windjammer

[pattyk]

how is the food there at dinner and what time do they start serving dinner?

[FLACRUISER99]

how is the food there at dinner and what time do they start serving dinner?

Diner looked decent, they started serving at 6 pm on EX.

[Iluvcruising2]

Which Royal ship?

 

This was a typical dinner buffet on the Adventure of the Seas. This sailing was out of Southampton, UK, June 2014.

[YOUTUBE]n32QJIrVd08[/YOUTUBE]

[Mapleleafforever]

On Oasis last week we found the WJ to be better than the MDR. Neither hold a candle to Giovanni's Table, Chops, or 150 Central park though. Started serving at 6:30pm for dinner.

[OKC Cruisers]

Hmm. Difficult question to answer because the food quality can vary from ship to ship, just like it can from restaurant to restaurant on land. It all depends on the skill level and desire to do well from the cooking staff. I will tell you this, on our last several cruises, we only did the MDR 1 or 2 nights. We found the food in the Windjammer to be very good. But, we're not food critics or Food Network Stars by any means. ;)

 

The Windjammer opens for dinner usually at 6:00 pm, but that varies based on where the ship sails from.

Edited January 28, 2015 by OKC Cruisers

[bouhunter]

Food is just what you'd expect from a buffet serving lots of people. Not bad, not great. We eat there 2 nights usually on a 7 night cruise and it's fine.

[sjb317]

Neither one of us was impressed with the WJ for dinner the few times we have tried it on various ships. We do like it for breakfast and sometimes, for snacks during the day. We have friends who go to the WJ every night but I think they're nuts!:D

 

Sherri:)

[Ladysilver]

Great video! So many shake so much and it's impossible to actually see the food. Very informative! :D

[Susie51]

Enjoyed the well-made video

[trenie123]

Looks great! My cruise is next February. Can's wait. BTW OKC Cruisers. I'm from Tulsa.:)

[bluegirlum]

I've actually preferred the WJ to the MDR on my past 5 or 6 cruises. Depending on the ship, there is a sushi station, as well as a station that changes every night where you can get made-to-order risotto, pasta, stir fry, etc. The risotto with shrimp I got was one of the best meals I've had on a RCI ship. I think the food in the MDR is equivalent to what you'd get in a banquet hall; the WJ is about the same but it's more casual and relaxed and you can do it on your own time.

[stevenr597]

We just completed a 7 day cruise on the Allure of the Seas. One of the biggest areas of disappointment was the Windjammer. At times it was very, very crowded, but that was not a major problem in that on the ship, there were many other areas to eat.

 

Note that we have compared the Windjammer to the buffets on both Celebrity and Princess and in each case the Windjammer falls far short. Food is mediocre at best and the way it is served is not up to the standards of other venues on the Allure.

 

For example, hamburgers and frankfurter are placed in stacks in large trays instead of being individual grilled. There is no real salad bar.

 

Overall it was a very basic cafeteria.

 

Other individuals may have found no problem, but for a ship at the price and in the class of the Allure, it was a big letdown.

[bluegirlum]

We just completed a 7 day cruise on the Allure of the Seas. One of the biggest areas of disappointment was the Windjammer. At times it was very, very crowded, but that was not a major problem in that on the ship, there were many other areas to eat.

 

Note that we have compared the Windjammer to the buffets on both Celebrity and Princess and in each case the Windjammer falls far short. Food is mediocre at best and the way it is served is not up to the standards of other venues on the Allure.

 

For example, hamburgers and frankfurter are placed in stacks in large trays instead of being individual grilled. There is no real salad bar.

 

Overall it was a very basic cafeteria.

 

Other individuals may have found no problem, but for a ship at the price and in the class of the Allure, it was a big letdown.

 

Interesting that you say that. Count this as an edit to my previous post: The Oasis WJ was not good. It was too small and had few options. I have enjoyed the WJ on Liberty and Majesty--I can tell you in a few weeks about Brilliance.

[Bamagirl_gina]

We eat in Windjammer more often than the MDR. It is much better since they did away with the long straight buffet lines and now have "stations". The made-to-order station is usually very good and varies each night (or at least that is how it was on Serenade in February.)

[JTBCruiser]

DW and I were on the Jewel of the Seas last Feb (Southern Caribbean) and we loved the WJ. DW found plenty of salads and fresh fruit and I always headed for the "Carb" tables. We didn't eat dinner there but found it to meet our needs for breakfast and lunch.

[flowers44]

We did a B2B last fall and were on the Explorer for 14 nights. We ate at the Windjammer all but 2 or 3 nights. We enjoyed the relaxed, casual atmosphere of the Windjammer. They turn down the lights and it is very quiet and usually not too crowded. Each night, they featured food from different countries like Germany, England, Mexico, Caribbean, American, etc. That food was on a station all of it's own. There was sushi every night and a Mongolian Stir Fry Station every night. If you did not like the featured country, there was always mashed potatoes, some kind of meat, different fill in foods, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgs and other choices. We are going on a 13 day repo cruise this fall and will, more than likely, eat all of our dinners in the Windjammer. Explorer started serving at 6:30 PM.

[chickadee1]

Which Royal ship?

 

This was a typical dinner buffet on the Adventure of the Seas. This sailing was out of Southampton, UK, June 2014.

[YOUTUBE]n32QJIrVd08[/YOUTUBE]

 

Great video! Really captured WJ in evening with all its varieties! A little noisy (typical cafeteria noises) but not really any more noisy than MDR!

[impatientlywaiting]

Neither one of us was impressed with the WJ for dinner the few times we have tried it on various ships. We do like it for breakfast and sometimes, for snacks during the day. We have friends who go to the WJ every night but I think they're nuts!:D

 

Sherri:)

 

We only eat in the WJ because we don't like to dress up for the MDR. Just because we only eat in the WJ doesn't make us nuts - it's just our preference! :D

[Langley Cruisers]

We have friends who go to the WJ every night but I think they're nuts!:D

 

Well of course you are entitled to your opinion... I guess we are nuts then because we LOVE WJ for dinner. That's OK if you're not there.. more carrot cake for me. :)

[dodgersmom]

We only eat in the WJ because we don't like to dress up for the MDR. Just because we only eat in the WJ doesn't make us nuts - it's just our preference! :D

 

us too!

[tidygirl]

I have never been on a RCI ship that doesn't have a nice salad bar! If we are on the ship at lunch I have a salad for lunch and then another at supper! DH will not eat salads and I love them! I don't have them at home so I just have to make up for it on a cruise! We eat dinner at the WJ EVERY night (maybe we are nuts but that's ok :) !)

[JamesEM]

I was on the Allure this past Nov. and ate dinner in the Windjammer several times, better than the MDR, also the salad bar was very good with plenty of variety. Hint, to avoid the crowds wait until 7 pm to show up, when the Windjammer first opens it is a mad house.

[Borderbairn]

Hi folks. If you decide to eat in WJ for dinner some evenings are you supposed to let them know at MDR? We are a party of 4 adults and 2 little ones 4yrs and 2yrs and want to be flexible if the wee ones are a bit too tired and cranky for MDR.We have prebooked early seating in MDR. We may find that WJ is the way to go for us but would like to go to MDR a few times-possibly formal night for the experience.

[Cauzneffct]

Hi folks. If you decide to eat in WJ for dinner some evenings are you supposed to let them know at MDR? We are a party of 4 adults and 2 little ones 4yrs and 2yrs and want to be flexible if the wee ones are a bit too tired and cranky for MDR.We have prebooked early seating in MDR. We may find that WJ is the way to go for us but would like to go to MDR a few times-possibly formal night for the experience.

 

If you're looking for flexibility, My Time Dining might be the way to go as you can go if/when you want rather than at a set time every night, and since it's not a set table,you don't have to worry about letting anyone know you're not going. If you stick with Trad dining and you know you won't make it, it's nice to let them know so the servers (and other guests at the table) aren't waiting thinking you're coming.

[Duke Mazer]

Think a lot of people have given WJ a bad rep, sure there are things (like the hamburgers) that I, or other may not like, but in general it quite good. For a buffet it's quit nice not any worst than the MDR and honestly better at times don't be fooled MDR food is also "mass produced" and tastes like it. I can echo what was posted with kids above and for us too after a long day at the beach and shopping in town we got back to ship, little one and us just wanted a casual good meal and we really enjoyed dinner at WJ. To the original poster don't let people scare you from it, try it for yourself. Heck you may be pleasantly surprised like we were.