WindJammer for all meals

[gowhitesox99]

Just a heads up me and the wife did the WJ for all meals and absolutely loved it!!

 

The selection was fine, I loved eating whenever I wanted to. No Lobster and Steak, big deal the $$$ I saved I can go get a steak anywhere. We don't eat seafood much so the Lobster was no big deal.

 

It was such a nice change from having to get all dressed up some nights and have to be here at a certain time. I might not ever go back to the formal sit down dining.

 

Now this is not a slam on anyone who does the regular seating, I just wanted the people who are thinking about it to know the WJ food is really good.

 

That fried chicken with honey for lunch on day 1..... WOW!!!!! I had to use control and only have 2 pieces but it was unbelievable.

 

I hardly ever eat asian food and most nights I ended up filling my plate with the asian selections before even making it to the other half of the WJ buffet.

[will work to cruise]

How did you "save money" by eating in the Windjammer? Did you not pay gratuities for not eating in the DR?

[Pomperaugrr]

It sounds like you had a great time. We have always found food in the Windjammer to be of good quality. I'm just curious as to your comment about saving money by eating there. We have never been charged for lobster or steak in the main dining room. Some ships do have a surcharge for steaks in the main dining room though. If you feel that you saved money by not paying gratuities to the wait staff in the dining room, then I would have to respectfully disagree with your opinion. The wait staff in the windjammer are the same folks that provide service in the dining room. They rotate through the windjammer. It is really not fair to them if you chose to not still pay the gratuity for dining room staff. That is the bulk of their income. I am assuming that you tipped your servers in the windjammer though, as the savings comment seemed to reference the surcharge for steaks or the specialty restaurants.

 

Thanks for providing the info for folks thinking about this option. That's what is great about cruising, there is something for everyone. :cool:

 

Eric

[NorbertsNiece]

How did you "save money" by eating in the Windjammer? Did you not pay gratuities for not eating in the DR?

 

You took the words right out of my mouth.......

[TikiGod]

Here we go...

[g8rmomx2]

I can't answer for the OP, but we've done the same thing, eaten in the WJ instead of the main dining room. I'm going to take a wild leap and assume that when he said he saved money, he meant the specialty restaurants in addition to the MDR and the $14.99 steak. And while I wouldn't have included saving money as a reason to eat in the Windjammer, I thought he provided useful info to people who wondered what it would be like to skip the dining room. We prepay tips, maybe he does, too, and didn't think that everyone would assume he was stiffing the wait staff. And, if I'm wrong, and that's not what he meant, to all of you future cruisers who wonder if you can have a great cruise experience and eat dinner in the Windjammer every night, YES!

[missbogota]

How did you "save money" by eating in the Windjammer? Did you not pay gratuities for not eating in the DR?

 

Just got off IOS 2 days ago

 

we ate all meals at windjammer so didnt have to pay any waiter fees

 

we had the free ice cream on the pool deck 3 times a day, and for dessert at the windjammer they have vanilla ice cream also, sometimes with fudge sauce - free

 

a couple parties give free champagne out

 

I'm all for everyone else paying for the upscale things, probably helps keep my free stuff free.

 

I dont drink coffee so didnt need to goto the Seattle coffee place

 

This is exactly why in his own words.....

[HorrorFan]

 

we ate all meals at windjammer so didnt have to pay any waiter fees

 

Lest anyone question why most cruise lines made gratuities mandatory. ;)

[missbogota]

Just to be clear...I was quoting "Gowhitesox99". You can look under his previous posts. What a guy...

 

I totally agree...Tips should be mandatory!!!

[alphakitty]

I am sure some people just don't know and honestly believe that if they don't eat in the dining room, then they don't have to tip their wait staff. They just don't consider who is waiting on them in the Windjammer..that they are the same staff that is in the dining room. Tips (waiter fees?) should be left on the account, but I've run across many who are new to cruising who never even considered it, innocently, naively. I agree that a mandatory service fee should replace gratuities.

[cruisePRN]

If I ate all my meals in the WJ I would not tip the main dining room since there was no service rendered. I would tip the people in the WJ who gave me service and would not tip the full amount, it is a buffet not full service. There is no waiter and assistant waiter or Maitre D but a prorated tip would be how I would do it.

[cruiserbryce]

I like the honey stung chicken a lot and its by far my wife's favorite offering in WJ. We havent ever done all the meals there but find ourselves eating there more and more

[Dizney]

Just a heads up me and the wife did the WJ for all meals and absolutely loved it!!

 

The selection was fine, I loved eating whenever I wanted to. No Lobster and Steak, big deal the $$$ I saved I can go get a steak anywhere. We don't eat seafood much so the Lobster was no big deal.

 

It was such a nice change from having to get all dressed up some nights and have to be here at a certain time. I might not ever go back to the formal sit down dining.

 

Now this is not a slam on anyone who does the regular seating, I just wanted the people who are thinking about it to know the WJ food is really good.

 

That fried chicken with honey for lunch on day 1..... WOW!!!!! I had to use control and only have 2 pieces but it was unbelievable.

 

I hardly ever eat asian food and most nights I ended up filling my plate with the asian selections before even making it to the other half of the WJ buffet.

 

The reason that we like to cruise is to be WAITED on! :o You are paying for a service. The servers are usually quite good at it and love doing it. As someone else stated, the servers in the DR also work in various other capacities on the ship. They get very little pay, work long hours, and live in shoe boxes. Personally, we think that if you can afford a cruise, you can afford the gratuities. That's our two cents worth. :D

[Pomperaugrr]

If someone sleeps on deck lounge chairs at night and only uses the public restrooms, does he or she have to tip the cabin steward? Hey, maybe that should be offered as a new option: "outside cabins." :p;):rolleyes:

 

 

Relax, it's just a joke. Eating all meals at the windjammer is a viable option, but I do believe a gratuity is in order.

 

 

 

Eric

[NorbertsNiece]

Just got off IOS 2 days ago

 

we ate all meals at windjammer so didnt have to pay any waiter fees

 

we had the free ice cream on the pool deck 3 times a day, and for dessert at the windjammer they have vanilla ice cream also, sometimes with fudge sauce - free

 

a couple parties give free champagne out

 

I'm all for everyone else paying for the upscale things, probably helps keep my free stuff free.

 

I dont drink coffee so didnt need to goto the Seattle coffee place

 

This is exactly why in his own words.....

 

Good grief..... sorry.... not usually rendered speechless :eek:

[Dizney]

If someone sleeps on deck lounge chairs at night and only uses the public restrooms, does he or she have to tip the cabin steward? Hey, maybe that should be offered as a new option: "outside cabins." :p;):rolleyes:

 

Eric

 

:cool: Careful...you may have just given someone an idea! :D

[missbogota]

The reason that we like to cruise is to be WAITED on! :o You are paying for a service. The servers are usually quite good at it and love doing it. As someone else stated, the servers in the DR also work in various other capacities on the ship. They get very little pay, work long hours, and live in shoe boxes. Personally, we think that if you can afford a cruise, you can afford the gratuities. That's our two cents worth. :D

 

Well Said!!! I totally agree!

[lovetocruise75]

We usually eat 4-5 nights in the Windjammer and 2-3 nights in the dining room. Nothing against the dining room but I wear a suit everyday and do not get dressed up on vacation! That being said, we always make sure to tip our wait staff in the MDR.

 

For those of you who do not know, a waiter on a RCCL ship is paid approximately $100 per month. They rely on tips and usually send all money they make back to their families in other countries. Working on a cruise ship is an up-at-dawn round-the-clock 7 day per week job for 3-4 months at a time and IS NOT AT ALL GLAMOROUS!!

 

Give them something even if you don't eat in the MDR!!

[Cthy651]

On our last couple of cruises, we have eaten most of our meals in the Windjammer. The reason: do not want to get dressed up for dinner, want to eat, when we choose.

Do we tip? Certainly every night as a matter of fact.

When on a cruise vacation, you have a choice of where to eat, please do not criticize those who wish to eat somewhere else, besides the dining room.

[Pomperaugrr]

On our last couple of cruises, we have eaten most of our meals in the Windjammer. The reason: do not want to get dressed up for dinner, want to eat, when we choose.

Do we tip? Certainly every night as a matter of fact.

When on a cruise vacation, you have a choice of where to eat, please do not criticize those who wish to eat somewhere else, besides the dining room.

 

I have not seen a reply that criticized eating in the windjammer every night in this thread. It is a very viable option. While you indicate you tipped, the OP seems to indicate that he did not tip the wait staff at all. As I said above, the best thing about cruising is that there are so many options for everyone, including dining choices. It is good to share the experience and ease the minds of those who are considering that option. Bragging about saving money buy not tipping is just not cool though. I am still giving the OP the benefit of the doubt in that he did not clearly state whether he tipped the wait staff in this thread.

 

Eric

[Gonzo70]

If someone sleeps on deck lounge chairs at night and only uses the public restrooms, does he or she have to tip the cabin steward? Hey, maybe that should be offered as a new option: "outside cabins." :p;):rolleyes:

 

Eric

 

What would be kind of cool would be if they built a campground area on Oasis and had tents instead of staterooms in an outdoor area. I would book that!

[NJGRANNY]

I don't think anyone was criticizing for not eating in the main dining room. The issue is the tips. It's just not fair to the waitstaff not to tip.

[will work to cruise]

On our Mariner cruise we ate dinner 4 of the seven nights in the Windjammer. We also paid our gratuities in full, plus some. The waitstaff works all areas of the ship and deserve a tip for the fine work they do. We met a couple onboard who ate at the Windjammer everynight and did not tip the waitstaff, because they did not eat in the DR. It makes me wonder how many people do this on every cruise.

[JSQ01]

please do not criticize those who wish to eat somewhere else, besides the dining room.

 

I wasn't really taking away from others posts that anyone is criticizing for eating in the WJ rather than the MDR...it's more a question of not paying tips...but since the OP has not posted again...we don't know exactly what he/she paid...only from another post do we know it was "waiters fee"...whatever that means...

[JSQ01]

It makes me wonder how many people do this on every cruise.

 

Unfortunately, I bet there are many who do this...

 

On our first cruise our asst waiter was from Honduras...when we stopped in Roatan he got to see his family...he told us he was one of the lucky ones to be able to see his wife and daughter every other week for a few hours when the ship was in port...unless he had to work. That just tore my heart out...he was an excellent waiter, and we probably tipped him 3x what the pre-paid tips were...I just think most of them deserve every penny...they do things behind the scenes we never see. Maybe I am just a sentimental sap though...sigh.