Windjammer hours question

[time4u2go]

6 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Can you elaborate?  What do you mean by "just a few items per night" on the buffet?  We're booked on the Equinox and December and would be surprised if there where only a few items on the buffet. LOL

Dan

 

Lots of posts about it in this thread.

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by time4u2go

[The Fun Researcher]

56 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

 

Lots of posts about it in this thread.

 

Ok thank you.  Fortunately I've only had one single dinner in a buffet on any of our previous cruises.  We exclusively eat in the MDR with a very rare specialty dinner thrown in.

[Pellaz]

On 1/4/2023 at 6:06 PM, LeeW said:

Lines like Princess close one side to reset for another meal.  Royal closes the whole buffet for quite a while between meals.

Carnival also closes one side while doing the reset, which thankfully doesn't take 3 hours.  

Of course, the buffet on Carnival ("Lido" or "Lido Marketplace") can never be completely closed off, since it's the thru route from the main pool area to the aft pool area on nearly all ships.  

Now, if they could only offer some food options there after 1 am, besides pizza....  😄  

 

It will be interesting to see the Windjammer hours on our upcoming music charter cruise on the Freedom.  In the past on the Indy, they were closed during some dinner hours (say, 7 pm), but reopened for us from 11pm to 2 or 3 am.    I'll try to find a Compass with the hours posted.  

 

[jean87510]

Friends of mine were just on RCCL Christmas/NYE cruise (not sure which one).  They were complaining about lack of food when drinking in the afternoon on port days.  I hadn't really noticed on our recent sailings re Windjammer.  I just saw it opened at 6pm nightly on the Voyager.  And I agree re the pizza.  The roast beef sandwiches are always good though.

[HappyTexan44]

Beyond the dessert cheese tray (which does sound awesome) what do you recommend we keep in the room for afternoon hungries?   

Although, I don't remember seeing a cheese tray on the new menu.  But, then I didn't pay too much attention to the dessert menu.   If there isn't anything to tempt me on the dessert menu, the sky would be falling.  

Does the WJ have worthwhile cheese out?    i.e. not sliced American.  I don't have a problem with American cheese, but it isn't a snack cheese.  


 

[jbrinkm]

On 1/4/2023 at 5:58 PM, JMMM2323 said:

And there's not much except pizza and dessert after 9.  Is this the same on all RC ships??  Or just the one we're on??  

 

On 1/5/2023 at 10:44 AM, The Fun Researcher said:

The bigger one for me are the later night food options.  Some ships have Playmakers, which helps, but even so Royal should do better.  Late night pizza and finger sandwiches get old after a few days.

 

Add me to this club as well! We enjoy early dinner and then some entertainment, but then did not care for having only pizza as an option if we wanted a snack in the later part of the evening. Just too heavy and greasy if we were going to bed soon. And the promenade was always really crowded in those later evening hours because other things weren't open to disperse the masses. 

 

On 1/4/2023 at 6:01 PM, Oceansaway17 said:

and on rainy days, allowing folks to sit in the middle of the day to play cards or games is nice.

Yup RCI is very good a shutting and chasing folks away.   

 

I also didn't realize that the WJ was closed in the later afternoons. I remember we took my MIL with us on a cruise years ago when the kids were younger. She found a small group of Greek ladies (she's Greek) and would hang out with them all afternoon in the WJ, talking, having coffee or tea and little pastries, enjoying the view out the large windows (she had some mobility challenges from arthritis so it was hard for her to move around the ship to different locations and she couldn't do shore excursions with us). It is a nice space to sit and hang out. That makes me a little sad, that people can no longer use it as a public common space at less busy times for eating.

[mycalpal]

On 1/7/2023 at 7:58 AM, Castle25 said:

on explorer over xmas the lines for pizza at 

promenade from 3.45pm were crazy - sometimes 40 people waiting

We ran into this coming back from Shore at 3:30pm.  Windjammer was closed, not only was there a line at Cafe Promenade, there was no seating available.  We wound up paying to go to Johnny Rockets.  It was good, just surprised Explorer has nothing else on the pool deck once the WJ closed.  I remember when the Buffet was open for late lunch, afternoon tea and snacks till 5, than 4:30, 4:00pm.  Cruises since the pandemic at first was 4pm embark day, 3:30 rest of cruise.  Last three cruises it was 3pm every day.  

[mycalpal]

On 1/4/2023 at 2:58 PM, JMMM2323 said:

We are finishing up our first Royal Caribbean cruise in many years...we usually cruise with NCL and Celebrity, but it was a good deal with a good itinerary.  We've been really happy with the experience except for the times the buffet is open.  Afternoon is 11:30-3:30, then 6-9.  So, when you come back from a shore excursion mid afternoon, there's no food (except for a handful of desserts and a couple of tiny sandwiches with really long lines with one poor person trying to serve everyone or room service, which costs $8 plus a tip).    And there's not much except pizza and dessert after 9.  Is this the same on all RC ships??  Or just the one we're on??  

This is one of my few complaints with Royal.  They keep cutting the Windjammer hours.  On some larger ships, and even on some smaller ships, you may have an a couple other options.  Radiance has a Doghouse that was open till 5:30 and she had good pizza in both the WJ and Cafe.  Anthem has the 270 Cafe and a Doghouse, but these close at 5pm.  We came back from Normandy I managed to get the last roast beef sandwich from 270 before they closed, which was fine till my 2nd seating dinner, but just.  Took my first Princess cruise side by side with a b2b on Anthem and and their Buffet was open almost all of the time, plus a pool grill with made to order food and surprisingly good pizza,  When Royal adds new food options to ships they are mostly extra cost places.  Princess’s layout with a Cafe in the Centrum, but the pizza on the pool deck next to the pool grill made so much more sense.  To get pizza on most Royal ships the teens have to come down to the Esplanade/Promenade walk through the crowd and bring it back up to the pool deck.  I remember little Majesty had a better setup with Sorrento’s and Compass Deli just a few step up from the pool deck above the WJ.  Her only specialty restaurant was Johnny Rockets which we visited just for fun.  😎  

[Pellaz]

14 hours ago, mycalpal said:

When Royal adds new food options to ships they are mostly extra cost places. 

 

Royal HAS added El Loco Fresh to some older ships, and it is complimentary, but it is no match for Blue Iguana Cantina on (I think) every Carnival ship, now. 

 

14 hours ago, mycalpal said:

 

.  I remember little Majesty had a better setup with Sorrento’s and Compass Deli just a few step up from the pool deck above the WJ.  Her only specialty restaurant was Johnny Rockets which we visited just for fun.  😎  

I loved the Compass Deli on the Majesty (may she r.i.p., my first cruise ever).  It was unique; no other ship had it.  I remember the Cruise Compass saying "Rumor has it that the Captain likes to eat there," and lo and behold, he did indeed sit down behind me to enjoy a fresh panini while I was there.  🙂   

 

[ONECRUISER]

18 hours ago, mycalpal said:

We ran into this coming back from Shore at 3:30pm.  Windjammer was closed, not only was there a line at Cafe Promenade, there was no seating available.  We wound up paying to go to Johnny Rockets.  It was good, just surprised Explorer has nothing else on the pool deck once the WJ closed.  I remember when the Buffet was open for late lunch, afternoon tea and snacks till 5, than 4:30, 4:00pm.  Cruises since the pandemic at first was 4pm embark day, 3:30 rest of cruise.  Last three cruises it was 3pm every day.  

Yes, Royal did use to have Tea Time on every sailing, had cute Bong sounds on the intercom to announce was time. WJ Lunch would end at 4pm most my Cruises yrs ago when they were open all day except 11am-1130am Breakfast to Lunch and 430pm-5pm Lunch to Dinner and would stay open til 11pm. Would run in there after the Show for extra Dessert that I had in Main Dining. Shoot now most my Sailings last 5-6yrs WJ closed at 330pm and opens for Dinner short hrs of 6pm-830pm or 630pm-9pm. 

Edited yesterday at 10:21 AM by ONECRUISER