In February 2025, Windstar Cruises’ Star Breeze set off on a seven-night crusing from Papeete, Tahiti, certain for 5 islands in French Polynesia, together with Bora-Bora and Raiatea. The dreamy route is a specialty for the small-ship cruise line, however there was one thing completely different about this explicit voyage: each meal served on the ship was vegetarian.
The distinctive itinerary, which Windstar developed at the side of the Nationwide Well being Affiliation, an Ohio nonprofit that champions the advantages of a plant-based eating regimen, was a sold-out hit. Along with the onboard delicacies, shore excursions, like a go to to a vanilla plantation on Tahaʻa, have been additionally on theme.
The journey was atypical in its full adherence to plant-based menus, however cruise strains are more and more catering to this manner of consuming. It is sensible: greater than 40 p.c of People say they’re now fascinated about plant-forward diets, in line with Datassential, a market-research agency.
“Today, wellness considerations and wholesome decisions don’t cease throughout holidays,” says Kristin Karst, cofounder of AmaWaterways, a river cruise line that just lately developed plant-based menus.
My very own tastes are starting to lean that approach, too. On a latest Atlas Ocean Voyages journey within the Mediterranean, I bypassed the bacon and eggs served at breakfast in favor of a tofu scramble served with grilled mushrooms and toasted black bread, which shortly turned my morning go-to. One night I opted for an ingenious model of beef Wellington, made not with prime filet however with beets wrapped in vegan pastry.
Plant-forward “dupes” like these have develop into quick favorites of many cruise-line cooks. “One in all our standouts is ‘cashew e pepe,’ a spin on the basic pasta made with a creamy cashew-based sauce,” says Colin Jones, fleet govt chef for the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.
Peruvian operator Delfin Amazon Cruises has additionally foregrounded plant-forward eating, a lot of it drawn from the Amazon rainforest. Indigenous fruits similar to cocona, shimbillo, and taperiba, in addition to fragrant charapita peppers, usually star on the menu. Using these distinctive elements has helped make Delfin considered one of only a handful of expedition strains which might be a part of Relais & Châteaux, a hospitality collective identified for culinary prowess.
“Each plate felt prefer it was telling a narrative, each meal like I used to be tasting a chunk of the jungle,” says Carolina Blomberg, a Brooklyn-based graphic designer who traveled on the Delfin I.
Different vacationers see considerate vegetarian delicacies as some extent of distinction. “I’ve been on two cruises with Virgin Voyages and was actually impressed,” says Anu Mandapati, an Austin-based govt. “Each restaurant has artistic, well-balanced vegan choices that have been really good—not simply an afterthought.”
A model of this story appeared within the September 2025 concern of Journey + Leisure, beneath the headline “Vegging Out.”
