Costal Kitchen for JS Guests

[berbician]

I know that Costal Kitchen is only available for JS guests if there is availability . Going on HOS in May and just trying to see if anyone had any success in trying to book for dinner.  I am thinking that I would need to try to book once you get on the ship.  

 

Appreciate any feedback

Thanks 

[HicksRA]

The early bird gets the worm…

[RoperDK]

We just got off Wonder in a JS and could eat at Coastal Kitchen every night if we wished. I have always been able to eat at Coastal when in a JS as long as I am a bit flexible on dining times. Go to the suites area as soon as you get onboard and make your reservations. On Wonder, we made our first 2 reservations when we boarded and then added our other nights throughout the week. 

[gumshoe958]

You need to book on board.

 

It’s consistently inconsistent. Some maitre d’s seem to happily let JS guests book multiple nights in one go, others let them book one night at a time, others won’t let them book at all (maybe it’s genuinely full, maybe not, who knows?). Pot luck really. Just head up there as soon as you can and see what happens.

[berbician]

Thanks everyone! Sounds like there is a chance that I might be able to book. I'll make sure to go and get that done as soon as I get on board.   

[clconnell]

We just got off HOS.  I was the first one in line to book and I was able to book 3 nights right then.  Immediately after me they allowed guests to book 1 night at a time.  No idea what changed from us to the person behind us, but we were grateful and loved dining in CS!  

[maggieq]

We were able to get 3 dinner reservations back in January.  Not sure I would grade the food that much better than main dining room.    We dined in CK on one of our allure cruises and remember the experience being so much better.   Service was exceptional. Food choices, not so much for us.  

Edited March 14, 2023 by maggieq

[alfaeric]

15 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

You need to book on board.

 

It’s consistently inconsistent. Some maitre d’s seem to happily let JS guests book multiple nights in one go, others let them book one night at a time, others won’t let them book at all (maybe it’s genuinely full, maybe not, who knows?). Pot luck really. Just head up there as soon as you can and see what happens.

The way we read it, some of them are happy to rebook everyone at the end of the day, and others need to have you check in as you leave, or contact them if you miss the dinner before.  It's kind of annoying, and I really wish they let you reserve via the app- it's not as if they can't filter out who have access or not.  It would be a whole lot easier if you miss one night for any reason.

 

We had a recent cruise on the Allure where we missed one night, and then the next night wanted to experiment with the new menu.  The next day, we forgot to walk up there (as we didn't have a number, and the reservations number does not do CK), so could not get in that night.  

[Oceansaway17]

18 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

You need to book on board.

 

It’s consistently inconsistent. Some maitre d’s seem to happily let JS guests book multiple nights in one go, others let them book one night at a time, others won’t let them book at all (maybe it’s genuinely full, maybe not, who knows?). Pot luck really. Just head up there as soon as you can and see what happens.

yup I had a JS suite on two different Oasis class ships and on one they were a bit snippy, and on the other after having eaten in one night, when I went back check menu and cancel. Well they seemed a little hurt and begged me to let them get anything I want from any restaurant.   I just told them I wanted a nice salad from the buffet and they sighed and let me go.  I felt bad just a bit.

CK is IMHO not meant for every night since there are so many other places to eat on the Big ships.

[cruisegirl1]

20 hours ago, RoperDK said:

We just got off Wonder in a JS and could eat at Coastal Kitchen every night if we wished. I have always been able to eat at Coastal when in a JS as long as I am a bit flexible on dining times. Go to the suites area as soon as you get onboard and make your reservations. On Wonder, we made our first 2 reservations when we boarded and then added our other nights throughout the week. 

We are currently on board, I don’t know about Junior Suite availability, I know that Pinnacles are only allowed to book 2 nights.  
m

[molly361]

6 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

We are currently on board, I don’t know about Junior Suite availability, I know that Pinnacles are only allowed to book 2 nights.  
m

Did you keep your udp?

[jagsfan]

20 hours ago, RoperDK said:

We just got off Wonder in a JS and could eat at Coastal Kitchen every night if we wished. I have always been able to eat at Coastal when in a JS as long as I am a bit flexible on dining times. Go to the suites area as soon as you get onboard and make your reservations. On Wonder, we made our first 2 reservations when we boarded and then added our other nights throughout the week. 

When you say suites area, are you saying suite lounge/CK?

I’ve only ever done breakfast, so no res needed. We’ll be in a JS on Mariner. 

[island lady]

No thanks....not interested in being on an Oasis class in a JS and having to knock on the door to be let in.   Feels too much like an outsider...not worth it.  IMHO, CK should be for full suites only.  Too many other dining venues around the ship to use, free and pay venues included.  

 

Even worse on Wonder...locked door is way..way down the hallway.  You have to hope someone will hear the buzzer.  

[cruisegirl1]

3 hours ago, molly361 said:

Did you keep your udp?

Yes-for next week. 
m

[Kbonner]

Currently on Symphony TA: 5 CK dinner bookings for Pins, same for JS (which we are in), no breakfast allowed (in Chops for Pins), although CK is empty in the morning. Evening CK plenty of empty tables, suite lounge almost empty each night. How boring for the lonely suite guest

[RoperDK]

23 hours ago, jagsfan said:

When you say suites area, are you saying suite lounge/CK?

I’ve only ever done breakfast, so no res needed. We’ll be in a JS on Mariner. 

Coastal Kitchen is only on Oasis/Quantum class ships.  If you are in a JS on them, you can eat dinner if there is availability.  There is no access to the suite lounge if you are in a JS.  Mariner doesn't have CK and you can't access the suite lounge if in a JS on that ship.  If you are Diamond or above, the Diamond lounge is right next door to the suite lounge on Mariner.

[RoperDK]

23 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

We are currently on board, I don’t know about Junior Suite availability, I know that Pinnacles are only allowed to book 2 nights.  
m

I heard that Wonder was overbooked this week.  On our sailing last week, we could have eaten in CK every night if we wanted to.  Heard there were over 100 Pinnacles on our sailing.  Coastal Kitchen was super crowded with a lot of Pinnacles eating there on the nights we went.  We were happy that the doors to access the area were propped open during dinner hours.  

[island lady]

17 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

I heard that Wonder was overbooked this week.  On our sailing last week, we could have eaten in CK every night if we wanted to.  Heard there were over 100 Pinnacles on our sailing.  Coastal Kitchen was super crowded with a lot of Pinnacles eating there on the nights we went.  We were happy that the doors to access the area were propped open during dinner hours.  

 

Each ship has a threshold number of Pinnacles that are not in a suite that will be allowed into CK/SL.  On the recent TA...there were over 300 Pinnacles. Those not in a suite...were not allowed in.  Solarium Bistro was set aside as Pinnacle only venue for an alternative.  

 

Those key access doors are supposed to be kept closed.  Those not in a suite must use the buzzer at the door for access.  Assuming someone in CK actually answers it.  

 

We were in a GS so it did not affect us, and we were not the only ones.  If you see a lot of Pinnacles in CK/SL on a Pinnacle heavy cruise...it could simply be they are Pinnacles in a full suite.   

[RoperDK]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Each ship has a threshold number of Pinnacles that are not in a suite that will be allowed into CK/SL.  On the recent TA...there were over 300 Pinnacles. Those not in a suite...were not allowed in.  Solarium Bistro was set aside as Pinnacle only venue for an alternative.  

 

Those key access doors are supposed to be kept closed.  Those not in a suite must use the buzzer at the door for access.  Assuming someone in CK actually answers it.  

 

We were in a GS so it did not affect us, and we were not the only ones.  If you see a lot of Pinnacles in CK/SL on a Pinnacle heavy cruise...it could simply be they are Pinnacles in a full suite.   

I wish that Wonder had more full suites.  We have been trying to get a GS and no luck.  Even hard to find a JS.  We saw many Pinnacles in the Diamond lounge last week.  Don't know if they had access to the suite lounge or not.  Struck up a conversation with several while waiting for the maitre d to show up so we could make our CK reservations for dinner.

[island lady]

17 hours ago, RoperDK said:

I wish that Wonder had more full suites.  We have been trying to get a GS and no luck.  Even hard to find a JS.  We saw many Pinnacles in the Diamond lounge last week.  Don't know if they had access to the suite lounge or not.  Struck up a conversation with several while waiting for the maitre d to show up so we could make our CK reservations for dinner.

 

I didn't have any trouble again booking the same GS (#1770) we had for the 2 week Med, and following TA again for a B2B this Oct.  But I do book very early.  Really nice cabin, great location on the port side of deck 17.  We don't get the foot traffic on that side that the starboard side does with hallway access to SL/CK.  

 

And indeed, less full suites on Wonder.  That ship was originally designed for the Asian market.  

 

We book GS and above on ships with that have CK.   On the others, the JS works fine for us.  I just don't like being restricted from that venue if too many Pinnies on the ship.  We have not stepped foot into the DL since restart.  Unless the coffee machine is broken in the CL/SL.  😉  Prefer visiting other lounge venues for happy hour.  On Voyager, Freedom, Radiance series....we use the VCL bar.  

[poocher]

We tried CK last year on Harmony.  I have to say we were not impressed.  Filets night 1 were not good, pork belly was undercooked and chewy.  Found our waiter very snooty.  Some combination of our party ate up there 4 nights and only once was everyone happy with their meal.  We are in JSs in May but I don’t think we’ll try CK again.  FWIW, the Suites concierge was also not very good.  Requests made by email not honored & never answered ships phone, had to schlep over there to make 2 other requests which were also not honored.

[island lady]

9 minutes ago, poocher said:

We tried CK last year on Harmony.  I have to say we were not impressed.  Filets night 1 were not good, pork belly was undercooked and chewy.  Found our waiter very snooty.  Some combination of our party ate up there 4 nights and only once was everyone happy with their meal.  We are in JSs in May but I don’t think we’ll try CK again.  FWIW, the Suites concierge was also not very good.  Requests made by email not honored & never answered ships phone, had to schlep over there to make 2 other requests which were also not honored.

 

Unfortunately, the suites concierge won't pay much attention to JS guests.  They are not true suites guests.  If you are Diamond or above...you can always use the concierge in the DL instead. 

[poocher]

55 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Unfortunately, the suites concierge won't pay much attention to JS guests.  They are not true suites guests.  If you are Diamond or above...you can always use the concierge in the DL instead. 

We were in an Owners Suite at the time.  I think we were entitled to a little attention. And they told me there were only 100 suite guests on the cruise so I don’t think they were swamped.

Edited March 16, 2023 by poocher

[island lady]

23 minutes ago, poocher said:

We were in an Owners Suite at the time.  I think we were entitled to a little attention. And they told me there were only 100 suite guests on the cruise so I don’t think they were swamped.

 

 

Ah...sorry.  I misunderstood you.  I thought you were saying you were in a JS cabin.  

 

Sorry about the SL concierges. I do remember they did not circulate the room, simply staying at their desk the whole time.  On other smaller ships...they always work the room. 

[poocher]

12 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

 

Ah...sorry.  I misunderstood you.  I thought you were saying you were in a JS cabin.  

 

Sorry about the SL concierges. I do remember they did not circulate the room, simply staying at their desk the whole time.  On other smaller ships...they always work the room. 

Asked for a table in MDR by a window, nope.

Celebrating daughters birthday, nope.

Reschedule Izumi because son wasn’t feeling well, nope.

Cancel & refund said unused Izumi reservation, maybe, we will forward your request to the dining manager but we can’t do that.

Best perk, besides the humongous room was escorted disembark.  CK to our car 15 minutes.

Edited March 16, 2023 by poocher