Coastal Kitchen Question

[jobinseattle]

We plan on cruising on other cruise lines as well as Royal and from what I read the restaurants in the suite area is better than the specialty restaurants. In your experience is coastal kitchen better than the specialty restaurants on Royal Caribbean? On our first cruise we ate at Chops on Harmony and I thought it was great. To clarify we never have eaten in coastal kitchen. Our last cruise we ate in the MDR most every time. Had family with us and we were in a junior suite.

[Tlbecker1]

Coastal Kitchen is definitely a step up from the MDR.  I don’t think it is better than specialty, but you might.  Everyone’s opinion differs.

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, jobinseattle said:

We plan on cruising on other cruise lines as well as Royal and from what I read the restaurants in the suite area is better than the specialty restaurants. In your experience is coastal kitchen better than the specialty restaurants on Royal Caribbean? On our first cruise we ate at Chops on Harmony and I thought it was great. To clarify we never have eaten in coastal kitchen. Our last cruise we ate in the MDR most every time. Had family with us and we were in a junior suite.

Just our opinion, but it seems to be completely dependent on the CK chef. We have been on B2B cruises where the CK chef changed between cruises and dishes that were excellent on the first cruise were poor on the second. 

 

If you are lucky enough to be on board with a good chef, then CK is much better than most of the specialty restaurants. But, that can be hit or miss.

[lovesthebeach2]

We don’t stay in suites too much lately but we have been in CK on a more than a few different ships and we’ve had food as good as MDR, some much better than MDR, but we haven’t experienced any that we would say is better than specialty restaurants, especially Giovannis Table. Again this is my opinion only.

[TeeRick]

CK is generally very good and we enjoy it for its food and excellent service.  But we also like specialty restaurants for just that- unique or special menus.  The best thing is that CK is included and specialty dining has become quite expensive. But there are dining packages to consider. 

 

 

[jalves]

Agree with most of the PP's that CK is definitely better than the MDR.  It's the difference between cooking for thousands vs a couple hundred people at a time.  

 

In some cases we've found the specialty restaurants to be worse than CK, but mostly they are better.

[karmamule]

When we were on the Allure CK was very good, but not quite as good as the specialty restaurants. We had an unlimited dining package for that cruise and I was nervous I'd love CK too much and feel we wasted our money, but while I liked Coastal Kitchen I was glad we mostly ate at the specialty restaurants.

 

We're going on Icon in a little over a month and even though we'll have CK we got the unlimited dining package again. Don't get me wrong though, CK was quite good and if you don't mind the repetition then you can save money by just eating there and still getting delicious food.

 

Funny side story: For our embarkation day lunch in CK we got a waiter from somewhere in Eastern Europe who had the most deep monotone voice I've ever heard when he said "Welcome to Coastal Kitchen". It was reminiscent of Lurch from the Addam's Family. To this day one of us will still sometimes turn to the other and drone "...welcome to Coastal Kitchen...." and we'll burst out laughing. I predict we'll be saying that a lot on our Icon cruise, even if we don't eat there much. But, we're definitely going there for Embarkation Day lunch just for the memories.

[George C]

2 hours ago, jobinseattle said:

We plan on cruising on other cruise lines as well as Royal and from what I read the restaurants in the suite area is better than the specialty restaurants. In your experience is coastal kitchen better than the specialty restaurants on Royal Caribbean? On our first cruise we ate at Chops on Harmony and I thought it was great. To clarify we never have eaten in coastal kitchen. Our last cruise we ate in the MDR most every time. Had family with us and we were in a junior suite.

Totally disagree, we have done 3 cruises on ships with CK , after a couple of dinners in CK we just booked specialty restaurants, for last two rccl we bought the UDP which allows you to eat all dinners and some lunches in specialty, we do it breakfast and some lunches in CK. CK is definitely inferior to celebrity suite restaurant. 

[island lady]

Another one here that agrees food is better than the MDR...but IMHO...I don't think it is superior to the specialty restaurants, unless those happen to have not so great chefs.  Ship to ship varies.  

 

However, we adore CK mostly for the atmosphere and having the same waiters.  They get to know our tastes, usually usher us to a favorite table, and is much quieter than the other dining options...usually anyway.  

[Ken at the beach]

2 hours ago, jobinseattle said:

We plan on cruising on other cruise lines as well as Royal and from what I read the restaurants in the suite area is better than the specialty restaurants. In your experience is coastal kitchen better than the specialty restaurants on Royal Caribbean? On our first cruise we ate at Chops on Harmony and I thought it was great. To clarify we never have eaten in coastal kitchen. Our last cruise we ate in the MDR most every time. Had family with us and we were in a junior suite.

Somewhere between the dining room and specialty.  A couple nights menus were great

[orville99]

1 hour ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

especially Giovannis Table. Again this is my opinion only.

We agree relative to Giovanni's Table. However, when they started switching ships to Giovanni's Kitchen, we stopped booking that venue. Terrible menu choices.

[Cruising89143]

We were on the Anthem last month out of Southampton and CK was great. Better than the specialty dining that we tried and have experienced on other RCI ships. We also found CK to be just as good as Luminae on Celebrity. 
 

We have a TA coming up in early November and we have only booked one evening in a specialty restaurant. The other nights we plan to dine at CK. I agree that it can depend on the chef. Our last cruise on Celebrity,  Luminae left a lot to be desired. 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

We agree relative to Giovanni's Table. However, when they started switching ships to Giovanni's Kitchen, we stopped booking that venue. Terrible menu choices.

 

Only good thing for us...was that the steak for lunch was cheaper than Chops...same steak.  😉 

[twangster]

The night one filet is usually a solid CK night that can be better than a Chops filet but the best thing about CK is the venue itself.  Food is subjective.  You might like every menu and every meal there, or maybe just some nights like me, however the atmosphere and service tend to be far better than the MDR every night. 

 

Some specialty dining venues have great atmosphere while others are kind of dull.  Most CK have great views too.

[island lady]

25 minutes ago, twangster said:

The night one filet is usually a solid CK night that can be better than a Chops filet but the best thing about CK is the venue itself.  Food is subjective.  You might like every menu and every meal there, or maybe just some nights like me, however the atmosphere and service tend to be far better than the MDR every night. 

 

Some specialty dining venues have great atmosphere while others are kind of dull.  Most CK have great views too.

 

One of the best reasons we book GS cabins on the ships that have a CK.  😉 

[Cruise a holic]

Really enjoy coastal kitchen.  However you shoukd definitely try a few specialty restaurants.  Really great food

[SAT Spurs]

Did Harmony OTS first week of July.  We had UDP and because we were in a Junior Suite, CK for dinner, space available.  When we boarded, booked it the last night.  Did this as to not be disappointed in not booking a full suite for full access to CK.  It was not as good as the specialty restaurants.  Never ate in the MDR, but CK was serving some of the same dishes as MDR.  Service was excellent, food ok.  Comparatively, the worst meal we had on the ship.  With the Key, UDP, and Drink Package, my intention was to simulate the full suite experience, with a lower cost.  It worked out for me and the key was worth it, just to board first (to secure the reservations for Ck and UDP).  We liked Jaimes the best, and all others a close second, with CK last.  Not saying it was bad, just not as good as the specialty.  I agree that the CK venue and view was spectacular, as well as the service.

Edited Wednesday at 09:16 PM by SAT Spurs
added

[RoperDK]

On 9/24/2024 at 9:12 AM, island lady said:

Another one here that agrees food is better than the MDR...but IMHO...I don't think it is superior to the specialty restaurants, unless those happen to have not so great chefs.  Ship to ship varies.  

 

However, we adore CK mostly for the atmosphere and having the same waiters.  They get to know our tastes, usually usher us to a favorite table, and is much quieter than the other dining options...usually anyway.  

I totally agree. We love CK, too.  The food is better than the MDR.  They include the old everyday classics menu so I can have escargot and my DH can have French onion soup every evening if we wish. The entrees are also upgraded to include a filet mignon and rack of lamb evening. Perhaps the food isn't quite the same level as specialty dining, but we really enjoy the better service, view, and more intimate experience.      

[SplashOfWater]

We were on Wonder a couple of weeks ago and ate at CK every night. The food is definitely better than the MDR and seems to be cooked to order, rather than banquet-style. The service is great too, we had the same waiter each night. Because it is a smaller venue it's not as noisy as the MDR, making it much easier to hold a conversation.

[poocher]

Harmony several years ago, we ate in CK 3 times and unfortunately didn’t really enjoy any of it.  Hubby’s filet was a piece of gristle that had to be sent back & the second offering was severely over cooked.  Pork belly was fatty & slimy.  Our waiter was kinda snooty.  Just did not enjoy the experience at all and we were really looking forward to CK.  Harmony again last year & we didn’t go there at all.

[BirdTravels]

On 9/24/2024 at 7:42 AM, jobinseattle said:

We plan on cruising on other cruise lines as well as Royal and from what I read the restaurants in the suite area is better than the specialty restaurants. In your experience is coastal kitchen better than the specialty restaurants on Royal Caribbean? On our first cruise we ate at Chops on Harmony and I thought it was great. To clarify we never have eaten in coastal kitchen. Our last cruise we ate in the MDR most every time. Had family with us and we were in a junior suite.

 

We found it amusing that we ate at CK last week. We also took a spin through the Windjammer every night. A lot of the items on the CK menu were being served in the WJ. Yeah,,, they were in chafing dishes versus being plated on pretty plates, but both entrees and desserts served in the CK were also on the buffet line.

 

And the buffet often had better food. Like on the last night, the WJ was serving stone crab claws and clams, which we actually stopped for a "second dinner" to partake in. 

[Karma5]

I have had some good meals in Costal Kitchen and some not so good........

[Cruise a holic]

The suite experience on the Harmony is more then the Coastal Kitchen, which we do enjoy.  The suite lounge, included cocktail hour, twice a day cabin service, suite sun deck and the priority boarding, disembarkation and the overall service IMO so worth it.  While the food was very good in the Coastal Kitchen, we enjoy a few dinners in the specialty restaurants-  

 

While food is important to us, at home we dine in many fine restaurants so the food isn't our number one priority.  Service and amenities mean so much more to us.  Also the size and location of the suite very important.  Everyone has their own priorities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Thursday at 10:34 AM by Cruise a holic

[TeeRick]

We will soon evaluate the full suite experience on an older ship (INDY) without CK.  Honestly we wish it was there.  INDY has 3 specialty restaurants only.  It is a 12 night cruise.  The UDP even with pre-cruise discount is very pricey.  We are going with the 5 night package plus the MDR/Windjammer.  

[RFerrington]

19 hours ago, SAT Spurs said:

Service was excellent, food ok

This is my general experience with the CK as well.