Coastal Kitchens. What's good? What's not so good?

[cruisecraze96]

You are allowed to bring guests on an availability basis

 

 

Sorry misunderstood, we have 3 adults in suite and 2 kids in connecting balcony. We were told that the kids could go where we go since they would not need suite perks if they are with us.

 

I was just checking to see if Coastal Kitchen for Embark would be good for them

[John&LaLa]

On Oasis in April, guests were allowed. Heck, we as JS passengers were even allowed to bring guests. No charge, just a tip I guess

[RocketMan275]

On Oasis in April, guests were allowed. Heck, we as JS passengers were even allowed to bring guests. No charge, just a tip I guess

 

I knew you would know. On X, they charge something like $50 PP for guests in their equivalent suite dining space.

[Tony O]

On our August cruise the only way to enter Coastal Kitchen or the Suites Lounge was by swiping your gold card. They did ask to see your card when ordering drinks.

[later]

on embarkation day the CK is not open for lunch, just diner. Lunch that day is a small buffet line in the suite lounge side. We have been on the Oasis when they did not allow anyone other than suite guest in the Ck and other times they allowed guests of suites and JS with guests.

 

So there is no way of knowing if you can bring your children into the CK or suite lounge if they are not in a suite until you board. It would be up to the conciege I guess.

Edited September 6, 2015 by later

[cruisecraze96]

on embarkation day the CK is not open for lunch, just diner. Lunch that day is a small buffet line in the suite lounge side. We have been on the Oasis when they did not allow anyone other than suite guest in the Ck and other times they allowed guests of suites and JS with guests.

 

 

 

So there is no way of knowing if you can bring your children into the CK or suite lounge if they are not in a suite until you board. It would be up to the conciege I guess.

 

 

Thanks to be in the safe side I emailed the concierge and already received a reply back from Dexter that it would it be a problem with the kids since we booked adjoining rooms for extra space.

 

I saved that, but said he would be our guy when we go in March. Very happy with the quick response and that makes me even happier about our decision for this trip.

[John&LaLa]

On our August cruise the only way to enter Coastal Kitchen or the Suites Lounge was by swiping your gold card. They did ask to see your card when ordering drinks.

 

We had to knock to get into CK, some nights the door was not locked though

[John&LaLa]

Thanks to be in the safe side I emailed the concierge and already received a reply back from Dexter that it would it be a problem with the kids since we booked adjoining rooms for extra space.

 

I saved that, but said he would be our guy when we go in March. Very happy with the quick response and that makes me even happier about our decision for this trip.

 

I am assuming you meant to say Not be a problem?

[suzyluvs2cruise]

We had to knock to get into CK, some nights the door was not locked though

 

 

Is the bar set up so you can buy drinks/wine for those in a JS without a Gold card?

Edited September 6, 2015 by suzyluvs2cruise

[John&LaLa]

Curious how drinks were handled for those in a JS without a Gold card.

 

We never went to the SL, we were not invited. I was referring to the doors to CK. We were offered wine at dinner. Not knowing any better we had our wine from MDR sent up there

Edited September 6, 2015 by John&LaLa

[suzyluvs2cruise]

We never went to the SL, we were not invited. I was referring to the doors to CK. We were offered wine at dinner. Not knowing any better we had our wine from MDR sent up there

 

Is there a separation between CK and the SL? Good idea to have your wine sent up from the MDR. I'm assuming Gold card guests can get a drink/glass of wine from the SL while they're dining. How would it work for those in a JS?

[John&LaLa]

Is there a separation between CK and the SL? Good idea to have your wine sent up from the MDR. I'm assuming Gold card guests can get a drink/glass of wine from the SL while they're dining. How would it work for those in a JS?

 

No separation, one big room with two entrances. Wait staff just gets you wine as needed :D

[suzyluvs2cruise]

No separation, one big room with two entrances. Wait staff just gets you wine as needed :D

 

JS too. ;)

[John&LaLa]

JS too. ;)

 

I believe so. Especially once the new suite perks kick in

[Tony O]

Is the bar set up so you can buy drinks/wine for those in a JS without a Gold card?

 

On the Oasis it was on big room.

One side had the Suites Lounge then in the middle was a bar and the other side had Coastal Kitchen.

[John&LaLa]

Is the bar set up so you can buy drinks/wine for those in a JS without a Gold card?

 

Just realized I may have misunderstood your question. However I am not sure if you can order drinks from the suite lounge bar, but I'm thinking you should be able to and charge to your cabin

[RocketMan275]

Just realized I may have misunderstood your question. However I am not sure if you can order drinks from the suite lounge bar, but I'm thinking you should be able to and charge to your cabin

 

John, I would think you can order drinks from the suite lounge. How else would you get a drink there if you didn't have a drinks package or it was outside the time the complimentary drinks are served?

[John&LaLa]

John, I would think you can order drinks from the suite lounge. How else would you get a drink there if you didn't have a drinks package or it was outside the time the complimentary drinks are served?

 

Correct, I think I misread the post originally. I was still thinking just wine.

[RocketMan275]

No separation, one big room with two entrances. Wait staff just gets you wine as needed :D

 

John,

 

What are the specialty options for lunch on Oasis? I'm running out of nights to do all the dining.

[John&LaLa]

John,

 

What are the specialty options for lunch on Oasis? I'm running out of nights to do all the dining.

 

I don't recall. We pretty much did Park Cafe almost every day except Labadee. Who am I kidding, we probably went there for afternoon snack as well.

 

We are very low key on Oasis during the day. Spent all our time at beach pool.

[RocketMan275]

I originated this thread to get other impressions of the menus for Coastal Kitchens in preparation for our recent voyage.

 

We returned last Saturday and I regret to report that we were not impressed with Coastal Kitchens. Food is subjective. There are at least two other reviews from our cruise that found Coastal Kitchens to be an outstanding experience. This is our opinion. Take it for what it's worth.

 

First, the good. The waiters were great. The Concierge was outstanding. The atmosphere and decor were fine.

 

Now, the not so good.

 

We struggled to find entrees that we thought were attractive. We had dinner the first night and breakfast the next day and the day following. For dinner, wife had the scallops and I had the tenderloin. We had no issues with either but that's about all we saw on both menus that we wanted to try. Breakfast was OK too but nothing extraordinary.

 

We had lunch on the first sea day and the day following. I had a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup the first day. Both were fine. In fact the soup was rather tasty. I had a flatbread the second day. Nothing wrong with that either.

 

FWIW, the buffet on the lounge side did offer a good selection of finger foods. The chicken wings were very good. The selection of cheeses were great. The chilled shrimp was very good. I would have chosen the buffet over the restaurant.

 

We also found the Windjammer offered more variety. The food there was of sufficient quality and dinner didn't take nearly as long.

 

Perhaps we're just not sufficiently sophisticated to appreciate Coastal Kitchens.

[John&LaLa]

Sorry to hear that, I could have made a meal from the flatbreafs alone. I am also not over adventurous, but my thought is, if I don't like it, ask for something else.

 

As I recall, the lamb chops were fabulous and I couldn't get enough of the serano dates. I don't recall the star from menu two, but I never went hungry.

 

Definitely more enjoyable than MDR

[wolfganghowell]

Totally agree on subjective.

 

My husband and friends loved the Baja eggs and eggs benedict for breakfast. I'm not a big breakfast person - I had an omelette one morning, the chorizo/egg flatbread another and I think just basic breakfast the others. They were fine.

 

We did really enjoy our dinners though. The tenderloin was good, the friends loved the scallops. They both ordered the penne pasta with scallops on top and raved. They requested the scallops by the way - it doesn't come with them. I had the penne primavera (2 different sauces) twice - the pasta was fresh and al dente. And it didn't feel like a heavy meal. The lobster was pretty average - I got the feeling it came all the way from the MDR so it wasn't fresh and hot. The desserts weren't really my style but the salted caramel pudding was pretty good.

 

Dinner could be a little long sometimes. Since we were with friends, it didn't bother us but when it's just the two of us, we do get antsy and want to get going and be more active.

 

I agree - the appetizers in the Suite Lounge were very nice. We never did lunch up there.

Edited November 18, 2015 by wolfganghowell

[RocketMan275]

As we walked by the hallway door to the kitchen itself, we encountered a number of (waiters or cabin attendants) carrying covered plates. We were surprised to learn that one could get Coastal Kitchens breakfast room service. The waiter said it was only for breakfast. I forgot to ask if this was only for those in Crown Loft Suites.

[RocketMan275]

Sorry to hear that, I could have made a meal from the flatbreafs alone. I am also not over adventurous, but my thought is, if I don't like it, ask for something else.

 

As I recall, the lamb chops were fabulous and I couldn't get enough of the serano dates. I don't recall the star from menu two, but I never went hungry.

 

Definitely more enjoyable than MDR

 

No reason for anyone to feel sorry. We found plenty to eat and both of us managed to gain a few pounds.

 

I'm sure our's is a minority opinion when it comes to Coastal Kitchens. We would have felt differently had there been more variety, maybe four menus rather than two.

 

BTW, I fully understand why CK is the way it is. It was to be a part of Dynamic Dining and was never intended to be the only dining venue for suites. It was expected that suites would also visit the other four venues and not dine exclusively in CK. With that in mind, the limited variety of CK makes sense. However, if CK is to be the regular dining experience for suites, then RCCI needs to evaluate the menus and expand the variety of items. Or, perhaps not if RCCI wants suites to only enjoy CK a few times on a cruise.

Edited November 19, 2015 by RocketMan275