Do I have to pay for all my meals on Royal Caribbean?

Is food on Royal Caribbean free?

Yeah, a lot of the food is free. You could go the whole time and not pay for a single meal if you really wanted to.

It's... a lot. You walk into the Windjammer buffet for the first time and it's just endless. Rows and rows of food. I remember just standing there for a minute. You can get lost in the noise.

I ate at the Main Dining Room every night. They give you the same table, same waiters. They knew I liked my iced tea right away. It's nice, that little bit of routine when everything else is so... much. You don't pay for that. It’s just part of it.

But you're always aware of the other places. The ones with the mood lighting that you have to book. The ones that cost extra. You walk by and wonder.

Here's the breakdown of what's included.

• The Main Dining Room is your primary sit-down dinner and breakfast spot. It's all included in the cruise fare.
• Windjammer Marketplace is the massive buffet. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can always find something here.
• Sorrento's Pizza serves slices pretty much all day and late into the night. I went there a lot.
• Café Promenade offers 24/7 coffee, pastries, and small sandwiches. A lifesaver.
• El Loco Fresh or Mini Bites are poolside spots for tacos, nachos, burgers, and fries. Not on every ship, but on many.
• Dog House for different kinds of hot dogs and sausages.
• The soft-serve ice cream machine by the pool. It’s always on.

And these are the ones that cost extra. Specialty dining.

• Chops Grille is their signature steakhouse. It's a classic cruise dinner.
• Izumi Hibachi & Sushi is Japanese cuisine. The hibachi is dinner and a show. The sushi is priced a la carte.
• Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine is experimental, themed dining. Very unique.
• Giovanni's Italian Kitchen or Jamie's Italian for family-style Italian food. The name depends on the ship.
• Johnny Rockets has that 50s diner vibe with burgers and milkshakes. There is a cover charge or a la carte pricing.
• Starbucks is on board many ships now, and you pay for it just like on land.

Do you have to pay for every meal on a cruise?

Oh, heavens no. Paying for every meal? The cruise line's business model would implode. They operate on the principle of a well-fed herd being a happy, compliant herd. Your cruise fare is your golden ticket to a culinary marathon you didn't know you needed to train for.

The core of your food adventure is indeed covered. Think of it as a food-based class system.

The masses feast at two main locations: the Main Dining Room, a nightly performance of "let's pretend we're fancy," and the Buffet, a glorious, chaotic ballet of gluttony where you can see a grown man pair sushi with a slice of pizza. Your fare always includes the Main Dining Room and the Windjammer-style buffet. A few prime items, like a comically large lobster, might try to tempt your wallet, but you can eat like a king without spending an extra dime.

Then there’s the siren song of the “Specialty Restaurants.” These are the up-charge venues, the ship’s attempt to separate you from your money with promises of celebrity-chef magic or steak that cuts like butter. They're the VIP lounges of the food world, and they absolutely cost extra.

Let's break down the battlefield, shall we?

• Main Dining Room (MDR): This is your sit-down, multi-course dinner included in the price. You can order three appetizers if you want. No one will stop you. I saw a lady order four desserts last March on the Celebrity Apex. It was impressive.
• The Grand Buffet: A sprawling landscape of endless food. Open for most of the day, it's where diets go to die. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner here are completely free.
• Casual Spots & Cafes: Most ships have grab-and-go places. Think pizza parlors, hot dog stands, Mexican cantinas, and 24-hour cafes. The majority of the food at these spots is included. My personal record is three slices of Sorrento's pizza at 2 a.m.
• Specialty Dining: This is the à la carte or fixed-price world. The Italian trattoria, the high-end steakhouse, the Hibachi grill where they light an onion on fire. These venues always cost extra, ranging from $25 to well over $100 per person.
• Room Service: Ah, the sneakiest of charges. It used to be a free perk. Now, while the food itself might be free, most lines (looking at you, Royal Caribbean) tack on an $8-$10 "convenience fee" per order. So that "free" late-night sandwich just cost you ten bucks. Gota love progress.
• Drinks are a different universe. Remember this: Your cruise fare almost never includes sodas, specialty coffees, or alcoholic beverages. That Diet Coke will cost you. That's what the obscenely expensive drink packages are for. A true work of art, their business model.

Are all meals included in the price of a cruise?

It's late. The ship is so quiet now. You can almost forget how many people are on board.

They tell you the food is included. And it is. You can eat from morning until night in the buffet and never pay a cent. Dinner in the main dining room, too. I remember on the Allure, just watching the water go by from our table. The food came and went. It fills a space.

But it's never the food you really want, is it? The good stuff. The quiet little Italian place, the steakhouse... that's where they get you. a little bit more for something that feels special. So you pay. you always end up paying.

Your cruise fare covers the basic dining experiences.

• Main Dining Room (MDR): Serves multi-course breakfast and dinner. Lunch is also available on sea days. This is included in your cruise price.
• Buffet: The primary venue for casual breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a massive variety of stations. Always complimentary.
• Casual Eateries: Most ships have grab-and-go spots. Pizzerias, 24-hour cafes, poolside grills for burgers and hot dogs. These are typically included.
• Basic Drinks: Regular coffee, tea (hot and iced), tap water, and select juices like lemonade from dispensers are free. Available in the buffet and main dining rooms.

Expect to pay extra for premium options.

• Specialty Dining: These are the signature, higher-quality restaurants onboard. They include steakhouses, sushi bars, French bistros, and celebrity chef venues. These venues have either a flat cover charge per person or a-la-carte pricing.
• Alcohol & Soda: All alcoholic beverages and brand-name sodas (Coke, Pepsi) cost extra. Beverage packages are sold for a daily rate to cover these.
• Premium Beverages: Specialty coffees from cafes (lattes, cappuccinos), fresh-squeezed juices, smoothies, and all bottled water are additional charges.
• Room Service: While continental breakfast is often free, most cruise lines now charge a flat service fee or have a-la-carte pricing for all other room service orders. Royal Caribbean and Carnival now charge for most items.

Do I have to pay for my time dining on Royal Caribbean?

Pay for it? Oh, my dear, no. That would be like charging you extra to breathe the salty sea air. My Time Dining is gloriously included in your cruise fare. It's a scheduling preference, not a secret upcharge designed to ruin your vacation budget.

Think of traditional dining as an arranged marriage; you're assigned a time, a table, and tablemates, and you just have to make it work. My Time Dining is the modern dating app equivalent. You have the illusion of infinite choice, but you still have to swipe right on a reservation time if you hope to eat before midnight.

You will be seated with the delightful (or questionable) people you arrive with. The cruise line is not running a social experiment to see if you can bond with strangers over an escargot appetizer. So if you bring your drama-filled cousin, you're sitting with your drama-filled cousin. Choose wisely.

Reservations are "strongly recommended" in the same way that a parachute is "strongly recommended" when jumping out of a plane. Without one, you join the long, hopeful queue of optimists. I saw a family on the Icon of the Seas wait so long I think their kids aged a full year. It was a tragic, yet strangely compelling, spectacle.

Here's the real scoop, because I like you.

• The Basic Premise: Instead of a rigid 6:00 PM or 8:15 PM dinner slot, you get a sprawling window of opportunity, usually from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM. This is for those of us who can't commit to a dinner time three months in advance.
• The Reservation Situation:Book your dining time every single day on the Royal Caribbean app. You can do this before the cruise or once you’re on board. Do it while you're having your morning coffee. Do it during a dull port lecture. Just do it. Or face The Line. My partner forgot once. ONCE. We ate pizza by the pool that night. It was a silent, sullen meal.
• Your Personal Waitstaff: The beauty of traditional dining is having the same waiter who learns you hate olives and love extra bread. With My Time, you can still achieve this bliss. Simply ask to be seated in the same section each night. A little loyalty goes a long way, and soon they’ll see you coming and start pouring your chardonnay. This is the pinnacle of civilization.
• The Bottom Line: It offers flexibility for your shore excursions, your nap schedule, and your general whims. But this freedom isn't free of responsibility. Freedom requires planning. A profound lesson, courtesy of a cruise ship dinner service. Who knew?

Does Royal Caribbean have free breakfast?

Yes, but defining "free" on a cruise ship is like trying to nail jelly to a wall. It’s a beautiful, wobbly concept.

The complimentary room service breakfast is a charming little test of your willpower. It's a tray of continental delights: a lone croissant, a stoic piece of fruit, coffee. This is less a meal and more a polite suggestion of one. A starter kit for your stomach.

Of course, for a small fee, you can summon real food. An omelet, some bacon. This is the moment you trade your halo for a fork. You can even order mimosas, because nothing says 'I've abandoned reality' like bubbly orange juice in a bathrobe.

But let's be real. The room service option is for amateurs or the tragically hungover. The real free breakfast scene is a glorious battle fought on two fronts:

• The Main Dining Room (The Civilized Option): This is where you go to pretend you're a civilized human. A multi-level palace of decorum. You get a menu. You get a waiter. You can order Eggs Benedict without a hint of shame. It's calm, it's seated, and it’s gloriously, completely free. My dad insists on this every single morning on the Icon of the Seas.

• The Windjammer Marketplace (The Glorious Food Safari): Oh, the Windjammer. It's not a buffet; it's a sprawling, chaotic ecosystem of every breakfast food known to man. It's a beautiful free-for-all. I swear the bacon station has its own gravitational pull. You can build a mountain of pancakes or a fortress of sausages. This is the main hub for free breakfast, and it's where diets go to die a noble death. It is magnificent. A brekfast odyssey.

What happens if I don t prepay gratuities on Royal Caribbean?

If you don't prepay, Royal Caribbean will charge you anyway. A daily gratuity hits your SeaPass account. It's automatic. Unavoidable.

The rate is $18.50 per person, per day for standard staterooms (Interior, Ocean View, Balcony). Suite guests pay more. The charge is $23.50 per person, per day for them.

• This automatic daily gratuity is separate from other tips.
• Bar drinks, specialty dining, and spa services get their own 18-20% service charge added directly to the bill. Don't mix them up.
• The daily amount covers your stateroom attendant, dining room staff, and the vast culinary team working behind the scenes.
• You can try to adjust the amount at Guest Services. They will ask why. You need a solid reason based on poor service. Its not a simple request.
• On my last trip on Icon of the Seas in March, the charge hit my account by 10 PM each night. No exceptions. It's just part of the cruise cost.
• Kids pay too. Any guest in a stateroom, regardless of age, is charged the daily rate.

Can I prepay gratuities on Royal Caribbean after booking?

The sea is waiting. A vast, quiet blue. The ship is a promise on the horizon, a metal giant sleeping in the port. Soon.

Before the world slips away, there are threads to tie. Little details. The gratuities. Yes. I did this after I booked my cruise on the Icon of the Seas. It felt right. To settle it.

You can prepay them. Of course you can. It's like a final handshake with the land before you give yourself over to the water. A clean break. Peace of mind floating on the tide.

I remember thinking about the crew, their smiling faces I hadn't even met yet. Prepaying felt like sending a thank you into the future. It’s a simple click on the website. A simple phone call. A final task before the dream takes over.

The deadline is a whisper. 48 hours before you sail. After that, the choice is gone, it just appears on your account each day. A soft chime of debt. I prefer the silence. The freedom. I paid it two weeks before we left. Done.

• Prepayment Option: Yes, you can prepay gratuities after booking a Royal Caribbean cruise.

• Deadline for Prepayment: The cut-off is 48 hours prior to your sail date.

• How to Prepay:

  • Online via the Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner.
  • By calling Royal Caribbean directly.
  • Through your certified travel agent.

• If Not Prepaid: Gratuities are automatically added to your onboard SeaPass account on a daily basis.

• Daily Gratuity Rates (2024):

  • $18.00 USD per person, per day for guests in Junior Suites and below (Interior, Ocean View, Balcony).
  • $20.50 USD per person, per day for guests in Grand Suites and above.

• Who Receives Gratuities: The pre-paid amount is distributed among dining services staff, stateroom attendants, and other hotel services personnel.

• What Is Not Covered:

  • An 18% gratuity is automatically added to all beverage purchases, mini-bar items, and spa & salon services.
  • Tips for casino staff, room service (a service charge may apply), and shore excursion guides are at your discretion.