WJ open past 9pm - Would this be a draw for you?

[The Fun Researcher]

18 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

There was tons of wasted Food and Cruises were more expensive 30-35yrs ago, even with recent price increases still cheaper now

No arguing that,

 

...but please Royal give me more or better late night options, even if it means paying. (within reason...)

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

No arguing that,

 

...but please Royal give me more or better late night options, even if it means paying. (within reason...)

Agree 100%

[Toddcan]

To be honest, even if the food offerings were pre-packaged or otherwise less prone to waste, I would not mind.  Part of the draw would be a quiet place to sit with a group and catch up.  So, sipping on ice water, while munching on an apple, or bag of chips while sitting around a much less crowded WJ sounds pretty cool to me, and would be one in the "win" column in my books that might affect the bigger cruise decision for our next sailing. 

[kirtihk]

On 1/8/2024 at 8:26 AM, lovesthebeach2 said:

We’ve gone up a few times just before 9 to get water or a cookie and there’s hardly anyone in there and so much food is wasted. They have to throw out everything that’s leftover. Over time it probably costs them more than it’s worth, plus they would need extra staff there.  Theres usually always a place to get water, and pizza or other snacks. We sometimes bring cookies or breadsticks to our cabin for late night snacks, so for us, we don’t need it open late.

It’s already leftover by 9pm, anyhow.  So, there is no guilt for “Save the Earth” at that point of no return…

[Ocean Boy]

5 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

My personal observation is over time passengers have become more health conscious. This has resulted in a much smaller demand for food later at night and eliminated cruise staples from years ago like the midnight buffet. At the same time I see way more people in the gym these days. In the past it was the exception when the gym was crowded at any time of day. Now it is the opposite and the gym is usually fairly crowded no matter what time of day you go and regardless of whether it is a sea or port day. I wouldn’t say this is the only reason for changes but I do think it is a big part of it. 

Yeah, more health conscious. I guess that is the reason RCI manages to sell those drink packages for the prices they are asking.

[Mum2Mercury]

3 hours ago, Toddcan said:

To be honest, even if the food offerings were pre-packaged or otherwise less prone to waste, I would not mind.  Part of the draw would be a quiet place to sit with a group and catch up.  So, sipping on ice water, while munching on an apple, or bag of chips while sitting around a much less crowded WJ sounds pretty cool to me, and would be one in the "win" column in my books that might affect the bigger cruise decision for our next sailing. 

Sounds like you want a quiet place, and the food is secondary.  Have you considered the library or (depending upon the ship) the card room?  You can always pick up snacks earlier.  Personally, we like to keep cheese, crackers and fruit in our room.  Or even ask for an Artisinal Cheese Platter (MDR dessert) to go.  

[The Fun Researcher]

5 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

My personal observation is over time passengers have become more health conscious. This has resulted in a much smaller demand for food later at night and eliminated cruise staples from years ago like the midnight buffet. At the same time I see way more people in the gym these days. In the past it was the exception when the gym was crowded at any time of day. Now it is the opposite and the gym is usually fairly crowded no matter what time of day you go and regardless of whether it is a sea or port day. I wouldn’t say this is the only reason for changes but I do think it is a big part of it. 

I haven’t noticed a shift towards more healthy eating, or more working out, in the past 12 years we’ve been sailing.  

[LobsterStalker]

7 hours ago, Toddcan said:

 Kinda... but that's not exactly what I meant.  I'm sure we all pick a cruise line, or a cruise ship for a combination of different reasons.  While I don't believe that the buffet open after 9pm is a deal breaker, it might be enough of a factor (in combination with the other reasons you use to pick your cruieline) to be a contributor.  

Although it's not to some who have responded to this thread , (to remain nameless as they know who they are ) , It should be common sense that EVERY factor could influence someones decision on where to spend their hard earned dollars . Though this issue is certainly not a dealbreaker either way for me , It can and has sparked an interesting discussion . 

Why some on a cruise (DISCUSSION forum) feel the need to over criticize blows my mind a bit ! 

 

Cheers ...and happy cruising !

[cynt]

We usually select late dining so we are just finishing dinner around 830/9pm. So we are not hungry or need a snack late at night. We are barely able to roll to whatever late show and hit the club or casino for a little bit. We make it back to our cabin around 12/1am and we are still full from dinner. We keep our water bottles full so no need for us to stop and get water. 

 

For those wanting late night snacks, are you normally a snacker? Just wondering. We are snackers but with late dinning we are too stuffed to snack late at night. We might have an adult beverage or two or three but that's about it. 

[The Fun Researcher]

2 hours ago, cynt said:

We usually select late dining so we are just finishing dinner around 830/9pm. So we are not hungry or need a snack late at night. We are barely able to roll to whatever late show and hit the club or casino for a little bit. We make it back to our cabin around 12/1am and we are still full from dinner. We keep our water bottles full so no need for us to stop and get water. 

 

For those wanting late night snacks, are you normally a snacker? Just wondering. We are snackers but with late dinning we are too stuffed to snack late at night. We might have an adult beverage or two or three but that's about it. 

I’m a late night snacker but not a day snacker.  We do early MDR seating which has gotten really early on Royal due to how they are handling My Time Dining now.

 

So yeah after a few drinks I’m really looking for some protein and salty snacks before bed around midnight to 1am.  It’s just my thing.  👍🏼

[Ocean Boy]

8 hours ago, cynt said:

 

For those wanting late night snacks, are you normally a snacker? Just wondering. We are snackers but with late dinning we are too stuffed to snack late at night. We might have an adult beverage or two or three but that's about it. 

I'm not sure it really matters. Many people do a lot of things on vacation that they don't typically do in everyday life. They eat differently, drink differently, engage in different activities, change the amount of sleep that they get, etc. I'm sure this all plays a role in the appearance of ambulances on piers to meet cruise ships.

[Mum2Mercury]

12 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

I haven’t noticed a shift towards more healthy eating, or more working out, in the past 12 years we’ve been sailing.  

In my daily life -- compared to a couple decades ago -- I see more people who are heating healthy, exercising more, and (maybe unrelated) being more planet-conscious.  But I don't see those things on cruises.  

3 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'm not sure it really matters. Many people do a lot of things on vacation that they don't typically do in everyday life. They eat differently, drink differently, engage in different activities, change the amount of sleep that they get, etc. I'm sure this all plays a role in the appearance of ambulances on piers to meet cruise ships.

Absolutely true. Vacation behavior isn't the same as daily behavior.  

[SUgwoz]

Looking at Aquadome Marketplace hours on Icon, they will be open from 9pm-12am nightly.

[HBE4]

14 hours ago, cynt said:

For those wanting late night snacks, are you normally a snacker? Just wondering.

 

5 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'm not sure it really matters. Many people do a lot of things on vacation that they don't typically do in everyday life. They eat differently, drink differently, engage in different activities, change the amount of sleep that they get, etc. I'm sure this all plays a role in the appearance of ambulances on piers to meet cruise ships.

 

2 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Absolutely true. Vacation behavior isn't the same as daily behavior.  

 

This describes me. Normal home life I usually don't snack at night except for occasional sharing of popcorn while watching a movie.

 

But on a cruise, I stay up later & burn more calories doing all the various night time activities such as shows, dance parties, casino, etc. Hence the late night hunger.

[PhillyFan33579]

22 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

In my daily life -- compared to a couple decades ago -- I see more people who are heating healthy, exercising more, and (maybe unrelated) being more planet-conscious.  But I don't see those things on cruises. 

My experience has been completely different. I always go to the gym every day on a cruise, with a few exceptions on embarkation day over the years. Approximately 5-6 years ago there were never more than 8-10 people in the gym no matter what time of day I went. These days the gym is always crowded no matter what time of day I go. On smaller ships like Grandeur there are always at least a few dozen people in the gym while the 3 times I have been on Wonder in the past year there have been as many as 50 people in there at the same time. I have only been on 17 RCI cruises since December 2022, so I know my observations are statistically insignificant. But my guess is what I have experienced is more the norm than the exception. 

[breathesgelatin]

On 1/11/2024 at 10:32 AM, TwoMisfits said:

 

I can totally see parents with kids leaving kids program at 10pm and being shocked they can't pick up a treat and drink for their now-starving kid at the buffet.  In fact, I am surprised WJ isn't open til 10:30pm, just for that...I mean, if it's a family line, 5pm kid dinner is pretty early and then they don't serve food in the kids' room, I don't think...

 

I say this as one, who in days past Carnival, Disney and even Royal cruises, may have been the parent sitting at a buffet from 9:30-10:30pm with a kid and a brownie or soft serve ice cream and a glass of water or milk...

 

This exactly! We just finished our very first cruise, ever, on Harmony. We have a 15 year old and a 6 year old. Having better options for the 6 year old after she got out of late night kids club (we usually picked her up around 9:15/9:30pm) and late night food in general for the teen would have been better. The teen has pretty basic taste in stuff, and really liked going to late night Sorrento's, but having a few more options with her late would have been nice. We had early dining, which is SO early on some ships now (5pm) and teen cannot always be relied on to eat enough there not to get hungry later. And going for a late night dessert as a family is fun too. Lack of late night options is actually one of my very few complaints about this first cruise.