The dining experience on cruises often advantages from the ship being at sea, because it has large windows or outdoor seating with views of the ocean beyond.
A brand new trend, nonetheless, is that cruise lines are investing in designs which are intended to lure guests away from the ship.
One of the newest projects involves putting them on a train. Royal Railway – Utopia Station is a restaurant coming aboard Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas when it debuts at Port Canaveral this summer.
Passengers board a simulated train and experience what it looks like to ride in a dining automobile, including passing by various landscape scenes projected onto digital screens.
Initial rides shall be limited to an American Wild West adventure, a 90-minute ride that recreates the sights, sounds and feel of a moving railroad automobile. Other themes being worked on shall be based on the Silk Road trains that traveled through Asia and 30-minute offerings.
Guests begin with an aperitif on a train platform after which, when the train whistle blows, board the dining automobile, where a solid of actors reenacts an interactive story involving outlaws attempting a train robbery. Royal Caribbean offered a trial version of the experience Thursday at its Miami headquarters.
The menu relies on ingredients from New Mexico and California. Alcoholic drinks are themed across the Old West (think pisco sour), as is the sarsaparilla soft drink served in a bottle. Main courses include river trout, braised short ribs and quail-style roasted poussin. Appetizers include corn chowder, a trio of empanadas and “fart & dart baked beans.”
Just a little childish humor finds its way into the performance, in addition to some dad jokes and jokes that the youngsters don't get right.
“It's like a cartoon. It's old-fashioned fun,” said Michael Bayley, president of Royal Caribbean, adding, nonetheless, that the performances and approach may rely on when passengers are seated.
“In the afternoon and early evening it will be more tailored to the children. Later in the evening it will be more challenging,” he said.
The important attraction of this experience is the continual digital screen projections that show border towns, desert and mountain landscapes that would have come straight out of an Albert Bierstadt painting.
The final product resolution shall be 4K, but even the digital renderings from the test run were impressive, except for a number of minor glitches, like a horse floating over the cliff.
Jay Schneider, chief product innovation officer at Royal Caribbean, said computer-generated videos proved to be a better option than real-world scenery videos, although teams visited actual railroad lines within the West for inspiration.
“Now we can flip a switch and make it winter and night,” he said. “It has definitely opened up a lot of possibilities.”
There's also the $200, three-hour-plus dining experience on the 38-seat Empire Supper Club, which debuted on the world's largest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, which set sail from Miami in January.
It transports guests to the roaring 20s of New York City during an eight-course meal, with each course paired with a novel cocktail.
Guests enjoy music from the American Standards Trio with singer, piano and double bass.
Details just like the rotary phones within the lobby and the uniformed waiters and hostesses in sultry evening gowns add to the atmosphere. The menu also offers some not-so-common options like oysters Rockefeller and a rabbit leg duo. More traditional dishes are also offered, including steak, sea bass and Caesar salad.
The cocktail pairing will omit wine, which is fantastic for the venue, says Linken D'Souza, vice chairman of food and beverage at Royal Caribbean International.
“We tried a lot of variations on the cocktails to make sure they were well balanced. … They paired exceptionally well with the food,” he said. “So it's not for everyone. And that's OK. It's just a unique, niche experience, and we want people to be really adventurous.”
Royal isn’t the primary to enterprise down the theme dinner route. It has been experimented with in some ways through the years, including round dinner theaters on some Norwegian Cruise Line ships, resembling the short-lived magic-themed Illusionarium on Norwegian Getaway, or the John Hughes homage to Nineteen Eighties teen movies on Norwegian Escape.
And Disney Cruise Line's rotating menu has at all times offered a wide range of themed overlays. But the most recent ships have taken it to the following level.
This includes the Worlds of Marvel dining venue on the most recent ship Disney Wish and on the upcoming Disney Treasure, which can debut in December. Both will depart from Port Canaveral. Disney Wish has also unveiled Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure, a large dining hall that takes similar approaches to Tangled and The Princess and the Frog-style dining on the older Disney Magic and Wonder ships.
Disney Treasure is putting “Frozen” on hold in favor of the Disney-Pixar film “Coco.” The latest offering features a five-course meal with a contemporary tackle traditional Mexican fare.
There shall be live actors telling the story of Miguel and his family. Seating will vary per trip, because the trip is tied to a seven-day cruise. On the primary night, guests will go to Mariachi Plaza with Miguel's parents Enrique and Luisa and Abuelita Elena. On the second night, guests will go to the town square in Santa Cecilia where Miguel and his ancestors, including his great-great grandparents Hector and Mama Imelda, will have fun Día de los Muertos.
“The adventure takes you through [those] “It really touches you and brings you back to family, right?” says Carlos Jimenez, executive producer at Disney Cruise Line Entertainment. “It doesn't matter if you're from Mexican culture or any other culture. Family is at the heart of it. So family is everything and we want to make sure we tell this beautiful story.”
Princess Cruises also introduced a suite-level guest offering called “360: An Extraordinary Experience” aboard Enchanted Princess and Discovery Princess.
The line created a small round constructing with two long, semicircular tables facing one another, at which twenty guests could enjoy a seven-course meal lasting one and a half hours that appealed to all of the senses.
Guests begin by sitting in a dark room with digital screenshots of Mediterranean destinations on the circular partitions. What follows is the narrative of a culinary journey from Greece to Italy and Spain to France, with actress Brooke Shields on the helm.
It is a narrative tool to inform the true stories, the source of the assorted culinary delights presented with first-class service from course to course, be it the Spanish divers ripening the red Grenache grape underwater or the French lavender farmer explaining where the distinctive honey taste comes from.
In addition, through an intense and detailed projection of the room and the plates, guests are invited to interact with the table setting before the actual food is presented. For example, they will virtually smash Greek tableware or dig up their very own Spanish truffle.
The smell of the food through the meal is likely to be enough, but here and there an exuberant olfactory accompaniment may be heard, resembling the aroma of lemon before the delicious Italian dish while its recipe is projected onto the screen.
“With 360°, you can be anywhere in the world and we put you in the Mediterranean,” said John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises, on the experience's first event. “We have immersive video, storytelling, food and wine that complement the story.”
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