Jonney Rockets disappointed on Indpendance

[bournemouth air]

After telling my children what a fun place to eat on the Independence we where very

Disappointed this year.

 

In the past on entering the restaurant the staff shouted out a loud "Hello" to which all the guests shouted Hello too, giving a good atomosphere. TheStaff would Stop and dance in the isles to a couple of songs to which my toddler loved.

 

None of these happened last week.

 

Our waiter brought 1 bowl of chips and onion rings for 7 of us on one table, to which we had to ask for more. The waiter was constantly being told buy someone in suits behind counter to serve us.

 

The food was rather greasier than normal.

 

When asking for sweet we where told there was only Ice Cream but when we asked for Apple Pie he said they had none but

Disappeared not knowing what we was getting. When Apple Pie did arrive it was a crumbled mess on a plate.

 

They did not do any justice to what we had planned as a special dinner for the kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[DreaAST]

We noticed this as well on our Oasis sailing the other week. We had a much better Johnny Rockets experience 2 years ago on The Liberty.

[CVU]

They were singing on our Indy in Jan/Feb.

[steveru621]

I never knew they had singing until the Explorer.

[ARCruisinNana]

I was on Indy for the TA earlier this month. We got the "Hello" as we walked in and the "Good Bye" as we left. The waiters also danced a couple of times. Sorry you didn't have the same fun experience:(

[bethco]

I was on the Transatlantic too, I think we had the same waiter when we ate there. We had to ask for fries and onion rings. We got them AFTER we had already gotten our burgers.

[MADflyer]

You might have been surprised how quickly they would have removed your charges from your onboard account, had you complained about this while onboard. I understand why that is often not done as passengers just move on to another more enjoyable experience.

 

I just had the complete opposite experience on Liberty. I dined three times at Johnny Rockets, but it has nothing to do with the food or dancing waiters for me, but just to escape the Windjammer and the 'buffet mentality' of some cruise passengers. I go right when they open at 3 pm for a late lunch, while in port and sit out on deck and enjoy the atmosphere.

 

Then one has to know exactly how to order at Johnny Rockets. The menu is completely 'a la carte' which means you have to order exactly what and how and when you want it. I think many expect the waiter to ask, 'Do you want fries with that?' and that is not how JR works.

 

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/johnnyrockets.pdf

 

If you want an order of fries for each diner, you have to tell them. Otherwise it is on the 'Starters and Shared' menu. Now, I did see a couple sharing an order of 'Chili Cheese Fries' and it was huge for 2 people by my standards.

 

I have to fight for the opposite when at JR and always have to request smaller portions. While my 'tiny' (per request) sliver of apple pie might have looked a 'crumbly mess' it was still fantastic.

 

Then comes the very sensitive part to this post. JR does have a service charge, but that does not all go to your server. Additional gratuity is added on beverages, but having a beverage package for me that is not the case. I always leave $2 pp extra gratuity with each visit to JR.

 

This is even more appreciated in Europe, where with the port intensive cruises, JR does not 'perform' as well as on cruises departing from USA. The servers are really 'affected' by the reduced traffic in the venue and then, as well, by the change in the 'tipping culture'.

 

I know as a customer it is easy to take the 'the fact the servers are making less money is not my problem' route, but in the end it actually is.

[Yorkvillain]

I don't think I have ever walked out of JR without stomach pains. I don't go anymore except for breakfast on the Oasis or Allure.

[goodycruising]

I would have been sad at that experience too. Loved the singing on Voyager a couple of years ago. The food varied on a couple of visits, but the atmosphere was great. We had one cold bowl of onion rings, so we asked for another and explained why, and we got another.

 

Just in general - not in reply to the OP - I do think you have to be firm straight away, without getting too upset when in a group of course. No use wrecking the whole experience, but I think if you go to the service desk and ask for charges to be removed when you haven't said something on the spot, then it doesn't really get you far.

 

Different times of day can make a big difference though, we have heard that on other threads too.

[PamUK]

We were on the same cruise and had a completely different experience! We had a 'Hello' and a 'Bye', the waiters danced twice while we were there, once inside and once outside. Our waiter was great, he just kept bringing fries and onion rings until we had to say 'stop, no more'! Also, there was a delay getting our burgers so they automatically waived our charges. The food was good but not great. Overall we had a good experience, sorry that yours wasnt the same.. We went there on the day we were in Olden.

[Loves_Dogs]

Am currently on Navigator (they will be kicking me off today unless I can find a good hiding place) and my only complaint is Johnny Rockets. We ate there 3 times and each time the service was bad. Everyone working there seemed to be genuinely miserable which made for a bad atmosphere. I am not kidding, on our first visit 2 wait staff were arguing over which table was theirs. No 'hello' or 'goodbye' and definitely no dancing. I did enjoy the food though.

Edited June 1, 2014 by Loves_Dogs

[CruisingThom87]

I was also disappointed with our experience of the joint on our recent Indy TA. We had told friends about the dancing and fun atmosphere and again no hello when entering no singing or dancing although it was quieter than I have seen it before . No refills on chips onion rings server seemed disinterested. Thought food was just ok

 

 

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