10 insider tips for Royal Caribbean's main dining room
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- If you want to make sure your main dining room experience is the best possible, check out these top tips!
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My #1 tip is always, ALWAYS treat the waiter or waitress with kindness and respect. Yeah, you are on vacation. That still doesn't mean you can be a total jerk to them. They are trying their best to make your trip amazing as well as everyone else's on the ship.
100% AGREE WITH THAT. THEY ARE AMAZING THANK YOU TO ALL OF THEM
Each to their own but we dine every night in the main dinning room on RC. The food and services is always exceptional!
We love the MDR. If you sit in the same seat every night your wait staff will learn not only your name but what you like & it will be there on your table when you get seated. My husband & I drink Perrier they always have it almost instantly when we sit. After the main course they know the we love our coffee so they automatically bring it without asking. These folks work hard & they are definitely the unsung heroes.
So how do you get the same seat - I thought it's you wait to be seated? Or how does it work with MyTime?
And if you wanted a shared table with another family?
I have questions lol
I had lobster tail in Costal Kitchen and I commented how it was absolutely delicious it was, the waiter asked if I’d like another or how many more would I like. All free and I was in food heaven! I love Royal Caribbean!
Best tip if you get sea sick, ask the head waiter for sliced green apples WITH SALT. The manager on NOS told me this tip and it was a game changer. I would eat one at dinner and take some back for the next day! The key is the salt. Also, let them know you are sea sick, they have suggestions to help you feel better.
Other suggestions: eat ginger, drink ginger ale, don't drink coffee or alcohol, don't stuff yourself, and don't allow yourself to get too hungry. Also, stay away from the bow of the ship especially when crossing the Gulf Stream or near land. Tidal action can initiate seasickness. Avoid looking straight down the side of the ship into the churning water. Look off into the far horizon.
There are over the counter medicines available to take. Ship will sometimes hand them out for no extra charge. You can buy them (expensive) in the ship's store. Better to buy at home for best selection and price and put in your First Aid Kit.
Above all don't dwell on or expect to get seasick.
Thanks because I get sea sick easily and usually on the first night I can’t do anything I just sit my head on the table.
if your pretty sure you might feel seasick Id take some dramamine.
Also I always get a prescription for the trans derm scop. Scopolamine topical stickers you put behind your ear. It’s a game changer for folks who get sea sick or motion sick. 😊. One sticker lasts 3 days!
Money saving tip.... do Chops steakhouse the cheap way. In the main dining room, you can pay an upgrade charge of just $16.00, and get a steak from Chops! It will cost you probably triple that much to have it there at Chops. I tried the regular steak they had on the menu on the Harmony and it was not good at all.
I was disappointed with the menu steak on Harmony as well, but the Chops steak is awesome. I just had other things instead of the steak.
Thank you for this! Great tip
Over and over I find that a $20 bill to the MDR Maitre'd upon boarding the ship when "reviewing my reservations" has gotten me great tables, great service, table/staff changes if needed. The food is what it is and varies, but the experience can be greatly enhanced by the situation.
Thanks for this tip (no pun intended🙂)
$10.00 will do it Also! You are either a big spender o just like to give your money away!😊 Not a mean spirited comment! 😊
Who is the mdr
@@aprilbutler5886 MDR - main dining room
“Upon boarding the ship” u mean upon going to the main dining room? Idk if I’m taking it literal. And wdym reviewing my reservations.. like at the host stand u mean? Sorry I’m slow lol thanks
Matt, one of my favorite things about these videos is when the menus are shown for various restaurants and meals. I love to pause it and look! Thanks for including those. :)
My preference as well!
@@channahgav4859 First time cruiser next year. Already watching all of these and taking time to study the menus.
You are spot on Matt! Never hesitate to ask the staff for something special. They will do almost anything possible to make you happy if you ask (politely).
Yes that’s all you need to do is ask politely
9 out of 10 times it’s not the staffs fault but they get the blunt of all the rudeness 💕
And tip the Maitre D
I often order 2-3 starters instead of an entree as I like to eat a smaller dinner.
The wife and I just got back from a five-day on the Grandeur. I followed your advice from this video (and I think another) and asked for the curry on the first night and they brought me two small bowls. One was vegetarian and the other had meat. They also brought a small bowl of rice. I had them most nights and they were always different. I'm not a curry expert but they were the best curries I have ever had. The dining room manager came over to ask about the curry. He said they only have it when Indian people are on the ship. (Smaller ship). But we sail out of Galveston, which is near Houston so I figure I will always have Indian cruise-mates. Great tip. Thanks for improving my dinners.
I love Indian food, but I’m not Indian. Wish they have curry for all.
Thanks matt! 31 days until our very first cruise ever!
How was your cruise?
We typically do My Time Dining... I suggest as soon as you board to check out the nightly entertainment /activities scheduled for the week then make your MDR dining reservations. Can't wait to be back on a ship... less than 90 days until my next cruise!
Will you please explain my time dining! I’m so confused - it basically just sounds like a reservation compared to everyone showing up at the main dining during dinner hours(?) please explain info next week!
My tip: examine the menus through the app before you arrive for dinner. Pay special attention to the vegan menu as some of the items are quite good and don't appear on the paper menus they give you in the dining room itself.
Also, check the theme in the windjammer. More than once I've had an OK experience in the MDR while my kids had a great time in the windjammer. This could have been avoided if I had checked the theme in the Windjammer before dinner.
thats what we did! we planned one dinner in a restaurant and i switched the days around because of the menu.
I was gonna suggest this! Even for traveling without kids, the windjammer theme changes every night and you may find find something that picks your fancy more than the MDR choices, especially if it's on a night there's a lot of shows/experiences that you want to do and need a slightly faster dinner.
How do you check the theme in windjammer on the app? Thank you
To piggy back on your making special requests. I request for a side of peanut butter to add to my lava cake. For the Reeses lovers you gotta have this!
I love the smoked salmon in the main dining for breakfast, I love the table sharing and the cream of garlic soup. I love sitting with the same group of fellow cruisers at dinner every day because we get to talk about what we did that day. Last cruise, I was actually kind of sad because I had to say goodbye to the people we sat with at dinner.
My suggestion is don't lock yourself into the MDR or specialty restaurants, the Windjammer has a rotating theme night that may pick your fancy more than the MDR choices, like me and Greek. It's especially nice if the night lines up with when you are planing to do a lot of shows/experiences and just need a slightly faster dinner.
I hope the ship customer service is good. I just spoke w customer service on the phone today.
Rude customer service. I will not be going back to Royal Carribean again. I am not sure how customer service are being trained. But rudeness speaks volumes.
Your info is exactly what we need! Thank you!
These days there are so few chances to get dressed up for an evening out I always bring my Navy dinner dress uniform or a tux. For all you retired or active duty out there the dinner dress uniform is a great thing to wear on formal night and it’s cheaper than buying and having a tux fitted!
thank you for your service!
Thank you for your service.
I almost always dine in the Main Dining Room for dinner. The one thing that I wish is that the portions were actually smaller. I'd much rather ask my wait staff to bring me something additional than to have too much food and feel like I'm wasting it if I don't finish it.
Thank you so much Matt for recommending the special needs form. I had no idea this was available and is very comprehensive. Last cruise I made a request through our travel agent but this time we booked directly and this form was perfect.
we loved the main dining room on our first cruise :) the restaurant was so beautiful and very fancy :) like being on land in an exclusive restaurant :)
I'm glad that I discovered these you tube videos :) originally, I did not know that you could order more than one food item nor that you could take food back to your cabin. so on our first cruise I didn't take anything back, but I will definitely be taking an extra dessert or 2 back on our Nov cruise hehe :)
EXCELLENT!!! Best tips!
Still 200 days to go and I cannot wait to cruise with you guys! So Excited!
I'm going in October and I'm so excited
We have certainly taken advantage of the opportunity to try new things in the MDR and have found some new favorites that way.
Mmmmm the main dining room is sooooo good!
i can't wait. i planned of going in jan.
Thanks Matt!
Thank you for the 'bring your own wine' tip!!
My wife and I are kind of done with formal night, but we still eat in the MDR. We do change for dinner but it's a polo or something like that. The extra clothing takes too much space in the luggage especially when we have to fly to the port.
Same here!
We used to rent tuxes for formal night, but they don't do that any more. It was a polo and slacks for me every night.
We had "Our Time" dining at the beginning of August and could not reserve a table ahead of our trip. There was only 3 of use so we never really had to wait except on formal night, then it was only a 30 min wait. Also we ordered several items to share each night and was never unhappy with any of our choices.
We had no trouble changing times by asking the hostess at the door the night before. Also we asked and were seated with same servers after we asked in my time dining.
excellent camera work 5 stars
I am do glad that royal Caribbean mede Rhapsody of the seas kosher 😊🇮🇱 only 3 more weeks antil my Rhapsody of the seas first ever ceiling!
It's not really a tip, but we always go the MDR for all dinners. We get to know the waiters, so each sailing we always get a picture with them at the last day of our cruise. (And always tip them)
Lobster night! Two tails please!!
I love the formal nights. It's always nice to dress fancy for an evening. Then usually get some pictures taken from the photographers. 🙂
us too :) theyre our favorite night onboard :) love dressing up all fancy :)
great camera excellent 5 stars
I loved my Royal Caribbean, so far. 8 cruises and moving to Florida, so I can go for and I do this as a single lady and always treated,like Royalty
The table set up is pretty when viewed from above, something difficult to appreciate when you're making your way to your table.
My last cruise was excellent they bent over backwards to accommodate and make my granddaughter happy with her dinner
@I AM BRETT KAVANAUGH AND I LIKE BEER!!! youre a real piece of work!!
@I AM BRETT KAVANAUGH AND I LIKE BEER!!! OH AND I LIKE BEER!!!!!!
@I AM BRETT KAVANAUGH AND I LIKE BEER!!! That would not surprise me lol
We just returned from trip on the Oasis of the Sea. The food in the main dining room was average. The Windjammer food was just okay. We dined at Chops and enjoyed it thoroughly
I can't wait to go on my first trip to the Caribbean for 8 days and I plan on pigging out in the main dining room amongst other complimentary restaurants...
I recently cruised on oasis of the seas and was frankly unimpressed by the main dining room. The service although friendly was very slow and the food was just ok. My family got the dining package and found the specialty restaurants to be worth every penny.
we are boarding her in Nov. Which was your favorite specialty dining venue? (I'm choosing 2)
@@RAnnD78 personally I preferred 150 Central Park between the service and the food it was by far my favorite. We tried all but Giovanni’s table and didn’t have a single bad meal. Also if you do go to 150 their specialty martini is fantastic and done table side.
Just come off Greek Island Cruise on Brillance of the Seas. We ate in the Main Dining Room every night, we were on My Time Dining I found the food was ok nothing special & always either lukewarm or cold & the service was hit or miss most nights, we were left waiting for ages. We sometimes felt that we were not important enough. The food in the Windjammer wasn't that great either. This was our first cruise with Royal & it was not the cruising experience we had hoped for. I'll never sail on the Brillance of the Seas again
I love dining ,not crowded and very relaxing.
Can I get indian food even if I don't have a dietary restriction? The curry and naan you briefly showed looks so good!
IF DIETING, you can ask for half portions. I did on both the Anthem and the Oasis and the staff was accommodating. This prevented me from wasting food. As a big person I did get some interesting looks at times and got the "are you sure" question a lot.
Hi Matt going on my first cruise in may and I was suggested by my TA to take the 5h30 dining time instead of the later one because of the shows , my question is, if I want to go to a specialty restaurant or to the buffet can I do so and if so who do I inform?
Have a cruise in December with some family and friends but we’ve all booked separately, suggestions to make sure we are all sitting together?
Matt you might want to check Tip 2
My wife and friend's wife both sent in their special needs forms for non-dairy options and both received an email saying they would need to go to the dining room once on the ship. Nothing could be done before hand. We sent them in within the correct time frame.
We have sailed at least 10 times on Royal Caribbean and have NEVER been able to eat in the main dining room. We are allergic to salmon and shellfish. We have talked to the special needs dept of Royal Caribbean, on shore, and filled out the forms at least 6 months in advance. Invariably once we are on board we TRY to talk to the chef (who always has head buried down and never looks up), told yes they know, but when we go to the dining room we are told that they do not know anything and that we need to go to the purser's office as they cannot serve us. Purser's office states that they did not receive the paperwork from shore. We eat in the Windjammer always and the server there receives our tips. Get it together Royal Caribbean.
@@paulamonaghan3280 that's really unfortunate. I'm excited to try Royal, but I can already tell they need (and I hope no one takes offense to this) to hire a younger web design team. The website is confusing, outdated, and unintuitive.
For dairy free, I would try ordering vegan meals…with a side of meat!
@@Dead_Heir either something changed in 3 months or you are confused easily. That website is simple to navigate, book, add ons.
I always order a couple cheese plates to go. Hubby and I enjoy with our wine on the balcony as we star gaze.
Ooh that is a good idea! 👍🏻
Are you able to request seating with another group if you're on different reservations?
QUESTION - Re: Table Assignment - What is the best size table to request if you want to sit with others & meet new people? Do I request a table for 4, 6 ,8, 10 or more? It's our first cruise and my husband and I want to meet other couples.
I can't say for sure, but I would call directly to RC and rather than try to specify a certain table size, tell them you would like to be placed at a communal table (explain to them you want to meet new people). See how that works and if you don't mind, reply back and let me know if that worked!
I am so confused on how the main dining rooms work. We have my time dining...will they assign us a specific dining room for our entire cruise, or can we make reservations in a different one each night? If I'm correct, there are four MDRs on Anthem.
If you select My Time on Harmony of the Seas, are you allowed to only eat in the MY Time dining room? Are the menus all the same in all of the dining rooms? Is dining room 3 the only dining room you can get breakfast? Thanks from a first time!
If you are on the anytime dining with reservations do you still get strangers at your table? Or do I need to email RCC to get a private table?
You should now check if there is any extra charges as some lines now charge
We are signed up for my time dining, but we also prefer to dine alone. Should we still email ahead to time to state our preference? How far ahead can we make reservations before we board the ship? First time sailing with Royal Caribbean. So much to learn! We appreciate all of your helpful you tube videos. Thank you Matt!
i am sailing at the end of december for the first time and my time dining reservations are available under the dining section of plan my cruise - i think it appeared in the last week and a half. just booked them a few minutes ago!
@@alexandraschwartz4061 Thank you. Were you able to select a preference? Dine alone table? We don't sail until Feb 2024, so we have lots of time to figure it all out!
@@annmarie9321 no it just had me select the day, names of my family, then i picked a time and added to my cart. i did it for each day and i think it assigned us to deck 3
@@annmarie9321 Maybe I will call and ask about that! I would rather have a dine alone table. I will comment back once I contact
We have always been able to sit alone in My Time Dining.
To the formal night comment: I must admit that I wish Royal would do a bit more to enforce "some" kind of dress code. We just returned from Alaska on Ovation and on both formal nights I took note of people eating in the MDR, at the early seating (not MY Time), in ripped jeans and T-shirts. I'm one of those who likes to dress up occasionally, but it really is disheartening to see people in the MDR dressed in ripped jeans and T-shirts. I really don't care about other areas of the ship, but in the MDR???? Really???
On the topic of ask your waiter for any special foods you might like: Every now and then I will ask our Head Waiter on day one of a cruise if there is any possibility of getting Filipino food on a subsequent night. Only once was this not available. Most of the time we're able to get something, and I usually let the chef decide on what, specifically, they bring us. This past week on Ovation our Head Waiter went way overboard, and brought Filipino dishes I didn't even know existed. Ekaterina, our Head Waiter, was an absolute joy, and I think she had more fun that night just serving that food than we did.
I would agree on at least a minimal enforcement of dress code on formal night. I didn't pay much attention but our daughter thought a hoodie and sweat pants really wasn't her idea of dress your best.
We have a cruise for 6 of us on quantum in Aug how do we make sure we are seated together?
Yes to being able to order more than one entree, my sister usually ordered one to go lol
If I have dinner hours for 5:30 can I go to dinner again before the main diner closed
I'm going with family on the Oasis in December... we are 11 (7 Adults 4 kids)... will it be difficult to be seated in One table?
What do you suggest we should do to make that possible?
Love your videos!!! Thank You 😊
I believe they have a couple big round tables that seat 10. Not sure if maybe they could squeeze 1 more chair in since you got 4 kiddos.
make the reservation with time, I leave in September in symphony of the seas and I already made the reservation for 7:30 pm the seven days
Going on the wonder of the seas in October. First time cruise. What is the dress code at night and does it cover everything also does this include teenagers (16)
Check out the RCCL site for all the details on Dress Codes.
@6:50 LOL, someone call security! Clearly there's a stowaway on board that ship!!!
best main dining room tip is order the whole menu every night cuz the only reason I cruise is for the food
Hi Matt! My agent booked My Time dining for my group of 4. How do I changed it to a fixed time dining before boarding? We sail on 2/10/22.
Your agent can change it for you.
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog Thanks! I contacted my agent and it has been amended to fixed time dining 6-8.30pm
My tip? Avoid the buffet if you can. The food quality in the main dining room is always better, and generally you'll only spend only a little bit more time anyway. And none of that time will be shuffling past people and looking for a table.
If there is dress code for main dingroom should be unforced or get rid of the dresscode
Can you buy wine in a port of call? Would you be able to drink it on board, or would they need to store it until the conclusion of the cruise?
They keep it until after dinner the last night
@@chuckdill3567 cool, thanks.
The "eat multiple items" shout - does that apply to MyTime Dining as well?
Yes
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog Any way 2 out of 3 adults can AVOID paying the beverage £60pppd charge.Only one of us drinks (me!).They will be on sodas
Love a table for 2 with a ocean view.....
So would everyone else 🙂
They had great vegetarian options 👍
Now with 100% capacity would it be possible if it’s just 2 ppl to get a table for 2?
yeah, on Independence a few weeks ago, there were many tables for 2
@@gvanlare1 thank you!! 👍👍
Are they going to bring back wow bands??
So far, the answer appears not.
Hi, I enjoy your videos!
Do you think it’s better to choose My Time or Fixed time dining if you’re traveling solo? Just wondering. Thank you!
I think fixed time is just simpler
Yeah, on my last cruise, I was doing My Time and had an 8:00 reservation. When I went, they said it would be 10-15 minutes and they'd fetch me from the lobby. 45 minutes later they hadn't done so. They didn't want to admit that either they forgot about me, or a single diner was unimportant to them. I'm looking at changing to main dining room late seating.
I was going to ask the same! I’m solo and have chosen fixed at present. Think I’ll probably stick with that
@@kathyleigh207 solo??? You gotta bring someone. Let’s go. I’ll go 😂
@@jbrow8016 🤣 darn it my cabin is only for one person 🤣
Are the Royal Caribbean robes suitable for Formal Night?
I wish and they should be!! 😂🤣😂🤣
Don’t laugh! My son was married on a cruise ship and there were alot of us so we had a private dining room. His frat bothers all came as Brobes.
Hi Matt! I’ve been watching your channel since we decided to go on our FIRST cruise in May to Bahamas
Wanted to know if you’ll get more info on excursions says to get a day pass to go to Atlantis aqua adventure must be fully vaccinated so you think that will change later this year?
I emailed RCLdining and they could NOT give me an assigned table in advance of my next cruise, which is in 45 days. I have My Time Dining. They said to talk to head waiter on embarkation day.
The Royal Caribbean App wouldn’t let us make My Time Dining reservations before the cruise started. Also, I would never want to make dinner reservations before I saw the entertainment itinerary, which we weren’t given until the cruise started as well.
My cruise is en September 17th and I make my reservation at 7:30 pm for the 7 days, in the app and was super easy
You could always change your reservations once you saw the entertainment schedule. 🤷♂️
@@ilrg7387 Thats a good tip, we have a 3 night dining package for the steakhouse etc for Ovation on 23/9 but its not letting us book anything at the moment, can this be done on the app closer to the cruise date?
I am new to RC and for the life of me I don't understand why we have to reserve a spot got a show and only when we get on board. I also wondered what time dinner to set since I have no idea what time are the shows smh. I cruise in 3 weeks so hope I enjoy it and make the best of it
The only confusion I have is are we obligated to go to the MDR every night at 5:30 for our reserved traditional dining? We aren’t sure about packing extra clothes for the formal nights and may just eat in the windjammer on those nights. I hate to imagine there is some sort of penalty for picking early dining and not showing up every night.
nope, you can do a no show at any time
except the lobster, there is now an upcharge for a second one (17 bucks plus 18% gratuity)
If you are assigned a table in the MDR for every night, do you have to tell them if you've decided to eat elsewhere on any given night?
I think it is a courtesy to let your server know if you are not coming the next night. We always do that as a courtesy.
@@bevjarrett6357 thanks! 😊
Is it really possible to book “my time dining” before getting on the cruise? In the RC app it says “you will be able to book your My Time Dining once aboard”😁
I am able to do it online in Plan My Dining when I open my reservation.
@@patti1044 I’ll try doing that. Thank you very much for letting me know!
I’ve always been able to book that well ahead of my cruise….over a year in advance usually
@@ryanm4013 must’ve completely missed it! Even when we booked the cruise it didn’t allow us to do it online no matter how many times we tried. I’ll give it another go now though and hopefully it’ll work.
Can you dine in the main dining room with small children and do they provide highchairs?
Yes and yes!
i had no idea you could order more than one dish! i guess that explains why they gave my brother six steaks one night, haha
Matt, if we're in a suite and have My Time Dining, are we allowed to bypass the long line and be seated ahead of others? I think that's what our concierge told us.
I will be going on a Wonder of the seas cruise, Can someone please verify that on formal night you can wear dress pants or khaki pants with a dress shirt and not a suit and tie. Will very much appreciate all answers Thank You
Tip upfront at the beginning of the voyage (and tip them again at the end and let them know you will). They will go the extra mile eagerly and immediately. Maybe get a hook up not normally afforded to others. I think one would see an even higher level of service and you will feel good knowing that you are taking care if those who are taking care of you.
there was one waiter that told me and my friend that were on vacation we should tell them if we weren’t satisfied by the food because we ordered steak and barley ate it
How can I change dining time. I have my time dining but think I wanna change it. I don't see how to change it on my app
You have to contact your travel agent
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog what if you don’t have an “agent”? Some travelers book directly through RC.
Hi
We asked to change our table because it was in the worst location. Unfortunately they didn’t accommodate our request. 😢. They said there were no options available.
I don’t understand having to make pre cruise reservations for my time dining. So not really the flexibility that other cruise lines offer. This was very disappointing to us on our first RCL cruise and lead to a bad cruise experience
We booked a couple nights pre cruise. Others we booked on board. Our problem was with the app. Mine only gave early times as that is what I booked. Daughter could only do later times. Also we never had a problem that wasn't solved by talking to the host as we entered the dining room..
@@julieb7882 we cruise on the ovation in november 2023 and have my time dining. i went to book at the MDR and solaruim bistro for 2 of the nights and i was offered a 5:45pm meal time or a 7:45pm time..... nothing in between. i would have prefered about 6:30pm. ended up taking the earlier time so that we were finished our meal in time for the broadway shows, as guessed they would be on at about 7-7:30pm. i was very surprised when i thought it was flexible dining that i had to choose one of 2 set times
@@travelwithdebandnick you can also show up at dining room but may need to wait a bit to be seated or share a table
Aren’t they charging more me for extra entrees? I heard you can only get one complimentary lobster. At least there is still one. But will they start charging $29 for lobster? I heard somewhere that at least one of the cruiselines is doing that. Our cruise on the wonder is still 16 months away. We are having to save for it.
yes, extra lobsters are at an addtional fee
Just curious. Would they turn someone away if they showed up in casual clothes on formal night?
depends on the cruise line, and how 'casual' you show up
open the wine bottle in your room and carry it to the dinning room.
what if your vegan or lactose in tolerant🙋♀