DAVE(Darkcabbie)

Not just back either, but sailed Oasis of the Seas in December of 2012, reunion cruise of 10 people from Michigan, Arizona, California, and Illinois. Had an outstanding time. So many entertainment, activity, and dining options onboard Oasis. I could pack my bags, get onboard and never leave! The ship still looks brand new, the crew was always happy and willing to help when needed. Our dining room staff was amazing, as always. Stops included St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau. Having been to these ports multiple times, I didn't find anything I hadn't seen before. Except for that naked Orient Beach we stopped at on St. Maarten!  :ph34r:
 
Overall great cruise and I can't wait to go back!

Not just back, but did Honolulu-Vancouver Crossing in May on Rhapsoday. 2 nights in Honolulu, 5 addition nights in the islands, 5 nights at sea crossing with a port day at Victoria. She does the reverse reposition in the Fall. Fabulous trip, highly recommend! Great Hawaii ports, great ship & crew, love the sea days(a little rough a couple of days) & Victoria is one of those places like San Francisco that is always exciting.

Awesome podcast Matt. Great detail on the various specialty restaurants.

I subscribed sraight away and I am looking forward to listening to all your future podcasts.

Listen here: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-2-specialty-restaurants#.UguqCZK1EaB
 
Welcome to the Royal Caribbean Blog podcast, a weekly look into the world of Royal Caribbean cruising.  I’m your host, Matt Hochberg and this is episode number 2.  
 
This week, let’s take a look at one of the biggest areas of change across Royal Caribbean’s fleet of ships: the specialty restaurants. In my opinion, the dining aspect for the Royal Caribbean passenger has changed the most over the last ten years or so and it continues to become more and more of a focal point when going on a cruise.  Let’s look at the role specialty restaurants offer guests now, the various options to choose from and where dining aboard Royal Caribbean is going in the future.  
 
Of course, we’re going to have talk about our favorite places to eat as well.  And before this episode is over, I’m going to share with all of you some of the amazing feedback I've received from all of you. 
 
Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...
Twitter: @therclblog Facebook: /royalcaribbeanblog Email: [email protected] Leave a voicemail: (408) 6ROYAL6

Listen here: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-5-freedom-of-the-seas
 
On this week’s show, we’re going to look at one of Royal Caribbean’s most popular ships, Freedom of the Seas.  Having sailed on Freedom a number of times, I know first hand just how great this ship is and I’ve invited my friend Mike Rahlmann to join me to talk everything Freedom of the Seas.  
 
We’re sharing our favorite spots on board, the fun things to do on board and discuss where she sails.  I have lots more of your listener feedback to share as well. 
 
Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...
Twitter: @therclblog Facebook: /royalcaribbeanblog Email: [email protected] Leave a voicemail: (408) 6ROYAL6

haha That is what I told her. I told everyone that she really ordered two, even though she didn't. She would never eat two desserts, however, I would!  :D

Curious about Desserts from Chops Grille? 
 
This is Passion Fruit Mousse. So good and so light.

 
The waiter brought my wife the wrong dessert, but insisted she keep it along with the right dessert. We had a good laugh about it!

Ok Don, this is for you. Here I am with my tiramisu from Portofino on my birthday cruise in 2010 on Freedom of the Seas.
 

Thanks Matt , great reviews. Glad im going in the gym every day otherwise I may get harpooned as I leave the ship :) .

If it helps, here are reviews for both restaurants
 
Giovannis: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2010/08/09/restaurant-review-giovannis-table
Portofino: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2013/03/12/restaurant-review-portofino

You have picked a great first cruise , I love all three of those places. The sail out of St Thomas in the evening is fab. Just as the sun is setting and the town lights up its gorgeous.  
I guarantee this won't be your last cruise once you've done one you'll be hooked :)
 
My wife and I are going on the independence round the Canaries in October and this will be our first Royal Caribbean Cruise and thanks to all the info from the great bunch of people on this blog I think that RC will be our cruise line for quite some time.

My cruise (Eastern Caribbean, 7 days) will visit the Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maartin on November 2. Never been to either and have not ever been on a cruise before. Oasis of the Seas is the ship.

Haha that is great! Ok, so that means you have to eat at Giovanni's Table so you can try the tiramisu. I will say, the tiramisu in the main dining room, which is traditionally served on Italian night (don't remember what the name for that night is on the menu - every night's menu has a different name to it) is pretty good too!
 
LOL Sorry Don. I'm just passionate about cruising and dessert!  ;) What ship are you going on next?

Nice! I hope you come to enjoy cruising with Royal Caribbean as much as the rest of us.  For me, I really love the balance Royal Caribbean offers of good prices and good service.

Yes we started cruising in 2001 and have sailed with Carnival & P&O (never again with P&O they were terrible) mainly around the Caribbean. So now we are trying and really looking forward to RC and infact we are already considering 2 more with RC that we have our eye on from Southampton.
 
Trust me if they bring a dish full of tiramisu near us its ours, my wife has a black belt in FOODJITSU and her Jedi mind tricks are better than Obi Wan Kenobi . :)

Yes we started cruising in 2001 and have sailed with Carnival & P&O (never again with P&O they were terrible) mainly around the Caribbean. So now we are trying and really looking forward to RC and infact we are already considering 2 more with RC that we have our eye on from Southampton.
 
Trust me if they bring a dish full of tiramisu near us its ours, my wife has a black belt in FOODJITSU and her Jedi mind tricks are better than Obi Wan Kenobi . :)

Portofino has the most amazing tiramisu that comes in a edible chocolate cup and a shot of bailey's and something else. It is so good. I did not eat at Giovanni's Table while on Oasis but I did see their dessert cart. OMG! The tiramisu at Giovanni's is in this huge serving dish and they scoop it out on a plate for you. I could have just grabbed it and ran back to my stateroom with the whole serving dish!  :ph34r:

OK, knock it off with the dessert descriptions-- next cruise is thirty days away & that's a long time for your mouth to water!

While I don't know if there is a "take out" option, I'm sure you can take the tray with food on it back to your room. People kart food all over the ship from the Windjammer, so I don't see how there would be any difference. You would just have to let your waiter know your intentions. There might be some restrictions since it is a for fee restaurant. 

I almost always order multiple entrees and appetizers.  I love trying different foods and cruising is a big part of that

I think Tyler80 has a point because with more and more great things being put on board the ships sometimes you just don't want to get off and that's why I hope that RC start to do a regular Transatlantic Cruise from Southampton because you would get 7 great nights non stop , time in New york & 7 nights back non stop. That would be awesome.
 
But I do want to see a lot more places like Alaska , South Pacific , the Panama Canal etc so destination will still come in to it some of the time.

Europe is such an odd market.  Royal Caribbean put a lot of their eggs in the European basket and got burned in last few years with less revenue than they expected so they pulled a lot back.  And now it looks like Anthem is going to Europe and I agree with Tyler I wouldn't be shocked to see an Oasis-class ship there either in the near future.

You can order from the regular room service menu or from the main dining room menu.  It's definitely a great option if you want to enjoy an evening in your stateroom, especially balconies or suites.

From my experience you can order anything for dinner to eat on your balcony. Just realize that you need to get your order in early because during peak dining hours all the staff is utilized for all the restaurants onboard, so you'll need to be on the schedule for dinner delivery. I ordered room service once and there as a 2 hour wait.