Cruising vegan? Or dairy allergy?

[cruisecrasher]

I asked this several months ago, but didn't get much response. As my cruise nears I'd really like more information on cruising vegan, since I've been vegan for a couple years, but haven't cruised since then. And my DD (3) is allergic to dairy...
What are the best onboard experiences you've had as far as vegan dining and worst?
And the same for dairy allergies?
I want to know what to look forward to, what requests were best and what we should try at all costs to avoid.
Thanks!!!

 

[Feigned]

I have no experience with vegan dining, but I did just travel with a friend who has a dairy allergy (as well as gluten intolerance). They did pretty well dealing with her allergies. They had a special dessert made for her every night, that was both dairy and gluten free. She was able to find something on basically every menu. The only thing was, I'd been on another cruise with my sister, who has celiac, and they seemed a bit better about getting her what she wanted to eat and making it special. My friend did have a few issues where she ordered specific foods and then was told the day of that they couldn't prepare that meal for her because it would be too many substitutions. This never happened with my sister and if they weren't able to do what she wanted, they told her the night beforehand when she was ordering. I'm not sure if it was the double allergies my friend had or what, but I know she was very disappointed on pirate's night when she was told at dinner that she couldn't have anything she had ordered (they did not tell her this the night beforehand when ordering). Our server did go out of his way to fix everything, so that was good. I think it was just a difference in the head servers and their ability to deal with allergies. One head server was great and the other was just okay.

Anyway, she did have a hard time getting soy milk for her coffee the first time she asked. It became kind of a joke with us because every time she had coffee with her meal, we'd have to request it multiple times. The only place we didn't have trouble with that was Cabanas.

This was the Dream, by the way.

 

[abdgeek]

I'm lactose intolerant and have never had a problem on a DCL cruise. Just mention it to the waiter and they will let you know what your DD can have. The allergy goes in the system, so if she eats in the dining room for breakfast, it will come up with your room number. If you eat at Cabanas(buffet), you may need to speak with the manager to have them show you what she can have.

 

[Goaliemom30]

I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian, but I can tell you that it seemed to me that DCL was moving their vegetarian offerings vegan. When I cruised on the Magic last December, I would say every night there was a vegan option. I will also say, that they weren't very good. One thing I ate was fairly inedible and my waitstaff tried to warn me that I was going to be unhappy. I figured I'd try something new. The head server who was also a vegetarian came over to apologize. I almost felt with what was offered that DCL was trying a bit too hard if that makes sense? I yearned for some good ole pasta by the end. Best of luck!

 

[SharonLowe]

The cruise ships aren't nearly as good as WDW when it comes to food issues, including a vegan diet. I am a vegetarian with a dairy allergy so I'm almost a vegan (and don't eat eggs on their own or honey). My suggestions are as follows:

Talk to your server the first night and explain your dietary needs to him/her. Be very specific - no dairy, no eggs, no meat, no honey, etc. If you don't feel that person understands, ask to speak to your head server.

Be mindful of the bread course - due to my allergy, one evening, I asked because I thought something might contain dairy, and sure enough it did. They brought me some other rolls that were dairy free and each night after that, they brought the same rolls.

For the vegetarians, be very cautious of any dishes that contain cheese - most likely, none of them are vegetarian cheeses. Especially the dishes with parmesan cheese - no parm is vegetarian unless it is "fake" parm.

Most of the veggie entrees were very small - they don't seem to think we want a separate veggie and starch in addition to our entree. Feel free to order extra or a side of something you might like.

The chefs are very happy to concoct something for you - just ask the night before to order. My best meal on the Dream was when I asked if the chef could create a vegan meal for me based on Indian cuisine (many of the chefs seem to have an Indian background). I got a fabulous meal with tofu kabobs and Indian curry veggies that was to die for. And, he made me a really nice vegan dessert too. He came out to see me and was very happy to have been able to make me something special. He was disappointed that we weren't eating in the dining room the following night - we were in one of the Royal Suites so were having Palo in our room that night (if you do Palo they will do some wonderful dishes for you!).

The menus differ on the "special" nights for each restaurant. The Pirate night menu was the worst for vegans/vegetarians - the veggie meal was 3 vey small sausage looking things in a mushroom sauce - to be honest, they looked like turds. And, the only decent vegan appetizer option was a cold soup that just didn't add up. I left feeling very hungry.

I think my best advice is to be very proactive and vocal about your wants and needs. The chefs are happy to create within the limits of what is on the ship. Also, be understanding that many people won't know what a vegan diet is - they won't understand the no honey issue, they think all cheese is vegetarian, and they certainly won't have vegan sugar on board. To the extent you can overlook things for a few days, you might have a better cruise. I know that when we travel to the Caribbean or South America, I always assume the beans are vegetarian, even though I know they probably aren't....

 

[kventventx]

I have many, many food allergies dairy, nuts, alcohol, lettuce, it goes on and Disney is the only cruise line that will even attempt to meet my dietary needs. I have them as part of my reservation and I meet with the dining staff on embarcation day and they always make sure I have what I need. The first cruise we went on we had a very new head server and I still was treated well and our last cruise was amazing. I have never eaten out as well as I did on our last cruise. Looking forward to our next cruise in June. So, I would recommend you contact Disney Cruise Line prior to sailing and letting them know what you need and have it noted in your reservation. Have a great trip.

 

[Sarasein]

Thank you for asking this. I was wondering too. My youngest is allergic to eggs and dairy. Do they have the chocolate soy milk, dairy/egg free baked goods? What about dairy free margarine? What breakfast options do they have? Right now, I am doing most of her baking. She tends to eat meat, fruits and veggies, plus the homemade baked stuff. Are there egg/ dairy free chicken nuggets?

 

[SharonLowe]

Thank you for asking this. I was wondering too. My youngest is allergic to eggs and dairy. Do they have the chocolate soy milk, dairy/egg free baked goods? What about dairy free margarine? What breakfast options do they have? Right now, I am doing most of her baking. She tends to eat meat, fruits and veggies, plus the homemade baked stuff. Are there egg/ dairy free chicken nuggets?

I know they have soy milk but don't know whether they have chocolate. I'm sure they could make her chocolate soy milk if you asked. They also have packaged gluten/dairy free cookies (blanking on the brand name). I expect they are egg free too but you'll have to ask. Not sure on the margarine - I just gave up all that stuff with my dairy allergy. I would also suggest you might want to talk to the servers about her breakfast needs and see what they can do. I'm sure they can come up with something.