Review: Carnival Cruise Vegan Menu
We try to take a cruise every year, although we missed last year because we went to NYC and LA instead. But this year, we took a week long cruise on Carnival and I just got off the Carnival Magic ship today (March 31, 2024). Usually, the food on Carnival is lacking, but this time was so much better, and it's because they now have a vegan menu.
In prior cruises with Carnival we struggle to find decent options. Their food options for vegetarians and vegans is lacking if you want something beyond a salad. I do not like buffets at all, and I know you can find a few options there, but I try to stay away from them. I don't like the food options at them, I don't care for the chaos surrounding them, or everyone pawing all over the serving equipment. So we tend to eat in the dining room on the ship or get food from one of the other restaurants on board.
The first night on there we ordered as usual from the regular menu in the dining room. It was the second day that I found the vegan menu by accident. I really feel like they hide the fact that they offer vegan food. I don't know if it's because it costs them more or they don't like the inconvenience of having to go off course to make it. I was scrolling the dining room menu in the Carnival Hub app and saw there were multiple pages. It was drink menu pages after the regular menu and I almost just left it, but I finished scrolling and much to my surprise there was a vegan menu at the end. Wow!
So each night we went to the dining room and told the waiter we were ordering from the vegan menu. They had no issues with it, but they told us it would take more time and they would always go check with someone to make sure it was possible. The service in getting the vegan food was slow, very slow, but the food was the best we've had on any Carnival cruise, so we felt it was worth it. While all the dishes were not great, and honestly we questioned a few of them being vegan, I appreciate the effort they made. Some of the dishes were good, including the plant based chicken, vegan hamburger steak, and tofu steaks. They also had good vegan sorbets each night.
The vegan menu is available in the dining room for dinner. I read an article that said they announced they were adding a vegan menu in September 2023 and by the end of 2023 all of their ships would have it available. I don't know if that happened, but the Magic did have it this week, and we are really grateful they did. Some of the dishes offered included vegan shrimp, vegan chicken, pasta, salads, soup, and more.
In addition to the vegan menu in the dining room, there was also a lovely surprise in that you can get a vegan cheeseburger at Guy's Burger Joint. They do not make it known though. Again, it seems like hidden information. Someone else mentioned it to me and I inquired to find it was true. It takes about 5-6 minutes to wait for the burger, but it's worth it. They even cook it on a separate grill. I think they use the Beyond Burger. That's what it tasted like to me. I also found vegan food at the Mongolian Wok, which was pretty good.
Two thumbs up for Carnival moving toward offering people more vegan options. I appreciate the effort and hope they make it more well known, so that it's not so hidden. I think more people would happily offer from it if they knew it was available (although I don't know that Carnival would like that).
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