Windjammer on Formal Night

[porsche9five1]

This will be my first cruise where we are opting out of the Formal Night for the WJ. For those who have experienced by the DR and WJ on these nights, does the WJ have the same offerings? You impression of the WJ on the Formal nights. Thank you for your input.

[porsche9five1]

I would like to also stress, this is by no means to reduce my tip at the end of the week. It is purely to reduce my lugagge by 1 bag, due to traveling with an infant and 4yr old. Please do not get any impressions that I am trying to skip out.

[rclcruzer]

We are going to be doing the exact same thing for the first time on RC, and was wondering the same thing, although I am almost positive the answer is no:(

I have never been disappointed with the WJ though, so I think we will be ok.

[pcur]

The 'Jammer is a nice quiet place to eat any night. They make it look like a quiet restaurant with table linens and good dishes, etc. But, it's very casual, and partially self serve. You get your own soup and salad, and they take your order for your entree, and bring a dessert cart around. You get a great meal, and some (not all) the dining room selections are on the menu.

 

On formal nights you will not find all the special offerings, but you'll get a great meal just the same.

 

I wrote a newbie guide for my sister last year. If you'd like a copy, email me at pcurri at yahoo dot com, and I'll send it to you.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

[rclcruzer]

The 'Jammer is a nice quiet place to eat any night. They make it look like a quiet restaurant with table linens and good dishes, etc. But, it's very casual, and partially self serve. You get your own soup and salad, and they take your order for your entree, and bring a dessert cart around. You get a great meal, and some (not all) the dining room selections are on the menu.

 

On formal nights you will not find all the special offerings, but you'll get a great meal just the same.

 

I wrote a newbie guide for my sister last year. If you'd like a copy, email me at pcurri at yahoo dot com, and I'll send it to you.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

Thanks, That's good to know;) Now we can eat with at least "a little" formality!

[Cruising89143]

WJ is a very nice alternative to eating in the dining room. There will some things from the dining room menu served up in the WJ. Plenty of options to choose from and there is MUCH less noise than the dining room.

[reallyitsmema]

We have done the WJ for formal night on the Mariner twice. They have most of what is in the dining room, they will not have lobster but we have seen shrimp cocktail. We have never seen them take your order for your entree in all the dinners we have had in the WJ so not sure which ship does that. The waiters will get you drinks and dessert, we have seen them come around with sundaes and biscotti. It is a nice alternative to the dining room.

[wrp96]

The atmosphere at night depends on the ship. On Rhapsody, they did not have tablecloths, good dishes etc. On some ships, the WJ offers many, but not all of the same dishes as the dining room. This was not the case on the Rhapsody.

 

Still it is quiet in the WJ at night usually, and there is nothing to be ashamed of if you don't want to go to the dining room on formal nights.

[rclcruzer]

We have done the WJ for formal night on the Mariner twice. They have most of what is in the dining room, they will not have lobster but we have seen shrimp cocktail. We have never seen them take your order for your entree in all the dinners we have had in the WJ so not sure which ship does that. The waiters will get you drinks and dessert, we have seen them come around with sundaes and biscotti. It is a nice alternative to the dining room.

This is great to know, makes me more excited now.....having to wait another 10 months is killing me:eek:

This will be our 9th RCL cruise, but our first not eating in the dining room. We will be sailing w/o our teens for the first time. It's a special cruise and we wanted to do things on OUR time. Don't want to have to have a schedule if you know what I mean. This way, we can eat casually, dress included, and have the options to eat a buffett as well. Can't wait!!

and yes, we will notify the dining room of our decision ;)

[pcur]

We have done the WJ for formal night on the Mariner twice. They have most of what is in the dining room, they will not have lobster but we have seen shrimp cocktail. We have never seen them take your order for your entree in all the dinners we have had in the WJ so not sure which ship does that. The waiters will get you drinks and dessert, we have seen them come around with sundaes and biscotti. It is a nice alternative to the dining room.

 

We've eaten there on several ships, and they took our entree orders and brought them to our table. We did the rest.

[reallyitsmema]

This is great to know, makes me more excited now.....having to wait another 10 months is killing me:eek:

This will be our 9th RCL cruise, but our first not eating in the dining room. We will be sailing w/o our teens for the first time. It's a special cruise and we wanted to do things on OUR time. Don't want to have to have a schedule if you know what I mean. This way, we can eat casually, dress included, and have the options to eat a buffett as well. Can't wait!!

and yes, we will notify the dining room of our decision ;)

We ate in the WJ 3 nights on our last cruise and found it much more relaxing. We also sail with a teen who at with us in the dining room 2 nights and in Portofino but then ate the rest of the week with his "friends". Funny how one night, my husband and I were having dinner in the WJ when two girls sat down at the table next to us. Two guys came over and joined them, one of which was our son. We soon understood why he preferred to have dinner with his new "friends". :D

[Cthy651]

We also no longer participate on FORMAL nights, and eat at the Windjammer on those evenings. We have found the wait staff very accommodating. If there is something on the menu in the dining room, which you really want, just ask - and most of the time your wish is granted.

[heatherb1958]

The 'Jammer is a nice quiet place to eat any night. They make it look like a quiet restaurant with table linens and good dishes, etc. But, it's very casual, and partially self serve. You get your own soup and salad, and they take your order for your entree, and bring a dessert cart around. You get a great meal, and some (not all) the dining room selections are on the menu.

 

On formal nights you will not find all the special offerings, but you'll get a great meal just the same.

 

I wrote a newbie guide for my sister last year. If you'd like a copy, email me at pcurri at yahoo dot com, and I'll send it to you.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

I would like to know which ship this was on and which year !!!:) .Sounds like Celebrity's casual evening dining experience to me.

 

We have been to the Windjammer at night on Jewel OTS, Legend OTS , Splendour OTS and Navigator OTS. Last experience for formal nights was on the Navigator ( June 08 ) & Splendour last month so I think I can say without fear of contradiction that was very recent :p .

The Windjammer was much quieter, no problems getting a table. There weren't tablecloths on the tables on either ship. The food selection was better than during the day and staff were more helpful , they had less guests to cater to. It is wholly self service although the staff will still come round offering drinks

We chose to do the Windjammer for all meals on the last 2 cruises due to lesser luggage allowances on the flights but our next on Independence we will be getting to the ship by car so it will be 'formal' all the way :D .

[seagoer55]

The 'Jammer is a nice quiet place to eat any night. They make it look like a quiet restaurant with table linens and good dishes, etc. But, it's very casual, and partially self serve. You get your own soup and salad, and they take your order for your entree, and bring a dessert cart around. You get a great meal, and some (not all) the dining room selections are on the menu.

 

On formal nights you will not find all the special offerings, but you'll get a great meal just the same.

 

I wrote a newbie guide for my sister last year. If you'd like a copy, email me at pcurri at yahoo dot com, and I'll send it to you.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

Hmmm, I've eaten dinner in the Windjammer on serveral different ships & have never had my entree order taken or seen a dessert cart..

[heatherb1958]

Sounds like Celebrity's casual evening dining experience to me.

 

Sorry pcur I just re-read my post and that bit sounded a bit 'off' .I meant that it sounded like something Celebrity would do as I have witnessed their casual dining venue.:) .

[sailawayjack]

This will be my first cruise where we are opting out of the Formal Night for the WJ. For those who have experienced by the DR and WJ on these nights, does the WJ have the same offerings? You impression of the WJ on the Formal nights. Thank you for your input.

 

:cool: As an individual who likes to dress up for formal night, I say to you why skip main DR. If you do not feel like dressing up with a formal outfit, just wear something night (slacks and golf shirt for men) and go anyway. This day and age, not everyone dresses. Your 1st cruise---enjoy it and don't cut yourself short:cool: JACK IS SAILING AGAIN:cool:

[gerif]

While I've never experienced the Windjammer on a formal night, we did eat dinner there while docked overnight in Bermuda so as not to miss the dock festival. Apparently, a lot of other cruisers had the same idea as it was quite busy. There were no tablecloths and virtually no service - had to get our own drinks and everything. Not that I'm complaining as we were able to eat quickly and get on with the evening which is what we wanted to do, but the service people are speaking about just wasn't there. Maybe because it was so busy. All they did was clear the tables. This was on Explorer.

[beachnative]

Thanks for all that everyone has said. We are sailing on the Grandeur next week and might just leave the formal clothes at home and eat in the WJ on formal night for a change. We've always enjoyed the dining room but after reading your replies I'm tempted to give it a try. I just don't like the buffet atmosphere (anywhere) and avoid the WJ for breakfast and lunch by ordering through room service or grabbing a salad and taking it to the pool for lunch. If dinner is nicer than breakfast or lunch it might be worth a visit. I might even begin packing lighter. Thanks.

[Grandiva]

I would like to also stress, this is by no means to reduce my tip at the end of the week. It is purely to reduce my lugagge by 1 bag, due to traveling with an infant and 4yr old. Please do not get any impressions that I am trying to skip out.

 

 

Shame that you had to post this comment to protect yourself from the onslaughter of people's over righetous opinions. But if you do not post such a disclaimer, they will come.....in droves :p

 

Don't forget about picutres. Even if you are not formal, perhaps you can dress up a little and have a great family picture taken.

Enjoy your cruise.

[porsche9five1]

This will be my 14th cruise with RCCL. We did go to the WJ on out last cruise with my daughter a few nights to feed her before Oceans Adventure. They did a very nice job, I was quite impressed (LOS Oct '07). We did go to the Main DR after feeding her. The atmosphere is very different from breakfast and lunch. there were no lines, lights turned down low and some really nice offerings. Sushi, multiple carving stations, and the night we were there, fresh crepes with many different filler options. I guess I was hope to see that you could still get your lobster tails. It never hurts to ask to see if they can bring a few up from the kitchen.

[rubrrick]

On our last Jewel of the Seas trip a couple of months ago........we also decided to relax on formal evenings and enjoy the food in the WJ.

 

We had steaks cooked to order, and much of the same food that was on the menu in the main Dining Room.

 

Rick

[PH8]

The 'Jammer is a nice quiet place to eat any night. They make it look like a quiet restaurant with table linens and good dishes, etc. But, it's very casual, and partially self serve. You get your own soup and salad, and they take your order for your entree, and bring a dessert cart around. !!

Wow..........Ive never seen it like that either....always had to get all my courses myself(or send my husband back for more for me:) )..

 

Anyway, whens its just the 2 of us,we have been eating in the WJ at night more and more.......

 

ONLY thing I miss is getting escargot........Love that stuff..

[heatherb1958]

ONLY thing I miss is getting escargot........Love that stuff..

 

We had escargot from room service when it was on the dining room menu, delicious !! ordered 2 lots. We also had the duck, it was so tender. The meals were hot when they arrived as well. This was on Splendour 11th- 19th July sailing , only a couple of weeks ago.

[MM27]

The only order type item I've seen in the Windjammer for dinner has been the pasta station. They don't bring it to you though, you tell them what you want and wait for it.

[Cruising89143]

On our last Jewel of the Seas trip a couple of months ago........we also decided to relax on formal evenings and enjoy the food in the WJ.

 

We had steaks cooked to order, and much of the same food that was on the menu in the main Dining Room.

 

Rick

 

Rick, did the Jewel still have the "make your own" pizza station? That was also a nice option.