Embarkation Day Lunch on Enchantment

[Colonialdame]

Do guests have a choice between the Windjammer and the Main Dining Room for lunch after boarding?

[BND]

There were a couple of reports in the last couple of months that the MDR was open for lunch on boarding day.  Someone on the current cruise said it was not open when they boarded this past Friday.  It seems to vary.  The WJ and Park Cafe are definitely both open for lunch.  

[Colonialdame]

20 minutes ago, BND said:

There were a couple of reports in the last couple of months that the MDR was open for lunch on boarding day.  Someone on the current cruise said it was not open when they boarded this past Friday.  It seems to vary.  The WJ and Park Cafe are definitely both open for lunch.  

I appreciate your response.  We won’t count on it and will also enjoy the first day enthusiasm of passengers in the Windjammer.  I did a little Googling and found some references to turning first day Main Dining Room lunch and carry on luggage drop off into a Key benefit.  We’ll see.  I’m sure Royal will continue to tweak their procedures as they re-up to increasing capacity. Hey, we’re cruising again!

[BND]

14 minutes ago, Colonialdame said:

I appreciate your response.  We won’t count on it and will also enjoy the first day enthusiasm of passengers in the Windjammer.  I did a little Googling and found some references to turning first day Main Dining Room lunch and carry on luggage drop off into a Key benefit.  We’ll see.  I’m sure Royal will continue to tweak their procedures as they re-up to increasing capacity. Hey, we’re cruising again!

There is a Key boarding day lunch in the MDR.

[MellowMel]

Have you considered dining in Chops on embarkation day? I think it was about $24 per person. I did this a few weeks ago and it was a great way to kick off our cruise.

[Colonialdame]

Sounds like a plan!😀 Thanks!

[MellowMel]

26 minutes ago, Colonialdame said:

Sounds like a plan!😀 Thanks!

You are welcome. I made the reservations in my cruise planner for 12:45 since I had a 12 p.m. boarding time. It worked out perfectly.

[Rogueperson]

I was on the March 5th 12 night itinerary and I was surprised with the MDR lunch on embarkation day.  That being said, I was surprised because I've never seen it done before.  They told me they would start doing it, but who knows.  They may have decided to change it since then.

[BND]

1 hour ago, MellowMel said:

Have you considered dining in Chops on embarkation day? I think it was about $24 per person. I did this a few weeks ago and it was a great way to kick off our cruise.

We eat in a specialty restaurant on boarding day on every cruise now.  On HOTS, it was Jamie's.  We're having lunch in Chops  Sat on EN.  The WJ has never been our favorite on boarding day.  Too many people, not enough seats and those that think they can sit at a table all afternoon even if they're done eating.   Another thing is, some people just will not share a table, even if there are multiple empty seats at the one they're sitting at.  We've offered empty seats up several times when we see people wandering around looking.  

Edited March 29, 2022 by BND

[MellowMel]

23 minutes ago, BND said:

We eat in a specialty restaurant on boarding day on every cruise now.  On HOTS, it was Jamie's.  We're having lunch in Chops  Sat on EN.  The WJ has never been our favorite on boarding day.  Too many people, not enough seats and those that think they can sit at a table all afternoon even if they're done eating.   Another thing is, some people just will not share a table, even if there are multiple empty seats at the one they're sitting at.  We've offered empty seats up several times when we see people wandering around looking.  

I love that this is an option now because lunch on embarkation day in the Windjammer is so chaotic! I will definitely take advantage each time for specialty dining.

[BND]

46 minutes ago, MellowMel said:

I love that this is an option now because lunch on embarkation day in the Windjammer is so chaotic! I will definitely take advantage each time for specialty dining.

For some reason it's not an option on our 6 night EN Bermuda cruise in July, unfortunately.  Something else we've found in the past that works is to wait until cabins are available and then go to the WJ.  

[Colonialdame]

One thing I know for certain is that Royal can be consistently inconsistent.  We are just so happy to be going on a cruise that we are content to go with the flow.  After we board we’ll head straight to Chops. If that doesn’t work, we’ll either grab a sandwich at the Park Cafe or head upstairs to the WJ.  I’m confident we won’t starve.  My goals for this cruise are fresh air and relaxation. Ommmm…..

 

[BND]

3 minutes ago, Colonialdame said:

One thing I know for certain is that Royal can be consistently inconsistent.  We are just so happy to be going on a cruise that we are content to go with the flow.  After we board we’ll head straight to Chops. If that doesn’t work, we’ll either grab a sandwich at the Park Cafe or head upstairs to the WJ.  I’m confident we won’t starve.  My goals for this cruise are fresh air and relaxation. Ommmm…..

 

You need to make a reservation for Chops.  No guarantee they will have availability when you board.  

[BillHoo]

Would be cool to order Room Service and have them deliver to "The third lounge chair to the right as you enter the Solarium"

[death_star]

7 hours ago, BND said:

For some reason it's not an option on our 6 night EN Bermuda cruise in July, unfortunately.  Something else we've found in the past that works is to wait until cabins are available and then go to the WJ.  

Our 8 night next month only has Chops lunch on sea days. 

[BND]

26 minutes ago, death_star said:

Our 8 night next month only has Chops lunch on sea days. 

That's normal.  I'm talking about boarding day.  We're eating there on Sat when we board EN as it's available then, but not for our 6 night Bermuda.  This thread is about boarding day lunch.

[death_star]

2 minutes ago, BND said:

That's normal.  I'm talking about boarding day.  We're eating there on Sat when we board EN as it's available then, but not for our 6 night Bermuda.  This thread is about boarding day lunch.

Right. Is it normally bookable in the cruise planner for boarding day or is this one of those if you're in a suite or pinn you can eat there instead of the Windjammer 

[BND]

43 minutes ago, death_star said:

Right. Is it normally bookable in the cruise planner for boarding day or is this one of those if you're in a suite or pinn you can eat there instead of the Windjammer 

When it's open for booking on boarding day, it's for anyone in the planner.  Suites and Pinns don't get a special boarding day lunch.  Only the Key and b2b cruisers do and that's in the MDR on EN.

Edited March 30, 2022 by BND

[SRF]

Hmm, I enjoy the chaos of WJ on boarding day.

 

Stop at the pool bar for the first drink, find a table and watch the chaos and people. 😄

 

[gail-s]

This is an older topic but does anyone know if this is still the same for Enchantment sailings this summer?  I'm not a fan of the insanity of the buffet on embarkation day.  I loved that Norwegian always had a main dining room open for lunch that day.  I had purchased The Key which said it included lunch in the MDR but we got upgraded to a OS so I'm most likely cancelling that and just adding in WiFi.  Even if the restaurant in the solarium was open that day, it would be better than the buffet.  Thanks!!

[Biker19]

8 minutes ago, gail-s said:

Even if the restaurant in the solarium was open that day, it would be better than the buffet.

Venue operating hours should be listed in the app - look at the current sailing.

 

[cruisegirl1]

FYI - Mariner has been open for lunch on embarkation day. 

M

[Another_Critic]

On 3/28/2022 at 7:58 PM, BND said:

There were a couple of reports in the last couple of months that the MDR was open for lunch on boarding day.  Someone on the current cruise said it was not open when they boarded this past Friday.  It seems to vary.  The WJ and Park Cafe are definitely both open for lunch.  

Very late reply, but ... I was on the "current" cruise (March 25, 2022) and the MDR was open to any passengers for embarkation lunch.  It was very quiet and relaxing.  🙂

[BND]

42 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Very late reply, but ... I was on the "current" cruise (March 25, 2022) and the MDR was open to any passengers for embarkation lunch.  It was very quiet and relaxing.  🙂

We've been on EN for two b2b's and one single cruise since March 2022.  MDR was never open.  That was out of Baltimore obviously, so no idea what they're doing now.

[Giantfan13]

We sailed the Enchanment for her TA this past April 30 and there was NO MDR open. Let me make this clear, the MDR was NOT open for any lunch. She sailed from Baltimore to NJ as an empty ship so we were able to board as soon as we checked in and our rooms were already done. We were on the ship at 10:45 and had to wait until 11:30 for the buffet to open. We did inquire if the MDR might be open and we were told NO.

I hope this puts this to rest.

 

Cheers

Len