After a break of 6 years, we found ourselves back on a Celebrity ship and were keen to find out how the vegan dining options had developed. As is with our normal procedure on embarkation day, we had lunch in the Oceanview Café and were immediately impressed to find a separate station dedicated to vegan food so along with all the other salads, vegetables and fruits available, Nicole was able to eat really well.
What a great start to our cruise and a very welcome addition for Nicole.
Our first visit to the MDR was another story, no vegan menu or vegan options for the first night. When we confronted the Maitre D, it turned out there was a menu but not one you could choose from on the first night. Our waiters were at a loss until we suggested that maybe one of them could go up to the buffet and gather a plate or two from the vegan station and bring it back down so Nicole could eat and didn’t have to sit and watch me eat for an hour. This was implemented and Nicole was able to pick from the menu for the following evening, the menu itself was the same one throughout the cruise and listed a good selection of dishes to choose from. It certainly provided Nicole with the chance to try different options for most of the cruise.
We suggested the Maitre D that maybe it would be a good idea to include a vegan dish or two for the first night because until you have visited once, you would not be able to select for the following night. The current system is totally flawed in that respect.
Below is a selection of photos of dishes that Nicole enjoyed in the Grand Epernay Restaurant (MDR).
During the last week of the cruise, the waiters started to bring a vegan dessert for Nicole, no options and just a surprise dish every night which was a nice touch. We wondered why it took a week for that to happen. Below are some photos of the desserts, we were guilty of forgetting to take a lot of photos so there are quite a few gaps.
Breakfast was taken in the buffet everyday day apart from one, it suited Nicole so it was just a case of eating there when it was less busy. They again had a vegan selection available and it was just the sort of thing Nicole enjoys so it was a no-brainer.
The one time we ate breakfast in the MDR was the last morning and the previous evening we had arranged with the Maitre D for Nicole to have scrambled tofu, this worked well apart from a mix-up somewhere as Nicole received two plates of it.
The speciality restaurants were a total no-go with nothing on any of the menus that Nicole could eat. They are missing a trick there as it means I can’t go either which is something that would be nice to do once or twice per cruise.
It was Nicole’s birthday during this cruise and Celebrity brought out a cake and the waiters all sang happy birthday, a nice gesture but only let down by the fact the cake wasn’t vegan. My birthday on Costa Firenze couldn’t have been more different after I received a vegan birthday cake so Nicole could enjoy it too.
The bars that provided coffee all had soya milk so Nicole was able to enjoy a soy cappuccino whenever she fancied one.
All in all, Nicole was able to eat really well and apart from the first night in the MDR, everything was a positive experience.
