The food on a cruise can make or break your holiday – but, like with any holiday, eating well may be a challenge if you have food allergies or dietary restrictions.
Many cruise lines take this into account when considering their dining offerings. You will often find vegetarian and vegan options in the onboard buffet and on the main dining room menu of most cruise ships, and staff should ask if there are any allergies before taking your order in a restaurant to ensure the meals are safe for you.
Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Holland America Line and Virgin Voyages are well-known among regular passengers for their plant-based menus and food choice; P&O Cruises’ Arvia has its own plant-based speciality restaurant called Green & Co Feat. Mizuhana; and Norwegian Aqua has its one complimentary veggie venue called Planterie. Aida Cruises even has its own Schonkostbar gluten-free restaurants.
.jpg)
Other cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises can cater for kosher, halal and coeliac diets. Guests will usually need to inform the restaurant manager at the time of booking to preorder meals or when they get on board to discuss their needs.
Some cruise lines and tour operators go one step further by offering sailings dedicated to specific dietary needs. Here is our pick of the best.
Vegan
Tour operator Vegan Travel regularly charters ships for river and ocean cruises that feature gourmet vegan cuisine. Guests can relax and sightsee without worrying about what to eat, as all food and drink (including wine) on board is vegan, and there are also vegan-friendly excursions with recommended places to eat so you can enjoy the cuisine at port, too.
Itineraries include a Seas of Sicily cruise that departs for a round trip from Valletta, Malta, for nine nights on 16 July and travels around Italy. Port stops include Palermo and Messina. Sailing aboard MS Monet, the ship caters for just 56 guests and prices start from €3,299 (£2,467) per person for an oceanview cabin.
Coeliac
Founded by dietary expert Maureen Basye and travel agent Connie Saunders, Celiac Cruise puts together regular coeliac-friendly sailings for guests.
It works with cruise lines including Royal Caribbean, Oceania and AmaWaterways to provide a dedicated food and beverage team and coeliac menus onboard, as well as gluten-free snacks.
All gluten-free food is prepared in a safe environment, including a completely gluten-free kitchen galley in the main dining room. Additionally, all fried foods are prepared in dedicated gluten-free fryers.
Many of the dedicated coeliac cruises for 2026 are already sold out but there is a four-night Bahamas cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas with space still available. The sailing visits Nassau and the cruise line’s private island CocoCay. Cruise fares start from $1,499.06 (£1,121) per person in a balcony cabin.
Kosher
Following a kosher diet can be tricky on a cruise.
Many cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises and Princess Cruises will provide pre-packaged kosher meals but these may need to be pre-ordered before you board. Some people may also have concerns about the food that was previously on the cutlery and crockery.
There are travel companies that arrange kosher cruises where one dining room onboard is taken over and the kitchen is made kosher so that every meal follows the strict religious requirements.
For example, Fresh Kosher Cruises is offering kosher meals aboard Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas this summer during a round-trip from Rome.
Departing on 16 August 2026, an interior cabin for two adults costs $4,917 (£3,676) and the kosher food adds another $1,982 (£1,481), pushing the total cost to $6,899 (£5,158).
Halal
Similar to kosher food, a Muslim person can request halal dishes on some cruise lines such as Celebrity Cruises and Disney, but they may need to be arranged in advance.
Alternatively, Saudi Arabia-backed Aroya Cruises provides a 100 per cent halal-certified food and drinks across more than 15 restaurants onboard.
The ship is also completely alcohol-free and has onboard prayer rooms and prayer mats in every cabin.
Aroya sails around the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean.
Fares for a one-week Med cruise roundtrip from Turkey, departing on 1 August, start from £657 per person.
