. meets her dietary choices. She can get a salad or fruit at Goofy's Galley, but they won't promise her that there was no milk/cream/eggs/whatever used to make the dressing. Obviously, if she chooses fresh fruit, she's ok.

If she chooses to go to lunch at Lumiere's rather than grabbing a vege burger at Pluto's Dog House, the head server will review the menu with her and assure her that there are no animal products used in the preparation, etc. At Pluto's, she would have to order a vege burger and assume it was vegan (which it may or may not be).

So, she will be able to have breakfast (if she chooses to get out of bed) and lunch...but if she intends to maintain a strict vegan diet she will have to eat in the dining room for her meals. Other places, she will have to assess whether the items she can select meet her dietary choices; they will not have the head servers present to assist her.

 

[ldalvarado]

XH is a vegan and went cruising with us before we split. Never had a problem finding plenty to eat, even at counter service. The choices were more limited, but he found lots of fruit and veggies, and ways to alter things. Plus he coud run into Topsiders/BBB for more choices. Obviously it depends on how strict a vegan she is. Because it was vacation and it was out of his control, he was willing to overlook the fact that his veggie burger may have been cooked on the same grill with animal products. It is definintely a choice that a vegan has to make from time to time. I will say that they accomodated him beautifully in the dining rooms, at all meals we ate there. The staff was very knowledgeable, and the chefs would often whip up special dinners for him. Since a lot of the staff if from overseas, they more readily understand veganism/vegetarianism than most Americans dp.

 

[SharonLowe]

If it is like WDW, the counter service places should be able to provide her a list of ingredients for items on the menu. They have them for people with allergies. I too am a vegan (plus have allergies to shellfish and dairy) and am going on my first DCL cruise in November. I'm sure I will be eating more sit down meals than most, but that is fine with me. The sit down restaurants will definitely make a special meal for her. You might want to say she is allergic to dairy, eggs, and honey to ensure they don't cross contaminate. If she is into dessert, she likely can't eat the cakes; at WDW at least, the cakes are typically made with lard. But, they'll have something she can eat for dessert even if it is packaged gluten free cookies or something like that.

 

[atinkerbellmom]

Here is a past links to a Vegan thread. I usually link in on them because of allergy issues not because we are Vegan. I do think DCL has gotton better over the years. I do think some people have a hard time understanding the egg, milk thing. SOOOO many things have milk and eggs baked in. I think the choice of Vegan is different than our lifestyle, but it is one we understand. For example, once someone told a vegetarian she could have a veggie wrap up on deck 9, well guess what.... she can't. It has mayo on it and they do not make them up on deck so therefore they can not make one without mayo. So pool side is a bit of a challenge. When we first started cruising DCL all of the pasta had eggs and most of the bread. We also had milk in a lot of the buns. Well believe it or not, after cruising with them in 2003 and every cruise thereafter, I would write a long letter outlining how it is easy to do a bread/pasta alternative on the ship... Well I spoke and they actually listen. Yes to all of your Palo lovers, they have not changed the noodles up there, but now at the buffets, they do have cheap noodles as a choice. They have also gone to buns at Plutos that are egg free So a few more choices now. Good Luck....
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1864326

 

[atinkerbellmom]

If it is like WDW, the counter service places should be able to provide her a list of ingredients for items on the menu. They have them for people with allergies. I too am a vegan (plus have allergies to shellfish and dairy) and am going on my first DCL cruise in November. I'm sure I will be eating more sit down meals than most, but that is fine with me. The sit down restaurants will definitely make a special meal for her. You might want to say she is allergic to dairy, eggs, and honey to ensure they don't cross contaminate. If she is into dessert, she likely can't eat the cakes; at WDW at least, the cakes are typically made with lard. But, they'll have something she can eat for dessert even if it is packaged gluten free cookies or something like that.

My DD has only been able to have Rice or Soy icecream on the ship for a dessert option. There is milk, eggs or both in everything else. But I am sure she is use to that. No, you can get a cheft to come to you in the sit down meals for breakfast & lunch. You can get one to go through the buffet with you and your HS takes care of you for dinner, but no cards I have ever had or seen or been given on any DCL, unless that is new.

 

[tvguy]

Since a lot of the staff if from overseas, they more readily understand veganism/vegetarianism than most Americans dp.

Not sure I agree with this statement. Most of the crew is from Indonesia, where being a vegetarian is almost unheard of. Not sure about veganism there.
If you do some Googling, you will most folks rank Canada (in particular, Eastern Canada) as the best, and the US. is usually only a couple of notches down in the "top 10" lists of countries to be a vegetarian in.

My daughter is a vegetarian, and the single most common meat product in food items that she finds is gelatin. It's of course in Jello, but it's turning up in yogurt and salad dressings too. Yoplait never used to have gelatin in it, but it does now. Beef flavor turns up a lot. We finally did find vegetarian Worcestershire sauce and Caesar Salad dressing.....no anchovies in it. I'm learning a lot....I never knew that Worcestershire sauce was fish sauce!!
Of course the fact she doesn't like most vegetables makes it even harder!
Good luck, vegetarian would be a lot easier than vegan.

 

[MouseinMelbourne]

My daughter is a vegetarian

Of course the fact she doesn't like most vegetables makes it even harder!

Seriously?! I thought I was the only one who had one of those. We tease my DD10 that she's not a VEGetarian, but a PASTAtarian!

 

[tvguy]

Seriously?! I thought I was the only one who had one of those. We tease my DD10 that she's not a VEGetarian, but a PASTAtarian!

Her brother calls her a "CHOOSEtarian".

This thread got me searching for vegetarian options for a vacation to Canada.
Her favorite main dishes made by Quorn...are not available in Canada because the Canadian government does not feel the protein source in them is fit for human consumption . I guess some have had allergic reactions.
Morning Star Farms products are not available in Canada either.
We will be with family, but I'm afraid she will be eating a lot of Pasta, Peanut Butter, Eggs, and Cheese that week.

 

[ButterflyDisneyMom]

Thanks for the replies! Sounds like she'll be ok after all. I was wondering if she was going to have to stock up on PBJ and just live on that for most of the cruise, but clearly she'll have a few more options than that.

And she didn't like much vegetables either when she was just vegetarian - she was content to live on pasta and cheese pizza. Surprisingly her going vegan made her eat more vegetables and she was surprised to discover she actually liked them.

 

[kcashner]

Most of the crew is from Indonesia,

I don't agree with this statement. The crew on the DCL ships are from all over, and while there are certainly CMs from Indonesia, they are not a majority in any department. In fact, there appears to be more Eastern European representation now than 4-5 years ago. At the "Welcome Aboard" show and the "Small World" dining room show we have typically heard numbers from 55-90 countries represented by the crew. Obviously, there are many "behind the scenes" CMs that we may not interact with on a regular basis.

 

[crashbb]

We will be with family, but I'm afraid she will be eating a lot of Pasta, Peanut Butter, Eggs, and Cheese that week.

There are plenty of vegetarians (and vegans) living in Canada. We may not have her "normal" brands, but I'm sure she can find something. Yves is a popular brand of veggie meats.

 

[orlandothebeagle]

I dont think it really matters where the servers or crew are from are from, they all get the same training.
I had a polish server last cruise,she was fantastic last time I went to poland and told them I was a vegi in polish, ...at first they thought I had made a mistake, then when they knew I hadnt they were in absolute HYSTERICS

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Last time I was in USA I asked for a boca burger in dennys, after 1st bite, I thought this isnt right, yuk,yuk yuk, the person serving forgot to tell chef and I got a regular burger, so it doesnt really matter where folks come from really.After being a vegi for...25 years I am amazed I even minded what it tasted like but I knew right away.Made me paranoid for a bit after that .

 

[tvguy]

There are plenty of vegetarians (and vegans) living in Canada. We may not have her "normal" brands, but I'm sure she can find something. Yves is a popular brand of veggie meats.

Thanks. Will check it out, but not sure the stores where I will be (in the sticks) will have a wide selection.

 

[newrygirl]

Hey I have a 14 year old ds who is a pastaterian also holidays are a challange sometimes.

 

[aanderson5]

Her brother calls her a "CHOOSEtarian".

This thread got me searching for vegetarian options for a vacation to Canada.
Her favorite main dishes made by Quorn...are not available in Canada because the Canadian government does not feel the protein source in them is fit for human consumption . I guess some have had allergic reactions.
Morning Star Farms products are not available in Canada either.
We will be with family, but I'm afraid she will be eating a lot of Pasta, Peanut Butter, Eggs, and Cheese that week.

I am not sure it they will be available in the area you will be visiting but Happy Planet makes soups and sauces that are vegitarian and dairy free and delicious. You can check them out at http://www.happyplanet.com/. We also get some very good vegitarian foods that are "presidents choice" brand. ( http://www.presidentschoice.ca/LCLOnline/home.jsp). This is the store brand for different grocery chains. You can look up there products on line also. A couple of items that stand out for me are the Tofu in coconut curry sauce and the Bulgur and Quinoa with chick peas.

You will be able to find many choices of vegitarian and vegan foods in Canada. My brother is vegitarian and we choose to eat many vegitarian meals for health reasons. Enjoy your trip.

 

[tvguy]

I am not sure it they will be available in the area you will be visiting but Happy Planet makes soups and sauces that are vegitarian and dairy free and delicious. You can check them out at http://www.happyplanet.com/. We also get some very good vegitarian foods that are "presidents choice" brand. ( http://www.presidentschoice.ca/LCLOnline/home.jsp). This is the store brand for different grocery chains. You can look up there products on line also. A couple of items that stand out for me are the Tofu in coconut curry sauce and the Bulgur and Quinoa with chick peas.

You will be able to find many choices of vegitarian and vegan foods in Canada. My brother is vegitarian and we choose to eat many vegitarian meals for health reasons. Enjoy your trip.

Thanks. I checked, looks like we'll be winging it with food from scratch. The closest stores that carry their products are in Saskatoon, 225 km (140 miles) from where we'll be.
We are flying into Saskatoon, then driving to Candle Lake, guess we could pickup a foam ice chest, but 3 hours is a long time to keep something frozen in an ice chest.
The store at the lake is really big on meat, and lunch meat, I think they had 4 different brands on headcheese!. Normally we have at least one meal from fish we catch.

 

[lullyloo]

I am a strict vegan and cruising in August. Since I live in Orlando and I'm driving, can I bring a cooler with ice and coconut milk? I find Disney restaurants in general to be very unfamiliar with vegan options. They don't seem to understand the difference between vegan and vegetarian. In researching cruises, it looks like Carnival is the most vegan friendly.