Future of Windjammer cafe?

[ONECRUISER]

14 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

Just like there are no more samples at Costco, no more self-serve at Whole Foods, no more breakfast buffets in hotels and several buffet restaurant chains bankrupt, cruise buffets will be very different when cruises resume.  I would be surprised if they allow passengers to touch any serving utensils.  Hand washing will be strictly enforced for all dining venues to be sure. 

 

The gluttonous days are over for good - no more gluttony on the high seas.  Piling massive amounts of food on a plate with utensils touched by thousands was never a good idea. It's sad it took a pandemic for some people to realize this.  For years, food safety organizations have been warning about what they called Bacterial Buffets that offer All-You-Can-Eat Illnesses. 

Nah, years ago Royal always had servers in WJ, and trust me I ate lot more then now. Actually sped things up, wasnt as crowded at stations. Also was easier then as WJ had huge trays carry 4-5 plates at a time. Even few months ago at carving stations people had them pile it on. And I always get multiple desserts back then and now. Wont slow anyone down... Give it yr or so and either Vaccine or CV will be forgotten. We have short memories

[Ocean Boy]

I'm happy to read that so many people dislike the Windjammer. There are enough people in there as it is.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

20 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Virgin did well not to have buffets and MDRs -- they are now well poised to better handle the health regulations once cruising restarts.  The Scarlet Lady has 20 speciality restaurants where everything is made to order and no upcharges.  Would be nice if Royal followed this concept.  Sorry Windjammerites -- don't mean to offend. 🤪

You can have your "no upcharges" that you are forced to pay for when you prepay with the high cost of the cruise. Nothing included on any cruise line is included free. You pay one way or the other. I would rather have my cruise cost low and I will decide if I want to eat in a specialty restaurant. The Windjammer is excellent and the food is also excellent and it is always kept clean. You like the Scarlet Lady with its fold away bed couch and high cost. Good for you. I do not like pre paying for things I DO NOT want or need.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

8 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'm happy to read that so many people dislike the Windjammer. There are enough people in there as it is.

If there are enough people in there as it is. I would imagine those that do not like it are not missed at all. Great. They can stay out of there, more room for me and my wife.

[Charles4515]

You can have your "no upcharges" that you are forced to pay for when you prepay with the high cost of the cruise. Nothing included on any cruise line is included free. You pay one way or the other. I would rather have my cruise cost low and I will decide if I want to eat in a specialty restaurant. The Windjammer is excellent and the food is also excellent and it is always kept clean. You like the Scarlet Lady with its fold away bed couch and high cost. Good for you. I do not like pre paying for things I DO NOT want or need.

In my opinion the Windjammer food is not excellent. Breakfast is good because it is hard to screw up. Lunch and dinner there are okay. I guess compared to the MDR the Windjammer comes off as good. The MDR food and service are lousy on Royal. Worse than the other mainstream cruise lines except NCL and on NCL you usually avoid their MDR by doing a specialty restaurant.


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[livingonthebeach]

6 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

You can have your "no upcharges" that you are forced to pay for when you prepay with the high cost of the cruise. Nothing included on any cruise line is included free. You pay one way or the other. I would rather have my cruise cost low and I will decide if I want to eat in a specialty restaurant. The Windjammer is excellent and the food is also excellent and it is always kept clean. You like the Scarlet Lady with its fold away bed couch and high cost. Good for you. I do not like pre paying for things I DO NOT want or need.

 

Scarlet Lady has got it right regarding dining. There are 20 specialty restaurants included in the fare - no MDRs and buffets. WJ excellent? Kept clean? Are you serious? Noro, salmonella, listeria, oh my! 

[compman9]

It is obvious what will happen

 

The Cafe Promenade experience will be replicated in the Windjammer - And it will be quicker

 

A bigger concern is the proximity of other guests in the MDR

 

 

[2chiefs]

On 5/11/2020 at 8:53 PM, Iamcruzin said:

You had me at No Kids. 

Agreed!!!   ... 

 

Except that the cruising demographics for Virgin is "older kids" (in my mind-compared to me anyway). They are the first cruise line to have a tattoo parlor on board...  LOL  I don't believe there will be much of a 50+ crowd.

T

[ownedbypets]

22 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

Agreed!!!   ... 

 

Except that the cruising demographics for Virgin is "older kids" (in my mind-compared to me anyway). They are the first cruise line to have a tattoo parlor on board...  LOL  I don't believe there will be much of a 50+ crowd.

T

 

The average age for currently booked cruisers on Virgin is 48.  

[Erik101]

13 minutes ago, ownedbypets said:

 

The average age for currently booked cruisers on Virgin is 48.  

I’ll be glad to book a cruise on Virgin and I’m in my 40s.  Their selling points for me are no kids and their food venues that are very different from other cruise lines. Very curious about the Korean bbq restaurant. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

14 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Scarlet Lady has got it right regarding dining. There are 20 specialty restaurants included in the fare - no MDRs and buffets. WJ excellent? Kept clean? Are you serious? Noro, salmonella, listeria, oh my! 

Am I serious about what? As I said. I want to pay for what I want to do or eat. Not in the price of the cruise. I will decide not them.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

19 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

In my opinion the Windjammer food is not excellent. Breakfast is good because it is hard to screw up. Lunch and dinner there are okay. I guess compared to the MDR the Windjammer comes off as good. The MDR food and service are lousy on Royal. Worse than the other mainstream cruise lines except NCL and on NCL you usually avoid their MDR by doing a specialty restaurant.


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Guess you never cruised on any of the mega ships. Comparing Royals buffet to all the other cruise lines. They blow them away. Quality, taste and variety. Even the Pizza is superior tho the others.

[fandash]

i love the windjammer... please don't stop it

[Charles4515]

Guess you never cruised on any of the mega ships. Comparing Royals buffet to all the other cruise lines. They blow them away. Quality, taste and variety. Even the Pizza is superior tho the others.

 

I have done over 60 cruises on multiple cruise lines so I can compare. That includes multiple cruises on Oasis (3) and Allure (3) and one on Harmony. I only do those megas with a group. Royals buffet food is made to be shoveled in. Princess, HAL and Celebrity all better. And those three have better MDR food than Royal.

 

 

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[time4u2go]

1 hour ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

Guess you never cruised on any of the mega ships. Comparing Royals buffet to all the other cruise lines. They blow them away. Quality, taste and variety. Even the Pizza is superior tho the others.

You're kidding, right?

[2chiefs]

3 hours ago, ownedbypets said:

 

The average age for currently booked cruisers on Virgin is 48.  

Oh. I figured it would be lower.

 

[2chiefs]

3 hours ago, Erik101 said:

I’ll be glad to book a cruise on Virgin and I’m in my 40s.  Their selling points for me are no kids and their food venues that are very different from other cruise lines. Very curious about the Korean bbq restaurant. 

Love Korean BBQ. We ate it all the time when we lived in Hawaii. We have lots of them here in the Atlanta area too so we still frequent them often.

T

[2chiefs]

Comparing food on ships is generally not constructive. Everybody's tastes are different.

(One man's ceiling is another man's floor)

Just sayin'  

T

 

[ownedbypets]

4 hours ago, Erik101 said:

I’ll be glad to book a cruise on Virgin and I’m in my 40s.  Their selling points for me are no kids and their food venues that are very different from other cruise lines. Very curious about the Korean bbq restaurant. 

 

I have a family member that cruised over on Virgin from Italy. He has mainly cruised with Royal and he said that Virgins food was unique, innovative and delicious. A cruise for foodies. A lot of other positives so I'm sure we will try it.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

20 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I have done over 60 cruises on multiple cruise lines so I can compare. That includes multiple cruises on Oasis (3) and Allure (3) and one on Harmony. I only do those megas with a group. Royals buffet food is made to be shoveled in. Princess, HAL and Celebrity all better. And those three have better MDR food than Royal.

 

 

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I must disagree for sure. As for how many cruises. I have many more than you. The buffet on the SKY Princess was disgusting to say the least. The pizza was meant to be filed in the trash can. You did not mention Carnival of which their buffet is the worst of all. Princess food is mediocre on any of the ships we have been on. Celebrity is no better. Have no idea what you refer to when you say shoveled in. That makes no sense at all. I must say one thing about Carnival. No steak house on land or sea is any better. 52 Carnival cruises and on 21 of the 29 ships. Always an excellent steak. Never a disappointment and more than you can eat. They just raised the price. Before that the least expensive of all. As for the Royal mega ships. NO BUFFET offers the variety and the quality of the food. However, food is a personal like. We dislike sitting for 2 hours to get food. Do not like those at a table complaining about the cruise or their health. That is us. 

[Charles4515]

I must disagree for sure. As for how many cruises. I have many more than you. The buffet on the SKY Princess was disgusting to say the least. The pizza was meant to be filed in the trash can. You did not mention Carnival of which their buffet is the worst of all. Princess food is mediocre on any of the ships we have been on. Celebrity is no better. Have no idea what you refer to when you say shoveled in. That makes no sense at all. I must say one thing about Carnival. No steak house on land or sea is any better. 52 Carnival cruises and on 21 of the 29 ships. Always an excellent steak. Never a disappointment and more than you can eat. They just raised the price. Before that the least expensive of all. As for the Royal mega ships. NO BUFFET offers the variety and the quality of the food. However, food is a personal like. We dislike sitting for 2 hours to get food. Do not like those at a table complaining about the cruise or their health. That is us. 

 

You said I must not have been on the Royal mega ships which was wrong. Food is a matter of taste but my opinion is that Royals food is meh. No where near excellent. Celebrity and Princess are somewhat better and HAL better. Oceania pretty good. To each their own but I have to laugh at you calling any mainstream cruise line buffet food as excellent. Maybe for those who like to pile their plates high and shovel it in. If you like quantity over quality you might call that excellent.

 

 

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[Charles4515]

Whatever our opinion of the Windjammer there needs to be an alternative to the MDR. I think the Terrace Cafe on Oceania ships is a good model of what can be done as a casual option.

 

Other models are how ordering is done at Cava, Chipotle, Chopt. You tell them what you want and they put it on the plate.

 

Park Cafe something they already have on Royal.

 

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[zekekelso]

Unless you seriously cut back the number of passengers, you need something like the Windjammer that can feed a ton of people quickly. Also something that can have a huge menu, so people with different tastes can get what they like. 

[Charles4515]

Unless you seriously cut back the number of passengers, you need something like the Windjammer that can feed a ton of people quickly. Also something that can have a huge menu, so people with different tastes can get what they like. 

There is going to be a serious reduction of passengers.


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[Charles4515]

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