beachbuddy

Question #9 of the FAQ document -- "Click here for sample menus"

Thanks. I just don't understand. I just read a post from RCI on another social media site that they are not even sure of the implementation date. They said they are still planning how it's going to work.

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Complete FAQs: http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Anthem/Dining_FAQs_2016

 

A sample of the new menus that will be used in all 4 venues: http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Anthem/Dynamic_Dining_Menus.pdf

Where did you get those menus from? According to Royal, they don't even have a plan yet for implementation yet alone menus.

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Agree with you regarding final payment! We bought something and were sold on something very different than what now is going to be offered. If they are going to change it, it should be NEXT YEAR when people can be sold on the new product or have the opportuntiy to change.

Absolutely agree!!!

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Not out of Bayonne. Anthem is the one and only.

 

Personally, I like DD choice if it worked. You really don't have the flexibility of dining when you want without making reservations and nearly impossible for a large group.

 

I still don't understand what the problem was with DD Choice and Classic. Each have a purpose and Classic worked well for our large group in May on Anthem.

 

 

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But there are other ships that also sail out of Bayonne and NY area. Don't understand your thinking. If I lived in Florida, should I complain that there is no DD ship that sails out of that port. I live in NJ, but have friends that flew from places like Florida, California, Arizona, Canada, etc that flew here to experience Quantum class. We're lucky we have a ship in our area but honestly, if this change happens, we'll be sailing other ships out of other ports. Cruises in Florida are even cheaper. Anthem prices are not cheap and we should get what we paid for. Out final payment date already passed so they shouldn't be changing the product that we bought.

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Really mixed feeling about this. Absolutetly loved the difference with Quantum class because it was different and really enjoyed Dynamic dining and the different menus because as noted could always find at least 1 item that was different and enjoyable.

 

Could also see the struggles that Royal had with kitchens producing 4 different menus nightly(small amounts of overlap but still lots of total variety) and the chaos that resulted occasionally which Royal could not seem to overcome consistently.

 

 

 

Also enjoy a solid MDR experience with great wait staff.

 

Kudos to RCI I guess for making the change and not stubbornly sticking to something that for more than 1/2 of their guests had negative reviews on.

Personally I don't think it was negative for more than half their guests. We loved it but I don't post about it. Only people that post are ones with negative comments and complaints. This ship was designed and promoted for their NEW way of dinning and we booked and just made final payment which was Sept 8th and now they announce on Sept 9th that there is nothing special about the dining. I have nothing against traditional and MTD if it's in a large MDR, but not in one small restaurant for 12 nights. This ship was advertised as a new DD experience and then people complained because they wanted Classic/traditional dinning so Royal caved and created Classic. That's where the problem lies. People that wanted Classic shouldn't be booking a ship that didn't have it. Royal shouldn't be changing it to traditional because there are plenty of other ships for those people to book.

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I've never sailed Disney, but isn't the difference you have no choice, you just rotate? I guess Royal is trying to accomodate everyone?

From the sounds of it, we're not going to be rotating. Classic gets the pretty dining rooms (Grande and Chic) and MTD gets to eat in American Icon and Silk.

So looks like we'll be stuck in 1 restaurant for all 12 night!

+1. I totally agree. Thank goodness I got to try DD on Quantum and Ovation and loved it.

 

So now we have several ships with randomly decorated dining rooms all serving the same boring menu....JMHO.

 

 

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Yep, that's what it amounts too. It's Classic dining that they should be eliminating, not DD!

Clearly in the context of what I was saying it was not meant physically but as something done after the fact, never intended for this ship. Anthem was designed to NOT have "classic," traditional two-seating dinners. Instead of sticking to the original concept around which the ship was built, RCI made a mess of things by introducing "classic" after-the-fact on a ship not built for it, and now the entire system apparently has cratered.

My thoughts exactly!!! Classic is what should be going away, not DD.

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I'm on the fence about this decision.

 

 

 

On one hand, I'm fine with it because I like traditional dining.

 

 

 

But on the other hand, this was the only class of ships with this concept and they were designed for it. If Classic was causing problems, I would've rather them eliminated that option and stuck with all Choice (like the original DD).

 

 

 

I have a feeling this is more than just guest dissatisfaction though. Maybe DD costing a lot more than expected? Not worth the effort? Or are post-cruise surveys really that bad?

Totally agree with you!!!

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Hope you are ready for comments on this.

 

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And why would there be comments on this? This ship was made for DD but some people complained because they wanted traditional times and didn't want to do their own bookings. So, they created Classic. That does not work on a ship designed for DD. There's plenty of other ships with traditional dining that they could have sailed on. DD was new, exciting and different!! I think it's a darn shame that Royal is giving up on it.

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I didn't get a call and what, they wait for final payment of the Nov 27th cruise to announce this. We loved DD on Quantum and all our dinners and shows have been linked with friends so very unhappy about this whole thing. There was no problem with DD when we sailed Quantum. It's Classic that's messing things up.

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Didn't we also read that they were getting rid of DD? I'm not sure that anything that's been rumored in this thread should be considered factual at this point.

 

But if it's true, then we should all make reservations there now so we can eat suite food when they change it!

Our group already has reservations at SB for 2 nights so hope they honor them. All our reservations were made a couple months ago.

I read that the SB will be for suites and pinnacles only but any reservations already made will be honored. I think it will be open for everyone for breakfast and lunch, but not for dinner.

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Wow, they said they would get back to me when I sent my letter regarding DD and they actually did get back to me. Here's their response.

Dear Mrs. *****:

Thank you for your patience while we reviewed the future of Dynamic Dining. I am pleased to advise you that we will continue to offer Dynamic Dining.

Dynamic Dining Choice allows guests the option of selecting restaurants and dining times each day. Dynamic Dining Classic is an option for guests who prefer the traditional main dining style with the same dining companions and wait staff for the duration of their cruise.

We appreciate all our guests’ input received via comment card, survey, or personal contact. Whether it is positive or negative, your feedback provides us with opportunities to improve our services and grow as a company.

Mrs. *****, we sincerely appreciate your loyal patronage. We hope to welcome you back soon.

Kind Regards,

Joan Bernheimer

So glad this conversation has been put to rest and happy with Royal's decision.

Patty

The main reason we booked this cruise (one year ago and our 'home' port) on the Anthem was because it had DD Classic. We are 13 people this year and it's much easier for us to be seated together, at the same time, in a rotation. We have a big group yearly and last year we had 17 people. This is almost impossible with DD Choice and certainly a big headache.

 

As I've said before, if it's a small group or couple, DD Choice or MY Time or Freestyle (etc) is preferred for me. But a large group is better and easier (no-brainer), with DD Classic or Traditional.

I'm sure it's harder to schedule a very large group for Choice, especially if you want tables together. We had 10 people scheduled for DD on Quantum and my friend did have a difficult time getting us all linked but the system was new when we sailed Quantum - but she got us all linked and it worked great. We're sailing on Anthem with 8 people this time and 1 person made all her reservations and then just had us linked to her. It wasn't half as hard for her this time as it was when we sailed Quantum.

But I can certainly understand the difficulty of scheduling very large groups. My Aunt is running a trip on Anthem for her church and that's a very large group, however, they all made their own reservations so they could sit with whoever they want to sit with at dinners. They aren't sitting all together as a group.

Because folks are used to certain things and don't like change and can't be bothered to make a standing reservation. Also, there might not be any desirable times under Choice but you might be able to book Classic.

 

 

 

BTW, RCI is not making more menus available to give you more choices just because they want to be nice - they had enough feedback (complainers) to make them do it.

Maybe they did have bad feedback. I'm just saying I haven't seen any complaining about food on any of the social media sites.

To satisfy all the complainers?

I haven't seen anyone complaining about the food on Anthem......they're just giving more choice. I think it's great.

Mr. Bill, not everyone does Classic. I know we'd never do Classic Dining because we like to choose where we want to eat and when. We choose Grande on a Sea Day since it's Formal Night and not when Royal wants us to do a Formal Night. If shows change and we need to change a reservation, I don't think it's a big deal. We never had a problem changing a reservation when we were on Quantum. Of course, Quantum was all Dynamic Dining and there was no such thing as Classic.

I really don't understand why there has to be Classic, isn't it the same thing if people just book the same time every night and reserve a rotation of restaurants on their own each day? Guess I just don't understand the need for Classic.

Just returned home after 34 wonderful days on Anthem.

 

The reason for the additional menu per restaurant is adding more variety and selections to each venue.

Welcome home Patti and thank you for keeping us all informed. Appreciate all the information you provided.

Patty

Patti just reported that they are planning to add a third menu to all the DD restaurants too.

Does that mean they'll change the menu in each restaurant 3 times on a 12 nighter?

 

The real mistake here was people on the ship speaking about stuff that they probably shouldn't have. But maybe that was part of the plan, leaking information to see what the reaction would be and then revising the plan based on the feedback.

I'm grateful for the information that people on the ship posted. That gave us all the opportunity to voice our opinions before the final decision is made.

Odd that this would information would get posted yesterday if it's outdated, even the Crown and Anchor line confirmed the changes to me yesterday, though it took a few holds for her to find out the correct information

I agree with you. I don't know how it could be old or outdated information either unless that is what they were going to do and it wasn't communicated that they weren't going to do it anymore. That's what I' hoping. I seriously think they need to communicate whatever it is they are going to do or not do so people can all relax and stop worrying about it.......LOL

I don't think anyone outright lies, just one hand may not know what the other hand is doing.

I think with all the controversy over DD and whether it's being changed or not, that Royal needs to make a public announcement whether it's via emails to all C&A members, on their website, or hold a press conference. They need to put all the rumors to bed. People, including myself are becoming unhappy with the way they are handling things. There needs to be better communication even within their own company. JMHO

Had an interesting conversation with RCI earlier, took the lady nearly an hour to find the information I was seeing while flat out denying it, until I directed her to the site linked in to which she quickly changed and agreed that the changes were going ahead. I have a call back coming from one of the managers tomorrow regarding it all, certainly will be taking it further as I'm not happy seen as we can't change our cruise due to the rules of UK bookings.

 

 

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A TA friend of mine said she spoke to Royal and they confirmed there are no changes with DD. Evidently, what was posted on the UK website was outdated information. I'm hoping Royal was telling the truth.

CHANGES TO DINING ONBOARD ANTHEM OF THE SEAS[emoji768]

 

 

 

From 30 April 2016, dining onboard Anthem of the Seas[emoji768] will change from the current Dynamic Dining model to the Royal Caribbean standard model of Traditional and My Time Dining for all guests, with:

 

•Traditional dining in Chic and The Grande

 

•My Time Dining in American Icon and Silk

 

•Fleet menu in all four main restaurants which will rotate nightly

 

•Additonal seating in all four main restaurants

 

•Solarium Bistro joining Coastal Kitchen as an exclusive Suite Class restaurant

 

 

 

 

 

source:http://www.cruisingpoweruk.co.uk/rci/news.php?utm_source=rci_cpus_signup&utm_medium=email&utm_content=rci_discover_more_intro_button&utm_campaign=rci_summer_sports

Leslie, thanks for this information. Definitely not happy about it.

The Fleet Menu is a selection of different meals throughout the week and also includes four or five classic offerings like salmon, grilled chicken breast and so on.

 

You will probably be switched to one of the new traditional dining rooms. If you prefer flexible dining times call your travel agent and try and switch to My Time Dining.

 

Jonathan

Fleet menu to me means ALL restaurants will have the same menu just like a traditional MDR has. There's no way that Silk will be serving asian style food to the same people for 12 nights.......LOL I think it's going to be the same as Oasis. After they renamed the 3 decks of the MDR on Oasis to the same as Quantum class, they decided not to do DD on Oasis. The name of each deck in the MDR was changed, however, all 3 decks have the same menu because it's still traditional dining.