Royal Caribbean...the "new" NCL

[Arzeena]

I am looking forward to Royal's dynamic dining! I think there is something for everyone in this concept.

Oh one thing....now folks will not be able to complain about people who wear jeans to dinner!:D;)

[tx121]

Since RCI owns Celeberty look for the change to go there to!

Princess or Cunard anyone?

 

Looks like Celebrity is also following NCL's Haven idea for the ship within a ship concept. Seriously, Are Royal and NCL merging companies? I wonder after RCL laid off all those people in the head office, did they bring on former team NCL members?

[roe2ship]

Amen! I dont understand all the complaining myself. Heres an idea, avoid the "amusement park at sea" that is the Quantum class and they will be ok. For now anyway.

 

Of course I came around here just as Oasis was breaking news and seems like different complaints about those ships flooded the boards. What Ive noticed is those that said they would never ever ever sail on an Oasis class ship finally gave in and now consider it their favorite :o

 

The same thing will happen with the Quantum class I bet and most will adapt to this new concept and embrace it. Some people just arent good with change but its inevitable. Mass market cruise lines are moving away from traditional whether people like it or not.

 

JMHO

This^^^

 

Previously people whined and complained because if they wanted to go anywhere but the MDR they had to pay a fee and OMG that just wasn't fair because they didn't have any choices. Now they get to choose from 5 specialty restaurants without paying anything extra.

 

 

 

You mean like the stampede that was predicted with Oasis and Allure debuted and people were saying they'd never go on those ships b/c they were too big and they were a huge mistake Royal would never be able to keep them booked? That stampede? The one that... oh wait... That mass exodus never actually came to pass. :rolleyes:

For the foreseeable future at least, the dining concept isn't changing on any of Royal's existing ships so why would there be a stampede away from the whole company anyway? Those who don't want the new dining concept can keep sailing on the exact same Royal ships they've been sailing on all along. No need to go anywhere. :)

 

For those who choose to be a martyr and boycott the whole company because they don't want to go on ONE ship (two when Anthem is ready), don't worry- there will be a whole bunch of new pax to take your place.

And this^^^

 

I think some of you need to RELAX! Dynamic dining doesn't mean the sky is falling.

[Cruzman]

Any ship that does not offer traditional dining, will not get my business! If I want a Red Lobster experience, I'll go to Red Lobster!

[Richiebaseball]

To those that are unhappy with the change and already considering leaving Royal before the change actually happens, I wish you good voyages wherever you end up.

To those that are unhappy about the change and already considering leaving Royal before the change actually happens and keeps posting again and again and again about leaving, how can we miss you if you don't leave?

[SaintL]

To those that are unhappy with the change and already considering leaving Royal before the change actually happens, I wish you good voyages wherever you end up.

To those that are unhappy about the change and already considering leaving Royal before the change actually happens and keeps posting again and again and again about leaving, how can we miss you if you don't leave?

 

Lol great answer! Maybe these traditional cruisers haven't notice the gain ncl has made on the market, my time dining was their toe in the water, dynamic dining is them getting in waist deep. Soon enough they will be all in.

 

For those thinking celebrity won't eventually get to this the are fooling themselves , celebrity is trying to attract your modern professionals with no children and money and these people want choices

Edited March 28, 2014 by SaintL

[katydyd]

Any ship that does not offer traditional dining, will not get my business! If I want a Red Lobster experience, I'll go to Red Lobster!

 

I'm not sure why you equate not eating in a banquet hall with eating at Red Lobster. There is a whole myriad of experiences in between.

 

I guess only time will tell, but based on RCCL's track record, I'm guessing they'll still be in business for a long time to come, and have garnered a whole new crop of "Royal Loyals."

[cruisinskier]

There is a thread on the Celebrity boards discussing the "Carnivalization" of Celebrity. Here we are discussing how Royal is becoming NCL. Obviously the cruise industry continues to evolve and all cruise lines are fighting for your $$$.

 

Frankly we have cruised on all 4 of those cruise lines and they are more similar than different. Yes some ships have more activities, some are shinier or have more neon and some May have louder music in certain spots, but all promote a unique experience that has been successful for each of those cruise lines. It is a natural progression that each of these cruise lines would want to try to lure past guests from their competition over to their ships and they do that by making some items look similar.

 

I also have to believe that extensive research and feedback from focus groups has gone into these decisions. While Quantum isn't on my "must do" list at this time, the dining announcement would not scare me away....we enjoyed that concept on the Epic.

[Dick and Jane]

There is a thread on the Celebrity boards discussing the "Carnivalization" of Celebrity. Here we are discussing how Royal is becoming NCL. Obviously the cruise industry continues to evolve and all cruise lines are fighting for your $$$.

 

 

 

Frankly we have cruised on all 4 of those cruise lines and they are more similar than different. Yes some ships have more activities, some are shinier or have more neon and some May have louder music in certain spots, but all promote a unique experience that has been successful for each of those cruise lines. It is a natural progression that each of these cruise lines would want to try to lure past guests from their competition over to their ships and they do that by making some items look similar.

 

 

 

I also have to believe that extensive research and feedback from focus groups has gone into these decisions. While Quantum isn't on my "must do" list at this time, the dining announcement would not scare me away....we enjoyed that concept on the Epic.

 

 

Well said!

 

 

Jane (from the duo Dick and Jane)

Chicago, Illinois

[waterbug123]

Options are wonderful as long as they don't take something else away. Add don't give us less. One day I might try Anthem, I live in So Florida, I am not flying to NY in the winter to go to the Bahamas or Caribbean. So I will wait and see.

 

 

I hate to break it to you, but markets for ALL products evolve constantly. Times change- lifestyles evolve, people's desires evolve, technology evolves, etc. and as a result, product offerings evolve and change in accordance with the resulting market demand. And yes, sometimes older things have to go away in order to make room for new things. Ex. Would you really prefer to still be driving a giant, ugly 'country squire' station wagon, or do you prefer whatever you drive now, which is most assuredly more fuel efficient and easier to park? Can you imagine if your logic had been applied to the auto industry, as an example? By your reasoning, Ford can offer new minivans, SUV's and crossovers, but they'd have to limit the quantity because the factories ALSO would have to keep producing country squires and pintos, even though the market for those is practically nil at this point. Can't take anything away, after all. Gotta keep offering everything exactly as it's been in the past ,even though people want different things now. Nope, it simply does not work that way. :)

[Big_G]

[WillWorkForCruise121]

I am excited about this announcement. My initial knee jerk reaction was "great, just like norwegian...Not so sure I like this" but after looking at the details it appears similar to the ncl style but it is different in all the right ways.

 

It looks like more options will still be included than on NCL. And it appears that premium options are available even at the included venues. The premium venues look unique, innovative, and likely worth the upcharge if you want a premium experience.

 

I'm excited to see how it turns out. I think this is definitely more suitable to the next generation of cruisers.

 

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[big al]

Seems like Royal caribbean is following in the footsteps of Norwegian cruise line with their "dynamic dining" aka freestyle cruising with no set seatings and different waiters every night. This is the approach for the new quantum class ships.A lot of the places on their restaurant list are for fee. This is ashame because most loyal royals prefer to have the same waiters every night and the same table. With this,you will not be able to meet new people as tablemates. This is a bad direction for royal to follow the footsteps of NCL. They will lose many of their loyal customers if they turn the entire fleet this way. I feel like RCCL has been copying NCL for the past few years and losing its image in the process.

 

You must be joking; this is the natural direction for not only royal but all cruise lines. Since I've mostly have been on mostly ncl cruises I'll tell you to be on a ship with less than 10 restaurants to me is difficult and unappealing.

 

A new generation of younger cruises are on these ships now they are use to having choices , not having to sit with people they don't know, what's a relation with a waiter good for? So they know you like your coffee a certain way, who cares?

 

I only hope this goes fleet wide, I would imagine oasis p, freedom and voyager ships could be converted the rest of the fleet will probably be gone in a few years

 

TX21- I have been saying this for 20 years & 29 cruises..while it's nice to converse with the dining staff, I DO NOT go on cruises to meet waiters...again my wife & I LOVE to chat ( and we do) with our waiters, BUT- we do NOT cruise to meet waiters and people we 99% likely will never see again...we also do not care about meeting people at a table we have nothing in common about ..we much prefer a table for two ( or for however many we are) and dine that way..also, we LOVE Freestyle cruising on NCL...I love trying different restaurants and 95% of the MDR food we've had has been "OK- Mediocre" at best....Disney has a great dining program called "rotation dining"..in that you dine at 3 DIFFERENT restaurants, all with different themes & menus, and your wait staff FOLLOWS you to each venue! PLUS we thought the MDR food on Disney was decent...RCI should follow that lead IMO...

 

SaintL- We are with you....I love Le Bistro, Cagney's, Teppanyaki..all those terrific NCL dining options...everytime someone says to me, "don't you want to get to know your waiters? I prefer traditional dining over this new freestyle or anytime dining thing"..really?? I don't want to be told WHERE to eat, WHAT TIME to eat, WITH WHOM to eat, WHAT to wear ( a big one there!) , etc...that feels like you're at a wedding- you know..sitting at table # 22 ..here's your FIXED menu, we all dine at 6..etc....we love to eat around 6:30- 6:45 PM..that gives us enough time to eat, go back to the cabin & freshen up, then go out to the shows or bars, etc..

on our first cruise on CCL Fantasy in 1990, we sat at a table with 3 other couples and we had nothing in common with them..we dined at 6..there were NO options then- nothing.. everyone dined in the same room at either 6 or 8:15..that stayed like that until NCL started the Freestyle cruising in 2001 on the new NCL Sun..we LOVED not getting dressed up, having to eat at certain times ( what if you're not hungry at 6PM??), and how nice to sit at a table for 2 with just my wife....OPTIONS, folks, options!!! Different strokes for different folks...IMO, cruise lines should keep BOTH traditional dining options AND freestyle/ anytime dining options available for all..variety is the spice of life...

 

Big Al

[bbfbgurl]

Well said big Al! It is all about options! I am totally with you there about eating when I want especially when you have ports that may affect your schedule. As some poster said earlier, table mates are a hit and miss and it goes both ways! With my crazy family, other than other families that know us, I don't think most people like the way we eat.. (super fast because we like to fight over our food, and also eat off each other plates because we want to try everything or like that idea of stealing each others foods, although trying different things is getting harder with the same old same old menu)

 

Realistically though, I don't think it can be rolled out fleet wide as some of the ships are quite small and there is no way you can get that many mini restaurants unless they want to make them like a hawker markets/dai pai dongs but with waiters or make them super tiny like those ones in Asia!

[Barb Nahoumi]

Also I do believe that ncl has the lowest amount of noro outbreaks, of all the mass market cruise lines.

 

On my Explorer cruise, I noticed that they were quite strict about hand washing.....a very good thing.

 

The washy washy people were doing their thing at the entrance to the WJ, the dining rooms had globes of hand wash at the door, and every public bathroom had signs instructing people to wash hands and open the door with paper towels. Some ladies' rooms had attendants in them.

 

Crew were diligently cleaning and washing everywhere. No one that we know of, was ill on this cruise.

[Barb Nahoumi]

The one thing than I want RCCI to copy from NCL, is having the MDR open for lunch on embarkation day.

 

It is wonderful to be seated and waited on, even with a limited menu, when you're bogged down with carry-on luggage. Jockeying for a table, while carrying bags is not pleasant.

[sellwingri]

One of my favorite things about cruising is meeting strangers on day one during the first seating in the MDR, getting to know them over the next 7 to 12 days, and creating life long relationships with them. Earlier this month, we were on Adventure OTS and had the most wonderful dining companions. Every night, we couldn't wait to hear about their day and what they had planned for the next.

 

I'm not sure what I'll do if this changes.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Except for the Windjammer, one comment I read on the RCI announcement suggested that menus in all restaurants would be fixed.............they seem to have a plan to strongly encourage moving around to the various venues...............and of course the $$$ ones are in play here too;)

 

 

Princess tried this when they first launched the Diamond and Sapphire. There were 4 smaller restaurants for anytime dining (all free) with 4 different menues - it was chaos. Deciding where to eat - Asian, steak, MDR menu and some other menu (maybe italian) was available - then people in party who mostly wanted Asian sat in that restaurant someone would want something off the other menu and the poor waiters not wanting to say no were running.

That concept didn't last long and they soon all had the same menu with only one special dish each;) Worked better for the dining staff. Not sure what they are doing now on those ships.

[graphicguy]

Not loyal to any cruise line. Like others, I like interfacing with servers, waitstaff, etc. I enjoy friendly banter with others I dine with. But, by no means is any of that even a remote reason I cruise. Besides, there are plenty of opportunities to make new acquaintances in plenty of other venues and scenarios outside of dining venues to do that.

 

Interesting to see how RCCL does integrate what has, up until now, been an NCL concept.

 

Also interesting to see how some believe the new RCCL ships seem to be more of a floating mall. I think that's kind of pushing it, but I can vaguely see where they're coming from.

 

RCCL's take on NCL's Freestyle will be interesting to see. As some here have said, that's not what they want. But, there must have been enough interest for RCCL to attempt Freestyle. Adopting it fleet wide is not going to be a cheap endeavor.

[LMaxwell]

The one thing than I want RCCI to copy from NCL, is having the MDR open for lunch on embarkation day.

 

It is wonderful to be seated and waited on, even with a limited menu, when you're bogged down with carry-on luggage. Jockeying for a table, while carrying bags is not pleasant.

 

 

I am in complete agreement here. The cattle herd into the Windjammer at boarding complete with peoples backpacks and carry ons is another "cruise tradition" that I could do without.

 

With Quantum I definitely see it possible that at least one of the sit down, table service restaurants would be open for lunch on boarding day. And even if with a limited menu it still, as Adam Goldstein would say, give the option back to the customer without the cruise line dictating to the customer.

[summersigh]

The one thing than I want RCCI to copy from NCL, is having the MDR open for lunch on embarkation day.

 

It is wonderful to be seated and waited on, even with a limited menu, when you're bogged down with carry-on luggage. Jockeying for a table, while carrying bags is not pleasant.

 

HAL also does this for previous passengers. We love it and really feeling that relaxed vacation vibe being pampered upon boarding!:D

 

It also cuts down significantly on congestion in the public areas with several hundred guests in the MDR:)

[KuffMUp]

how can we miss you if you don't leave?

[Debde]

Coastal kitchen. For suite guests. Very nice that they include Jr. suites for this.

[connes1]

Is the coastal kitchen open for breakfast lunch and dinner?

 

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[Debde]

Is the coastal kitchen open for breakfast lunch and dinner?

 

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yes. :)