Sorrento's and Other Snacks

[Firephotog51]

We love our Diamond status on RC but we must admit that RC is very lacking on the mid/late evening snacks available. They close the Dog House, Wipe Out Cafe, Ice cream machines at 6 pm. The only place available is Sorrento's in most cases. Of course, on some classes of ships they have the Cafe in the Solarium that is open late and offer more than pizza. The whale tail folks seem to have much more to choose from for their evening snacks. RC really needs to take a serious look at their food service availability. Maybe an option would be to leave a small portion of the Windjammer open late for snacks or expand the offerings at Sorrento's.

[amanalo217]

Anyone remember the midnight buffets? Haven't seen a chocolate fountain in ages.

[Ampurp85]

I think the issue was that a lot of the people who was the primary cruisers on Royal, weren't interested in eating late. So having midnight buffets and other options weren't anything but wasted food. That was what room service was for and those who really wanted it, have to pay.  Now there is a more diverse subset of cruisers who eat at all times and the current way no longer works.

Carnival has always attracted more partiers and families on budgets, so their dining options have continued to reflect that. Now everyone is cruising and thus the new ships will probably have more late-night offerings. 

[Gilley]

I do remember those midnight buffets, ice sculptures and that chocolate fountain oh and the captain’s ball.   It was my first cruise on Empress.

[OCSC Mike]

Only got to see a few but the midnight buffets were great.

[HeWhoWaits]

14 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I think the issue was that a lot of the people who was the primary cruisers on Royal, weren't interested in eating late.

Yet on our Holland America cruise in April, where the primary cruise demographic is the people who Royal decided didn't want those late buffets, had a reasonably diverse selection of food at the buffet from 11:00 p.m. to midnight every night.

AND they published via stateroom TV what was on the "menu" for the late buffet each night. This allowed us to decide if we wanted to hit the buffet, order (included) room service, or go to the (significantly superior to Sorrento's) pizza place by the pool.

[AndyPandy]

There is 24 hours Room service, but imho more than enough food. 

[OCSC Mike]

9 minutes ago, AndyPandy said:

There is 24 hours Room service, but imho more than enough food. 

There's definitely enough food in general, just not a ton of options after 9pm. Room service can take a while and involves sitting in your cabin. That's not necessarily what people want when they're just looking for a snack at say 10-11pm while they are still out and about.

Just adding to the discussion here. I eat so much from 6am-9pm that I'm OK if pizza and cookies (I know Cafe Promenade has other stuff but I'm generally not a fan) are my only included options after that but something else would be nice.

[CruisingNewb]

I am curious what kind of food people are looking for late at night.

Personally, we are good with Sorrentos and what ever small pastry and fruit offerings are available in the Solarium cafe.

One thing that we did on the Navigator and Ovation was to make sandwiches at the Windjammer and bring them back to the room to eat later.  More often than not, we realized we didn't need to eat after 10pm anyways.

[amanalo217]

Would love it if Playmakers stayed open later with a scaled down "late night" menu.

[Gadget Hackwrench]

 

Pizza fans, we won with our voices!

[Xaa]

1 hour ago, Gadget Hackwrench said:

 

Pizza fans, we won with our voices!

There was no fight to win.  It was a survey question, not a policy or even a proposal.  Survey responses, by their very nature give voice to those surveyed.  RCI wanted the voices, they asked for them.

[WhoCruiser]

I really don't care one way or the other because all in all it's pretty crappy Pizza. The only reason I have EVER eaten it is because at the time there was nothing else to choose from instead. My opinion of course, and yours may well vary... 

[tonyfsu21]

 Bring back the midnight buffet!!!! The demographic has shifted to cruisers who would actually go to a midnight buffet or possibly pay for one to have another late night option that isn’t pizza. 

[Ampurp85]

2 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

 Bring back the midnight buffet!!!! The demographic has shifted to cruisers who would actually go to a midnight buffet or possibly pay for one to have another late night option that isn’t pizza. 

I would love a midnight buffet . I know a lot of people who I travel with would as well.

[Pattycruise]

There are a lot of people who assume everyone gets up between 5am and 8am and therefore are in bed before midnight.  There are lots of people, young and old, who are night people and don’t go to bed until 2,3,or 4 am.  There are also lots of people who stay out past midnight at the clubs and casino .  After midnight it’s pizza, snd only a pizza option-or you can order room service and wait over an hour for your “likely to be incorrect and/or cold food”.  Personally I would love to see some healthy options available, or at least some sort of chicken.  I have my cardiologist sitting on my shoulder shaking his head at the pizza and prior to midnight shaking his head at the mini sandwiches and cookies.  While I did enjoy the midnight buffet all those years ago I’m pretty sure it was responsible for my significant weight gain by the end of the cruise. Thankfully I had brought along some larger size clothing so I had something to wear.

[ckruetze]

I don't agree with comments such as:

On 8/19/2023 at 1:17 AM, WhoCruiser said:

because all in all it's pretty crappy Pizza.

Are there places on the planet where you can get a better pizza? Yes, but I really don't think the Royal Pizza is crappy.

 

When it comes to food options, I didn't have any problems to find something in the evening. I think a bigger issue would have been late morning just before the lunch start. A lot of places are closed - including Sorrento's.

[HeWhoWaits]

On 8/20/2023 at 7:07 PM, Pattycruise said:

There are a lot of people who assume everyone gets up between 5am and 8am and therefore are in bed before midnight.  

By the same token, there ARE those of us who are up before dawn regularly (even if I've stayed up until 2:00 a.m. enjoying the available nightlife, rarely will I sleep late enough to miss sunrise). As much as I am disappointed with the available food offerings after 9:00 p.m., even worse is the lack of options before WJ opens in the morning. Yes, there is some food available but it's very limited just like late night.

Plenty of viable food options 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Not nearly enough 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

even worse is the lack of options before WJ opens in the morning

Since I'm usually on Oasis class, I appreciate that Park Cafe opens at 6:30am at least for bagels, egg sandwiches, etc. Any earlier and I'm usually content with pastries from Cafe Promenade to go with my coffee. I also usually grab a few extra croissants or muffins or whatever and keep them in ziploc bags in the cabin.

The bigger thing for me, personally, is that the DL coffee machine be prepped and available in the very early hours... and this seems to vary greatly by ship.

[CruisingNewb]

The last couple of comments are really interesting.  I wake up at 3:30 am every morning regardless of what time I go to sleep.  By the time I am out of the shower and ready to roam the ship, the only available options are those mentioned above: limited pastries, perhaps fruit cups...

Although I am not a breakfast person, when on vacation, I can appreciate a yummy breakfast to get me going.  

I'm not saying I need Prime Rib with all the fixins at 5am, but if there were more variety of options between 5 and 7am, I certainly wouldn't mind!

...moments later...

Ooh! I just had a great idea!  While we were vacationing in Japan this summer, we were overwhelmed at the sheer number of vending machines available pretty much any/everywhere.  Some of these vending machines had hot food that was surprisingly good.  RCCL could look into that as an option!

[OCSC Mike]

17 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

I wake up at 3:30 am

The more people who mention getting up at 5am and earlier, the more I'm going to stop considering myself an early riser, lol.

If you get up a bit earlier you can get some Sorrento's before they close at 3am (on some ships).

[CruisingNewb]

15 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

The more people who mention getting up at 5am and earlier, the more I'm going to stop considering myself an early riser, lol.

If you get up a bit earlier you can get some Sorrento's before they close at 3am (on some ships).

Getting up at 3:30am doesn't mean I'm up and about quite yet.  I don't get out of the house until at least 5am. And no...pizza at 5am does not sound appealing lol. Maybe a bagel bar?

[HeWhoWaits]

11 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

Getting up at 3:30am doesn't mean I'm up and about quite yet.  I don't get out of the house until at least 5am. And no...pizza at 5am does not sound appealing lol. Maybe a bagel bar?

Cold stale pizza and warm stale beer - Sunday breakfast for many a college student.

[CruisingNewb]

4 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Cold stale pizza and warm stale beer - Sunday breakfast for many a college student.

I like to think that over the years, I have evolved since college years...

My wife begs to differ.

[HeWhoWaits]

2 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

I like to think that over the years, I have evolved since college years...

My wife begs to differ.

I've evolved to finishing off the open bottle of wine instead of beer with my cold pizza.

[OCSC Mike]

21 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

Getting up at 3:30am doesn't mean I'm up and about quite yet.  I don't get out of the house until at least 5am. And no...pizza at 5am does not sound appealing lol. Maybe a bagel bar?

Understood. I wouldn't mind if Park Cafe opened at 6am instead of 6:30 but I'm not up quite as early as you.

[CruisingNewb]

1 minute ago, OCSC Mike said:

Understood. I wouldn't mind if Park Cafe opened at 6am instead of 6:30 but I'm not up quite as early as you.

6:00 am opening is a really good middle-ground and I cannot imagine it being that much more costly to do so. 

Between 5am and 7am, the ships are typically very quiet other than the floor cleaning machines and vacuuming.  Getting to sit at Park Cafe at 6:00 am with a good cup of coffee, some eggs and whatever, and a good book or newspaper sounds delightful.  

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, CruisingNewb said:

Between 5am and 7am, the ships are typically very quiet other than the floor cleaning machines and vacuuming.  Getting to sit at Park Cafe at 6:00 am

Yeah, I enjoy wandering the ship pre-7am and love Central Park when I go at 6:30.

[Florz]

Sorrentos pizza, IMO, is one tiny step better than supermarket bought frozen pizza. 

[HeWhoWaits]

54 minutes ago, Florz said:

Sorrentos pizza, IMO, is one tiny step better than supermarket bought frozen pizza. 

Depends on the supermarket frozen pizza. Some of them are at least as good as national chains in the US. #pizzasnob

[Debstr66]

What about adding an option to order room service and have it delivered where you are on the ship so you're not sequestered in your cabin? Like Dominos hot spot delivery now. Even if the locations could be limited to certain seating areas outside of normal dining times. My husband is one of those folks who can't sleep per schedule due to his career in shiftwork. He'd certainly love the option to get a coffee and bagel at 4am while I'm "sleeping in" til 8am. 

[Xaa]

56 minutes ago, Debstr66 said:

What about adding an option to order room service and have it delivered where you are on the ship so you're not sequestered in your cabin? Like Dominos hot spot delivery now. Even if the locations could be limited to certain seating areas outside of normal dining times. My husband is one of those folks who can't sleep per schedule due to his career in shiftwork. He'd certainly love the option to get a coffee and bagel at 4am while I'm "sleeping in" til 8am. 

Another line does this with their medallion.  You order and they go to where your medallion is on the ship.

[AlphabetMafia]

I have to say I am a big fan oft of the pizza at Sorrento's, it never disapointed. I also found the selection of sweets and snacks from Cafe Promenade where also good for a later evening snack. 

[ScottD]

5 hours ago, Debstr66 said:

What about adding an option to order room service and have it delivered where you are on the ship so you're not sequestered in your cabin? Like Dominos hot spot delivery now. Even if the locations could be limited to certain seating areas outside of normal dining times. My husband is one of those folks who can't sleep per schedule due to his career in shiftwork. He'd certainly love the option to get a coffee and bagel at 4am while I'm "sleeping in" til 8am. 

I wondered about something similar to this..can you call room service from a house phone,like near the elevators or at the casino and order food to your room..then you can head up to the room shortly after to wait,just to save like 20 minutes of sitting in your room? Or will they not send it if you don't call from the room?

[Floski]

My wife and I both got sick last year on Harmony (me first (thought it was food poisoning, but it wasn't), then her).

Since we tried to do the responsible thing, I stayed in the room nearly all the time for the first 3 days (and a mask when out), and 

she did the same for the last 4.   

Sorrento's was our saving grace.  It's just fine as a pizza offering, but so much better when it's most of what you can eat.

 

BTW - the DBP beat my ass on that cruise, and my goal is to never let that happen again!

[tonyfsu21]

On 8/24/2023 at 11:56 AM, CruisingNewb said:

6:00 am opening is a really good middle-ground and I cannot imagine it being that much more costly to do so. 

Between 5am and 7am, the ships are typically very quiet other than the floor cleaning machines and vacuuming.  Getting to sit at Park Cafe at 6:00 am with a good cup of coffee, some eggs and whatever, and a good book or newspaper sounds delightful.  

I’m out and about at 5am vacation or not and this is actually my favorite 2 hours of the day before the chaos begins to erupt at 7am. It would be nice to see some earlier options (6:00am). If they could only manage to keep that auto coffee machine in the diamond lounge functioning, it would be a nice added touch. 

[CruisingNewb]

4 hours ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I’m out and about at 5am vacation or not and this is actually my favorite 2 hours of the day before the chaos begins to erupt at 7am. It would be nice to see some earlier options (6:00am). If they could only manage to keep that auto coffee machine in the diamond lounge functioning, it would be a nice added touch. 

agreed. My favorite time of the day is between 5 and 7 am.  No one to bother you. Zen time.

[Doug_Texas]

I find myself at 10 or 11 pm eating the pizza.  Not because it is good but because it is available. RCL is not good about food at night.  I would always opt for pizza rather than going back to the cabin for room service.  My wife will not eat the Sorrento’s pizza.  The midnight buffet is overkill.  We would however love some late night options for sliders, street tacos, nachos, etc.

[Pima1988]

On 9/17/2023 at 9:18 AM, Doug_Texas said:

I find myself at 10 or 11 pm eating the pizza.  Not because it is good but because it is available. RCL is not good about food at night.  I would always opt for pizza rather than going back to the cabin for room service.  My wife will not eat the Sorrento’s pizza.  The midnight buffet is overkill.  We would however love some late night options for sliders, street tacos, nachos, etc.

I am with your wife.  The jersey girl in me screams digorno pizza is better! Plus there always a line

I know that so I go to the WJ before dinner and get fried chicken, mongolian, or deli meats and cheese!

I would love to see Royal open up the Solarium bistro or cafe promenade after the WJ closes.  I don't want pre made sandwiches or wait in line when people order entire pizza! 

Just give me some variety! I would be okay with opening the dawg house!  

[GoldenTimeHero]

I like late night sweets so one thing I do is get a few pastries and some fruits sent to my room in the morning, so I'll have them for later. I never thought to make some sandwiches at WJ for later. I'll be doing that on my sailing next week.