Specialty dining and izumi

[Cruisegirl6]

Hello,

 

We always get the ultimate dining package and always were assigned Izumi on our first night but always cancelled it and changed to another restaurant as we really don't eat sushi....we are thinking of giving it a try assuming again, we will be offered Izumi on the first evening like all other cruises.

 

Assuming we do get Izumi can somebody tell me how it is, what is the experience like, how much do we get to spend at Izumi having the ultimate dining package and do we get the Habachi included?

 

I like your thoughts to help us decide , thank you.

[Clarea]

Last I saw, hibachi was not included and you got a $35 credit for the a la carte items.

[phillygirl2400]

Last I saw, hibachi was not included and you got a $35 credit for the a la carte items.

 

 

 

Is it $35 credit per person ?

[Clarea]

Is it $35 credit per person ?

Yes, and you lose any that you don't use.

[phillygirl2400]

Thanks! We're going to try it soon on the Adventure.

[PigsCanFly]

We have enjoyed Izumi on every Royal ship that we have been aboard. I would not consider myself a sushi person, but I have enjoyed every visit and my son, who does enjoy sushi is a big fan of Izumi. We have not tried the Hibachi since the meal packages we have had do not allow it. We have visited Izumi twice on several of our cruises. The 3,4&5 day packages allow $35 pp for Izumi and we have never gone over or left hungry.

[Stangirl]

We were just on Rhapsody and ate at Izumi twice during our week long cruise. We are not sushi lovers but enjoyed the hot rock and tempura rolls so much that we booked the 2nd evening.

 

 

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[SG65CB]

Thanks! We're going to try it soon on the Adventure.

 

Izumi is a little different on Adventure. It is located on the Royal Promenade with no way to exhaust cooking fumes, so they do not cook anything there. No hot rocks or anything like that. However the sushi is excellent.

[nschwen]

Last I saw, hibachi was not included and you got a $35 credit for the a la carte items.

 

I'm confused about how hibachi vs. a la carte works at Izumi. We sail on Mariner mid October, no special dining plan. I've been looking at booking Izumi on the cruise planner one night, but it doesn't specify if the booking is for a seat at the hibachi tables or just a regular table.

 

I'd hate to book and be seated at a regular table, we're interested in the 'show'. Are there separate booking types, or how does that work?

 

Thanks!

[Clarea]

I'm confused about how hibachi vs. a la carte works at Izumi. We sail on Mariner mid October, no special dining plan. I've been looking at booking Izumi on the cruise planner one night, but it doesn't specify if the booking is for a seat at the hibachi tables or just a regular table.

 

I'd hate to book and be seated at a regular table, we're interested in the 'show'. Are there separate booking types, or how does that work?

 

Thanks!

I don't think Mariner has the hibachi option.

[George C]

We really liked Izumi on navigator had dinner there several times, 35 credit which gave us lots of food , love there hot rocks.

[nschwen]

Just went back to check the cruise planner; either it's changed or I just have a poor memory; but it's labeled as "Izumi Hibachi Experience" now for my Mariner sailing.

[Clarea]

Just went back to check the cruise planner; either it's changed or I just have a poor memory; but it's labeled as "Izumi Hibachi Experience" now for my Mariner sailing.

Not that it could not be wrong, but I sure don't see Hibachi mentioned on Royal's Mariner page.

[nschwen]

Hmm, interesting. Maybe I'd better wait till I'm on board to book anything, so I can check it out for myself, unless someone has recent experience with Izumi on Mainer (since refurbishment).

[later]

They list the hibachi on the deck plans and the menu on the app for mariner

 

 

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[actuarian]

I don't think Mariner has the hibachi option.

My wife and I were on the Mariner September 10 cruise. Izumi on the Mariner is all Hibachi tables excepting 5 or 6 seats at the Sushi bar. The seats at the Sushi bar cannot be reserved; they are first come first served and are the only seats at Izumi on the Mariner where a dining package can be used. The result is that, for all practical purposes, dining packages on the Mariner are good only at Jamie’s and Chops.

[Clarea]

My wife and I were on the Mariner September 10 cruise. Izumi on the Mariner is all Hibachi tables excepting 5 or 6 seats at the Sushi bar. The seats at the Sushi bar cannot be reserved; they are first come first served and are the only seats at Izumi on the Mariner where a dining package can be used. The result is that, for all practical purposes, dining packages on the Mariner are good only at Jamie’s and Chops.

Appreciate the updated info.

[londongal796]

Hello,

 

We always get the ultimate dining package and always were assigned Izumi on our first night but always cancelled it and changed to another restaurant as we really don't eat sushi....we are thinking of giving it a try assuming again, we will be offered Izumi on the first evening like all other cruises.

 

Assuming we do get Izumi can somebody tell me how it is, what is the experience like, how much do we get to spend at Izumi having the ultimate dining package and do we get the Habachi included?

 

I like your thoughts to help us decide , thank you.

 

The thing to remember about Izumi is that nearly all of the food served on board is cooked, with very few raw items on the menu. All of the Signature Rolls and Chef's Signature Rolls are comprised of all cooked proteins (excluding Rainbow and Salmon Lovers Roll, I cannot comment but I suspect the salmon is either 'smoked salmon' or raw). There may be raw vegetables (red pepper or cucumber) but everything else will be cooked. From my personal experience, all of the Signature Rolls and Chef's Signature Rolls are fantastic, we just love all of them.

 

The Hot Rocks are a popular choice since you cook the food on the hot stone in front of you. There is also soups and ramen, and a 'chow mein'-style noodle: Nabeyaki Udon (it's very good!). All of the starters are fantastic, I personally love the Chicken Kara-age (tender and juicy chicken thigh pieces lightly fried in a lovely asian-soy style coating) and the Shrimp Firecracker Spring Roll -- really lovely spicy shrimp spring roll with a cooling element of cream cheese. The tempura is also fantastic.

 

There are so many options that are completely cooked yet most people overlook this venue because of a concern about raw food. This is aimed at the wider potential-Izumi customer community, and not just yourself OP, as you didn't mention specifically why you didn't fancy it -- just that you had never been.

 

My DH and I plan on doing a master-thread of the Izumi menu at some point with photos and descriptions as we have eaten our way through nearly the whole menu at this point, just a few items we haven't had due to preferences. Hands down our favourite specialty restaurant venue on all Royal ships!

[SRF]

Huh, we have had the sushi several times, and other than the eel and shrimp, everything has been raw.

 

And most rolls have raw items.

[Ellceee]

I can only speak to what I ordered without a dining package and only ordered raw items - tuna and salmon rolls. I'm a huge sushi person and loved it. As stated before there are plenty of cooked options if that is your concern.

[Cruisegirl6]

Can I upgrade to the hibachi and pay a difference in the price? I don't eat any raw fish and 80% of the menu is all raw. :o

[Clarea]

Can I upgrade to the hibachi and pay a difference in the price? I don't eat any raw fish and 80% of the menu is all raw. :o

You would have to pay full price to get Hibachi. Seating is very limited, they do not have to discount, and you would not be sitting with those who do not have Hibachi.

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you, I know they going to assign our first night there, I do my usual tell them I don't eat that type of food and they will change the restaurant for me as they normally would do....I would love to give it a try, but if there isn't much of anything we eat on the menu it be a total waste. Thanks Bob!

[londongal796]

On 10/2/2018 at 4:58 PM, SRF said:

Huh, we have had the sushi several times, and other than the eel and shrimp, everything has been raw.

And most rolls have raw items.

 

On 10/2/2018 at 5:53 PM, Cruisegirl6 said:

Can I upgrade to the hibachi and pay a difference in the price? I don't eat any raw fish and 80% of the menu is all raw. :o

 

Okay, here's a break down, because these figures just aren't right:

Starters: Everything is cooked (5 dishes)
Hot Rock: Everything arrives raw but is cooked before eaten (4 dishes)
Combinations: Sushi items, mostly consisting of raw fish (apart from eel & shrimp, and possibly octopus? I've never had it to be honest!) (4 dishes)
Carpaccio: Raw by nature (3 dishes)
Salads: Only the Ahi and Albacore Tataki salad appear to have anything raw, though it's possible all of the tuna is served cooked. (4 dishes)
Signature Rolls: Everything is cooked apart from the Rainbow & Salmon Lovers Roll -- everything else is cooked, either before or after assembly (ie. Crispy Spicy Tuna is fried in panko bread, as is the Crispy Filly, cooking the fish) (11 dishes)
Chef's Signature Rolls: Everything is completely cooked. (3 dishes)
Nigiri / Sashimi: Only cooked items are Egg/Tamago, Freshwater Eel/Unagi, and Shrimp/Ebi (that I know of). Everything else is raw. (12 types)
Soup & Noodles: Everything is Cooked (5 dishes)
Desserts: Everything is Cooked (4 dishes)

 

Total: 33 Dishes out of 43 dishes are COOKED (over 75% of the menu!) 
The only part of the menu which is 80% raw is the Nigiri/Sashimi part of the menu which are only a few bitefuls per portion, hardly a 'meal' and something you can skip entirely and elect for all of the cooked dishes.

Really hoping this helps people who think that Izumi is an all-raw restaurant. It's simply not true!