When I first decided to ditch animal products around five years ago, the vegan landscape was still a bit – I’ll be honest – crap.
There were about two types of vegan cheese, and they both tasted like chalk.
Finding makeup that was both good and hadn’t been plunged into the eyes of rabbits seemed like a near-impossible task.
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The shoes looked like they were made from burlap.
None of this is the case now, of course.
There are about 50 types of extremely convincing vegan cheese (have you tried Nutcrafter Creamery?), it’s easy to find cruelty-free cosmetics, and there are loads of high-quality vegan leather shoes and bags.
But, on top of all of this, the existence of a vegan river cruise really shows how far things have come.
Everything on board Vegan Travel’s Emerald Dawn ship was 100% plant-based – not just the food, but also the toiletries in the bathrooms, and even the ‘leather’ on the seats.
And after half a decade of spending my holidays constantly repeating ‘no milk please’, ‘I’ll have the veggie full English without the Quorn sausages, eggs or butter’ and ‘is this made with lard?’, I’ll admit I went a bit hysterical with joy.
Plus, the cruise was all inclusive. I don’t usually go for all-inclusive package deals – or cruises, funnily enough – but since this experience I’ve been converted to both.
I used to think being stuck on a ship for a week with the same people was my idea of hell, but it turns out it was just because those people kept trying to feed me bacon.
As soon as my fiancé Nolan and I arrived on board the ship, which was docked in Amsterdam, we headed straight for the bar, and I had my first White Russian since 2011.
And, thanks to us having had a rather hellish flying experience and it being all inclusive and all, I followed it up with about five Bellinis.
We also took a minute to collapse in our cabin, which was massive and luxurious, with huge wall-sized windows.
Then, finally, dinner.
I knew there would be nice food on board the ship, but I had absolutely no idea how elaborate it would be.
They had amazing vegan versions of things I didn’t even know it was possible to make – not to mention the sheer quantity of it.
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Every night for dinner there were five courses – starter, soup, intermezzo, main course, and dessert – with wine matched to the food.
And we’re not talking ‘three asparagus tips with a balsamic vinegar drizzle’ type of main course (genuinely something that has been served to me as a vegan option in the past).
We’re talking hearty rucola dumplings in an onion sauce; spiced quinoa and lentil cakes in a tofu and vegetable broth; seitan stroganoff served with pappardelle.
For starters there were things like fried chickpea fritters, California sushi rolls, beetroot carpaccio with a ‘blue cheese’ mousse, vegetable tempura, as well as a salad alternative every evening.
But as a vegan, you also learn to appreciate the small stuff – which is why I squealed with joy when I saw there was vegan butter on the table for the bread.
The soup courses, which came soon after the starters, were hearty and delicious.
The desserts were incredible – fried cinnamon dumplings with vegan Chantilly cream, honeycomb fritters served with cream and shortbread biscuits, crepe suzette with even more Chantilly cream.
There was also the option of having vegan ice cream (not sorbet) each night, which was equally amazing – and always served with a very generous dollop of cream and a shortbread biscuit or wafer.
And the service throughout the cruise was impeccable.
It’s not just the dinner. You’re basically fed incredible food from the first moment you wake up.
Which leads us to breakfast. We really need to talk about this breakfast – a massive all-you-can-eat vegan breakfast buffet.
The hot food section included vegan sausages, hash browns, scrambled tofu, beans and vegetables.
Then there were vegan croissants, pain au chocolats and muffins.
And because the cruise company is German, they also had more continental offerings like rye bread, pates, vegan sliced ham and cheese.
And naturally, there was green juice – it is a vegan cruise, after all.
I ate all of this every single morning, like a bear preparing to hibernate.
Lunch was three courses – soup, mains and dessert.
Most days I was too full from breakfast to make it, but on one of the days I did they were serving the FGV Burger – designed by Sean O’Callaghan of the Fat Gay Vegan blog. He was on board and held a really useful social media workshop one evening.
At about 4pm there was kaffee und kuchen – coffee and five different types of little cakes, plus a massive bowl of vegan Chantilly cream.
Mealtimes aside, you could spend your free time in the ship’s gym, or in the swimming pool on the upper deck, which had massive glass walls so you could look out at the Rhine as you sailed.
The pool could also be converted into a general floor, for cinema screenings and vegan advocacy talks.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BOwj4pXFmbj/?taken-by=ashnagesh
The ship docked in towns and cities along the Rhine, including Delft, Brussels and Dusseldorf.
It was my fiance’s first time in Germany, and he fell in love with the place.
In the space of a day we managed to explore most of the city, go beer tasting and visit the market, and we’re now planning a longer visit.
It was also a good taster of the various cities, to figure out where you’d want to go a long trip.
This cruise isn’t just for vegans.
A surprising number of people on board were veggie, or meat eaters, who had been reluctantly brought along by vegan friends and partners, but ended up saying that they hadn’t realised how impressive vegan food could be.
All I can say is – go.
Go and take some elasticated trousers because you’re going to put on about half a stone.
Prices on the vegan river cruises start from £790 per person and go up to £1,145.
Visit veganrivercruises.com for more details on upcoming journeys.
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