Free Burgers??

[doghog]

4 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

why if the solved the problem and gave me a nice new steak.  No restaurant is perfect.

Sorry, I misinterpreted what you were saying. I agree and have done the same.

[Oceansaway17]

Just now, doghog said:

Sorry, I misinterpreted what you were saying. I agree and have done the same.

aw no problem.   I just wanted to say ask for a NEW steak that way it might come out better.

Trust me if someone sends something back, I think the mgrs take note.

[doghog]

8 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

aw no problem.   I just wanted to say ask for a NEW steak that way it might come out better.

Trust me if someone sends something back, I think the mgrs take note.

Agree. I'm not one to eat the steak and then complain. Same for a bad steak (tough).

Edited December 22, 2023 by doghog

[Ocean Boy]

8 hours ago, KroozNut said:

Where did you get it for free, I'm going there!

 

Must have been on a cruise ship. Everything is free on those things.

[jeh10641]

On 12/14/2023 at 5:53 PM, Mum2Mercury said:

Random thoughts: 

- I think burgers are always available at Windjammer at lunch and dinner.  I don't choose burgers often onboard, but they're good ... not the best I've ever had, but certainly good.  

- "Burger of the Day" seems to be a popular choice.  

- I don't think walking into the Windjammer is all that difficult a task ... it's quite close to the pools.  

- I've never had to fight anyone to get food at Windjammer.  Sure, I've waited in line, but I have never encountered difficulties such as some people whine about.  

- I don't understand why anyone buys burgers at Johnny Rockets when they're free in Windjammer.  

- This discussion of free vs. included in the ticket price shows that some people here will fuss over anything.  

We buy burgers at Johnny Rockets and pair them with milkshakes. I do not mind paying for their burgers. Usually on a 14+ night cruise, we will go there twice.

[jeh10641]

To those who compare burgers on cruise ships to McDonalds or Burger King, not the same at all (shipboard burgers are much better wherever you get them). About 40 years ago, I decided I was done with fast food burgers so I would not set foot in them. On the other hand, I like Johnny Rockets, as I first discovered them on land where their staff used to dance to the music I grew up with in the 1950s. Their burgers are a step up from most fast-food renditions of that American staple, not gourmet but worth the price. Their milkshakes are to die for (from!), especially the Cookies and Cream. I do not eat burgers in Windjammer or any buffet, land or sea. The Dive In burgers on HAL ships are good and "free" as are their fries. However, eat and enjoy whichever burger you like. Free or not.

[bonsai3s]

On our recent sailings on the Symphony, we did a taste-test of all the burgers we could find.

 

* Windjammer...good.  I get the meat right off the grill.  I go around the bread section and find sourdough instead of using the bun. There's also a nice selection cheese if I wanted other than cheddar.

 

* MDR...the Royal Burger. Better than the WJ. Love this burger because I can get a side order of onion rings. 

 

* JR...we ordered this to go and ate it outside our balcony. (Not free, but we had OBC) The double burgers with extra cheese were cooked to perfection. The fries and onion rings...we dipped into a bowl of chili. It was total bliss just watching the ocean and dropping chili on my shirt.

 

* CK...ordered the cheeseburger and fries. Our wonderful waitress smiled and said: "Of course!". She smiled because it's off the kids menu. Outstanding burger...with the charbroiled taste...cheese melting off the side and the fries came in hot and crispy. It was meant for kids...but wow! it was big. If only they had onion rings.

[doghog]

Going to grill 'burgers tonight along with grilled onions. 🍔

[HappyTexan44]

35 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

* Windjammer...good.  I get the meat right off the grill.  I go around the bread section and find sourdough instead of using the bun. There's also a nice selection cheese if I wanted other than cheddar.

Good idea:  Basic hot dog and hamburger buns are universally awful.  At home I'll use homemade flour tortillas instead of hot dog buns.  That sourdough has to be fresher than the hamburger buns.   

 

[Pellaz]

On 12/22/2023 at 12:13 PM, jeh10641 said:

To those who compare burgers on cruise ships to McDonalds or Burger King, not the same at all (shipboard burgers are much better wherever you get them).

 

Oh, no, this is definitely NOT the case.  

 

On Liberty OTS, the burgers at the back of the Windjammer were TERRIBLE.  I hadn't had a burger THAT bad since maybe college or high-school.  Not only was it a hockey-puck, but it tasted like it was 50% "fillers and extenders"...or more.  I'd take virtually any fast-food burger over that, any day and twice on Sunday.    (More recently, the burgers in the WJ on the Indy and the Freedom were much improved...whew.) 

 

Johnny Rockets' DOES serve a decent burger (and onion rings, yumm), but as a general rule I don't pay food upcharges on cruises.  As mentioned by others, Guy's Burgers, "free"/included on most (all?) Carnival ships, are the best I've had on a cruise.  

 

On 12/19/2023 at 3:33 PM, Illbcruzn4life said:

you can also hit up Park Cafe for some free roast beef sandwiches.

 

On 12/19/2023 at 10:28 PM, KroozNut said:

Have not heard of those yet, but they sound good! We'll have to check those out on our upcoming EOS sailing 🙂

 

No, sorry, you can't.  As you have repeatedly stated, they are not free.  😄  

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Pellaz
added Indy and Freedom info

[GW248]

Hi bonsai3s How would you rank JR vs CK?

 

Edit:  Would you prefer one over the other, ignoring cost factor?

Edited December 25, 2023 by GW248
Add detail.

[truffles2]

I would take CK...the one on the kids menu!  BYO pickle.

[bonsai3s]

4 hours ago, GW248 said:

Hi bonsai3s How would you rank JR vs CK?

 

Edit:  Would you prefer one over the other, ignoring cost factor?

 

Oh my...take away the onion rings and that bowl of chili...

 

...and just the cheeseburger...

I would pick CK over JR.

 

* At CK, I may be the only one ordering a cheeseburger for lunch (when no children around)...at JR, it is a burger joint.

 

So at CK, I will politely ask for sourdough bread instead of a regular bun...swiss cheese instead of cheddar. And honey-mustard instead of ketchup.  It can be "customized" depending on how busy they are.  That burger, IMHO, becomes uniquely special.

[PhillyFan33579]

On 12/22/2023 at 12:13 PM, jeh10641 said:

To those who compare burgers on cruise ships to McDonalds or Burger King, not the same at all (shipboard burgers are much better wherever you get them). About 40 years ago, I decided I was done with fast food burgers so I would not set foot in them. On the other hand, I like Johnny Rockets, as I first discovered them on land where their staff used to dance to the music I grew up with in the 1950s. Their burgers are a step up from most fast-food renditions of that American staple, not gourmet but worth the price. Their milkshakes are to die for (from!), especially the Cookies and Cream. I do not eat burgers in Windjammer or any buffet, land or sea. The Dive In burgers on HAL ships are good and "free" as are their fries. However, eat and enjoy whichever burger you like. Free or not.

If you haven’t had fast food burgers in 40 years, how do you know what burgers at McDonald’s and BK taste like these days? I like JR burgers, but I think both McDonald’s and BK burgers taste better (and nothing beats McDonald’s French fries). Having said that, I know food is very subjective and taste tends to vary from person to person. 

[DallasGuy75219]

On 9/4/2023 at 1:17 PM, KroozNut said:

Maybe, but using the term 'free' when describing anything on a cruise ship might very well confuse some newbie cruisers.

What's there to be confused about? Are people who are not sailing clamoring to get on RC ships for their "free" hamburgers such that repeatedly making this inane point is necessary?

[jeh10641]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

If you haven’t had fast food burgers in 40 years, how do you know what burgers at McDonald’s and BK taste like these days? I like JR burgers, but I think both McDonald’s and BK burgers taste better (and nothing beats McDonald’s French fries). Having said that, I know food is very subjective and taste tends to vary from person to person. 

Thank you for saying that tastes vary from person to person. My taste in burgers is based on the burgers my mother made when I was growing up. High quality meat, handmade patties, cooked to my taste (medium rare), never from previously frozen meat. I know in 99% of restaurants I will not get them that way.  So, I settle for whatever venue provides a close proximity to that. Thus, no fast-food stops. Medium rare is tough to judge when making tens, dozens, hundreds or thousands a day. I never expect medium rare at any burger place. I rarely eat burgers out, even on cruise ships. Even if they are "free".

[alfaeric]

52 minutes ago, jeh10641 said:

...handmade patties, cooked to my taste (medium rare), never from previously frozen meat. ..

Unless you are at a restaurant that grounds their own meat, you will never get a burger that is not cooked through anymore.  And even some of those will only cook the meat through. Too much of a risk of meat issues the leave it undercooked.

 

Which is pretty ironic when you get the burger in Coastal Kitchen- where you can get beef tartar- a raw patty of ground meat.  But the burger has to be cooked through.

[jeh10641]

7 minutes ago, alfaeric said:

Unless you are at a restaurant that grounds their own meat, you will never get a burger that is not cooked through anymore.  And even some of those will only cook the meat through. Too much of a risk of meat issues the leave it undercooked.

 

Which is pretty ironic when you get the burger in Coastal Kitchen- where you can get beef tartar- a raw patty of ground meat.  But the burger has to be cooked through.

I love Steak Tartare. It is hard to find. I could not go to Coastal Kitchen but I had it on our last HAL cruise on Rotterdam in Rudi's Sel de Mare of all spots. It was an appetizer so I ordered a double so that I could get 6-8 ounces of it.

Jim

[Mum2Mercury]

On 12/20/2023 at 2:19 PM, KroozNut said:

The meat looks kinda dry (overcooked)? And no spread or fixings on the sandwich? Or do you add those to your liking? Bread looks good 🙂

I may want to skip these after all after seeing this.. 

The Roast Beef Sandwich /Kummelweck Sandwich is really good.  Notes: 

- They slice the roast beef (thick) in front of you, and they serve it on an onion roll.  

- It's not a large sandwich, which suits me fine.  

- You have 4 choices of liquid toppings:  Au Jus, Horseradish, Mustard Sauce ... and was the last one a Mustard Ragout?  Not quite sure about that last one.  

- The only negative is that slicing it right in front of you is a little slow, and the line for this sandwich can be lengthy ... but you're on vacation, you have time to wait 10 minutes for your sandwich.  The staff often calls out for people who want options other than the roast beef sandwich to "come on around", which speeds things up for everyone.  

On 12/22/2023 at 11:37 AM, jeh10641 said:

We buy burgers at Johnny Rockets and pair them with milkshakes. I do not mind paying for their burgers. Usually on a 14+ night cruise, we will go there twice.

I DO mind paying for their burgers, when no-cost burgers are available at Windjammer.  

Also, I don't like being lied to, and I still remember the excuses Royal gave about instituting a fee to keep teenagers from hanging out in JRs for hours.  

On 12/22/2023 at 1:33 PM, bonsai3s said:

* Windjammer...good.  I get the meat right off the grill.  I go around the bread section and find sourdough instead of using the bun. There's also a nice selection cheese if I wanted other than cheddar.

Now that's a good idea!  

On 12/22/2023 at 1:33 PM, bonsai3s said:

* MDR...the Royal Burger. Better than the WJ. Love this burger because I can get a side order of onion rings. 

I don't remember seeing this ... is it a lunchtime option?  

On 12/25/2023 at 10:34 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

If you haven’t had fast food burgers in 40 years, how do you know what burgers at McDonald’s and BK taste like these days? 

There you go throwing LOGIC out when people are trying to be extreme!  

Personally, I like a Wendy's Junior Bacon Cheeseburger.  

[bonsai3s]

@Mum2MercuryYes, the Royal Burger is available in the MDR, during lunch on sea days. 

[Another_Critic]

42 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

@Mum2MercuryYes, the Royal Burger is available in the MDR, during lunch on sea days. 

 

IIRC, it's only on one of the rotating lunch menus.

[KroozNut]

On 12/24/2023 at 2:44 PM, Pellaz said:

 

No, sorry, you can't.  As you have repeatedly stated, they are not free.  😄  

 

 

You're right, I can't. But not for the reason you stated, but because they're not available on Explorer. 😉

[KroozNut]

On 12/25/2023 at 8:23 AM, DallasGuy75219 said:

What's there to be confused about? Are people who are not sailing clamoring to get on RC ships for their "free" hamburgers such that repeatedly making this inane point is necessary?

It's just a pet-peeve of mine, that's all. And we all have pet-peeves right? People who repeatedly refer to specific items or services on a cruise ship as being 'free' is annoying to me, because it's intuitively obvious to most clear thinking folks that they're not 'free'.

If that strikes you as an 'inane' point, so be it..

[KroozNut]

On 12/25/2023 at 11:30 AM, jeh10641 said:

I love Steak Tartare. It is hard to find. I could not go to Coastal Kitchen but I had it on our last HAL cruise on Rotterdam in Rudi's Sel de Mare of all spots. It was an appetizer so I ordered a double so that I could get 6-8 ounces of it.

Jim

Love the Steak Tartare on HAL..

[SeaScout]

On 12/24/2023 at 5:44 PM, Pellaz said:

 

Oh, no, this is definitely NOT the case.  

 

On Liberty OTS, the burgers at the back of the Windjammer were TERRIBLE.  I hadn't had a burger THAT bad since maybe college or high-school.  Not only was it a hockey-puck, but it tasted like it was 50% "fillers and extenders"...or more. 

 

This was also my experience on Adventure of the Seas in early September in the Wind Jammer. The burgers were inedible in my opinion. Just plain awful.  I'd take a Guy's Burger on Carnival any day of the week over the mystery meat thing I had on AOS.

 

A staff member came by while we were eating to (survey) ask us a few questions about our experience in the Wind Jammer. I gave it generally positive marks but did express how bad the burgers were. I'm not sure it went any further than him noting it on his note pad.