I haven't eaten fried foods in ages, but I'm sure it would wreak havoc on my digestive system now that my gallbladder is gone. Anything creamy bothers me. When I eat yogurt, I eat soy yogurt. Btw, I'm not on the coconut bandwagon. I try to keep saturated fat as low as possible, and am not convinced that coconut is ok. I know people who eat high-fat diets and then complain about how bad they feel. Those same people scoff at my vegan diet. In addition to digesting food better, I no longer feel sleepy and sluggish after eating. I have more energy.

Well, my DH booked a 7-day cruise for Spring Break. I told my DD we're going straight to the Dining Room as soon as we board so we can explain our dietary needs. Neither one of us minds seafood. We just don't want meat or dairy. That shouldn't be difficult. It's the Cardinal Magic, which is a very large ship. The ship we were on in Dec. was the Carnival Elation, which is much smaller.

Honestly you should probably notify carnival before departure. It's not like the kitchen can send someone to the store.

I asked and was told to go straight to the dining room after boarding the ship. I plan to double check that information, though they don't need to go to the store to omit the dairy. It's really not that hard.

BC, I am delighted that you are feeling so healthy and strong on your vegan diet. It was obviously the right step for you as I remember you were pretty frustrated and sore last year. Well done on sticking to it.

I have never cruised before so I have no comparison here.

I know dining out here with friends with dietary requirements is a mixed bag. Many places have a lot of vegan/dairy free/gluten free/vegetarian options and are prepared to adapt as needed. Others provide very poor choices - or sometimes do not understand what gluten free or vegan actually mean!!

My DD and I don't expect perfection when we travel. We just try to eat as closely to vegan as possible given sometimes limited options. The dairy bothers my stomach, so I avoid that anyway.

Great to hear that you have found a diet that you are feeling good on BC!

Just be careful not to fall for the old myths about avoiding saturated fats. Only saturated fats increase HDL levels, important for avoiding cardiovascular diseases.

The “Good Cholesterol”High-Density Lipoprotein

Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease

BC, fingers crossed your next cruise will have a much better selection of healthy food. In my opinion, healthy choices should be the default.

Yes they should! It seems like they want the passengers to get redder from too much sun and fatter from too much food. There weren't that many people using the gym. My DD & I used it on days at sea when we didn't have shore excursions. We even took a one-hour cycling class together. I barely made it through due to thigh pain (I'm being reevaluated by the neurologist tomorrow), but I did it.

BC - I would suggest you check the cruise website about dietary needs. The RCCL cruise we went on said to contact them at least 2 weeks before the cruise about special dietary needs. I didn't read that until the day before we left so wasn't able to contact them. They accommodated us just fine on our cruise, but in the future I plan on contacting them early to make things easier.

The website says to go to the dining room as soon as you board the ship. There's nothing about contacting them in advance. They state they can accommodate vegetarians, but nothing is said about vegans.

These might be of interest to you

http://experience.usatoday.com.....ruises-veg

http://www.vegancoach.com/can-.....egans.html

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2.....ruise.html

Thanks. I'll read those when I get home tonight.