No Dynamic Dining for Ovation of the Seas

RCI is scrapping the DD system on Anthem and Ovation. This will affect Ovation's season here so if you have a booking you may want to check what your planner now says.

There is a thread on the RCI forum but it's a bit long-winded, so here are the links to the new policy and menus which will be the same for all the complimentary restaurants.

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

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Anthem/Dynamic_Dining_Menus.pdf

So all the complimentary restaurants will now have the same menu each evening? That's a shame. Last time I was on Quantum I appreciated the distinctive flavours and menus in each of the restaurants. Seems like having a consistent menu would also save RCL a bunch of money, having to prepare fewer variety of meals.

Yes the same menu in all 4, changing every night, just like the current MDR menus.

I am so disappointed.:(

Hi fairywren,

Is your cruise definitely impacted? From the excellent links you attached, its says Ovation is impacted from 2017 onwards...so January. Just wondering if the changes are already appearing on your planner?

Yep it says Nov 23 through April 14 for Ovation.

We don't have a planner for December yet as the charter co has not yet provided anyone with a booking no.

My 2018 planner has changed from DD choice to MTD.

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Thanks for posting, as far as I am concerned it doesn't really matter as long as the food is good.:D

That's a shame DD has been turfed on these two ships. I'm not booked on Ovation, but I have sailed on Quantum and liked the concept on that ship. I liked sometimes deciding at the last minute where and when to head to dinner. The food was not amazing in any of the 4 places and service was sometimes a little rough but I liked the concept. If you wanted Asian you went to silks which looked the part. If you wanted a steak you went to American Icon which suited the part also. If you didn't want to do a formal night, you didn't go to grande. Now there will be formal nights for everyone, not that that is a bad thing, sometimes.

Now the two fancier looking ones will become set dining and the other two anytime dining but you will be assigned only 1 of them. That means passengers will now miss out on the individual ambience and them of each room. And personally Silks has an Asian look about it and the lighting was a little dim in there. Won't quite seem right if your having non Asian food in there most nights if that's your allocated dining room, lol.

As I said it doesn't concern me, but I feel too many people have got their knickers in a knot over the whole DD before actually having a chance to give it a go. My experience was positive overall.

i've got one booked on the Ovation in 2018 and it says Traditional Dining 6:00 p.m.....as long as we can have dinner thats the main thing

We are booked on Ovation in January, but I am still trying to get my head around the dining. What four restaurants are now combining, please? We requested the 8.30pm dining time. Was looking forward to Silk, though I thought it was first come, first served. So are they abandoning Silk?

I have also sailed on Quantum and enjoyed DD. Pity it has been discontinued because it made for a little extra variety within the RCL brand.

It's almost like an afterthought that Ovation is included in that RCL info flyer.

We are booked on Ovation in January, but I am still trying to get my head around the dining. What four restaurants are now combining, please? We requested the 8.30pm dining time. Was looking forward to Silk, though I thought it was first come, first served. So are they abandoning Silk?

Read the first link I provided, question #7

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So they're going ahead with that change. While I thought dining was the weak link in the Quantum experience, I'm not sure about this as a fix. Perhaps it's a short term thing though and after refurbs and new builds it will be harmonised in line with existing dining on other ships.

Interesting that the FAQ actually mentions a) you will stay in the same restaurant (makes sense) but b) that there would be variations for each restaurant from the standards, so it isn't still the same menu everywhere. Presumably the obvious Silk will get extra Asian choices. That means though that people will have different dining experiences onboard and not be able to try the others, aside from speciality. Hmm...

So they're going ahead with that change. While I thought dining was the weak link in the Quantum experience, I'm not sure about this as a fix. Perhaps it's a short term thing though and after refurbs and new builds it will be harmonised in line with existing dining on other ships.

 

Interesting that the FAQ actually mentions a) you will stay in the same restaurant (makes sense) but b) that there would be variations for each restaurant from the standards, so it isn't still the same menu everywhere. Presumably the obvious Silk will get extra Asian choices. That means though that people will have different dining experiences onboard and not be able to try the others, aside from speciality. Hmm...

Perhaps they will do it like Princess did a few years ago with the basic menu the same but each dining room had it's own signature dish (which could be ordered in the other areas anyway).

Disappointed about the change - we enjoyed the experience and loved rotating between the four. Going on the Ovation again in December so we are interested to see how it pans out.

Oh no! I'm so angry. The reason I booked this cruise/boat/itinerary was because it was Quantum class with choice of restaurants with their own distinctive menu. I think Royal has made a mistake by taking this away from the many Australians that have booked with RC for the first time. I honestly don't want to eat in Silk every night with an Asian ambiance just so I can choose my preferred time. I wonder what would happen if I chose traditional in my main settings, but then chose to purchase My Time Dining on certain nights when I needed that particular time? They say the change is because people have been complaining, but they haven't even had the Aussie market on Ovation of the Seas yet. Are Aussies not important? We like the idea of rotating between restaurants and trying different things!

Read the first link I provided, question #7

 

 

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Hi, I noticed the link refers to Anthem. It doesn't say for Ovation. How do you know if it relates to Ovation? Sorry but I guess I'm just hoping that it doesn't relate to Ovation as I was really wanting to choose which restaurant I dined in, I would even be happy to be rotated. As an Aussie I like the concept of variety and not the same old same old. I also like the idea of choosing what day I would like to dine formally, not when I'm told "its formal night for everyone"

Ovation is mentioned in question 2

Hi, I noticed the link refers to Anthem. It doesn't say for Ovation. How do you know if it relates to Ovation?

 

In the first post of this thread, Fairywren has posted 2 links.

 

First one is FAQ 2016. 2nd question specifically refers to Ovation of the Seas:

 

2. Which sailings will be impacted by this change?

All Anthem of the Seas sailings departing on-or-after November 27th, 2016. (Please note North American guests

traveling in Australia and New Zealand onboard Ovation of the Seas departing November 23rd, 2016 through April

14th, 2017 will also be impacted by this change.)

So disappointing, I was looking forward to trying each of the different restaurants & varied menus to match. :( At least the speciality paid for restaurants I was wanting to also try should be the same as advertised!

The new menus don't seem to offer anything much from the previously advertised menus for the 4 main venues that I was looking forward to trying. They are basically the same old Main Dining room menus as per the rest of the fleet.

Maybe they will each serve lunch which is no set tables/seating times, so a chance to at least enjoy the décor of the different venues even if the menus no longer match up!!

I have also sent them a lengthy email expressing how I feel about the change & suggesting some options like keeping this inaugural Australian Ovation season with DD menus & venues open to all intact.

Or at the very least opening the venues to everyone so we all get to at least dine in the differently styled restaurants.

I seriously doubt it will have any impact on them, but they may prove me wrong.

I'm sure we won't go hungry but feelings disappointed too. We were looking forward to DD.

Cheers Di

Oh no! I'm so angry. The reason I booked this cruise/boat/itinerary was because it was Quantum class with choice of restaurants with their own distinctive menu. I think Royal has made a mistake by taking this away from the many Australians that have booked with RC for the first time. I honestly don't want to eat in Silk every night with an Asian ambiance just so I can choose my preferred time. I wonder what would happen if I chose traditional in my main settings, but then chose to purchase My Time Dining on certain nights when I needed that particular time? They say the change is because people have been complaining, but they haven't even had the Aussie market on Ovation of the Seas yet. Are Aussies not important? We like the idea of rotating between restaurants and trying different things!

Hi, I noticed the link refers to Anthem. It doesn't say for Ovation. How do you know if it relates to Ovation? Sorry but I guess I'm just hoping that it doesn't relate to Ovation as I was really wanting to choose which restaurant I dined in, I would even be happy to be rotated. As an Aussie I like the concept of variety and not the same old same old. I also like the idea of choosing what day I would like to dine formally, not when I'm told "its formal night for everyone"

Unfortunately, the Ovation is included form cruises on and after the 23rd of November. as for Formal nights, most cruise lines that have them will dictate when they are but that doesn't stop you from dressing formally on the other nights anyway. We often do it.:D

Unfortunately, the Ovation is included form cruises on and after the 23rd of November. as for Formal nights, most cruise lines that have them will dictate when they are but that doesn't stop you from dressing formally on the other nights anyway. We often do it.:D

We got the email and we are cruising Ovation early 2018 hopefully. I totally agree Mic, you can dress up any time you want. I am just looking forward to having a go on Ovation. I sometimes think that the first cruise when we did no research, and we knew nothing, was in a way better. No disappointments. Lots of lovely surprises. :)

I sometimes think that the first cruise when we did no research, and we knew nothing, was in a way better. No disappointments. Lots of lovely surprises. :)

I agree. Whilst we have 'grown' to do more planning for later cruises, mostly to try and maximise what we get to do in each of the places we visit, on our first we knew exactly nothing really. We had such a great time in 2011, we will in the next 6 months complete our 12th, 13th & 14th cruises :)

I cannot imagine the day when we will book a cruise based on what type of dining they offer, or what deck the laundry is on, or whether they have coke of pepsi, or how much does a JD & coke/ VB or a vino cost. But maybe we are just into enjoying our life :)

I cannot imagine the day when we will book a cruise based on what type of dining they offer,)

When we booked our cruise on Quantum OTS in 2015 DD was indeed one of the things that made us cancel or plans to sail on Celebrity Millennium from China to Vancouver and then an Alaskan cruise to book the Quantum repo.

Sure it was not the only driver but all things considered we the oportunity to dine when we want and pick the style of cuisine we feel like on the day (without paying their specialty restaurant prices) suited us to a T. DD was heavily promoted on the RCL website at the time. Pictures of the food etc and all the menus were linked to Quantum booking pages. Along with IFly, the bumper cars, the giant cherry picker and the robot barmen it was the new age of cruising.

For us it delivered as promised. We could meet people on board, decide we would like to have dinner together and then also discuss what we all felt like eating. Even if everyone didn't want the Asian style in Silk for example (or the additional everyday items on the menu), we could still dine there and the staff would organise something from the other restaurant menus.

I wouldn't book a ship I didn't like just for DD but all things being reasonably equal I would book a ship that had DD over one with traditional in a heart beat.

Now my big question. If I had booked on Ovation and was influenced to book by the fact that Ovation had DD should I not be entitled to some reasonable compensation. They advertised and promoted the product and it is clear now that it is not being delivered. When we sailed on Quantum they closed down Music Hall for a few days while they turned the diamond lounge into a high rollers casino along with a few shops to renovate them for the Chinese market. We received a VERY generous amount of OBC for the disruptions.

I see this as being a far greater change for those who have current Ovation bookings.