After a year in which Royal Caribbean's dining changes — both the real ones and one that did not happen — angered many passengers, the cruise line has good news for aggrieved customers.
The cruise line has embraced two growing trends in innovative ways that should delight anyone who gets to experience them.
That's a welcome change after Royal Caribbean's poorly received main-dining-room changes. In 2022, the cruise line introduced new nightly menus, each with a theme like "Mexican," "Welcome Aboard," "Italian" and "French." Not every dish on offer sticks to the theme, but many did and the overall menus were smaller.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line makes two more key dining changes
In the interest of reducing food waste and speeding up meal times, the cruise line slimmed the menus and eliminated what is had called the Classics section. These were basic items like New York strip steak, salmon and spaghetti bolognese, and appetizers like shrimp cocktail, escargot, French onion soup and more.
It was a largely unpopular change even for people who enjoyed the new offerings, as many cruisers missed being able to order simple favorites every night.
The reaction to the main-dining-room changes, however, was nothing compared with what happened when the cruise line asked in a survey whether passengers would be okay paying for the pizza at Sorrento's, the pizza eatery on most of its ships.
Though the question was just on a survey, it led to significant anger among respondents, prompting the cruise line to issue a statement that Sorrento's pizza would remain free.
Now, however, just a few weeks before the world's largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, embarks on her first sailing, the cruise line has announced a new dining feature and a new beverage option that will delight passengers.
Image source: Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean adds a food hall
Food halls have become a popular feature in Las Vegas. In many cases, they have replaced the traditional buffet.
A food hall offers numerous small restaurants around shared seating. They offer the choice of a buffet, generally with higher-end food, without the all-you-can-eat aspect.
Virgin Voyages cruise ships offer a food hall instead of a buffet. On those ships passengers can pull up menus via a QR code and place orders through waitstaff from multiple eateries at once. (Or, for most of the options they can just order at the counter.)
Icon of the Seas will still have a Windjammer Buffet, but it will also offer Aquadome Market, a food hall located in the first-of-its-kind Aquadome. The new venue will host Royal Caribbean's famed Aquatheater show, bringing it indoors for the first time.
Aquadome Market offers "five unique food stands" that "serve up a smorgasbord with a side of awe-inspiring views," the cruise line said in its app.
The food hall will offer Creme de La Crepe, Feta Mediterranean, Toast and Garden, the Chinese eatery GNGR, and Mac's, which offers a variety of macaroni and cheese options. All these food stalls are new to the cruise line.
Royal Caribbean embraces a drink trend
It's hard to argue that the espresso martini has become the most popular drink at sea. You see people sipping them across the fleet, and Royal Caribbean has actually added a premixed version of the popular cocktail (dispensed from a device that looks like Dunkin's Box O' Joe).
On Icon of the Seas Royal Caribbean will take the growing trend even further with a bar dedicated to coffee.
"From classic cups of joe to coffee-infused cocktails that'll perk up your nights — this is anything but bean there, done that," the cruise line punned on its app.
"Start your days and end your evenings at Rye & Bean, a transformative coffee shop that's the perfect blend of cozy morning hangout and buzzing late-night bar."
Another Aquadome venue, Rye & Bean, is also a Royal Caribbean first. You can order boozy coffee at Cafe Promenade, but the cruise line has not listed a menu of alcoholic coffees at that venue since it began serving Starbucks coffee.
Chops Grill, which also has a location on Icon of the Seas, offers a selection of adult beverage coffees on its dessert menu.
