You have already paid for your Royal Caribbean cruise. So why leave some of the best food on board sitting untouched?
Matt from Royal Caribbean Blog has been on 10 cruises this year alone, and he says he keeps watching passengers make the same dining mistakes. Some pay extra for things they could get free, and others miss meals they never knew existed.
He lists seven, starting with one that could cost you the chance to eat unlimited lobster for free.
Skip The Cabin On Boarding Day Or Miss Free Lobster Tails
On Royal Caribbean’s newest ships, the Windjammer serves a complimentary seafood buffet on embarkation day. Matt describes lobster tails, shrimp cocktail, crab claws and plenty more, all at no extra cost, which adds up to a shot at unlimited lobster for free.
It is offered on Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas and Legend of the Seas. Here is the catch, he says. It is only served at lunch on boarding day, so you cannot come back on day three.
People head straight to their cabins, or book a specialty restaurant or the Aquadome Market for lunch, and the buffet is gone. Older ships do not offer it.
“It’s Totally Okay” To Order Two Entrees In The Main Dining Room
First-timers often debate between two appetizers or two entrees because that is how restaurants work at home. On a cruise, Matt says, most of the main dining room food is already part of your fare.
If you are torn between the shrimp cocktail and the soup, order both. If two entrees sound good, try them both. He says many waiters will even encourage you to order something else if you cannot decide.
“It’s totally fine,” he says, as long as you are not being wasteful on purpose. Portions on the ship also tend to run smaller than at a restaurant on land, so the extra dish may be just the amount you want.
And if you finish and wish you had another French onion soup, spaghetti Bolognese or steak, you can ask your waiter at any point for one more. He says that is not a big deal at all, because the crew wants you happy.
Check The App Before You Get Dressed Up For Dinner
The main dining room menu changes from one evening to the next. Some favorites repeat, but most of it rotates through the cruise, so some nights sound fantastic and others do not.
Matt’s mistake to avoid is waiting until you sit down to find out what is being served. Open the Royal Caribbean app once you are on board and preview each day’s dinner menu.
It takes 30 seconds, and it can save you from dressing up for a menu you do not like. You can head to the Windjammer in shorts instead. He also uses the previews to time his specialty restaurant nights, so he does not go to Chops Grille and miss the French onion soup in the main dining room.
My Time Dining Without A Reservation Means Standing In The Wrong Line
My Time Dining sounds great, since you are not tied to the same dinner hour every night. But Matt says it does not mean you can show up and get a table.
There are two lines, one for guests with reservations and one for guests without. Guess which moves faster.
The fix is to make a reservation, before the cruise or on board in the app, with no additional charge. Matt says that every time he has tried My Time Dining for research, he has shaken his head at the folks without reservations, because their wait “could have been avoided with about 37 seconds of effort.”
Your Drink Package May Already Cover The Coffee
Matt loves Starbucks and says buying it on a cruise is fine. But if you have a beverage package like the Deluxe Beverage Package or the Refreshment Package, it includes specialty coffees at other venues on board.
Places like Cafe Promenade, Pearl Cafe and Cafe Latitudes serve lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos and other espresso drinks. The drink package excludes the standalone Starbucks kiosk, so you pay extra there.
The Starbucks menu does have items you will not find elsewhere, like a pumpkin spice latte or the red cup holiday drinks. For a cold brew, a macchiato or a Frappuccino for the kids, he says the package route is probably cheaper.
Free Continental Breakfast Skips The $7.95 Room Service Fee
Room service usually costs $7.95 per order. The exception is continental breakfast, which Matt calls a casual hidden feature.
You can order pastries, toast, fruit, cereal and coffee and have it delivered to your cabin at no additional charge. It is not a steak-and-eggs spread, but he calls it one of the more underrated ways to start a busy port day.
You get something in your stomach while you dress and get ready, and you do not have to go up to the Windjammer for coffee.
Complain To The Head Waiter, Not Into Your Napkin
Matt saves the last one because it almost makes him angry. Cruisers tell him dinner took too long, food came out wrong, or a special request was not handled, and when he asks what staff said, the answer is often nothing.
The top two complaints guests do not voice, he says, are slow service and food that arrives differently than expected. He is clear that asking for help is not the same as being unreasonable.
In the dining room, head waiters oversee the experience and solve problems. Politely ask to speak with one, describe the issue and ask what can be done.
You can also just point it out so other passengers do not run into it. Matt calls the head waiter a problem solver and your best resource.
The Takeaway Before You Sail
Most of these mistakes are easy to avoid, Matt says, and none requires spending more. Eat the boarding day lunch on a newer ship, order what sounds good, check the app, book the dining reservation and speak up when something is off.
Which dining mistake did you make on your first sailing? That is the question he left for his viewers in the comments.
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