Plenty of Dining Choices While Cruising

I'm going to apologize in advance for all of the photos I'll be posting of the dining options and some of the fabulous meals we've had on the ships.  This image was from our Canadian cruise October 2024 aboard the Jewel.  Once we discovered the deli in the Solarium (adults only) pool area, it became our "go to" place for breakfast on that cruise.  It was quiet with delicious made to order items from a somewhat limited but very nice menu.  Of course the view watching the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean was pretty wonderful too!

While on a cruise ship, you can eat as healthy (or not) as you wish.  There seems to be enough options to satisfy your taste buds, whether or not you want to be "good" in your choices.  As with this meal, I went for a little of it all to include one of the chocolate croissants that I'll admit is my kryptonite on most of the ships' buffets.

So about the dining options, there are many, and their hours of operation and meals offered vary based on what day it is.  "Sea days" when you are simply sailing from one port to the next and not stopping to get off the ship, have more availability of options, than the days when the ship is scheduled to make a port stop.  I'll try to overview the dining venues I've experienced thus far, highlighting their features and what makes them unique or perhaps more desirable.  Of course, all of this is subject to personal opinion but I'll be as objective as I can in sharing.

WINDJAMMER BUFFET  This is a self-serve dining mainstay on all of the ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet.  You will find servers available throughout the dining area to bring you beverages and clear tables in a timely fashion. They are open for breakfast, lunch & dinner on all cruise days including embarkation (first day for lunch & dinner) and debarkation  (last day for breakfast).  There is typically a theme for the cuisine offered daily.  Many will tell you this is probably the biggest area for concern in terms of hygiene and the potential for an outbreak of digestive system illnesses.


Some days, seating can be a challenge to find, especially on port days for the hour or so prior to folks heading out for their daily excursions and activities.  I have found lunchtime during sea days to also be on the crowded side, but no worries, the main dining room is another free option when the ship is at sea.

She was amazing!

MAIN DINING ROOM  Each ship has a one, also referred to as the MDR.  Many have a ship themed name like My Fair Lady (Enchantment), The Great Gatsby (Grandeur) and Edelweiss (Rhapsody). For dinner, guests have a choice of traditional (or scheduled) seating at either the "early" (around 5:30pm) or "late" (around 7:30pm) option.  Not interested in having the same time every night?  Then you can do "my time" dining which is a more flexible option, largely first come, first serve . . . but reservations are recommended.  Pam & I have enjoyed the traditional early seating for a few different reasons.  It is nice to eat early and then have the evening open for the shows or other activities.  But the greatest enhancement in my opinion, is that you have an assigned table, with a set team of servers who get to know you and your dining preferences.  Additionally, if you enjoy meeting new people or are meeting up with others, you will be seated together for the duration of your cruise.

Typically we choose to sit at a table set up for 8 people.  This has worked really well for us in the past.  On one cruise, we somehow was assigned a two-top table.  Fortunately, the couple seated next to us were very nice and became friends quickly on that trip.  I later found out the wife grew up in Racine, so that gave us a lot to chat about over dinner.

The culinary team works nightly to put together a wonderful 3 course meal for dinner.  Once seated, the servers will collect everyone's choices.  They do a great job of serving the appetizers, main entree and desserts together.  Have special dietary needs? No worries!  They will ask about those on your first night, and somehow able to keep on top of them throughout the cruise.  I have often seen one of the chefs come to the table to discuss options so as to assure folks aren't exposed to something that might make them ill.

If you aren't happy with any aspect of your meal, you can let your server know and they will bring out another choice.  Still hungry or the serving appears to be small?  Also not a problem, you can order additional items.  Sometimes we haven't felt like having an entree, so we made a meal out of a salad and appetizer option with a light dessert.  The bottom line is they want you to be happy and satisfied!

I should mention that while they often have a NY strip steak on the menu as well as nice seafood options, higher end selections like a filet mignon or lobster tail may be chosen for an up-charge of around $20.

In addition to dinner, the MDR is usually open on sea days for breakfast and lunch . . . or some days a blended brunch.  Additionally on the debarkation (last) day the MDR is open for breakfast for those with a little extra time before having to catch a flight or perhaps staying over on what is known as a "back-to-back" (or B2B) sailing.    B2Bs are 2 consecutive cruises on the same ship.  Pam & I did that this past February on Enchantment.  Having 2 5-night cruises in the same cabin was awesome especially when you consider the time and expense to get to the port in Tampa for "just" a 5 night trip.  I HIGHLY recommend it . . . so much so, we're doing a B2B of 7-night cruises out of Miami next February . . . but I digress.

SPECIALTY DINING - CHOPS GRILLE Each ship has several specialty restaurants that guests may choose to experience for an added cost.  Most are open for lunch on embarkation (first) day as well as sea days.  They are also generally open evenings for dinner service as well.  Pam & I have enjoyed doing Chops Grille for lunch on embarkation day largely because it's a great meal and with pre-cruise discounts, is very affordable.  The last cruise we took however, I swore off doing this again in the future because it was such a large meal and we dined sorta late, so I just was too full to even think about dinner a couple of hours later.  That said, we do have Chops on our itinerary in October but at a much earlier 12:30pm dining time.  Sometimes you just have to live and learn!

In addition to Chops Grille, guests may also chose to dine at Izumi's a Japanese sushi and hibachi restaurant or Giovanni's Table, their Italian family style dining experience.  To date, I have yet to try either of these but am looking forward to Izumi's in October when Pam & I sail from Lisbon to Florida on a 13 night transatlantic adventure.  We are also scheduled to do Izumi's Hibachi for lunch in February on the B2B trip I mentioned earlier out of Miami.

THE SOLARIUM with its adults only swimming pool and hot tub, is a nice escape away from the families and kids!  We found it to be a good place to pick up a slice of pizza or a deli style salad and sandwich.  As first mentioned at the start of this post, we also found it to be a wonderful place to watch the sunrise over breakfast.  Dining here is part of the all-inclusive meals so no added cost to find a quiet place to relax and enjoy the view.

I know there are other places where folks can get food, but with just 5 cruises under my belt so far, these are the ones I've had the opportunity to experience.  I can tell you that we have never left a ship and thought "Boy was the food on that ship lousy" or "I didn't get enough to eat."  On the contrary, with each cruise I've been on, I've learned what I can eat and what to avoid.  High salt content along with some heart related issues earlier this year made for a couple of crummy days . . . but it didn't stop me from still enjoying the cruise and time spent with Pam.

I'll close this entry with this collage of fun times had around the dining experiences with Royal Caribbean.