Special diets while cruising

[JoeyandDavid]

I understand that some if not all the Cruise-lines offer guest the opportunity to request special meals... kosher..low-no Salt..Vegiteraean.. etc..

Have you or any one you know of ever taken advantage of this feature? .. and id so what were your/their impressions...

[gymbrat33]

In Carnival they have a heallthy menu called The Spa Fare. It is at the bottom of the regular menu. A lot of the times I order from it. No one usually says anything about what I order. What I often hear from my tablemates is, "Why are you exercising and going to the gym?" " You're on vacation."

[Joanandjoe]

Joey, some of the special meals, such as Kosher, have to be ordered in advance. Others do not; although it's good to let the cruise line know anyway. Some of our all time favorite cruise meals have been from the vegetarian menu. In particular, on the Wind Surf, on the night we departed Tangier, Morocco, Joe had an increadibly delicious pumpkin tagine, with couscous. (Tagine is a type of Moroccan stew.) On Windstar and HAL, vegetarian items are shown on the regular menu, although we believe there are additional choices if you ask for them.

Regarding your next cruise on Celebrity (X), we'll state what's obvious about this line to you, as a regular X cruiser, but may not be obvious to others.

a) Millenium class ships have a special spa menu. Since we haven't been on Millenium class ships, we don't know whether the menu is available only in the spa area or in the dining room as well. Joey, can you post this info for others?

b) Vegetarian entrees are available, but are not shown on the regular X menu. That's one of our pet peeves about X: they spend menu space describing the Michel Roux specials in great detail, but don't show vegetarian meals or the "always available" items such as shrimp cocktail, steak, salmon, and grilled chicken. You have to know they're available--no one tells you.

One day on the Zenith, they had a vegitarian nasi goreng, which Joe would have loved, at lunch; but we didn't find out about it until we requested the vegetarian menu at dinner.

We've had friends who had kosher cuisine on NCL, but it was prepackaged frozen stuff. That's true on all cruise lines we know of, and it doesn't exactly encourage kosher cruising. We're not aware of any cruise line that has a kosher kitchen, except when a kosher group has a full or partial charter.

[JoeyandDavid]

I neglected to put that part in ... my apologies and thank you Joan clarifying ..yes that is the case but they are available ..all you need to do is contact your TA or cruise-line directly...I think they want 3-4 week notice normally .. it could very from line to line...

[zebra]

The Spa Menu on the M-class ships is available at the T-pool cafe. Grilled salmon, salads etc - this is open during the day only, not at night.

[Mebert]

I'm a vegetarian and have always found lots of vegetarian appetizers and entrees on Carnival. I never have any complaints and feel that I eat as well and as much as the carnivors. :grin: :grin: :grin:

[Joanandjoe]

Good for you, Mebert. Just be aware that, on the Zenith, you'll need to let your waiter know that you'll need the veggie menu, and you'll have to ask for it if he doesn't bring it. Vegetarian items are generally not shown on the regular menu.

Try the buffets at lunch, but you may find that you'll have to eat in the dining room in order to get your vegetarian choices.

[schatje]

During our last cruise a lady at our table ordered a special menu everynight. They brought her a separate menu to pre-order for the next night. She mostly ate soup, salad and fruit plate, very plain stuff, but she seemed to be happy.

[Mebert]

Joanandjoe,

Thanks for the heads up. I would not have know to ask for a vegetarian menu. Is that the dining procedure for menus on all of Celebrity's ships?

I'll actually be sailing on the Mercury.

[Mebert]

schatje,

I'm not that kind of vegetarian. I'm the decadent kind. I eat dairy, eggs and loads and loads of sweets. I just don't eat meat, poultry or fish. I eat everything else.

I notice that when people discover that I'm a vegetarian they always look on the menu to find out what I can eat. They usually say "They have a salad." :grin: :grin: :grin:

It's amazing how generously considerate of my diet my tablemate(s) has/have been. I guess they say that "He seemed happy." I was indeed very content with my orders. Yum yum!