My unlimited dining experience

[mickeygirl78]

I was on the Harmony of the Seas 10/13-10/20 with the unlimited dining package. There were 5 of us.

 

We boarded the ship around 11:30am. We immediately went to chops to book our reservations. There were two groups in front of us so we walked over to 150 Central and were able to book right away. I was very surprised to learn they had already booked our first three reservations. I was able to book all the remaining reservations except Izumi Hibachi. They are on a different system and we were told to go there to book. We went down to Izumi next and there was a long line. We booked the night we wanted but it was only available at 5pm or 9pm. Here is what we ended up booking:

 

Night 1: Central 150

Night 2: Jamies

Night 3: Chops

Night 4: Izumi Hibachi

Night 5: Wonderland

Night 6: originally booked Chops but changed to Jamie’s 

Night 7: Central 150

 

We also booked lunch on our sea days.

 

once we finished making our reservations we decided to go get lunch. Jamie’s has a group reserved so we went to Chops. We had no problem getting seated immediately. Lunch was very good, service was good and food was served at a nice pace.

[mickeygirl78]

Our first night we had dinner at Centrsl 150. Our server was Lorna. When we ordered she said she was going to throw in a few orders of the short rib in addition to what we ordered. Everything was delicious. The tenderloin was cooked perfectly. My dad mentioned he really liked the warm chocolate cake at chops and she went to get him one. I highly recommend this restaurant.

[mickeygirl78]

Day 2 we were at CoCo Cay. After a wonderful day of pool and sunshine we got cleaned up and went to Jamie’s for dinner. Our server immediately told us to order as much as we wanted. We decided on 5 appetizers to split between the 5 of us. We picked the meat plank, ultimate garlic bread, bruschetta, calamari and garlicky prawns. Our server decided one order was not enough so he brought out two of everything. All 5 were amazing. 
 

We were told to order a pasta dish and a main course. It was so much food. We learned next time to order less. The food was so good. We had such a good meal that we changed our second chops reservation to Jamie’s.

[mickeygirl78]

[mickeygirl78]

Day 3 we were at sea, we went to chops for lunch and dinner (yes I know poor planning but they threw me off booking our first three nights).  We made sure to eat a light lunch so we could get a good dinner. Service at lunch was very slow, the waiter was very overwhelmed. The Caesar salad was very lite on lettuce, I was surprised at how small it was. I forgot to take a picture of it.

 

Dinner service was a lot better. The two 6oz filets at dinner were overcooked. The waiter did get new ones. At dinner we were told only two appetizers - one from the soup/salad section and one from the other section and only one main course. It was plenty of food, I couldn’t imagine needing more. 

[JAMESCC]

Jaime's is absolutely incredible! We love that place and they give you so much food its just awesome. Everything tasted beyond great.

[Ren1216]

Loving this!  We're really considering the UDP on our upcoming Harmony cruise so I really appreciate you sharing this.

[mickeygirl78]

Day 4 we were in St Thomas. 
 

Two of us had an impromptu snack/lunch at Sabor, then we had dinner at Izumi Hibachi. Sabor was delicious, service was amazing. We didn’t want to get much since we had dinner a few hours later. He brought us churros packed to go to enjoy later too.

 

hibachi was a fun experience. They had told us ahead with the unlimited plan we could get one protein or pay the $4 to upgrade to a combo. Everything tasted great and the show was a lot of fun. 

[Tee & Chilli]

Thanks so much for this dining review.

[mickeygirl78]

Day 5 we were in St Maarten. We ate at wonderland that day. We are not adventurous eaters but figured since we had the unlimited plan we’d try it. We let the waiter pick our appetizers, just advising no raw fish. We loved the shrimp and liquid lobster. None of us were a fan of the mushroom risotto. I didn’t get a picture of the tomato water but that was just ok. We got the deconstructed caprese, that was good and unique. We tried the crispy crab cones, birds nest as well. Then since we loved the shrimp he brought another round of those out. Since there were 5 of us our server suggested getting all 5 main courses and sharing family style. That was a great idea. We had fun trying to figure out what things were. While I probably would hurry back, I did enjoy the experience and did not leave hungry. He brought us three desserts and when he saw me eyeing the kids cotton candy dessert he quickly brought out one of those too.  Service was excellent.

[mickeygirl78]

Day 6 we were at sea. We separated for lunch, three went to park cafe and two of us went back to Sabor. We did not have a reservation but they were able to get us in. We repeated most of what we got there the first time and it was just as good. I tried the sweet and spicy margarita - boy was that spicy! I didn’t like it and our server noticed I wasn’t drinking it he swapped it out with a strawberry one for me.

 

For dinner we went back to Jamie’s. We got the same appetizers as the first time. They were delicious again. Our server suggested we get something off menu since it was our second visit. He offered up a linguine with olive oil and garlic and spiced to your liking with shrimp and/or calamari on it. It was amazing. We learned our lesson and ordered less this visit though.

 

our server did mention he believes Jamie’s will be removed when the ship goes into the next dry dock due to Jamie’s bankruptcy. He thinks it may go back to Giovannis. No idea how true that is, but thought I’d share.

 

I’ve only added pictures of new items not already shown.

[mickeygirl78]

Day 7 was also at sea. We had lunch at chops and dinner at Central 150. I didn’t take lunch pictures because we ordered all items I already photographed day 1. Service was much better at lunch this time. Steaks were cooked perfectly and it was a lovely experience.

 

For dinner we all got the scallops appetizer again. I also tried the Caesar salad. I forgot to take a picture but it is prepared table side, very large and probably the best Caesar salad I’ve ever had. Our server recommended surf and turf. We ordered our main courses (tenderloin, venison, veal medallions) and he brought out three orders of lobster Thermidor to share. My group is from Maine and we were all very impressed with the lobster. It had great flavor. All the meals were fantastic. Our server was also nice enough to prepare the fried cheesecake with caramel instead of Nutella for me. This was our favorite specialty restaurant. 

[mickeygirl78]

Looking back, we think it was a great value for the food. We paid $175 each and we also tipped at each meal. Everything was delicious. It was a lot of food but we paced our selves and enjoyed every minute of it.  While it’s not something I’d do every trip, if your looking for a foodie trip I’d recommend it. 
 

If you have any questions about the food, let me know.

[dst]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience, we are sailing on HOS in a few weeks. We have sailed Allure twice and always do the UDP - 150 is my favorite so I am glad to hear that the quality and service is just as good.  We are planning to do Wonderland more for the experience than the food but after seeing that cotton candy dessert - wow!

 

Just for future, you could have changed the first three night reservations, they make them but you are not locked into anything

 

Happy Sailing

[Milwaukee Eight]

Great review. Thanks

[Mendels1029]

We were on board with you and also did the unlimited dining. Similar experience it sounds like.  We made our reservations in the terminal while waiting for the coast guard to clear.  We did have to do hibachi once on board though.  We made the mistake of not making lunch reservations as we had done walk ins for lunch without issue previously.  We weren't able to get in anywhere for lunch which was disappointing. On the last sea day we were finally able to get into chops for lunch.  Jamie's was booked all week for lunch which was disappointing. Lesson learned. We noticed overall service was very slow except at Jamie's.  By the time the main courses came we had sat so long we weren't really hungry anymore.  We went to chops for dinner one of the nights and had a horrible experience.  Service was excruciatingly slow and when the steaks finally arrived they were well done.  We are talking little to no pink and cold.  Sent them back and they came back warmer but now completely overcooked. Manager came over and offered lunch the next day which was nice but we had the unlimited plan so it really wasn't much help. When we went back for lunch on the last sea day the food was better but service was still bad. We actually canceled our reservations for Sabor the second formal night and ate in the MDR. This was honestly our second favorite dinner we had, just behind Jamie's.  Service was impeccable and food was actually good.  We have done unlimited dining in the past on Symphony and it made the cruise, this time it was more frustrating than good.

[mickeygirl78]

17 minutes ago, dst said:

 

Just for future, you could have changed the first three night reservations, they make them but you are not locked into anything

 

Happy Sailing

I did try to change them but they told me I couldn’t. Since they were all restaurants I wanted anyway (just in a different order), I didn’t argue.

[dst]

1 minute ago, mickeygirl78 said:

I did try to change them but they told me I couldn’t. Since they were all restaurants I wanted anyway (just in a different order), I didn’t argue.

That’s shocking, we have always changed our reservation. 
glad you enjoyed the experiences 

[mickeygirl78]

5 minutes ago, Mendels1029 said:

We were on board with you and also did the unlimited dining. Similar experience it sounds like.  We made our reservations in the terminal while waiting for the coast guard to clear.  We did have to do hibachi once on board though.  We made the mistake of not making lunch reservations as we had done walk ins for lunch without issue previously.  We weren't able to get in anywhere for lunch which was disappointing. On the last sea day we were finally able to get into chops for lunch.  Jamie's was booked all week for lunch which was disappointing. Lesson learned. We noticed overall service was very slow except at Jamie's.  By the time the main courses came we had sat so long we weren't really hungry anymore.  We went to chops for dinner one of the nights and had a horrible experience.  Service was excruciatingly slow and when the steaks finally arrived they were well done.  We are talking little to no pink and cold.  Sent them back and they came back warmer but now completely overcooked. Manager came over and offered lunch the next day which was nice but we had the unlimited plan so it really wasn't much help. When we went back for lunch on the last sea day the food was better but service was still bad. We actually canceled our reservations for Sabor the second formal night and ate in the MDR. This was honestly our second favorite dinner we had, just behind Jamie's.  Service was impeccable and food was actually good.  We have done unlimited dining in the past on Symphony and it made the cruise, this time it was more frustrating than good.

I did miss the main dining room. I had a great experience in the MDR on symphony in April. However it was good to try something new.  Out of curiosity, which steaks were over cooked? Our ribeyes and 9oz filet  all were perfect medium rare, it was the 6oz filets they over cooked. 

[rhuntington3]

Sounds like you had a great dining experience!  Thank for the timely review!  I'm on Harmony 3/8/2020 and I've got the UDP as well. 

Edited October 23, 2019 by rhuntington3
Corrected sailing date

[Mendels1029]

11 minutes ago, mickeygirl78 said:

I did miss the main dining room. I had a great experience in the MDR on symphony in April. However it was good to try something new.  Out of curiosity, which steaks were over cooked? Our ribeyes and 9oz filet  all were perfect medium rare, it was the 6oz filets they over cooked. 

Yes always good to try the MDR from time to time.  My 9 oz. Filet was ordered med rare and was medium well to well done. My wife's ribeye was well done and should have been medium.  My FIL had a ribeye that was medium well to well done and my MIL had the 6 oz filet that was actually under done but ice cold. Our server was not very personable and just plain slow.  I forgot to mention, the food in 150CP was good but dinner took almost 2.5 hrs.  That was the night of the Alpha code just outside of 150 so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. Wonderland was good but it's more experience than anything. 

[MrFunInTheSun]

Unlimited Dining Package is the best. Next time you cruise and do the UDP be sure to do the specialty restaurant hop where you go to each specialty restaurant and eat items off each menu all in the same day! We did it last month on Harmony as outlined during my live trip report. Was an amazing time. 

[George C]

Thanks great pictures, we done lots of rccl cruises but a none had Jamie’s, food there looks so much better than Giovanni’s. 

[Ren1216]

1 hour ago, Mendels1029 said:

We have done unlimited dining in the past on Symphony and it made the cruise, this time it was more frustrating than good.

I appreciate this feedback, thanks for sharing your experience.  Sorry it was disappointing though.

 

1 hour ago, mickeygirl78 said:

I did try to change them but they told me I couldn’t.

Interesting, and good to know.

 

[Setting Sail Gal]

1 hour ago, MrFunInTheSun said:

Unlimited Dining Package is the best. Next time you cruise and do the UDP be sure to do the specialty restaurant hop where you go to each specialty restaurant and eat items off each menu all in the same day! We did it last month on Harmony as outlined during my live trip report. Was an amazing time. 

Could you explain this a bit more?  I know you said it was already on your trip report, but I could not find it.  I will be cruising solo and it sounds like a great idea for those with the UDP.  Thank you for sharing again for me.