Vegan and Gluten-Free Options

[aaaaa]

Good day.  I read that, in March 2023, Windstar enhanced its plant-based food options.  Can any recent Windstar cruisers -- pre- or post March 2023 -- advise on the variety and quality of the vegan and gluten-free options on-board (e.g., tofu, veggie burgers, gluten-free pasta).  I'm specifically considering the Wind Surf, but any advice would help.  Thank you!

[gsutiger2]

You beat me to this topic! I have yet to hear any reviews/feedback on vegan options. I would like to know if the outside grill has vegan burgers as options and if there is a variety of vegan desserts. We hope the vegan menu is creative and includes classic vegan comfort foods. Thanks!

[new_cruiser]

I'm on board Wind Surf now - cruise started yesterday. I noticed that Amphora menu last night had both a "plant-based" item and a vegetarian item. There was also a plant-based dessert. There were plant-based items on the lunch buffet yesterday (I remember there being a chili and cookies) and on the breakfast buffet this morning (including a tofu scramble and plant-based muffin). 

 

Sorry, I don't know what classic vegan comfort foods would be so can't speak to that.

[Second seating]

I tried some of the plant-based items that were GF on our cruise in May on the Legend, some were very good taste wise. Some the texture was lacking for the described item. Please note not all plant based items are GF.  I am an excellent cook and baker who now is gluten free (not vegan) so I am picky! Second seating

[ridethetide]

I found the plant-based menu to be interesting and tasty. I am vegetarian, not vegan and not gluten-free. The only place where plant-based options were missing was in the serving of hors d'oeuvres with cocktails. My recent cruise in Iceland was my 10th WS cruise, and I have always mentioned this lack of vegetarian options on my surveys. I guess nobody has taken my suggestions seriously. The vegetarian meal options, however, are plentiful and delicious.

[gsutiger2]

12 hours ago, new_cruiser said:

Sorry, I don't know what classic vegan comfort foods would be so can't speak to that.

Hi new_cruiser,

Thanks for the information - this is helpful! By "vegan comfort foods," I was simply referring to junk food - i.e., burgers, hot dogs, fries, nuggets, pancakes, tacos, french toast, etc. 

Edited October 24, 2023 by gsutiger2

[gsutiger2]

1 hour ago, ridethetide said:

I found the plant-based menu to be interesting and tasty. I am vegetarian, not vegan and not gluten-free. The only place where plant-based options were missing was in the serving of hors d'oeuvres with cocktails. My recent cruise in Iceland was my 10th WS cruise, and I have always mentioned this lack of vegetarian options on my surveys. I guess nobody has taken my suggestions seriously. The vegetarian meal options, however, are plentiful and delicious.

This is not good news for vegans. We are a bit concerned that we will be forced to eat the same food day in and out due to a lack of variety. If this is the case, I know that WS will not be our cruise line of choice. 

[Strenz]

I am an accomplished cook, I love food, the history, the culture, the chemistry, the creating. I love real, unprocessed food. When I travel food and  immersing myself in the cultures through food is important to me. On my last cruise with Windstar the food was delicious but I was mystified with " plant based ". We tried the " cheese cake " and it was grim that is being nice. Not the fault of the chef because naming an item "cheese" when there is absolutely no cheese or dairy is in my opinion odd. Name it what it is a brown cake that is heavy, with a whipped topping some kind of oil made to look like, but not taste like frosting. I perseverated  on this and did research these two words showed up time and again " ultra processed ". What is wrong with real food,  Mediterranean Diet, nothing healthier. I wrote Chris Prelog about this for I have never seen it on WS's menus until this year. His answer was they have had requests. 

Who am I, but for the life of me given the chemicals, the whipped oils, some coloring I do not see how that is good for anyone. We were disappointed in the Tapas restaurant it seemed the " plant based" made the menu for us lacking. I have been to Spain many times never heard of " plant based " tapas. Each to our own... Happy Sailing.

[ridethetide]

1 hour ago, Strenz said:

I am an accomplished cook, I love food, the history, the culture, the chemistry, the creating. I love real, unprocessed food. When I travel food and  immersing myself in the cultures through food is important to me. On my last cruise with Windstar the food was delicious but I was mystified with " plant based ". We tried the " cheese cake " and it was grim that is being nice. Not the fault of the chef because naming an item "cheese" when there is absolutely no cheese or dairy is in my opinion odd. Name it what it is a brown cake that is heavy, with a whipped topping some kind of oil made to look like, but not taste like frosting. I perseverated  on this and did research these two words showed up time and again " ultra processed ". What is wrong with real food,  Mediterranean Diet, nothing healthier. I wrote Chris Prelog about this for I have never seen it on WS's menus until this year. His answer was they have had requests. 

Who am I, but for the life of me given the chemicals, the whipped oils, some coloring I do not see how that is good for anyone. We were disappointed in the Tapas restaurant it seemed the " plant based" made the menu for us lacking. I have been to Spain many times never heard of " plant based " tapas. Each to our own... Happy Sailing.

Besides the obvious health benefits to limiting your consumption of animal fats, many who eat plant-based diets, myself included, do so for ethical reasons. I personally would rather that an animal did not die for my dinner.  I do not criticize those who choose to eat meat or fish, but I want to maintain the option to be vegetarian at home and when I travel. I applaud WS for adding the plant-based diet to their menu. It might not meet with your approval, but I am certain that it has pleased and will continue to please many WS passengers. I strongly believe that you are mistaken that the plant-based menu items on the WS ships are "ultra-processed" and are simply whipped oils, chemicals and coloring.

The good news is that WS now offers menus that will suit the dietary needs and desires of those who choose to be plant-based and will not affect the menus of those who are omnivorous.

Happy Sailing!

 

[oakridger]

7 hours ago, gsutiger2 said:

This is not good news for vegans. We are a bit concerned that we will be forced to eat the same food day in and out due to a lack of variety. If this is the case, I know that WS will not be our cruise line of choice. 

 

@aaaa and @gsutiger2 Have you heard of these dedicated plant-based Windstar cruises? Sounds like it may be what you are looking for in a cruise!

 

Plant-Based Travel - National Health Association (healthscience.org)

 

2025 Windstar WFPB Tahiti Cruise - Papeete to Papeete - National Health Association (healthscience.org)

 

2024 Costa Rica & The Panama Canal - Colon to Puerto Caldera - National Health Association (healthscience.org)

 

 

~Nancy

 

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by oakridger

[new_cruiser]

5 hours ago, ridethetide said:

Besides the obvious health benefits to limiting your consumption of animal fats, many who eat plant-based diets, myself included, do so for ethical reasons. I personally would rather that an animal did not die for my dinner.  I do not criticize those who choose to eat meat or fish, but I want to maintain the option to be vegetarian at home and when I travel. I applaud WS for adding the plant-based diet to their menu. It might not meet with your approval, but I am certain that it has pleased and will continue to please many WS passengers. I strongly believe that you are mistaken that the plant-based menu items on the WS ships are "ultra-processed" and are simply whipped oils, chemicals and coloring.

The good news is that WS now offers menus that will suit the dietary needs and desires of those who choose to be plant-based and will not affect the menus of those who are omnivorous.

Happy Sailing!

 

I sometimes have to make things that are dairy free. I can make a reasonable cream cheese substitute from cashews and I've used dairy substitute products from companies such as  Mykonos and Kite that have simple normal ingredients so it doesn't have to be over processed to be vegan.

 

I fear that Windstar may be trying to cover too many dietary limitations at once with it's plant based items. The description of the indicator on the Amphora menu says they are also free of gluten, sugar and oils. 

 

The additional exclusions probably don't affect items such as chili and tofu scramble much. They normally wouldn't have gluten or sugar. (Sorry, I can't taste those to check the quality - They contain an ingedient that I have an allergy to.)

 

It's desserts where the extra limitations are likely to change the nature of the product too much. I tried one of the plant based chocolate cookies. I wasn't a fan of the texture. It wasn't terrible but oddly gummy. 

[new_cruiser]

8 hours ago, gsutiger2 said:

This is not good news for vegans. We are a bit concerned that we will be forced to eat the same food day in and out due to a lack of variety. If this is the case, I know that WS will not be our cruise line of choice. 

There has been lots of variety in the plant-based items offered, but I haven't seen any of the junk food items you mentioned so far. There is a vegetarian burger, but not a vegan one.

[gsutiger2]

Any vegan options for room service breakfast?

Any vegan pancakes or waffles in restaurants?

Thank you 

[gsutiger2]

For vegans searching for information about Windstar offerings, allow me to share my 2023 experience. We were on Pride and thoroughly enjoyed the cruise line! We will never go back to monster ships. However, the food (which I know is subjective) was a major major issue for us.

 

Please note we are fully aware and understand that plant-based and vegan are different. We eat and enjoy both. 

 

While we did not expect the same level of variety as non-vegan or vegetarian passengers, we were disappointed to find that we were often left with no other option but to eat salad, beets, or chili for lunch almost every day. Our food always felt like an "afterthought." 

 

This lack of variety became particularly frustrating when we were served what appeared to be frozen Dr. Praeger's burgers. We informed Windstar of our vegan dietary requirements well in advance and even confirmed this information with our travel agent closer to the departure date to ensure they had time to order/cultivate a menu if we were the only vegans onboard. However, the galley seemed unprepared to cater to the dietary restrictions, and they appeared to have to devise a plan of action once we were on board. As a result, we felt we were not given the same consideration as non-vegan or vegetarian passengers.

 

We were disappointed that the money we paid did not translate into a minuscule -comparable range of options to those enjoyed by non-vegan or vegetarian passengers. For instance, we had to request vegan pancakes for breakfast and rely on room service as the buffet offered no hot plant-based/vegan breakfast items.  Moreover, we were disappointed to find that deck hors d'oeuvres, beach BBQ, and the ice cream social offered us no plant-based/vegan options.

 

Let me give you clear examples of how the money we paid did not in any way come close to the options as vegetarians:

 

Vegan Options Offered/Provided

• Breakfast – I had to ask them if they could make vegan pancakes. We stuck with room service as the buffet had no HOT plant-based/vegan breakfast items readily available.
• Beach BBQ - Salad and chips
• Verandah Lunch – Salad, beets, chili (some days), mushy Dr. Praeger's "like" burger
• Dinner – Salad, Asian tofu and rice (3 days), mushroom pasta that seemed thrown together with leftover prepped items. We were presented with a bowl full of mushrooms with sauce! I dislike mushrooms, but unfortunately, that was my ONLY option for dinner!
• Dessert - The cruise offered no vegan ice cream warm plant-based/vegan options (i.e., apple pie). The plant-based desserts were all cold, weird textures, and lacked flavor.
• Deck Hors d'oeuvres – never any plant-based or vegan options offered to us.
• Ice Cream Social – no vegan ice cream

Easy replacements I compiled based on the ingredients I saw used onboard:

• Beach BBQ – BBQ jackfruit burgers, grilled BBQ tofu, BBQ beans, grillable vegan quinoa and chickpea burgers, grilled vegetable skewers, pasta salad, etc. For vegan - impossible or beyond burgers is an easy option!
• Lunch – tacos (rice, beans, etc.), vegan pizza (add vegan cheese), falafel, harvest bowls, tabbouleh salads, black bean nachos, avocado tacos, vegan BLT sandwiches, marinated tofu kabobs, tofu popcorn chicken, vegan tuna, chickpea burgers, HUMMUS, plantains, rice and peas (Caribbean), sweet potato tacos, tofu caprese, pesto pasta, tofu and pineapple sandwiches, buddha bowls
• Dinner – Pasta (remove the meat)! Fettuccine Alfredo (cashew cheese), vegetable lasagne, olive tapenade, pasta with Asian style dressing, lobster rolls with hearts of palm, vegetable fritters, rice pilaf, herb bread, lemon roasted potatoes, black bean stuffed sweet potatoes with guacamole, vegan caesar salad, Singapore noodles.
• Dessert – vegan cookies and ice cream

I looked at the food they offered the general public and could EASILY identify plant-based/vegan options with no new ingredients. We really liked Windstar and hope they will take recommendations into consideration and expand the plant-based/vegan options on their menu in the future. Having only 1-2 options per day was frustrating, and I couldn't wait to get to a vegan-friendly restaurant at ports. 

 

The dining crew was amazing, and you can tell they really tried to find other options available. 

If the food situation is rectified - Windstar would have easily been a solid 10 for us. 

[gsutiger2]

On 11/5/2023 at 5:34 PM, gsutiger2 said:

Any vegan options for room service breakfast?

Any vegan pancakes or waffles in restaurants?

Thank you 

You need to write in "vegan" on the room service card. However, I would have a conversation with the dining manager before you do this to ensure the galley knows how to cook this. By the 7th day - the pancakes got better. 

 

I did not see any vegan pancakes or waffles in the restaurant. The only hot plant-based/vegan item I found in the breakfast buffet was potatoes. 

[oakridger]

Would you consider taking one of the NHA Vegan cruises I mentioned in post #10?  That sounds like a good solution to have the large variety and quality of food you want with a Windstar ship's crew service and amenities.  Is there any reason you know of for a person who eats a vegan diet to NOT take that group's cruise?

 

Thanks,

~Nancy 

[Nearpost345]

I was on the Legend last spring, and got the sense there was some passive aggressive push back going on from the kitchen. The vegan, plant  based and sugar free options were abysmal. As mentioned previously, the plant based burger was not to be taken seriously. I’ll eat anything and am well pleased with my dining options on Windstar, but I empathize with passengers who have special dietary requirements.

[ridethetide]

7 hours ago, oakridger said:

Would you consider taking one of the NHA Vegan cruises I mentioned in post #10?  That sounds like a good solution to have the large variety and quality of food you want with a Windstar ship's crew service and amenities.  Is there any reason you know of for a person who eats a vegan diet to NOT take that group's cruise?

 

Thanks,

~Nancy 

What are NHA Vegan cruises?

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

We sailed the Wind Spirit in 2021 and I found eating as a vegan to be fairly easy. At that time they did not have any specifically vegan creations but a ton of the regular menu and buffet stuff worked. At that time I don't think I would have even considered asking for "vegan pancakes" as it is too much to ask the kitchen to cater to a couple, or in my case, the only vegan on the ship.

 

I'm glad to hear they are increasing the options for vegans. In particular the beach BBQ events -- lunch and dinner -- in the South Pacific could have used a vegan option other than salad.

[gsutiger2]

19 hours ago, oakridger said:

Would you consider taking one of the NHA Vegan cruises I mentioned in post #10?  That sounds like a good solution to have the large variety and quality of food you want with a Windstar ship's crew service and amenities.  Is there any reason you know of for a person who eats a vegan diet to NOT take that group's cruise?

 

Thanks,

~Nancy 

 

19 hours ago, Nearpost345 said:

I was on the Legend last spring, and got the sense there was some passive aggressive push back going on from the kitchen. The vegan, plant  based and sugar free options were abysmal. As mentioned previously, the plant based burger was not to be taken seriously. I’ll eat anything and am well pleased with my dining options on Windstar, but I empathize with passengers who have special dietary requirements.

Hi Nancy - yes, we checked out those cruises. We are pretty well traveled and have visited most of those locations.  In addition,  there is a large vegan cruise with top vegan chefs and experts in March 2024. We decided against that as it is on a monster ship and during spring break. We ultimately chose Windstar as they had been advertising their new plant based offerings.

 

Nearpost- I totally agree and that's the vibe we got. Everyone was nice, but I ultimately felt this plant based push was from corporate and not truly thought through. 

[gsutiger2]

2 hours ago, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

We sailed the Wind Spirit in 2021 and I found eating as a vegan to be fairly easy. At that time they did not have any specifically vegan creations but a ton of the regular menu and buffet stuff worked. At that time I don't think I would have even considered asking for "vegan pancakes" as it is too much to ask the kitchen to cater to a couple, or in my case, the only vegan on the ship.

 

I'm glad to hear they are increasing the options for vegans. In particular the beach BBQ events -- lunch and dinner -- in the South Pacific could have used a vegan option other than salad.

Lactose intolerant people or those with dairy allergies may also ask for "vegan pancakes". Believe me, breakfast was the only hot meal we could eat and get somewhat full from. After I realized the weak plant based offerings,  I had to rely on pancakes for breakfast and rice for dinner. We rarely eat pancakes at home. 

 

They had plenty of plant based milk available which was good news!

[Strenz]

We were on a 10 day crossing via Greenland in the fall on the Star Pride. My hobby and interest is food, love cooking and experimenting and the culture/ history of food.  I love pure food, eat organic at home but realize on a ship that is not possible which is fine. We tried the vegan cuisine once, I was curious because I have read that a lot about this food and the ultra processing.  We tried the Vegan Cheese Cake and it was inedible. I do not understand why it has to be called " cheese cake " , no cheese. I was hesitant to try anything else and what  I have  read about vegan meat like dishes is the processing. I respect people's tastes, dietary  and religious needs, beliefs, health issues etc  it seems to me real vegetables, fruits, grains,  seeds, olive oils, pastas of terrific quality,  is far better health wise than these made up ultra processed foods. I was told on my cruise of 190 people there were no vegans and was  told from a crew member there was a lot of waste. 

Perhaps people should state their food preferences to the cruise line prior to  so the ship can judge how many vegan eaters there are or kosher folks,  etc so there is not as much waste. This was the first WS cruise we saw with vegan items and our 28 th WS cruise. Happy Sailing

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

2 hours ago, gsutiger2 said:

Lactose intolerant people or those with dairy allergies may also ask for "vegan pancakes". Believe me, breakfast was the only hot meal we could eat and get somewhat full from. After I realized the weak plant based offerings,  I had to rely on pancakes for breakfast and rice for dinner. We rarely eat pancakes at home. 

 

They had plenty of plant based milk available which was good news!

I must have gotten lucky as the chef on our cruise came to me each morning to discuss an option for dinner that night. Generally it was just a variation of something that was already on the menu. I will say they subbed tofu for meat several times but we were on board for 17 nights. That seems like the best "recipe" to me -- make normal items that can be slightly modified for vegan or no-dairy guests.

[oakridger]

18 hours ago, ridethetide said:

What are NHA Vegan cruises?

 

They are detailed in post #10 above.  Basically, on the Tahiti itinerary the whole ship has only the plant-based food offered for the whole cruise.  I wonder if the sponsor group brings on their own chef to supervise or provide recipes?  I checked yesterday and the February 2025 cruise is listed as already sold out and waitlisted!   The 2024 Costa Rica/Panama Canal trip is offering both separate plant-based meals and also regular Windstar meals in a separate dining room (?).

 

I was going to take that cruise, but when Windstar told me about the food offerings, I decided to spend the week on Moorea instead.  I do like my seafood and other meats!

 

Good luck everyone!

 

~Nancy

Edited December 15, 2023 by oakridger