Try these vegetarian and vegan cruise food hacks to enhance your next cruise. These ideas can help you enjoy more healthy plant-based foods and some variety to the cruise menu.
I have been on over 20 cruises, mainly on Carnival with two on Royal Caribbean so far. It’s a fantastic way to get to travel to a lot of places without the hassle of packing and unpacking for different hotels and spending time on your trip driving or flying to different locations. You’ll have the chance to meet great people from all over and enjoy entertainment, classes, and more! And dining is definitely a highlight of cruising for me.
Food Hacks
I consider a food hack something that will combine the free foods or beverages available to give you something more enjoyable. I suggest reaching out to guest services for your cruise line (see the contact number below) ahead of time for special dietary requests and because dining may be operated slightly differently even within the same cruise line.
And it’s important to avoid inconveniencing the hard-working staff members, so these hacks are considerate of their time. This post also contains some tips from my cruising experience that may be helpful for healthy eating.
Beverages
- Add natural flavor to water or iced tea: Pick up the lime and/or watermelon at the salsa bar at the Blue Iguana Cantina on Carnival, try cucumber slices from the salad bar, or fresh pineapple from the fruit buffet.
- The coffee bars usually have plant-based milk including soy, oat, and almond milk.
Pack
I personally don’t like to pack extras although I know some people do. I try to pack light to make things easier, especially if I am flying to catch a cruise ship. But here are a few items you may want to bring:
3. Herbal tea bags for hot or iced tea (they are pricey on the ship).
4. Individual small boxes or one large box of your favorite high fiber, low sugar cereal. These have to be unopened.
5. An insulated coffee cup can be handy for hot beverages.
Breakfast
6. Oatmeal is a great choice for a filling, high fiber cereal that’s also a good source of soluble fiber and beta-glucan (learn more about the health benefits of oatmeal from this article from the American Heart Association). It is usually served with brown sugar, dried cranberries, sliced almonds and chopped walnuts in the dining room.
On a buffet, you’ll often see brown sugar and raisins by the oatmeal. For more flavor options, try the fruit buffet area: there you can often find bananas, apples, and prunes. There may be baked apples or peaches near the French toast.
7. Fruit isn’t on the current sea day brunch menu on Carnival. On any cruise line, they may have additional fruit available in the galley beyond what’s on the menu. So be sure to ask and be flexible, they can usually find this nice fruit salad even when there’s no fruit on the menu. In the worst case scenario, you can stop by the buffet for some fruit before or after the dining room or from the complimentary room service menu from 6 – 10 am.
Fruits
8. Consider the timing of when different fruits are ripe on your cruise – especially for longer itineraries. Order bananas and berries early in the cruise. They may or may not be restocked depending on the length of your cruise and the ports visited. If any melons or the pineapple aren’t ripe at the beginning of the cruise, order toward the end of the cruise. Bananas or apples from a breakfast or lunch buffet can be saved for an on-board snack
Pizza
9. Request vegan cheese or no cheese – vegan cheese is not on the menu but is available at the pizza place on some Carnival ships. The margherita, funghi (mushroom) pizzas are good options.
Ask the employees ahead of time if you can add additional veggies from salad bar for more variety, like bell peppers, spinach tomatoes, and onions. If they are busy or have just a couple of people working there, they may not have the time to honor your request.
FYI, Sorrento’s pizza on Royal Caribbean and Pizza Pirate on Carnival have gluten-free pizza available.
Lunch and Dinner Buffet
10. Stir-Fry/Pasta Skillet/Mongolian Wok: Ask ahead of time if can you add veggies or tofu from salad bar for more variety: like bell peppers, tomatoes, or onions.
Tips: check if they add broth and what kind of broth it is. Also, Lines at the Mongolian Wok tend to be lengthy: try it on a port day.
11. Plant-based milk: it’s not on the menu, but I have found ships have at least soy and almond milk. In the dining room, ask your server for it. At the buffet, ask the server behind the counter of the dessert, main buffet, or salad bar area.
12. Chimichurri sauce found at the carvery area can enhance a salad, cooked veggies, or a pizza.
13. Tacos and burrito bowls: Burrito bowls actually aren’t on the menu at Carnival’s Blue Iguana Cantina, but the staff has bowls and can make them. The base can be chopped lettuce and/or rice. I think the these and the tacos are better than the burritos.
Check the salad bar ahead of time as you may like to add a few items on top of your burrito bowl or tacos like olives, kidney beans, or chopped radishes. Be sure to ask if the refried beans are vegan – recently on Carnival they are not but the black beans are.
Tip: I was tempted to try some of the hot sauces on the salsa bar – you may want to put this into one of the small metal cups – “Fuego” was way too hot for me!
Dining Room
14. Consider trying one of the vegan entrees with lentils or tofu as an appetizer portion in addition to another entree. Sometimes the amount of protein in the meal may be lower than you may like, for example, with this vegan spaghetti and meatballs entree (Carnival). It has just two meatballs. They were tasty, but not too filling.
Port days and excursions
15. Shops and grocery stores are near some ports. Passengers can usually bring on unopened packaged snacks and canned drinks but not fresh produce: check the website for your cruise line first. Bags of nuts, granola bars, cereal bars, dried fruit, whole grain pretzels or tortilla chips can be convenient to pack for excursions. Ask ahead of time about plant-based options and check the reviews for excursions that serve food.
16. Request an ice bucket from the cabin steward early in the cruise. Bring a reusable water bottle from home: it’s so helpful for the gym, sitting on deck, and taking on excursions when allowed.
More Vegetarian and Vegan Cruise Tips
- The coolers in a stateroom may be fine to keep a beverage cool but tend to be warmer than the 40 degrees Fahrenheit needed for food safety for leftovers. Ask at the Guest Services desk before using it for food (if you need a refrigerator for medications, request this before your cruise).
- Fresh fruits and vegetables aren’t allowed on or off the ship.
- Pack a small bottle hand sanitizer for excursions and bring small bills of currency for shopping and restrooms.
- I like to take note of the foods that I like or didn’t like on each cruise on my phone. This helps me decide what to order next time and decrease food waste.
- Tips for Vegan and Vegetarian Eating on Royal Caribbean
Contact Information for Major Cruise Lines
Contact cruise lines early with your request, it can take a little while to receive you response. Include your name, booking number, ship, and date of sailing.
- Carnival: guestservices@carnival.com
- Royal Caribbean: special_needs@rccl.com
- Norweigan: contact by phone for special dietary needs at least 30 days before your sailing. Here are their Tips for Cruising with a Special Diet.
- Disney: Request vegetarian diets online through My Reservations and Special Requests
More Vegan Travel Tips
- How to Eat Plant-Based at an All-Inclusive Resort
- Healthy Eating at Indoor Water Parks
- 21 Healthy Beach Snack Ideas
- Healthy Snacks on Your Summer Road Trip
- How to Enjoy Healthy Eating on Cruises
- Healthy Choices from Free Breakfasts at Hotels
Do you have any favorite vegetarian or vegan cruise hacks for healthy plant-based eating? Please share them in the comments.
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