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Royal Caribbean surveys guests on possible new main dining room menu

In:
25 Nov 2022
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Could this be what the next version of Royal Caribbean's main dining room menu looks like?

Royal Caribbean sent past guests an email survey with options for a new main dining room menu, and asked them for feedback.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Shannon Apodaca shared screenshots from the survey, which asked a variety of questions regarding the main dining room experience.

The example menu is for a French night theme, and it features both a new layout and new choices on the menu.

The survey then asked for ratings of each dish and how appealing they were to the respondent. 

Also included in the survey were questions about the main dining room experience overall, such as:

  • How many minutes is too short, just right, and too long for dinner in the main dining room?
  • What proportion of the menu would you prefer to contain familiar vs new dishes?

Then the survey asked for the top 3 things you look for in the menu items:

  • Wide variety of dishes
  • Lots of dishes to choose from
  • Familiar items
  • Healthy options
  • New items I've never had
  • Easy to understand descriptions
  • Small portions
  • Listing of all ingredients in each dish
  • Sourcing of ingredients
  • Exotic options

Next was a question about top 3 things in particular do you look for in the service of the main dining room:

  • Gets to know me
  • Anticipates my needs
  • Doses not rush my service
  • Offers suggestions
  • Quick Service
  • Friendly staff
  • Bring samples to try
  • Goes above and beyond
  • Provides detailed description of menu items
  • Refills drinks promptly
  • Same server each night

Finally, it asked for guests to share the ideal main dining room atmosphere, in terms of lighting, table settings, music, silverware and more.

Following up on ship testing

Symphony of the Seas sailing away

This survey is being conducted in conjunction with a real-world example of the new menu taking place on Symphony of the Seas.

As we reported first, Royal Caribbean has changed the main dining room menu on only Symphony of the Seas to trial out the new menu.

Thanks to Thomas Napolitano for providing these menus

The new menu layout is part of the test, along with a change in the lobster portions provided.

Royal Caribbean says the impetus for making the change is for the guest experience in an effort to simplify the dining room menu, which would allow the service to speed up.

In short, Royal Caribbean is looking for a way to make the dinner experience in the main dining room more predictable and efficient.


Matt started Royal Caribbean Blog in 2010 as a place to share his passion for all things Royal Caribbean with readers. He oversees all the writers at Royal Caribbean Blog, and writes a great deal of content on a daily basis.  He has become one of the foremost expert on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Over the years, he has reached Pinnacle Club status with Royal Caribbean's customer loyalty program.

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