Question/Concern about Vegan Food Onboard

[atinkerbellmom]

I didn't say I was vegan. I said I was lacto ovo. I wasn't stating the info about the potato salad just for the OP, I was stating it for any other vegetarians that might be interested in this information.

CRSNDSNY, it was not directed towards you. I am never one to attack anyone's post. I try to refrain from that, there are only two people on the DIS that drive me to direct comment. I just want others to be aware of the vegan challenge, because I am still to find a vegan threads to go anywhere. They all always turn into vegetarian threads. I always jump on them with the hopes someone has some exsperience with the ship and Vegan. We have cruised several times before and DD is allergic to eggs and I like to hear what others have done. I hope this makes my desires more clear.

 

[yndygo]

They are Boca-style so they are vegan. But I cannot guarantee they are made vegan-like. After speaking with dietary over the phone pre-cruise, I would suggest you also go to speak with someone when you get onboard...

Oh good!!! Thank you!!

Actually, I'm not as concerned about 'contamination' as DD is a vege by preference, not on principle, and DH & I are both decidedly not.

It's just darned hard to get protein into a child who is deadly allergic to peanuts and treenuts and won't eat meat or eggs. If it weren't for Soy, I'd be s.o.l!
So we live for soy milk, boca burgers, edamame, and the like.
She'll eat veggies, but not "regular" veggie burgers... it's a texture thing, and she doesn't like mushrooms.

That said - I'm not sure what the point of having veggie burgers is if you don't take the time to make sure that they aren't being cooked on the same surface with the same utensils as meat products...

My best friend of the past 20+ years is lacto-ovo and I've never served him food without taking that sort of thing into consideration. Usually, we eat the same food he's having when we have him over for dinner. I'm a huge fan of Quorn's Chik'n and Boca products myself now - that's how my DD started eating it in the first place.

I hope the OP gets more answers tho - I can't imagine how hard it must be to travel vegan!

Thanks again for the info re: the burgers tho! Made my day!

 

[disneyholic family]

I didn't say I was vegan. I said I was lacto ovo. I wasn't stating the info about the potato salad just for the OP, I was stating it for any other vegetarians that might be interested in this information.

disneyholic family - Thanks for that info. I'll be sure to be specific next time when I ask for veggie burgers. I've always been too timid to say anything about it.

yes, you can't be timid about these things...
it's not that people mean to do it wrong...they simply don't know any better....
the first head waiter we had on the first cruise was so great.....he was very knowledgeable about everything and so gave us a good idea of what was available and how aggressive we could/should be....i don't know if we would have been had we not met him first....

but we always do check out things well...

my daughter just spent 3 weeks in japan and was laughing on the phone with us how completely impossible it is to be a vegetarian in japan....she said you wouldn't know however if you don't ask....
all the food sounds vegetarian, but if you ask the ingredients, it turns out there is meat or shrimp or fish hiding somewhere in just about everything....
she thought japan would be easy and it turned out to be the hardest of all the places she's visited to be vegetarian....

 

[CRSNDSNY]

CRSNDSNY, it was not directed towards you. I am never one to attack anyone's post. I try to refrain from that, there are only two people on the DIS that drive me to direct comment. I just want others to be aware of the vegan challenge, because I am still to find a vegan threads to go anywhere. They all always turn into vegetarian threads. I always jump on them with the hopes someone has some exsperience with the ship and Vegan. We have cruised several times before and DD is allergic to eggs and I like to hear what others have done. I hope this makes my desires more clear.

Not sure where you thought the attack was, but all I said was that I didn't say I wasn't vegan. I apologize for being a vegetarian and posting on this thread as I wasn't aware that I was supposed to keep it on a vegan topic. I thought it was acceptable to cover a broad vegetarian spectrum.

My mistake!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

<snip>
So we live for soy milk, boca burgers, edamame, and the like.
She'll eat veggies, but not "regular" veggie burgers... it's a texture thing, and she doesn't like mushrooms.
<snip>
My best friend of the past 20+ years is lacto-ovo and I've never served him food without taking that sort of thing into consideration. Usually, we eat the same food he's having when we have him over for dinner. I'm a huge fan of Quorn's Chik'n and Boca products myself now - that's how my DD started eating it in the first place.

Don't tell your daughter that the Quorn products are mushroom products! We love those products, too, though!

 

[dragonflydreaming]

First off, let me just say I am VERY excited to take my first cruise ever with Disney for the Seven Night Eastern on Oct 27. Can't wait!

But I'm a little concerned about the food since I'm vegan. No meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, etc.

I've read from other people in other posts on here that I can call in advance and have this noted on my reservation and everything should be fine. But I just got off of the phone with them, and the lady I spoke to, while very nice and helpful with other questions I had, was really of no help to me on this issue.

Right now I am listed as vegetarian because it's the closest category they have to label someone's diet with. She said there was nothing else she could notate and I just need to speak to the head server when I get to dinner on my first night and let him/her know of the special needs and all would be taken care of.

I guess I'm just worried that if nobody knows I'm vegan until after I am on the boat and we've set sail, that if they don't already have alternative meal options for me, then it is obviously too late for anyone onboard to have ingredients and items available to prepare meals for me and I'll be stuck eating fruit and garden salads for an entire week.

Does anyone have any information that can put me at ease or have any other Vegans on this forum been through this first hand that can offer some advice or assurance?

Thanks in advance, and seriously, I'm so extremely excited to be taking my first Disney cruise!

Hi There,

I'm just wondering if this might be helpful.

Since the only diet selection the lady you spoke with could offer you was "vegetarian", could she not list allergies to dairy and eggs as well? I realize that you aren't actually allergic to these but it would assist the kitchen in determining what food selections are appropriate for you. Like other posters have said, some people just don't understand what vegan means. At least this way the staff would see that you don't eat meat or fish, and would be red flagged that dairy and eggs need to be omitted as well.

Just a thought...

I hope it all works out for you.

 

[disneyholic family]

Hi There,

I'm just wondering if this might be helpful.

Since the only diet selection the lady you spoke with could offer you was "vegetarian", could she not list allergies to dairy and eggs as well? I realize that you aren't actually allergic to these but it would assist the kitchen in determining what food selections are appropriate for you. Like other posters have said, some people just don't understand what vegan means. At least this way the staff would see that you don't eat meat or fish, and would be red flagged that dairy and eggs need to be omitted as well.

Just a thought...

I hope it all works out for you.

that's a very good idea!!

 

[nicholas]

That IS a good idea and a sort of work-around for the issue. I'll try calling later after work and see if they can do that.

I did receive a reply to the email I sent which directed me to the medical form that needs to be signed by a physician, which is frankly just silly. It only really deals with need of wheelchair and/or oxygen for the most part anyway.

 

[atinkerbellmom]

When is your cruise? When you get back, I would love for you to post what your choices were while on the ship. Let's talk.

 

[nicholas]

When is your cruise? When you get back, I would love for you to post what your choices were while on the ship. Let's talk.

Oct 27. Only a few more weeks!

 

[atinkerbellmom]

Oct 27. Only a few more weeks!

Don't forget to PM me when you get back. I am sooooo excited for you.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I'll be curious as well to know what else onboard is vegan.

 

[nicholas]

Good news!

I had faxed in a letter over the weekend to the special services people explaining my diet and concern, and a lady just called me to discuss it with me. She said there have been Vegans in the past who were pleased with what they were offered onboard and others who felt it wasn't what they had expected in terms of variety or of the gourmet level and wanted to know what sort of foods I was interested in and/or expected.

I let her know that I'm really not a picky eater as far as what I wanted to eat onboard. I was just wanting to make sure that I would be able to eat onboard period.

She told me that my reservation does now list me as Vegan so the chefs would know that, and the servers/chefs may even discuss my meal for the following evening at each dinner so that they could work ahead on it so it would be ready to be served at the same time as everyone elses meals.

I asked about the availability of soy milk onboard for use with some of the dry cereals that are Vegan for breakfast. She told me there is soy milk and rice milk as well as (and this really made me quite excited)...

Soy Ice Cream! Which also happens to be on my vices in life. Can't get enough of that stuff.

So there ya go.

I'll be sure to try to take notes of the actual dishes I end up eating onboard as well as possibly even take pictures of them and hopefully they can all be compiled into one thread to be a sort of resource since this topic does seem to come up from time to time on here.

Just a couple more weeks. And we upgraded to a verandah last night. So double Yay for that!

 

[dragonflydreaming]

Good news!

I had faxed in a letter over the weekend to the special services people explaining my diet and concern, and a lady just called me to discuss it with me. She said there have been Vegans in the past who were pleased with what they were offered onboard and others who felt it wasn't what they had expected in terms of variety or of the gourmet level and wanted to know what sort of foods I was interested in and/or expected.

I let her know that I'm really not a picky eater as far as what I wanted to eat onboard. I was just wanting to make sure that I would be able to eat onboard period.

She told me that my reservation does now list me as Vegan so the chefs would know that, and the servers/chefs may even discuss my meal for the following evening at each dinner so that they could work ahead on it so it would be ready to be served at the same time as everyone elses meals.

I asked about the availability of soy milk onboard for use with some of the dry cereals that are Vegan for breakfast. She told me there is soy milk and rice milk as well as (and this really made me quite excited)...

Soy Ice Cream! Which also happens to be on my vices in life. Can't get enough of that stuff.

So there ya go.

I'll be sure to try to take notes of the actual dishes I end up eating onboard as well as possibly even take pictures of them and hopefully they can all be compiled into one thread to be a sort of resource since this topic does seem to come up from time to time on here.

Just a couple more weeks. And we upgraded to a verandah last night. So double Yay for that!

That's great news!......as long as you know your products, which I'm sure you do.
My friend who is vegan often encounters difficulties with restaurants etc. that believe when a product is "dairy-free" or labeled as a non dairy product such as non dairy creamer, cool whip, the vast majority of soy cheeses etc. that they are vegan. As I'm sure you're aware, often times they are not as most contain casein.
Her saying for cheese is "if it melts, it ain't vegan!" The casein is what makes soy cheese melt.

Hopefully they're up on their "ingredient lingo"

Let us know how you make out!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

That's great news nicholas! I'm glad they seem to be so accomodating!

I love getting the soy ice cream (Tofutti) in MK! That's always a treat!

 

[atinkerbellmom]

I am happy for you. Please be sure to post or pm me when you return. I just like to see what else is offered. We have cruise DCL many times and almost have it down to a science, but I always like to see what others have done to help give us more options. Guess what, they have Rice icecream on board too. The soy and rice products are stocked normally and do not have to be requested. With DD allergies, I've become a pretty "mean vegan" baker and breakfast seeker. When I tell people my cakes, cookies and muffins are egg free, dairy free and peanut free, people say "oh taste free", then they taste a bit and ask me for more..... Talk to you when you return. Have a great cruise.

 

[strangeling]

Also keep in mind the buffet (and at night, salad bar) options at Topsiders/Beach Blanket. A lot of it consists of raw, build your own, component ingredients - chopped tomatoes, onions, peppers, fruits, lettuces, basic salad stuff. They typically also have cold, plain garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and kidney beans in the salad section, which can be a good veggie boost of protein along with the other stuff. Baked potatoes a-plenty.

All of our servers have been very good at knowing whether or not an item has animal components (ie, whether a soup has chicken stock in it, whether a dressing has anchovies, etc.).

Everybody is usually very happy to help!

 

[professorandmom]

Baked potatoes a-plenty.

And as I recall, it is margarine, not butter served in the dining rooms
Barb

 

[crisi]

And as I recall, it is margarine, not butter served in the dining rooms
Barb

Which is highly unlikely to be vegan margarine.

My brother in law was vegan for years and cooking for him almost always involved a special trip to the coop for vegan margarine, vegan "mayo" etc. He was married to a vegan woman who felt it appropriate to comment that "soup and salad wasn't a meal" and she was 'tired' of pasta salad. Made for challenging meals.

 

[cherylp3]

Last year I was able to bring my own margarine (earth balance - note this is vegan ) in my carry on in one of the cool bags you can buy at the supermarket. It kept fine in the stateroom fridge. Only thing is sometimes I forgot to bring it to dinner.