Amazing Royal Caribbean Vegan & Vegetarian Menu & Food Options

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How exciting is it to plan to embark on a cruise!? The anticipation of exotic destinations, picturesque beaches, thrilling excursions, and exploring the innovative ships is unlike any other experience. Of course, we cannot imagine an incredible cruise without one of its most important elements: THE FOOD. Choosing a vegan-friendly cruise line and ship will ensure a satisfying vacation for vegans and vegetarians. Here I share my experience with finding vegan options on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. I discuss navigating the buffet, an incredible vegan menu in the main dining room, and other finds throughout the ship.

Does Royal Caribbean have Vegan and Vegetarian Food?

Most cruisers cannot wait to indulge in the fine dining cuisine, all-you-can-eat buffets, and 24/7 ice-cream. Being at the mercy of whatever is available on the ship can be nerve-wracking when you have certain dietary requirements. Royal Caribbean’s Dietary Restrictions page assures that gluten-free, kosher, low-fat, low-sodium, and vegetarian options are available. Not seeing “vegan” in black-and-white can heighten concern for whether there are sufficient vegan food options on cruise ships.

No assurance of vegan options on Royal Caribbean’s website reminded me of an awful experience I had on another cruise line in the past. Although they may have upped their game since my sailing with them in 2017, Carnival is not a vegan-friendly cruise line. When my cruise with Royal Caribbean was approaching, I hoped for the best but prepared for the worst. I filled a small suitcase with enough protein bars, powders, and snacks to sustain myself for a 7-day cruise. Thankfully, I did not need most of them, as Royal Caribbean is a vegan-friendly cruise line!

Can You Eat Vegan at the Royal Caribbean Lunch Buffet?

Upon boarding the ship, I went straight to the buffet area. How pleasantly surprising, and relieving, to walk around and see all of the vegetarian and vegan options Royal Caribbean offers! Fresh spinach and other leafy greens, veggies, chickpeas, lentils, and other healthy options were always available at the salad bar.

In addition to the salad bar, the buffet remained stocked with green beans, zucchini, squash, carrots, broccoli, corn, and more. I always had more than enough veggies to enjoy! The buffet also always had pasta, which I appreciated. There were options of olive oil or marinara sauce for the pasta, both of which were vegan. Rice and potatoes were always available at the buffet, so I just chose what I felt like at each meal.

The pasta, rice, veggies, and potatoes were always fresh, delicious, and unlimited! The buffet offered vegan chili for lunch one day. It had several types of beans and was very flavorful. Another delicious vegan option, Lebanese noodles, satisfied my craving for something spicy.

Are There Vegan Breakfast Options in the Royal Caribbean Buffet?

Now that you have seen a good amount of vegan lunch options at the buffet, let’s talk about breakfast. The vegan options Royal Caribbean offers for breakfast were better than I expected. I went to the buffet and ate the same thing every morning: a bowl of oatmeal, hash browns, and fruit.

I liked the oatmeal at the buffet because they had cinnamon, sugar, maple syrup, and raisins to top it with. If you aren’t a big fan of oatmeal, there are other options that you may enjoy. There was always vegan miso soup with tofu at breakfast time, a huge variety of fresh fruits, potatoes, and more. There is soy milk available upon request, and I always had a glass with breakfast to get more calories in. Before you leave breakfast to go enjoy your day, grab a few extra pieces of fruit to take along. Each morning there were plenty of bananas, apples, pears, oranges, kiwi, plums, and more set out at the buffet. When you’re off the ship, you may not be able to find restaurants with adequate vegan options. In such situations, you will be glad to have the extra fruit!

Does Royal Caribbean Have a Vegan Menu?

The main dining room offers the best vegan options on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. I would have been extremely grateful for a Royal Caribbean vegetarian menu… but Royal Caribbean outdid themselves with a full vegan menu! As mentioned before, I had a previous bad experience finding vegan options on a Carnival cruise. The vegan options in Carnival’s main dining room were lousy, to say the least. Six pieces of broccoli drenched in tomato sauce, a bowl of plain spaghetti drowning in olive oil, a cold, unseasoned block of tofu straight out of the package, a room-temperature bowl of artificial strawberry syrup passed off as a “chilled soup”… you get the picture. It’s no wonder I was preparing for the worst while getting ready for the Royal Caribbean cruise! To my amazement, when I told my waiter I’m vegan the first night, he handed me a full vegan menu! 

The Royal Caribbean vegan menu was truly incredible!

Seeing the variety of Royal Caribbean’s vegan options, I genuinely shed a few happy tears. If you know what it feels like to skip meals when you are already hungry, get physically sick from inadequate nutrition, and feel like you are an inconvenience to others because of your diet, then you know the gratification of a delicious, filling meal. Gracious staff who ensure you do not feel unaccounted for makes all the difference in a positive dining experience.

What Vegan Appetizers Does Royal Caribbean Offer?

My favorite appetizer was these mixed vegetable spring rolls. I ate them every single night of the cruise, they were that good. The spring rolls came with a sweet chili sauce and were perfect to munch on while browsing the menu. The second night of the cruise and thereafter, our waiter brought a huge plate of spring rolls for the table. He knew how much we liked them!

From the cold, plain tofu on the Carnival cruise to this amazing fried sweet chili tofu, what an upgrade! I was ecstatic that Royal Caribbean offered a plant-based protein option that was actually tasty.

The vegan soups far exceeded my expectations. Every single one was delicious! I tried creamy mushroom soup, Thai Asian noodle soup, split pea soup, and a chilled apple carrot soup. I almost didn’t try the chilled soup because of the awful strawberry syrup “soup” on the Carnival cruise. I’m so glad I tried it, because this apple carrot soup actually ended up being my favorite. I liked it so much that I ordered it four of the seven nights. It tasted so fresh and natural!

What Vegan Main Dishes are Available?

I consider a cruise line to be vegan-friendly when they do not make vegan guests feel “less than” because of their lifestyle choices. I cannot speak enough praise of the Royal Caribbean vegan options, always satisfying and healthy. Choosing which entrée to enjoy each night, knowing they were all completely plant-based, was so exciting! Pictured below are some of the amazing vegan options Royal Caribbean offers for dinner. My favorite dishes were the Pad Thai noodles and the vegan bean burritos. I alternated between these two options most nights because they were so tasty and filling.

The noodle dish consisted of tofu, carrots, green onions, bean sprouts, and peanuts in a sweet and sour sauce. The burritos contained beans and mixed veggies in flour tortillas and came with fresh pico de gallo and guacamole. I also enjoyed the grilled vegetable and tofu kebobs, served with brown pilaf rice with almonds. The last picture shows the dinner served to me on the first night of the cruise. The waiter actually apologized for this meal, assuring me that the dinners from the vegan menu would be much better. To me, a baked potato, rice, and veggies is not a meal to apologize about! I felt grateful to be eating a filling, nutritious plant-based dinner. Plus, the excitement of the vegan menu left no room for disappointment!

Does Royal Caribbean Have Vegan Desserts

Yes, Royal Caribbean includes delicious vegan dessert options! Many non-vegan restaurants offer dozens of dairy-laden desserts, but don’t have much to show for vegan guests. I thought the cruise dessert experience would be similar, especially because of my experience on the Carnival cruise, where “dessert” was cantaloupe and grapes.

Pictured first is a chocolate cherry cake. I’ll be honest, I ate a slice of that cake for dessert almost every night of the cruise! It was rich, moist, decadent, and everything you would want in a slice of chocolate cake. Next up is pumpkin spice rice pudding, which was uniquely tasty as well. The vanilla cupcake tasted just like a homemade vegan cupcake and the frosting was delicious without being overly sweet. On the last night, I felt like a healthier option and asked if I could have fruit for dessert. To my delight, the waiter brought out a cup of fresh berries. Royal Caribbean did not fall short in the vegan dessert category!

Where Else Can You Find Vegan Food on the Cruise Ship?

Aside from the buffet and main dining area, there are several other vegan options on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas. Sorrento’s Pizza is located on the main deck, with all items included in the cruise fare, excluding beer and soda. On a late night while craving a quick snack, I stopped in for some bruschetta.

Another afternoon, I was craving pizza for lunch. I asked whether the cooks could make a couple slices with no cheese, and they said that would not be a problem. After about a 10 minute wait, one of the cooks brought me four slices of pizza with marinara sauce. Score! Not a minute later, another cook walked out and apologized for the “plain” pizza. He brought me four more slices, this time topped with veggies! He insisted on taking the plain pizza back, but I said I would still eat them. Yes, I did eat all eight slices, and they most definitely satisfied my pizza craving! 😉

Cafe Promenade offers tea and coffee at no additional cost. Some other vegan options can be found at the restaurants around the ship that do require additional costs, but I recommend taking advantage of the incredible options that are already included.

Should I Pack Any Vegan Snacks?

YES! Although there are many vegan options Royal Caribbean offers on the ship, I still brought a ton of my own snacks. I prepared for the worst because I did not know there would be so many plant-based options aboard. While I did not need most of them, I still recommend packing a few things for those long beach and excursion days where you likely won’t eat a full meal for several hours.

Of the foods I did bring, I was most glad to have a box of my favorite vegan protein bars. I love the Dark Chocolate variety pack, you honestly can’t go wrong with any of the flavors! I love that these protein bars are also non-gmo, gluten-free, and literally taste like eating a candy bar. These bars come in handy every time I travel or just want a quick, healthy snack to satisfy my sweet tooth, while still getting in some high quality plant-based protein.

I also brought and recommend packing a few servings of vegan protein powder, nuts, some dried fruit, crunchy chickpeas, and fruit pouches. As I mentioned above, don’t forget to take advantage of all the fresh fruit at the buffet!

I hope my experience has assured you that Royal Caribbean vegetarian and vegan options are plentiful and delicious. When considering cruising, I would highly recommend this cruise line as you will not go hungry or feel like an outsider because of your diet. The more we share our experiences, the more likely we are to create demand for vegan options on cruise ships. In sharing, we also learn which cruise lines to avoid, and which we can count on to adequately feed us. If you have had good or bad experiences with finding plant-based options on any cruise lines, I would love to hear about them! What are your experiences cruising with special dietary requirements?

Before you go, check out some reader favorite recipes:

Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower

Zesty Vegan Tacos

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting