We booked this cruise on Anthem of the Seas having read about Royal Caribbean Cruises’ vegan-friendly approach onboard their fleet of ships. There can often be a big difference between what is being claimed to what you experience in real life but on this occasion, the claims were totally justified. The vegan menus in the MDR offered not only some quite creative and nutritious options but delivered too with some absolutely delicious tasting dishes.
Normally the first thing we do when first getting onboard is head for the buffet as embarkation more often than not coincides with lunchtime, on this cruise and with onboard social distancing measures being implemented, after washing our hands, we were shown to a table from where we were free to visit the servery’s but not actually serve ourselves, there was always a crew member on hand to dispense whatever you asked for. At this point, Nicole approached the manager of The Windjammer to discuss her options and was met with a very favourable response. After showing her several options available that day she selected a Chickpea stew with garlic rice and spring rolls, they even made her a special dessert of soya cream whip with strawberry coulis. This great start was replicated many times during the week and there were always options available coupled with knowledgeable servers on hand to advise. Not everything was labelled and a little knowledge and common sense may be followed by a question could often provide a favourable result.
Our first visit to the dining room that evening also provided a very positive experience, a vegan menu was provided with something for each course. Although we had My Time dining, we elected to retain the same waiting team as they would be very aware of Nicole’s dietary requirements. Even to the extent of only bringing to the table suitable bread with the offer of margarine or balsamic vinegar and olive oil. This then prompted us to ask if there was any hummus to spread over it, not only did it appear the following evening but it was also accompanied by an olive tapenade, with both ever-present for the rest of the cruise.
So, now for the photos and menus, I would just like to point out before we go any further, such were the amazing looking dishes, we often forgot to take a picture before tucking in so there are quite a few gaps in places. I think the simplest way of sharing this information is to break it down by each day and show the menu to illustrate the other choices available.
The restaurant manager also played his part by bringing out the following evening’s menu for viewing prior to our departure from the MDR.
On several mornings we took breakfast in the MDR, on the first occasion, Nicole enjoyed scrambled tofu but from then on enjoyed porridge oats made with water, with poured oat milk over that, then added sugar, cinnamon and raisins and finally a nice selection of berries to top it off. The restaurant manager even organised the scrambled tofu in the Windjammer one morning after Nicole’s yoga session finished after the MDR had closed. It just emphasises the importance of good communication with the servers and their managers if you want to get the most out of the vegan dining experience onboard.
Other areas of the ship where food was available that we either used or noticed were Sorrento’s pizza where there was a vegan pizza available but when we made the initial enquiry that told us they had vegan cheese but when we eventually got around to ordering one, they had run out of cheese so we took it without. The reason given was lack of supplies which given the current supply issues on land is understandable.
Café Two70 Bistro, is an area are the back of the ship which had coffees with soya milk, there were also a few items to eat such as breakfast items & salads.
Due to the number of passengers on board, the Solarium Bistro wasn’t open so we were not able to check what was available there.
We disembarked the ship after a week and were completely bowled over by the service and approach by Royal Caribbean and the crew of Anthem of the Seas.
Finally, some consideration must be given to the fact that this cruise only sailed at 20% capacity so some of our experience would certainly have been enhanced, however, it certainly won’t prevent us from taking another Royal Caribbean cruise.