Windjammer -first day and more

[sailawayjack]

:cool:I just got done reading a review of a gentleman who just got off Explorer. His review started with day one and said "got on ship at 11:30 and immediately went to windjammer for lunch. It can get pretty crowded so try to get there early and get a seat. Had lunch and sat there until room was ready at 1:30."

Well son--the reason it was crowded is becuase of guys like you who eat and then sit there for an hour or more afterward talking or in this case waiting for your room to get ready. Please eat, then head to another common area so others can find a seat. That is what you do in the windjammer:cool:JACK IS SAILING AGAIN

[teacherkim]

And not only is it polite to vacate the space for others when you are finished eating.........why wouldn't you want to go check out the rest of the ship. We usually can't wait to explore. Try telling my 9 yr old DS to sit at a table when he is not eating instead of exploring the ship:rolleyes:

[DaveG99]

I went straight for the compass deli. Its better than the buffet and no one seems to know about it on the first day.

[cb at sea]

Or, eat a late breakfast before boarding the ship, and avoid the feeding frenzy altogether!

[Debde]

One reason I wait to board once rooms are open. I'm usually in a pre-stay hotel so grab breakfast in the AM. Tour whatever town i'm in-grab a quick bite to eat and then board the ship-straight to my room. If I'm still hungry I'll bring a plate to my room where I know I have a seat!!!;)

[Judicruise]

When I was reading the review I thought that it was not cool to be sitting in the WJ for that long when on other threads I have read about how crowded it is especially on embarkation day...We have often seen people playing cards or hanging out as we circle trying to find a table!

[lady_cruiser]

Now that we know that we can get the Honey Stung Chicken from the room service menu during the week, we usually lunch in the Promemade Cafe. And since there are always a table or two available we can sit there until our cabin is ready. And we are not taking a table away from someone that needs one in The Windjammer.

[Puffinater]

The Rhapsody had signs on the tables advising folks to eat and get out.

[Scotty G]

When I was reading the review I thought that it was not cool to be sitting in the WJ for that long when on other threads I have read about how crowded it is especially on embarkation day...We have often seen people playing cards or hanging out as we circle trying to find a table!

While on Freedom this year the Headwaiters were actually having table homesteaders move to make room for new arrivals.

[lovetotravel700001]

While on Freedom this year the Headwaiters were actually having table homesteaders move to make room for new arrivals.

 

We are coming to the Freedom straight from an 11:00am arrival at the Orlando airport, so might not even get on the ship until the rooms are just about ready, but what is open on there if anything besides the WJ?

[Ocean Boy]

Or, eat a late breakfast before boarding the ship, and avoid the feeding frenzy altogether!

 

Good idea, that way there will be even more room for the rest of us in the Windjammer.

[RedHeadTexan]

:cool:I just got done reading a review of a gentleman who just got off Explorer. His review started with day one and said "got on ship at 11:30 and immediately went to windjammer for lunch. It can get pretty crowded so try to get there early and get a seat. Had lunch and sat there until room was ready at 1:30."

Well son--the reason it was crowded is becuase of guys like you who eat and then sit there for an hour or more afterward talking or in this case waiting for your room to get ready. Please eat, then head to another common area so others can find a seat. That is what you do in the windjammer:cool:JACK IS SAILING AGAIN

Oh, how I wish there was on "like" button. Well said! :D:D:D

[praline3001]

:cool:I just got done reading a review of a gentleman who just got off Explorer. His review started with day one and said "got on ship at 11:30 and immediately went to windjammer for lunch. It can get pretty crowded so try to get there early and get a seat. Had lunch and sat there until room was ready at 1:30."

Well son--the reason it was crowded is becuase of guys like you who eat and then sit there for an hour or more afterward talking or in this case waiting for your room to get ready. Please eat, then head to another common area so others can find a seat. That is what you do in the windjammer:cool:JACK IS SAILING AGAIN

 

How people can do that is beyond me. To sit for an hour after finished eating all the time watching others walk around with tray in hand looking for a place to put it down... gentleman is the wrong word used here.

 

Why sit there if you aren't eating? Sure I get the taking your time, taking photos, having a glass of wine or fun cocktail and going over plans with family or just sharing the excitement with those you love but to just sit there for an hour? There are a billion seats, many with tables, on other parts of the ship.

[Langley Cruisers]

The Rhapsody had signs on the tables advising folks to eat and get out.

 

Yes....

 

While on Freedom this year the Headwaiters were actually having table homesteaders move to make room for new arrivals.

 

...and yes! Excellent. Good to hear both of these.

 

Good idea, that way there will be even more room for the rest of us in the Windjammer.

 

LOL! You know some people don't eat in the buffet. They take all their meals inthe Main Dining Room because it is so much more civilized. :)

[Puffinater]

LOL! You know some people don't eat in the buffet. They take all their meals inthe Main Dining Room because it is so much more civilized. :)

 

Especially when you are eating breakfast. :p

[MORcrzr]

We are coming to the Freedom straight from an 11:00am arrival at the Orlando airport, so might not even get on the ship until the rooms are just about ready, but what is open on there if anything besides the WJ?

 

Sorrento's in the Promenade is open. The pizza is pretty darn good and you can also usually find some treats around Cafe Promenade, etc.

[lovetotravel700001]

Sorrento's in the Promenade is open. The pizza is pretty darn good and you can also usually find some treats around Cafe Promenade, etc.[/quote

 

Thanks, just added your info to my notes. I imagine we will be hungry since airlines a lot for their meager food and we have just a 40 minute layover in Atlanta, hardly time to get from one gate to another let alone eat. Then picking up bags, getting a shuttle, 45 minutes to the port and then checkin (although I believe there is gold checkin so that won't take long). I think I am just overexcited to go on this cruise, I need to just let the chips fall where they may.

[Rala]

The Rhapsody had signs on the tables advising folks to eat and get out.

 

On Explorer and Freedom they were making announcements over the PA system to please vacate your table as soon as you are finished eating. As we were leaving, however, I saw many people sitting at tables who were finished eating ,but paying no attention to the requests to make room for others !!:rolleyes::confused:

[Bakincakes]

Lingering in the WJ after finishing eating is just another example of the "It's all about me" attitude of many cruisers.

 

We've actually seen crew ask pax to vacate WJ tables when they have finished eating. One woman actually got up, went to the buffet and borught back a plate of fruit and then proclaimed"I'm still eating" and she and the rest of her entourage stayed put.:rolleyes:

[sailawayjack]

Lingering in the WJ after finishing eating is just another example of the "It's all about me" attitude of many cruisers.

 

We've actually seen crew ask pax to vacate WJ tables when they have finished eating. One woman actually got up, went to the buffet and borught back a plate of fruit and then proclaimed"I'm still eating" and she and the rest of her entourage stayed put.:rolleyes:

 

:cool:Eating and leaving was somelthing that I have always been able to figure out for myself. When you see a family walking around with trays looking for food, the light bulb goes on and tells you that common courtesy dictates that you vacate and let someone else have you table once you have finished. I then explore the ship, establish bar-tender loyalties (big first time tip), and then head to cabin at appropriate time. It is all about courtesy, which seems to be losing ground in this day and age:cool:JACK IS SAILING AGAIN

[JAMESCC]

Wow, I have said this before and I'll say it again. Certain people on cruises think the ship actually belongs to them, when EVERYBODY paid to get on. There are usually 3 or 4 times on a cruise where my mouth drops to the ground because a passenger is either rude or too demanding to a hard working crew member and it makes me insane.

It is hard to find a seat in the WJ, so we are very courteous and leave AS SOON as we are done, who the heck wants to hang out in that room anyway? I want to walk around this gorgeous ship. In the WJ we have often made room for other people or called someone over that we saw could not find a seat and got up for them because we are just about finished with our meal and gave them our table. Be nice, everyone paid to get on, not just you.

[mking8288]

This is a common problem on cruise ships & not unique to RCL, some folks loved to pile it up their plates and begin their stuffing "feast" early, ASAP - the chair hogs aren't limited to people, but also those with oversized luggages and backpacks - perhaps reserving extra seats for their group arriving later ... I dunno, but we've all seen it. To make things worst, the way EOS had their tables & chairs set up, it's often very difficult to get to the few remaining "empty" seats and folks with rented scooters "parked" nearby arent' making it easier - including others with less mobility issues ...

 

For certain disembarkation ports, sometimes, we wondered if multi-lingual announcements or signs might be useful & helpful, and necessary - to ask folks to be more considerate. WJ has a capacity that's easily exceeded, absorbing all the "food" traffic at lunch when the rest of the cruise, there are TD & MTD in the MDR to better distribute the mad rush - and, if you've been up since 3:30 am to catch the predawn 6 am flight at the airport or do that long drive to the pier, barely stopping for a restroom/fuel/food stop - it's human to want to head for what's open to eat.

[Bakincakes]

Courtesy has gone the way of the horse and buggy.

 

These days it is all about the individual. We see that more and more so we have started to spend much more time in our cabins and in ports to avoid the masses on cruises.

 

We're on our way to another cruise and are astounded at the treatment the crew suffers under boorish pax who think the world revolves around them and their needs. We've been sickened by some of the antics of pax and some of the language hurled at crew who were only trying to do their jobs.

 

Most of those encounters have been at the MDR when pax were asked to leave and return to the MDR properly dressed. Or pax that arrived at closed MDR doors when they were 15 minutes late for their seating. No wonder crew have stopped trying to deal with those kinds of common individuals. They don't get paid enough to deal with that kind of abuse. So the MDR has started to look like a tailgating event at a ballgame.

 

So the fact that pax get seats at the WJ and sit there until their rooms are ready, depriving other pax of seats, is not a shocker. Just very common.

[fred30]

I can understand staking out pool chairs but why in the world would anyone get on the ship early just to sit in a crowded buffet for hours?

 

RCCL should start selling shirts that say:

 

I WENT ON A WONDERFUL CRUISE AND ALL I DID WAS SIT IN THE BUFFET ALL DAY.

[Bakincakes]

Pax may also want to board later..to avoid the crowds..lines and pandemoneum at the WJ. Some pax seem as if they haven't seen food or eaten for days. It can get quite disgusting at times.

 

We've taken to eating a nice lunch on shore and then get on the ship. Our cabins are ready and we don't have to play defense to get around other pax who are dragging God knows what around with them.