If you are taking a cruise with Azamara, you may be wondering what the food will be like. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks are all included at no extra cost on an Azamara cruise.
I’ve just disembarked a cruise on the Azamara Onward and in this post we will look at everything I ate in the main dining room, buffet and poolside grill. Menus are also provided.
Buffet (Windows Cafe) – Included on Azamara Cruises
The buffet was open from early in the morning until 9.30 pm.
All food here is included in the cruise fare.
Breakfast did end at 10 am on port days which meant that I skipped breakfast most of the time, I am not a morning person!
Room service is included though, so I could have done this if I wanted to.
In terms of size, the buffet was fairly small but I found more things that I would like to eat in this small space than I have before on cruise lines with buffets four times as big.
The sections in the buffet would be different for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The cookies actually weren’t fantastic, but the rest of the food was!
The quality of the food in the buffet was incredible, it was better than any cruise line I’ve ever cruised on before, and I’ve cruised with 21 cruise lines.
There was a LOT of vegetarian and vegan choice. Quite often there would be a meaty dish and a vegan version next to it which I really appreciated.
I found vegan nuggets, meatballs, sausages, bacon, and even a vegetarian steak! (Beyond Brand). If you are veggie or vegan, I’d highly recommend Azamara.
The allergen markings in the buffet were very clear and there was always a gluten-free and plant-based section.
The food in the buffet was varied and changed every day. There were some items that would always be available like bread and desserts but there would quite often be freshly carved meat or a crew member making omelettes.
Below is one of the sections that would sometimes pop up:
Main Dining Room (Discoveries) – Included on Azamara Cruises
There was only one main dining room onboard the Azamara Onward and there are no set dining times.
We were always asked if we wanted to table share or be seated by ourselves.
The restaurant itself is large and there are windows on three sides which is great, we would often eat here in the evening when we were still in port so it was great to be able to look out at a new place.
Do Azamara Have a Vegan Menu?
On Azamara cruises, there is a full vegan menu available in the main dining room and it changes daily. During my cruise on the Azamara Onward, there were 6 vegan starters, 5 vegan mains, and 3 vegan desserts each day.
As a vegetarian myself, I’ve never had so much choice on a cruise!
When sitting in the restaurant I would ask for the vegan menu and the waiter would get it for me. I got the impression that the waiters preferred it when I ordered my meals from the menu a day in advance so I did do this at one point.
Pre-ordering isn’t a requirement though.
Dinner #1
Below is the first meal I had in the main dining room onboard Azamara Onward.
I was the only vegetarian in our cruising group and my family said that the meat quality was comparable to the food they’ve had on past cruise lines like Princess and P&O (which is good!)
| Starter #1 (Vegan) | Not Duck Salad |
| Starter #2 | Vol au Vent |
| Main #1 (Vegan) | Grilled Tofu |
| Main #2 | Mustard Crusted Beef Short Rib |
Dinner #2
I think the ink might have run out in the printer when it came to the vegan menus, it isn’t your eyes or your screen!
Gluten-free labels are on the main menu and the vegan menu.
There are also ‘healthy choice’ labels.
| Starter #1 (Vegan) | Vegetable Bruschetta |
| Main #1 (Vegan) | Beyond Steak (Veggie Steak) and Beef Steak Behind |
| Dessert #1 (Vegan) | Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Pie |
I’ve never had a veggie steak before but I decided to give it a go. It was AMAZING. (Beyond Brand).
I met friends onboard (meat eaters) who decided to give it a go, they all said they’d not know if they weren’t told it wasn’t meat. It had a consistency a bit more like a burger than a steak, but I loved it.
On a lot of the big American cruise lines, you won’t find any vegetarian options at all on some menus.
Dinner #3
Our third main dining room meal was on what’s called white night. On white night the menu is slightly different.
There is no specific white night dress code and around half the guests wore white. I wore a grey and white striped dress.
There is no ‘always available’ section like there is on the other menus, although I’m sure you could still order those things without much difficulty.
The staff were so friendly and helpful. They always made sure that we were happy with our food and that we had enough bread.
On white night I was very happy to see that there was a vegan fish and chips on my menu. It was tofu and to be honest, I would have preferred more chips and less tofu, but it was amazing to have the choice.
I also saw that bubble and squeak cake was on the menu, and I LOVE that.
| Starter #1 (Vegan) | Bubble and Squeak Cake |
| Main #1 (Vegan) | Tofu Fish and Chips |
| Dessert #1 (Vegan) | Sorbet |
| Dessert #2 | Chocolate Palet D’or |
Other Main Dining Room Meals:
Below is a potato cake, and cheese dessert.
We thought that this was a good portion of cheese as we often get much less on other cruise lines.
Pool Side Grill (The Patio) – Included in Cruise Fare
In addition to the main dining room and buffet there is also another restaurant by the pool called the patio. This was open for lunch and dinner.
To call it a poolside grill doesn’t describe it well enough, the food was the best poolside food I’ve ever had.
The menu was large and changed between lunch and dinner.
The Patio Menu:
CRAVINGS
Nachos
Tortilla Chips, Seasoned Ground Beef, Refried Beans, Nacho Cheese, Guacamole, Jalapenos, sour cream
Buffalo Wings | Chicken Strips | Spring Rolls (v)
Buffalo Cauli Wings (p-b)
SOUPS
Enjoy our soup of the day
ask your server for todays selections
SIDES
Grilled Vegetables (gf, v) | French Fries (V)
Baked Potato (v) | Onion Rings (v)
BURGER & SAUSAGES
Azamara Burger*
Bacon, Swiss Cheese, Sauteed Mushrooms, Sauteed Onions, Aioli
Beyond Zen Burger (Pb)
Asian Slaw, Avocado, Togarashi vegan Mayonnaise
Greek Burger*
Lamb Burger, Feta Cheese Tomato, Caramelized Onions, Black Oirves, Izatzik Hamburger* | Cheeseburger*
Salmon Burger* | Turkey Burger I Beyond Burger
Hot Dog I Bratwurst | Beyond Dog (p-b)
TOPPINGS
Bacon, American Cheese (gf), Swiss Cheese, Blue Cheese, Sauteed Mushrooms, Sauteed Onions (gf),
Guacamole (gf), Jalapenos (gf), BBQ Sauce
FROM THE GRILL
Beef* Brochette (gf) | Lamb * Brochette (gf)
Chicken Brochette (gf)
SANDWICHES
Pork Loin Sandwich
Herb Marinated Grilled Pork Loin
Sauteed Onions, Feta Cheese, French Baguette Grouper* Panini Blackened Grouper Fillet,
Black Bean Salsa, Chinese Cabbage, Aioli, Ciabatta Bread Spicy Tuna* & Spinach Wrap Seared Tuna, Asparagu, Jalapeno, Aioli, Coleslaw
(V) Vegetarian (p-b) Plant Based (GF) Gluten free
Many items can also be made gluten-free with alternative bread
There was lots of vegetarian choices and I usually had the vegetarian (beyond) burger or nachos.
Sides were available here too so I normally had chips (fries) and onion rings.
There was bar service here too so we usually ordered drinks while eating.
The nachos were particularly good and I had these for lunch a couple of times.
The portion size was huge.
They were made to order so could be customised, I ordered everything apart from the beef.
Ice Cream (Swirl and Top) – Included
Besides the patio was a couple of ice cream machines and LOTS of toppings.
I don’t really eat ice cream but I’d quite often pick up a cup of the toppings as a snack!
This area was self-serve and there were sauces available too.
Afternoon Snacks (The Lounge) – Included
In the lounge, there would often be a few small bits to eat like sandwiches, wraps and cakes.
They would have an afternoon tea of sorts here where they would have scones available.
We did have a couple of cakes from here which were good but didn’t eat here regularly.
This area remained open after 10pm when the main buffet closed.
The allergen information here was also good. It was the same as in the buffet.
Would I Recommend Azamara For The Food?
If you are vegetarian or vegan I’ve never found a cruise line with as much choice as Azamara. I loved everything that I ate and thought that the food was always of very high quality.
My family who aren’t vegetarian also rated the food highly.
Free Insiders Cruise Line Guide
Ever wondered how the mainstream cruise lines compare? Cruise lines won’t tell you this, but I will.
This FREE guide shows you everything you need to know to find your perfect cruise line.