Buffet Everyday (dinner)

[jillmom2]

Hi All!

 

Our next cruise is in about 3 weeks on the Brilliance. We are traveling with our toddler (19 months old). We are thinking that we will skip the dining room for the entire trip and stick with the Windjammer. DS has already been on 3 cruises at his young age and quite frankly the dining room isn't the highlight of our trip when traveling with the little guy. It's a lot easier to skip the dining room these days. Plus we aren't in the mood to bring dress clothes on this trip.

 

In all of my 11 Royal Caribbean cruises I have never eaten dinner in the Windjammer. Do they serve the same thing every night or change it up? We tried the buffet on Carnival Breeze in July and it sucked. Lacked variety and same old stuff each night (for the most part). I am hoping on Royal there is a wide variety. I do remember going in there a few times to get soup or something to snack on while waiting for our dinner and they had some of the MDR items in Windjammer. Is this still the case?

 

PS: Before anyone jumps on us, we have MTD and have already paid our grats.

 

I don't think you will be very impressed..Although I have never sailed Royal Caribbean..I have tried the buffet for dinner once on each of my other cruises..Carnival, Princess, Disney.... It is mainly exactly what you want it for convenience of time and not dressing up...otherwise not much reason to go there ..I didn't find it much different than for lunches and I wasn't very impressed with those either. I totally agree with you about the Carnival Buffet...it sucked for dinner. You have to balance what you want (not dressing up and quick and easy with your toddler...its too bad you have to give up good food to do it) Either way...relax and enjoy your trip with your family

[reallyitsmema]

I don't think you will be very impressed..Although I have never sailed Royal Caribbean..I have tried the buffet for dinner once on each of my other cruises..Carnival, Princess, Disney.... It is mainly exactly what you want it for convenience of time and not dressing up...otherwise not much reason to go there ..I didn't find it much different than for lunches and I wasn't very impressed with those either. I totally agree with you about the Carnival Buffet...it sucked for dinner. You have to balance what you want (not dressing up and quick and easy with your toddler...its too bad you have to give up good food to do it) Either way...relax and enjoy your trip with your family

 

Dinner in the WJ is different than lunch in the WJ. Very hard to judge something that you have never even tried.

[goodycruising]

We have enjoyed dinner in the WJ a few times. Some of the officers eat there later in the mealtime too. Sometimes they have special things like fresh cooked waffles. We like the relaxed atmosphere and being abl to get in and out in our time frame if we choose to.

 

We have a friend that "hates the Windjammer". He goes there on boarding day for lunch and no other time. Our opinion is that he is seeing it at its most busy and confusing, and is missing out on one of the things we enjoy on board.

 

I would also not recommend the WJ right at the peak time of service, as we have been there by mistake about 11.30 am, and boy some people are serious about getting their food at that time of day. We like to relax on holidays :)

[biomedbob]

We've had lobster served to us in the WJ when we explained why we've not gone to the MDR! :)

[dancinman66]

Food varies a bit but a lot of stuff seems to be there regularly

I couldn't do it

But each to their own

 

 

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[Langley Cruisers]

I find the negative comments from the people who have never done this to be very intriguing. Oh well, more room for me and my DH! LOL :p:D:p

[Cruz-On]

We love the Windjammer. The ambience is nice and we sit in the same area and have the same waiter everyday which we tip. The food is good with a wide variety which DH ikea. We are always able to find something there good to eat on. We hate dressing up for dinner as we really vacation to relax. I have to dress everyday for work so this is a plus for me not to have to dress. The big plus is you eat at your own leisure without feeling rushed like in the MDR.

[tidygirl]

We've been on 9 cruises, 4 Carnival -1 Norwegian-the rest Royal we have only ate at the MDR 1 time! Windjammer beats the other cruise lines buffet by far IMO We prefer not to spend 1 to 2 hours eating and waiting for fancy food we probably won't like as my family can be picky eaters! WJ offers different choices at night recently on the Jewell they even did pasta they cooked up for you with your choice of ingredients! Took our SIL on his 1st cruise in Sept he was impressed with the WJ and being able to get all he wanted and lots of variety, he's excited to be on the Liberty in 10 days!

[Fat Paul]

I don't think you will be very impressed..Although I have never sailed Royal Caribbean..I have tried the buffet for dinner once on each of my other cruises..Carnival, Princess, Disney.... It is mainly exactly what you want it for convenience of time and not dressing up...otherwise not much reason to go there ..I didn't find it much different than for lunches and I wasn't very impressed with those either. I totally agree with you about the Carnival Buffet...it sucked for dinner. You have to balance what you want (not dressing up and quick and easy with your toddler...its too bad you have to give up good food to do it) Either way...relax and enjoy your trip with your family

 

Really? You offer an opinion on something that you have never experienced?

I have had dinner in the Windjammer a few times. Very enjoyable

[OSUZorba]

I've been on 4 RCL cruises, and eaten WJ for dinner 3 times. I eat WJ for breakfast and lunch most days, so by dinner time I am ready for something different. They do have some different food at dinner, but a lot of it is about the same as lunch.

 

The last time I did it was a year ago, and my wife were pretty grumpy on that cruise, we had been forced into MTD, which we didn't care for, but I really did not enjoy WJ for dinner either and finished out the cruise in MTD. (We were grumpy before the cruise, we were right in the middle of changing jobs, moving, selling house, etc).

 

I think one reason I don't care for the WJ for dinner is I eat plain food 100% of my time on land, so the MDR food is very different for me, where WJ is what I eat all the time, and 2 times everyday of the cruise. So I just enjoy the MDR experience. But in your situation, I think I could enjoy the WJ everyday, and have a good satisfying meal each night. I'd probably just try to find something else to do for breakfast and/or lunch, having the WJ 3 times a day would probably be a bit much for anybody ;).

Edited September 12, 2014 by OSUZorba

[gpnfish]

We usually eat WJ about 3-4 days on a 7 day. One of the nicest things I like about it? You make the rules. Want your dessert first? Do it. Want to eat you main entrees first and then end with salad? Go for it. Want a little taste of chicken, pork, beef, fish, and maybe a slice of pizza. You can do that in WJ. Not likely in the MDR. Lastly, you can eat your fill in WJ and get out in 35-45 minutes. Try that in the MDR!

 

 

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[ctp365]

Like many here, I think the WJ is great for a casual, relaxed dinner. We often go to the WJ in preference over the dining room.

 

We just wait to see what we feel like at the end of the day. If we don't feel like dressing up, or are not particularly fussed about the dining room menu, then we happily go to the WJ.

 

 

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[JamesEM]

This past Oct DW and I did a B-2-B with the family and ate in the MDR the first week, the 2nd week we were by ourselves and ate every dinner in the Windjammer, we really enjoyed the food and service.

[beerman2]

Thnx all for your varied opinions. Going on first RCI cruise in 3 weeks so this may be another first.

 

I'm sure it's a whole different atmosphere at dinner than it is at lunch when you would swear people had never seen food before.

 

DW eats a lot of salads and fruit so Windjammer may work. I can find something to eat I'm sure. Just give me meat/ fish and potatoes and I'm good to go.

[Philly Steve]

Dinner at the Windjammer presents a great opportunity to bump into the ship's officers, even the captain. If it's good enough for them..

 

:)

[nonnie&dgd]

Read Trainman's last review. He and his wife ate dinner almost every night in the Windjammer. He has photos of all his meals.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2095089

[mil76]

Another great use for the Windjammer is if you are cruising with kids and want to do the specialty restaurants sans kids. We make specialty restaurant reservations for 7:00pm or later then take the kids to the WJ at 6:30pm (usually when they open) for dinner. At 7:00 the kids go off to Adventure Ocean and we head off to the specialty restaurant.

[gpnfish]

One other thing I'll mention about the Windjammer that to me is unique when compared with the buffet lines on other ships like Carnival and Princess. In the windjammer, RCI actually provides service. If they notice you bringing food to a table without a drink, they will ask you what you want and readily bring it to you. If you drop a fork or need something from the lines that you forgot, they will get it for you. On the other lines, at least from what I've experienced, they are just table bussers - they cleanup after you leave and they take dirty dishes away.

 

That makes the buffet experience much better on RCI

[Folk Singer]

I think that the Windjammer has a few items every night from the MDR. I have never eaten dinner in the Windjammer but I believe they offer a couple of items that are on the MDR menu.

 

You could go to the MDR and request a table for two and bring the little guy.

 

 

I have on occasion and find the variety very good. I do prefer the MDR.

[mspink98]

We ate in the WJ almost every night of a 7 night cruise several years ago, and loved it. We stated the first night because we had late seating and were beat from travel, and ended up just sticking with it because it was so enjoyable. We have three port days in my row with plans in each one on our next cruise, and I'm already planning on heading to the WJ and sacking out early those nights.

[jayblue]

Love this question! There is no right or wrong answer to it. It is basically your choice.

 

I'm not a parent, but know the challenges of children in a sit down restaurant. Add to that challenge having to put your toddler on a schedule.

 

I'd tell you to do one MDR (for you and your spouse) evening, on a casual night, and the rest in the WJ.

 

 

 

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[Langley Cruisers]

Dinner at the Windjammer presents a great opportunity to bump into the ship's officers, even the captain. If it's good enough for them..

 

So true! We have talked with many officers, and gotten to know the WJ supervisors and managers over the years. Our last RCI cruise, we ate dinner in the WJ every night and on the last night, the manager shook my hand and kissed both my cheeks! So sweet.

 

...compared with the buffet lines on other ships like Carnival and Princess...

 

We have sailed Princess twice so I feel it's OK to compare. DH and I find the buffet on RCI far superior to Princess. The set-up is better, it's bigger and more spacious, there are two stations of everything (one on each side, I mean). I'm afraid we left our two Princess cruises feeling a bit frustrated with the experience. Oh well. :)

 

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[buckirj1]

I also had MTD and prepaid grats on my last RCI cruise, and ended up dividing dinners pretty evenly between the MDR and WJ. The Windjammer was much quieter and less crowded than the main dining room. I thought there was plenty of variety, and it isn't always important that I be served. Sometimes all you want for dinner is a simple salad and maybe some pasta freshly dressed at the pasta bar. The quiet and being able to eat alone made up for anything I might have missed in the MDR.

[billylen]

The OP was careful to mention that gratuities were paid. This raised a question for me. I am cruising solo soon and am considering skipping MDR for specialty and WJ. I amways struggle with do I still pay gratuities or not. I do believe in tipping but only for service provided. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[gregwhates]

On our last few cruises we have never used the MDR. It is much more relaxing to go to the Windjammer, especially with a young child, and try some of the alternative dining options. What is nice about using the Windjammer is the excellent array of Asian food and the salads. The curries are particularly excellent!

 

I had a member of staff explain that they do so many weeks in the MDR and then the Windjammer is used as a week off for them. We always seek out the team in the Windjammer and give them tips.

 

Then again, I will often give tips out to cleaning staff we have seen regularly around the ship. For me, they are the people that make the cruise ships special, perhaps more so than the waiting staff.