Odyssey Of The Seas Dining Review: Menus And Food Guide
We took a 9-day Mediterranean cruise on the Odyssey of the Seas ship. In our review, we share what’s open 24 hours, specialty dining options and included restaurant venues within the cruise fare.
Dining and food choices are often a big part of cruising. One of the nice features of this larger vessel is the number of places to eat on board.
What’s Open 24 Hours?
We had previously cruised on Spectrum of the Seas, her Quantum-Ultra sister ship. That one was built for Asia and had very different restaurants. Although it lacked a 24-hour venue. On Odyssey, we could get drinks (coffee, tea and juices) and snacks at Café Promenade on deck 4 24 hours.
Complimentary Dining Options
Quantum and Quantum-Ultra class vessels are known for their variety of dining options. Go with the complimentary or opt for a specialty dining experience. Here are the included venues.
Windjammer Marketplace on deck 14 has a changing menu catering to different global locations. For our Mediterranean cruise, themed nights include Mexican, American, Chinese, Indian, Italian, and Mediterranean dishes.
It generally opens at 7 AM but hours changed if we had early port days. The buffet closed each evening at 9:30 PM.
Solarium Bistro in the Solarium offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Due to its small size, the menu is limited.
Cafe @ Two70 was our go-to place for lunch. We liked the fresh salads, sandwiches, and fruit. It attracted fewer people, mainly because they didn’t know the Two70 had a café. Great food and 270-degree views of the ocean. Need I say more?
Room service – Continental breakfast is complimentary between 6 AM and 11 AM. American breakfast incurs a USD 7.95 + 18% gratuity per room. It included eggs your way, omelets, sausages, bacon, pancakes, and hashbrowns.
Sorrento’s Pizza on deck 4, offers pizza from 11:30 AM to 3 AM.
El Loco Fresh has limited hours from 11:30 AM to 6 PM. Its buffet dishes consisted of tacos, nachos, burritos, and quesadillas.
Main Dining Room
The main dining room spans two decks, 3 and 4. The reservation only, on deck 4, served three timed seatings each night: 5:30 PM, 7:15 PM, and 8:30 PM. It didn’t surprise us that complimentary lobster had been removed on formal night.
Only deck 3 dining room opened for breakfast and offered brunch on sea days. Brunch attracted a huge crowd with waits for a table. We tried brunch and the service was fast and the food decent. Here’s what we ate for dinner.
Night One
Since I have food allergies, I’m limited to certain dishes on the first night. Then my selections are pre-ordered for the next day. I went with a classic shrimp cocktail, prime rib, and mango sorbet. The prime rib was excellent and incredibly tender.
Night One Choices
Prime rib
Crab cake appetizer
My husband, Brian, had crab cake, chicken dinner, and key lime pie. He said the crab cake had great flavor and was the star of his selections.
Along with the daily menu, we could pick premium selections. They included:
- Maine lobster tail for USD 17.
- Chops Grille Filet Mignon for USD 20.
- Surf & Turf for USD 35.
Night Two
This evening was the first of our two sea days. We thought it was formal night, but our app said it was a 70s theme night. Like us, not everyone got the memo. Some were in 70s outfits. Others in formal attire. Most went casual.
After looking further on the app, we discovered other themed nights. 80s, tropical, Latin white attire, and on the last sea day, dress your best.
Night two featured the taste of France. We didn’t necessarily pick the French dishes. Brian chose French onion soup, herb-crusted salmon and apple cobbler. The salmon was cooked to perfection and beat the salmon he had in Rome.
Night Two Meals
Herb-crusted salmon
Lamb Rogan Josh
I went with the iceberg wedge salad, curried lamb rogan josh, and same apple cobbler. Lamb is always a go-to choice for me. It’s either cooked right or not. This time, it was a miss. Too tough to eat.
Night Three
Our third night was “Taste of the USA.” Brian stuck to his favorites of shrimp cocktail, New York strip steak, and Royal cheesecake. The steak was a healthy portion and quite tender.
I tried the vegan zucchini fries as a starter. The zucchini was good, but I didn’t care for the flavor of the tofu dill mayonnaise. My main faired better.
The maple & bourbon glazed salmon was delicious and so were the roasted Brussel sprouts. I finished with the Royal chocolate cake which was a bit dry.
Night Four
For our day in Santorini, “Taste of Mexico” was on the menu. We had a long day in Santorini (7 AM to 10 PM). While we planned to eat off the ship for dinner, the crowds were overwhelming (even in April), so we came back to the ship earlier than expected.
Our meal choices weren’t Mexican. Brian had shrimp cocktail, butter chicken, and vanilla ice cream. He was happy with his picks and said they were great.
I went with shrimp cocktail, turkey pot pie, and coconut layer cake. The dessert was the star of my meal; moist with great taste. The turkey pie was a miss.
Night Five
“Taste of Mediterranean” was appropriate for our day in Kusadasi, Turkey. We both started with Greek salad, a favorite we often have at home. Since I’m lactose-intolerant, I was happy to see they used 100% goat feta.
We both chose chicken for entrees. Brian had grilled chicken breast, and I chose the chicken piccata. Both were good, but my portion was large.
We finished with Panna Cotta and vegan chocolate brownie. My brownie was dry, but Brian fared better with the Panna Cotta.
Night Six
Our favorite night in the main dining room was night six. “Taste of Asia” was the theme. We tried the vegan spring rolls and dumplings. The chicken and cabbage dumplings were recommended by our waiter and they were fabulous. Better than the spring rolls.
Our entrees choices were Kung Pao chicken and Sweet & Sour pork. Both were good, although the sweet & sour pork lacked crunchiness.
Mango tapioca pearl and vegan lychee tart rounded out our meal. The mango tapioca pearl was a huge hit with everyone. My tart didn’t have enough lychee but was loaded with a strawberry puree that was too heavily sugared.
Night Seven
“A taste of Italy” was the theme this night. Since our day in Athens consisted of a late excursion to the Acropolis, we missed our set dinner time and ate in the buffet instead.
The buffet selection was much better than we expected. We actually enjoyed the food more than some of the dishes we ate in the main dining room.
Night Eight
This night was our only real formal night or “Royal Night.” Gone was the complimentary lobster and replaced with grilled jumbo shrimp. We had eaten lunch in Teppanyaki and were still full heading to dinner.
So, we went light with starters of Ceasar salad and avocado and melon salad. We both chose the grilled jumbo shrimp as mains. Brian had baked Alaska and I had banana cocoa custard. Brian thought his dishes were good. Mine were sub-par.
Night eight – Royal Night!
Grilled jumbo shrimp
Baked Alaska
Since I’m lactose-intolerant, I requested rice with my entrée instead of the mashed potato. Mine arrived dry, without sauce.
Night Nine
The Bon Voyage dinner featured meals from different parts of the world. I went with the shrimp cocktail, braised lamb and peach trifle. The lamb was very tender and delicious.
Brian went with Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, pecan-crusted salmon, and warm apple cobbler. It was a lovely last meal for an incredible April Mediterranean cruise.
Main Dining Room Children’s Food
The main dining room menu included options for children. Unlike the adult menu which changed each night, the kids’ menu stayed the same. The choices were basic: hamburger, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, spaghetti marinara, and mac & cheese.
Rainbow salad, veggie sticks, and French fries rounded out the kids’ sides. Desserts included three flavors of ice cream and chocolate chip cookies.
Specialty Restaurants And Foods For A Fee
There are additional options to dine which incur a fee. Chef’s Table, Playmakers Sports Bar, Crown & Compass Pub, Teppanyaki, Giovanni’s Italian, Izumi Sushi, Chops Grille, and Wonderland.
Giovanni’s Italian, Teppanyaki, Izumi, and Chops Grille open for lunch on sea days and late arrival days in port. All offer discounted rates at lunch except Izumi.
Since we had eaten at most of these venues on other Quantum ships, we chose just Teppanyaki this time around. We had lunch, saving 40% off the dinner price but the portions remained the same.
We recommend a “Taste of Royal” lunch offered in Wonderland. If you’re new to specialty dining, it’s a great way to sample dishes from multiple venues. The menu changes but its appetizer, entrée and desserts are signature dishes from three different restaurants.
Teppanyaki
Teppanyaki is a popular specialty restaurant on Quantum-class vessels. Meals are cooked in front of you. It’s part food, part entertainment.
We had a choice of salad with ginger dressing or miso soup as starters. All meals included egg fried rice and grilled vegetables along with your choice of two portions; beef, chicken, shrimp, scallops, lobster, or tofu. We could add a 3rd portion for an extra USD 5.
I went with chicken and shrimp. Brian chose chicken and lobster. All the food was incredibly tasty, and the fried rice seasoned to perfection.
Brian finished his meal with the mochi ice creams which was much better than my crispy sesame balls.
Izumi
Izumi is another favorite of ours, but we didn’t dine there this time around. Lunch and dinner were both USD 45 per person and consisted of two small dishes, one large, and a dessert. The portions are large and much more than we can eat. Sometimes, we order one and split the dishes.
Chops Grille
Chops Grille is a classic steak house. It offered brunch (USD 60), lunch (USD 30), and dinner for USD 65. Their menu hasn’t changed much over the years. Along with different steak cuts, there is chicken, salmon, shrimp, rack of lamb, Branzino, and lobster. Some items incur an extra fee.
There are choices of sides, but I always find vegetables a bit limited with only creamed spinach and jumbo asparagus.
Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen
Some Quantum ships have Jamie’s Italian, but the Odyssey has Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen. It has mostly pizza and pasta dishes in a casual setting.
Wonderland
Wonderland offers a whimsical dining choice in an Alice in Wonderland setting. Diners reveal their menus by painting a blank canvas with water.
Dishes have whimsical names. Mad Hatter’s Purple Potted Shrimp, Snap Crackle and Pork, and Liquid Lobster. Finish with The World, a chocolate globe that melts under hot sauce.
My Thoughts On Odyssey’s Food
We’ve cruised on many Royal Caribbean ships and found the service onboard consistently good. The choice of dishes on this cruise was limited, with a move towards cheaper cuts of meat.
No matter your nationality or food preferences, there’s something for everyone. So, step outside your comfort zone and try something new – the pasta-bilities are endless!
