Death of MDR, rise of Windjammer

[Pstreet12]

If the emphasis has shifted to getting diners in and out quickly, it may have come about because so many cruisers are choosing the WJ because the dining room takes so long.

[island lady]

When did you and Bucky start cruising?

 

Our first was January 1989.

 

There were even two breakfast seatings.

 

Princess, Carnival, Holland America

 

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Our first RCI cruise was 2005. Other cruises in the mix years before that: NCL, Carnival, Costa, HAL, Windstar, a French Canal cruise (can't remember the name, but it had a snail chef's hat in the logo), Seascape, The Big Red Boat, and some others in there I can't get the brain to come up with right now. ;)

[island lady]

Funny thing is, I never even wear shorts to dinner in the Windjammer. I typically wear chinos and either a polo or button down shirt.

 

Agree...and neither have we. It is slacks and collared shirt (sometimes with tie) for Bucky, and dress slacks or dress for me at dinner...even in the WJ. ;) I think it's mostly that we are dressed up for a nice cocktail evening in the CL/DL/SL and that is what we happen to be wearing when we go to dinner.

 

Have many times gone into the WJ in full formal dress, Bucky with his tux and myself in a cocktail dress.

 

We dress for ourselves...not for anyone else. :cool:

[grapau27]

Agree...and neither have we. It is slacks and collared shirt (sometimes with tie) for Bucky, and dress slacks or dress for me at dinner...even in the WJ. ;) I think it's mostly that we are dressed up for a nice cocktail evening in the CL/DL/SL and that is what we happen to be wearing when we go to dinner.

 

Have many times gone into the WJ in full formal dress, Bucky with his tux and myself in a cocktail dress.

 

We dress for ourselves...not for anyone else. :cool:

You mirror ourselves.

Pauline wears a different cocktail dress every night and i wear trousers and shirt.

At work Pauline is called Princess Pau and the lady who looks like she is going to a wedding.

 

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[legaljen1969]

Totally agree, I hate WJ , have done more than 60 cruises and one dinner there, just did a celebrity cruise thet food in buffet was way better than rccl, I honk all other lines have a better buffet than rccl

 

Was your WJ dinner on RCCL fairly recent? If not, give it a try sometime soon. We used to say we wouldn't do WJ other than for breakfast. This past year, we went to WJ on the last night and we definitely agreed that unless we have specialty dining, we are hitting the WJ especially if on one of the mega ships. Just too much confusion with the one MTD room and not enough space. We ended up getting shifted to a different dining room one night and the waiter chastised us and told us to hurry up our ordering because he needed to clear his tables to get ready for second seating. Well, it wasn't our fault the cruise line decided to convert part of the dining room for overflow MTD.

 

If we do MDR, I will never do MTD again on a megaship (Oasis, Allure, Harmony). It was a nightmare.

[island lady]

You mirror ourselves.

Pauline wears a different cocktail dress every night and i wear trousers and shirt.

At work Pauline is called Princess Pau and the lady who looks like she is going to a wedding.

 

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And love all of your elegant photos!

 

I really don't wear many dresses (except for formal night) since they don't have pockets, and I dislike carrying a purse. My seapass card goes in the pocket of my dress slacks. On formal nights, I have to get Bucky to carry my card....and he always carries the dollar bills for tips. That is all we take in the evenings.

[legaljen1969]

. We enjoy leisurely dinners with plenty of good conversation, but to each his own.

 

Cruzeluver, do you typically do traditional dining with either a small table for just you and your cruising party? Or traditional dining with a larger table of whoever else gets seated? OR MTD?

 

We enjoy meeting new people and were seated with a delightful couple in 2016 on the Freedom. We enjoyed hearing about their many cruising adventures and all of the things they typically did when cruising. We don't mind being seated with "strangers" for the most part.

 

We enjoy some good conversations over slow dinners as well, but we have just found that the quality of food in the MDR has decreased so much and the staff is so busy they are almost unfriendly.

 

 

That's my main reason for giving the WJ another shot. The food was pretty decent.

[legaljen1969]

Having seen how some passengers unhealthly mishandle food while on line at breakfast and lunch, why would you want to repeat the experience at dinner???

 

Buffet is okay for a fast bite during the daytime hours. At night, dinner should be a relaxing and enjoyable experience where the food is served to you. That is what you are paying for.

 

Food mishandling is just out where you can see it when you are the WJ. You don't know what kind of mishandling goes on behind those food prep doors. It shouldn't be happening, but I am certain it is on occasion.

 

I have found that WJ servers are very diligent about replacing serving utensils that are dropped or look grubby. I saw someone drop some tongs when we were on Freedom a couple of years ago and put them back in a tray of bacon. That entire tray of bacon disappeared quickly. I even saw them dump it in a trashcan. It was replaced quickly.

 

And, I am happy that you enjoy your relaxed dinner that is "served" to you nightly. That is YOUR opinion of what dinner "should" be, and that is what YOU are paying for. That's not the same of every cruiser.

[Ellaleah]

We are on the Ovation in 10 days and they do not offer MTD on our cruise. I was surprised as I know they have offered it on several other Ovation cruises.

[Redrobo]

The dining room dessert portion is TINY, so don't worry about it. The buffet will have most of the same desserts plus a selection of many others. Even when we eat in the dining room we like to "walk it off" before going for dessert in the buffet.

 

I did prefer getting the dessert menu with dinner though. Was more efficient.

 

Also note that the soups, salads, appetizers have been condensed down to a single course on the menu so order as many from that column as you wish.

 

Where do you think there is likely to be more food wastage? Dinning Room, where I believe meals are pre plated, or WJ where people may tend to over estimate their appetite ?

Could it be a decision factor by the cruise line in their direction.?

[LMaxwell]

Where do you think there is likely to be more food wastage? Dinning Room, where I believe meals are pre plated, or WJ where people may tend to over estimate their appetite ?

Could it be a decision factor by the cruise line in their direction.?

 

Hard to guess; really depends what they estimate the restaurant load to be that evening and having adequate selection available without running out too early. I'd guess some waste ends up in a stew the following day.

 

Interestingly, just watched the Smithsonian Channel on MSC Divina behind the scenes and while food was prepared en masse in the galley, it was not plated until actually ordered. They referred to it as made to order, it is not, but it is not assembled until ordered.

[Maraprince]

Food mishandling is just out where you can see it when you are the WJ. You don't know what kind of mishandling goes on behind those food prep doors. It shouldn't be happening, but I am certain it is on occasion.

 

I have found that WJ servers are very diligent about replacing serving utensils that are dropped or look grubby. I saw someone drop some tongs when we were on Freedom a couple of years ago and put them back in a tray of bacon. That entire tray of bacon disappeared quickly. I even saw them dump it in a trashcan. It was replaced quickly.

 

And, I am happy that you enjoy your relaxed dinner that is "served" to you nightly. That is YOUR opinion of what dinner "should" be, and that is what YOU are paying for. That's not the same of every cruiser.

 

 

 

We also enjoy exchanging small talk with others at our table regarding what we have done during our port stop or what we have planned for the next day. Over the years we have met some very nice people and even sailed with them on more than one sailing. It was enjoyable for us especially when we have passengers from other countries that we are seated with.

 

I cook and serve myself at home every day. So being on a cruise it a nice and relaxing change for me at meal time -- no cooking, no clean up. We utilize the buffet for breakfast and lunch but not for dinner.

 

MARAPRINCE

[WeLuvVacation]

So what make the "self serve mentality" of the Windjammer any worse than the "wait on me mentality" of the MDR? No idea why people feel the need to knock other people's preferences but go at it if it makes you feel superior.

 

I don't feel SUPERIOR to anyone, just tossing in my friggin' two lousy cents into the bloody pot.

 

I and the wife "self serve" at home all the time and when we go away on any vacation what we like the most is that we are waited on all the time for the most part. What the heck is wrong with that, huh?

[WeLuvVacation]

yea I had to chuckle as well. I think folks feel if you pay a lot of money to cruise, you must be SERVED all the time. I feel that way for specialty restaurants but the rest of the time I look at the menu for MDR and perhaps I might do the entree there and then go up to Buffet for dessert because I like to look at them

 

Too many dessert descriptions do not make sense these days. :p

 

Since my post is the one being referred to I'll comment. So I shouldn't feel like I should be catered to on vacation. I'll tell you what, you line up at the buffet and I'll continue to be served in the MDR and let's leave it at that.

[LMaxwell]

when we go away on any vacation what we like the most is that we are waited on all the time for the most part. What the heck is wrong with that, huh?

 

Nothing wrong with that at all. Very enjoyable. Wish the food in MDR was as good as WJ last go around is all.

[Tatka]

Nothing wrong with that at all. Very enjoyable. Wish the food in MDR was as good as WJ last go around is all.

On all our last cruises with Royal - Anthem for Thanks, Grandeur for Christmas and New Year, Freedom in March MDR food was vastly superior to Windjammer's.

[Redrobo]

Hard to guess; really depends what they estimate the restaurant load to be that evening and having adequate selection available without running out too early. I'd guess some waste ends up in a stew the following day.

 

Interestingly, just watched the Smithsonian Channel on MSC Divina behind the scenes and while food was prepared en masse in the galley, it was not plated until actually ordered. They referred to it as made to order, it is not, but it is not assembled until ordered.

 

You may be right about the stew, it what my mum and gran used to do, just not sure about todays hygiene rules these days to know if its possible on board.

 

I think I may have seen the same MSC documentary, been so may of late it could be any of the new ships.

 

Never taken dinner in the WJ, but following this thread may just do in the future. I suppose for a reasoned comparison of the food it will mean having dinner in both MDR and WJ on the same night.:evilsmile:

[OCSC Mike]

I suppose for a reasoned comparison of the food it will mean having dinner in both MDR and WJ on the same night.:evilsmile:

 

Spoiler alert... you'll likely see several items from that night's MDR menu in the WJ. ;)

[cruising sister]

We were on the Adventure in March and have to say not a fan of the new menu. The dining room was about 50% full. Day 3 we checked out the WJ after we ate and it was packed. The dessert display was amazing. We skipped dessert in the MDR from then on (no great loss) and headed to WJ. We are seriously considering considering changing our ways. We liked having the same wait staff but with cutbacks they are so busy they rarely have time to chat and when they do they are begging for 10’s on their reviews. Good thing we all have choices.

[CruisingNole]

We were on the Adventure in March and have to say not a fan of the new menu. The dining room was about 50% full. Day 3 we checked out the WJ after we ate and it was packed. The dessert display was amazing. We skipped dessert in the MDR from then on (no great loss) and headed to WJ. We are seriously considering considering changing our ways. We liked having the same wait staff but with cutbacks they are so busy they rarely have time to chat and when they do they are begging for 10’s on their reviews. Good thing we all have choices.

 

With all of the things to spend your time doing on the ship, do you really enjoy traveling to a different dining room for something as simple as dessert? I'm not trying to be negative, but should it be more of a hassle to have an entire meal on your cruise than it is in a restaurant on land, or even at your own home? Unless of course you enjoy the dining room hops, and if so, that's great as well!

[John&LaLa]

With all of the things to spend your time doing on the ship, do you really enjoy traveling to a different dining room for something as simple as dessert? I'm not trying to be negative, but should it be more of a hassle to have an entire meal on your cruise than it is in a restaurant on land, or even at your own home? Unless of course you enjoy the dining room hops, and if so, that's great as well!

We often walk through WJ after dinner. Keeps Laura out of the casino. [emoji6]

 

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[WrittenOnYourHeart]

With all of the things to spend your time doing on the ship, do you really enjoy traveling to a different dining room for something as simple as dessert? I'm not trying to be negative, but should it be more of a hassle to have an entire meal on your cruise than it is in a restaurant on land, or even at your own home? Unless of course you enjoy the dining room hops, and if so, that's great as well!

 

Not everyone does casinos (smoky or not), and not everyone is thrilled with RCCL's "entertainment".

 

You do you.

 

Let others do themselves.

[grapau27]

We often walk through WJ after dinner. Keeps Laura out of the casino. [emoji6]

 

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I like it when after coming out of the theatre we can go for a light bite and a coffee.

 

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[finz2u]

My husband would eat every meal at WJ. I prefer MDR, but did find the menu selections sort of boring this last cruise. Food was excellent though. And, of course, on every cruise, our servers have been wonderful.

[davy jones]

I like it when after coming out of the theatre we can go for a light bite and a coffee.

 

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What ship does this happen on? I would like that too, but the WJ usually closes too early.