Johnny Rockets - disappointed

[Clarea]

19 minutes ago, artvlay said:

 ...  How do they have the nerve to upcharge for lousy food? 

 

Because enough people keep paying the price.

[PlanetX]

On 5/29/2019 at 11:41 AM, springfire said:

It is time for Royal Caribbean to replace Johnny Rockets with something  of quality that more people will enjoy.

 

One would think that if they were going to have a burger joint on board when burgers are free elsewhere, they'd make it an overwhelmingly good experience like what Carnival has done with Guy Fieri's place.  

[artvlay]

Clara, you are exactly correct 

[CasinoCruzGirl]

On Allure last week we had lunch there twice. The shake was great. Burger good. It was all free for us being we were star class. Not sure I would pay for the burger but would for the shake 

[Rala]

On 5/29/2019 at 2:19 AM, frank808 said:

The royal burger.  Also I have found it on the room service menu. 

I have had one a couple of times from room service.  Not spectacular, but tasty! 

[Mawelch]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 7:57 AM, SailingSal said:

We were recently on Adventure 12 day cruise (great, fun time) and decided to try Johnny Rockets on a Sea Day.  We have enjoyed the fun atmosphere and service in the past.  Never thought the "up-charge" was too much.   Well - our bill was $29.50 for 2 people.  No Happy greetings or dances;  2 burgers that were at best, "OK"; A basket of onion rings that were mostly all breading,  French Fries that were barely fast food quality; 1 vanilla pop and glass of ship water;  and 1 milk shake (we use to get a free one with Diamond status).  I  was surprised as I do not remember anywhere close to $20 before.   Really - shouldn't the burgers be more special and the fries hand cut for that price?  Just want to say we won't be returning to Johnny Rockets - and to share with others that it is NOT worth the price. 

You can get hotdogs, burgers, fries and sometimes onion rings in the windjammer. The only thing Rockets is good for is their free breakfast. If you like the entertainment at rockets just watch some of the people in the windjammer. They are just as entertaining LOL.

[Mawelch]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 8:16 PM, mugtech said:

Probably the only thing better on Carnival.

No Carnivals Alchemy bar beats any of Royals

[Iamcruzin]

15 hours ago, PlanetX said:

 

One would think that if they were going to have a burger joint on board when burgers are free elsewhere, they'd make it an overwhelmingly good experience like what Carnival has done with Guy Fieri's place.  

They don’t have to. They have plenty of people who think the burgers are the best burgers they have ever had, which may be true compared to what’s available at home and they are so impressed by the 50’s theme. People are also over the moon about breakfast which I don’t understand either.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

13 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

People are also over the moon about breakfast which I don’t understand either.

Amen - actually it is pretty bad!🙄

[Sea Dog]

On adventure a couple of years ago you could order a wagyu beef burger from room service which was outstanding. Anyone know if the wagyu burger is still available on most ships? I'm especially interested on Harmony.

[mugtech]

2 hours ago, Mawelch said:

No Carnivals Alchemy bar beats any of Royals

Don't drink, Don't care about bars.

[PlanetX]

3 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

They don’t have to. They have plenty of people who think the burgers are the best burgers they have ever had, which may be true compared to what’s available at home and they are so impressed by the 50’s theme. People are also over the moon about breakfast which I don’t understand either.

No doubt but if they can get $7.95 a head for JR, they could get $10.95 a head or more for a much better experience with better food.  When have you ever known RC to turn down a revenue-generating opportunity?  

Agreed on the breakfast, it's average at best.  It *is* nice to sit outside and have a quiet meal on the Boardwalk in the early morning though.

[depplep]

I used to be a big proponent of JR's, but over the years it has gotten, boring, average, tasteless. Agree with everyone else about the burgers being bad and the fries freezer burnt. Now if we could only snag Guy Fieri's away from Carnival!

[sparks1093]

12 hours ago, PlanetX said:

No doubt but if they can get $7.95 a head for JR, they could get $10.95 a head or more for a much better experience with better food.  When have you ever known RC to turn down a revenue-generating opportunity?  

Agreed on the breakfast, it's average at best.  It *is* nice to sit outside and have a quiet meal on the Boardwalk in the early morning though.

I'm sure that the re-branding process would be quite costly so I doubt that they are in a hurry to make a switch.

[Iamcruzin]

13 hours ago, PlanetX said:

No doubt but if they can get $7.95 a head for JR, they could get $10.95 a head or more for a much better experience with better food.  When have you ever known RC to turn down a revenue-generating opportunity?  

Agreed on the breakfast, it's average at best.  It *is* nice to sit outside and have a quiet meal on the Boardwalk in the early morning though.

I agree with your logic. However there is just so much people are willing to pay for fast food. A few years ago Celebrity attempted to swap our the free burgers by the pool with a pay for burger that was claimed to have been made from Kobe beef. They tried it on one ship and it didn't go over. As a matter of fact there was an uproar on Cruise Critic. I think they were charging $15.  These pay for restaurants are a big attraction for those who come from a rural area and don't have a lot of choices at home and think that mall chain restaurants are the bomb. The worst critics are those of us from big cities. I'm surprised that Cheese Cake Factory hasn't made an appearance as an up-charge restaurant on a cruise ship. 

Edited June 4, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[LMaxwell]

The burgers are almost the quality of what is included no additional charge on other cruise lines.  The rings and fries are just frozen food service junk.  It wasn't worth $4.95 a person let alone $30 for 2. 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

51 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

These pay for restaurants are a big attraction for those who come from a rural area and don't have a lot of choices at home and think that mall chain restaurants are the bomb

Exactly! 👍

 

[SailingSal]

When we went into Johnny Rockets - I never expected to leave with a $29.50 bill.  We thought it was going to be the usual fun experience(so-so food) for $15 (that is how much we spent the last time we used it).   Lesson learned and shared!

[vacationlover_mn]

On 6/3/2019 at 1:13 PM, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Amen - actually it is pretty bad!🙄

Hey, I actually agree with you on something 🙂

[dstein]

I've always felt that the ship-board JR experience is an incredibly faithful recreation of the shore-based JR experience. 

 

In other words, it is just as disappointing and overpriced on the ship as it is on land, with the same cramped seating and the same lack-luster execution of burgers, fries, and shakes.  

[fisherguy]

Tried JR on our Harmony cruise which we got for free for staying in a balcony room.  Nothing special and definitely would not pay for it.  

 

They should replace replace it with a good authentic southern bbq joint.  Smoked brisket, ribs, pulled pork etc.. now I would pay an up charge for that.

[momofmab]

To me this thread would be similar to one entitled, "McDonalds - disappointed".

 

It's a low-end fast food burger and fries place.  Why pay extra for something you can get for free in other venues on the ship?  If they're gonna do a pay-extra quick serve restaurant, at least bring in a better vendor.  Maybe they could talk Chick-fil-A into it?! 

[vacationlover_mn]

53 minutes ago, momofmab said:

To me this thread would be similar to one entitled, "McDonalds - disappointed".

 

It's a low-end fast food burger and fries place.  Why pay extra for something you can get for free in other venues on the ship?  If they're gonna do a pay-extra quick serve restaurant, at least bring in a better vendor.  Maybe they could talk Chick-fil-A into it?! 

I think one thing that makes JR extra disappointing is that they used to do a little song and dance performance, and now they don’t seem to do even that 😞

[Ourusualbeach]

4 hours ago, fisherguy said:

Tried JR on our Harmony cruise which we got for free for staying in a balcony room.  Nothing special and definitely would not pay for it.  

 

They should replace replace it with a good authentic southern bbq joint.  Smoked brisket, ribs, pulled pork etc.. now I would pay an up charge for that.

They are adding exactly that to the Oasis.  It’s called Portside BBQ.  Not replacing JR’s but is in addition to.

[Davebhoy]

We've occasionally used Johnny Rockets on board, and always find it decent enough - it hit the spot when we got back on board exhausted in St Petersburg and couldn't face dressing for dinner. Could've used the Windjammer, but kinda still wanted table service.  Food wasn't brilliant, but definitely better than any McD's I've used.

 

Need to remember too that we don't have many (any ?) JRs in the UK, so for a lot of their cruisers, it might remind them of trips to the US...