Dining Review: Izumi Sushi Birthday Experience on Royal Caribbean

As you may know by now, I went to Bermuda for my 27th birthday. It was the first time on a cruise and of course I wanted to try all the specialty restaurants! Royal Caribbean Vision of the Seas had four to choose from: Izumi Sushi, Chops Grille, Giovanni’s and Chef’s Table which is located in the back of the Main Dining Room or MDR.

Izumi Sushi is… well…. did you guess? A sushi place! I went on the Vision of the Seas and it was located on the back of the boat, close to the spa. You have to cross the pool to get there and I’ll be honest, it was tricky to find- but thankfully the people working on the boat were more than helpful.

When I got there, I gave them my card as normal and was sat pretty quickly, albeit it was a reservation. I was given a menu and told for a price $40, I was able to order one small plate, two large plates and a dessert. Since I had used my 3 restaurant dining package already- I thought why not. I got miso soup, which was included, made of traditional Japanese miso and dashi broth, diced tofu, wakame and scallions as well my small plate of pork dumpling.

Following this, I ordered the Tonkotsu ramen, made of egg ramen noodles, tonkotsu pork broth, chashu pork, menma bamboo shoots, boiled egg and seaweed nori and chef’s sushi selection.

For dessert, I ordered the lava cake which ended up being a mistake but not for the reasons you may think!

A dessert plate featuring a chocolate lava cake on a white dish, accompanied by a dollop of whipped cream, a fresh blueberry, sliced strawberries, and blackberries, with a sprinkle of matcha powder and a drizzle of sauce.

Now, if you could remember, I had given them my Seapass card for them to charge it at the end of the night. On that card, it had my full name, date of birth, room number- all the things.

The lave cake was delish- dense for sure, but yummy. When I was done, I had put my plate to the side and was waiting for the check.

What I didn’t know is that they would do a birthday celebration for me since I had, like I said- had my birthday on my card! So they sung happy birthday which is never (in my opinion) an un-awkward experience, but that’s okay! And had given me… another lava cake haha.

So it wasn’t a bad choice because it wasn’t good- but rather I was debating between the lava cake and the assorted mochi ice cream, and if I knew they would give me the lava cake for my birthday, I would have chosen the ice cream! Oh well…

Do I recommend Izumi Sushi on Royal Caribbean?

Hmm. I thought the service was excellent, the servers were nice and I don’t know if they get a full on pop-up notification when it’s someone’s birthday but I thought it was special that they sung happy birthday even though I did not say a word about it being my bday! The food was good, but it was just good. I don’t think it was amazing or out of ordinary special, but it was yummy and I thought the price was really good too!

Will I return? I might. I don’t think I will go out of my way for Izumi, but it wasn’t gross or unappetizing or anything to that degree- I would just say it was average.

Upon looking at other reviews- there are some that are fantastic- a Facebook post says that it was a 100/10 for one couple, some say it’s “worth it” yet others describe it as “decent” and “probably a little better than a strip mall or grocery store type sushi place. It’s fine,” or “mid-level” (source). Clearly the reviews are mixed- so I would say- try it if you’d like, but perhaps don’t expect to be blown away.