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Will UDP help avoid lines and madness?


ElmoHongZito

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First cruise ever. 7 night western carribean on Oasys of the Seas. November 20-27

Family of 4 (wife, myself, and our 14yr old and 11yr old girls). 

I am currently debating between UDP and 3 night dining plan ($220pp vs $102pp right now). 

My fear is that being the week of Thanksgiving perhaps the ship may be at full capacity and free spots like MDR and Windjammer will be a mad house to find a table and be in long lines to eat. 

With the UDP being able to do potentially do specialty restaurants every night and lunch on seadays sounds like it can maybe save me from the madness if I plan right. Mind you, I still want to have the opportunity to try MDR and Windjammer. 
 

Please share your thoughts.
 

Also which restaurants can I not wear flip flops at? 

I still have to pre purchase internet for all 4 of us as well as drink packages which I may just do soda pkgs since my wife is the only one that drinks (wine) and I’ll have a beer or 2 now and then. 

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  • ElmoHongZito changed the title to Will UDP help avoid lines and madness?

I would personally not wear flip flops in the MDR or any specialty restaurant. The Windjammer would be fine.

If you make reservations for the MDR you shouldn't battle too long of lines.  There will be no lines if you have Traditional Dining.  I would count on the Windjammer being a mad house - I've personally never experienced it otherwise, therefore I now always avoid it.

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27 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I would count on the Windjammer being a mad house - I've personally never experienced it otherwise, therefore I now always avoid it.

I'll be the dissenting opinion as a WJ enthusiast... I don't find it unbearably crowded either early for breakfast or at all for dinner (I just try not to go as soon as it opens). Lunch is usually pretty crowded.

Everyone has their tolerances and preferences though and I fully realize many people don't even like buffets to begin with so not trying to talk any\one into going to the WJ. From a selfish perspective, I'd prefer they not, lol. I also realize my wife and I wake up extremely early and going to breakfast when we do also doesn't suit many others.

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On 9/8/2022 at 4:03 PM, OCSC Mike said:

I'll be the dissenting opinion as a WJ enthusiast... I don't find it unbearably crowded either early for breakfast or at all for dinner (I just try not to go as soon as it opens). Lunch is usually pretty crowded.

Everyone has their tolerances and preferences though and I fully realize many people don't even like buffets to begin with so not trying to talk any\one into going to the WJ. From a selfish perspective, I'd prefer they not, lol. I also realize my wife and I wake up extremely early and going to breakfast when we do also doesn't suit many others.

What time do you go for breakfast and dinner at the WJ?

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On 9/8/2022 at 4:04 PM, KristiZ said:

If you choose traditional dining you will never have a wait for your table in the MDR.

I thought about going that route but I saw that it only gave 2 times. 5:30 and 8pm. I would maybe have gone with 8pm but I don’t know yet if that interferes with show times which is why I chose My Time Dining. 
 

I guess I have to wait for check-in to open up in order to see showtimes? 

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49 minutes ago, ElmoHongZito said:

What time do you go for breakfast and dinner at the WJ?

Breakfast... sometime in the 7-8am hour.

Dinner... this varies, just not right at 6pm when it opens. The later it gets the emptier it has been for us over the years. You'll often see some of the ship's officers having dinner later on in the WJ when it is quiet.

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59 minutes ago, ElmoHongZito said:

I thought about going that route but I saw that it only gave 2 times. 5:30 and 8pm. I would maybe have gone with 8pm but I don’t know yet if that interferes with show times which is why I chose My Time Dining. 
 

I guess I have to wait for check-in to open up in order to see showtimes? 

There will be both early and late showtimes to accommodate either MDR dining time - or pretty much any other restaurant reservation. One tip often given on these boards is to look at an old Cruise Compass that mirrors your sailing to get an idea of the schedule for the week. Anything can change from past sailings, but just to get an idea. The Cruise Compass link is at the top of the page, but here's the page for Oasis: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=275

Have a great cruise!

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On 9/10/2022 at 7:54 AM, ElmoHongZito said:

I thought about going that route but I saw that it only gave 2 times. 5:30 and 8pm. I would maybe have gone with 8pm but I don’t know yet if that interferes with show times which is why I chose My Time Dining. 
 

I guess I have to wait for check-in to open up in order to see showtimes? 

Make reservations for My Time and wait times are greatly reduce if not eliminated.  The website allows this, the app does not.

I should add I think RC has improved in this area.  On past cruises My Time reservations didn't reduce the wait time for a table.  Our last cruise on Ovation we chose My Time with reservations and were seated right away.  However, we were not seated at the same table or with the same wait staff each evening.  If we received good service I left an appropriate cash tip each evening.

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See if you can upgrade to a grand suite. Coastal Kitchen always available, a beautiful venue and sky class  includes the internet for all. Might be more cost effective then the dining package for all plus internet. 

I have sailed Thanksgiving week for years on RC and another brand. It is lovely, quite special but it is packed. Manage your expectations and have reservations asap. The mood is joyful but there are families everywhere. Enjoy your sailing🦃

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