Tips for Finding Vegan Cruise Food
Being a vegan traveler comes with its challenges. In some countries, the menus are written in foreign languages and feature unfamiliar ingredients. Others offer cuisines featuring meat-laden dishes with little other options.
Luckily, you don’t have to venture to a vegan-centric destination to enjoy your culinary experience while traveling. On a cruise, onboard restaurants cater to a variety of dietary preferences and needs, whether you’re lactose intolerant, sensitive to gluten, or looking for vegan options. Vegan cruise food can be found in nearly all onboard restaurants—if you know how to look for it.
Check the Menu’s Legend
Restaurants around the world are becoming more sensitive to the needs of their patrons by offering dishes that satisfy different dietary restrictions. Many menus have a legend at the bottom of the page that makes it easier for diners to find what they’re looking for.
Sometimes you’ll see a symbol associated with a chef’s favorite dish, a health-conscious option, or those that come with added spice.
On Celebrity Cruises, vegetarian menu options are noted with a leaf, and lactose-free choices are marked with a small blue cow with a line through it. If a menu item is designated with both a leaf and a blue cow, it’s most likely vegan. However, you should always check with your server to make sure there are no egg-based products in the meal.
You can also use this as a reference point to see what small modifications can be made to make a vegetarian or lactose-free option vegan.
For example, if you’re interested in a salad tossed with lemon yogurt vinaigrette, you could ask your server what other dressing options are available. Or ask for an entree-sized portion of a vegan starter, like soup. It’s also possible to create your own meal entirely out of vegan-friendly sides or by incorporating a meat-free, cheese-free starter.
Read: How to Eat Healthy on a Cruise
Let the Staff Know You’re Vegan
If you’re on a cruise with ever-changing menus, the waitstaff will be your greatest resource. Before each meal, let your waiter or maître d’ know you’re looking for vegan options on the cruise ship.
Restaurant staff are well versed in the day’s offerings, the way food is prepared, and the ingredients used in each dish, so they will be your go-to experts for everything vegan. They have direct access to the kitchen, so if you have a specific question, they can get answers right from the source.
As a guest on Celebrity Cruises, you can choose to eat at the same table with the same waitstaff throughout your cruise. As the crew gets acquainted with your vegan cruise food requests, they’ll be prepared with a list of options for you each time you dine.
We’re proud to be Dine Aware committed, which means our crew has been trained in understanding food allergies.
Find Vegan Cruise Food at the Buffet
Many vegan cruisers find that the buffet is the easiest way to enjoy a meal without meat or animal by-products.
You could build your own salad at the salad bar and choose any vegan topping you’d like. At the sandwich bar, load up on veggies and skip the deli meats and cheese. For breakfast, pile your plate with fresh fruit.
Searching for vegan food on cruises doesn’t have to be a burden. At Celebrity Cruises, we’re committed to providing a culinary experience unlike any other at sea, and that’s true for our vegan guests too. Browse itineraries on our vegan-friendly cruise line or call one of our vacation specialists at 1 (888) 751-7804 to book your perfect cruise vacation.
