As a globetrotting vegetarian preparing to visit exotic destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean, you might expect your dining options to be somewhat limited. That’s never the case, however, when your vacation is on a Carnival cruise. Vegetarians happily discover many delicious meat-free options on the menus of almost all onboard dining outlets — for breakfast, lunch, dinners and snacks as well. Dining on new, delicious, chef-crafted dishes at every meal is one of the best parts of any vacation, one in which passengers with special dietary needs can indulge too. So along with no cooking and no dishes, you can add plenty of vegetarian choices to the long list of the joys of cruising.
Breakfast
When it comes to vegetarian cruise food, breakfast time promises a wide world of choices. Eggs are prepared every which way: Have a custom veggie omelet or huevos rancheros, a signature offering of Seaday Brunch. You can also enjoy fluffy stacks of pancakes smothered with blueberry compote. Awaken your inner child with a plate of cereal French toast, or fuel the day’s adventures with oatmeal and fresh fruit from the Dining Room’s breakfast spread. Another hearty and flavor-packed option is a veggie breakfast burrito from BlueIguana Cantina. Add all the salsas and hot sauces you desire.
Lunch
Many of Carnival’s onboard restaurants feature “build-your-own” stations where you can customize meals such as noodle bowls, salads and pasta dishes, all of which are ideal for creating vegetarian lunches. One day you could hit the Lido Restaurant’s Mongolian Wok station and watch as an expert chef sizzles together your choice of noodles, vegetables and sauce. The next day you might head for the pasta bar at Pasta Bella and concoct a custom combination of pasta, sauce and toppings.
Seeking something a little lighter as you get ready to hit the beaches of The Bahamas? Go for a healthy version of all-you-can eat at Fresh Creations, where the chopped salad station offers almost a dozen types of greens, countless vegetables and delicious dressings. Seasoned vegetarians know they can always find an amenable array of delicious dishes at an Indian restaurant, and Carnival’s Tandoor is no exception. From its clay ovens emerge all types of naan breads, pilafs and poppadoms, plus lentil and vegetable-packed curries as well as side orders of chutneys galore.
Dinner
When the omnivorous members of your family want to have dinner at the Steakhouse, don’t hesitate to join them. Vegetarian-friendly menu items there include grilled Portobello mushroom with a balsamic glaze, baked onion soup as appetizers, dinner salads of sun-ripened beefsteak tomatoes with gorgonzola crumbles, or baby leaf spinach and fresh mushrooms. Add a side or two to your meal, such as Yukon gold mash with horseradish or creamed spinach with garlic, and of course end your meal with a decadent dessert. There’s no question that you’ll leave satisfied.
Cruisers rave about the veggie burger at Guy’s Burger Joint, the perfect place for a casual, poolside meal to end a fun-filled day in the sun. It’s a hearty, two-hands-required creation, doctored-up however you like it at the toppings bar and best enjoyed alongside crispy, salty skin-on fries. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is also responsible for the menu at Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse, another onboard eatery with veggie-friendly sides to rival its meat dishes. Order a generous portion of Mac Daddy Mac ‘n Cheese or Old Skool Potato Salad and you might find yourself fending the kids’ forks off your plate.
Snacks
Snack time is any time you choose! Bean tacos topped with house-made salsas at BlueIguana Cantina are a perfect accompaniment to an icy margarita as you watch the sunset during a cruise to Mexico. And there are few better ways to cool down than with a towering cone of soft-serve ice cream from Swirls (open 24 hours on the Lido deck) as you sail across the blue Pacific to Hawaii.
Other onboard outlets open 24 hours a day to satisfy the whims of your appetite include Pizza Pirate, which offers vegetarian-friendly margherita, funghi and quattro formaggi slices and side salads, and the Carnival Deli, where a caprese sub with pickle spears on the side might be just what you’re after. Of course there’s also 24-hour Room Service, so pick up the phone, place an order and have whatever you fancy delivered directly to your stateroom door.
Enjoy a Vegetarian Vacation
With so many incredible veggie-friendly options onboard, a vegetarian cruiser need never eat the same dish twice, but that doesn’t mean you won’t want to. You may very well find yourself making a beeline to the Belgian waffles every morning, or calculating how many different pasta-sauce-veggie combos you can try before you get back home. There’s certainly no shame in ordering warm cookies from room service again.
Whether you’re the sole vegetarian in your group or your whole family has gone veggie, you will never feel short-changed when it comes to enjoying diverse, delicious and satisfying food at sea.
