Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady Gluten Free Food Guide

We were recently onboard Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady for their MerMaiden Adriatic Seas and Greek Gems itinerary, and there have been a few changes to how gluten-free dining works versus my previous experience with Valiant Lady, so here is my Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady Gluten Free Guide.

The Pizza Place Gluten Free

On the first day on the ship, the Gluten free pizza came out as a rectangle. At first, I did think, ok, what’s this? This isn’t the Pizza I know and love from Virgin Voyages. Sadly, I was disappointed as this Pizza did not deliver on the fantastic gluten-free Pizza I had previously onboard Virgin Voyages, and what had happened to my best gluten-free Pizza at sea.

I asked if the recipe had changed and explained why I was unhappy with the base. The crust was hard and tasteless, with a texture more like thick cardboard than the usual thin crispy base I’ve had on other Virgin Lady Ships.

I did give the Pizza another go later in the Voyage, and to my surprise, it came out round and was just like the Pizza’s I’ve had in the past and was just like the Pizza I know and love on Virgin Voyages, soft, crisp and great tasting.

The Galley Gluten Free

There are no significant changes here; there is still a fantastic range of options. Sadly though, there was no Gluten Free soya sauce for the sushi, and I couldn’t get to the bottom from the crew if it was a stock issue or if they no longer plan to have any onboard. Fingers crossed, as this was the launch weeks of the ship and the start of the season, we will find they have it again when we are back on at the end of the season.

Cakes still had a good range of choices; sadly however, none of the Greek flavours were gluten-free, I can understand that Baklava wouldn’t be available Gluten Free, but it would have been nice to have something available so I could join in on the Greek-inspired additions to the onboard offerings.

Gunbae Gluten Free

The biggest positive here was that I could have the DAKGANG JEONG (crispy chicken), which I had not been able to have before, so it was a pleasant surprise to try something that so many people had raved about before finally. Kieran even says it’s worth coming to Gunbae for the chicken alone.

This time around, they cooked the Gluten Free meats/seafood first instead of last, which used to mean the cooking plate had to be changed, and everyone else had to wait for mine to be cooked before deserts were ordered.

Considering you eat with strangers when you eat as a couple in Gunbae, it can feel like being on the spot as everyone has to wait for you to eat before they can move on to the next course. It seems Virgin have a better flow for meal service and dietary needs at this restaurant now they have been running for over a year.

This is a significant improvement, as I’ve usually avoided Gunbae for those two main reasons.

Lick Me Till Ice Cream Gluten Free

This was another positive change as the range of Gluten Free flavours has doubled. On this Voyage, I found Pistachoe, Fromage Orange, and two others whose names I need help remembering, which I’ve never been able to enjoy in the past. As well as Strawberry Malt, Brown Sugar and Chocolate that I’ve previously had Gluten Free

Extra Virgin Gluten Free

Sadly, things have changed significantly at Extra Virgin, which used to have a wide range of Gluten Free options. I asked and wasn’t given an answer, so I wonder if it’s a stock shortage at launch, or a supplier change, so this could change as the season continues.

The main change was to the pasta options that are available Gluten Free; they only had dried spaghetti and no other shape of pasta available Gluten Free. It may sound like a small detail, but any Italian cook will tell you different sauces are served on different shapes of pasta because of the sauce and the eating experience they provide. So whilst I’ve never expected a full range of shapes, it was nice to have more choice than just one in the past as I have had on other ships.

Another thing of note is that the Seafood and Carbonara sauces are no longer Gluten Free, which seemed to be a common trend in most places onboard; sauces have now gained wheat, so a lot of menu choices are no longer gluten-free, whereas in the past, they were, or I could have it sauceless, making for a dry meal.

Not related to gluten-free, but worth mentioning is that the Wagyu Beef starter has changed to Beef Carpaccio, which was still lovely, just a slight downgrade. Sadly the Chicken Mouse is also no longer Gluten Free, and then when it comes to Mains, the chicken can no longer come with the sauce.

As for desserts, the beautiful Chestnut Castagnccio is available, but for the first time in six voyages with Virgin, I was allowed the Affogato, which was FANTASTIC as it’s such a simple, beautiful desert that I was always disappointed as a Gluten Free eater, I was never able to have it.

The Wake Gluten Free

We only did Brunch there on this Voyage, and nothing has changed on this menu, sadly still no Gluten Free pastries on offer, and we always have to ask for them to be brought over as they never offer them to my husband even though he can eat gluten.

Sadly the Pork Belly on the Wake Hollandaise wasn’t available Gluten Free. It is now made off-ship and brought in pre-coated, according to the waiter, which was a shame, but the sauce and the eggs were lovely!

Test Kitchen Gluten Free

This sailing, we only made it to Test Kitchen once and had the original menu, the same from the launch back in 2021. What was lovely to see is that the Mushroom course was back to being Gluten Free; last year on Valiant Lady, I wasn’t able to have it, so that brought a smile to my face.

Pink Agave Gluten Free

Pink Agave is still the best option for those looking to dine Gluten Free onboard Virgin Voyages, and it’s good to know things are the same on Resilient as on the other Lady Ships.

I did spot that the tortillas are no longer freshly made on ship and are bought in. Hopefully, they get back to making them onboard again soon. I know this is a small detail, but I did love the freshly cooked ones as it’s part of the elevated dining experience Virgin prides itself on; that’s not to say the quality of the bought-in ones is terrible in any way.

Is this an issue on Resilient Lady? A friend posted their picture from Valiant Lady sailing the same week as I was on Resilient and they still had the handmade ones.

I know I’m being spoilt here now, but I wish there were another gluten-free dessert option; the Tamal de Chocolate is still as amazing as I remember.

Razzle Dazzle Gluten Free

For Resilient Lady, Razzle Dazzle has a whole new menu. There is no longer a naughty menu (the meat options) or a secret menu; there is just one menu with the meat dishes alongside the vegetarian options.

There is an issue with this menu; however, when it comes to starters, it has the most extensive range of options of any of the main restaurants onboard. However, it has a minimal choice for the main course.

Our waitress remembered us from Valiant Last year, so we chatted to her about that. She said they are testing the new menu on Resilient Lady to see the feedback. Whilst the restaurant is still vegetarian forward, they have taken a step back and removed some of the less popular items, and they are trying some new things.

They are gauging feedback closely to see what works and what doesn’t, and depending on feedback, the new menu could be rolled out fleetwide. They have already taken on the feedback about the lack of Gluten Free mains, so she said she expects the menu to change again soon based on early feedback.

For my starter, I tried the tuna, which was terrific, and I also tried the Pork Belly, which was stunning, the zing from the slaw was divine!

Regarding my main, three dishes can be made Gluten Free. The Carrot dish is served without pasta. The Lamb Shank is available gluten-free, but without the sauce, and the brisket, which comes without the crips and sauce.

I had the brisket, which was beautifully cooked, tender and flavourful, but the meal only had one texture, and the lack of sauce could have been better.

For deserts, there was still only one option: a Creme Bruelle, which was flavourful, smooth, and everything you hoped for. You could also have the cheesecake, which is actually from the Brunch menu.

Overall it’s a lovely new menu, and we gave our feedback. Hopefully, it will change in time for our next voyage later this year, and there will be more choices of mains or better substitutions for the mains.

Grounds Club Gluten Free – Deck 7

There is now something that has been needed on previous sailings from the onboard Coffee shop. They now have a choice of Gluten Free cakes and Cookies, which they have never had before, meaning I had to see what was available in The Galley. Each day they had a choice of Choc chip Muffin or Chocolate cookie; the only downside is that they don’t seem to restock once they are gone, which happened by midday on our sailing. However, you can still pop to the social and get bites to eat there, and that range is still the same as when last on the ship.

The Dock and The Dockhouse Gluten Free

This is still one of my favourite places, and I am pleased to say the Watermelon and Feta salad is still available. I still can’t work out why something so simple has so much flavour and brings me so much pleasure from eating, but it does!

Sadly the lamb kebab no longer comes with the mint sauce on as the sauce is no longer Gluten Free, and the same goes for the Octopus, which now comes dry as that sauce is also no longer Gluten Free. I did ask if they could bring it with the sauce for the prawns, which was fine.

Regarding the new Opa Hour, there are some options on this menu, I had the fennel salad, which was full of flavour, and the fish was stunning. They kindly brought the pistachio sweets as they were gluten-free, and they tasted beautiful.

The special cocktail for Opa Hour was stunning, but go careful; the kick comes after a few glasses of this sparkling number!

Another Rose Gluten Free

This new show is part of the Virgin Voyages Supper Club series of events. Iys a hybrid dining and show event, and the food was fantastic.

The sweet potato chat that comes as the starter was stunning, packed full of flavour with a great range of textures. The tuna bomb comes without the shell; however, it was still perfect, and I got twice the amount of tuna.

For the main course, I had the fish option, which was beautifully cooked and loaded with flavour, and then the dessert was a perfect way to end the meal.

With the highly generous drinks you get as part of the experience, we had a wonderful evening filled with great food, drink and entertainment, well worth the $50 extra charge.

In Summary – Gluten Free Resilient Lady

Despite some steps back on this sailing for some elements, Virgin Voyages is still leading the way regarding Gluten Free dining on a cruise ship.

As you can tell, it wasn’t great news to see choices going down in some elements of the menus.

To Gluten sufferers, one of the most frustrating things to be told when dining is you can’t have the sauce that a dish comes with as it contains gluten. A lot of the intended flavour the chef created for the dish often sits within the sauce; it’s also a significant texture of the meal that’s removed, especially on meals with a cut of meat or fish as the primary element.

Hopefully, this isn’t a permeant direction for Virgin Voyages and just a teething problem as their latest ship beds in. We did notice similar last year on our three sailings on Valiant Lady, things changed across the season, so supply chain issues and regional contracts could be at play here.

I stand by it when I say Virgin Voyages still has the best Gluten Free offering for any mainstream cruise line, and this post comes from a place of love for Virgin Voyages and a hope that they can maintain the high standards they have set for themselves on our previous sailings.

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