How Royal Caribbean has solved the
Main Dining Room Service Delay
Main Dining Room Service Delay
Sea Day 1
Gulf of Mexico
MORNING
After a good night’s sleep on an average hard bed, we woke up at 7:30AM and got ready for a great
day on board the Enchantment of the Seas. We
knew going into this cruise that we wanted to try a few different things and
experiences and eating in the Main Dining Room as often as possible was one of
the things we wanted to try.
We went to breakfast in My
Fair Lady Dining Room on Deck 4 around 8:15AM and got right in at our very
own table for two. TIP- We enjoy getting to meet new people on a
cruise, but we always like to dine (any meal) by ourselves as we rarely
get to have “Date Nights” or even just a simple meal to ourselves with the busy
lives our family leads. This is an easy request on most cruise ships and we
have never had an issue during breakfast or lunch hours, especially. All you must
do is… ASK!
We've been sailing for nearly 8 hours. We're making decent time.
Breakfast in the Main Dining Room was SHOCKINGLY fast. TIP- Royal Caribbean offers a “Tutti Bar” in the center of the dining room that offers foods such as fruit, oatmeal and even made to order waffles during breakfast. This is always a huge hit for most cruisers and something I personally enjoy on each RCCL cruise. Our main entrée was already delivered to our table in the 5-6 minutes it took to go to the “Tutti Bar”. This was the fastest service we have ever had. With the tiny size of this ship’s Windjammer, we could have easily still been looking for a table had we opted to go to the Windjammer for breakfast!
This dining room is very nice for this size of ship.
Breakfast in the Main Dining Room was SHOCKINGLY fast. TIP- Royal Caribbean offers a “Tutti Bar” in the center of the dining room that offers foods such as fruit, oatmeal and even made to order waffles during breakfast. This is always a huge hit for most cruisers and something I personally enjoy on each RCCL cruise. Our main entrée was already delivered to our table in the 5-6 minutes it took to go to the “Tutti Bar”. This was the fastest service we have ever had. With the tiny size of this ship’s Windjammer, we could have easily still been looking for a table had we opted to go to the Windjammer for breakfast!
Morning pastries!
I love the breakfast menus.
The "Tutti Bar" available for breakfast!
After breakfast we went up to Deck 6 to Café Latitudes to get a
specialty coffee that was included in our Ultimate
Beverage Package we purchased pre-cruise. TIP- This
beverage package includes unlimited drinks, including alcoholic and
non-alcoholic drinks of all kinds, bottled water, specialty coffees, and our
favorite… fresh squeezed juices. Plus, much more. It is usually offered
pre-cruise for $50/ per day per person and is a great deal if this type
of indulgence is “your cup of tea”- pun intended. We do not purchase this for every cruise, in
fact this is only our 2nd time to PURCHASE this package but we
certainly enjoyed it this cruise. TIP- The line at
Café Latitudes was frequently long but it moved very quickly, and we never had
to wait longer than 7 minutes from the point we got in line until coffee in
hand. You can’t beat that at a STARBUCKS on land!
We enjoy splurging on specialty coffees when we are cruising!
Cafe Latitudes breakfast options.
We then got into our swim gear and went to the Solarium,
which had already become our home away from home thus far in the cruise as we
spent most of Day 1 in this area. Even at mid-morning on a seaday, it was very
easy to find a chair in the Solarium and the pool and hot tub
area were not that busy. TIP- The Solarium
offers 2 hot tubs and they are both covered with large awnings. They were also
consistently HOT and most of the time the jets worked very well; however, the
port side seemed to be better overall. The only complaint we had for these hot
tubs is they only held about 6 average size adults. We like the Freedom class
ships that have HUGE Solarium hot tubs that can hold 12+. But again, we never
had an issue finding space.
The Solarium area at 10AM on a sea day... This is practically unheard of!
The Solarium Pool (It was FREEZING cold).
Around 10AM the Captain came on the speaker to announce the
change of plans in our itinerary due to the fog delay and the Port of Galveston
being closed the previous day. We were not going to be able to make it to
Cozumel and instead would be docking in Progreso, Mexico on the north east
shore of Mainland Mexico. Our port times were 7AM- 4PM and the captain
announced all pre-purchased shore excursions would be reimbursed and the new
Progreso offerings would be available in the Royal
app within an hour. We had not pre-purchased shore excursions as we had
been to Cozumel 14 times previously and go to an all-inclusive beach not
offered through the cruise lines, so this did not affect us but there were
quite a few upset passengers. And
honestly, there is a reason to be upset because Progreso is NOT equal to
Cozumel. Progreso is a terrible, industrial Mexican port with not a lot to offer.
The beaches are not nice, and snorkeling is practically non-existent. In fact, it is our least favorite port in the Caribbean.
We spent the morning in the Solarium area with our
friend Dwight at the Solarium Bar. While we were there, a routine inspection by the health department was happening. It was fascinating as the inspector checked the temperature of the beverages like milk and cocktail mixes and the cleanliness of the cups and glasses.
#TeachersonBreak
'We love a good seaday... and this one did not disappoint!
We did a WHOLE LOT of NOTHING!
The inspection by the Officers.
A walk on the Lido Deck on a Sea Day. This ship was TINY but there were ALWAYS seats available!
(AND, Deck 10, the open deck with twice as many chairs as Deck 9 was closed most of the time)
Then we changed and went to lunch in the Main Dining Room. Royal Caribbean offers a GREAT sit down full-service lunch in the MDR on SeaDays and this particular menu is my favorite of all of the menus RCCL offers. The “Tutti Bar” is still offered during lunch hours but now offers a made to order tossed salad bar and deli and cheese area. TIP- Once again, it is a huge hit with “’Loyal to Royal” cruisers (including myself) and is not to be missed when cruising on Royal Caribbean.Once again, the service was PHENOMENAL, and our food was delivered very fast and piping hot. We were highly impressed with this service and would highly recommend this dining option.
This is the BEST menu (of lunch AND dinner) offered by RCCL in my opinion!
My "Tutti Bar" lunch salad!
The My Fair Lady Dining Room.
This is the BEST menu (of lunch AND dinner) offered by RCCL in my opinion!
My "Tutti Bar" lunch salad!
AFTERNOON
After lunch Chris went to take a nap and I had planned on going to the FRIENDS trivia in the Centrum. I started talking to some people in the elevator about how good the Solarium had been and suddenly forgot about my trivia plans. I ended up in the Solarium and laid out in the sunshine. Chris joined me within the hour and we spent most of the afternoon in the pool and hot tub area. TIP- Since the Solarium area is covered and enclosed, the swimming pool was VERY COLD. It doesn’t get a chance to warm up and it stayed cold the entire trip!
After lunch Chris went to take a nap and I had planned on going to the FRIENDS trivia in the Centrum. I started talking to some people in the elevator about how good the Solarium had been and suddenly forgot about my trivia plans. I ended up in the Solarium and laid out in the sunshine. Chris joined me within the hour and we spent most of the afternoon in the pool and hot tub area. TIP- Since the Solarium area is covered and enclosed, the swimming pool was VERY COLD. It doesn’t get a chance to warm up and it stayed cold the entire trip!
The "kid" area on the ship! This is what they call a SPLASH PAD!
Haha... What a joke! This is NOT a kid friendly ship at all!
Haha... What a joke! This is NOT a kid friendly ship at all!
THIS... is the main event for kids! Do yourself a favor and spend a little more and go on the Liberty of the Seas. Trust me!!!
Even mid-afternoon on a Seaday and both the Lido and the Solarium had PLENTY of empty chairs!
The Enchantment Main Pool area. 4PM Sea Day 1
Around 4PM we decided it was time to “Tap the Brakes” and went to the Park Café for an
afternoon snack since we had the late seating of dinner at 8PM. TIP- The Park Café is at the very back of the ship and offers
sandwiches, soups, pastries, pizza and desserts throughout the day. It is
included in your cruise fare and is a great option for snacks and even full
meals as it also offers a made to order salad bar. The pizza was pretty good,
and the roast beef sandwiches lived up to the hype. The hours during the day
are small and sporadic but it is usually open from 9PM to 2-3AM so it is
perfect for late night snacks!
EVENING
As per our cruising traditions, we try to catch as many
sunsets as possible and this cruise did not disappoint. Since it was so windy,
we were not able to access the open deck on Deck 10, so we caught the sunset on
Deck 9 and then the tail end of the sunset on Deck 5 promenade. INSIDER INFO- The open deck on Deck 10 was closed BOTH
seadays and as we sailed away from Progreso as well. Even with this deck
closed, it was never difficult to find a chair on most days.
Deck 10 was closed 90% of this cruise!
A beautiful sunset at sea!
Sunset Selfie!
It doesn't get much better than this! A sunset on the wake!
It is so much fun cruising with your best friend!
We were able to catch a nice cool breeze before getting
ready for our late seating time in the Main Dining Room. We have not had a
set dining time on a cruise since our first cruise in 2006. We wanted to try
this out again and see if we like it better than My Time Dining. As I mentioned in a
previous blog post, we were able to talk to the Maître D, Lorwin, and get a table for just the 2 of us, which is not always common on cruise ships.
We waited for the My Fair Lady Dining Room to open
near the Centrum where the “Meet
the Captain” ceremony was beginning, and formal pictures were being taken. Due to the small
size of the ship, this was a complete mess and our only complaint about feeling
crowded on this trip.
The MDR doors opened at 8PM and the herd of people just
walked right in. It was a very unusual
feeling, but we liked being able to just walk right to our table. Our
waiters, Chris and John, made for a good team and fulfilled our every request. The service was once again incredible, and we were in and out
of the MDR during a SET TIME in 1 hour and 10 minutes, which is UNHEARD of.
As today’s blog title alludes to, we believe it is all because Royal Caribbean has now started using 1 set menu each night which has the dessert listed as well. The entire order is taken at that time and the passengers no longer have to wait for a dessert menu brought to them after they have completed the main course. Furthermore, on our past 2 cruises prior to this one and now this cruise, we have noticed that the assistant waiters will go and get the items in the galley even while an order is being taken by the head waiter from a different table. No more waiting for your neighbor table to take 20 minutes to figure out what they want before your food comes. It flows INCREDIBLY well, and we believe doing MDR this way will fix the industry problem of 2+ hour dining times in MDR. Way to go Royal Caribbean!
The Captain posing for pictures with the guests!
Been there... done that! Hung the picture on the wall!
We have just grown out of that phase of cruising!
We have just grown out of that phase of cruising!
The My Fair Lady Dining Room on Formal Night.
(It was not busy at all and the service was incredible.)
Plus... I LOVE that Royal Caribbean is so proud to be sailing from Texas!
They have won this Texans heart for sure!
(It was not busy at all and the service was incredible.)
Plus... I LOVE that Royal Caribbean is so proud to be sailing from Texas!
They have won this Texans heart for sure!
As today’s blog title alludes to, we believe it is all because Royal Caribbean has now started using 1 set menu each night which has the dessert listed as well. The entire order is taken at that time and the passengers no longer have to wait for a dessert menu brought to them after they have completed the main course. Furthermore, on our past 2 cruises prior to this one and now this cruise, we have noticed that the assistant waiters will go and get the items in the galley even while an order is being taken by the head waiter from a different table. No more waiting for your neighbor table to take 20 minutes to figure out what they want before your food comes. It flows INCREDIBLY well, and we believe doing MDR this way will fix the industry problem of 2+ hour dining times in MDR. Way to go Royal Caribbean!
After dinner Chris went to take a late-night nap before we
went to the Comedy Show in the Theater.
This comedian was very funny, albeit a
little vulgar for our tastes. We laughed more this time than we have in a
very long time. After the comedy show we walked on the promenade before heading
to the Centrum bar for some great late-night drinks. We ended the
night at the Park Café for late night pizzas. We were enjoying our pizza
before the wild, loud and crazy Comic-Con
crowd showed up like a herd of cattle and we decided to call it a night!
Step Counts, Me: 10,622
Chris: 12,138
INSDIER INFO- There were LOTS of large groups on this cruise. There was a crowd of about 500+ LBGT, 300+ Comi-Con convention crowd and to top it off there were “Sisters at Sea” a Pentecostal Church Retreat of about 100+ Pentecostal women. We have seen it all on this cruise. From a couple of dressed up pirates and a Green Lantern Leotard at Formal Dining to “dancing grannies” shaking their booty on the dance floor in the Centrum. It made for GREAT people watching!
Step Counts, Me: 10,622
Chris: 12,138
INSDIER INFO- There were LOTS of large groups on this cruise. There was a crowd of about 500+ LBGT, 300+ Comi-Con convention crowd and to top it off there were “Sisters at Sea” a Pentecostal Church Retreat of about 100+ Pentecostal women. We have seen it all on this cruise. From a couple of dressed up pirates and a Green Lantern Leotard at Formal Dining to “dancing grannies” shaking their booty on the dance floor in the Centrum. It made for GREAT people watching!
We called it a night at 1AM. It was a great day spent at sea,
but we were tired!
Stay tuned for our day in Progreso!
Next Up… Progreso, Mexico!
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
God is Good... All the Time!
Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Carnival Dream- June 2019
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- March 2019
The Norwegian Breakaway- November 2018
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018
Carnival Dream- June 2019
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- March 2019
The Norwegian Breakaway- November 2018
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
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