Royal Caribbean Dining?

[PrincessTess]

Hi! We are seasoned Disney cruisers but are looking to book on either Oasis or Allure over Christmas break. We are curious as to how dining works. Will we enjoy dining options that are inclusive? Are there plenty of inclusive dining options? Will this be easy to work around with a party of 13? If we love good quality food, will we be disappointed by the inclusive dining options? Thank you! If you have any other useful information, please share

 

[starvenger]

You have a few free dinner options.
- Windjammer buffet. Unlike Cabanas, it does not convert to a sit down restaurant for dinner.
- Assigned/fixed dining. This is the same as on DCL, with two dining times (I believe it is 6pm and 8:30pm). No rotational dining, so you'll be eating at the same table every night. For a party of 13, it's probably easier to go with this option.
- My Time Dining, aka MTD. You do not have an assigned time, so you can eat when you want. On Oasis, Harmony and Allure, You can book a table ahead of time for up to 10 people, which was a major reason why my family (also a group of 13) switched back from MTD to a fixed time. This probably is something you can arrange once on board the ship, but with a large party, that's leaving quite a bit up to chance.
- Sorrentos pizza. You have to reaaaaaally like Sorrentos (or hate the other options) to go with this. It's not terrible pizza, but it's kind of just there.

For breakfast and lunch:
- Windjammer buffet. Enough said
- MDR. Sit down breakfast, with some buffet options. Custom salads at lunch plus some sit down options
- Wipeout Cafe. Small breakfast buffet, and I believe they make eggs and/or omelettes to order. Burgers, fries and chicken at lunch.
- Park Cafe. Custom salads and various sandwiches at lunch.
- Solarium Bistro. "Healthier" fare.
- Johnny Rockets. Free for breakfast only. Boardwalk is very quiet in the morning, so it's a nice time to eat there.
- Boardwalk dog house. Hot dogs at lunch and in the afternoon.

For food quality of the MDR, it's really dependent on the chefs you get. I've found that the food on Royal and DCL has been at wedding banquet level or better, which tbh is about what I expect. I've liked the food on both (except the two meals I had at Animators, which goes back to my point about the chefs) but it's not been something I'd rave about to my friends as the Best Thing Ever.

I never went to Remy or Palo, so I don't have a direct comparison for specialty dining. But if you choose to pay extra for dining on Royal, I don't think you'll be disappointed. My personal favourite on Allure is Samba Brazilian Grill (Solarium Bistro at night), but I'm partial to the flavours and the flair. There is usually a "First Night Done Right" promotion in the cruise planner where you get half off your specialty meal.

Hope that helps!

 

[PrincessTess]

You have a few free dinner options.
- Windjammer buffet. Unlike Cabanas, it does not convert to a sit down restaurant for dinner.
- Assigned/fixed dining. This is the same as on DCL, with two dining times (I believe it is 6pm and 8:30pm). No rotational dining, so you'll be eating at the same table every night. For a party of 13, it's probably easier to go with this option.
- My Time Dining, aka MTD. You do not have an assigned time, so you can eat when you want. On Oasis, Harmony and Allure, You can book a table ahead of time for up to 10 people, which was a major reason why my family (also a group of 13) switched back from MTD to a fixed time. This probably is something you can arrange once on board the ship, but with a large party, that's leaving quite a bit up to chance.
- Sorrentos pizza. You have to reaaaaaally like Sorrentos (or hate the other options) to go with this. It's not terrible pizza, but it's kind of just there.

For breakfast and lunch:
- Windjammer buffet. Enough said
- MDR. Sit down breakfast, with some buffet options. Custom salads at lunch plus some sit down options
- Wipeout Cafe. Small breakfast buffet, and I believe they make eggs and/or omelettes to order. Burgers, fries and chicken at lunch.
- Park Cafe. Custom salads and various sandwiches at lunch.
- Solarium Bistro. "Healthier" fare.
- Johnny Rockets. Free for breakfast only. Boardwalk is very quiet in the morning, so it's a nice time to eat there.
- Boardwalk dog house. Hot dogs at lunch and in the afternoon.

For food quality of the MDR, it's really dependent on the chefs you get. I've found that the food on Royal and DCL has been at wedding banquet level or better, which tbh is about what I expect. I've liked the food on both (except the two meals I had at Animators, which goes back to my point about the chefs) but it's not been something I'd rave about to my friends as the Best Thing Ever.

I never went to Remy or Palo, so I don't have a direct comparison for specialty dining. But if you choose to pay extra for dining on Royal, I don't think you'll be disappointed. My personal favourite on Allure is Samba Brazilian Grill (Solarium Bistro at night), but I'm partial to the flavours and the flair. There is usually a "First Night Done Right" promotion in the cruise planner where you get half off your specialty meal.

Hope that helps!

This has been most helpful, thank you so much!

 

[gumbypee]

You have a few free dinner options.
- Windjammer buffet. Unlike Cabanas, it does not convert to a sit down restaurant for dinner.
- Assigned/fixed dining. This is the same as on DCL, with two dining times (I believe it is 6pm and 8:30pm). No rotational dining, so you'll be eating at the same table every night. For a party of 13, it's probably easier to go with this option.
- My Time Dining, aka MTD. You do not have an assigned time, so you can eat when you want. On Oasis, Harmony and Allure, You can book a table ahead of time for up to 10 people, which was a major reason why my family (also a group of 13) switched back from MTD to a fixed time. This probably is something you can arrange once on board the ship, but with a large party, that's leaving quite a bit up to chance.
- Sorrentos pizza. You have to reaaaaaally like Sorrentos (or hate the other options) to go with this. It's not terrible pizza, but it's kind of just there.

For breakfast and lunch:
- Windjammer buffet. Enough said
- MDR. Sit down breakfast, with some buffet options. Custom salads at lunch plus some sit down options
- Wipeout Cafe. Small breakfast buffet, and I believe they make eggs and/or omelettes to order. Burgers, fries and chicken at lunch.
- Park Cafe. Custom salads and various sandwiches at lunch.
- Solarium Bistro. "Healthier" fare.
- Johnny Rockets. Free for breakfast only. Boardwalk is very quiet in the morning, so it's a nice time to eat there.
- Boardwalk dog house. Hot dogs at lunch and in the afternoon.

For food quality of the MDR, it's really dependent on the chefs you get. I've found that the food on Royal and DCL has been at wedding banquet level or better, which tbh is about what I expect. I've liked the food on both (except the two meals I had at Animators, which goes back to my point about the chefs) but it's not been something I'd rave about to my friends as the Best Thing Ever.

I never went to Remy or Palo, so I don't have a direct comparison for specialty dining. But if you choose to pay extra for dining on Royal, I don't think you'll be disappointed. My personal favourite on Allure is Samba Brazilian Grill (Solarium Bistro at night), but I'm partial to the flavours and the flair. There is usually a "First Night Done Right" promotion in the cruise planner where you get half off your specialty meal.

Hope that helps!

Very helpful to me as well - I didn't know there was breakfast options in MDR

How do I find out if Sorrento's is on the Navigator?

Thank you

 

[starvenger]

Very helpful to me as well - I didn't know there was breakfast options in MDR

Last time out on the Harmony, my wife and I made a concerted effort to avoid the buffet. Not because it's bad, but because it's kind of cliche to go there for breakfast/lunch and we wanted to explore our options. The breakfast options don't really change much around the ship, but it's kind of nice to sit outside at Johnny Rockets/Wipeout/Mini Bites in relative peace, away from the crowds at WJ.

How do I find out if Sorrento's is on the Navigator?

Not gonna lie - I usually do google searches for deck plans when I'm researching boats. And based on that google search, it seems like there isn't one, although there is a full complement of specialty dining. I will defer to those more versed on the smaller ships on this one though.

 

[gumbypee]

Last time out on the Harmony, my wife and I made a concerted effort to avoid the buffet. Not because it's bad, but because it's kind of cliche to go there for breakfast/lunch and we wanted to explore our options. The breakfast options don't really change much around the ship, but it's kind of nice to sit outside at Johnny Rockets/Wipeout/Mini Bites in relative peace, away from the crowds at WJ.


Not gonna lie - I usually do google searches for deck plans when I'm researching boats. And based on that google search, it seems like there isn't one, although there is a full complement of specialty dining. I will defer to those more versed on the smaller ships on this one though.

ah yes, google is my friend

 

[msjprincess]

Very helpful to me as well - I didn't know there was breakfast options in MDR

How do I find out if Sorrento's is on the Navigator?

Thank you

Voyager class ships like Navigator don't have a separate Sorrento's pizza. However the Cafe Promenades on those ships serve pizza in addition to sandwiches. They didn't separate the two until Freedom class.

 

[nkereina]

You certainly won't go hungry if you decide not to upgrade or pay for any of the other dining options. Even in the MDR, there are upgrade options that each person can opt for if they so choose.

We opted to pay for lunch at Johnny Rockets, dinner at Chops, hibachi dinner at Izumi, and dinner at Sabor. We felt all of them were well worth the cost and we never had a bad meal. The hibachi dinner at Izumi also served as entertainment and was very enjoyable. We purchased a package that included 3 of the specialty restaurants and it saved a good amount of money.