New menus look good to me. I like the theme nights! As far as lobster, it is crazy expensive now and I certainly understand the need to set limits. My cruise experience isn’t ruined because I can only have one lobster tail!

My wife and I were on Symphony mid Nov. with the test menu. We were both very pleased and happy with the choices / variety, as well as the quality of the meals.

More limited choices for cost cutting

I am so very picky and was nervous about losing the classics. But there is only two nights they would be a challenge. But like Matt says we can always order chicken tenders. And we had planned on the 2 nights for dinner at specialty restaurants as we love Izumi and Giovanni’s

Great video!! Thanks I guess I'll be asking the others sitting at our table who are not having lobster to order a tail anyways to pass it on to my plate later 🦞

Going on a cruise in 2024 and I'm sure there will be more changes by then, but I love having an idea of what is going to be served in the Main Dining to see if we will go every night or just a couple. Thank you, Matt!

After 20 years of cruising with RC with virtually the same menu, I’m excited!

It looks interesting. That exec is clearly correct, though, it's not supposed to be an "all you can eat lobster" on the ship, it is just costing them a mountain of money. And if you don't like what's there, you can just go to the Windjammer (or get chicken tenders) :)

Matt, let me start off by saying you, your blog and your KZfaq channel are the best resources for everything Royal Caribbean. As for this report on the New Menus, I completely love it as it will reduce the amount of time sitting in the MDR. Not only that, but by not having the same items available each night it makes the dining experience more interesting and you don't get bored as you do with having the same options each night. Thank you again Matt for a fabulous video.

The previous menu is not responsible for the lengthy MDR dinner experience. The dining room staff has been greatly reduced and each waiter and assistant has several additional tables to serve simultaneously. Busboys have been eliminated, dedicated bar staff eliminated, and fewer functional head waiters. Mix in the anytime dining variable and a decrease in passenger punctuality and the slim staff are now stretched to a lesser degree of efficiency.

I’m a windjammer person, but with these changes I’ll be much more inclined to go to the main dinning room. I think these changes are great!!

As someone who LOVES the lobster, it’s not that big of a deal. I do like that they switched to the bigger lobster tails before making this change. The bottom line is we still get it and no one is going hungry on a cruise ship 😂. Thanks Matt!

Best dishes on the new menus hands down are the Indian food options. Not even close!!! Given how small my lobster was last week on Symphony they might as well do away with it completely and put the extra budgets the deserts which continue to be quite bad. Lobster was less than 2 bites, no joke. I have had larger shrimp. Our dinner service was consistently 90-100 mins.

Next will be eggs, have you seen the price of eggs? I used to pay $2.10 for a dozen and a half, I went Friday and it is $7.50 for the same amount. I guess chicken have golden eggs now. LOL, I love the menus, as a matter of fact I like them better. We are booked on 4 more Royals this year and can’t wait to try them. Thank you Matt for always having the latest news on Royal.

Was on a sailing last Oct 2022 with my extended family. All of them first time RC cruisers. After seeing that the MDR had the same menu each night majority of the fam wanted to just hit the other options. This will be a welcome change IMO.

No one who “takes their lobster seriously” expects these lobster tails to be anything more than mediocre at best.

I just recently cruised on the Symphony of the Seas (31 Dec~7 Jan), and experienced the new menus. I found the themed nights still offered enough choices to satisfy multiple tastes and I was happy to see that my go-to favorites were still available most nights. I chose a mixture of Chef-recommended and regular menu items each night. While it is a change, I don't think the majority of cruisers will be disappointed. As far as the length of dining, there was plenty of time to enjoy the experience and each other. While dinner is a time to catch up on the day's adventures we must remember that if one has chosen the early seating, the wait staff must reset the area for another group coming in after us.

Can't wait to eat on Wonder of the seas! I love new choices.

"Theme nights" are interesting and there are still a lot of selections on the menus. My family has been on two cruises, and we have yet to experience a lobster night! We've had fresh Maine lobster in Boston and Maine at fantastic prices, so $16.99+18% for an additional tail seems a lot, but we'll see. It will be interesting to see the size of the tails. As to time invested on a dinner: When my family goes to any restaurant (and more so on cruises), part of the enjoyment is spending time together to talk and catch up. If dinner is just a "rush" stop on the way to a show, we make sure to go to a "quicker" restaurant, or to schedule the show for a later time, but to each their own. One thing we have always thought and STILL think is that staff of all the RCCL kitchens are AMAZING and truly the prep and behind the scenes to each MDR meal must be incredible!!! Looking forward to our next cruise on Wonder in May!

Here is a post I made on another video. We returned from Symphony on Christmas Eve. It's not just the food that has changed, it is also some of the ways they will now serve you. Anyway, there is certainly a very positive spin put on the MDR changes with this video. As well, I would use the term "theme" very loosely! Here is my original comment based on real, first-hand experience: Just back from a cruise on Symphony. The new menu is a total disaster. We were very unhappy with it. Of the 5 nights we ate in the main dining room, we left unsatisfied at least 4 of them. Very poor options for those younger than 16 as well. Also, they will not bring two plates during one course any longer. So if you want two appetizers, you have to finish your first one, first. Which means you're eating alone while others have finished their first plate, and they are waiting on you to finish. Very odd and poorly thought through. If you want steak with your tiny little lobster tail, you have to eat your lobster tail first and then they'll bring you a steak. Oh, and the "new, improved" lobster tail of which you get one, a total miss. It is TINY and very unsatisfying. The head waiter actually argued with us when my wife refused her first lobster tail which was not prepared properly and would not come out of tail shell cleanly. It was a total joke. We were pretty unhappy with the change and this will be a major consideration for us before booking on RC again. The dining and menu has taken a major step backwards. This was our 7th RC cruise and we're ready to look at other options for 2023. Dining used to be one of the highlights of a cruise. That's no longer the case for us on RC. Very sad.

Though I haven’t sailed on RC yet, these menus are certainly intriguing. I’d recommend keeping the “standard” or “classic” choices available. Some nights a guest just might not want a French, Mexican, etc experience. Though I’ve never been a big fan of lobster, I know there are those who indulge on Lobster Night. I think two complimentary tails is not out of line.

I agree with their limitation on lobster tails. The choices of other entrees unlimited should allow people to not leave hungry. I also agree with a faster dining experience.

I love Creme Brulee. When I sail, I eat in the MDR so when it comes to dessert, I eat the NY Cheesecake AND Creme Brulee. I love it. And yes, I eat it all. I am NOT about having it only on certain nights now.

Like the defined Indian Options each night… I know they were previously available as a ‘secret’ but it nice to see them out in the open…

If I remember correctly I’m sure my first three cruise back 70s. We’re themed night menus 🇦🇺 just came of Quantum last week , no lobster tail at main dining , it one of the lunch windjammer did have prawns mussels and. Small Lobster tails it was great and plenty of it , 🇦🇺🇦🇺

Love the dinning room! Lovely ! Look forward to going again!❤

On my cruise on Jewel (Durring Christmas), They gave me 2 lobsters (1 to start and 1 that our waiter had on a separate plate with plenty of lobster on it).

We cruise on Royal Caribbean a lot (92 nights last year), and we are not happy about the new menus. When we want an Italian meal, we go to Giovanni's or Jamie's, and when we want Asian, we go to Izumi, etc. About every 3 nights we order escargot and creme brulee because no restaurants near our small town serves those things. Now, with the new menus, we can only get what we want once per cruise, if that, depending on the length of the cruise and what menus are offered. This is just another example of how all companies are discontinuing products and services while increasing their prices and claiming to do it to for their customers when in reality their number crunchers have simply identified a way to increase profits.

Currently on Wonder of The Seas and noticed the menu changes but I must admit they are just as great if not better.

I am looking forward to the change on my Upcoming Wonder of the seas sailing in March 2023. I am NOT a picky eater and I like trying new things. I can find something i would like on each menu.

New menu looks really good. Can't wait to try it on our cruise in April.

The new menus look great to me! There's been so many rumors flying. That the entrees are tiny, that you can only order one. 75 min is fine. I'm looking forward to Caribbean night , I hear the coconut shrimp is very good!

Thanks for this video and the downloadable PDFs! We just came off a cruise out of Sydney and we found that our kids were much happier if they could see menus a bit ahead of time so that they could take their time making choices - some days they felt adventurous and some days they were a bit more fussy. This will allow us to get a good headstart on our first two RCI cruises in October!

I’m excited to try the new menu this MY when we are on Wonder. I really like the themed menus and refreshed options.

I love the themes! Reminds me of when I took my first Royal cruise back in the 90s. Each night had a theme (and a special after dinner shot too which looks like it is still gone). My wife will not like the one lobster, but I guess I will have to order two main courses that night, so she can have my lobster. 🙂

Love this. Sounds refreshing🙋‍♀️

I think the new menus and theme nights are a great idea. I never even considered the classics before, I can have spaghetti and baked chicken at home! Not why I went on a cruise

This is such a good intro to the new menu. I’m cruising Feb 19, Anthem and I’m HOPING it has been launched in time for my cruise.

Best dining review I’ve seen! Thank you 😊

Excited to taste test the new menu in may

We have actually only had diner in the MDR one time and it was on our last cruise. Compared to the specialty dining, we actually found it was one of the best experiences as far as time goes .

I don't know if I buy the reasoning behind the change being a time issue. I always felt the service in the main dining room was great and relatively fast. That being said... The amount of food wasted onboard is absurd, so I am fine with these changes and having to pay a little more if I want an extra lobster tail.

I was afraid of the new MDR menu but now seeing it, I'm relieved because I still see my usuals. I'll just order it on those days! We actually like dining for 2 hours because it gives us a chance to slow down, eat without rushing especially when it's a 3 course meal (or more), enjoy our wine, and gives us a quieter place to catch up with each about our day. I hope they don't start kicking out people if we stay longer than 75 minutes because that's way too fast in my opinion. Might as well go to the Windjammer if you want to eat and get out quickly. This is the MDR and it should be more of a nice dining experience.

I have absolutely no issues with these changes. That being said, I'll be on the Anthem for an 11 night cruise on January 24th and will hopefully be available to try them out.

i love this actually ! looking forward to our symphony cruise in march

Can't wait to try the new menu!

Excited for my cruise in March! Menus look great to me!

Less meals in the MDR for me, as I am not very open to a lot of foods. So no extra tips for my wait staff, do not like limited choices.

Thank you for posting this! I'll be on RCI Brilliance, the end of the February. I'm just glad that they will still have escargot !!!!

Just came off a Royal Caribbean cruise and the new menu in the main dining room is fantastic! Getting ready to book another cruise on Royal Caribbean and get more of their wonderful food - especially the desserts!!!

We are going on our first cruise ever on Liberty next month. I appreciate that they are taking steps to mitigate the challenges they face as well as customer experience. I have seen many speak of service inefficiency in the MDR in recent months. It seems this might be a solid solution, or at the very least a proactive step in that direction.

Great and informative as always. I saw New York Strip Stake so I'm good. 🙂

I'm one of those that love to try new stuff. So this would be interesting to try in March when I go one Wonder.

I hope that they will continue to accommodate those of us with autoimmune disorders. I cannot eat carbs at all so some of these changes seems to limit my choices.

I think the theme nights sound fun but I wonder if RC will let us know which nights will be for each theme so I can better plan for my reservations at some of the other restaurants on board. Looking forward to our Odyssey cruise in March!

Getting rid of the classic items is very disappointing. My wife and I order from the classic entrees at least 2-3 times on every 7 day cruise. I'm going to miss the nightly shrimp cocktail.

Personally, my wife and I get the UDP. We enjoy the upcharge restaurants more since we like the food selection better and it's a more intimate experience for us. With the UDP, every night was like date on our last two cruises. We'll skip the MDR, thanks.

what's so strange about the lobster regulations is that the Maine Lobster industry (as the daughter of a fisherman, who's baited so many traps it would make your head spin) is highly regulated (size restrictions, egg bearing female restrictions, trap limits, rope requirements, diminishing available licenses etc.) in order to maintain stock levels. There hasn't been a single right whale death attributed to entanglements in a LONG time (thanks to rope and trap trawl regulations). The right whale losses we've seen most recently in the gulf of Maine are mostly attributed to shipping strikes and disease. This past calving year saw the most new right whale calves in decades. Contrary to this is the lack of regulation on "keeper" lobsters in Canada. They drag for lobsters, have unlimited trap trawls, and no limits to sizing. So, while Maine Lobster (which employs a HUGE number of my friends and family) is under increasing pressure, we're seeing the Canadian industry thrive, while also depleting stock. I'll get off my soap box, but the change in sustainability certification is going to put a lot of people out of business and there's no good evidence to support the change in designation.

I hate theme nights in buffets so having them in main dining room is not for me, but if you like different food then that is great. Maybe now they will do more basic choices in the buffet instead. One can only hope as not everyone likes different foods.

I'm looking forward to these changes. They look great to me.

The only thing is I want the cheesecake for every dessert but I’ll just have to branch out😂

So far am impressed. I like the idea of the shorter times for dining so YOU can get out and enjoy the rest of the evening on board. I always felt sorta rushed through dinner in order to get to the first showing in the theater. Looking forward to my February cruise!!

Hi Matt! Thank you for this video. We love the classics and will miss them, as we are very picky eaters. I guess I will alternate between steak and chicken tenders!

Thank you Matt for bringing out this news.because my wife and I just booked our first cruise on the oasis .and where taking our two daughters in there first cruise. My wife and I sailed on the Mardi Gras and we went to there main dining room.we got to order anything and as much as we wanted. But where looking forward to sail on the oasis this fall!!

We were on Radiance and on 2nd formal night night received a good size lobster tail. I was able to order a strip steak as well so did not even ask about more lobster. Some will really miss the daily classic options, especially the Salmon. If the next cruise is anything like Radiance, will love it. Thank you Matt!

Sounds good to me . I’ll follow up after our cruise in June.

I will only be disappointed if I can no longer get the Baked French Onion Soup every night as a starter. I didn't see it on every menu, but hope it will still be available by request.

I can understand what he said about royal night was never intended to be an "all you can eat lobster" event. I personally have never ordered more than one tail, but I can also understand why people are upset if they've been accustomed to being served "18 tails" for the past X amount of years and now all of a sudden they're given a limit. There should have been the 1 "free" tail per person rule from the start.

Our next cruise with the new menu is coming up in March on Independence of the Seas. We are looking forward to the new menu and a shorter dinner experience. Thanks for this video and for all of your videos. You are always a wealth of information!!

My husband and I are going in May in Freedom of the Seas for 4 days, in the app I already get the themed dinner for each day. The first night Welcome Aboard, the second Caribbean night, the third French night and the fourth Italian night.

I like the theme night plan, fewer menu options streamlines the service time but shouldn’t shortcut quality. It need to speed up a bit to turn the tables on the first seating.

Great info Matt, Thanks. I will be interested in the comments received in March, if the new menus go live in February. We cruise 4-6 weeks a year and have never had dinner in the windjammer, always in the MDR. I think, as with most changes any company makes, cost savings or more profit is the goal. Less menu items is less food cooked, saving money. The other side is it could increase demand for specialty restaurants, more profit. We cruise again in April and will be open minded about the menus. I think we can look at the daily menus ahead of time and plan to hit the buffet if the choices don't look appealing .

The new menus look good. I'm looking forward to trying them a couple of nights on Allure at the end of this month.

Thank you for this! I'm a MDR super fan and expect this will be what's offered in February when I cruise Brilliance. Hedging my bets on my B2B by getting UDP for one of the legs, lol!

Had a months cruise in the early 70s, the food and everything was amazing. Had my 12th birthdatmy on the ship

The problem with themed nights is ....... if you dont feel like that style of food on a particular night - your stuck and have to head to Windjammers. I liked the variety of different foods each night with the "staples" to fall back on if I didn't see something I wanted. Just seems another way of increasing profit and reducing service.

This is good content....thanks Matt

Hope they kept the pumpkin seed rolls!

Okay but where are the apple blossoms for dessert???? I’m heart broken. I looked forward to those every cruise. Bring them back PLEASE.

I see on the current sailing on SOTS they have a British Night as well since it is an 8 night sailing. Looks like they made sure there is a beef, poultry and fish option every night. If no cheesecake is available one night in the MDR, just make sure you go to Windjammer to get there.

I'm looking forward to seeing/trying the new menus. I don't eat lobster, so that change doesn't phase me. Looking forward to cruising with Marek in October

As a picky eater & someone who has food allergies, I absolutely HATE the new menus!! I tried to download on the blog (didn't work) and so I went back & froze on every menu & read them in details. Guess our love of the MDR is gone!!

As a first time RCL cruiser recently on the Navigator of the Seas, although we enjoyed our dinner meals in the MDR overall, and did indulge in our 1 time only lobster tail second to last night of the cruise, we did experience a few hiccups with the service. The new menus look nice and hope this will improve the service and dining experience. I seem to favour Caribbean and Mexican nights the most.

I am a new cruiser and will be going on my first ever cruise on Anthem of the Seas in may, so I dont have nay prior experience with MDR, but I have been reading the menus while listening to this video and honestly they all look pretty good, I'm quite a picky eater but theres always something on each menu I want to try, and ofc if its something im unsure of, can always order some chicken fingers and fries as a safety choice!

Oh I'm so excited I thank that I'm going g to have a hard time with the desserts there're so many good ones

Having watched the videos and looked at the menu's they seem great - a cohesive theme is a good idea, sure its a bit annoying not to get my nightly french onion soup (the only place I ever have it is on a cruise) but still plenty of options. For those moaning they cant order 10 free lobsters, the fact they did is what caused this so they only have themselves to blame.

The Royal chocolate cake on only one night is a complete deal breaker for me…

I hope this isn’t in a effort to push people to speciality dining (or ordering the non included food on the MDR menu). For the picky eaters (like my son), the removal of the staple items on some nights means he will either be ordering from the kids menu or will just skip the MDR for dinner in the evening

Thanks!

Hi Matt, I read about this on your blog too and was amazed at how many people were not happy in the comments section. I've only sailed on Royal twice and that was in 2022. I didn't get attached to the menu like most, so I'm totally fine with what I see for the new one. I know it should be fleetwide by Feb, but I wonder if it will make it to my Jan 27th sailing on Navigator? As of now, I think the app still lists the old menu.

Awesome change.

My next cruise will be in May so by that time, the new menus will be well established. I am personally looking forward to the new revamp of the menus in MDR. The new lobster served (Maine) is intriguing and I was never really able to eat more than one anyway so no problem with limits. Hopefully the savings can affect the cost of cruising overall going forward and less waste of food. The variety of the food is great. Looking forward to trying it out. There is no shortage of dining choices on Royal Caribbean ships so the MDR is competing with the others and with variety, choices and good quality, the new menus will make it more interesting.

Anyone know if we can still get a cheese plate? That was a favorite when I wasn't feeling something sweet for dessert. Thanks.

I like the look of it ! When announced, I had concerns as I can be picky…. But on each of these menus I have found a Starter and a Main I would order. Also… it’s so easy now to view menus on the app earlier in the day and decide if maybe that night would be better at the Jammer, and dinner at the Jammer is a good experience with a great variety including the featured theme and not crowded like breakfast/Lunch. I’m on Ovation Back2Back for 18 nights in February and am looking forward to the MDR tweaks.

I think it is time for a new menu. Just hope that there are tasty recipe's for these menu's. One thing that comes to mind, I cruise RC almost exclusively. The first night always has battered fish filet. And the last 2 times I got it, it had a ton of batter, and the fish filet was so small, and some of the batter raw. When this happens on the first night, 2 cruises in one year, you know that's a problem. But I look forward to the new menu's and I have 3 cruises booked over the next 12 months.

I was really upset when I first heard about this. However, after seeing these new menus I am finding a bunch of things I want to try. One of my favorite dishes is no longer on the menu which does bum me out a little bit but I'm seeing plenty of others that look fabulous.

We just sailed on the Odyssey Jan 28th and honestly I dreaded the thought of a new menu, however we enjoyed most nights of our 8 day sailing in the MDR. We were able to eat at the Coastal Kitchen and they still offer the classic's which I think could still be implemented on the regular MDR menu. With the new menu, we were forced to try new items which I would not have otherwise. All in all we enjoyed the food from the new menu.

Hmmm I was very skeptic at first but doesn’t look to bad at all actually 🤔 looking forward to trying it out!

I just don't get removing the classics. That's really my only issue and I am very sad that things I would get every night of the cruise are just no longer available every night.

After looking into the new menus, it really attract me Really looking forward to Italian night to try the Lasagna and Cheese cake!!