MNorris0107 Posted January 3, 2017 Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 how's the quality of the places that are included in the price of your cruise? I'll be on the Oasis of the Seas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 3, 2017 Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 In my experience, the complimentary food is plentiful and I've found most of the food to be somewhere between "average" to "good". There are some items that are "very good/excellent" and even fewer I'd rate as "below average". As you know, food is VERY subjective. Think of how many people hate broccoli versus others that love it. To that point, you can find plenty of folks that enjoy or dislike the food onboard. Personally, I think the complimentary food is good and I enjoy eating in the main dining room each evening. The quality and variety of food in the Windjammer (especially for dinner) is also quite impressive. WHStoneman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted January 4, 2017 Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 It really depends on your expectations, butt generally speaking most people are fine with the included dining options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 4, 2017 Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 I am one who rarely pays the upcharge to dine at specialty restaurants. I find the MDR food to be very good. I think they do a very good job of making the selections varied enough so that most can find something. The best part is...you can try as much of it as you want ! There are many nights when Dan and I will just eat appetizers and no main course or 2 main courses and no appetizers. We often get a third main course to share if we just want to taste something. We just got back from 11 nights on NAV and we ate at Sabor and Izumi for dinner and Giovanni's and Johnny Rockets for lunch...the rest of the meals were all from the MDR. I am not a fan of the Windjammer (or any buffet, for that matter) so we steer clear of there but all other meals were in the MDR. We ate breakfast most mornings in Chops, which is a perk for Suites guests. One warning - steer clear of the scrambled eggs. They are noxious powdered eggs unless you get lucky and find a place that will serve you a real egg. That's why we always ate the Suites b'fast at Chops. At least you can get a real egg there. Everything else is at least passable (from the MDR)...but not the eggs. MNorris0107 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted January 4, 2017 Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 One reason to go with the specialty restaurants is dietary restrictions. We're eating dinners only in the specialty restaurants this week as we find them better able to accommodate dietary restrictions on the fly than the main dining room. We opted add paid for this after having a less than stellar main dining experience on the Serenade over the summer. Others, however, have reported better experiences in the main dining room with dietary restrictions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted January 4, 2017 Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 While I haven't done Oasis, I have done a few cruises and never spent the $ for a specialty restaurant yet. I have splurged for Johnny Rockets, but that's it!...lol There is lots of food, lots of choices and lots of good options included in your fare. I have never gone hungry or been disappointed...if anything I have to hold myself back from overdoing it on the food.......as for the booze, I don't hold myself back on that on the cruise..ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatMe Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 I agree with Matt. We were recently on Allure & I found the included food options to be fair to good (leaning towards good). We particularly enjoyed breakfast at Johnny Rockets. Wipe out cafe and the main dining room also had good breakfasts, both of which do cook to order omelets. Because we enjoy the "tradition" of traditional dining in the MDR, we only choose to eat dinner in a specialty restaurant once per cruise. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arebee Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 If you get a chance go to the dog house on the board walk. Its free and they have some good hotdogs. FloatMe and MNorris0107 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 One warning - steer clear of the scrambled eggs. They are noxious powdered eggs unless you get lucky and find a place that will serve you a real egg. That's why we always ate the Suites b'fast at Chops. At least you can get a real egg there. Everything else is at least passable (from the MDR)...but not the eggs. I do agree about this. Never eat the scrambled eggs. Order eggs from the omelet station or MDR, where it is custom made. DeeSquared and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsbrady Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 I always found the specialty dining great. There is an additional cost, but if you were to go to a restaurant on land the meal that you get in a specialty dining venue would cost hundreds of dollars. The way I see it Im getting a $200 meal for $40. Always worth it at least once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNorris0107 Posted January 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Thanks everyone! I'm use to be an expert at many places but this is my first cruise since 1992 and that was a high school graduation cruise on Carnival haha.So should I go ahead and start booking the complimentary dinners? Or can I? Our cruise is June 4-11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNorris0107 Posted January 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 And second question...do you eat in the main dining area every night or should I choose something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 So should I go ahead and start booking the complimentary dinners? Or can I? Our cruise is June 4-11. Unless you are in My Time Dining, there's nothing to book ahead of time, in terms of complimentary meals. And second question...do you eat in the main dining area every night or should I choose something else? Unless I am eating in a specialty restaurant, I eat in the MDR for dinner. To me, it is a big piece of the cruise experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNorris0107 Posted January 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Unless you are in My Time Dining, there's nothing to book ahead of time, in terms of complimentary meals. Unless I am eating in a specialty restaurant, I eat in the MDR for dinner. To me, it is a big piece of the cruise experience. Thanks. We are listed as my time. I was worried that 5:30 was too early on excursion days and 8 might be too late haha. But I'll take your advice on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Thanks. We are listed as my time. Ah, ok. Since you are My Time Dining, I'd recommend reading this guide to MTD: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/06/04/what-you-need-know-about-royal-caribbeans-my-time-dining MNorris0107 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarney Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 Never eat the scrambled eggs. I'll correct this for you: Never eat the scrambled "eggs". WAAAYTOOO and Matt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarney Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 If you are new to cruising Royal Caribbean, for your first cruise just stick with the Main Dining Room (MDR). After a couple of meals you'll know what the food is like, then at that point you can decide if you want to try one of the upsell restaurants, and then you can book it when you are on the ship. My wife and I were completely happy with the MDR food for over ten cruises, then one cruise we tried Chops. I really liked it (loved it would be too strong a word). On another cruise we tried the now defunct Portofinos, and LOVED IT. We did Izumi for lunch, and it was...meh. Might try it for dinner some day. We keep booking Giovanni's Table, and Fate just won't let us dine there - on our last cruise, they didn't have enough room for our 2 kids to join us, and on our next cruise RC has cancelled my ENTIRE CRUISE, TWICE, for no logical reason (sorry, a little frustrated about this right now), so I stopped re-booking the reservation until RC's accounting department gets it's head out of it's backside. My point is, stick to the MDR until you get to the point where you really want something different. Then at that point, book onboard, spontaneously, and enjoy the surprise. :) MNorris0107 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNorris0107 Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 Ah, ok. Since you are My Time Dining, I'd recommend reading this guide to MTD: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/06/04/what-you-need-know-about-royal-caribbeans-my-time-dining I think I'm going to call RC and switch to Traditional dining! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted January 8, 2017 Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 I think I'm going to call RC and switch to Traditional dining! I, for one, love MTD because of the flexibility of offers and send to be a faster dining experience overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNorris0107 Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 I, for one, love MTD because of the flexibility of offers and send to be a faster dining experience overall. It's our first cruise (well I went on once when I was 18 but that was 24 years ago) so I figured I'd try to give it the old "traditional" route first haha. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 9, 2017 Report Share Posted January 9, 2017 It's our first cruise (well I went on once when I was 18 but that was 24 years ago) so I figured I'd try to give it the old "traditional" route first haha. I prefer traditional dining, but I freely admit I like the old style of dining. It takes longer, is a bit more regimented, but that's all okay with me. DocLC and bcarney 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christie Posted January 10, 2017 Report Share Posted January 10, 2017 So many great complimentary dining options on Oasis. Don't miss out on the kummelweck sandwiches at Park cafe. I would say if you decide to do dinner once in a specialty dining restaurant, check on 150 Central Park. It's unique to an Oasis class ship (we always try to do the unique things) and it's a true experience. You'd pay $150+ for something similar on land DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christie Posted January 10, 2017 Report Share Posted January 10, 2017 For what it's worth... we just got off a cruise where specialty dining was included in our fare. So, we ate at a lot of specialty dining on Anthem and the other nights in Coastal Kitchen. On the last night, we just weren't feeling up to another long and huge meal, so we went to one of the MDR restaurants. Dare I say it was the best meal we had the entire week? I also find the service to be better in the MDR than in the specialty dining. I don't think you'll be disappointed. MNorris0107 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toodle68 Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 When we cruised on Majesty we ate in Windjammer several times and enjoyed it.. but on our recent trip on Liberty we avoided the place. We went with MTD and loved the flexibility. We booked a time when we knew for sure and just went down other times. We just found it hard to commit to a set time when you really do not know what you might be doing during the day or what time you will eat lunch. We did learn not to use MTD after 7pm... every time we left there were long lines waiting. We tried chops for the first time this cruise and whilst the food was good, it was not worth the extra $35 per person. If you were allowed to order/try two steaks, then maybe.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 Is this true for anyone in a suite? Having breakfast at Chops is what I'm referring to. We are on the Enchantment of the Seas in a Junior Suite and I'd like to take advantage of that if it is offered to us. Is it only for Crown/Anchor members? Is that an extra fee? Thank you for your help. I am one who rarely pays the upcharge to dine at specialty restaurants. I find the MDR food to be very good. I think they do a very good job of making the selections varied enough so that most can find something. The best part is...you can try as much of it as you want ! There are many nights when Dan and I will just eat appetizers and no main course or 2 main courses and no appetizers. We often get a third main course to share if we just want to taste something. We just got back from 11 nights on NAV and we ate at Sabor and Izumi for dinner and Giovanni's and Johnny Rockets for lunch...the rest of the meals were all from the MDR. I am not a fan of the Windjammer (or any buffet, for that matter) so we steer clear of there but all other meals were in the MDR. We ate breakfast most mornings in Chops, which is a perk for Suites guests. One warning - steer clear of the scrambled eggs. They are noxious powdered eggs unless you get lucky and find a place that will serve you a real egg. That's why we always ate the Suites b'fast at Chops. At least you can get a real egg there. Everything else is at least passable (from the MDR)...but not the eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 Is this true for anyone in a suite? Having breakfast at Chops is what I'm referring to. We are on the Enchantment of the Seas in a Junior Suite and I'd like to take advantage of that if it is offered to us. Is it only for Crown/Anchor members? Is that an extra fee? Thank you for your help. Kim, I do not believe it has anything to do with your Crown & Anchor status. I believe the full service b'fast in a specialty restaurant (I think it might be Giovanni's on some ships. It's always been Chops on any ship I've sailed on, but that isn't absolute) is a function of being in a suite. HOWEVER, I also believe that you must be in a Grand Suite or higher (gold card holder) in order to have this service. Now....on some ships, I've heard that they offer a paid service for b'fast in Chops. I can't remember which ship (Liberty, maybe ??). IIRC (and lord knows, I probably don't !), I believe the cost for eating b'fast in Chops was $10 PP but don't hold me to that. I might be wrong. That service has never been offered on any ship I've sailed on but I have heard that some ships offer this service, for a fee. There are 2 perks that justify the cost of a full suite, to me. #1 is the full service b'fast in Chops. #2 is being able to order room service from the MDR menu (as opposed to the room service menu, which is very limited). Do you think it's a coincidence that my top 2 perks both have to do with food ? NAH ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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