Settling down at a beautifully set table while at sea between Florida and the Bahamas, I looked down at what appeared to be a perfectly cooked, plump mussel enveloped by a rich, red broth. Only it wasn't actually a mussel. Rather, it was an illusion made with charcoal and piquillo pepper, and the dish was part of a completely vegan -- and delicious -- meal on Celebrity Cruises' newest ship, the Celebrity Ascent.
The "mussel" sat center stage in a velvety broth of fennel bouillabaisse, the fourth dish in a seven-course vegan tasting menu in the ship's Eden restaurant. The entire menu was thoughtful and heightened, illustrating a growing trend of cruise lines embracing and elevating vegan food.
"I take pride and I love making people happy with food, and if plant-based is what makes you happy, that's what I want to do," said Sidney Semedo, the culinary director for Celebrity Cruises. "My No. 1 goal is that [diners] come in and they say, 'I had a good meal.' Not 'I had a good vegan meal' -- 'I had a good meal.'"
Semedo added that he has not only noticed a growing vegan trend but is "acting on it." The vegan tasting menu will be rolled out on the Ascent's sister ships: the Edge, Apex and Beyond.
But that action goes beyond Eden. As both a longtime vegetarian and cruiser, I've eaten my fair share of basic pasta and plain salads over the years. But on the Ascent, instead of bland penne, I feasted on tangy golden beet and tomato ceviche; a rich, garlicky ajo blanco panna cotta; and refreshing lemon basil sorbet. Even at the ship's complimentary buffet, typically a minefield of cross-contamination and hidden ingredients, Celebrity offered a "vegan [and] vegetarian corner" with dishes like vegan chicken with mushroom sauce that took the guesswork out of lunch.
The entrance to Eden, a restaurant aboard the Celebrity Ascent, teases at the plant-based fare found inside Photo Credit: Alison Fox
Not every cruise meal looks alike, but several major lines have added plant-based options to their main menus, offering well-known vegan meat substitutes such as Beyond Meat chicken or Just Egg and even, in the case of Celebrity, designing entire menus with a plant-based focus.
Celebrity's sister company Royal Caribbean International was an early adopter of dedicated vegan options, first offering separate multicourse menus in its main dining rooms in 2019.
Last year, the company integrated its plant-based options into its redesigned (and pared-down) main menus. Each vegan item is clearly marked with an option available for the starter, main course and dessert (think crunchy, chili-crusted tofu tacos and peanut-caramel bars).
Royal also offers vegan menu items in its buffet, the Windjammer Cafe.
Linken D'Souza, vice president of food and beverage at Royal Caribbean, said it was "important" for the cruise line "to meet vacationers' dietary choices" and "raise the bar of our dining offerings."
Strawberry escabeche for dessert served at Eden aboard the Celebrity Ascent. Photo Credit: Alison Fox
Similarly, Holland America Line has been offering dedicated vegan options on menus throughout its restaurants since 2021, said Michael Stendebach, the vice president of food, beverage and rooms division at the cruise line. Prior to that, passengers had to request options at least 24 hours in advance.
In the main dining room, the cruise line offers a separate vegetarian menu with vegan options featuring Beyond Meat Asian lettuce beef wraps, curried cauliflower steaks and more. Diners can also request that Beyond Meat chicken strips be added to salads and quinoa bowls at lunch, and Just Egg is available in the Lido Market buffet.
Luxury cruise line Regent Seven Seas Cruises started integrating plant-based options in the menus at each of its restaurants in 2019. Bernhard Klotz, the line's vice president of food and beverage, said the company was "motivated" to create the vegan dishes "due to increased demand."
Newer to the vegan scene is Carnival Cruise Line, which launched its first vegan menus in September on the Carnival Freedom out of Port Canaveral, Fla., and on the Carnival Horizon out of PortMiami. Cruisers will find dishes like a Hawaiian plant-based salmon poke bowl, spaghetti carbonara with vegan bacon, baked vegetable au gratin sprinkled with melted plant-based cheeses and even a vegan take on a cappuccino pot de creme for dessert.
One of the meals served at Eden: roasted and glazed celeriac steak. Photo Credit: Alison Fox
"Plant-based food options are a rising preference on our ships just as they are on land, and so the new dishes we're introducing are a direct response to that shift," Richard Morse, senior vice president in charge of food and beverage at Carnival, said in a statement. "Our skilled chefs work to accommodate all dietary needs and preferences, but building on our vegan offerings and emphasizing them with specific menus will help to make ordering easier in the dining room and preparation more efficient in the galley."
Eating vegan on a recent Norwegian Cruise Line trip was a bit harder, but the company does mark which wines are vegan (some wines are produced using animal-based products like fish-based isinglass, gelatin or milk-based casein).
And after sailing on the new Norwegian Viva, I can say I was equally grateful for how easy it was to order a vegan-friendly drink as I was for the actual glass of rose I sipped while watching the Mediterranean Sea.