Meals on long cruises

[Bruiserknits]

We are doing the 2020 westbound transatlantic 11 night cruise. It’s in the Magic. So do they have different menus for such long cruises? Especially the vegetarian menu. Most of the time I only find one option on the menu that is appealing so even if we have a night at Paolo’s and a pirate night menu, that leaves six nights eating the same three meals. Any suggestions or experiences? While the spouse is omnivore and always likes everything in the menu, I find the vegetarian choices slim and sometimes too spicy for me.

 

[Marc D]

On special cruise like a TA, each menu will be different. They do never repeat the menus throughout the cruise. I don’t know when you last sailed on DCL, but like Disney in general, they are really adding to and upgrading their vegan/vegetarian options. You should find at least a few options in each sections of the menus. They have also more options in Cabanas now.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are doing the 2020 westbound transatlantic 11 night cruise. It’s in the Magic. So do they have different menus for such long cruises? Especially the vegetarian menu. Most of the time I only find one option on the menu that is appealing so even if we have a night at Paolo’s and a pirate night menu, that leaves six nights eating the same three meals. Any suggestions or experiences? While the spouse is omnivore and always likes everything in the menu, I find the vegetarian choices slim and sometimes too spicy for me.

As noted, you will experience a different (themed) menu each night. There may be specific items that will be repeated (often with a different name, so read the descriptions), but an entire menu will not be duplicated.

There's always the lighter fare menu that's available, also. I often just get the roasted chicken breast on that. Have you gone to Cabanas for dinner? That's also an option, and they have their own menu now, from what I understand.

 

[mmmears]

We did a 10 night on the Magic in Europe in 2018 and the menus never repeated. We had the 3 "regular" ones, no pirate night for us since it was N. Europe, but definitely some interesting menus all around. They had some "regional inspiration" items on the menus as well. And Animator's Palette didn't have any kind of a show on the 3rd night. DD and I often choose the veggie entrees on cruises since neither of us wants a heavy dinner, and we didn't have any issues. I do remember asking for some sort of pasta dish at Rapunzel's to be made without the seafood it came with (which is clearly something they add on when plating it and not something they would cook together), and they had no problem serving it that way. Hope this helps.

 

[monkeydawn]

Just an extra option since you noted that the vegetarian options are often too spicy for you, you can request most of the sauces to be on the side. I tend to not do well with some very common sauce components, I can have them in small doses but find most places drown your meal in sauce. So I usually order all sauces on the side and just test a little to see if I think its bothersome and then use it appropriately after my test. But this will only be helpful if the main component is kind of plain (many are) and you dont mind eating it that way of the sauce is too spicy. Or you could ask for a different sauce on the side that you know you can eat. If you plan to go this route I suggest visiting the head waiter on your first day and explaining the situation so that your serving team will get a heads up.

 

[KashasMom]

Just off a 5 night on the Magic with a vegan and a vegetarian. There were two vegetarian options each night and one was always a tofu dish. This is the second time my little vegetarian had a rough go on Disney (1st time she was 8, now 10). It would be great if Disney didn't try to "fancy it" up so much and offered more "clean" veggies. We did request Indian vegetarian one night and this was the first time on all our Disney cruises that it was NOT good. The non-veg dish was good. In any case, I did find it spicy so maybe that's not an option for you. I'd definitely suggest researching options (Google!). Then once onboard you can check each night's menu on the app. For the nights where you can't find anything that sounds good, make a special request the night before. They did have a soup and a salad each night and of course, you can have pasta or a veggie burger (burger must be requested in advance). You'll be fine with breakfast and lunch. They were super great with my vegan but he did eat a lot of tofu!

 

[Bruiserknits]

On special cruise like a TA, each menu will be different. They do never repeat the menus throughout the cruise. I don’t know when you last sailed on DCL, but like Disney in general, they are really adding to and upgrading their vegan/vegetarian options. You should find at least a few options in each sections of the menus. They have also more options in Cabanas now.

We just got off the Dream and the menus were almost exactly what they have been the past three cruises, including the horrid (to me) mushrooms with “parsley pesto.”
Thanks for all the info. The longest cruise we we’ve done is a five night and there was something special two nights (Rapunzel night and pirate night) so every menu was different. I’ve watched the changes in the Disney vegetarian options over the years (we are 20 year AP holders) and while it has made some positive changes sometimes the menu offerings tend to look a lot like they were made by someone who thinks they know what vegetarians want and not really made by vegetarians. I detest the Impossible burgers and sometimes that’s all you can find. I was happy that the veggie burger in Castaway Cay was still the original Veggie Burger.

 

[auntlynne]

The non-meat parts of many of the meals look pretty tasty (and might not be as spicy). It definitely extends your options beyond the two vegetarian offerings. You could get multiple plates of the side dishes. Meat eaters have no qualms ordering more than one entree.

 

[Bruiserknits]

The non-meat parts of many of the meals look pretty tasty (and might not be as spicy). It definitely extends your options beyond the two vegetarian offerings. You could get multiple plates of the side dishes. Meat eaters have no qualms ordering more than one entree.

Yeah, between the other vegetarian and I, we managed to order all the veggies and side dishes on our last cruise each night. It’s just frustrating having to create a meal when none of the offerings look appetizing. I didn’t starve, but sometimes left unsatisfied because vegetarians do eat protein and many times the dinner options were quite lacking in protein. I don’t eat out a lot mostly because I find most restaurants to not have good options other than “we can make you a salad without the meat” or it’s a black bean burger. There are only so many salads and veggie burgers a person can eat. Disney is a little better, but still lacking.

 

[hippiechicken]

I was on a 7 night Magic cruise this summer, and they were always accommodating.
I had a few entrees without the meat, like the Pad Thai


I could eat enough salad for a meal any night!







I got several apps without meat, too, I think.



One time I created my own plate from sides of the entrees.
Here's a Brussels Sprouts, cauliflower mash, potato plate...


If you're still hungry, don't forget the late night dining options. Fruit and veggies were always out.



I can't wait for my next cruise!!

 

[auntlynne]

Yes, I didn’t see a lot of protein sources other than meat. And wondered how you got full. Although we’re told not to eat too much bread or it will fill you up.