Terrible vegan experience

Vision of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

YamiDiaz

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 43

Overall rating:

2.1 out of 5

Verified Review

4 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 10, 2019

Ship: Vision of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 4315

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

I demand a full refund! I paid for an experience I did not receive. My friends that sailed with us had full 3 course meals with extra options and we had dry lettuce wedges, pasta with plain tomato sauce almost ever night, and no dessert. I did my due diligence and notified the cruise line of my needs with plenty of time prior to sailing and they did not accommodate. What's worse is the empty promises from the staff. The second night, I mentioned to the restaurant manager that we wished they had the advertised vegan menu and he told us they did and that we could pick our entrees for the next day and he would make sure the kitchen made everything. We were so excited for dinner on the 3rd night and when we arrived, they hadn't made anything that we chose. They made excuses and promised to make up for it the next night but they didn't. The restrictions on my son and the unsanitary issues that happened were just bad icing on an already spoiled cake. There are other people with dietary restrictions, allergies, and religious food practices that are not being addressed in the buffet and main dining room. I should not have to suffer for not being able to eat meat and my son should not suffer because he has an allergy to dairy.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

There was no food labeled with ingredients for people with allergies. My son has a dairy allergy and we were looking forward to the vegan menu advertised by Royal and confirmed by customer service previous to my cruising and it was not available on board. The buffets were a mess with the labels just having names of dishes, not labeling for ingredients or dietary restrictions like vegetarian or vegan or even kosher.

Windjammer Marketplace

1 out of 5

NO LABELS? People need to know ingredients of the food or at least if it meets their dietary restrictions. Other entertainment companies do this. Disney, for example, has buffets with all ingredients and quick little pictures showing you if it contains dairy, eggs, or animal products so that it is understood in any language.

Main Dining Room

1 out of 5

No food for people with food allergies or dietary restrictions. Our waiter even told us that they don't update the little icons on the menu so some of them are wrong and that there is dairy in things that are listed as dairy free or visa versa.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

We brought our 19 month old on the ship and nothing on the Royal site or booking notified me that he could not go in the pool on the ship. There were no activities for him and we were not allowed to bring him in the water. The place space for toddlers was only open to parents and children for free between 1 and 5pm which is most childrens nap times so we weren't even able to take advantage of it.

Guest Services and Explorations!

1 out of 5

Guest services did nothing when we reported all the issues. They just said that we might get a future sailing on-board credit. That is unacceptable.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

NOTHING for toddlers and banned from pool area

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

The staff in the main dining room and buffets was never willing to work with our dietary restrictions even though I notified Royal prior to sailing.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

The toilets stopped working on our last day of the cruise. You couldn't use them because they wouldn't flush but there was no notification to our room so we used it. My child had to be in a room with unsanitary smell and the inability to flush a toilet to remove the waste. This proceeded for THE WHOLE DAY!

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

Do not sail

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida Did not visit port

This is my home... lol

Thumbs Up 0

Cozumel, Mexico

4 out of 5

The Playa Mia excursion was wonderful and they allow all ages in their pools. We were able to explore the location and had multiple activities to do.

Thumbs Up 3

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

We did the "self check out" between 7am and 8am and it was so smooth.

7 Comments

wgammon1 3 years ago

Thanks for the review.

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outcastickid 5 years ago

I've cruised vegan with royal Caribbean 3 times and have always been catered to and provided delicious options. On one of my cruises honestly I was treated like a a princess and had custom meals made for me every night by the incredible head waiter and service team. I'm not sure how the experience you had with royal trying to eat vegan is so different from my incredible experience but I'm sorry to hear it. I've heard nothing but amazing things from other vegans cruisers who've been on royal. I wouldn't knock off cruising in general. I've had delicious vegan food on majesty, jewel, and freedom.

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NJCruiseGuy 5 years ago

Definitely sounds like cruising, or maybe even travel, is good for you. You seem to have a lot of restrictions / requirements and weren’t happy with much of anything.

Thumbs Up 1

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billcravey 5 years ago

Funny how the vast majority of these completely negative reviews are by posters with 0 cruises listed.

Thumbs Up 3

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DebandMarkC 5 years ago

Cruising isn't for everyone, and definitely not for you! You must have made everyone around you miserable with your constant complaints

Thumbs Up 3

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missnotanlines 5 years ago

I meant to say a land vacation

Thumbs Up 1

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missnotanlines 5 years ago

Sounds like cruising is not for you you complained about everything maybe I'll and vacation is more your speed

Thumbs Up 2

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