Wonderland--good or bad? Reviews are all over the place.

[westcoasttech]

Food is always subjective.  I love Wonderland, have gone several times on different ships, and am hoping to visit them again next week!  I agree the experience can be vastly affected by the service and having an enthusiastic server who can explain and describe the food is helpful.  It's also a good place to go as a group, so you get to taste everything (without feeling greedy).  My favourites are some of the appetizers - the tuna (?) yuzu lime things and the seafood (crab?) cones.  The liquid lobster however is not to my taste - it's a texture thing - and I know to avoid that one.  I don't remember an entree that blows me away - but have most definitely not left hungry in any way!  If you find something that you really like (tuna yuzu lime, mmmmm), you can request extras...

[katiel53]

We are also part of the one and done group regarding Wonderland.  Our waiter was so difficult to understand and he had a hard time with our telling him no seafood.  I am highly allergic to shrimp and my sister eats no seafood, so I thought just telling him no seafood  simplied things for him.

 

The few things we had, I mostly enjoyed.  We had the smoked eggs, not as good as I thought they'd be, the tomato water or whatever it is called and the veggies that are kind of like in dirt.  They were really good.

 

Our entrees were very disappointing.  Having had steak several nights,  we didn't want to have beef so we ordered chicken.  The chicken looked absolutely marvelous, but the taste was the total opposite.  It was dry as a bone.  I ate two bites and was done.  

 

As others stated, the world dessert is sooooo good.  I think that was the best part of the meal.  Additionally, the Mad Hatter wasn't there that night, so I don't know if that was a good or bad thing.

 

My favorite restaurant is 150 Central Park.  I love the pork belly, the beet salad and the Lobster Thermidor.  The peanut butter tart for dessert is the bomb.

 

I also enjoyed Hooked and had lobster of some sort, but I honestly don't remember.  We were with a group of 8 and planned to go there again when we were deciding on restaurants.  After having dinner there the first night, most decided they didn't want to go again because it was just ok.  Nothing that I can remember stands out about the restaurant other than the service was excellent.

 

I like Giovanni's, especially for lunch.  They have great burgers.  The first time I had the pasta Carbonara, I ate about 2 bites and that was it.  I know the pasta sauce is made with eggs, but I never expected the top of the pasta to have an egg on it.  I don't like runny egg on my pasta.  When we went another time, I requested no egg on top and it was fine.  The plank was enjoyed by all.  One day at lunch, I ordered the pasta Bolognese and a meatball.  I saw the size of the meatball at another table and asked the waiter to cancel the meatball as it was huge.  

 

Chops is a fav of my family.  We always go there a few times on a week long cruise and always the second formal night so we can get the lobster along with the filet.  One time on Harmony, the waiter brought me 3 lobster tails along with my steak.  OMG, I ate the lobster tails as I didn't want him to think I didn't enjoy them, but the sides I ordered went untouched.

 

My family loves Hibachi so we had dinner there.  I don't know if it's something new or just  done on Symphony, but when I told the waitress I was allergic to shrimp, my dinner was not cooked on the Teppanyaki grill because shrimp had been cooked on there earlier in the evening.  My  dinner was made in the kitchen.  I was fine with that, but I didn't get any fried rice because they don't do that in the kitchen and it is made on the grill.  I think next time I will order some ramen or dumplings from the Izumi side to replace the rice.  It should be ok because we get the UDP.

 

Our first day onboard Symphony, we went to Playmaker's for lunch.  Most had burgers and I had wings.  They were crispy and good.  I also ordered onion rings and they were enough for several people.  They came on a dole that was probably 8 or 9 inches high.  They were really good.

 

For us, the UDP is worth the price as we get to choose our favorite restaurants and get to enjoy the food and ambiance.

[baelor]

@katiel53 Thanks for the thorough review!  Sorry to hear about the chicken--dry chicken is one of my least favorite things!  But you made me even more excited about trying the World!

 

I also appreciated your detailed reviews of the other restaurants!

[WhaleTailFlCruiser]

It is honestly more of an experience then anything else, I left hungry when I went with a group on Symphony a few years ago. I had to go grab some pizza but it was a cool experience. 

[baelor]

9 minutes ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

It is honestly more of an experience then anything else, I left hungry when I went with a group on Symphony a few years ago. I had to go grab some pizza but it was a cool experience. 

Good to know.  I think we are okay leaving hungry and rounding out our meal elsewhere as long as the food that we do get tastes good.  We will probably eat on the early side (like 5) so we should have time to hit up another venue, like Sorrento's!

[ownedbypets]

I'm glad we tried it but once was enough. The food was ok, nothing we hated or loved.

[djyellowsub]

My daughter and I enjoyed the experience.  We are not picky.  I had the beef, and it was delicious.  It really is more about presentation and savoring the bites.  The World dessert is fantastic and worth the experience.  We tried 4 of the drinks because we had the beverage package.  They were unusual and just plain fun.  I would go again especially if I had a three or unlimited dining package.  The only way you know is if you try it yourself because everyone has such a subjective opinion.  There were twin girls celebrating their birthdays dressed up like Alice.  That made the whole experience definitely worth it.

[Jasukkie]

One and done for me. We didn't have much of a presentation other than explaining the food. I wouldn't call it adventurous food at all. It was okay, nothing special. The short rib was just too much. Maybe if I had ordered the halibut I would have liked the place more. My cocktail was awful, allegedly a Cosmopolitan. The desserts look beautiful but I'm not really a dessert person. I'm happier with ice cream, nothing fancy. 

 

I wish Royal would go in a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern direction with a specialty restaurant. That would be a nice change.

[baelor]

18 minutes ago, ownedbypets said:

I'm glad we tried it but once was enough. The food was ok, nothing we hated or loved.

Are there specialty restaurants that you particularly enjoy?

[baelor]

14 minutes ago, djyellowsub said:

It really is more about presentation and savoring the bites.  The World dessert is fantastic and worth the experience.  We tried 4 of the drinks because we had the beverage package.

I am looking forward to making RC financially regret offering me a beverage package lol.  Thanks for your insight.  We are definitely okay savoring the bites, and those of us who prefer huge portions can hit up another place afterward.

[Aquahound]

Wonderland - Meh.  We tried it for the first time on Ovation back in October.  Service was excellent, but that's probably because the ship was only 40% capacity and Wonderland was only about 25% full on the night we ate.  The food was ok.  We went with the waitress' suggestions, so I don't remember what all we had.  I do seem to remember the bagged halibut being pretty good though.

 

We might go back, but it won't be our 1st or 2nd choice.  

[baelor]

5 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

Maybe if I had ordered the halibut I would have liked the place more.

If we go and I have the halibut, I will let you know.  I love halibut and it is popular where I live, so I will be able to get a taste of home on board!

 

 

5 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

My cocktail was awful, allegedly a Cosmopolitan. 

Sorry to hear.  Too sweet or syrupy or tart?

 

5 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

I wish Royal would go in a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern direction with a specialty restaurant. That would be a nice change.

I would be there in an instant!  I think on our ship (Symphony) the Solarium Bistro is basically a Greek/Mediterranean buffet, so I at least can get some nice spreads...

[baelor]

Just now, Aquahound said:

We might go back, but it won't be our 1st or 2nd choice.  

If you don't mind, what would your 1st or 2nd choices be?

[Aquahound]

Just now, baelor said:

If you don't mind, what would your 1st or 2nd choices be?

 

My favorites are Chops and Izumi.  I also love Giovanni's Kitchen but the next ship I'm on has Jamie's, which we did not like as much as GK.  

[TwinMamainMN]

We enjoyed Wonderland a lot on our Feb/March Odyssey cruise. It was a fun, unique experience with good food. Would I go on every cruise? No. Would I go again if the menu changed? Yes. We ate plenty of food and left full. The waitress suggested some things and brought whatever we wanted. Since you play a flat rate, it's fun to try lots of things and she told us which things were small enough for one and which things were large enough to share.

 

We also ate at Izumi Hibachi, Chops, and Giovanni's Kitchen. Everything was very good, except for the giant meatball at Giovanni's. It was dry and the cheese inside was lukewarm. I make better meatballs at home (although I don't make them stuffed with cheese). I think the hibachi was my favorite overall. We didn't have a bad meal anywhere.

[Norwich Cruiser]

Dined there once definitely wouldn’t go again even for “ the experience “

[RoperDK]

5 hours ago, RFerrington said:

The whole setting was poisoned for me as the smell of those dreadful smoky eggs was nauseating and I could not get past that....it just got worse from there.  What they called "liquid lobster" looked like little snot balls to me. 

Lol, this made me giggle!  I am pretty adventurous with trying different foods, but oh my.  I can just imagine the strong egg smell partnered with the unusual visual presentations.  Our group isn't into what Wonderland offers, but I will forever remember your description. 😁

[judebarsto]

We just left Wonderland on Harmony a minute ago, and we had a wonder-ful experience. We enjoyed the Cosmo/cotton candy drink and the smoked drink.

Not every dish was off the charts, but there was plenty of delicious and creative food and all was presented so well. The Mad Hatter was there tonight and made our evening so much fun. 
We especially enjoyed the smoked eggs, the potted shrimp, the liquid lobster, the yuzu tuna and the World dessert. The liquid mushroom risotto and the tomato water were misses and the halibut in the plastic bag was under seasoned and over cooked. The pork belly entree was great!

 Just a fun evening! I’d go back if I ever saidl Royal again. 

[mets07]

We tried it but did not like it.  We are not into a lot of the menu offerings or the focus on unique presentation. We prefer a more traditional meal and we are not big dessert eaters. 

 

 

Some people love it, but we would never do it again. 

 

[baelor]

2 hours ago, mets07 said:

We are not into a lot of the menu offerings...We prefer a more traditional meal 

Do you mind elaborating on what did not appeal to you about the menu or what you mean by "traditional"?  Was it mainly presentation or ingredients that you felt were not traditional?

[EntropyGuardian]

Reading all this makes me excited to try it. I know some people personally who just eat steaks and potatoes at every dinner who sound like the type who would hate anything presented in a unique way. 

[baelor]

11 minutes ago, EntropyGuardian said:

Reading all this makes me excited to try it. I know some people personally who just eat steaks and potatoes at every dinner who sound like the type who would hate anything presented in a unique way. 

I mean, to each their own, and people have different preferences.  I like potatoes, but the idea of a steak that is not dry-aged for several weeks (or any filet that costs less than like $80 by itself) makes me sus off the bat lol.

Edited April 22, 2022 by baelor

[oldmom]

I was sort of disappointed in "the experience." Seems like a lot of cruisers had raved about it-so we tried it since we had the 3 night special deal on Harmony. We went with what the waiter suggested. Nothing really stood out and tasted that good to us. I agree with the other review-was kind of nauseated by the food, smells and appearance of it all. My husband said Never Again! I think I took some Tums and Sprite later that evening!

[mets07]

9 hours ago, baelor said:

Do you mind elaborating on what did not appeal to you about the menu or what you mean by "traditional"?  Was it mainly presentation or ingredients that you felt were not traditional?

It was a combination of both (I can't remember all the details) and the whole thing was overly "gimmicky" to us.  However, this is subjective. Your group may like it. 

 

 

 

[cruisebabe50]

We did it a couple of years ago and it was really fun and unique.  Once is enough though.