Wonderland Dining

[LovetoCruise87]

My wife and I are considering having dinner one night during our Harmony cruise in September. Has anyone eaten there? If so, how was it?

[Neaxan]

We loved Wonderland on Symphony and are planning to do it twice on our next cruise. You should be a bit adventurous as they don't serve your run-of-the-mill food - it's just as advertised - imaginative cuisine. It's also helpful if you like seafood because quite a few of the appetizers are seafood. As for chosing what to eat, we let our waitress decide and it worked out great for us.

If you want some ideas what to expect here's our first experience in Wonderland:

 

[Ampurp85]

I did Wonderland on Harmony. The food is ........frou frou in my opinion. But the experience is wonderful. It will be an 2hr affair and you will get dinner and a show. I feel like the menu is more seafood based, especially when it comes to appetizers, and you need to go in with an open mind. My travel companions had most of the apps and enjoyed them.

For my entree(s) I got the chicken and the egg, which was a piece of chicken with mashed potatoes and other purees shaped like eggs. I also got the short rib which looks pretty funky with its plating and purees but was the best short rib I have had across the fleet. We got all the desserts to try and while most will rave about the world, I don't like caramel, so I skipped that one and enjoyed the mystical mushroom Garden. Also try the Chesire cat Cosmo, major delish!

I would say if you have the UDP, definitely go. If you like molecular gastronomy, go. If you like your food to look frou frou, go. But if this is the only specialty restaurant you are booking and you really care about taste over beauty, on Harmony do Jamie's or 150CP instead. 

[MelKaps]

If you have strict dietary restrictions, I recommend skipping. My husband loved it, but I left hungry since the food and experience wasn't for me. We are giving Wonderland a second try this year, but I think I'll eat beforehand to be safe, plus I know what to expect now.

[Swar]

We did Wonderland once. The "show" was ok, but the food was not to our taste. I wish they would replace all Wonderlands with a Mason Jar or Hooked. 

[SpicyCherry]

We first tried Wonderland on either Allure or Anthem. It was an exciting experience so we were eager to try it again while currently on Symphony. Sadly it was not the same experience. I think the difference was that on the previous ship, the furniture as well as the staff’s wardrobe was much more fantastical. We really felt like we were ‘down the rabbit hole’!! Our latest dinner there, everyone(the staff, that is) was dressed exactly the same and the furnishings weren’t as extravagant.  Moreover, our waiter, while nice, was trying too hard and we couldn’t understand a word he was saying. One can only say: ‘Excuse me’ and ‘Huh’ but so many times before giving up. Now the food was good although maybe a bit of an acquired taste. My overall take is that it should absolutely be done at least once but is much like the Bionic Bar: Once you’ve seen it, there’s not a really good reason to go back. IMHO of course.

[SPS]

We ate at Wonderland on Odyssey this past January and we very much enjoyed it. Even with my wife's dietary restriction (gluten/wheat allergy) the meal was quite satisfying and the presentation of each course and the signature cocktails was entertaining and fun.

It was definitely something that should be experienced at least once. (FYI: "The World" dessert is amazing! Chocolate ball filled with salted caramel ice cream, peanut butter, and chocolate mousse. Then hot caramel is poured over the ball, melting the chocolate to reveal it's contents)

Liquid Lobster, Tomato Water (without the bread foam on hers), and Reconstructed Caprese.

Sashimi of Red and White Tuna

The Chicken and the Egg (Crispy skin chicken with potato puree "eggs")

The Rib "I" Luscious Short Rib

The Bird's Nest (Deviled Eggs with Bleu Cheese and Hot Sauce on a "Nest" of Wheat)

[Neesa]

For those who have dined here previously, can it still be enjoyable with a shellfish allergy? I react when ingesting not if it just touches a plate. I always say no when it comes to the allergy question because of all of the drama it entails. I have lived with this forever and monitor my meals quite closely without making a production of it. BUT in this case I think with all of the deconstruction going on I might have to tell them, thoughts? My daughter really wants to dine here we have our Lift & Shift 31 July on the Harmony where I have since booked it, I'm thinking just to pick and then go up to #CK later.  @Swar? @Ampurp85 Should I use the allergy as an excuse to skip it? 

[Ampurp85]

4 hours ago, Neesa said:

For those who have dined here previously, can it still be enjoyable with a shellfish allergy? I react when ingesting not if it just touches a plate. I always say no when it comes to the allergy question because of all of the drama it entails. I have lived with this forever and monitor my meals quite closely without making a production of it. BUT in this case I think with all of the deconstruction going on I might have to tell them, thoughts? My daughter really wants to dine here we have our Lift & Shift 31 July on the Harmony where I have since booked it, I'm thinking just to pick and then go up to #CK later.  @Swar? @Ampurp85 Should I use the allergy as an excuse to skip it? 

There are enough non-seafood main courses to still enjoy, and I believe everyone should try it once, if they have the UDP or are Star class. You might not be able to do many of the apps because of this, I ordered the mac and cheese fries off the children's menu as my app. The short rib is good enough for a visit, plus they have good drinks and desserts, so it won't be a wasted trip on your behalf.

[Kirsten]

We did it in 2019 with our (then) 5 and 7 year olds.  They are picky eaters but it was a fun experience.  I believe we had bought the 3 night dining package and our kids were free or very inexpensive, so it was worth it.  They really loved the atmosphere: large and/or decorative chairs, eclectic silverware, interesting presentation of food, etc.

[JennyB]

On 5/11/2022 at 2:24 PM, Neesa said:

For those who have dined here previously, can it still be enjoyable with a shellfish allergy? I react when ingesting not if it just touches a plate. I always say no when it comes to the allergy question because of all of the drama it entails. I have lived with this forever and monitor my meals quite closely without making a production of it. BUT in this case I think with all of the deconstruction going on I might have to tell them, thoughts? My daughter really wants to dine here we have our Lift & Shift 31 July on the Harmony where I have since booked it, I'm thinking just to pick and then go up to #CK later.  @Swar? @Ampurp85 Should I use the allergy as an excuse to skip it? 

I follow a YouTube couple who did Wonderland in the past and the husband has some sort of "water animal" allergy and was able to still enjoy it.

[ChanaC]

Does anyone know if The World dessert could be made without peanuts? I think it's a peanut butter cake it sits on, so would it be able to be replaced by something else? I also hate to make a big deal about it because it's not an allergy, it's just that someone I'm traveling with really hates peanuts and peanut butter but still wants to try it. Or is it possible to kind of eat around the peanut part (like maybe just the ice cream and chocolate)? If not I guess they will have to settle with the other desserts.

[Spang1974]

On 5/16/2022 at 11:49 PM, ChanaC said:

Does anyone know if The World dessert could be made without peanuts? I think it's a peanut butter cake it sits on, so would it be able to be replaced by something else? I also hate to make a big deal about it because it's not an allergy, it's just that someone I'm traveling with really hates peanuts and peanut butter but still wants to try it. Or is it possible to kind of eat around the peanut part (like maybe just the ice cream and chocolate)? If not I guess they will have to settle with the other desserts.

Doesn't like peanut butter! I don't know if I could be friends with that kind of negativity, LoL Seriously though, you have The World and they can have the other desserts

[AshleyDillo]

On 5/16/2022 at 6:49 PM, ChanaC said:

Or is it possible to kind of eat around the peanut part (like maybe just the ice cream and chocolate)? If not I guess they will have to settle with the other desserts.

If it's not an allergy then eating around it should be fine. Everything kind of melts in a gooey mess since it gets hit with hot caramel. It's so rich that a few bites is enough for anyone anyways!

[D Alt]

can we order multiple dishes as if it was the MDR or is there a restriction? 

[Ampurp85]

1 hour ago, D Alt said:

can we order multiple dishes as if it was the MDR or is there a restriction? 

No restrictions.....only your tummy

[ChanaC]

Just went on the Quantum and tried Wonderland for the first time.

The appetizers/small bites/starters were amazing. I particularly loved the tomato water, the egg, and the tuna in the lime, and my mom loved the liquid lobster. It is weird how you don't get all the options on the menu. Our waitress said she would pick everything for us, but she didn't ask what kind of stuff we liked, just if we had allergies. Is it just that the kitchen only makes some of the items and that's what they serve? Or do you get more when you are with a larger party (there were only two of us)? Maybe some options like the baby vegetables are left for people who have allergies or are vegetarians? In researching for it I don't think I've even ever seen a picture of the wonton soup, does it even really exist?

The main dishes were also excellent. We got the branzino and halibut and split both and they were some of the best fish dishes I've ever had. I would cover the mushroom sauce from the halibut on every dish I ever ate if I could. As a note, since we ordered two fish entrees I would have thought that would be a signal to the waitress to bring out more fish starters (like the sashimi) but I guess that's not how it works.

The desserts definitely looked better than they tasted. I mentioned before that I was traveling with someone who doesn't like peanuts but we both enjoyed The World, she just didn't dig too much into it. It was very rich. The other two... well they are pretty. Admittedly we're both not fans of raspberry either, which is the center filling of the apple dessert. We tried a bit but it wasn't for us. I wish it had an apple flavor! The mushroom one was fine, but there is only so much mousse you can eat. The meringue on ours was rock hard and I couldn't even cut into the bottom bits of the mushroom. We didn't leave super full, but since we had a 5:00 reservation we stopped later at Serrentos/Cafe Promenade around 9:00 for a late night snack. I think you are paying more for the presentation than the quantity of food, if that makes sense. 

Two minor complaints was the service and the lack of a bar. As mentioned above we could only grab a 5:00 reservation so we, along with a few other tables, must have been the first ones to sit down that night. Our waitress was great, but you can tell the rest of the staff was still getting ready setting up the restaurant, and it took a while for the food to come out, especially the main entrees. Our waitress also seems distracted and I think she might have had a couple of other tables since I saw her running around a bunch. It's a nice experience and I didn't want to be rushed through the whole experience, but we did spend a lot of time just waiting around. Also, the Quantum has a pretty small restaurant compared to other ships, and it didn't have a bar. It would have been nice to see also the unique cocktails but I imagine they just make them in the back. I heard some exciting things about their drinks, but when I asked for a drink menu all I got the generic Royal Caribbean drink menu. I did see someone at another table get the cotton candy one (and they brought out just a plate of cotton candy for a young kid at a table near us which was cute) so I'm not really sure what the deal was. I was interested in getting a drink but missed out.

We got a credit from Costco (our travel agent) for a specialty dining experience and I think it was a credit well spent. I don't think it's something we would have paid out of pocket for ourselves so it was nice to try something new for "free." That being said, I think I would go back to Chops, our regular specialty dining go-to, or try something else next time. To us it was kind of a one in done. Glad we did it, but once was enough.

[Ampurp85]

@ChanaC I feel like regardless of if they are setting up, open or closing down, the Wonderland experience is a long one. I believe we were there for over 2hrs and even though I had 2 proteins and that mushroom dessert, I didn't feel full like I would if I ate that much at Chops or CP 150.  I feel like it is about the experience, so everything is just slow. 

Someone in party at that time had the wonton soup and she loves it. I think she might have had the baby vegetables too. We had four in our party and I believe they brought out all of the apps and desserts. I agree that if it's free like you got or if you do the UDP, it's worth it, but I wouldn't pay out of pocket. I am sad you didn't get to try the Cosmo, it's so good. 

[Jill]

We’ve been twice: symphony in October and Wonder in March. We only went back in March because my SIL is an artist and we knew she’d love it.

We won’t go back again. It’s a one and done for us. Fun but the food is just too weird. Our Mad Hatter on Symphony made the experience way better. Mad Hatter on Wonder was meh

[dahirsh]

I always get the baby veggies.  I just tell them I want them.  I have never been offered (or asked for ) the soup.  This is in 5 or six visits on three different ships.