loki007 Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 Just got off 6 nights aboard Odyssey of the Seas and thought the Bionic Bar seemed like a huge waste of space. Kinda cool to get one drink from it but never had anyone sitting and enjoying the space like other bars. I definitely prefer the Champagne Bar that they have been getting rid of an replacing with Bionic on some ships. Just an observation. Shari, CharmMicah68, WAAAYTOOO and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRMLVM Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 We observed the same thing. After the first night, that bar was always nearly empty. Good to know if you're looking for a quiet place to sit though, I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottD Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 It was good for the kids, my kid loved making a "shirley ginger" on the way back to the room every time we passed it, but other than that, we used it as a little sitting area while waiting for each other or if the cafe was crowded, I'd grab my cookies and sit over there and eat them in peace, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_Texas Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 1 hour ago, loki007 said: Just got off 6 nights aboard Odyssey of the Seas and thought the Bionic Bar seemed like a huge waste of space. Kinda cool to get one drink from it but never had anyone sitting and enjoying the space like other bars. I definitely prefer the Champagne Bar that they have been getting rid of an replacing with Bionic on some ships. Just an observation. Agree. Plus your D+ drink vouchers not accepted in Bionic Bar. Shari and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 Paging @asquared17 asquared17 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 3 hours ago, loki007 said: Just got off 6 nights aboard Odyssey of the Seas and thought the Bionic Bar seemed like a huge waste of space. Kinda cool to get one drink from it but never had anyone sitting and enjoying the space like other bars. I definitely prefer the Champagne Bar that they have been getting rid of a replacing with Bionic on some ships. Just an observation. I think this is the general consensus regarding the bionic bar. IMHO it’s a one and done experience and a total waste of valuable space. WAAAYTOOO and Shari 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGTLH Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 I'm glad to see Utopia will have a Bamboo Room spin-off, Pesky Parrot, in place of the Bionic Bar. loki007, Freegirl, Shari and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geezer Of The Seas Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 On Wonder last April, we observed the Bionic Bar, video'd a "bartender" in action but never ordered a drink from the Bionic Bar; not when a couple of bartenders in the Trellis Bar were showing their appreciation for our appreciation of them. Rising Tide is another venue that left me thinking "what's the point"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorCruiser Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 Bionic bar is useless. Rising tide I find to be cool and trellis is my favorite bar on any ship. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted January 7 Report Share Posted January 7 6 minutes ago, Geezer Of The Seas said: On Wonder last April, we observed the Bionic Bar, video'd a "bartender" in action but never ordered a drink from the Bionic Bar; not when a couple of bartenders in the Trellis Bar were showing their appreciation for our appreciation of them. Rising Tide is another venue that left me thinking "what's the point"? +1 re: rising tide. It’s pretty interesting to look at and I guess you could call it a legacy design element of the Oasis class but still a one & done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APM Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 Sadly, we lost the Champagne Bar venue to accommodate most of these bionic bars.champagne bars had some of the most talented mixologists onboard. Don’t strive to be Carnival! Doug_Texas and loki007 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crown&AnchorEsq Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 I personally agree with the sentiment expressed here. But my kids fall squarely into @ScottD's camp. They loved it. Generally speaking it has a bit of a crowd during that pre-early dinner time period but is empty later in the night (after that the kiddos are all asleep). ScottD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcruisers Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 Kind of a novelty at first, up until my last cruise never really used it. Last cruise my one kid had just turned 21 so we used it a lot (that was his go to bar) ScottD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asquared17 Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 20 hours ago, jbrinkm said: Paging @asquared17 hi yes hello I AM HERE. i miss the champagne bar DEARLY. vintages is our go-to in these scenarios and the bionic bar was cool for.... a moment or two. but i don't necessarily believe it's worth the space earmarked. i never see anyone sitting in the bar space (except on disembarkation), and it's more like a bottleneck than anything of human gawkers for a few moments and then they move on. kind of a one trick pony... in a way WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffmw Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 Wasn't there talk of them removing them from some ships for this exact reason? Or maybe just not including them in the new (non-Oasis Class) ships? I swear I read something a while back...? Important to remember that "waste of space" is a term that, to us, means something more fun or interesting could be there, but to Royal, every square foot of bar space is all about $. For that much prime real estate to be generating so little revenue is easily enough for them to make a change. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asquared17 Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 i mean from a profits standpoint, they have another bar, where vouchers can't be used, and they don't need manpower to staff it. the space-planner part of me wants to say it could be a shrunken down concept... but i also don't know how much hidden technology and footprint they actually need to keep the bionic bar up and running. like, why not just.... one bionic bartender? since one of them is usually not working anyway??? WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 On 1/7/2024 at 11:17 AM, loki007 said: Kinda cool to get one drink from Nailed it and exactly why it's there. Consider that just over 50% of a typical sailing involves folks who have never sailed Royal before. That is thousands of people who might have seen a flashing marketing photo or video with a bionic bartender. That's cool! Right? That is the target of the BB and why it exists. As new to cruise and new to Royal are window shopping which cruise line to book a flashy gimmick is attractive to many. Even if most of those guests with their first cruise complete look back and reach the same conclusion, the BB fulfilled its purpose. It sets Royal apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmattinson Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 I thought the location of the Bionic bar (and general layout of Odyssey in whole) to be not well thought out - on the Oasis class ships its in the main part of the Promenade with the extra seating available around it. On Odyssey being on the 5th deck and off to the side of a mostly pass-through deck area (where the main Promenade is on 4) it just didn't seem to hit the mark. CrimsonCruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 6 hours ago, jeffmw said: Wasn't there talk of them removing them from some ships for this exact reason? Or maybe just not including them in the new (non-Oasis Class) ships? I swear I read something a while back...? Utopia is going to have a bar called the Pesky Parrot in the same spot that the Bionic Bar exists on the other Oasis class ships (other than Allure, of course). RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_Texas Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 7 hours ago, jeffmw said: Wasn't there talk of them removing them from some ships for this exact reason? Or maybe just not including them in the new (non-Oasis Class) ships? I swear I read something a while back...? Important to remember that "waste of space" is a term that, to us, means something more fun or interesting could be there, but to Royal, every square foot of bar space is all about $. For that much prime real estate to be generating so little revenue is easily enough for them to make a change. I very often see either low usage or an employee having to do cleanup or restocking of supplies. I’ll bet Royal regrets Bionic. I have to say, when I cruise with someone who hasn’t seen Bionic before we go to it to marvel at the attempt. I also have to say I’ve only watched others getting their drinks made which is all the entertainment I need. I’ve never actually had a beverage from Bionic. RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted January 8 Report Share Posted January 8 I'm in the minority and actually like the bionic bar. I'm not well versed in bar...well..anything. I don't know a lot of cocktails, don't like trying to wave someone over when I can see they're busy and don't like sidling up to a stranger to try to get a seat or to yell over blasting music to get a bottle of water. The bionic bar eliminates most if not all of that for me. I just wish my diamond vouchers could be used there. When we were on Harmony last year, I watched the BB longingly but I was struggling to use the free drinks so couldn't justify paying for one even if it meant avoiding people haha. This year, we're skipping any drink package so I'm looking forward to using my diamond drinks on cans of soda or water or MDR drinks while I use a couple real dollars to play with the robots AshleyDillo and RCIfan1912 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 Pretty sure (IMO) the bionic bar will be phased out as the ships go into dry dock. Worst upgrade ever. I’d welcome Pesky Parrot but will always be #teamchampagnebar WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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