KeyGal

I'm taking my very first cruise this July on the Carnival Victory to New England & Halifax
(4 days). It's a family birthday event so I have no choice, it's booked. I'm concerned about the kind of food that will be available. My diet is mainly whole grains, beans, tofu, soups, vegetables, fish, and occasionally eggs. I don't eat meat, chicken, white bread, white rice, sugar or sweeteners, and I avoid additives & chemicals.

Am I going to be living on Caesar salads for 4 days? I was planning to bring rice cakes

KeyGal

oops, hit the wtrong button. Was planning to bring rice cakes & green tea with me. Can anybody give me any tips or descriptions on what the food is like to help me plan? Many thanks.

jacketwatch

Actually try this. Talk to the Maitre'd on the first night for dinner and explain the type of food you pefer. I think they will rustle up something suitable. Special meal requests are normal on cruises. My wife always requests Indian food on the first night and we have never had a problem.

maryann

You will find most of those foods at every meal. Esp. on the buffets.

No matter the food preference - no one went hungry on a cruise - to my knowlege.

gail

In my limited cruise experience, protein and whole grains will be the biggest issue. There was always some sort of fish choice on the cruises we have taken, and you can always ask for it without the sauce. But I imagine plain fish would get a little tiresome after 4 days. Fruits and Veggies are everywhere - both plain and in some sort of salad or combination. No reason you can't ask for double or triple vegetables at any meal. However, I can't recall seeing any whole grains except as garnishes, ingredients in something like a rice pilaf, etc.

I would estimate at least half of every buffet is white food - flour, potatoes, sugar.

Don't know if you do dairy, but there was usually plain yogurt and cheeses around. You could also probably get bartended to mix up a smoothie according to your ingredient preferences.

I am sure you are very used to dining out challenges with your diet choices - so it should not be any different than in the real world. Probably the hardest part will be listening to all the family members nag at you about what you are eating and not eating.

LLindaC

Key Gal, I'm an aquatarian too. They always offer vegetarian choices, however I've found that these aren't neccesarily the bean/grain combos that we require. However, I've always eaten breakfastand lunch at the buffet where there are all kinds of choices. Tofu isn't easy to get on the ship, in my experience, but they will always make you an egg beater omelet. You'll find soups daily at dinner and lunch and there's usually 2 seafood selections at every dinner, too. If you see side dishes on other entrees that you like, you can combine them for a dinner. The thing about cruising is they WANT to please you and you can design a dinner in any style you please. I've never had trouble eating healthy on a ship- it's nice to have someone cut up all my fruits and veggies for me!

Suerich68

Can you not request a special diet before you go?

KeyGal

Thanks for all the good ideas, which I will follow up on. I'll definitely bring my own sunflower seed bread and rice cakes. How about breakfast -- is there unsweetened oatmeal or other decent cereal available?

gail

On RCCL and NCL cruises I have taken there were vats of some sort of unsweetened hot cereal at each breakfast.

KeyGal

Back from cruise. The good: there was hot oatmeal, cream of wheat, whole wheat toast, prunes, and good egg dishes available at breakfast. Plain yogurt available at all buffets. Could make a healthy salad at every meal with lettuce, various canned veggies, shredded carrots, sunflower seeds, and raisins. Dining room always had at least one vegetarian entree on menu. Found out later reading the registration material that you can request a special diet with at least 2 weeks advance notice. There were fish entrees at lunch and dinner (though too often they were prepared with potatoes, tomatoes, or cheese, 3 ingredients I find yucky with fish).

But everyone who posted here was right -- I was able to find something I liked at every meal.

The worst thing about the cruise was that there was no decent drinking water available. Celebrity's materials said that the water on board was perfectly acceptable for drinking. NOT TRUE! The water from the faucets, from the fountain at the buffet, and from the carafes in the dining room was FOUL and tasted like dirty water from a swimming pool. Bottled water was not sold in any of the shops, so our only option was to pay $3.50 for the liter of bottled water provided in our state room.

I was thrilled with St. John, New Brunswick (diverted from Halifax because of storm), which has the most wonderful food market behind the mall. I found the most fantastic naturally smoked salmon, trout, and cod, and there were numerous stands that sold bags of dulse seaweed ready for eating. Prices on everything in the market were at least 20% below what you'd pay in the states.

kfusto

I can only say that my personal experience on Carnival Glory was not good re food.

I am a healthy eater and my waiter in the main dining room told me nightly that sauces were already on food (pre made) and could not be left off. No special preparations sans grease and salt was available.

The breaksfast buffet was a real challenge. The one egg white omelette I had was so greasy it was inedible. And the salad bar at lunch was mostly prepared salads heavy on the mayonaisse and oil.

I really had a had time with the food as I follow a low fat, lean protein, good carb diet all the time.

The good news is that I lost 2 pounds on the cruise : )

LLindaC

well, that's interesting. I've only done Carnival's smaller ships, the Jubilee and the Sensation. I think the smaller the ship, the fewer choices, especially on the buffet. I prefer RCCL and have sailed the huge Eagle class ships 5 times. The buffet is great- there are always plenty of fruits and vegetables. On Mariner, they have an area called Jade which has Pacific Rim food, and I could find tofu and curried veggies. I didn't notice the water tasting bad- but I sure have heard that from many.

bonniejns

My son used to be a salesman with 3 nights on the road every week. He told me he used the melted ice, from night befores ice machine, every moring to make his coffee. Something about the water they use to make ice. We've done same, saving melted ice water on ships. It is better than what you can get at a faucet. Try it!

gail

What a great idea about the ice machine ice - I think it goes thru some sort of filter on most ice machines.

Suerich68

A week of bottled water costs about $20. You'd rather drink melted ice?

KeyGal

You're right about the ice -- I forgot to mention it. I discovered it by accident. It was the only potable water on board aside from the rip-off $3.50 liters.