HawkeyeFan

We are "scheduled" to be there the second day it is open.  We already have a day pass to the CoCo Beach Club reserved.  Keeping fingers crossed and ?

We are "scheduled" to be there the second day it is open.  We already have a day pass to the CoCo Beach Club reserved.  Keeping fingers crossed and ?

We were on the Harmony last March.  My adult daughters, son-in-law and grandkids, ages 10, 8 and 6 were able to climb the rock wall.   The ship supplied special shoes for the climb.

We are "scheduled" to be there the second day it is open.  We already have a day pass to the CoCo Beach Club reserved.  Keeping fingers crossed and ?

We were on the Harmony last March.  My adult daughters, son-in-law and grandkids, ages 10, 8 and 6 were able to climb the rock wall.   The ship supplied special shoes for the climb.

Eating in the MDR as much as possible the first cruise. Then realizing we really don't ever want to eat there again for future cruises ?

We were in a Grand Suite earlier this year on Harmony.  Loved CK.  Never ate in MDR and did not miss it.  Had not had the best experience in MDR on recent cruises.  We ate most meals there.  Breakfast was very good and great to be away from the crazy busy Windjammer.  Our grandkids, 6, 8 and 10, were able to get "kids type meals" on any night as special requests.  They loved it there.  Staff is excellent.  We did eat at Sabor one night and were not impressed.  Expensive and not the best service. We are now officially spoiled and have 2 other cruises booked in a suite.

Only been to CK on one ship - Anthem - but that was all I needed. For me, the experience and food was better than any of the specialty restaurants I've been to; only Chef's Table surpasses it, but of course that's not a restaurant unto itself and it's as much about the experience as the food.
The filet that CK serves is, for me at least, waaaay better than what I've had from Chops. You can only get it on one night, but I'm not a huge steak person and once on any vacation is enough. In addition, many of the items served at Chef's Table actually come from the CK menu (or perhaps CK picks up the items that are noted as most popular / enjoyed at Chef's Table), so you have a chance to experience some of that without an up-charge.
I also loved the service and ambiance of the place compared to the specialties. While there are indeed a lot of tables, on all but one of the nights we practically had the restaurant to ourselves; maybe 5 other couples dining there at the same time, and each of us was put into a separate section so we each had a very intimate setting. Even on the "busy" night it wasn't close to packed. Our server was always fantastic, giving me great wine recommendations each night and making us feel very well cared for with every meal.
As far as having to "beg/hope for an open reservation", I do understand that on the Oasis class ships that is a definite issue due to the number of suite guests and pinnacles on a typical sailing; but on Anthem (and it seems the other Q class ships) this was not an issue at all; we went straight to the CK desk on embarkation day and had no problem making our dinner reservations for every night of the cruise even though the ship was sold out.
So to have all of that, and have it included as part of the price of the JS or higher room? That is definitely special, and a genuine perk of the suites. I would ask the counter-question -- why you would feel any obligation or strong desire to pay extra for another specialty restaurant at dinner when you have your own limited-access specialty restaurant included and available only to you and the relatively handful of other suite guests? Especially when it's paid for in your cruise fare?
I'd argue to save the specialties for lunch time on sea days, when it's cheaper and the menu is nearly the same as dinner.

After seeing this topic, I went to our reservation on the Harmony for 1/26/2020.  We have a beach bed at CocoCay booked at $299.  It is now $199.  I called Royal Caribbean and cancelled and rebooked.  Even the agent on the phone was surprised how much less it was.  Love this blog!

After seeing this topic, I went to our reservation on the Harmony for 1/26/2020.  We have a beach bed at CocoCay booked at $299.  It is now $199.  I called Royal Caribbean and cancelled and rebooked.  Even the agent on the phone was surprised how much less it was.  Love this blog!

After seeing this topic, I went to our reservation on the Harmony for 1/26/2020.  We have a beach bed at CocoCay booked at $299.  It is now $199.  I called Royal Caribbean and cancelled and rebooked.  Even the agent on the phone was surprised how much less it was.  Love this blog!

After seeing this topic, I went to our reservation on the Harmony for 1/26/2020.  We have a beach bed at CocoCay booked at $299.  It is now $199.  I called Royal Caribbean and cancelled and rebooked.  Even the agent on the phone was surprised how much less it was.  Love this blog!

In the Grand Suite on the Harmony we were able to get a bottle (or more) of water any time the Suite Lounge was open.  They did not limit us.  The Suite Lounge is open at least 11-11.  You could get a can of soda also.  We would put extra in the refrigerator in the room.

Totally agree with this one.  The ambiance / service we experience in the CK has us making sure to always have a room that include the CK all day access.

When we were on the Harmony, my daughter had special requests for breakfast that were not on the menu.  They easily and graciously accommodated her requests.  

Smoke free casinos. 

Chairs that automatically dump off people's towels when they haven't been used in 30 mins!!!  ???????

Anything you wear to the MDR is fine in CK. I would pass on solarium bistro. And maybe even the dining package. The food in CK rivals any specialty. The only menu that I don’t care much for is night 7. For SY this July, we are doing exclusively CK. 

We are booked on Oasis and Harmony in Crown Loft Suites, after our Radiance sailing this summer. Question on Coastal Kitchen: What to wear?! Can we wear jeans and a polo or crops and a polo? May forgo the Unlimited Dining package we purchased and go for the 3 night dining package, plus the Izumi hibachi, and spend the balance at CK. What are your opinions of adding Solarium Bistro into the mix? @Lovetocruise2002

Dress jeans are fine, ratty old worn out jeans would be frowned upon.  
If you have access to CK I'd eat as many meals as possible there.  Save the Bistro for another cruise when you may not have CK access.  

As I frown upon them, too! :-)

I am going to hate to admit it but this is DEFINITELY something that I am considering, I was absolutely blown away by the service and attention that they gave us in CK, we had grown so used to the service in the MDR that we did not realize the elevated service at CK.  I know that this is going to be the problem when we book a GS, it will be hard going back to the normal OB.  I know that we are going to become absolutely SPOILED ROTTEN and fall in love!! 

^^^ 100%, without a doubt! 
#teamCK ?❤️

Recently returned from the 9-night Harmony of the Seas sailing.  There were 8 of us, including 3 children ages 6, 8 and 9.  All 8 of us at there for dinner 6 of the nights onboard.  The food and waiters were great.  The children's menu is the same each night, but they were able to order off the adult menu also.  What was really awesome was that they also got them chicken strips, cheeseburgers and fries and mac and cheese, even though it was not on the menu.  The waiters were so sweet to our grandkids and brought them chocolate milk and "Shirley temple" drinks as soon as they sat down.  We (the grandparents) ate there every night and really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.  As far as a dress code for dinner, men wore either slacks and a shirt or nice shorts and a polo shirt.  Women the same or a casual dress.  The 2 concierge, Mohamed and Elaine, were there during the dinner time to assist with questions or reservations.  The access to the Coastal Kitchen and suite lounge were the best part of staying in a suite along with the access to the suite sun deck.  Loved it!

We did our first suite (Grand Suite on Harmony) recently.  We had originally booked a large balcony room.  We decided to upgrade to the GS and were very happy we did.  We do not do multiple cruises a year, so felt this was great for us.  We usually drink beer and wine and occasionally a blended drink, so the free drinks from the Suite Lounge were fine for us.  So we did not buy a drink package as we have on previous cruises.  The Coastal Kitchen, suite lounge, concierge and the Suite Deck were well worth the money for us.  Each person has to decide what works for them and what they are willing to pay for, but we loved it.