If you’re a vegan do NOT book this cruise

I am a vegan and am leaving this here strictly so any other vegans don’t make the same mistake I did by booking this cruise. I was under the impression, based on Holland America’s website, that there would be plenty of things for me to eat. The website says “For guests who avoid meat and dairy, we have plenty of vegan choices in our restaurants.” But I still did my due diligence and called them directly, prior to booking, to confirm that there would be food for me to eat. I was assured there would be, and I was also told they put a note in my reservation noting my dietary requirements. After being reassured, I booked the cruise. However, once I was on the ship, I saw that the options for meals were extremely limited and in some cases nonexistent, aside from the menu in the main dining room. There was barely anything in Lido market for breakfast. Lunch options were equally sparse. There were no substantial breakfast meals on the room service menu (just cereal.) The burger place by the pool did not have vegan cheese, even though it was listed in the menu. The pizza place also did not have vegan cheese (meaning I couldn't eat there at all.) There was absolutely nothing available for high tea. (When I let them know, they gave me jello, which is not even vegan.) I am very disappointed that this is what Holland America calls "plenty of vegan choices." It's just flat out untrue. A good vegan menu in the main dining room for dinner is not enough to say you accommodate vegans when there are 2+ other meals in the day that are not well-executed. As a guest who is paying the same price as everyone else, I expected to be accommodated for all of my meals (not just one per day) and to be able to participate in the same activities as everyone else (such as high tea) when HAL bills itself as a cruise line that is “easy to cruise” with as a person with “special dietary needs.” (That came from their website.) Imagine being stuck on a ship full of food but scrounging for something to eat. After realizing things weren’t getting any better I contacted guest services. The staff did their best to accommodate me, and this was appreciated. However, there is only so much the staff can do if Holland America doesn’t plan properly for people with dietary needs like mine, so the additions were understandably still not great, and were still limited in comparison to the plethora of options everyone else enjoyed. I recognize they were doing their best but it was obvious they were doing what they could with the limited supplies they had on the ship. Unfortunately, because the food was so awful, it overshadowed what should have been a great time. I hope Holland America can do better. Note: I sent the above to guest relations after returning home and all they said was “sorry, hope you’ll cruise with us again.”