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'Cheating' for a special occasion?
Started
by Rebecca Hutt
on June 23, 2011
In December, my family and I will be going on a cruise. My mom already said that there is almost no possible way to be vegan on a cruise... but she will most DEFINITELY be vegetarian. I... myself... am still a little iffy. I would feel terrible just giving up on being vegan for a week... but of course there WILL be tons of non-vegan things I will be craving. What do I do? Please help 
December is still a while from now. If you keep it up you'll get more accustomed to how to order vegan meals, make vegan snacks to take with you to go, etc. I say do A LOT of research on where to eat at wherever your cruise docks. Make sure you talk to your waiter on the cruise ship about being vegan. What I found works is saying that you are ALLERGIC to meat, fish, dairy, and eggs. They seem to take it a lot more seriously. Also pack vegan snacks with you. Alicia has a section in her book on how to pack for that...instant oatmeals, instant ramens and miso soups, brown rice krispies, etc. Don't know if you can but request a fridge in your stateroom and whatever you find on land that's vegan you can bring it with you onto the ship and stock up as well.
Awesome ideas! Thanks so much :)
There are several threads on here about cruises and how to stay vegan while doing it - apparently, there are ways. Use the site search and enter 'cruise.'
I'd be stocking up on Luna bars and Lara bars beforehand if I were you! It is true that December is still pretty far from now so I agree with those who suggested doing research. If you plan ahead, I think you can stay vegan on your trip. You also have to really want to, though. For me, I'd have it no other way.
OMG, there are so many options for any kind of a diet on a cruise. I'm going on my third one in March. You'll be so surprised at the variety at the dinners and the buffets. Don't worry one bit and there's no need to bring additional snacks because they have it all:) Even being vegan you'll probably gain weight because of all the yummy selections. Enjoy because you'll have the time of your life.
If it were me, I think I'd do vegan the majority of the time (after all, it is just a ton of buffets to choose from and this is possible) and limit my dairy items to just one a day while there.
I recently went to Rome, Italy, for two weeks and while I was there I was a vegetarian, not a vegan. I had milk in my coffee and cheese on my pizza, but I also ate a lot of veggies and bread. And, just a heads up, I had a bowel problem when I got there and when I left. I don't know if this was the dairy or the traveling itself, but I was just so eager to get back home to my vegan diet. I am much happier as a vegan, but I don't feel guilty for eating dairy on my trip. Like Alicia, I sometimes have a bite of something that's not vegan, like a piece of chocolate candy or a spoon of ice cream. Even Alicia says not to worry about every little thing, like eggs in pasta, etc. I think the important thing is to do your best and enjoy your diet. And your cruise!
Rebecca -- I just got back from a wonderful cruise on Royal Caribbean! They did have some goofy guideline about "absolutely no vegan meals will be provided," (I checked on the phone first)but that was a lot of malarky. There was tons of great vegan food on board You just have to know what to avoid. The buffets had so much to choose from, I could get piles of wonderful animal-free food, with lots of variety. The only issue for me was the formal dinners, when you choose from a small menu. For this part, it was suggested I should speak to the maitre'd, but I didn't (big family reunion, wanted to hang with the folks and figured it would all work out okay) I was lucky to find that there was a vegan choice every night, but I don't think they had planned it that way. It was just that the vegetarian choice just so happened to be vegan. Each night it was a curry, with a different name, and with different veggies, but always delicious. The only night I ate something different was when a pasta pomodoro was featured. The server did note that I ordered the same thing every night, and I explained I was vegan. All the food was amazing. I did not cheat! I blogged about it all a couple of weeks ago. See my archives about the cruise. Have fun and call the cruiseline first for suggestions!
http://midlifevegan.blogspot.com
If you can bring food with you check it may help in a big way.
Most cruises these days can cater to peoples special food needs such as allergies(gluten/wheat etc), aswell as offering vegetarian samples. Phone the company up in advance and see if they already cater to vegans or if they could offer any specific dishes to you.
http://www.amlaberry.co.uk
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