Why you should eat at the buffet instead of the dining room on your cruise

Here are 12 reasons to eat at the buffet instead of the dining room on your cruise!

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[terrifromm]

We love the buffet for breakfast, lunch, and snacks (desserts), but we do prefer the Dining Room for more formal dinners.

[henrychubbs]

Very informative. I think you should mention that sit down dinners are quieter, more relaxed and give people an opportunity to socialize. The sit down dinner is an event in itself.

[teresacahlik]

We love the dining room and the service. My favorite part of cruising. Feeling pampered is my vibe 💙🩵💙. So glad there are options for all tastes.

[DanetteSWhite]

It's nice to have options. Dinner is definitely in the dining room for me. I look forward to dressing up.

[band]

Breakfast - quality and freshness 100% at MDR. Lunch - no brainer - Windjammer. Dinner - many variables. If you want quick - Windjammer, variety - Windjammer, casual - Windjammer, Pampered and service - MDR, Lobster night - MDR, using your nice outfits and feel elegant - MDR

[AuntK]

On our Alaska cruise we only ate in the dining room 2 nights out of 7. All other meals were buffet, pizza bar or room service. We did so much during the day that at night nobody wanted to sit through a long multi-course meal in the dining room. And I don't feel like we missed out on anything!

[timothypropst]

We always enjoyed the main dining because of the time we had together to talk and converse. It was a time when we all came together and were able to share the experiences of the day. Food has always been fantastic. Also I tend not to overeat in the dining room.

[CeremmoniesbyJudith]

Listening to this, I hope to the highest power that RC doesn't do away with the MDR. I am a picky eater, but I am not a fan of the WJ. In fact, I skip breakfast and only eat a light lunch there. But we LOVE ❤ dressing up & taking our time with a full service dinner. It's the total highlight of our day!

[JH-lwfz]

70% of the main dinning room menu is available at the Buffet. Never skip the stir fry station and remember to ask for garlic. My advice if you're torn between buffet or main dinning, check the buffet which opens before main dinning and compare to the menu. Also notify your server you're doing the buffet before your dinning time.

[johnny_casual]

idk how to explain it, but he has a great voice for a director of cruise entertainment. can totally hear him coming through the intercom system in the mornings

[KevinGonzalez-vzrz]

When My Father and I sailed on the Symphony of the Seas in 2020 just before the pandemic, we ate all of our meals at the Windjammer. Quick, easy, less formal, and the variety was superior. We also met a nice man who served our beverages each night and we took care of him very well ($$$) when the Cruise was over. As a footnote, another reason to eat at the Windjammer instead of the MDR (especially if you’re a party of one or two) is if You want to avoid the social aspect of eating with strangers. This is particularly true for those who are not social by choice or who simply want to eat alone. I am one of these individuals when I travel solo.

[serenamccoy]

Those are very good reasons to dine at the Windjammer! On my last cruise, we ate at the Main Dining room every night. It seemed like it took so much time out of the evening and I wasn't as motivated to enjoy evening activities afterwards.  

Something interesting that happened there every night too - there was a nearby table with 10 guests Every night, 1 person showed up at the dining time of 5:30. Each of the other guests gradually trickled in and it took almost an hour for everybody in their party to arrive. This was definitely inconsiderate of those guests because they didn't "start" their meal service until at least 6:30, and they used up 10 seats that could be used for other guests that were waiting . It's good that Royal Caribbean accommodates guests, but there should be a rule that all guests in the party must arrive within 15 minutes of the dining time or they could be asked to leave and allow others to be seated.

[robertfoerster]

On two occasions I've had hours long dinners that were a blast, in both situations we had met new people while in the dining room and we all started talking. In one of them, after eating course after course, chatting and laughing and having a great time between three tables, we looked up and the "garage wing" (that's what we called a side wing of the main dining room) was empty and we had been there 2.5 to 3 hours. The crew was watching us and surprisingly wasn't upset and they commented that they were actually happy to see it happen as people sometimes rush so much. It was a blast. From time to time I enjoy a nice long dinner, I hate rushing and can spend forever in there with the right people. Thank you for the memories and the video!

[mango]

When I went on a cruise with my dads side of the family in 2019 we all went our own ways each day but we met up for dinner in the MDR… after that my cousin and I would usually go almost immediately (depending on how much we ate in MDR) to the windjammer to see what specialty cuisine was being served that night it was a best of both worlds situation

[glasscity]

It is also about personal preference, I personally am not into the fine dining / semi formal restaurant setting but prefer a more casual environment where I can feel comfortable. I also love pastries and desserts so I would end up eating a small main meal and large selection of desserts

[blanchegiunta]

U make many valid points. But I find it easier to control portions by limiting my choices. Hence, we do room service for breakfast, dinner in main Drms..( anytime dining ) and make advance reservations weeks ahead online. Buffet or pizzeria at lunch .. And toss in occasional speciality night.
To each his own😊

[henriquerochelle]

I only get tired when I have to come back from vacation! But the good news is that I'm already planning the next one!!

[RobertLewis-elub]

A balanced variety seems to be our preference. Over the duration of the cruise we will try most eating and dining options - adjusted to what's planned for the day and how where are feeling at the time.

[UncleBuddy]

I won’t do the formal sit down meal, because I’m not a formal kinda guy, I prefer being casual and smart casual

[suecampbell]

As soon as we got onboard, I looked at the restaurant schedules and plotted which night we'd go to each restaurant so as not to miss one! I made reservations for us at each place and that's where we had dinner. The restaurants were beautiful and the service was 5 star. We went to a restaurant that had furniture on the ceiling and dishes served in small pots in open printer trays and desserts bigger than your head. The Italian restaurant had a center table of antipasti items that included a huge wheel of cheese, freshly carved prosciutto, etc. Everything was done up. We went to poolside and ocean-side grilled seafood places for lunch and the buffet restaurant for breakfast. For us, the best of all worlds was the BEST of all worlds. I STILL think about the food!