This post is provided as photographic documentation of my own experience as an herbivore aboard the Carnival Valor cruise ship in 2023 so that potential vegan and vegetarian Carnival cruisers will have more information about the plentiful availability of plant-based foods onboard.
DAY 1
BlueIguana Cantina
Before my cruise, I found information stating that BlueIguana Cantina was the place to go for vegan and vegetarian burritos and tacos. This was my first stop and first cruise meal once I boarded the ship.
Apparently the information I found online about BlueIguana Cantina was incorrect. I personally was told that the beans have chicken fat in them and the rice has butter in it. I was told the only vegan options are corn tortillas, the vegetable toppings, and the many salsas at the toppings bar. So my first meal was 2 corn tortillas with pico de gallo, lettuce, cilantro, and salsa. While this was a good snack to enjoy as I waited for the cruise to start, it was a bit disappointing considering that I thought this would be my main dining spot during the 5 day cruise. I became very concerned that this may be as good as it would get for me. Vegans, don't stop reading. It gets much better than this.
The Washington Dining Room
Before the cruise, I read that I should contact the dining room staff or maître d' to request meal options ahead of time. The ship is huge, and I had no idea where to go to do that. I was able to find the dining rooms, but the large multi-leveled dining rooms were empty at the time of my arrival. I decided I'd just go with the flow, wait for dinner time, and optimistically go from there.
At dinner, I saw vegetarian options for each course and each meal. I asked the waitress if those items are or could be altered to be vegan. She said my selections were vegan. This is my first serving; Mixed Greens salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
The main course was called Featured Indian Vegetarian and included lentils, basmati rice, papadam, chutney, and raita. The waitress was incorrect about this being vegan. The raita was made with milk, and I could not eat that. The rest of the meal appeared to be safe. It was excellent. This was loaded with the bold flavors experienced at a good Indian restaurant.
After this first satisfying meal I was able to request the vegan meal options for the entire cruise. From that point on, the dining room staff knew to prepare the vegan "Chef's Special" options for each of my meals. They know ahead of time to prepare something special. If you get this meal plan you need to be there each evening or let them know when you will not be there. But you will want to be there. The dinners are awesome!
Rosie's Restaurant
There's drink stations with unlimited coffee, tea, water, and lemonade located in several places around Rosie's Restaurant, which is the buffet service area on the lido deck. These drinks seem to be available at all times. Fruit juices are also available for breakfast service. I had evening tea and took it to the Serenity deck for a peaceful moment.
DAY 2
Rosie's Restaurant
I started the day early at the buffet in Rosie's Restaurant. Vegan items found include plain grits (yay, no butter in them), several kinds of fresh fruit, several breads and toasts, and toppings such as peanut butter and jam. I enjoyed mine with coffee, and then orange juice.
Everything about this breakfast was great. I had plenty to eat, and my worries of starving on this cruise were completely gone. Vegans can eat well on Carnival Valor!
I returned for lunch, this time enjoying a plain baked potato sprinkled with cracked black pepper, a side of onions and peppers, and some hot sauce.
The buffet has a large salad area with anything you may want on a salad. It's one of the best salad bars I've seen. Even omnivores will enjoy this buffet. The vegan dressings seem to be limited to oil and vinegar, but that's my first choice anyway. Check out this massive serving of plant foods!
I was very pleased with this salad bar. And the line was short. Most of the cruisers were trying to hoard the meats and sweets.
And here's the lemonade, clearly made with real lemons. Notice the pulp. This is available around the clock, day and night.
Coffee Bar
Carnival Valor has a fancy coffee shop! Vegans, they have almond milk, but they didn't have my first choice, oat milk. Don't miss this tasty treat on deck 5 near the casino. This is an extra cost item, but the prices are not too bad.
The Washington Dining Room
My second dinner started with a slice of baguette. It came with butter, but I set that aside and used olive oil and pepper as a dip.
That was followed by Baby Spinach Salad. It would normally come with walnuts and blue cheese dressing. My vegan option may have been misinterpreted to omit nuts. This was just a plate of spinach. I put balsamic vinegar on it. It was good, but it left me wanting something more.
This is where things really got good. The chef made a vegan version of the Root Vegetables In A Pie Crust. This was amazing! It tasted like the best Thanksgiving dressing mixed with potatoes, carrots, and corn in a pot pie crust, and there was what seemed to be a tapioca sauce on top. This was so good in so many ways. This was among the best plant-based food I've ever had.
DAY 3
Rosie's Restaurant
Here's another good breakfast at Rosie's. There's nothing new here, just more grits and a bagel. Perfect!
The Rosie's buffet had tofu. Can you believe that? I asked buffet cook (with a red tie, possible a leader) if the tofu was vegan and what else may be vegan. He said if I'm vegan he could make me a plate with all the vegan items. Completely surprised, and partially doubtful, I said sure. I'll try that. He said he'd send it to my table. A few minutes later I was served this beautifully dressed plate of tofu and fried rice with veggies and sauce.
The food and service was fantastic! I didn't even expect anyone to know the V word. I was surrounded by hundreds of vicious carnivores hoarding mountains of dead flesh, and here was this miracle meal that happened as if I wished it into being. I hope this buffet cook got rewarded by the positive comments I sent to Carnival. This was more than I ever expected.
And since the food is almost always there, why not have another bagel with peanut butter and banana with coffee?
DAY 4
The Washington Dining Room
This meal started with bread and salad as the others did. Both were great but my photos were not so great. So let's move on. The main dish was the vegan Chef's Special again. This time it was a stuffed tomato with veggie patties in a tomato sauce. This tomato was stuffed with quinoa and veggie chunks. Just as the last main dish from the dining room, this was excellent in every way. This was real food from a chef. With food this good, I didn't want to leave the ship. I was eating like royalty.
DAY 5
Rosie's Restaurant
I couldn't resist. I had to have even more of this for my last breakfast aboard the Valor.
BlueIguana Cantina
I ended this cruise where it started, BlueIguana Cantina. This time the toppings bar was completely raided, and I was forced to get my taco toppings from the Guy's Burger Joint toppings bar on the other side of the deck. But it worked out. This was my last sad snack as we cruised back to New Orleans and floated back to reality.
Vegans, vegetarians, herbivores, do not think for a moment that you will starve on Carnival Valor. You can eat almost all day long, non-stop, like a grazing cow, on real plant-based foods, even raw vegan foods! There's so much food it's unbelievable. Most of it is for the omnivores. It's slightly limited, mostly for breakfast, but plant-based food is there for us.
The Deli can make a very simple vegan sandwich with sourdough bread, lettuce, pickle, tomato, and onion. Just be very clear that you want it uncooked and with no cheese or dressing.
I read that Guy's Burger Joint has a vegan burger option, but I wasn't confident
in that information after seeing the kitchen and the food. It was crowded
and it looked like there would be a cross-contamination issue, so I
didn't bother asking about it. The bun looked glossy like it was an egg bun grilled with bacon grease. They also had seasoned fries for vegetarians, but it's unclear if those are vegan.
Other options for lacto-vegetarians are all over the place. The Deli has french fries and a veggie patty sandwich that looked good. Pizza Pirate has cheese and margherita pizza. An abundance of foods like cookies, pasta, grilled veggies, casseroles, mac and cheese, breakfast cereal, and hash browns can be found at Rosie's Restaurant. Those who are more relaxed about cross-contamination can enjoy the Mongolian Wok's vegetarian stir fry.
Tips For Vegan Valor Cruisers
- Do not miss the opportunity to eat every dinner in the dining room. Make a request for vegan options for each dinner on your cruise. The chef will probably not disappoint you.
- Get to know Rosie's Restaurant for breakfast and lunch. Some buffet areas remain the same each day, and other areas have new foods each day. Just ask a red tie leader what is vegan.
- You can skip room service. It's not for us. Take bananas from the buffet back to your stateroom for late night snacks.
- Don't expect to find any ingredients lists online or at the restaurants. It's all a mystery. Go with what you know is safe. Assume the food is not vegan until you have reason to trust that it is.
- Be creative. Vegan food is not on any menu. Use the menus to find out what vegan items are in the kitchen, then carefully make special requests, such as the cold veggie sandwich at The Deli.
- Servers may not know what's vegan, but the team leaders will.
- Many of the Carnival Valor vegan food suggestions floating around online are just daydreams. Some people are wishing those foods were vegan, and they want to enjoy themselves, so they decide to just eat what they want. That's fine for them, but they're sharing false information. I saw no evidence of vegan burritos, vegan burgers, vegan sushi, or vegan pizza. Vegans will not starve on the Valor, but it's still a bit of a challenge to eat anything other than salad, fruit, and bread during the day.
- Relax. Don't worry too much about the food on Carnival Valor. Eat whatever you can onboard. You can save your worries for Mexico. Good luck finding food there. I mostly filled my empty stomach with booze.
