Windjammer for dinner?

[gomomgo]

What is your favorite foods for dinner in the Windjammer? We are debating whether to pack up 2 men's suits and dress shoes for a 4-day trip for one formal night (for DH and son). Is the formal night selection so wonderful that we won't want to miss it? I'm willing to forego it if the food is good, knowing we can go to the dining room on other nights.

[Debde]

GoMom

Between myself my husband and two older teen boys we ALWAYS skip formal night. We always dine in the WJ and have never been disappointed. Although I have never been to formal night, if I recall-the menu is not much different then the entire cruise in the dining room but I'm sure the more experienced royals may have a better answer.

IMO-All the less packing I have to do far outweighs missing the dining room one or two nights. :)

The Winjammer is done so nicely for dinner at nights also!

[Kviolasr]

We have, on occasion, eaten dinner in the WJ. The WJ will have many (but not all) selections being served in the Main Dining Room. Unfortunately, skipping the formal nights in the MDR will mean missing the lobster (can't get that in the WJ). Aside from the lobster, we like dressing up for at least one formal night in order to get family photos in formal attire (nearly impossible when on land!!!).

 

Dining in the WJ certainly does give you both flexibility in dining times and freedom from bringing the suits/etc. That's the great thing about cruising - so many choices....

[39august]

The WJ will have more choices than the DR. The few times we have eaten dinner there, we were pleased with finding creme brule which on that sailing was never offered in the dining room. Also the WJ had a cook-to-order Mongolian BBQ and "sushi", such as it was.

[nanfromatlanta]

Check out this thread...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=881942

[cb at sea]

I would never opt for the buffet when a dining room with "sit-down" service is available! You can get pretty much anything in the dining room....

[gomomgo]

I would not want to miss lobster, but I had read somewhere that there is no lobster on the short cruises. Has anyone been on Majesty lately to know if there actually is lobster on formal night?

[IWORK2CRUISE]

Yes you will miss the lobster but there are many choices in the Windjammer.

Most of the other menu selections are available.

We love the made to order stir-fry dishes and the abundant salad bar.

It's quite nice in the evening with the dimmed lights and table cloths.

[critterchick]

Monarch has a very nice formal night setup in the Windjammer. The Jade section, all the way forward, is set with tablecloths and cutlery. There is a carved meat available, some nice Indian selections (DH loved the lamb curry), and the atmosphere is very peaceful.

 

On Radiance, the Mongolian BBQ was available every night and it was fantastic. We didn't eat in the WJ on the formal nights, so I can't tell you what the ambiance was.

 

I don't find the formal night menu to be any more special than the other nights. The fisherman's platter is ok, but on Vision the Thai marinated chicken was better IMHO. I can't even remember what they served on the other formal night...

[phoenix1181]

We enjoyed several dinners in the Windjammer on our recent TA. IMHO the lobster isn't worth all the fuss people make over it. If you want lobster, find a good restaurant and order a Maine lobster. What they serve on the ship can't hold a candle to a cold water lobster!

 

We found the Windjammer at dinner very enjoyable. Good service, plenty of variety, and we thought the desserts were a lot better than what they offered in the dining room. Add to that, we stayed casual and went when we were ready instead of when we were told to and we were happy campers! Next cruise My Time Dining................

[Cruising89143]

First of all, lobster is not always served on formal night. This was the case on the Freedom about four weeks ago.

 

Second, the WJ is set up very nicely for dinner. Much, much quieter than the dining room. A lot of selections to choose from. Many more than what's offered in the dining room. Haven't been to formal night on a cruise in years and with the WJ, will not plan on it anytime soon.

[nanfromatlanta]

I would never opt for the buffet when a dining room with "sit-down" service is available! You can get pretty much anything in the dining room....

 

We are lucky enough go to enough "sit down" dinners during the year, so that type of venue is not a big deal for us. As a matter of fact, some of the events we go to have far better food and service than on the ships.

 

With that being said, we often dine in the Windjammer at least once or twice on every cruise. It is a nice, casual, relaxing way to enjoy our meal. The ambience is great and the food is hot and replennished often. We can dine at our own pace, there are no crowds, and we can select how much or how little we want from a wide variety of offerings.

[tomko2]

We enjoy going to the WJ for dinner once or twice a cruise; more relaxed, food is great, we bring our wine (purchased from our wine package); I love those tempura carrots at Jade!:o We usually go to Chops/Portofino as well and then a few nights to the MDR. What surprised us was that the WJ did not open for dinner until 6:30 (this was on the Brilliance).

Kathy

[ommboz]

What is your favorite foods for dinner in the Windjammer? We are debating whether to pack up 2 men's suits and dress shoes for a 4-day trip for one formal night (for DH and son). Is the formal night selection so wonderful that we won't want to miss it? I'm willing to forego it if the food is good, knowing we can go to the dining room on other nights.

 

I find that I have found myself more and more going to the Windjammer for dinners, since it is casual, and you can go anytime from about 6:30 till 9. I have mostly found the food to be as good as in the dining room, and sometimes with more variety. Of course, no lobster in the WJ, but I've found all the other selections to be of good quality. Soups, salads, main entrees, and desserts to choose from -- and you don't have to dress up on formal night there.

[jkg227]

Keep in mind that any food being served in the dining room is available from room service ... including formal night.

 

Menus are available on the tv in the rooms and in front of the dining rooms. Everything on the dinner menu is available.

 

Enjoy!

[barbie5401]

if you frequent the WJ and go to Chops 1 time on a 7 day cruise - what do you tip your waiter and bus boy

[silentbob007]

if you frequent the WJ and go to Chops 1 time on a 7 day cruise - what do you tip your waiter and bus boy

 

It is your choice, but I believe since the waiters and assistant waiters work in the WJ too, you are asked to tip for your WJ days too.

 

As cruisingator mentioned, it has been a long while for me since I've been on a RCCL cruise where lobster night and formal night fell onto the same night. Generally, formal night now just features escargot and perhaps a slightly better cut of beef.

 

I've generally been happy eating in the WJ for dinner. They do try to make it a little bit of a nicer experience than the WJ for breakfast or dinner.

[TEXASMUNK]

a curmudgen. If I wanted to eat in a buffet, I would just go to Luby's.

 

Dining is not solely providing the stomach with food. It is the company, the atmosphere, the service, et al.

[phoenix1181]

if you frequent the WJ and go to Chops 1 time on a 7 day cruise - what do you tip your waiter and bus boy

 

We saw our waiter and assistant waiter almost every morning in the Windjammer where they [also] took excellent care of us.

Our tips were prepaid in anticipation of having only a few meals in the dining room. However, based on the excellent service they provided in both locations, we added some cash and made sure we had dinner in the dining room on the last night.

[lovedogs]

What is your favorite foods for dinner in the Windjammer? We are debating whether to pack up 2 men's suits and dress shoes for a 4-day trip for one formal night (for DH and son). Is the formal night selection so wonderful that we won't want to miss it? I'm willing to forego it if the food is good, knowing we can go to the dining room on other nights.

 

Since my DH really doesn't like dressing up or being "on a schedule" for eating, we ate almost ALL of our meals in the Windjammer on our recent 15 night Hawaiian cruise. We thought the food was very good at every meal. I loved the Sushi station and (of course) the desserts. The variety of choices was vast and everything was delicious. If I had to say anything negative, it would be that some of the meat dishes could have been a bit warmer. This actually was no big deal.

 

On one of the formal nights, there was even a live string quartet :) The atmosphere was lovely, not too crowded and we still felt like we were being pampered.

 

When I cruise with the girls, we always eat in the dining room, but the WJ was great. The WJ Radiance crew was WONDERFUL and if my hubby didn't feel like eating, I felt very comfortable going up and eating alone.

 

IMHO, one of the best things about eating in the dinning room is meeting fellow cruisers from all over the world, which I did a few times for lunch and breakfast.

 

My vote for formal night is go with the WJ and save the room in your luggage for souvenirs!

 

Have a great cruise :o

 

Lindsay

[TEXASMUNK]

the clear answer is YES.

The wait staff in the dining room SHARE their tips with the staff in the Windjammer. Yur Dining Room waiter or assistant might be pulling double duty, but there are a ton of folks that are off the dining room floor and working solely in the Windjammer hoping folks don't stiff the dining room staff....otherwise they do not get their fair share.