Royal Caribbean Jamie's Italian review

Royal Caribbean Jamie’s Italian Review

This article will review Royal Caribbean Jamie’s Italian restaurant as well as answer some frequently asked questions.


Jamie’s Italian Restaurant is one of the specialty restaurants on select Royal Caribbean cruise ships.  It is an Italian restaurant by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.


Royal Caribbean Jamie's Italian restaurant review on Mariner of the Seas



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Royal Caribben Jamie’s Italian



Royal Caribbean Jamie’s Italian is open for dinner daily and lunch on sea days.  Reservations are required. 


You can make reservations before your cruise on Royal Caribbean’s website or on their app.  Full payment is required to make a reservation. Onboard, reservations can be made on the app or in person.


It is a popular restaurant; it is recommended to reserve before your cruise.



Royal Caribbean Jamie's Italian restaurant on Mariner of the Seas - inside view
Jamie’s Italian restaurant on Mariner of the Seas



Royal Caribbean Jamie’s Italian cost

Since it is a specialty restaurant on certain Royal Caribbean International ships, there is an additional charge. 


There is a flat fee to eat at Jamie’s Italian restaurant.  It is one price regardless of what you eat.  Therefore, you won’t save money by skipping an appetizer.


The delicious three-course menu consists of 6 starters, 5 pasta dishes, 8 mains, and 5 sides.  You can have more than one starter and side.


Inside view of Jamie Oliver's restaurant on Mariner of the Seas
Jamie Oliver’s restaurant on Mariner of the Seas from a different angle



When we cruised on Mariner of the Seas in late August 2022, the onboard prices was $22.99 USD for lunch and $49.99 USD for dinner both plus an 18% gratuity.  Lunch will have smaller portions. 

There is a separate kid’s menu for those aged 6-12 years old, the price for that was $10.99.  This of course can change and is meant to just give you an idea of prices.


Purchasing ahead of time is cheaper most of the time as there are often sales. 


Royal Caribbean cruise has a few options when it comes to pre purchasing specialty dining experiences.

  • Single specialty restaurant meal (this is what we did, keep reading for our cost)
  • 3-night dining package
  • Unlimited dining package



Royal Caribbean Jamie’s Italian dress code

The dress code for Jamie’s Italian restaurant is listed as casual.  Our experience was that is was more of a nicer casual. 




Royal Caribbean Jamie’s Italian Mariner of the Seas Review

The Mariner of the Seas Jamie’s Italian restaurant is located on deck 11.  It is a separate restaurant inside the Windjammer buffet across from Chops Grille.  Jamie Oliver’s restaurant is bright, airy and nicely decorated. 


We made our reservation online in the cruise planner approximately one month before our cruise.  It was 15% off.  We paid $130.56 Canadian for 2 which included the automatic 18% gratuity.  On that day, the US exchange rate worked out to $50.79 pp including tip or $43.04USD per person before the auto gratuity. 


We chose 5:30 p.m., which was the first dinner reservation time available.  It was a port day (our last day in Bermuda), but all aboard time was 2:30, so a 5:30 dinner was easy to make.


Cruise line specialty dining tip – Check your cruise ship itinerary before making dinner reservations.  You don’t want to cut a port day short, or rush back to make your dinner reservation.


The Windjammer buffet restaurant doesn’t open until 6pm (as mentioned, Jamie’s is inside) and the doors to the Windjammer are closed until 6.  We waited outside with others who also had reservations.  Shortly before 5:30 a staff member came out to open the doors for those of us waiting.


We were sat at a nicely set table for 2 beside the window with amazing ocean views.

View from Jamie's Italian window seat



My daughter and I are both vegetarians.  Jamie’s Italian has great options for vegetarians. 


What we ate at Jamie’s Italian restaurant

We went with our server’s suggestions and had:

Starters (appetizers)

We shared the following 3 starters:

  • Black truffle arancini – This is one I wouldn’t have ordered on my own, but glad we did.  It was delicious.  It’s crispy black truffle and mozzarella risotto rice balls with truffled Bechamel for dipping.
  • Ultimate garlic bread – this is actually buttermilk buns
  • Tomato bruschetta – this was made with tomatoes, bocconcini mozzarella, olive oil, basil, and balsamic vinegar.  This was the only starter that honestly wasn’t as good as I expected.  It was good, I had just expected better.


Our starters from Jamie's Italian restaurant on Mariner of the Seas
Garlic buns, black truffle arancini and tomato brushetta
Our appetizers from Jamie’s Italian Restaurant


Garlicky prawns and crispy squid were a couple of the other appetizer options if you are seafood lover.




Fresh pasta

We each had the penne pomodoro.  This is penne pasta served in a delightful tomato and basil sauce with burrata. 


I had never even heard of burrata before.  I am clearly not a foodie, but this was so delicious.  The burrata was the best part of the dish, and something I still think about.


Penne pomodoro at Jamie's Italian
Penne Pomodoro at Jamie’s Italian


Non vegetarians can choose from other options such as prawn linguine, truffle tagliatelle, and penne carbonara.




Main course

We each had the eggplant parmigiana.  This was the only vegetarian main dish on the menu.  I was okay with that as this was really delicious. 

For the meat lovers, there are lots of mains to chose from including lamb chops, pan roasted salmon, lasagna, a juicy prime beef burger, and their San Daniele prosciutto.  You can see the full dinner menu here



Main dish at Jamie's Italian restaurant on Royal Caribbean's mariner of the seas - eggplant parmasean
Eggplant parmigiana at Jamie’s Italian



Sides

For our sides we chose arugula and parmesan salad and seasonal greens.




It was all so delicious.  As I mentioned, I did expect a little more from the bruschetta, but it was still good, and I would order it again. 


We were too full to have dessert.


Even though the meal was prepaid, they still bring you a $0 bill with a line for a tip.  We did leave an additional gratuity, but keep in mind when tipping that you have already tipped 18%.


In summary, Royal Caribbean’s Jamie’s Italian restaurants at sea use fresh ingredients to create delicious Italian cuisine.


This was our favorite restaurant on Mariner of the Seas (being vegetarian we didn’t try Chops Grille).  Delicious Italian food with great service in a nice setting.


Next time we sail on a Royal Caribbean ship with a Jamie’s Italian we will definitely be booking at least one meal here.


Keep in mind, menu items, prices and details can change.  This was our experience.




What Royal Caribbean ships have Jamie’s Italian?

Jamie’s Italian is currently on 6 of Royal Caribbean’s cruise ships

  • Mariner of the Seas
  • Anthem of the Seas
  • Harmony of the Seas
  • Navigator of the Seas
  • Ovation of the Seas
  • Quantum of the Seas
  • Symphony of the Seas
  • Spectrum of the Seas


The ships that don’t offer Jamie’s Italian restaurants have a different specialty Italian restaurant called either Giovanni’s Table or Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen.



For information on the other Mariner of the Seas restaurants check out this article.

Mariner of the Seas Dining options ultimate guide. Information on both the free cruise food and the extra cost specialty restaurants




Extra costs on Royal Caribbean cruise will be helpful if you are a first time cruiser.


Planning a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas? These articles might be of interest to you.

Ultimate Printable Cruise Planner and Journal

25 Best Things to do on Mariner of the Seas

29 Mariner of the Seas Tips for an Awesome Cruise

Mariner of the Seas Windjammer Buffet Restaurant Details and Review



I hope this has answered some of your Royal Caribbean Jamie’s Italian restaurant questions.