Johnny Rockets, I just don't get it

[Ocean Boy]

Gosh, just when I think I can't think of any reason to read another JR thread, I really need to get help.... Of course, all the good ones are already probably helping you guys! :D

 

jc<----- is just joking.... sorta...

You just can't resist a JR thread any more than I can! ;)

[gypsygirl]

I know you cruise a lot. Just curious to why you won't go on a Voyager class ship anymore.

[TheBeachBears]

I didn’t mean to confuse anyone, the charge is for crowd control as someone else stated. I also believe, and lord I know there’s going to be trouble, when I said “people” I mean teens if it cost them $4 then they might value the food more and make less mess and not hog tables.

 

Having hotdogs for dinner here bring on the flames

[hdawson]

Gypsygirl. After returning home from my cruise on NOS, I really felt like I had spent the week at Mall of America. So many of the attractions and activities were inside and completely removed from the sea. I prefer NOT sailing with 3,300 other passengers. The vessel is just too big. I don't climb rock climbing walls or use the inline skating track and I prefer what I consider better DR food. Having said that, the Radiance class ships are quite the opposite; many walls of glass giving an ever-present feel of being at sea and a thousand fewer passengers. Brilliance was the prettiest ship I've seen.

Still too big but entirely different for the Voyager behemouths. Although I prefer Celebrity and smaller ships, I will sail the Radiance class again, I hope.

Even on Radiance class the food does not compare to Celebrity's. Darn.

[Ocean Boy]

I didn’t mean to confuse anyone, the charge is for crowd control as someone else stated. I also believe, and lord I know there’s going to be trouble, when I said “people” I mean teens if it cost them $4 then they might value the food more and make less mess and not hog tables.

 

Having hotdogs for dinner here bring on the flames

Nothing to flame you about now. When you talked about "cleaning up" I thought you meant... cleaning up. Hard to believe, huh? Now that I know you meant crowd control I will agree that was the official RCI "party line" on the matter.

 

As far as your comment about the teens, it is probably costing Mom and Dad $4.00 so the lesson might be lost on them.

 

You planning on roasting those hot dogs?! :p

[hermang]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone would want to eat at Johnny Rockets. We ate at the one on the Explorer (when it was still included in the cruise fare) and have eaten twice at one that opened in our home town about 6 months ago. All three times the food was not very good...the burgers were greasy and burnt, and the fires and onion rings both tasted like they came out of an Ore-Ida bag The service was mediocre at best, and the servers didn't perform while we were there. Our local JR got a write-up by the food critic in the Toledo (Ohio) paper, and got only "one star" out of five. We aren't all that picky around here, but almost NO one gets only one star unless they are REALLY bad, so it's not just me.

 

I like a good burger, but I guess I'll just cook them at home or go to Red Robin...

 

Having graduated from the University of Toledo, I can attest to sampling Toledo's burgers. White Hut was pretty good but definitely GREASY. Frische's Big Boy was not even close. Don's drive in was like eating Horse Meat

[MrsPete]

did they include alcohol or Cokes in your cruise fare too?:p

how do you get children to leave JRs if they can eat there all day next to the arcade? :p

Ok, here is one that has always confused me. It is not right that they charge you $3.95 for you to jam hamburgers and fries and onion rings with chili down your throat for as long as you want, but it is ok to charge you almost that much for a shake.... I don't think even OB can get me to understand that one.

 

I can understand why they charge separately for alcohol. Alcohol is a completely different product, distinctly different from soft drinks.

 

As for sodas, that doesn't really make sense either. The bottom line is they're charging extra for it because people will pay -- actually, that's the reason they're charging for JR's too.

 

So that the kids would stop hanging out there. JR's is on the same deck where the kids hang out. At least That's the way I saw it on the NOS. They were probably taking up tables, ordering food, not tipping etc. and people/adults could not get in there to eat, so they started charging for it. That's what I think anyway...I saw no kids hanging out when I was on the NOS, so apparently if that was the reason, it worked.

This is a much-repeated story, but it doesn't ring true. Let's look at other things on cruise ships that need to be crowd-controlled:

They don't want 3000 people to show up for dinner at the same time. How do they handle it? Scheduling them into two seatings.

They don't want everyone trying to disembark at the same time. How do they handle it? They give out tickets assigning times.

They don't want everyone at the ice show at the same time. How do they handle it? They give out tickets.

They don't want everyone trying to cram into tenders to go ashore at the same time? How do they handle it? Again, tickets.

 

Yet how do they handle the overcrowding at JR's? Extra fees? I don't think that's the real reason. If overcrowding were the real reason, they'd leave a ticket in every room which would allow each person to visit once during the cruise -- or maybe twice, or whatever. Obviously, this is just like the soda cards; they charge more because people are willing to pay for it.

 

My problem with this small charge is that the cruise line is being deceptive about their real reasons for the charge. It's all about profit. I'd be much more likely to pay it if they just said that upfront. They don't try to hide their reasons for charging extra for the specialty restaurants, for alcohol, or for soda cards.

[dei6360]

My view is 4 dollars is nothing compared to my final bill. If I want to go I will pay the money.

 

My question is why do people never complain about the fee for the other specialty restaurants like chops?

 

You only read about JR, Seattle Best, and B&J.

[bingo3]

We had the free coupons for JR's and still didn't go! I can eat hamburgers at home and don't like onion rings. I never saw it very crowded, don't know how it's doing on the ships. I'm sure if it were free, would do better, but would have the lines I guess. But, if people are willing to stand in them, that's their choice.

[hdawson]

When I was on Navigator in Jan 03, JRs stayed packed and even lines to get a seat. But of course that was when it was free. Now even if only half full, more people are going to be happy with good service and no lines. The only ones that will not be happy are the freeloaders. Repeating: the standard Royal Caribbean burgers are still available without extra charge at the Windjammer. If they aren't good enough for you, then pay the charge. It's less than the best MacDonalds burger that sits in a steaming drawer along with fries.

[threeofus]

Couldn't agree more......by the time you pay for your cabin, your drinks, your excursions etc...for your family - you've gone thru a quick 5K--depending on the size of your family and the number of mango tangos you order....

 

why are we still debating the 4 dollar charge......???????????????

If you like it who cares about the 4 bucks...if you don't then a dollar is too much.

 

Close the thread.

[Firefighterhoop]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone would want to eat at Johnny Rockets. We ate at the one on the Explorer (when it was still included in the cruise fare) and have eaten twice at one that opened in our home town about 6 months ago. All three times the food was not very good...the burgers were greasy and burnt, and the fires and onion rings both tasted like they came out of an Ore-Ida bag The service was mediocre at best, and the servers didn't perform while we were there. Our local JR got a write-up by the food critic in the Toledo (Ohio) paper, and got only "one star" out of five. We aren't all that picky around here, but almost NO one gets only one star unless they are REALLY bad, so it's not just me.

 

I like a good burger, but I guess I'll just cook them at home or go to Red Robin...

 

I agree with several people on here. I am NOT a fan of JR's at all! Again the burgers and fries were greasy, etc etc. Not worth the 4 bucks when I have already paid for the dining room and Windjammer service!

 

I understand why they charge the extra charge, but, again, not worth it to me. I can just go to Culver's /local burger joint when I get home.

 

I don't even use the free visit coupons I get for being a platinum member for the Johnny Rockets! The Seaview cafe on the Radiance class is MUCH Better!

 

THe funny thing is that the voyager class has the LEAST amount of free food available for free after 1030 than any other class (The radiance has the Seaview open until 2,230, vision class has the solarium cafe open until 2 or 3 serving burgers, fries pizza. The only thing on the voyager class you can get is pizza!)

[Cruising89143]

When I was on Navigator in Jan 03, JRs stayed packed and even lines to get a seat. But of course that was when it was free. Now even if only half full, more people are going to be happy with good service and no lines. The only ones that will not be happy are the freeloaders. Repeating: the standard Royal Caribbean burgers are still available without extra charge at the Windjammer. If they aren't good enough for you, then pay the charge. It's less than the best MacDonalds burger that sits in a steaming drawer along with fries.

 

I agree with you 100% but I think that you will never get through to some people. The service charge is working as I read a JR"s press release that stated RCI was adding JR's to six more ships over the next three years. As far as the reason for adding the surcharge, RCI does not have to give a reason for adding it just as people who do not agree with it have to eat there.

[1corona4u]

I can understand why they charge separately for alcohol. Alcohol is a completely different product, distinctly different from soft drinks.

 

As for sodas, that doesn't really make sense either. The bottom line is they're charging extra for it because people will pay -- actually, that's the reason they're charging for JR's too.

 

This is a much-repeated story, but it doesn't ring true. Let's look at other things on cruise ships that need to be crowd-controlled:

They don't want 3000 people to show up for dinner at the same time. How do they handle it? Scheduling them into two seatings.

They don't want everyone trying to disembark at the same time. How do they handle it? They give out tickets assigning times.

They don't want everyone at the ice show at the same time. How do they handle it? They give out tickets.

They don't want everyone trying to cram into tenders to go ashore at the same time? How do they handle it? Again, tickets.

 

Yet how do they handle the overcrowding at JR's? Extra fees? I don't think that's the real reason. If overcrowding were the real reason, they'd leave a ticket in every room which would allow each person to visit once during the cruise -- or maybe twice, or whatever. Obviously, this is just like the soda cards; they charge more because people are willing to pay for it.

 

My problem with this small charge is that the cruise line is being deceptive about their real reasons for the charge. It's all about profit. I'd be much more likely to pay it if they just said that upfront. They don't try to hide their reasons for charging extra for the specialty restaurants, for alcohol, or for soda cards.

 

Well, you have the right to your opinion, but I disagree with your rationalization on the other things though. For me, it does "ring true". I guess people see what they want to see.;)

 

By the way, since it's not in your profile, which ship were you on that had JR's?

[Lou_70]

The great thing is that if you don't like JR's. No-one will MAKE you eat there.

 

 

More room for me and my chili fries.

[herecomesthesun]

I agree that tickets might be a good idea, and it sure would be a great treat if Johnny Rockets was free. There are certainly many extras you have to pay for on Royal Caribbean. However, if having JR free means that it is going to be packed, with long lines and poor service, then by all means I will pay my $4. To me, it isn't much different than having to pay Portofinos and Chops Grille. And those are $20!

 

The thing that I think should be free on all cruiseships is fountain soda. So many people drink soda regularly, I just feel like it sound be included, personally. It is on Disney.

[Ocean Boy]

My question is why do people never complain about the fee for the other specialty restaurants like chops?

 

You only read about JR, Seattle Best, and B&J.

Possibly because Chops and Portofino's are alternative dining rooms to the regular dining room. JR's is a nice place to get a late night snack and the stuff in the Cafe Prominade is not even a close alternative. If the windjammer was open until 1:30AM as is JRs then I think it would be a different matter.

 

Repeating: the standard Royal Caribbean burgers are still available without extra charge at the Windjammer.

But not for a midnight snack. People seem to always view this topic as JR's being an alternative to lunch or dinner in the dining room or Winjammer.

[TheBeachBears]

Can you imagine the confusion if they ticked JR? Is this where I am going to eat tonight? Do I have to come back from my excursion to go to JR? I missed my time and my kids are hungry now!!! I say no to ticketing. Just pay your four dollars and move on. If you don’t want to eat there then don’t.

 

Come to think about it why aren’t we having this conversation about Chop’s? Do you pay for the coffee in the coffee shop? Is there a Ben and Jerry’s on one of the ships?

 

Still I think the food is above average at JR for what they offer and the $4 charge. I know Red Robin and it’s no Red Robin.

 

PS> I can’t believe that no one caught the typo “Crystal clear to men, 'cause I can read” on the title of my last post it was to read “me”

[Ocean Boy]

Close the thread.

If you're tired of the thread feel free to not open it. You are no more forced to read it as anyone is to eat at JR's.

[Ocean Boy]

 

PS> I can’t believe that no one caught the typo “Crystal clear to men, 'cause I can read” on the title of my last post it was to read “me”

I actually did catch it but didn't know what to make of it. I figured that I didn't understand it the same way I didn't understand your "cleaning up" !!

[TheBeachBears]

Yes, I will try in the future to be clearer on my ramblings, and not possibly insult all the women on the board by accident. I think I tire of this tread, I wish I could find a nice place to eat for a few bucks…………..

[xpcdoojk]

I can understand why they charge separately for alcohol. Alcohol is a completely different product, distinctly different from soft drinks.

 

As for sodas, that doesn't really make sense either. The bottom line is they're charging extra for it because people will pay -- actually, that's the reason they're charging for JR's too.

 

This is a much-repeated story, but it doesn't ring true. Let's look at other things on cruise ships that need to be crowd-controlled:

They don't want 3000 people to show up for dinner at the same time. How do they handle it? Scheduling them into two seatings.

They don't want everyone trying to disembark at the same time. How do they handle it? They give out tickets assigning times.

They don't want everyone at the ice show at the same time. How do they handle it? They give out tickets.

They don't want everyone trying to cram into tenders to go ashore at the same time? How do they handle it? Again, tickets.

 

Yet how do they handle the overcrowding at JR's? Extra fees? I don't think that's the real reason. If overcrowding were the real reason, they'd leave a ticket in every room which would allow each person to visit once during the cruise -- or maybe twice, or whatever. Obviously, this is just like the soda cards; they charge more because people are willing to pay for it.

 

My problem with this small charge is that the cruise line is being deceptive about their real reasons for the charge. It's all about profit. I'd be much more likely to pay it if they just said that upfront. They don't try to hide their reasons for charging extra for the specialty restaurants, for alcohol, or for soda cards.

 

Ahh, finally a good anti capitalist remark! Here we go on the virtue of profit, and why profit is a good thing. For those who have played on the JR threads in the past like HDawson, and OB please skip to the next post!:D If a company makes an economic profit (more profit than money invested in other economic enterprises) in our free market system, a few interesting things logically flow from this. Other people with money to invest realize that the cruise industry is a way to make obscene profits. Since individuals are all about making as much as they can for themselves they greedily invest in more cruise ships and maybe even new cruiselines. Which means that the supply of new and wonderful cruise ships increases, which means that there are more wonderful oppurtunities for me to cruise to new and wonderful places. Due to the increased number of cruiseship beds, that means that the supply available of cruiseship beds has increased which with all other things being the same(us silly economists refer to this as ceterus parabus we just love to use latin to confuse you poor people) means that the equilibrium pricing will tend to decrease, thus reducing those economic profits to just normal profits at which point growth in the cruising business will stop. This is a bad thing for me the consumer so I pray that all cruiselines continue to make economic profits for the rest of my cruising lifetime. I just love capitalism.... :D :p If you want to participate in the cruiselines economic profit making, please eat at JRs regularly, and drink lots of cokes and alcohol, and don't forget those spa treatments, photographs, excursions, and romance packages! Jeez, who would've thunk that cruiselines try to make money!!!! Shocking!! Absolutely, Shocking!!!! I always thought it was a charity like St Judes or something.

 

jc <----- apologyzes

for the use of economics and sarcasm in the same post...I know how painful that can be!:eek:

[HawaiiApril]

I can't believe I even read this thread - but since I did - it's not $3.95/pp unless you drink water with your dry hard onion rings. Your soda card is no good in there and the milkshakes are extra too. You get 2 bills - one for $4/pp and another one for the price of your sodas and/or milkshakes. Our bill for 2 people was total $12+ (and we had one free coupon) We also left a tip. The service was OK, but we really felt rushed - I'm not kidding! There was a line, being lunch time, and they were really moving people in a hurry. They kept trying to take our food before we were done eating! The line to get in was much shorter than a few years ago when there was no charge and the ice cream sundae was the best thing that I had on the entire cruise!

[ckrobyn]

I have to give 2 thumbs up for the Seaview Cafe on the Radiance - the onion rings were awesome........and FREE ;)

[LBB]

Tickets would be a disaster. I enjoy the right to eat disgusting, greasy food at 12:30 p.m. right before the place closes after a long day/night of drinking.

 

Like people have said before, if you like it, pay the $4 or whatever it will be, if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it.