Royal Caribbean is quietly offering free lobster and steak at the buffet on the world’s largest cruise ship.

The world’s largest cruise ship has made a name for itself in many ways, but it also stands out in gastronomy.

Since Icon of the Seas began sailing with paying passengers, the Windjammer’s buffet on embarkation day has offered an enhanced offering.

In addition to the usual buffet, there is also filet mignon, lobster tail and shrimp. These delicacies are not usually offered at the buffet due to their higher cost.

On Icon of the Seas’ inaugural sailing, the buffet featured these dishes, which was Royal Caribbean’s traditional approach to celebrating the maiden voyage of any new cruise ship. But on other ships, the embarkation day lunch menu no longer offered these enhanced dishes after the initial sailing.

I boarded Icon of the Seas for a 7-night Caribbean cruise on June 29th and was pleasantly surprised to see that steak and seafood were still available.

Upon entering the Windjammer on embarkation day, you’ll find a selection of freshly grilled filet mignon steaks on the first line of the buffet, along with lobster and shrimp.

Further down the buffet, there was more seafood. Flanked by ice sculptures, you’ll find a larger selection of lobsters, muscles, shrimp and more.

It is impressive to see this high-quality seafood offered to passengers as part of the included cruise fare. Additionally, it is unusual, in my experience, to see this food offered buffet style.

I had heard from other cruisers that Icon still served this food, so I was curious if it would still be offered by the time our sailing began.

When this meal was first offered at the Icon grand opening, most passengers thought it was a one-off offering for the grand opening. I shared photos of this meal on the Royal Caribbean Dining Facebook group and, although impressed, many commenters felt like they wouldn’t be able to enjoy it either.

The kind of comments I saw were:

“Zero percent chance that this presentation will result in single revenue navigation.”

“This will never be the case on normal navigation”

“You’ll never see this. Special cruise, of course.”

Given the past, you can’t blame people for being a little pessimistic.

Can you expect steak and lobster tail on your Icon of the Seas cruise? Maybe.

Royal Caribbean has never announced or confirmed that Icon of the Seas’ serving of these dishes is part of a menu change or ship upgrade. They are certainly not offered at the embarkation day lunch buffet on any other ship in the fleet.

I would consider this a bonus for anyone with an upcoming Icon of the Seas cruise. Not betting on it, but you might want to reconsider your destination for the embarkation day lunch if you are sailing on Icon soon to see if it is still offered.

More Food You Should Look For on Icon of the Seas

While the Windjammer menu isn’t among the hottest new foods on Royal Caribbean’s newest ship, there are plenty of other good choices to look for on board.

The Aquadome Market has been a revelation as a new food hall concept for Royal Caribbean, and it should be a must-visit location at least once a day.

Of the five stalls, my favorite is Feta, which offers Mediterranean cuisine. Gyros are a favorite of Paul Fortin, Royal Caribbean’s senior director of culinary operations.

The gyros are prepared on-site when you order them, and it’s the kind of food you don’t typically find on a cruise ship.

If there’s one specialty restaurant on the Icon that goes unnoticed, it’s Pier 7, and that’s largely because it’s located in the ship’s family area. Don’t let the nearby carousel and water play area deter you from trying it, because I really liked the food here.

Linken D’Souza, vice president of Royal Caribbean Food & Beverage, has talked a lot about his love of Pier 7’s Korean fried chicken. I tried it when I sailed the inaugural Pier 7 and already to be able to eat . again on this current navigation I’m on.

Finally, I was impressed with the upgraded steak choices at Chops Grille.

There’s waygu beef, porterhouse, and a tomahawk steak (among other choices). The extra cost of these steaks allows for the type of steaks you’d find at a high-end restaurant.

While having an additional charge for a paid restaurant isn’t ideal for cruise passengers, I think the choices are a great improvement to the menu.