You may be thinking to yourself are there REALLY any ways to follow a heart healthier dietary approach when vacationing on a cruise ship?
Well, truth be told, it won’t always be easy to find them, but they do exist!
(Photo taken in part of an AquaSpa Cafe area on board a cruise ship).
Ideally, one contacts the cruise line in advance when booking a cruise to place any special diet request. Reservations for special diet needs should be made in advance as required (typically 40-60-80 days in advance of sailing) and will usually need to be reconfirmed with the Restaurant Manager once on board the ship. Lead times will vary depending upon the embarkation port of call, as well as type of special dietary request (even Kosher meals are available on some cruise lines with adequate advance planning).
If need be, once on board, contact a maître d’hôtel for any given restaurant on board to work out special diet details if there is any confusion or any last minute request to see what just might be possible.
The special diet kitchen may be addressing the special dietary needs of well over a hundred passengers that were all conveyed in advance on any given sailing, depending upon the size of the ship and the mix of guests onboard. If yours is a general interest in eating heart healthier but not a specific diet request, then work with the maître d’hôtel to explore the possibilities for where you plan to dine.
That said, realize that some maître d’hôtel staff are more savvy than others and some will truly work with you on board if you show an interest in finding heart heathier choices offerings within their restaurant’s venue. Typically, each maître d’hôtel works in a different specific restaurant venue on board the ship. Take a few moments to discuss your interests in dining in a specific venue with a maître d’hôtel for that venue and see what suggestions they can make and what possibilities might exist.
Below are a dozen pointers you might want to keep in mind when seeking out heart healthier options/approaches for dining on a cruise ship:
1. For the main dining room, often the printed menus will have some sort of symbol on them designating a heart healthier choice, although don’t expect to see a nutritional breakdown of recipes at sea.
Terminology can keep changing, so look for wording to the effect of what you seek.
Look for possibly a stylized heart shaped symbol or something similar and then a text explanation to accompany it defining what heart healthier means to the chef development staff of the cruise line. For example, wording to the effect of “For our more health conscious guests, we are pleased to offer our “Renew” Heart Healthy cuisine. All of our “Renew” Heart Healthy dishes have no added salt or added fat and are prepared with healthy cooking methods such as oven roasting, steaming and poaching.”*
Other options similar to something like “Lean & Light“* might be available, so check the website of the cruise line you plan to travel on to find out what some of their posted offering options are.
Realize that unless so stated, the guidelines followed by the cruise line may not coincide with guidelines you are familiar with from say the American Heart Association, etc., so don’t assume what the levels and type of naturally occurring fat or sodium are in any dish served–ask to find out more details.
Remember that “no added fat” means items with natural fat content are included so be aware of portion sizes and choices.
2. Never assume that a vegetarian entree or side dish is automatically heart healthier UNLESS you see a symbol to that effect by it as although no animal products will have been used in its preparation, that does not rule out the use of saturated fats, higher levels of other fats, and the use of extra sodium in the food preparation.
Remember that vegetarian choices can be prepared using a wide range of cooking methods!
3. Unless arrangements have been made in advance for your entrees to come from the special diet kitchen on board, realize that dishes coming from the rest of the main kitchen at dinner time are prepared according to the photograph in the main Galley area for same, so will typically be plated with added sauces, thus it may not be possible to have the sauce held or put on the side (although you can always ask about that).
For those dishes without a stylized heart shaped symbol of some sort, sometimes you can leave most of the added sauce for a solid entree on the plate, thereby cutting back on your intake of added fat and sodium.
You can also leave some of the entree on the plate as often the more than generous entree portions sizes will exceed the serving size you may be used to at home.
4. At the breakfast buffet, there is usually the availability of egg white omelets or egg product substitute omelets made-to-order.
Encourage the omelet chef to use pan spray rather than pouring oil in the pan willy nilly whenever possible when preparing an appropriate omelet for you.
Take advantage of the opportunity to have bits of fresh vegetables added to your chosen omelet base. Skip the cheeses, and the various sausage and bacon options as they will be higher in fat and sodium.
5. For lunch time, find out if there is a Spa Cafe on board and if so, be sure to check out its options realizing that although often the choices may be lower in fat, not all are and some will have added sodium so be alert and ask questions of the staff. (Photo of lower fat content desserts and some ficelle bread options on board a cruise ship).
Check out whatever lunch portion entrees can possibly be prepared a-la-minute by broiling, steaming, or poaching such as salmon or tuna fillets, or pork loin or chicken breast cutlets.
Again, some staff will simply be more knowledgeable than other staff, so keep asking until you find someone who knows the answers you seek.
6. On the deck offering the buffet style meals, there is usually a plain salad bar meaning raw vegetables are available at that salad bar including baby leaf spinach, romaine lettuce leaves, and many, many chopped vegetables. (Photo of fruit soup, fresh fruit options, some salad bar options in part of Spa Cafe location on a cruise ship).
Sometimes at a pasta bar you can find plain, pre-cooked vegetables as well.
Typically anything found at a pizza station will be marinated in oil with added sodium +/or condiments so it is usually best to avoid those choices, although you can always ask about them.
7. Speaking of those salads, at buffets you may find dispensers of plain nuts such as walnuts, and also whole plain seeds and take judicious advantage of them as your dining plan allows. Oddly enough, sometimes even at an ice cream station you might find plain, sliced almonds you could add to a salad!
8. At buffets, instead of seeking a lower fat, lower sodium prepared dressing, you might choose to add a judicious amount of plain oil and vinegar or a little dab of yogurt and fresh cracked pepper to dress your salads.
Sometimes there might be a little grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and a tiny sprinkle of same could also make you feel as if you are indulging without necessarily exceeding heart healthy guidelines.
9. Look for displays of intact fresh fruit as well as of plain, sliced ripe fruits that you can choose from.
10. At dinner time, if you have spoken with the maître d’hôtel staff in advance or mention it to your waiter as a last minute resort, you can usually get a nice basic fresh fruit option for dessert, or possibly even a heart healthier version of a poached or baked fruit option.
11. At dinner time, always check both sides of the menu for your options and also check with your waiter if you have not previously checked with the maître d’hôtel staff in advance regarding that evening’s dinner options. Sometimes availability of a heart healthier choice option otherwise not on the menu might pleasantly surprise you!
12. Remember that you don’t have to order an entree per se–don’t hesitate to make a meal comprised of appetizers and fruit soup(s) and vegetable based salad(s)–sometimes when combined you can wind up with a luscious, filling, and healthier meal combination that way. Often additional servings of plain versions of the vegetable(s) being served at dinner time are available.
If you never ask, the answer will always be no, so don’t be shy–just ask!
*Wording used on menus printed by Celebrity Cruise Lines under guidance of Chef Jacques Van Staden