Johnny Rockets - disappointed

[Iamcruzin]

2 hours 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?! 

The entire ship is filled with fast food that is included in the fare. If I wanted to pay to eat at a franchise I would just stay home.  It won't be long before the MDR is gone and maybe replaced with Red Lobster ,PF Changs and the Olive Garden.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

5 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

PF Changs and the Olive Garden.

That would be a MAJOR uprade!👍

[Iamcruzin]

Just now, Thorben-Hendrik said:

That would be a MAJOR uprade!👍

Obviously you have never had a meal in either place. Then again I live in N.Y. where Chinese food and Italian food are in abundance. We ate in Olive Garden over 20yrs ago when it first came to Long Island. We had no idea what we were in for. The pasta was mush the sauce was acid and the chicken parmesan was microwaved rubber. We never went back and they finally closed last year. Although  the food at PF Changs wasn't too bad it should be against the law to charge what they charge for Chinese food. It would probably cost double on Royal Caribbean.

[fisherguy]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

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

I’m guessing that it’s replacing rita’s Cantina then?  Hopefully it will be good enough to justify paying the up charge.

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, fisherguy said:

I’m guessing that it’s replacing rita’s Cantina then?  Hopefully it will be good enough to justify paying the up charge.

Nope. It's opposite the without cafe 

 

Playmakers is replacing Sabor which replaced Ritas 

[fisherguy]

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Nope. It's opposite the without cafe 

 

Playmakers is replacing Sabor which replaced Ritas 

Thanks.  It’s hard to keep track of all the changes to the oasis class ships these days.

[richstowe]

On 6/3/2019 at 5:32 PM, 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.

Sure and if that don't work they can raise it to $15 and then $20 . 🙄

 

This reminds me of the former Bistro on Five on Celebrity . Always empty . They finally replaced it with Sushi on Five . The difference is that there is no expectation of "free" crepes or for that matter Sushi on a cruise . A decent burger at no extra charge is something else . 

 

BTW, nobody has mentioned Dive-In on HAL . Very good burgers as are the fries and Nathan’s Famous all beef dogs . Plus there is an excellent taco bar attached . No fee .

 

 

[PlanetX]

1 hour ago, richstowe said:

Sure and if that don't work they can raise it to $15 and then $20 . 🙄

 

This reminds me of the former Bistro on Five on Celebrity . Always empty . They finally replaced it with Sushi on Five . The difference is that there is no expectation of "free" crepes or for that matter Sushi on a cruise . A decent burger at no extra charge is something else . 

 

If they can get away with a $20 burger, you better believe they will.  I hear JR is already up to $10.95 on Symphony alone.

 

Imagine if they got Bobby Flay (who already has burger joints on the east coast) to take over the JR space and set up something unique and attractive that has better food than JR plus beer and wine.  I'll bet they could sell a $15+ cover charge for that.

[depplep]

8 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Nope. It's opposite the without cafe 

 

Playmakers is replacing Sabor which replaced Ritas 

Oh man! I loved Sabor on Oasis. Not so much on Freedom.

[perditax]

10 hours ago, richstowe said:

Sure and if that don't work they can raise it to $15 and then $20 . 🙄

 

This reminds me of the former Bistro on Five on Celebrity . Always empty . They finally replaced it with Sushi on Five . The difference is that there is no expectation of "free" crepes or for that matter Sushi on a cruise . A decent burger at no extra charge is something else . 

 

BTW, nobody has mentioned Dive-In on HAL . Very good burgers as are the fries and Nathan’s Famous all beef dogs . Plus there is an excellent taco bar attached . No fee .

 

 

 

Celebrity had free sushi in the buffet when I was on the Eclipse in 2016. 

 

NCL does free crepes on some ships, but charges for them on the new ships (of course p). 

[richstowe]

4 minutes ago, perditax said:

 

Celebrity had free sushi in the buffet when I was on the Eclipse in 2016. 

 

NCL does free crepes on some ships, but charges for them on the new ships (of course p). 

The sushi disappeared around the time Bistro on Five was replaced with Sushi on Five  . Coincidence ? 

 

[kurtp13]

On a long ago trip on Mariner JRs was my go-to late night place.    They added a cover charge not long after my trip.   I enjoyed it for a snack and the staff was nice. 

 

On a trip last year on Allure I was disappointed in the late night sandwiches and pizza in Promenade Cafe.  Lots of bread not much in the sandwich.  And the JRs breakfast was so disappointing I didn't try to go for burgers.   But honestly, I don't remember it being an option later at night.  

 

On Grandeur earlier this year the Park Cafe was a nice evening snack while it was open and had surprisingly good pizza.   Although I would have liked a burger option.  

 

The WJ buffet burger and fries wasn't too bad either.   I don't think I've had better fries off a steam table.   I normally pass right on by but I'm glad I tried them.  Surprisingly good.  

 

Looking forward to a trip on Adventure later this year so I can make some comparisons.  

 

[ONECRUISER]

On 6/3/2019 at 11:00 AM, 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.

Agree. When JR's was added to Royal in late 90's was middle of the comeback of 50's style Malt Shoppes that were big all around the USA. Now dated they should change to something different long as has Good Food!

[ONECRUISER]

2 hours ago, kurtp13 said:

On a long ago trip on Mariner JRs was my go-to late night place.    They added a cover charge not long after my trip.   I enjoyed it for a snack and the staff was nice. 

 

On a trip last year on Allure I was disappointed in the late night sandwiches and pizza in Promenade Cafe.  Lots of bread not much in the sandwich.  And the JRs breakfast was so disappointing I didn't try to go for burgers.   But honestly, I don't remember it being an option later at night.  

 

On Grandeur earlier this year the Park Cafe was a nice evening snack while it was open and had surprisingly good pizza.   Although I would have liked a burger option.  

 

The WJ buffet burger and fries wasn't too bad either.   I don't think I've had better fries off a steam table.   I normally pass right on by but I'm glad I tried them.  Surprisingly good.  

 

Looking forward to a trip on Adventure later this year so I can make some comparisons.  

 

Resent change this last yr. A big improvement on Royal Pizza, Fries and the Burger is even better. Wish they still did Burgers over open Flame, not from frozen patties like they did 30yrs ago...

Edited June 6, 2019 by ONECRUISER

[ONECRUISER]

2 hours ago, kurtp13 said:

On a long ago trip on Mariner JRs was my go-to late night place.    They added a cover charge not long after my trip.   I enjoyed it for a snack and the staff was nice. 

 

On a trip last year on Allure I was disappointed in the late night sandwiches and pizza in Promenade Cafe.  Lots of bread not much in the sandwich.  And the JRs breakfast was so disappointing I didn't try to go for burgers.   But honestly, I don't remember it being an option later at night.  

 

On Grandeur earlier this year the Park Cafe was a nice evening snack while it was open and had surprisingly good pizza.   Although I would have liked a burger option.  

 

The WJ buffet burger and fries wasn't too bad either.   I don't think I've had better fries off a steam table.   I normally pass right on by but I'm glad I tried them.  Surprisingly good.  

 

Looking forward to a trip on Adventure later this year so I can make some comparisons.  

 

Cover Charge was something that JR had from first month on Royal. They added and removed it multiple times. Place was so busy when first offered on the then new Voyager, only time Wife and I could get in there was after Dark...

[rusty nut]

Used to love JR. We've been to several, on several ships. The $4.95 cover was fair and the burgers, I thought, were great. Things changed, however. The cover kept getting steeper and steeper, while the food quality went the opposite direction. Our last trip there was on Navigator. We paid, I think, $9.75/pp. What a disappointment. I think the burger in the WJ was just as good, maybe better, I could customize it any way I wanted, and it was free. I would not be sad to see JR go away.

Edited June 6, 2019 by rusty nut

[Judyrem]

6 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Agree. When JR's was added to Royal in late 90's was middle of the comeback of 50's style Malt Shoppes that were big all around the USA. Now dated they should change to something different long as has Good Food!

Shake Shack

[ymncruise]

A free meal for 4 was included at JRs with our boardwalk balcony stateroom on the Allure of the Seas.  I thought it was great!  We had burgers, grilled cheese, onion rings, bacon cheese fries, and chili cheese fries after a long day at the pool.  🙂

A yummy ice cream sundae was also included.

 

[Thorben-Hendrik]

1 hour ago, ymncruise said:

A free meal for 4 was included at JRs with our boardwalk balcony stateroom on the Allure of the Seas.  I thought it was great!  We had burgers, grilled cheese, onion rings, bacon cheese fries, and chili cheese fries after a long day at the pool.  🙂

A yummy ice cream sundae was also included.

 

Would you have paid $50 for that meal?🤔

[ymncruise]

On 6/6/2019 at 12:18 PM, Thorben-Hendrik said:

Would you have paid $50 for that meal?🤔

 

No, if it wasn't free, I wouldn't have even considered eating there.  I don't go there on land either. 😄

[Norwich Cruiser]

We’ve had a free lunch at JR’s today on OOTS which was decent enough average appetisers good burgers not enough room for desert but they did look good and this was included in our Central Park balcony staterooms.

However would I have gone for lunch there and paid for it.

Definitely No.

[BNBR]

On 6/5/2019 at 10:56 AM, richstowe said:

Sure and if that don't work they can raise it to $15 and then $20 . 🙄

 

This reminds me of the former Bistro on Five on Celebrity . Always empty . They finally replaced it with Sushi on Five . The difference is that there is no expectation of "free" crepes or for that matter Sushi on a cruise . A decent burger at no extra charge is something else . 

 

BTW, nobody has mentioned Dive-In on HAL . Very good burgers as are the fries and Nathan’s Famous all beef dogs . Plus there is an excellent taco bar attached . No fee .

 

 

 

 

I expect a decent burger at no extra charge, for sure.  I don't expect a sit down restaurant experience with cheese fries, a server, etc to be no extra charge.  I have no issue with JR's.  It has it's place on the ship and we enjoy it quite a bit.  Sitting out on the boardwalk, having a burger and fries.  It's nice.  If it were free, line would be a mile long.  It would be pointless.  You pay for the fact that you can actually get a table.  Free stuff is served buffet style or MDR (huge venue).  What I'm disappointed in is the horrible quality of the free burgers on Royal.  They can clearly do awesome burgers on Celebrity, why not Royal?!

[brillohead]

51 minutes ago, BNBR said:

I expect a decent burger at no extra charge, for sure.  I don't expect a sit down restaurant experience with cheese fries, a server, etc to be no extra charge.  I have no issue with JR's.  It has it's place on the ship and we enjoy it quite a bit.  Sitting out on the boardwalk, having a burger and fries.  It's nice.  If it were free, line would be a mile long.  It would be pointless.  You pay for the fact that you can actually get a table.  Free stuff is served buffet style or MDR (huge venue).  What I'm disappointed in is the horrible quality of the free burgers on Royal.  They can clearly do awesome burgers on Celebrity, why not Royal?!

The hot dog place on Boardwalk is free, and there is never a line, and you can always get a table on the Boardwalk. 

[BNBR]

12 minutes ago, brillohead said:

The hot dog place on Boardwalk is free, and there is never a line, and you can always get a table on the Boardwalk. 

 

Lol....  Read again.

[brillohead]

22 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

Lol....  Read again.

I'm lost... you said if it was free it would have a line.  The hot dog place doesn't have a line, and it's free.