When to Windjammer?
To be perfectly honest, my gut reaction would be NEVER, but I will begrudgingly admit there’s a time and there’s a place. So from my experience, what would that be?
As I noted in my last blog from my Freedom of the Seas cruise, early on embarkation day was pleasant. Crowds were low with food and seating being plentiful, but that was my last pleasant experience in Windjammer this cruise.
In all fairness, I made the mistake no experienced cruiser should make: attempting to find a table for breakfast between 8:30-10am. We had slept in late that day so it was around 9am by the time we ventured out. Our plan was to go to the dining room, however, the lines were very long and there did not appear to be a dedicated line for higher-level Crown and Anchor members (usually Diamond and above). In hindsight, if the dining room wasn’t closing at 9:30am I would have been willing to wait 45 minutes verses deal with my experience in Windjammer.
Breakfast in Windjammer at the height of popularity is essentially people wandering around looking for tables and standing over dirty tables to “claim” them while they try to flag down servers to clean them. All of this while others scatter in various directions to enter the lines that feel unorganized with constant announcements overhead asking people to vacate their seats when they finish eating to allow others the opportunity to sit (rarely do people listen).
After wandering around for what felt like forever, but what was probably more like 15 minutes we spotted a dirty but seemingly unclaimed table and stood our ground. Thankfully a server came relatively quickly and cleared the table.
Then came the next two issues: the lines and lack of plates. I found a line with available food which was fairly short, but no plates. After a near collision with another cruiser and a “ polite go ahead, no you go” situation (which of course allowed enough seconds to pass for a series of other cruisers to just plow through the opening), I had enough. I returned to my seat in defeat and just told my husband to go find food, while I regained my patience.
As he is much calmer and a bit of a more commanding presence than my 4’ 10” self, he was able to come away with a plate of food and an empty plate for me. After his slight success, I decided to try again. Armed with my empty plate, I ventured out again and was able to secure with eggs, a half a piece of French toast. a small piece of avocado toast, and a hash brown.
The scrambled eggs are my normal go-to for a cruise breakfast. They are readily available and are pretty consistent in flavor and cook though I recommend grabbing seasoning. While they sometimes have peppers or cheese as another option, they could still use some pepper. They are on the wetter side, but they do get cold quickly so don’t put them on your plate as your first selection. The hash browns are always on-point: crispy and substantial.
For those looking for more carbs, there is always a selection of breads, pastries, and bagels. One of my favorite cruise dishes is grabbing a bagel with lox and other toppings. I can eat eggs most days even when at home, so this is always a treat I like to eat for breakfast on a cruise.
While I didn’t have any major complaints about the food, unless I am going right when it opens in the morning, I will continue to avoid Windjammer for breakfast.
While I would like to say this is unique to breakfast and I didn’t try lunch here on this short cruise, my past experiences on other ships at lunch have been pretty much the same experience. In general, if you can’t stand crowds, I would recommend avoiding during peak meal times. If you have the patience and determination to handle the crowds for a great variety of all-you-can-eat food then the quality and variety shouldn’t disappoint.
For those that are like me but still want to hit Windjammer here are some tips:
Take food to go - Don’t worry about getting a seat and just go in accepting you are going to go eat elsewhere like the tables on the pool deck (though please be considerate and clean up your area when finished). While they typically don’t have to go covers like they do in the dining room, grab another plate to use as a cover if you have a long walk.
Go at off-peak hours
Grab a coffee or drink first to help sip while you look for a table
Try to go with another person so one can grab food and one can hold a table
While I will continue to test out meal times as I try new ships, it certainly isn’t one of the highlights of the cruising experience. I have heard rumors they have made some improvements on Wonder of the Seas so I am excited to try for myself and hopeful that is a sign of better things to come.
