La Rochelle Disney Cruise 2023: Vegan Food, Shows, & More

 

Disney Cruise Line celebrates its 25th anniverary

As Disney Cruise Line celebrates its 25th "Silver Anniversary at Sea", I embarked on one of the summer sailings from Southampton over to La Rochelle, France. With just one port and a new ship to experience - this being the Dream's first time in Europe - I experienced some real highlights AND a few lowlights for good measure.

Southampton port was familiar to me since my very first Disney cruise (and cruise full stop) was from here. Originally when we booked, the Dream was due to dock at the Horizon Cruise Terminal like last time. Luckily, I'd checked online a few days before to find that we'd been switched to the QE2 Terminal. This meant a slight alteration to plans since the hotel we stayed at the night before was within walking distance of Horizon. Not so much QE2. 

On the morning of the cruise, the taxi company warned us that heavy traffic was expected and advised us to get the tax an hour ahead of our PAT (port arrival time) at 12:15. There is no access to the terminal before PAT time, so when the taxi sped to the terminal within 10 minutes, I wasn't sure what to expect. 

We were quickly ushered into a holding line for our PAT which was very well managed. After some waiting, we were let through to the check-in area. I jealously watched people cruising in Concierge (maybe next time?) walk past us, although we didn't wait long at all before we were all checked in and ready to sail.

By the time we boarded, it was only a few minutes after our original PAT time. We were introduced by the crew and immediately I was in awe of the lobby. Not quite the same vast space as the Wish, but still a very stylish, traditional-looking atrium - of course with all the Disney flourishes. 

The large atrium on the Disney Dream is full of Disney details.

It wasn't long before we were on deck and ready for some lunch. These quick-service foot spots have historically been hit-and-miss for me as a vegan. This time it was easy. I ordered a vegan pizza from Flo's Cafe (advertised as an option at the counter). It had to be made to order, so I took a seat nearby. The pizza was good; a little bit plain tasting but perfect for a quick lunch.

Vegan pizza from Flo's Cafe on the Disney Dream.

At the beginning of each cruise, there's a location you can go to to change your Dining reservations for Palo or Remy. We took advantage of this so we could change our Palo booking to coincide with the duplicate MDR (main dining rotation) day. Since this was a 4-night cruise, Animator's Palate would be repeated on nights 2 and 3. The reservation was easily changed, and we toured the ship for a while, checking out some of the adult-only areas. 

Cove Cafe is by the adult-only pool, serving specialty drinks.

Currents bar sits above the adult-only area and offers great cocktails.

Staterooms tend to be ready from around 13:30, with luggage arriving a bit later. We booked a midship verandah room on deck 7; a good option for access to the rest of the ship and for avoiding sea sickness. The room reminded me very much of the Disney Magic, and one thing I noticed was how clean everything was. I met our stateroom host a bit later, and he really was excellent at his job. 

Staterooms on the Disney Dream reminded me of the Magic.

I loved the subtle touches around the room.

A verandah is well worth having if you like your own outdoor space.

As we were silver Castaway Club members (DCL's loyalty scheme), we were given a few freebies in the room including some fun lanyards.

Lanyard for silver Castaway Club members

We ended up arriving a little bit late for the "sail away party" on the top deck. That said, it wasn't hard to see what was happening on the large screen. DCL operates 2 sittings for dinner: either an early or a late. 20:15 was our assigned time, meaning our show time was 18:00 (while all the early diners are eating). The first restaurant to try was Royal Palace.

This is where things got a little bit difficult in terms of vegan food. Unfortunately, my server (and assistant server) didn't seem to have a good understanding of this. I wasn't proactively offered any options and it quickly became a struggle just to get basics like bread that I could eat. We'd also selected private dining, which although isn't guaranteed, we didn't get for the time on DCL. It would have been nice to know about this beforehand. That said, we lucked out with our table guests and couldn't have asked for nicer people. 

I was given a tofu/rice dish straight off the menu, which although was labeled "vegetarian", I was assured was vegan. My honest verdict was that it was pretty bland. On previous cruises I was offered a variety of options like flavourful curry, but this time it seemed only menu options were available. For this meal and throughout the cruise, I was somewhat doubtful if what I was given was genuinely plant-based.

My tofu and rice dish could have done with more seasoning.

Disney's Believe was the evening show, and I'd say it was my 2nd favourite of the 3 on offer. We returned to our stateroom and another gift was waiting; this time a commemorative, framed piece of art for the 25th anniversary. 

Castaway Club members received a commemorative print.

Day 2 began with an Elemis deep tissue massage at Senses Spa. I'd highly recommend this as a treatment to really loosen up muscle tension. I'd originally booked a Swedish massage, but was recommended this one instead after an assessment. 

Breakfast wasn't great this morning. Despite being pleased there were finally "plant-based" markers on the menu (well done Disney!), I ended up being served something with dairy yogurt. I only realized this after eating most of it, and I'm intolerant to dairy so this wasn't ideal. I do appreciate mistakes happen, but I think this is something that needs to be more closely monitored by all the dining staff.

Origami and trivia quizzes passed the rest of the day until it was time for a few pre-show cocktails at Skyline. I LOVED this place. The windows change to reflect 6 various cities around the world Definitely my vibe and the cocktails were incredible. 

Skyline had a sophisticated and relaxing feel to it.

Tonight's show was Beauty and the Beast, and by FAR this one stood out. The quality was well and truly of Broadway level, and I loved every minute. Animator's Palate was our next dining venue, this time featuring Crush, whereas on the Magic we experienced the drawing "magic" (which I won't spoil here). I assumed the drawing version would take place the following night, but have since heard that it didn't.

Sadly, the dining experience didn't improve from the previous evening. We weren't given menus or even bread for quite some time, and again I had no idea what I could eat even after repeatedly asking. What I was served wasn't too bad, especially the starter salad. Again, I had to trust the servers that it was vegan as it was ordered straight off the menu with no other options. 

The starter was a refreshing arugula salad, with chipotle cakes for the main. Dessert won this meal, but I'm not sure if that's just because I didn't have many sweet options to choose from on this cruise overall.

The starter salad tasted pretty good.

I enjoyed the chipotle cakes.

This was some form of chocolate tart and it was delicious.

The next day was our one and only port day in La Rochelle, and we were first off the ship (and first back on later!). We were so glad we hadn't booked the walking tour excursion after hearing some negative feedback about this. Instead, we did a DIY walk hitting some of the key tourist spots. We lucked out on weather and it was a very pleasant port that can be enjoyed without too much walking. The buses Disney laid on to ferry passengers to/from port were expertly run. 

Disney Dream moored up at La Rochelle.

Lots of hidden beauty spots.

Historic towers dominated the harbour.

The town hall looked like something from a period drama.

The beach was only a short walk from the town.

More hidden gems along from the beach.

What visit to France would be complete without macarons!

The buses were so efficient we were back on board for lunch, and decided to try room service this time. I was thrilled to see a plant-based chicken sandwich on the menu. After confirming it was vegan, I ordered this with the sweet potato fries. It was enjoyable, and all the more so being able to eat it on the verandah overlooking La Rochelle.

Vegan plant-based chicken sandwich on the room service menu.

The Disney Dream has a mini-golf course around the back of the ship, and it was a perfect opportunity to enjoy this with lower crowds. I imagine it can get a bit windy out there too while the ship is out at sea. This evening it was time for Palo, which has always been a hit with me on every Disney cruise. This time was no exception, and our server was outstanding. I was instantly shown everything I could and couldn't have, modified or non-modified with some off-menu options. I really wish the MDR experience had been like this.

Dessert was a winner.

I'd been craving pasta and this hit the spot.

the arancini tasted absolutely phenomenal.

It wasn't just the food that made the Palo experience so good, but also the pacing and relaxed atmosphere. Compared to MDR, it was more "worlds apart" than it should have been. A testimony to the skills and experience of the Palo team on the Dream. 

Instead of a show, tonight was designated a "movie night". We managed to get in Elemental and Haunted Mansion on this cruise. Without a doubt, Haunted Mansion was my favourite of the two and massively exceeded my expectations. Elemental had its moments, though. One thing I found quite surprising was how busy the movie theatre was for a start time of 10:30pm. For some reason, I thought this wouldn't be a popular time due to the late finish, but it was packed. 

It was also fireworks night. For over 18s, there's a great spot for viewing the fireworks right in front of Currents bar. It's MUCH quieter than the family area, but if you want the full atmosphere and experience I'd probably recommend staying there. 

Disney Cruise Line's fireworks turn into fish food!

Whilst we were on board, filming was taking place for a "This Morning" competition for ITV (UK). It wasn't too intrusive, but I did notice on our last day that a few guests were not too happy with some areas getting taken over by the filming crew.

I had brilliant service at Flo's Cafe again when I ordered a vegan burger (shown on a board at the counter). They brought it out to me and it tasted pretty good. The guy behind the counter was clear to state that the cheese was vegan and obviously knew his stuff. 

Our final dinner was at Enchanted Garden, and this was probably my favourite setting of the 3 MDR restaurants. The atmosphere and setting felt unique, whereas Animator's Palate and Royal Palace are slightly different versions of other restaurants I've experienced on the Wish and Magic. 

Enchanted Garden is a beautiful setting

Service was the same as it had been the last few nights, but at this point I'd almost given up. I was given a couple of dishes - again from the main menu - that were very plain and nothing to write home about. I'd also ordered a mushroom dish which was forgotten about. I was brought a cake that tasted delicious, but had the same lack of confidence that it was actually vegan.

Is it definitely vegan? You decide.

Golden Mickeys was the final show of the cruise, and turned out to be our least favourite. It had its moments, like the Cruella de Vil scene, but overall the narrative seemed OTT and a bit out of sorts. It didn't have the same appeal as Beauty and the Beast, for example, but I didn't hate it. 

The bitter-sweet part of any Disney cruise is the "See Ya Real Soon" show in the atrium. It was wonderful (if a little sad) to see all the characters coming on stage to say goodbye after a mostly fantastic cruise. We didn't manage to get a photo with the characters this time as we stood right at the top, but noted for next time. 

On embarkation morning, Cabanas continued the trend of the more "quick service" orientated dining spaces being better equipped for dietary requirements (Palo aside). I was able to request some vegan sausages (off menu) for breakfast, but as it turned out there were a fair few options I could have regardless. This hasn't been my experience with Cabanas before, so it was a pleasant surprise. 

Cabanas surprised me with easy vegan options.

Finding Nemo artwork in Cabanas

There are definitely lessons to be learned here for the MDR staff, but we didn't allow this to get in the way of an otherwise fantastic cruise. Cast members were exemplary at almost every turn, and it's no surprise that Disney Cruise Line remains as popular as ever. This is evidenced by the fact that we booked our placeholder (for a 10% discount on a future Disney cruise) while on board. 

My First Disney Cruise and Eating Vegan Onboard: Day 5

We had a 7am breakfast slot on debarkation day as we'd booked the earlier dining for this cruise. This was fine, but another reason we preferred the late dining with the accompanying later breakfast. I peered out the curtains and saw we were just coming in alongside the docks before heading down. Our suitcases were left outside the stateroom the night before, and I definitely recommend doing this. It made everything so much easier as you don't have to lug them to breakfast.

As if by magic, the port of Southampton appeared again!

Ami our room host was absolutely fantastic, and we gave him a box of chocolates with a hand-drawn note (my husband drew some amazing little Disney character silhouettes on gratitude cards) alongside the tips. This is by no means required, but boy do these CMs work hard, and we like to show how grateful we are in a different way sometimes.

On the way down to Lumiere's for breakfast, I came off the WiFi and back on to UK signal. This is where I made an unpleasant discovery. Disney had overcharged my bank account by over $1300, and it would only get worse later. I'm not going to dwell on this too much here, as I don't want to take away from the amazing time we had. 

I might instead do a separate post on this to elaborate on what happened — ultimately I ended up missing over $2000 (earmarked for bills) from my account and there was nothing Disney could do for over 30 days. I had some poor post-cruise service from DCL concerning this, but luckily my bank intervened after a week to free up the pending funds. About a month later DCL called me to apologise, but that's it. I don't feel they've really made up for what happened, but it doesn't detract from the actual cruise itself which was almost flawless.

Sadly I was in panic mode at breakfast after the financial turmoil so I forgot to take any photos, but I had a fantastic vegan omelette. I also had some fruit and oatmeal but didn't really eat much at the time. We still remembered to pass on a box of chocolates and a note each to Silvana and Francia, our servers, and personally thank them. They said they were hoping to transfer to the Wish so I really hope we bump into them again at some point.

We had made an appointment for guest services during breakfast, so headed straight there. Again, I'll probably write about this in a separate post as it's quite a complex issue, but we were there for quite a long time.

I took one last long look at the Disney Magic atrium, and really appreciated all the smaller fine details. On the way out we tapped our KTTW cards for the last time, and headed down the gangway (if that's the right word!). 

Subtle character details can be found throughout the ship

Despite the unpleasant twist at the end, we had such a good time. I've always wanted to try DCL, and before cruising, my main concerns were:

Will I get seasick?

Will there be too many kids?

Will there be enough vegan food?

Will it be too crowded?

I can honestly say that none of these things were a concern! I'm so grateful in a way that things turned out the way they did and our Disney World trip got cancelled. It pushed us to try something different and I'm so glad we did!

My First Disney Cruise and Eating Vegan Onboard: Day 4

Today we were having a Palo brunch at 12, so we pre-booked some very light room service breakfast for when we woke up. I just had Special K with almond milk. I wish I'd found out what supplier the milk is, as it tasted good.

Room service breakfast has some vegan options

After watching the world go by on the verandah, it was time to head to Palo. It was nice and quiet when we went in, and what a stunning setting with such a relaxing Italian vibe. The server knew right away that I was vegan so I didn't even need to tell him. He brought out a selection of breads, including crispy sesame bread which was divine, especially with the balsamic dip.

The sesame bread was crunchy and delicious

The server said our champagne was on the way, to which we politely said "no thank you" — we were still a little delicate from last night's whiskey tasting. Neither of us are big drinkers so we forfeited our champagne for some freshly squeezed orange juice.

They were able to make me some vegan pancakes with syrup and they tasted great. Although, I'm pretty sure they were meant to be berry pancakes and I couldn't taste that. But still yummy regardless! 

Palo made me some vegan pancakes

I ordered a pizza, and this time it really was a legit pizza — nothing like the Pinnochio's Pizza disaster I had a few days ago! The vegan cheese was nice and melty and it was just perfect. While chatting I happened to mention Pinnochio's faux pas to the server, and he was shocked. He said all they needed to do was get the ingredients from another kitchen. 

Finally, a proper vegan pizza!

For dessert, I had a selection of raspberry and lemon sorbets. They were even better than I expected, and I ended up preferring the lemon. The meal was a tranquil experience and I'd definitely do it again. My only regret was not having 2 stomachs...

The sorbets were better than I expected and full of flavour

Later that day we did a theme park trivia quiz. The questions were HARD, much more so than expected. We did OK but sadly not good enough to win. Maybe next time?

We soaked up a bit of sun on the verandah, before getting ready for dinner at Rapunzel's Royal Table. This was my favourite main dining meal by far. I'd preordered a pasta dish which I loved, and had some arugula (or rocket, as we call it) salad for my starter.

I had a light arugula salad to start

The pasta dish at Rapunzel's was one of the tastiest

I was surprised with a scrumptious vegan chocolate donut with raspberry ice cream for dessert l. Wow! If only I'd preordered 2 desserts, but I will absolutely ask for this on our next cruise.

I'll be asking for the vegan doughnut next time!

The mini-show was really charming and enriched the dining experience with the atmosphere. I genuinely felt like I'd been transported to Disney World again.

Meanwhile, another towel animal had magically appeared in the stateroom. This time there was a consensus that it was a bear! 

We were confident this towel animal was a bear!

Continuing the Tangled theme, we later went to watch the stage musical in the Walt Disney Theatre. The quality was absolutely up there with broadway musicals and I enjoyed every minute.

The Tangled musical was Broadway quality

We had done late dining on the 1st cruise and early dining on the 2nd to see what we preferred. Surprisingly we both preferred the later dining, despite my initial concerns of being 'hangry' by dinner. This is purely because there were more kids at the later theatre show (following early dining), and some of them were a little tired and restless... So for us as a couple, the earlier show was a bit quieter. But for a family with young children, I can understand the appeal of the earlier dinner and late show so it works both ways.

It was time to head back to our stateroom to pack ready for our early debarkation the following morning.

Debarkation day coming soon!

My First Disney Cruise and Eating Vegan Onboard: Day 3

Today was our changeover day between our back-to-back cruises. We went down to Rapunzel's Royal Table for a leisurely breakfast around 8:30. Still feeling full and not wanting any fuss this morning, I went low-key and just asked for Rice Crispies! I had it with almond milk — sometimes it's just nice to have something simple. 

Simple vegan-friendly cereals are available

We had to go to D Lounge at 10am for our Covid tests. It was very well organised — we weren't queuing that long and I was chatting to the guy at the door about my pin collecting. I don't like to trade them, I just buy them all to keep to myself. He said he was the same!

Prenetics staff scanned our vaccination QR codes for our 2nd reservation, and we were given the LFT tests to administer ourselves. There were refreshments provided, and while getting a tea I spotted a lovely lady called Dawn from the Disney Cruise UK Facebook group I'd been following. It was great to meet her and her daughter, and I could personally thank Dawn for all the work she's put into the page. I'd picked up lots of useful tips for a first-time cruiser, and it's a super-friendly group. 

Now, this was the truly magical part of the cruise, as most guests had disembarked and we were free to wonder around. It makes doing B2B cruises worth it, not to mention the extra "cruise credit" towards Castaway Club status! We saw the cast of the shows chilling on the deck, and a cast member jogging around the ship. It was so peaceful. 

We virtually had the ship to ourselves between cruises

Cove Cafe was open to "B2Bers", so we went in for a coffee. We spoke to an officer lady - I wanted to know what she did but felt rude to ask! I ordered a lovely chai latte made with almond milk. 

Cove Cafe offers vegan milk alternatives

Our stateroom was ready after being cleaned (we stayed in the same one), so we headed back for a while. The balcony walls were all open, so you could see all the way down to the end of the section which was quite interesting to see. Waiting in the room for us was our Castaway Club bag, and our silver Castaway Club lanyards — we'd made it to silver level!

You get some free gifts on your 2nd cruise

The sun just about made an appearance, so we went to sit by the pool for a bit. Our intention was to get a few waters from Signals, and the CM offered a deal where you get cans of water with a cool-bag included. I thought it was a really good deal and we'll definitely use it again.

The cool-bag with water was available at the adults-only Signals bar

I had preordered a vegan burger from Cabanas, so we headed there for lunch. This was one of my favourite meals. There wasn't any vegan cheese (fair enough this time as I hadn't asked for any when I preordered), but the burger tasted amazing. The fries were really good too.

The vegan burger at Cabanas was one of my favourites

After more chilling and enjoying the violinist at the Promenade, it was dinner time at Animator's again. This time I had a tortilla wrap with spicy black beans. It was good and I wished I could have fit in another one! Dessert was a chocolate cake with strawberry and it was moist and delicious.

My tortilla wrap came with black beans and vegetables

Anything chocolate and vegan is a winner!

The Mickey Mouse Trivia quiz was next up, and we primed ourselves with some non-alcoholic cocktails as we arrived early. We failed miserably. I thought I knew enough to stand a chance, but hey-ho it's a Disney ship so we were bound to have competition!

We prepared for the quiz with fruit-punch cocktails

Oh my; now it was time for whiskey tasting. What did I let myself in for? The lady next to me said she wasn't usually a whiskey drinker so I didn't feel too out of my league! Benita, our host for the tasting, was amazing. I could have listened to her stories all day. Then it came to the tasting and most of them blew my head off. I'm not a huge drinker, so although I enjoyed exploring the flavours I just couldn't finish them. The shots were rather generous. My husband helped out, but even between us, it was a lot. Some of them usually go for $50 a shot so we did our best!

It was interesting hearing about the whiskey-making techniques

We walked, *ahem*, stumbled, out of Cove Cafe and went to Keys to listen to the piano player. When we said we wanted non-alcoholic cocktails, the server jokingly asked if something was wrong. We explained we'd just done a whiskey tasting session and it was a LOT for us. I had a nice virgin mojito to wind down the evening. The atmosphere here is beautiful, as the bar pays homage to a classic and elegant Walt Disney meets art-deco design, with wonderful live piano music in the background.

Keys bar was absolutely stunning with impressive live piano music

Non-alcoholic cocktails are available on request

Then back to the room to drink a lot of water to wash the whiskey down. We thought this evening's towel animal was a Turkey, but as usual, that was up for debate!

Day 4 coming soon!