Dynamic dining as compared to NCL Freestyle

On NCL - one could walk to any restaurant any time if you did not make a reservation - many times one could walk right in. If not you would be given a beeper just as on a land restaurant and waits could be anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to 45 minutes. During this wait - drinks were given a discount. NOW - on Royal Caribbean am I correct in that one MUST have a reservation to get in - you cannot just walk into a restaurant without making one?? It seems that you MUST make a reservation - that would alleviate the wasted time waiting on NCL if you just walked to a restaurant when you are hungry. Let me know if this is correct. Thank you!

I'm sure you could try without a reservation and they will accommodate if they can. As if half the restaurant is empty. On Oasis/Allure there are Info boards that show how busy each restaurant is currently. I'd be shocked if Quantum didn't have the same.

We just booked an 11 night cruise on the Quantum that is about 10 months from now.

As a member of this forum I have always used it as a guide in many of my choices such as stateroom, ship, excursion and dining options (including food quality). Many members use this forum and the experiences of other cruisers to make these same choices.

From the website's description of the NEW DYNAMIC DINING I was under the impression that it is a free choice with no need for reservations. I fully understand that it would not be out of the ordinary with this system to have an occasional wait for seating as in any restaurant and can easily accept that.

I now see that passengers are making reservations for each night throughout their cruises.

How do we make reservations 10 months in advance for a cruise on a ship that is not built yet, at restaurants that no one has yet to eat in with menus that may change from day to day or destination to destination? Is there an MDR per say and if there is will its menu change daily? Will we wait 10 months, only to be disappointed at the menu choices on the night and time we reserved? What if we reserved 3 nights at Jamie Oliver's and decided the experience was not up to our liking?

I am sure that this, like all of our past 16 cruises, will be great and we will enjoy every minute of this new ship and all it has to offer, however the whole DYNAMICS of the new dining system confuses me... LOL No need to flame, just a few questions rolling around in my head.

bosco

How do we make reservations 10 months in advance for a cruise on a ship that is not built yet, at restaurants that no one has yet to eat in with menus that may change from day to day or destination to destination? Is there an MDR per say and if there is will its menu change daily? Will we wait 10 months, only to be disappointed at the menu choices on the night and time we reserved? What if we reserved 3 nights at Jamie Oliver's and decided the experience was not up to our liking?

The menu will not change in each of the 4 restaurants as it is a set menu with a separate section of "always available" items that may be ordered if you do not like the regular set menu. Each of these restuarants has its own specialty.

My understanding is if you do not have a reservation for a particular restaurant (for whatever reason..change from what was originally reserved or you never reserved in the first place), you show up and as there is availability you will seated.

There is also the 24-hour Windjammer (buffet) as an additional option. I see this as being used as a safety net by many passengers who do not wish to be tied to a set restaurant at a set time.

RCCL seems to be strongly suggesting that passengers rotate their dining choices from the reservation required restaurants rather than staying with one for the length of their sailing.

MARAPRINCE

How do we make reservations 10 months in advance for a cruise on a ship that is not built yet, at restaurants that no one has yet to eat in with menus that may change from day to day or destination to destination? Is there an MDR per say and if there is will its menu change daily? Will we wait 10 months, only to be disappointed at the menu choices on the night and time we reserved? What if we reserved 3 nights at Jamie Oliver's and decided the experience was not up to our liking?

 

The menu will not change in each of the 4 restaurants as it is a set menu with a separate section of "always available" items that may be ordered if you do not like the regular set menu. Each of these restuarants has its own specialty.

 

My understanding is if you do not have a reservation for a particular restaurant (for whatever reason..change from what was originally reserved or you never reserved in the first place), you show up and as there is availability you will seated.

 

There is also the 24-hour Windjammer (buffet) as an additional option. I see this as being used as a safety net by many passengers who do not wish to be tied to a set restaurant at a set time.

 

RCCL seems to be strongly suggesting that passengers rotate their dining choices from the reservation required restaurants rather than staying with one for the length of their sailing.

 

MARAPRINCE

Will rotation be enforced? For dinner, we only like 2 of the restaurants, excl. specialty.

How do we make reservations 10 months in advance for a cruise on a ship that is not built yet, at restaurants that no one has yet to eat in with menus that may change from day to day or destination to destination? Is there an MDR per say and if there is will its menu change daily? Will we wait 10 months, only to be disappointed at the menu choices on the night and time we reserved? What if we reserved 3 nights at Jamie Oliver's and decided the experience was not up to our liking?

 

/shrug

Did it on Oasis successfully without an issue. In fact, it was wonderful.

Will rotation be enforced? For dinner, we only like 2 of the restaurants, excl. specialty.

It isn't like Disney where you rotate restaurants while keeping your same wait staff. It appears to be restaurants with a set menu. The menu and staff does not change. There is no requirement (that I can see) to rotate restaurants. There are some dress codes, Formal for example in Grand. I assume that if you don't want to dress in formal attire you will be turned away from the formal restaurant. If you want to wear formal attire and have Beef Wellington every night, you can do so. Other restaurants are listed as "Smart Casual." The question now remains, what constitutes "Formal," and what constitutes "Smart Casual?" My guess is that a coat and tie in any form would constitute Formal and shirt and slacks (jeans?) will constitute smart casual. Guess we'll see.

During a conversation with the dining reservation department yesterday - she stated that reservations are not required but are STRONGLY recommended especially while all the bugs of the system are being worked out.

I asked about the process of making reservations without knowing when we would have reservations for the shows/entertainment - she stated that it is an issue being looked at.

At this time there is no policy in place stating that you can not make reservations for one restaurant every single night of your cruise. If this becomes an issue where reservations are unavailable - it will be looked at.

By the end of the conversation - Dynamic Dining is here to stay - the menus will remain the same for at least one year - all other aspects of the program could change as management sees how the process works.

/shrug

 

Did it on Oasis successfully without an issue. In fact, it was wonderful.

How do we make reservations 10 months in advance for a cruise on a ship that is not built yet, at restaurants that no one has yet to eat in with menus that may change from day to day or destination to destination? Is there an MDR per say and if there is will its menu change daily? Will we wait 10 months, only to be disappointed at the menu choices on the night and time we reserved? What if we reserved 3 nights at Jamie Oliver's and decided the experience was not up to our liking?

Information quoted in hot pink was by Boscobeans and not myself. I was responding to that quote.

MARAPRINCE

Information quoted in hot pink was by Boscobeans and not myself. I was responding to that quote.

 

MARAPRINCE

Thought that might be the case. However, my response (to Boscobeans, I guess) still holds.

I did exactly what is going on with Quantum on Oasis. When I went on Oasis, I only ate in specialty restaurants. I never ate in the Windjammer or the MDR. (And I wrote about it, see the link in my sig.)

I think my experience, and similar experiences by other passengers, led them to this concept. Yes, I'm taking a small amount of credit for Dynamic Dining. :p

I think many people started skipping the MDR. Our last 2 cruises we only went to the MDR once on each. We enjoy the specialty restaurants and don't mind the extra fees. Having 4 included restaurants on the Quantum will actually save us money, and I am excited about the new menus. Hopefully the food will live up to the menus.

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Will rotation be enforced? For dinner, we only like 2 of the restaurants, excl. specialty.

Nothing in the information that RCI has released about Dynamic Dining indicates that there will be any "enforced" rotation. Guests will be free to experience any and all of the dining venues or to confine their choice to just one if that is their preference. The only thing that will supposedly be enforced will be the "formal" dress code for the Grande restaurant. If you believe you will only like two of the restaurants you can confine your dining to those plus any specialty restaurants you choose. I also believe that, while reservations may be recommended (much as they are now with MTD), they will not be required and you can just arrive at the restaurant and you will be seated when there is availability. In MTD that has rarely meant a wait of more than five or six minutes and might be the case with Dynamic Dining except at peak dining times. The addition of a 24 hour grill also seems to have been overlooked in most discussions of the new dining arrangements and might prove very popular with those looking for food in the early morning hours.:)