Vegetarian

Justin Leas

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 31, 2017
I was looking at the pictures on the food board and realized that I might need to ask. My four year old has decided to be a vegetarian because it makes her sad that people kill animals. Are there many options at the dining room for a vegetarian kid? Or am I doomed to take her to the buffet for most meals?
 
I was looking at the pictures on the food board and realized that I might need to ask. My four year old has decided to be a vegetarian because it makes her sad that people kill animals. Are there many options at the dining room for a vegetarian kid? Or am I doomed to take her to the buffet for most meals?

Every adult menu has vegetarian options - not sure about the children’s menu.

Buffet only exists at breakfast and lunch. There is no buffet at dinner.

Just a note: this is a case where given that 4-year olds generally have no filters and you’ve said her reasons for going veggie, I would request your own table - and then seat her so that she cannot see other tables. Otherwise I could see massive meltdowns happening because others are eating meat.
 
From what I have seen there is usually mac and cheese on the kids menu, that is about it. She can also order off the adult menu which will have a few different vegetarian options each night. You might want to check out the Disney Cruise Line Blog which has some recent menus that you can look over to see if anything will sound good to her.

Just a note: this is a case where given that 4-year olds generally have no filters and you’ve said her reasons for going veggie, I would request your own table - and then seat her so that she cannot see other tables. Otherwise I could see massive meltdowns happening because others are eating meat.
Was thinking this also. Her choice is fine and good on you allowing her to make those decisions, but most people on the ship will not be making the same decision.
 


I was looking at the pictures on the food board and realized that I might need to ask. My four year old has decided to be a vegetarian because it makes her sad that people kill animals. Are there many options at the dining room for a vegetarian kid? Or am I doomed to take her to the buffet for most meals?

There almost always is cheese and tomato pizza, mac and cheese, often a tomato based sauce and pasta. The adult vegetarian options aren’t great to be honest, but she’d be welcome to order any of them, maybe an adult appetiser would be enough? We’ve never asked in the MDR but they may be able to do her a veggie burger as they have them on board
 
Not sure if your daughter eats seafood or not but my little one loves the salmon in the MDR. She always ordered off the main menus and plenty of seafood dishes (she loves her seafood). She’s not a vegetarian but prefers seafood and lots of veggies. Which we made sure she had. And there were plenty of that at cabanas too.
Even at the grill (the panini stations), she ordered a mozzarella cheese and tomato panini.
 
My daughter is vegan and a teenager and fussy as heck. If worst comes to worst there are always uncrustables.
 


DCL has faced just about every situation in the MDRs. If you ask your servers for help with future food choices at your first dinner, I am sure they will be helpful. I know they always have mac/cheese on the kid's menu. We have a very, very picky 11-year-old granddaughter who is within a whisker of being a vegetarian. She survived a week-long Alaska trip with us in June. She was huge into breads, pizza, grilled cheese (another good alternative), spaghetti (no sauce or butter, please, with loads of Parm Cheese) and a few vegetables. Now, about the desserts...this was her specialty and went crazy. She is still skinny as a rail, does very well in school and loves turtles and frogs...alive. Hope this helps.
 
My husband, 20 month old daughter and I are all vegetarians. We just got off a 5 day Disney Wonder cruise. We found lots of options for all of us to eat and in fact I even gained 5 lbs from all the food I ate! We ate at cabanas, all three main dining restaurants, had room service and Palo for hubby and I. All the restaurants were vegetarian friendly.
 
this is a case where given that 4-year olds generally have no filters and you’ve said her reasons for going veggie, I would request your own table - and then seat her so that she cannot see other tables. Otherwise I could see massive meltdowns happening because others are eating meat.

Definitely. Though it doesn't seem that the parents are veggie, so...


Op, Mac and cheese on the kids menu is tasty. Add some steamed broccoli to that and yum.

Or let her expand her horizons with someone at the table ordering a vegetarian adult menu entree for (as my fave Trader Joe's employees called them) "adventure bites".
 
Definitely. Though it doesn't seem that the parents are veggie, so...


Op, Mac and cheese on the kids menu is tasty. Add some steamed broccoli to that and yum.

Or let her expand her horizons with someone at the table ordering a vegetarian adult menu entree for (as my fave Trader Joe's employees called them) "adventure bites".

True. Though they could also have developed a "deaf ear" to the child protesting them eating meat whereas tablemates might not be thrilled to be "preached to" by a 4-year-old. :) (Or have pitiful faces made at their plates. I've seen a child do that also. LOL.)
 
Just a note: this is a case where given that 4-year olds generally have no filters and you’ve said her reasons for going veggie, I would request your own table - and then seat her so that she cannot see other tables. Otherwise I could see massive meltdowns happening because others are eating meat.

Yeah . . . this won't be necessary as we are not a vegetarian household. She decided all on her own. She once excitedly asked her sister, "Hey sister, do you want to be a vegetarian like me?" To which the answer was a definite "no" followed immediately by consumption of meat products. Often we have vegetarian meals but sometimes we have meals that include meat she does not partake of. Occasionally we eat meat and make her a meat alternative. We are very supportive of her choice. I am glad to hear that there are options.
 
Yeah . . . this won't be necessary as we are not a vegetarian household. She decided all on her own. She once excitedly asked her sister, "Hey sister, do you want to be a vegetarian like me?" To which the answer was a definite "no" followed immediately by consumption of meat products. Often we have vegetarian meals but sometimes we have meals that include meat she does not partake of. Occasionally we eat meat and make her a meat alternative. We are very supportive of her choice. I am glad to hear that there are options.

Good to hear. You never know in those situations. Some - like it sounds like your daughter is - are cool about people making their own choices. Others are not so much and just make it miserable for omnivores around them.
 
Just want to say I think this is really sweet. You should be proud, you are raising an independent thinker!
 
My daughter at 8 just turned vegetarian before our cruise in August - similar reasoning to yours. Unfortunately she won't eat fish either. She had a horrible time at dinner. The vegetarian options at dinner (off the adult menu) were probably some of the worst food I've ever had on any cruise! From the kids' menu the mac n cheese was not good, the pizza was little bigger than the size of a donut. She did like the veggie burgers up by the pool but they didn't serve them in the dining room. We found that out when we tried to order them. From that night on they always had one available for her. That helped a lot. Without the veggie burger, not sure what she would have eaten. Let your daughter check soup/salad/appetizer options from the adult menu. There were a couple things on there during the course of the week.

Lunch buffet was easier - mostly pizza, sometimes (another) veggie burger - once pasta. Breakfast was fine as well.
 
My son loved the tomato soup they had one night. He had two bowls of it. Now, was it made with chicken stock? I don't know, but maybe a 4, she's not picky enough to know the difference if it is?

I would mark it on the reservation and I'd let the service team know her wishes, but also make sure that they know it's not a family thing or they might you all want vegetarian fare. Perhaps, peruse the menus from past cruises to get an idea of what might be alternatives she would enjoy.
 
We aren't vegetarians, but we generally have the late dinner and I don't want to eat something heavy that late. My DD and I have often selected the vegetarian options from the adult menu, and we really enjoyed them. There are definitely options out there; whether she likes the food or not will depend on her tastes.
 
Don’t be afraid to order a bunch of side items. Mashed pototoes, vegetables whatever they are having that night for side items. The adult vegetarian meals Most kids will not like them.
 
DW and DD are vegan, other dd is vegetarian. Vegetarian is easy cause mac and cheese and fries, but she isn't allowed mac and cheese every night, has to try something else when possible, and they usually have some good options. Even just butter noodles with parmesan or cheese ravioli, etc. they also have some good soups and salads(just don't tell her the soups are chicken/beef broth base...sshhhh...)
 
My kids are pesco veg and I'm regular veg ;) We have never had issues at dinner. My middle daughter was 4 on our first cruise and she mostly ordered off the adult menu. There will be plenty for her to eat beyond mac n cheese and pizza, I promise.
 

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