Is Windjammer Really THAT bad?!?!

[widallas]

My only complaint is that the food is the same every 3rd day basically. Some more variety would be nice. That said we thought the food was very good on Liberty 2 months ago. The French fries were amazing. And diner at the WJ was far better than I had expected.

 

Same here...two cruises (1st on Mariner, 2nd on Liberty). I did think that Liberty had fewer options than the Mariner, but it is feeding SO many people there is only so much they can do. Quality was on par with an average buffet, and there was some variety if you looked for it. I liked eating in the MDR, but sometimes the WJ was a lot faster and easier. Wish they had a few more sushi options on a regular basis rather than just a few times during the week. Have to say the desserts are plentiful, but mediocre....not a bad thing after all of the other food! And yes...timing is everything. Avoid peak times!

[sergioag]

We were on the Allure last December. We only did WJ for lunch on embarkation day and for breakfast on debarkation. Food was ok, but it felt too rushed for us. Too many people and the PA asking you to move on didn't help. Finding an empty table was a challenge too.

[Lordnlkon]

The fresh made omelets in the morning are good the rest of breakfast is meh. We actually have never eaten there for dinner but I would say lunch is pretty bad overall with the food being very bland.

[Erwin Family @ Sea]

What! WJ, may be the most liked ( or least flamed) venue on RC. Its a buffet! Not fine dining, And we know a little about buffets

here!

[Mrsdigi]

so, I have to admit, have only been on two cruises. Two years ago on Indy and two years prior on Enchantment. Will be sailing on Allure on April 2nd. With a buffet they are dealing with thousands of people who want to get in and get out quick. On prior cruises we have felt that the food was on par, or slightly above, most buffet restaurants on the mainland. Has it reall gotten worse than this?

 

 

 

We're on that sailing, too. :)

 

 

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[klombar]

We love the WJ that have outdoor seating! It seems when you look at the menus for the MDR there is always a variation in the WJ of whats being offered. Many times the carving stations have a nice quality offering. I will say the fake scrambled eggs have been bad but on the ships that have the small made to order stations or the fried egg stations in the back have more than made up for it. Besides thats what ketchup is for!

[Agavegirl1]

I did not like WJ on our recent Freedom cruise (our first). My husband thought it was fine. I like basic breakfast items but he likes all kinds of stuff. I prefer proteins and he prefers pastries, watffles, pancakes etc. We ate breakfast there three times and lunch twice but never dinner. The tasteless (fakish) scrambled eggs were awful. Once I had over easy eggs and toast and the toast was hard on the outside and rubbery on the inside. The fresh cooked eggs were good. I resorted to grits with a side of fruit until we finally started eating in the MDR which was a step up. My husband ate eggs Benedict three times. I mixed it up.

 

Lunch had more variety but I was not going to have a mass produced hamburger/hotdog lunch and opted for other options. The temperature of hot foods did not maintain itself until I got to a table and it did little to improve my opinion of the food. Not a WJ person I guess. Husband loved the variety, the spicier asian choices, the pastries and a lot about it. Food is very subjective. I am a person who prefers well prepared basics and hubby likes to try it all. The bacon is awesome though. I always had a side of bacon.

[Board_Shorts]

People love to hate the WJ. I have always found it to be perfectly acceptable and have even occasionally eaten dinner there instead of the MDR, you'll usually find the same menu items in there as are being served in the MDR that night.

 

I must admit that the Windjammers do seem to be getting busier, especially around dinner time, and it can sometimes be difficult to find a table in a nice location.

 

As far as the food goes, there's an enormous range, beautifully presented, and we've never had a real issue. There's something for everyone.

[riclop]

It's not bad at all but food is subjective.

[2travelcats]

My husband loves the buffet, especially for dinner, because he doesn't like a long, drawn out time for meals. We have only cruised on the smaller Royal ships but they have never been busy at dinner time. And you might be surprised to know we have often "dined with the captain" and other senior staff in the buffet, albeit at different tables!

[Cruise Junky]

We love the WJ that have outdoor seating! It seems when you look at the menus for the MDR there is always a variation in the WJ of whats being offered. Many times the carving stations have a nice quality offering. I will say the fake scrambled eggs have been bad but on the ships that have the small made to order stations or the fried egg stations in the back have more than made up for it. Besides thats what ketchup is for!

 

Does the oasis class have any outdoor seating?

[Clarea]

Does the oasis class have any outdoor seating?

Not near Windjammer, but there is outdoor seating for Johnny Rockets (free at breakfast) and Wipeout Cafe.

[sergioag]

Does the oasis class have any outdoor seating?

 

No, absolutely none (for the Windjammer).

Edited March 25, 2017 by sergioag
More precise answer

[FOXTROT]

We were just on the Jewel, the food in the Windjammer was very good. Wife' liked it better than the MDR.

[Cruise Junky]

Not near Windjammer, but there is outdoor seating for Johnny Rockets (free at breakfast) and Wipeout Cafe.

 

No, absolutely none (for the Windjammer).

 

Thank you both.

[WeatherFx]

It all depends on the ship. The Grandeur has been horrible but the Serenade last month was phenomenal-we even had filet mignon, grilled lobster and shrimp, and whole grilled red snapper.

Agree, both times on Grandeur, WJ was terrible for other than breakfast -- and I'm not a picky eater. Will be back on Lady G Monday, hope it is better this time. Fortunately, we don't go on cruises for the WJ.

[amkras]

I have no issues with the quality of WJ food. What I do wish they'd do I post a menu of dinner and lunch main and side dishes and make hanging signs for these areas. I hate wandering around to see what's available and then forget where I saw something I want to go back to.

[rodenboy]

On Harmony, the pizza they served in Windjammer was better than the pizza they served in Sorrentos. Sorry not sorry.

 

 

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[Oak Hill Cruisers]

If the WJ is getting too crowded at lunchtime, we usually go, on sea days, to the MDR where they have the Tutti Salad which is made up for you after you pick out the vittles. Very quick and you can't complain about the taste.

[Joe12]

I love the WJ. It is great on Oasis Class, and on Indy/Explorer, but actually, the Freedom Class do not have many seats for the number of guests IMO.

Enchantment had quite a nice WJ, with the stations in the middle.

Serenade wasn't great, often on theme nights (e.g. Indian Night), there was NOTHING I liked. Not joking.

Anthem's WJ was a bit disappointing. Cold baked beans, anaemic looking pancakes, mediocre breakfasts, not much variety, low selection of desserts at dinner (MAJOR issue across this ship). They did have some nice meat and the usual creamy mashed potatoes and fries, but some things were missing on that ship.

[Merly]

WJ is too small for the size of the ship, but that's because there are other options. You can check, on your TV, how busy any restaurant is, so you can choose to go or choose an alternative. In my opinion WJ is a buffet so you get buffet style food, but I always think there is plenty to choose from.

[John Reid]

Agree, both times on Grandeur, WJ was terrible for other than breakfast -- and I'm not a picky eater. Will be back on Lady G Monday, hope it is better this time. Fortunately, we don't go on cruises for the WJ.

 

Caveat: this is not a complaint. It is an observation requested by the OP.

 

I've cruised four times on Grandeur in the last two years. I, too, will be heading south on her Monday! I'm pleased with just about any food that lives its life on land. We eat in the Windjammer to keep our time as flexible as possible. These are the grades I would give the Windjammer lunch/dinner experience on these cruises in their order: B, D, F, C+ as compared to Explorer and Oasis, for example. It is not so much a matter of preparation; there are just better quality ingredients on those ships. They seem to do okay with chicken dishes, but the beef in the middle two cruises was unidentifiable and cooked to incinerated levels. Also, there is so much Indian food on the dinner offerings. Grandeur Windjammer serving area is small. Four curry options (one with chicken) seems a bit inappropriate for a Baltimore cruise. Also, the last two cruises some selections are incorrectly labelled or not labeled at all. I'm not talking about the time they had mushy peas labelled as sausages. I'm talking about stew type dishes without a clue as to their content.

 

And as you are making that ham sandwich from the sandwich bar, take a good look at the "ham." It has not been an actual cold cut on my last two cruises. It is a finely ground Spam-type loaf.

 

But I will still have a great time.

[marci22]

Also, there is so much Indian food on the dinner offerings. Grandeur Windjammer serving area is small. Four curry options (one with chicken) seems a bit inappropriate for a Baltimore cruise.

 

We have never had a bad Indian dish on any RC ship. We look forward to it, and it is one of the reasons we like WJ.

 

On a prior cruise out of NJ, Indian cruisers compromised a good portion of the total, I think they were the 4th biggest group after American, Canadian and English. Maybe the reason...

[emory2001]

The Windjammer is overall very good, except breakfast is hit-or-miss and the WJ desserts are awful. I love the corned beef hash at breakfast (seems fresh made, not canned), but even before I had to go gluten-free I avoided the pancakes and french toast - they seem institutional and blah. I really enjoy the Indian dishes and other hot dishes at lunch and dinner. I was just on Enchantment last week and both WJ and MDR were top notch. My husband, who doesn't cruise as often as I do and didn't care for the Windjammer on our last cruise, said everything was much better this time. MDR is always a step above WJ to me, which is what I would expect for buffet vs. 3-course sit-down dinner. MDR on this last cruise was outstanding.

[John Reid]

We have never had a bad Indian dish on any RC ship. We look forward to it, and it is one of the reasons we like WJ.

 

On a prior cruise out of NJ, Indian cruisers compromised a good portion of the total, I think they were the 4th biggest group after American, Canadian and English. Maybe the reason...

 

Completely agree with my Explorer cruise out of Bayonne; not the case out of Baltimore.