Who eats at the WJ for dinner on OASIS?

[canuckcruiselover]

December will be our first cruise on the Oasis. Lately, we have been disillusioned with the long waiting times in the MDR and, instead, had a much quicker, and tasty enough dinner in the WJ. I'm not one to spend more money on specialty restaurants so I'm wondering how many people on the OASIS skipped the MDR in favour of the WJ. Everyone likes to be served, including me, but I just don't have the patience to sit for 2 hours over dinner when there's so much more to do, especially on such a huge ship.

[Ocean Boy]

We have eating dinners in the Windjammer on several ships including Oasis. We don't like the noise and commotion of the MDR. In the Windjammer dinner takes as long or shot a time as we want it to. Even though the Oasis class ship Windjammers are my least favorite as far as setup goes, we enjoyed our dinners there on Oasis. And, unlike you, I don't like being waited on. I much prefer getting up, walking around, and getting my own food and drinks.

[janetz]

December will be our first cruise on the Oasis. Lately, we have been disillusioned with the long waiting times in the MDR and, instead, had a much quicker, and tasty enough dinner in the WJ. I'm not one to spend more money on specialty restaurants so I'm wondering how many people on the OASIS skipped the MDR in favour of the WJ. Everyone likes to be served, including me, but I just don't have the patience to sit for 2 hours over dinner when there's so much more to do, especially on such a huge ship.

 

 

We ate all but one meal in the MDR. We never waited for a table, and the longest time we took to dine (party of 6) was 1.5 hours. The WJ was always packed because it is not large enough on the Oasis or the Allure. ;)

[Tam Tam]

We have eating dinners in the Windjammer on several ships including Oasis. We don't like the noise and commotion of the MDR. In the Windjammer dinner takes as long or shot a time as we want it to. Even though the Oasis class ship Windjammers are my least favorite as far as setup goes, we enjoyed our dinners there on Oasis. And, unlike you, I don't like being waited on. I much prefer getting up, walking around, and getting my own food and drinks.

I totally agree with the above. Dinners in the Windjammer are quiet, the lights are dimmed, and you can almost have an entire section to yourself if you prefer to be alone. We have always been "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" kind of people and have little interest in being served so the Windjammer is a wonderful place for either a quick or slow paced dinner.

[lrn2cruise]

We are a lot like you are.

We have only been on the FOS, but I know, talking to my Hubby, that we would be hitting the WJ for dinner at some point if we were on Oasis/Allure, or any other ship for that matter.

 

DH is not big on paying for specialty restaurants and I am a cheapsake, so it is tough for me too.

 

I wonder how The Park Cafe is for dinner?

 

We are not into all the fuss and time it takes for the MDR. We love the beach/pool and spend out time swimming, etc and dont want to go back to get dressed up and wait for bread, etc.

 

I dont need to be waited on. I waited so long for bread in the MDR and in WJ, I just go up and got it myself, no fuss

Edited October 15, 2013 by lrn2cruise

[Merion_Mom]

We are a lot like you are.

We have only been on the FOS, but I know, talking to my Hubby, that we would be hitting the WJ for dinner at some point if we were on Oasis/Allure, or any other ship for that matter.

 

DH is not big on paying for specialty restaurants and I am a cheapsake, so it is tough for me too.

 

I wonder how The Park Cafe is for dinner?

 

We are not into all the fuss and time it takes for the MDR. We love the beach/pool and spend out time swimming, etc and dont want to go back to get dressed up and wait for bread, etc.

 

I dont need to be waited on. I waited so long for bread in the MDR and in WJ, I just go up and got it myself, no fuss

 

Park Café is only open until 7 P.M.

[Ourusualbeach]

If you would like to eat in the MDR without it taking 2 hours then I would suggest MTD seating. You can show up at the time you want and tell your waiter that you are in a bit of a rush and you could easily be out in under an hour.

[mek]

We did last Sunday night on Oasis. The Cowboy's/Bronco's game was on at 4:30 so we weren't able to make our 6 pm dinner in the MDR. We went to the Windjammer after the game was over.

[chrisb74]

We never used the MDR on allure, with most meals coming from WJ. It's about freedom to eat when we want to and not having to worry about dress codes or how long we spend in there.

[cruisindoggie]

We have never done Oasis class ships and choose my time dining and eat in windjammer for dinner at least 2 times on a 7 night cruise. We just like the casual atmosphere.

[dreamer976]

Ate a couple of Windjammer dinners on Oasis earlier this year. The food was mostly really good,, but I agree with what others have said about the WJ not being big enough for this class of ship. Love the Freedom class WJ's much better.

 

Anyway, the only tip I could give you on when to go to the WJ, would be to skip the initial rush (and it is!!) when it first opens. I would go a little later when it is less crowded and people aren't spazzing out as though they hadn't eaten in a week!

 

Enjoy your cruise.:)

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Don't know about Oasis, but on Allure last July the WJ closed promptly at 9:00PM every night. Just saying that if you want to eat after a main show, you won't be able to eat in the WJ if you are one minute later than 9:00PM. There was no begging or pleading. In fact, we did arrive there at 8:45PM one night and serving pans were not replenished if they were empty. Things were being wisked away.

 

I'd advise you to arrive no later than 8:30PM. Of course, Oasis might not have this strictly limited schedule in the Windjammer.

[thegima]

Can't speak for oasis but we just did 7 nights on Freedom and ate in the WJ 6 of the 7 nights. Some nights were more crowded than others depending on what port/departure times/dress code and such but overall we both enjoyed the WJ. The fact that we can dress as casual as we want after sweating out in the sun all day and just be comfortable is what makes us enjoy it over the MDR. On the less crowded nights we could be in/out of the WJ in about 30 minutes, have nearly the same quality food, normally a more quiet and peaceful atmosphere, and quite a bit more selection as compared to the MDR. Everyone has their own opinion though, some people really enjoy the MDR experience.

[riclop]

December will be our first cruise on the Oasis. Lately, we have been disillusioned with the long waiting times in the MDR and, instead, had a much quicker, and tasty enough dinner in the WJ. I'm not one to spend more money on specialty restaurants so I'm wondering how many people on the OASIS skipped the MDR in favour of the WJ. Everyone likes to be served, including me, but I just don't have the patience to sit for 2 hours over dinner when there's so much more to do, especially on such a huge ship.

Spend some $$$ on the specialty restaurants, they are great on the Oasis/Allure.

[Ashland]

I totally agree with the above. Dinners in the Windjammer are quiet, the lights are dimmed, and you can almost have an entire section to yourself if you prefer to be alone. We have always been "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" kind of people and have little interest in being served so the Windjammer is a wonderful place for either a quick or slow paced dinner.

I would normally agree with both you and Ocean Boy..as we also eat most if not all of our dinners in the WJ...however...just back from our first time on the Oasis and it wasn't the same experience we were used to at all...It was crowded and almost on the verge of a feeding frenzy. Hard to find a table for two, the wait staff seemed to want to take your plates before you were even done..even to the point that one of us had to guard our table at all times...The first evening we made the mistake of both getting our dessert at the same time and our table was cleared so quickly..other's were getting ready to sit down at our empty table..One morning at breakfast we sat at the bar height table and two people approached us and asked if any one was sitting at the two extra chairs..we said "no" they put their drinks and silverware down...and went to get their food ...quickly another couple sat down and we told them "someone else was sitting there"..they shrugged and said " we won't be long"...Never in our many years of cruising have we had such bad experiences in the WJ as we had on the Oasis..

 

While we loved the shows and the experience of cruising the Oasis to see what it was all about, there were actually a few other things that were a disappointment in this class of ship...So back to the Freedom & Radiance class for us.

[Tapi]

We avoided the WJ most of the time on the Allure just for the fact that the electronic board showed it to be red almost always. We opted for the Park Cafe for breakfast and lunch instead and we bounced around the ship for dinner.

 

The only time when the WJ was green was on embarkation night.

[LovesBeagles]

we just got off the oasis on Sat. we only ate in the MDR on the last night. We ate 4 nights in the WJ. I don't mind getting my own food so that I can get what and how much I want.

 

We thought it was very relaxing in the WJ. They also "sat" us each night (helped us find a table and brought silverware). That was much like eating in a place state side.

 

We would do it again.

 

BTW, we had MTD and made resv each night. The one night we did eat in the MDR, we had only about a 5 min wait.

[micmacmissy]

on Celebrity I remember they had wait staff in the buffet at dinner time, and added table linens to the tables, and would serve you. Does RCI do that?

 

First two cruises we enjoyed dressing up and going to the MDR. Last one I wanted to go casual to the Windjammer...didn't feel like makeup and fancy clothes! Family overrode me, though.

[Clarea]

on Celebrity I remember they had wait staff in the buffet at dinner time, and added table linens to the tables, and would serve you. Does RCI do that?

 

First two cruises we enjoyed dressing up and going to the MDR. Last one I wanted to go casual to the Windjammer...didn't feel like makeup and fancy clothes! Family overrode me, though.

Royal used to have tablecloths in Windjammer at dinner time, but I've not seen that lately.

[DonnaK]

We eat in the MDR every night, traditional dining, on every cruise. I have never had a dinner in the MDR that lasted two hours, even on the cruises with the worst (slowest) service. Average is an hour and 15 minutes.

[Ocean Boy]

I would normally agree with both you and Ocean Boy..as we also eat most if not all of our dinners in the WJ...however...just back from our first time on the Oasis and it wasn't the same experience we were used to at all...It was crowded and almost on the verge of a feeding frenzy. Hard to find a table for two, the wait staff seemed to want to take your plates before you were even done..even to the point that one of us had to guard our table at all times...The first evening we made the mistake of both getting our dessert at the same time and our table was cleared so quickly..other's were getting ready to sit down at our empty table..One morning at breakfast we sat at the bar height table and two people approached us and asked if any one was sitting at the two extra chairs..we said "no" they put their drinks and silverware down...and went to get their food ...quickly another couple sat down and we told them "someone else was sitting there"..they shrugged and said " we won't be long"...Never in our many years of cruising have we had such bad experiences in the WJ as we had on the Oasis..

 

While we loved the shows and the experience of cruising the Oasis to see what it was all about, there were actually a few other things that were a disappointment in this class of ship...So back to the Freedom & Radiance class for us.

 

Are you doing a write up of your trip? I'd like to read your opinions. We are doing Allure next just to change things up a bit but then it is back to Voyager and Freedom ships for us. The Windjammer on Oasis and Allure works for us for breakfast and dinner but I won't go near the place of lunch on those two ships. It is very much as you describe.... an over crowded zoo.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Ocean Boy

[Aislinncursala]

We ate in the MDR our first 7-8 cruises but then no longer wanted to spend 2 hours at dinner and it was never less than 2 hours.

 

We began eating at WJ on our Princess cruises and it was lovely with linen and soft lights and excellent table service.

 

The WJ on RCI is much more crowded on the Vision Class, too limited seating available for the number of passengers; boarding day was a nightmare, I was shocked at how awful it was. I'm told the WJ on the Oasis Class is also too small for the numbers on board.

 

However the WJ is lovely on the Radiance Class which is my favorite RCI Class.

[rstout]

I've always found the first night in the MDR is the worst, as the servers are getting used to a new round of passengers' likes and dislikes, etc. After that the waits for meals seem to be better. I also found that if I tell our servers we have somewhere to be they've always been accommodating with getting our food out quickly. There are so many specialty dining options on the Oasis, it's nice to pick one or two to try....they are really good. However, to answer the Windjammer question, we ate there for dinner or a snack at night a couple of times on the Allure and found it to be relaxing. I wouldn't hesitate to eat there for dinner again. There are a lot of options and it was never too crowded for us...I think we went a little later (after they had been open awhile).

[Bookish Angel]

Quiet, casual and available when we are ready for dinner. We said goodbye to fixed dining times a long time ago and have never looked back.

[dreamer976]

We ate in the MDR our first 7-8 cruises but then no longer wanted to spend 2 hours at dinner and it was never less than 2 hours.

 

We began eating at WJ on our Princess cruises and it was lovely with linen and soft lights and excellent table service.

 

The WJ on RCI is much more crowded on the Vision Class, too limited seating available for the number of passengers; boarding day was a nightmare, I was shocked at how awful it was. I'm told the WJ on the Oasis Class is also too small for the numbers on board.

 

However the WJ is lovely on the Radiance Class which is my favorite RCI Class.

 

I totally agree - WJ on Vision class is undersized, same as Oasis class. I, too, love the WJ on Radiance class and also on Freedom class. On Voyager class (only cruised on Mariner OTS though, twice!), I would say that the WJ size is adequate, but their table layout and the chairs used (quite large, very hard to walk past them, let alone move them) make for some difficulty getting to some of the tables that are available.