Am I crazy, or has Windjammer improved immensely?

[JamesEM]

My wife and I did a B-2-B cruise last year, the first week was the family get together and the 2nd week we were by ourselves. As a family we ate in the MDR and every thing was OK, but two hours for dinner was a bit much for me. The 2nd week DW and I ate in the Windjammer and I was a happy camper, it was nicer and I could have a large salad and and something from the carving station.

[Trainman-2]

I was surprised to see the entrance to the Windjammer on the Harmony moved and redesigned.

 

The "official" entrance is now at the forward end of the windjammer, not aft of the elevators. You pass through the door to the left in the photo below to a nicely planned out hand washing station.

 

 

You have to walk through this area to enter the Windjammer itself.

 

 

Nobody is standing there with a whip to force you to wash your hands but the implication is clear.

 

Several of the Officers I spoke with said that RCI is trying to improve personal cleanliness across the fleet, especially in the Windjammers.

 

The reality is that one person carrying the Noro-Virus in the Windjammer can easily infect hundreds of people. That same person in the MDR his limited contact with other people or with serving utensils.

[junior3006]

Left the Explorer yesterday, and yes the food was greatly improved! We did Chops on the last night and there was no comparison. This was with out a doubt the best windjammer experience out of all others for us, and not a single sales pitch for the pay to eat places.

 

 

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[Wingman2010]

WE were recently on the extended Harmony "hurricane" cruise and were very happy with the food selection and quality in the WJ. Might be because our expectations were aimed appropriately lower, but we found ourselves eating there more than usual..... Was actually a nice surprise.

 

Still a problem getting a seat though. Seems to be way too many people camped out in the WJ...

[mugtech]

Our first cruise 9 years ago on the Mariner I remember being very impressed with the quality and variety of soups available in the buffet. It was like they hired the Soup ****. Recently on the Anthem I found wj to be very good, but I missed the great soups.

Did not realize could not mention the 4 letter word for Hitler's political party. Please accept my apologies.

Edited September 23, 2017 by mugtech
Explain

[Jana]

Left the Explorer yesterday, and yes the food was greatly improved! We did Chops on the last night and there was no comparison. This was with out a doubt the best windjammer experience out of all others for us, and not a single sales pitch for the pay to eat places.

 

 

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That's nice to know! I board next Friday. DD and I loved WJ last year on this itinerary and had four of our seven evening meals there. If there are more curry and Asian food choices I'd be really happy but I thought it was great as it was.

 

jj

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[Goodtime Cruizin]

Eating anywhere, especially a buffet the likes of the WJ is really subjective and a state of mind thing. Bottomline, if you enter the WJ and can't find enough delicious food & fill your appetite, you most likely can't be satisfied and/or wasn't hungry to start with. There is just too much selection in the WJ to complain.

[Morecruisesplz]

Done 3 crises the last year, Ovation, Brilliance and just on Explorer now.... I've noticed a huge increase in the taste and quality of the food in the Windjammer. Thoughts?

Immensely is a strong word. Id say slightly. As Ash said, we enjoy the Windjammer for evening meals. If not there, we do speciality dining. We give up our MDR table on day 1.

[katiel53]

On Allure in July we had breakfast every day in the Windjammer except for one day. We all loved the English bacon, the hash browns and the egg station.

 

The one morning we had breakfast in the dining room, some of us wanted buffet and some wanted a sit down breakfast. We asked the hostess and she said there was an area that did both. We were seated in that area and even after 20 minutes we got no menus. I stopped a waiter and asked him and he said we were seated in the buffet area even though all the tables surrounding us were combinations.

 

He very begrudgingly brought us menus and took our orders. No coffee refills or anything that really constituted service. I felt badly as it was my idea to go to the dining room as the others hadn't sailed on Allure previously and some not even on Royal Caribbean.

 

It might have just been an off day, but we didn't go back.

[Kdmansfield]

I agree that the WJ it varies ship to ship. I don't usually eat dinner in the WJ, but I know if I'm looking for staple buffet food to stop in and check the crowd first. I didn't like the WJ on Harmony because it was always crowded, but I have enjoyed breakfast and lunch on other ships, like Quantum, Independence and Oasis. Harmony also had a nice charcuterie layout at lunch.

[perditax]

Just off Oasis. The buffet food was significantly worse than my experiences in the last two years on NCL (x 4) and the Royal Princess. They also rarely had more than half the buffet open (at extremely limited hours compared to NCL), which meant about 1/4 the available stations of a typical NCL buffet on a newer ship ... for a whole lot of people.

 

The only thing they did better than NCL was pasta; NCL's buffet pasta is frequently overcooked mush, or you have to stand in line for it.

 

Very much missed the hand washing stations.

 

Did room service several nights instead. I tried Solarium Bistro once, but the A/C doesn't seem to work well in many parts of the ship (or maybe SB isn't supposed to be climate controlled? Couldn't tell) and it was too muggy to enjoy dinner. That didn't leave much but Sbarro's considering I didn't want to sit through a lengthy MDR meal. At least the room service chicken fettuccine is decent.

[SRF]

I see all these comments about the food being the same day after day in WJ.

 

Two cruises on Grandeur, and every meal has been different. Some things stay the same (burger/hot dog bar at lunch) but each night seemed to be a different ethnic slant. And several dishes were the same as in the MDR.

 

Even the desserts varied from meal to meal.

 

Breakfast tends to be the same, but there are only so many possibilities. But even their, some mornings they had make your own eggs benedict.

 

I do not expect ANY buffer to be 5 star dining. And never had any issues with WJ. Some dishes were not to my liking, but that is a personal taste thing.

 

I do agree with many, the many of the desserts look better than they taste.

[sixbirches]

My husband and I just returned from a 9 night Anthem cruise. We tried the dining room the first night and had a long wait in line even with a reservation. Food and service was okay, but it was crowded and very loud. So, we ate in the Windjammer the next night and never returned to the dining room. Food was outstanding, with great variety of different foods each night. We had great cocktail shrimp, made to order dessert crepes, tasty stir fry station, cooked to your preference pasta and desserts to die for, aling with the entrees they serve regularly. There was a great variety of cheeses, fresh and delicious varieties of bread..... I could go on and on.

We also had quick and very attentive drink service, which is not how things generally go in the dining room. No problem getting a quiet table for two next to the window. Since we sat in the same area each night, we got to know the staff there, and they were friendly and great to get to talk with. Kind of like the "old days" of cruising. Plus, dinner didn't take an outrageous amount of time.

We have always enjoyed breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer. Although seating is trickier at peak times, but thats the norm. Once again, great variety and food quality was excellent.

After such a positive experience, on our next cruise, I won't bother with the dining room at all.

[John&LaLa]

Just off Oasis. The buffet food was significantly worse than my experiences in the last two years on NCL (x 4) and the Royal Princess. They also rarely had more than half the buffet open (at extremely limited hours compared to NCL), which meant about 1/4 the available stations of a typical NCL buffet on a newer ship ... for a whole lot of people.

 

The only thing they did better than NCL was pasta; NCL's buffet pasta is frequently overcooked mush, or you have to stand in line for it.

 

Very much missed the hand washing stations.

 

Did room service several nights instead. I tried Solarium Bistro once, but the A/C doesn't seem to work well in many parts of the ship (or maybe SB isn't supposed to be climate controlled? Couldn't tell) and it was too muggy to enjoy dinner. That didn't leave much but Sbarro's considering I didn't want to sit through a lengthy MDR meal. At least the room service chicken fettuccine is decent.

 

Unfortunately you are comparing different cruise lines. The OP was curious if we have noticed an improvement over past WJ experiences.

 

FWIW, I found the WJ to be decent enough. Pizza was a big improvement as well. :D

 

I do agree that Sabor was muggy, but I did enjoy the show in the solarium pool.:eek:

[tugboat]

let's not let the cat out of the bag!:o

I enjoy going to the WJ without the rest of the ship being there.:cool:;p:p

[shibby sails]

WJ on he Freedom last year was the best of all my previous cruises. Just very good and a lot of variety

[DT1304]

So interesting reading everyones comments, especially all those that eat dinner in Windjammer every night.

 

I always enjoyed breakfasts there and only ate in the main dining room for breakfast once.

 

We always ate lunch in windjammer and also had the occasional pool side BBQ and windjammer lunches were better than average.

 

Our dinners we always ate in the main dining room, and loved it. (Occasionally in specialty restaurants too) Not once did we eat in the windjammer for dinner.

 

I hope they still make the honeystung chicken in the windjammer!!

[ReneeFLL]

I have not noticed that! Windjammer continues to disappoint...especially during lunch.

 

Desserts need improvement badly.

 

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Totally agree with both of these comments. We were on the Radiance in April for 26 day and it was the worst that I have had on a RC ship.

[Dennis#1]

Lots of options in the Windjammer. Never had a problem finding something that I liked. True, variety is different on different ships, but overall we have been satisfied We have not noticed any decrease in quality.

[mugtech]

My husband and I just returned from a 9 night Anthem cruise. We tried the dining room the first night and had a long wait in line even with a reservation. Food and service was okay, but it was crowded and very loud. So, we ate in the Windjammer the next night and never returned to the dining room. Food was outstanding, with great variety of different foods each night. We had great cocktail shrimp, made to order dessert crepes, tasty stir fry station, cooked to your preference pasta and desserts to die for, aling with the entrees they serve regularly. There was a great variety of cheeses, fresh and delicious varieties of bread..... I could go on and on.

We also had quick and very attentive drink service, which is not how things generally go in the dining room. No problem getting a quiet table for two next to the window. Since we sat in the same area each night, we got to know the staff there, and they were friendly and great to get to talk with. Kind of like the "old days" of cruising. Plus, dinner didn't take an outrageous amount of time.

We have always enjoyed breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer. Although seating is trickier at peak times, but thats the norm. Once again, great variety and food quality was excellent.

After such a positive experience, on our next cruise, I won't bother with the dining room at all.

Our experience also, tried to sit in the same section with Jorge, aka Mexican George of the Jungle

[Clarea]

... I hope they still make the honeystung chicken in the windjammer!!

I've not seen that in a while.

[tennislvr8]

)

 

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[psychokitty]

On our recent B2B on Ex I did notice, and commented to DH, that the food had improved.

Ex is the only ship I have been on recently that still has my favourite desert, Key Lime Pie

 

Aussie Frequent Floaters

 

 

 

Had Key Lime last night in MDR on Explorer. In fact whole table did and everyone loved it.

 

 

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[psychokitty]

We are also on Explorer now and have eaten all meals in WJ except one dinner at Giovanni's. I always find plenty to eat. Lots of choices... many ethnic choices if one decides to venture out. Also have never seen an entire "island" devoted to gluten free foods. DH has commented that the meats have been better as well.

 

 

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On current cruise many have mentioned how tender all meet has been. Spoke to Executive Chef and he said they've really been working on it.

 

 

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[psychokitty]

Done 3 crises the last year, Ovation, Brilliance and just on Explorer now.... I've noticed a huge increase in the taste and quality of the food in the Windjammer. Thoughts?

 

 

 

Definitely more choices and noticeable improvement.

 

 

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