have you ever skipped MDR all week for dinners???

[dani negreanu]

YES, on Anthem 2 weeks ago, even though we brought formal and nice dresses with us.:)

 

 

After painstakingly booking Dynamic Dining (MTD) for the whole 2 weeks cruise, we (2 couples) ate once at Grande, Silk & Chic, twice at AI, and decided to cancel all the remaining reservations and eat at WJ. We could chose from a wide variety, hear one another without having to raise our voices, set our time and it was never crowded. Very pleasant and the food was very good.

 

We strayed another night to Jamie's -- were not impressed.

[Clarea]

Temporary Avatar to make me seem more credible.

Looking like a Royal Caribbean CSR does NOT make you more credible. Just the opposite in fact.:)

[depplep]

How is your food ice cold if you have a stir fry made to order or a steak or a piece of fish cooked to order for you? The food is coming off the flat top and directly to your plate and then you walk a few yards to a table and eat it. Much fresher and hotter than anything you can get in the MDR. Even the dishes in the steam tables are hotter than the MDR.

 

 

I wouldn't have ordered any type of meat or fish or stir fry. I'm sure I got side dishes and possibly a burger. In 11 crusies any lunch I've ever had was cold by the time I got to the table as well. I've never had cold food in the MDR.

Edited October 26, 2015 by depplep
additions

[spookwife]

Hi, We are thinking of skipping the MDR for dinners completely on our upcoming cruise. This will be our 5th or 6th cruise and I'm seriously contemplating just being casual the entire week...don't want to worry about dressing up (with two little kids, that's extra shoes, dockers, dress shirts, etc).

 

Has anyone every skipped the MDR entirely? Did you miss it??

 

 

the only way I would ever do that is if I were eating in a specialty every night. I even prefer MDR for breakfast and lunch over the buffet

[George C]

In my 58 cruise never did WJ/buffet for dinner, we eat half our meals in specialty others in MDR

[Tura Lura]

YES, on Anthem 2 weeks ago, even though we brought formal and nice dresses with us.:)

 

 

After painstakingly booking Dynamic Dining (MTD) for the whole 2 weeks cruise, we (2 couples) ate once at Grande, Silk & Chic, twice at AI, and decided to cancel all the remaining reservations and eat at WJ. We could chose from a wide variety, hear one another without having to raise our voices, set our time and it was never crowded. Very pleasant and the food was very good.

 

We strayed another night to Jamie's -- were not impressed.

 

The Asian/Indian menu at Silk looks so good though!

[widallas]

Last cruise we ate in the MDR only twice, one of them formal night...with kids the Windjammer just seemed easier. Didn't discover MDR dining for lunch (LOVE the tutti salads!) and breakfast until the end of the trip. Now with older teens, who can eat on their own or with friends, we are looking forward to some specialty dining and MDR meals on our own with a good bottle of wine. :)

[emory2001]

How is food in WJ for dinner???

 

The one time I've eaten at WJ for dinner, I was impressed. The dinner food seemed like a step up from the lunch buffet, and some of the items were the same as offered in the MDR.

 

I enjoy the experience of MDR though.

[Choozin Croozin]

How is food in WJ for dinner??? We have never missed a night in the MDR so I'm not really sure what to expect. Also, do you know if kids can go to specialty restaurants (they are 8 and 11, so no crying babies or tantrums, they will be very well behaved)

 

Couple of times, we have.

 

We had other options, too, but I don't think it's too hard. (we ate at the lounge to get *just* enough for real dinner).

 

WJ is pretty good. But if one was interested in eating less at the WJ, do note that it's pretty easy to overload at a buffet vs. sit down.

 

Go for it!

 

I have to agree. We did find that we definitely ate more than we would've eaten in the MDR. But that's nothing that a little self control could help. We have none.

 

 

We found the food in the WJ really pretty good. I love the stir fry station. The last time we cruised, we ate there most nights and most of the servers were so friendly and made it a very pleasant experience. We leave on Sunday and plan to do most meals there again. This time trying some self control. :eek:

[Luv my furbaby]

I don't think I will be eating in the MDR at all when I am on the Oasis in November. Want to use my OBC for speciality restaurants and a night in 2 in windjammer!!

[golf43]

On one of our cruises we ate dinner in the WJ. We enjoyed it. Especially the desserts. So much more to choose from than in the main dining room.

[pharaoh]

I have been pretty loyal to the MDR on my previous cruises, but on my last cruise, we took a night off and went to the WJ and it was surprisingly good. I liked the relaxed atmosphere and I liked the sushi they had. :)

 

On my upcoming cruise on Allure, I have a specialty restaurant booked for four nights so far. The way it looks, we might only end up in the MDR for one night, or two max.

[kalliekae]

We are scheduled for one night in the MDR on our upcoming cruise. I don't think we'll miss it one bit.

[bumbletigger]

On our Alaskan cruise this summer, we never made it to the MDR. We ate at Chops twice and WJ the others. We did not miss it at all.

[Lady Chew]

We rarely eat in the MDR anymore ... much more relaxing in the WJ, and takes half as long ... Mr Chew prefers fairly simple food without fancy sauces or garnishes ... and I just prefer the food in the WJ in general ...

[orville99]

We rarely eat in the MDR any more. On most nights you can get the same food in WJ that they serve in the MDR (except maybe the rubber lobster tails), and the WJ usually has a ton of choices that you'll never see in the MDR.:D

[Big_G]

Last Allure cruise we walked up to the MTD chaos and just couldn't do it. Went to Vintages and made a meal out of tapas then ate in the WJ a couple of nights and specialties the rest of the week. Last Oasis, we did CK and specialties all week. Don't get me wrong, we've done other cruises in between where we had good experiences in the MDR but it's nice to have other options.

 

 

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[marmstro]

On Independence a couple of years ago, we ate in the MDR the first two nights. The service was so slow (and we were in a section with a huge, noisy group with no manners) that we gave up and had WJ for dinner the rest of the cruise. I've never been a buffet fan, but actually enjoyed dinner there. No crowds, relax as long as you want, the staff is great. And a lot of what's on the menu in the MDR is also available in the WJ. Since that cruise we've done about 1/2 and 1/2.

[villager70]

We skipped all week when we did the Liberty in the med. We were on tours leaving at 730 am and returning around six, so just went to windjammer for casual dinner as no my time then. Bob

[LuCruise]

The responses surprise me...and I hope it's more the dressing up that's the issue than the food that turns people away. This is our first time on a cruise where there was so much choice. There were no specialty restaurants when we cruised in the past. To us, the MDR is included so see no reason to pay more and go to specialty. Our family likes "going out" for dinner. It's a treat, so to have that every night is great. As for the Windjammer, the only time I can see us going there for dinner is our theatre night where the show is from 5pm - 7:30pm to grab a quick bite. Otherwise, it's too casual and on our own. We like the interaction with waiters. So no, we plan on eating in MDR every night, with one exception when dinner would be too late for our kids.

Edited October 27, 2015 by LuCruise

[jayblue]

I will do one night in the MDR on my cruise next week, if I can help it. I like the idea of having more than one venue for dinner. It adds variety to the cruise experience.

[EbayCruiser]

We skip the MDR on all our cruises. We are not fans of long sit down dinners that drag on for 1-2 hours (been there done that). We can find lots of other things to do besides sitting in a dining room for so long and the meals are usually not what we enjoy.

 

We usually bring one set of dress clothes just in case we want to dress up but most of the time we dress "smart casual" for dinner and eat in the Windjammer or Lido on HAL. We might try one specialty restaurant but we are generally happy with the selections in the buffet. HAL's Lido is much better though than the Windjammer on RCI.

[perditax]

Length of dining is what bugs me.

[Havingfun2010]

You don't have to "dress up" for the dining room..even on "formal" nights, it's not formal anymore.....I prefer to be served, rather than doing buffet fare!

 

I think you are referring to Carnival. RCCL has a formal night, and except for a few random people, the dining room is filled with people dressed appropriately. Except on some short cruises, you can count on two hands the number of people you see dressed like they were going to the local Golden Corral.

 

Note appropriately for guys usually mean at least a pair of pants, shirt, and tie. Maybe skip the jacket.

[mlmbar]

On Allure a few years ago, we never went. Dined at Chops, Giovanni's, brazilian restaurant, and tapas at Vintages.