Windjammer vs MDR for Dinner

[skatie]

There may be one or two nights when we don't feel like doing the sit down dinner in main dining room, so wondering what types of food are available in WJ for dinner. Is it all buffet or is there some made to order items? I had heard that some of the MDR dinner selections are also in WJ - is this true? Thanks

[Clarea]

There may be one or two nights when we don't feel like doing the sit down dinner in main dining room, so wondering what types of food are available in WJ for dinner. Is it all buffet or is there some made to order items? I had heard that some of the MDR dinner selections are also in WJ - is this true? Thanks

We have found that there are usually one or two selections from the MDR menu in WJ. Also, depending on the ship, you may find a Mongolian BBQ or pasta made to order stations.

[Ocean Boy]

When we were on Indy last March the Windjammer had a section where they had selections from various countries around the world. I thought the food was excellent and most nights my problem was not having a bigger appetite so that I could eat more. They did have a made to order pasta station, too.

[Debde]

You will get lots of opinions on this but we find we really like the WJ for dinner. Yes, some same offerings in the MDR are at the WJ too. Nice, quiet, complete different atmosphere from breakfast and lunch.

[Trainman-2]

 

The Windjammer is much quieter at night and there is always one, and sometimes two selections of a carved to order meat.

 

On our recent cruise on the Serenade they had a desert station with made to order crepes which were excellent!

 

What we really enjoy is that there are so many things to choose from.

 

 

Try it early in your cruise. I bet you will like it and go back.

[Setting sail for fun]

Love the Mongolian BBQ. Was informed by the crew that they have it every other night on the Independence in the WJ.

[Koohiichan]

We have a teen who loves buffets and we find the WJ a good place for dinner a few times a cruise. We found a large variety of entrees, made to order pizza/pasta sections, Mongolian barbecue, and awesome Indian food on Liberty and Adventure for dinner. On Adventure, the WJ had the lights turned down low, drink service and self-serve draft beer/wine. The servers got our drinks and took good care of removing our plates. It was actually less hectic than the Main Dining Room. They also came around with hand-scooped ice cream and sundae toppings. If it weren't for our daughter, I doubt we would have ever tried the WJ for dinner, but we enjoyed it.

 

On Oasis the WJ was very crowded and the ambience not so nice early on in the cruise. The selection is smaller and the area is smaller. If you are on Oasis class, I would suggest trying it during the latter half of the cruise once people venture out to the paid venues. FYI: The first formal night they had lobster tails and the 2nd they had crab legs. Often had prime rib, too.

 

Enjoy!

Koohiichan

[davekathy]

We prefer and always eat our evening meals in the MDR. September 2015 we Cruised on the Jewel. After diner (early traditional) one evening we went up to the Windjammer to check it out. We were very impressed. It was quite, lights turned down and the selections of all the different foods looked good and plenty to choose from. Nothing like what we see for breakfast or lunch. Seeing is believing. We aren't ready to stop eating our evening meals in the MDR but we will never say never. In our opinion we feel the Jewel has one of the nicest looking Windjammers. Day or night.

Edited December 29, 2015 by davekathy

[JustUs275]

We enjoy dining in Windjammer, for all the reasons everyone else has already named. I think one of the biggest advantages for us is that it feels more leisurely - no assigned or reserved dining times. We do enjoy the MDR too and usually eat there 2-3 times during a 7 day cruise.

Options - we love options!

[cb at sea]

Nothing is "made to order"...but there will be a few MDR items in the food bins....it's still a buffet, tho...

[critterchick]

We prefer and always eat our evening meals in the MDR. September 2015 we Cruised on the Jewel. After diner (early traditional) one evening we went up to the Windjammer to check it out. We were very impressed. It was quite, lights turned down and the selections of all the different foods looked good and plenty to choose from. Nothing like what we see for breakfast or lunch. Seeing is believing. We aren't ready to stop eating our evening meals in the MDR but we will never say never. In our opinion we feel the Jewel has one of the nicest looking Windjammers. Day or night.

 

Jewel has the best WJ that we've experienced. During a galley tour, the Executive Chef told us that they have some leeway in terms of menu items and recipes, and he had a great array of things to choose from.

 

Nothing is "made to order"...but there will be a few MDR items in the food bins....it's still a buffet, tho...

 

You are incorrect, at least on Radiance and Voyager class ships (MA and NV, anyway). We found a station that made cooked to order beef, chicken or salmon every night, and another station that varied the offerings, but all were fresh cooked. You did have to go there and order it yourself, but it was far superior to any MDR offering we've come across.

[rjrice1]

Pro's on Windjammer: you can relax and go lay back to. Don't have to worry about dress code, a place to grab a quick bite... at your pace.

 

Pro's to Main Dining room, you get waited on and served.

 

Con's to Windjammer.....self serve, may not be the same selection,

 

Con's to the Main Dinner room.... everything is serve in orders... apps, main meal, dessert and have to wait for all the other tables to get their food too.

 

Either way it's a cruise....blue skies calm sea's and no work...:D

[riclop]

There may be one or two nights when we don't feel like doing the sit down dinner in main dining room, so wondering what types of food are available in WJ for dinner. Is it all buffet or is there some made to order items? I had heard that some of the MDR dinner selections are also in WJ - is this true? Thanks

In the buffet you will have a larger selection than in the MDR and you can eat as much as you want and it's faster than the MDR.

[reallyitsmema]

Nothing is "made to order"...but there will be a few MDR items in the food bins....it's still a buffet, tho...

 

Absolutely incorrect, there are made to order items every night. We have had make your own pizza, mongolian barbeque, pasta, minute steaks, fish, chicken and even a make your own soup on one cruise. On the dessert side of things, we have had made to order crepes and ice cream sundaes with hard scoop ice cream, fresh whip cream and many toppings.

[Langley Cruisers]

Nothing is "made to order"...

 

You could not be more wrong.

 

I doubt you've even been in the WJ for dinner at any time over any of your cruises because by your own admission, you "hate" buffets. As member critterchick mentioned, there are steaks, salmon, chicken and other items which are NOT cooked until you order them. We had delicious offerings on Serenade last month, truly amazing.

.

[ryano]

You could not be more wrong.

 

I doubt you've even been in the WJ for dinner at any time over any of your cruises because by your own admission, you "hate" buffets. As member critterchick mentioned, there are steaks, salmon, chicken and other items which are NOT cooked until you order them. We had delicious offerings on Serenade last month, truly amazing.

.

 

Sometimes I wonder if she has even been on a Royal Caribbean ship :o

 

I am now a BIG fan of dinner in the WJ! :)

[cruisevv]

You could not be more wrong.

 

I doubt you've even been in the WJ for dinner at any time over any of your cruises because by your own admission, you "hate" buffets. As member critterchick mentioned, there are steaks, salmon, chicken and other items which are NOT cooked until you order them. We had delicious offerings on Serenade last month, truly amazing.

.

 

Being serious - where are those made-to-order meats usually? I've seen the carving stations and things like pasta/stir-fry sections but not salmon or steak. Where do I go please?

[SPacificbound]

With the exception of one cruise where we did try the MDR a few nights, we have always gone to the Windjammer.

 

Our last cruises were on Vision and we went to Windjammer every evening.

I am vegetarian and I can find so much more variety in WJ.

[Agutaya]

Being serious - where are those made-to-order meats usually? I've seen the carving stations and things like pasta/stir-fry sections but not salmon or steak. Where do I go please?

 

They are usually at a station nearest the center of the WJ, and thus nearest the kitchen where they have grills. They won't be at any station not connected to the center of the WJ. I've seen them on at least 3 classes of ships because we often eat in the WJ for dinners. It is much quieter and more relaxing than the dining room. Also, believe it or not, we end up eating LESS if we eat dinner there as we can take small portions and don't have as many courses as the MDR.

[JamesEM]

DW and I did a B-2-B, the first week was with the family and we ate in the MDR and the second week we were by ourselves and we ate in the Windjammer and found that to be much more to our liking.

[tingyyy]

i must say that I didn't see any made-to-order meat or pasta stations in the WJ on the Explorer during my cruise earlier in October. seems like they do not have these on every ship. we had dinner there 3 times during the cruise - on the 2 formal nights and one other night when we ventured in there looking for a snack before our late-seating MDR dinner but ended up having a full meal because everything looked (and was) so good!

[Ocean Boy]

Nothing is "made to order"...but there will be a few MDR items in the food bins....it's still a buffet, tho...

 

How do you know when you have stated many times that you never eat there due to your love affair with the MDR. I do eat there and you are wrong.

[Clarea]

How do you know when you have stated many times that you never eat there due to your love affair with the MDR. I do eat there and you are wrong.

Please stop injecting facts and logic into this discussion!;)

[Rala]

Please stop injecting facts and logic into this discussion!;)

 

:D:D:D HEhehe!

[newjoisey]

on the anthem there is more than one station for made to order foods. imho the trick [this was our first cruise with rc] to the windjammer is timing.....get there for breakfast before the doors open.....before the herds come in :eek:. get the timing wrong and you will be hunting for a seat....if you are lucky a clean one.the first 2 days are hectic then it mellows. try lunch after one or so ,dinner before 5 or so. as for the quality of the food......i put 5 pounds on:o and i am still going through bacon/sausage withdrawal:D. they [RC] really REALLY NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB KEEPING THE WINDJAMMER CLEAN.