Vegetarianism

Todays question comes all the way from Sweden.  L. asks:

Is there any problem being a vegetarian onboard a ship?

I know a little bit about this.  I recently spent a short time as a vegetarian – enough time to understand the challenges involved.  I think being a vegetarian on a cruise ship isn’t any harder than being a vegetarian on land.  There are fewer options, just like on land, but there are still options.

As a musician, you’ll have officer status which means (among other things) that you eat the same food the passengers eat.  Cruise ships are known for their food and their cuisines are very diverse.  That includes vegetarian options at almost every meal.

On my current ship there is a section of the buffet just for vegetarians.  In this section usually have a few Indian curries, brown rice, and a few vegetable dishes.  There is also a large salad bar and a separate large fruit bar.  And don’t forget the deserts…cookies are vegetarian!

Tonight, for instance, I ate a spicy lentil curry over brown rice, a large salad and an ice cream cone.  I didn’t mean it to be, but that happened to be a vegetarian meal.  And delicious.

On my last ship there was an even larger salad bar with plenty of nuts and beans and other things vegetarians need to stay healthy.

If you are strict vegan, or don’t eat any animal by product – you will have a harder time.  The ingredients of the dishes on the ship are not made public, and you’ll have a hard time trying to find out what you can eat and what you can’t.  Although if you are a vegan, you my very well be used to this sort of thing and you’re likely to stick to the salad bar anyway.