Royal Caribbean serves up ‘dynamic dining’
Five new restaurants offer flexibility on board
F lexibility is important to me when I cruise, and it appears Royal Caribbean will offer a new dining plan on the Quantum of the Seas when it is launched this fall in New York, and on Anthem of the Seas when it sets sail next year in Southampton.
The main dining room is gone. It’s being replaced with what Royal calls “dynamic dining.” The cavernous main dining room is being replaced by five restaurants, each with a unique menu, that offer you a choice of where to dine, who to dine with (or not) and when to dine. You can even go formal in The Grande every night.
Here are the new culinary experiences:
Chic — Royal Caribbean claims this contemporary food style will serve the freshest ingredients with degrees of heat for taste, and that everything, such as sauces, will be made from scratch. It’s a theme that is playing well for land-based restaurants.
American Icon Grill — Comfort food capable of crossing many borders is what should be expected.
Silk — Referred to as Pan Asian, with a menu featuring dishes inspired by China, India, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Grande — Formal dining every night you’re at sea. The dishes are what you would have found in an era when cruising meant a leisurely pace across the Atlantic.
Coastal Kitchen — A Mediterranean-style restaurant for suite guests only.
All but The Grande are casual.
Royal Caribbean nabs Oliver
Royal Caribbean loves associations. Think DreamWorks and Starbucks as examples. Now they’re connecting with Jamie Oliver, who first became known to us as the Naked Chef — nothing to do with a lack of clothes and everything to do with cooking style.
A British institution, Oliver has become a crossover hit and is considered a friendly eccentric when appearing on talk shows on this side of the Atlantic. Jamie’s Italian will serve Italian favourites using seasonal ingredients for dishes that include seafood bucatini, crab spaghettini and porchetta.
James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz and Biggest Loser chef Devin Alexander will also have branded restaurants on board, for a fee, which also goes for Jamie’s Italian.
Michael’s Genuine Pub will offer simply prepared gastro-pub food like slow-roasted pulled pork sliders and devilled eggs … perfect with a beer. Devinly Decadence at Solarium Bistro aims to keep you slim; the chicken satay in peanut sauce gives a hint that each dish will be under 500 calories.
Other dining experiences include Wonderland, where Royal Caribbean chefs “twist their culinary kaleidoscopes” to create elaborate feasts, and past favourites such as Chops Grille, Izumi Japanese Cuzine and Chef ’s Table.
In total, there are 18 restaurants giving Royal’s mealtime a major shakeup. There’s a video all about it at Youtube.com/ watch?v=PP7S38BS7TE, and I added more links to the Quantum ships
at Portsandbows.com. Phil’s Pick
This Royal Caribbean Scandinavia-Russia cruise on Brilliance of the Seas leaves Harwich, England, where the train from London stops just over 90 metres from check-in. Leaves: May 26 Duration: 12 days Ports: Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg (overnight); Tallinn, Estonia; and Visby, Sweden Starting price: $1,499
See Royalcaribbean.com or check a travel agent.
At Portsandbows.com next week, I’ll be reporting from Europe and the christening of the first of the new Emerald Waterways ship by the iconic Twiggy. Visit Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Phil Reimer may be contacted directly at portsandbows@gmail.com.