Dining Options Holiday Sailing

[foxrunner]

We are on Allure 2019 over New Years and have just listened to Matt's excellent "Royal Food Secrets" podcast. Which brings me as a first time cruiser to a few questions. I'm lucky to be travelling with my wife and 2 sons 17 and 20 Y.O. Right now we have the Key but we are not sure about keeping it, the only reason I mention it is that it provides a Chops lunch, and debarkation breakfast in the MDR. We have a traditional dinning time of 8:00 PM We wifey and I are early risers pre 6:00AM and the kids like sleep later.

Questions

1) How often  on a 7 night cruise would you eat breakfast in the MDR? I understand thanks to the great tips from the board that we can eat for free at the Windjammer, J. Rockets and the Wipe Out Cafe. We are not in a Suite. Do you tend to hit the WJ if you have an excursion ?

2) We definitely want to have dinner one night at the Hibachi with the lads. Any suggestions on the best night, we know that we need to reserve on the cruise planner precruise!

3) Wifey and I want to have one date night without the lads (they need some space too) which specialty restaurant would you choose? The list is  Gio's, Chops, Izumi, 150 C. Park, Samba, and Chef's Table(kind of pricey). We are not foodies but like well made creative food.

4) We could eat in the MDR New Years Eve or hit at about double the Specialty rate ($50PP VS $89PP) a Chops,Gio's,or 150 C. Park. Recommendations please, and yes we want the boys with us.  Is the price worth it? Will we miss a formal night in the MDR?

5) Do you dine breakfast lunch, and dinner differently on sea days vs port days? If so what are your tips.

Sorry for such a long list of questions but I looked around and didn't find these answered previously. Feel free to answer only one part if I'm asking too much.

 

[Skid]

Hello @foxrunner. Don't have answers for all questions, but here are my thoughts on some.

Yes, there are several options for complimentary breakfast. For Windjammer (I have been on other ships and I am assuming it's the same for Allure) keep in mind that they will serve you from a menu AND they also have a buffet set up in the center. So you are sure to get something to suit everyone's taste.

Windjammer's hours will be posted there and also listed on the Cruise Compass that be left in your cabin each night. Compare their opening time with your excursion meet time and plan accordingly.

We dined at 150 Central Park (on Symphony and not a holiday) and it was one of the best restaurants we've been in on both land and sea. Highly recommend. 

We had the Key on Symphony and loved it. If you were planning on purchasing the Voom internet package anyway, then the Key is that much more worthwhile. It was not advertised, but on Symphony they had an added Key benefit of not having to scan the pool towels in and out. We bypassed a lot of lines with that and didn't have to worry about any erroneous towel charges. The debarkation breakfast you mentioned was FABULOUS. For debarkation, they escort you off with the suite and star class passengers, directly to a separate luggage area. And, of course, the reserved seating at the shows are great...don't have wait 1/2 hour on line.

@JohnK6404 sailed Allure with the Key in May. Hopefully he will chime in with other information specific to that ship.

Happy sailing.

[Hoski]

Hubby and I did the Allure for our 25th anniversary and Giovanni's was our favorite.  Very nice for date night and good wine selection.

I wouldn't pay double to eat in specialty restaurant on a holiday.  I'm sure MDR will be a great experience on a holiday.  We are doing main dining for our Thanksgiving cruise.

[JohnK6404]

Hi @foxrunner !

We had the same experience with the Key as @Skid and highly recommend it if you can get it for $20-$25 AND you want the VOOM package for each of you.

Now our experience with some of your specific questions... we too were not in a suite (we had a Central Park balcony cabin)...

1) How often  on a 7 night cruise would you eat breakfast in the MDR? I understand thanks to the great tips from the board that we can eat for free at the Windjammer, J. Rockets and the Wipe Out Cafe. We are not in a Suite. Do you tend to hit the WJ if you have an excursion ?

We sailed on Allure this past May. We also enjoyed the complimentary breakfast in the Solarium Bistro... hot food, continental breakfast, fruit, etc. Much less crowded in our experience than the Windjammer (sort of a Windjammer Lite).

Also consider the Central Park Cafe on port days for a quick breakfast... not a huge selection, but they have a Bagel bar, continental breakfast including muffins and pastries, some hot breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos, etc. The Central Park Cafe also has the full blown coffee/latte/cappuccino machines (not just the usual coffee urns)! I also think the Cafe Promenade has some breakfast offerings, but we did not have the chance to check it out.

2) We definitely want to have dinner one night at the Hibachi with the lads. Any suggestions on the best night, we know that we need to reserve on the cruise planner precruise!

We had lunch in Izumi on the last full day of the cruise (sea day), but we sat at a regular table. The food was very good, not necessarily memorable like some of the other restaurants, but next time I think we'll try the Hibachi/Teppanyaki tables.

3) Wifey and I want to have one date night without the lads (they need some space too) which specialty restaurant would you choose? The list is  Gio's, Chops, Izumi, 150 C. Park, Samba, and Chef's Table(kind of pricey). We are not foodies but like well made creative food.

On this past cruise, we had Chops Grille for the Key embarkation day lunch... simply outstanding! We all enjoyed the 6 oz. Angus Filet Mignon. We have always dined at Chops Grille on prior cruises/ships for dinner and have never been disappointed. We also had Giovanni's Table for our CP balcony complimentary lunch. That was also amazing... our waiter had one of the staff run over to Chops Grille to grab the wine we discovered and enjoyed on that cruise which was not available in Giovanni's.

I hear only good things about 150 Central Park and intend to dine there on our next cruise for sure. I would go with one of those 3 options on Allure depending on your preference... 150 CP seems to be the more romantic option from what I've heard!

4) We could eat in the MDR New Years Eve or hit at about double the Specialty rate ($50PP VS $89PP) a Chops,Gio's,or 150 C. Park. Recommendations please, and yes we want the boys with us.  Is the price worth it? Will we miss a formal night in the MDR?

I'm not sure if they change the MDR menu for the holidays, but take a look at this link (I posted all 7 MDR menus from our cruise - Western Caribbean itinerary): 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/13055-mdr-menu/&tab=comments#comment-126803

If you like the Lobster night (second formal evening usually), then you may not want to skip the MDR that evening. I don't think you could go wrong with the MDR or any of those 3 specialty restaurants.

5) Do you dine breakfast lunch, and dinner differently on sea days vs port days? If so what are your tips.

On port days, we would always look for a quick early breakfast. We would make our decision depending on how early we planned/were allowed to go on shore. On the earliest day, we just ordered room service. Room service for breakfast is free if you order continental breakfast. If you order hot breakfast, then there is a flat service charge of $7.95.

We also tried the Central Park Cafe one morning and the Solarium Bistro on another day. On sea days, we went to the Windjammer, the Solarium Bistro once again, and complimentary breakfast at Johnny Rockets... the last morning was the special Key debarkation breakfast in the MDR which was excellent! We have dined in the MDR for breakfast on prior cruises, but we tend to skip the MDR on most days as we look to eat relatively quickly.

If you have any interest, here is my first blog which was from that 5/19/19 sailing on Allure: 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/12923-allure-of-the-seas-51919-52619-“semi-live”-blog/

 

Have a great time! 

[foxrunner]

12 hours ago, JohnK6404 said:

Hi @foxrunner !

If you have any interest, here is my first blog which was from that 5/19/19 sailing on Allure: 

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/12923-allure-of-the-seas-51919-52619-“semi-live”-blog/

 

Have a great time! 

I started reading your blog. It's great! Thanks for the link.

  I have a question.  When you use the key to see a show, did you have to make prior reservations, or can you just show up to the Key area?  

[JohnK6404]

6 hours ago, foxrunner said:

I started reading your blog. It's great! Thanks for the link.

  I have a question.  When you use the key to see a show, did you have to make prior reservations, or can you just show up to the Key area?  

Thanks!

You still need to make reservations to see all of the major shows on Allure (need reservations on all Oasis & Quantum class ships). I would reserve them through the Cruise Planner as soon as they become available.

You can change/modify them if needed (as long as there is still availability) up to around 2-3 days prior to sail date (the time the Cruise Planner locks you out to make or modify any purchases, reservations, etc.). In a pinch, you can also try to make changes once on board, but it will likely be more difficult to get exactly what you want.

The best part of having the Key (once you have a reservation) is you just need to show up around 15-20 minutes before the show and they will seat you in the designated reserved section. I would try not to push it closer than 15 minutes as they start to open up the remaining seats in the reserved sections to general admission about 8-10 minutes before the show starts. Make sure everyone keeps their SeaPass with them as they scan it as you enter the venue (Amber Theater, Aqua Theater, Studio B - Ice show) and they will also look for the Key sticker on the pass as they escort you to the reserved section.

 

[foxrunner]

Perfect.  Thanks for the info and response!