Harmony JS Coastal Kitchen reservation

[Ellie_daisy]

Can you book dinner at CK ahead of time when you board? Do you do it at Guest Services? I read on the other ships topics that JS guests don't get a very good treatment at CK and being looked down by the staff. Is this also true for the Harmony? Any recent experiences. Hubby would like to eat dinner there every night but reading other topics, looks like he will be lucky if he can do it 2 nights out of 7. TIA.

[Clarea]

Go to CK to make reservations.

[Lovetocruise2002]

It varies. On Harmony we had to go to CK to make reservations. It never showed up on our cruise planner. On Anthem it showed up in our cruise planner and we were able to make reservations online. Not sure about the JS treatment. I have heard the same complaints. I'll be sailing in a JS for the first time this march on Anthem so I guess I will find out for myself if there is truth to that.

 

 

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[Hokie79]

Can you book dinner at CK ahead of time when you board? Do you do it at Guest Services? I read on the other ships topics that JS guests don't get a very good treatment at CK and being looked down by the staff. Is this also true for the Harmony? Any recent experiences. Hubby would like to eat dinner there every night but reading other topics, looks like he will be lucky if he can do it 2 nights out of 7. TIA.

 

 

 

We were in a JS on Harmony last summer. We went up to C.K. right after boarding and made reservations for the nights we wanted without a problem. We took my two daughters two nights and went just my wife and I the other. We enjoyed it all three nights and had great servers. Wouldn’t hesitate to eat there again.

 

 

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[shellunderwater]

Our experience at CK on the Oasis was initially bad. We were indeed treated like a lesser form. Also, to get into CK, you had to knock or wait for a passenger to open the door for you, since the Seapass didn't work the lock. I find this horrible given I paid a for a JS and they can't program the lock to open with my Seapass. As to the service, DW went to GS about it and we were invited back by the manager for another try. It was much better the second time around. But, the manager never stopped by to talk with us about it.

 

Frankly, if the service is like what we had the second time around, it would be great. First time was horrid.

[Tin can]

Also, to get into CK, you had to knock or wait for a passenger to open the door for you, since the Seapass didn't work the lock. I find this horrible given I paid a for a JS and they can't program the lock to open with my Seapass. .

 

Not good :(.... I've looked at possibly upgrading my future Anthem cruise to a JS and that has put me off.

[shellunderwater]

Not good :(.... I've looked at possibly upgrading my future Anthem cruise to a JS and that has put me off.

 

One strong belief I have is you have to roll with things when on vacation.... don't let little things get to you. This one did rub me the wrong way by itself, but it is pretty easy to get past and accept it. When coupled with the lousy service we experienced, it was pretty upsetting. But by itself, it really is something to can just let go. In the grand scheme of things, not a big deal.

 

It is so simple, it seems odd they would make a decision to put off paying customers by doing this.

 

I don't know if this is the case on the Anthem.

[Noreen411]

I know this thread is about Harmony but since someone asked about Anthem and Coastal Kitchen I wanted to provide the below info.

 

On Anthem you can reserve dinner in Coastal Kitchen on the cruise planner in advance of sailing.

 

 

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[Clarea]

I ... On Anthem you can reserve dinner in Coastal Kitchen on the cruise planner in advance of sailing.

...

Does this include Junior Suite guests too?

[Lovetocruise2002]

Does this include Junior Suite guests too?

 

 

 

We are booked in a JS for now on Anthem and we made them through the cruise planner. But shortly after we made the reservations the option to do so disappeared off the cruise planner.

 

 

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[Clarea]

We are booked in a JS for now on Anthem and we made them through the cruise planner. But shortly after we made the reservations the option to do so disappeared off the cruise planner.

Interesting. I guess we will see if there's been a change of policy or if it's one of those rare RC website glitches.

[Noreen411]

Does this include Junior Suite guests too?

 

 

 

Yes

 

 

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[notmyrealnameoremail]

We are booked in a JS for now on Anthem and we made them through the cruise planner. But shortly after we made the reservations the option to do so disappeared off the cruise planner.

 

 

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We are booked in a JS on Anthem for the Feb 9th cruise and had the same thing happen. We booked 3 nights in Coastal Kitchen in October. Over the weekend we decided to tweak our reservations but found Coastal Kitchen wasn't available. Not the end of the world, but with less than 6 weeks to go, I don't want to deal with too many glitches.

[A&L_Ont]

Just thinking out loud, but perhaps JS have to knock for a reason. In some cases if a JS guest found out that their sea pass card opened the door to the SL and CK 24/7 they might take advantage of it. Having met Shellunderwater while swimming in the Beach Pool on Allure, if I remember the ship correctly, many years ago I know that they are not the type of folks that would do this. There could be others out there though that are not as honourable.

 

However, upon thinking about Shellunderwater's situation there should be a better way to access the CK. Perhaps a phone outside the CK that would buzz through to the maitre de's station. Or perhaps JS cabin keys can be coded to unlock the CK door during dinner hours. Just a couple of ideas.

 

All I do know is, standing outside a locked door really doesn't give a feeling of being welcome. To start the night off more negatively versus positively is never a good beginning.

[shellunderwater]

Aw shucks, thanks for the kind words.

 

Guest Services said corporate is aware but won't change the locks to fix it.

 

It's perception.

 

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[John&LaLa]

Just thinking out loud, but perhaps JS have to knock for a reason. In some cases if a JS guest found out that their sea pass card opened the door to the SL and CK 24/7 they might take advantage of it. Having met Shellunderwater while swimming in the Beach Pool on Allure, if I remember the ship correctly, many years ago I know that they are not the type of folks that would do this. There could be others out there though that are not as honourable.

 

However, upon thinking about Shellunderwater's situation there should be a better way to access the CK. Perhaps a phone outside the CK that would buzz through to the maitre de's station. Or perhaps JS cabin keys can be coded to unlock the CK door during dinner hours. Just a couple of ideas.

 

All I do know is, standing outside a locked door really doesn't give a feeling of being welcome. To start the night off more negatively versus positively is never a good beginning.

Two separate entrances. They could code accordingly. 😉

 

I had to knock, it wasn't a big deal.

 

FWIW, I now feel that dinner is hit or miss, but breakfast and lunch are fabulous.

 

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[actuarian]

Just thinking out loud, but perhaps JS have to knock for a reason. In some cases if a JS guest found out that their sea pass card opened the door to the SL and CK 24/7 they might take advantage of it.

The above comment brings to my mind a question I have had for a while. Why does a JS on Royal Caribbean receive so many fewer perks than a Sky Suite on Celebrity? After all, they are divisions of the same company, the rooms are about the same size and even the prices are often about the same, especially on the older ships. For example, I recently priced a JS for a 5-day cruise on the Navigator of the Seas and a Sky Suite for a 5-day cruise on the Celebrity Infinity. The Sky Suite had a basic price about 10% higher than the JS. However, the Sky Suite included full access to both Luminae and Michael's Club, butler service, a Premium beverage package, complementary gratuities, complementary Wi-Fi and an OBC (what they call the "Best" package). The JS came with virtually nothing. If your adjust for the value of all those perks, the Sky Suite was really much less expensive than the JS. Why does Royal Caribbean offer so little to people who cruise in Junior Suites?

[Clarea]

The above comment brings to my mind a question I have had for a while. Why does a JS on Royal Caribbean receive so many fewer perks than a Sky Suite on Celebrity? After all, they are divisions of the same company, ...

The corporation chooses to run the cruise lines as separate companies with their own policies.

[Lovetocruise2002]

The above comment brings to my mind a question I have had for a while. Why does a JS on Royal Caribbean receive so many fewer perks than a Sky Suite on Celebrity? After all, they are divisions of the same company, the rooms are about the same size and even the prices are often about the same, especially on the older ships. For example, I recently priced a JS for a 5-day cruise on the Navigator of the Seas and a Sky Suite for a 5-day cruise on the Celebrity Infinity. The Sky Suite had a basic price about 10% higher than the JS. However, the Sky Suite included full access to both Luminae and Michael's Club, butler service, a Premium beverage package, complementary gratuities, complementary Wi-Fi and an OBC (what they call the "Best" package). The JS came with virtually nothing. If your adjust for the value of all those perks, the Sky Suite was really much less expensive than the JS. Why does Royal Caribbean offer so little to people who cruise in Junior Suites?

 

 

 

That has been a pet peeve of mine too. Other than double points and dinner where there is a CK there really is no other incentive. So if one is looking to move up the C&A ladder quickly then it might be worth it.

 

 

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[SherriZ366]

Two separate entrances. They could code accordingly. 😉

 

I had to knock, it wasn't a big deal.

 

FWIW, I now feel that dinner is hit or miss, but breakfast and lunch are fabulous.

 

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Having to knock doesn't bother me. I just joke that it is the 1920's and we are going to a Speak-easy.

[actuarian]

The corporation chooses to run the cruise lines as separate companies with their own policies.

 

Partially separate, not completely separate. Some departments are shared between Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. I know this because my wife is handicapped and needs accessible accommodations. All matters regarding accessibility are addressed by the very same people regardless of whether we are cruising on Royal or on Celebrity. I do not know whether the marketing departments are combined or separate but maintaining completely separate marketing departments would not be very efficient. Suite perks (and Captains Club or C&A perks) should be a matter for marketing.

[A&L_Ont]

Having to knock doesn't bother me. I just joke that it is the 1920's and we are going to a Speak-easy.

 

You made me laugh, I like your idea.

[SherriZ366]

You made me laugh, I like your idea.

Glad you did -- I am so glad we can eat in CK that the knocking doesn't bother me.

[yuvraj]

I suspect that it is all down to level of demand. When demand is high, JS guests get a poor deal.

 

It's been a few years since I was on Anthem but IME Coastal Kitchen on Anthem doesn't have the same appeal. It's location is not great and I didn't find the quality of service to be better than elsewhere. So I suspect JS guests find it easier to get bookings on Anthem.

 

Coastal Kitchen on Oasis and Allure are linked to the suite lounge. I suspect the restaurant is more popular on this class of ships so making bookings is more difficult. It's going to depend on the cruise so if there is high demand the JS guests might lose out. I believe this logic applies to all ships including Harmony.

 

Personally I wouldn't book a JS if eating in CK is important to me.