Quantum of the Seas Dynamic Dining Disaster

[boscobeans]

I like the traditional MDR system with either early, late or anytime dining for many more reasons than just the number of menus or items offered.

 

Many others like DD for more reasons than just the number of menus or items offered.

 

I am happy to say that both options are provided by Royal Caribbean.

 

I am sure the bean counters and not the members on this or any other forum will make any and all decisions as to whether one system will be replaced with the other or if both systems can coexist on the same ship or for that matter if all ships or only a portion of the fleet will undergo any changes at all.

 

Only time will tell.

 

I hope that in the end both sides are pleased with the results and this poor dead horse's carcass can finally be buried.

 

OMO

 

bosco

[DEIx15x8]

ok, got it. of all places, it was on my husband's phone. i guess i didn't take my phone to dinner the first night - i'm used to being disconnected on cruises. of course, it didn't take more than a day for me to get used to the free internet... :D

 

anyway, here is the Simple Tastes Menu:

 

Appetizers:

 

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

- slow cooked chicken broth with rosemary, thyme, and vegetables

(i had this and it was really tasty)

 

Arugula Salad

- teardrop tomatoes, shaved parmesan, and vinaigrette

 

Entrees:

 

Grilled Chicken Breast

- roasted new potatoes, sauteed seasonal vegetables, natural jus

 

Oven-Roasted Salmon

- grilled vegetable cous cous and warm herbed lemon dressing

 

Grilled Beef Ribeye

- yukon gold potatoes, root vegetables, red wine sauce

 

Penne Pasta Primavera

- lightly grilled vegetables, olive oil, garlic, and soft herbs (whatever those are)

 

Garden Harvest

- snow peas, roasted peppers, asparagus, carrots, green beans, roasted shallot dressing

 

That's it. Hope this helps! I was really happy to see it, and then ended up more adventurous than i thought i would be and only got the chicken soup off of it, and otherwise ate off the regular menus. I think on a longer cruise i would have definitely tried some more off of it, though.

 

Thanks for sharing! Looks very similar to the traditional menu. Glad they have a soup on it. That's one of the things that was very noticeably missing across the board.

[jefarl]

I originally signed on the board to learn what the DD was. Having read most of the posts I can't believe how upset some of you are with DD and RCCL.

 

If you don't want DD then cancel your booking. If you think you need to book a reservation every night before you get on board then I feel sorry for you...

It's a vacation.... with so many places to eat you won't starve!

 

NCL started this concept with their Free Style Dining years ago, and most lines added MTD or whatever each calls it so that cruisers can choose when they want to eat and book speciallty restuarants if they feel like it. I know we would rather decide each day when we want to eat depending on shore times, show times or just how our day went in general. The only exception we might have if we are celebrating a special event and want to reserve a particular specialty place.

 

I can guanantee that 90% of the passengers won't be reserving times before boarding but waiting as I will. Most won't even know about it. The ships usually only allow pre-booking of a limited number of spots anyway so that the vast majority still can get times after they board.

 

As for limited menu changes or slow service, relax... again we won't starve and time is not a critical factor on vacation...

 

I for one am excited about the ship and our TA on May 2nd to Barcelona. The DD issue is a non-issue

 

This board is no longer an issue for me to follow and will be removing my subscripion to the postings...

[Gazza64]

I originally signed on the board to learn what the DD was. Having read most of the posts I can't believe how upset some of you are with DD and RCCL.

 

If you don't want DD then cancel your booking. If you think you need to book a reservation every night before you get on board then I feel sorry for you...

It's a vacation.... with so many places to eat you won't starve!

 

NCL started this concept with their Free Style Dining years ago, and most lines added MTD or whatever each calls it so that cruisers can choose when they want to eat and book speciallty restuarants if they feel like it. I know we would rather decide each day when we want to eat depending on shore times, show times or just how our day went in general. The only exception we might have if we are celebrating a special event and want to reserve a particular specialty place.

 

I can guanantee that 90% of the passengers won't be reserving times before boarding but waiting as I will. Most won't even know about it. The ships usually only allow pre-booking of a limited number of spots anyway so that the vast majority still can get times after they board.

 

As for limited menu changes or slow service, relax... again we won't starve and time is not a critical factor on vacation...

 

I for one am excited about the ship and our TA on May 2nd to Barcelona. The DD issue is a non-issue

 

This board is no longer an issue for me to follow and will be removing my subscripion to the postings...

 

Well put, I too am looking forward to the cruise from Dubai in May. Seems to be a lot of people obsessed with the dining and can't seem to focus on anything else - as you said if you don't like the concept - cancel or book a different ship!!

[DEIx15x8]

I originally signed on the board to learn what the DD was. Having read most of the posts I can't believe how upset some of you are with DD and RCCL.

 

If you don't want DD then cancel your booking. If you think you need to book a reservation every night before you get on board then I feel sorry for you...

It's a vacation.... with so many places to eat you won't starve!

 

NCL started this concept with their Free Style Dining years ago, and most lines added MTD or whatever each calls it so that cruisers can choose when they want to eat and book speciallty restuarants if they feel like it. I know we would rather decide each day when we want to eat depending on shore times, show times or just how our day went in general. The only exception we might have if we are celebrating a special event and want to reserve a particular specialty place.

 

I can guanantee that 90% of the passengers won't be reserving times before boarding but waiting as I will. Most won't even know about it. The ships usually only allow pre-booking of a limited number of spots anyway so that the vast majority still can get times after they board.

 

As for limited menu changes or slow service, relax... again we won't starve and time is not a critical factor on vacation...

 

I for one am excited about the ship and our TA on May 2nd to Barcelona. The DD issue is a non-issue

 

This board is no longer an issue for me to follow and will be removing my subscripion to the postings...

 

The majority, likely 90% booked ahead of time for both the 11/23 and 12/1 sailings. There were some that didn't know about it, I would say so few I could count them on my fingers and they were easy to spot as they were the ones yelling about their travel agent not informing them of any of these changes and how horrible everything is. Royal Caribbean claims to hold back bookings for once everyone boards, but that was another lie that the people in the call centers were told to help stop the complaints about no availability. When we boarded I expected to be able to make some small adjustments to a few days that had poor availability and never improved leading up to the cruise (as I was told for months). Onboard I found that the availability was identical to the website, not a single extra time slot the entire sailing. Didn't make a difference if I used the app or went to the restaurants. Having said that though we had no issue showing up 15 minutes early or late for a reservation so those small adjustments really didn't matter. Even showed up 30 minutes early twice with no issue (booked dinner 15 minutes later than usual at 6:15 to allow extra time for photos, they didn't have anybody out to take photos until some time much later so we went right to dinner and took photos afterwards). I also know that some people on the emptier sailings (anything but the two holiday sailings) have claimed to have a lot of luck with simply showing up, but that you take a chance of getting told to eat somewhere else. At the end of the day it seems like booking when you get onboard is really not a good option or even one that Royal Caribbean recommends, it's more a choice of booking ahead of time or going stand by.

 

At the end of the day though, being on the TA I'm sure things are going to be much more relaxed than the typical cruises are. You may seem a much higher number of people going standby since you don't have ports and excursions to deal with. I know my transatlantic was my favorite cruise partly because everyone was so relaxed and casual.

Edited January 21, 2015 by DEIx15x8

[baldercash]

Well put, I too am looking forward to the cruise from Dubai in May. Seems to be a lot of people obsessed with the dining and can't seem to focus on anything else - as you said if you don't like the concept - cancel or book a different ship!!

 

Just found this thread but did what you advise a few days ago.

We were booked on the Quantum Barcelona to Dubai and the Dubai to Singapore legs the day it was released.

You will be pleased to know I just recently dropped both cruises and not just because of the DD.

We did both Oasis trans-Atlantic crossings last fall and after getting off in Ft Lauderdale from Amsterdam we decide we might do Oasis again but never on a long cruise.

I had Equinox booked to get to Barcelona as I thought it was a better itinerary less sea days more ports and a cheaper price even going in Aqua Class then the Quantum TA and we would have had a few days in Barcelona before boarding Quantum.

 

I wish you well on your trip but from reading the posts it sounds like Quantum is much like Oasis a ship designed for 5 or 7 day sailings after that it will be like ground hog day.

 

Sorry but from what I have read the venues for entertainment and activities are not very flexible just like the Oasis. Plus it seems the gym sucks with no sauna or change rooms which usually eats up 2 hours of my time on sea days.

 

I am not saying it is a bad ship and the moving from one dinning venue to another may give you something to keep you interested on sea days but on a none intensive port cruise I think it will be boring on board for numerous reasons.

 

There was a reason all passengers received a 20% rebate on the Oasis Oct 14th TA!

We applied ours to the April 11th Serenade cruise and will spend 4 days in New Orleans pre cruise and another 4 days post cruise in Boston.

 

I am sure you will have a wonderful cruise as Dubai to Singapore is a route I want to sail but as you suggest I will wait for a ship that meets my needs better and visits more ports. Plus the weather is not that great in Vietnam that time of year and we want to do a few weeks of land vacation on the end as well. So ditching Quantum is a win win for us.

 

As you say to each there own but I know I much prefer a dynamic cruise to dynamic dinning!

Edited January 28, 2015 by baldercash

[Sea-debris]

It really does seem like someone's ship has sailed!

I would be disappointed if I was on it with this big a price drop it might have been best to jump ship?

 

 

Your ship has sailed.

 

 

Check out today's top 10 drops* before they're gone!:

 

 

12-Night Caribbean from Cape Liberty - Apr 12, 2015

 

 

Quantum of the Seas - Read the Latest Rants & Raves

 

↓ 77%

 

Suite From $17,744

3 days ago $4,024

[John&LaLa]

It really does seem like someone's ship has sailed!

I would be disappointed if I was on it with this big a price drop it might have been best to jump ship?

 

 

Your ship has sailed.

 

 

Check out today's top 10 drops* before they're gone!:

 

 

12-Night Caribbean from Cape Liberty - Apr 12, 2015

 

 

Quantum of the Seas - Read the Latest Rants & Raves

 

↓ 77%

 

Suite From $17,744

3 days ago $4,024

 

That may be the difference between a high end suite and a JS. :banghead:

[Sea-debris]

What ever the catagory suite is the price has dropped 77% and someone is out of pocket! :(

 

If you were in a suite that dropped 77% would you get an upgrade to another level? :confused:

I know they would not give you the cash back but it would upset me,:mad: but then I would never be in suite regardless.:)

[Gazza64]

Just found this thread but did what you advise a few days ago.

We were booked on the Quantum Barcelona to Dubai and the Dubai to Singapore legs the day it was released.

You will be pleased to know I just recently dropped both cruises and not just because of the DD.

We did both Oasis trans-Atlantic crossings last fall and after getting off in Ft Lauderdale from Amsterdam we decide we might do Oasis again but never on a long cruise.

I had Equinox booked to get to Barcelona as I thought it was a better itinerary less sea days more ports and a cheaper price even going in Aqua Class then the Quantum TA and we would have had a few days in Barcelona before boarding Quantum.

 

I wish you well on your trip but from reading the posts it sounds like Quantum is much like Oasis a ship designed for 5 or 7 day sailings after that it will be like ground hog day.

 

Sorry but from what I have read the venues for entertainment and activities are not very flexible just like the Oasis. Plus it seems the gym sucks with no sauna or change rooms which usually eats up 2 hours of my time on sea days.

 

I am not saying it is a bad ship and the moving from one dinning venue to another may give you something to keep you interested on sea days but on a none intensive port cruise I think it will be boring on board for numerous reasons.

 

There was a reason all passengers received a 20% rebate on the Oasis Oct 14th TA!

We applied ours to the April 11th Serenade cruise and will spend 4 days in New Orleans pre cruise and another 4 days post cruise in Boston.

 

I am sure you will have a wonderful cruise as Dubai to Singapore is a route I want to sail but as you suggest I will wait for a ship that meets my needs better and visits more ports. Plus the weather is not that great in Vietnam that time of year and we want to do a few weeks of land vacation on the end as well. So ditching Quantum is a win win for us.

 

As you say to each there own but I know I much prefer a dynamic cruise to dynamic dinning!

 

As it happens we have also cancelled the Dubai - Singapore cruise, for us it is due to the rumored changes being made ready for the Chinese market (several threads on that topic). RCI seem reluctant to confirm or deny, rather than spend £££s on something that may not be what we booked we decided to cancel. Your comments about it getting boring are very well put.

 

We really want to cruise on this class of ship, maybe next year now. For this vacation we have decided to spend time at the Qasr Al Sharab Desert Resort in Abu Dhabi

 

Hope you enjoy SE Asia, we love it there!

[John&LaLa]

What ever the catagory suite is the price has dropped 77% and someone is out of pocket! :(

 

If you were in a suite that dropped 77% would you get an upgrade to another level? :confused:

I know they would not give you the cash back but it would upset me,:mad: but then I would never be in suite regardless.:)

 

You seem to be missing the point.

The suite category has a wide range of prices. I do not believe the same cabin dropped 13K. Why don't you look it up and report back. ;)

[Sea-debris]

You seem to be missing the point.

The suite category has a wide range of prices. I do not believe the same cabin dropped 13K. Why don't you look it up and report back. ;)

 

No you look it up or do the math you embarrass yourself!:rolleyes:

The ad stated Quantum suite drop 77% then $17,744 and then showed a price of $4,028.

 

You don't believe it then check it as I am not interested in booking a suite on Quantum at any price.

But I can do basic math and even if a suite cost $10,000 for 2 pax a $7,700 price drop is a big hit so what is your point again?

It was posted by CC so go question them and report back to us as I don't work for you.

 

Sign up for the Cruise Critic price drop email yourself and get informed they email you the Top Ten Price Drops of all cruise lines not the variance on price in given categories thus the name. It may be of use to you if you can trust them.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Sea-debris

[John&LaLa]

No you look it up or do the math you embarrass yourself!:rolleyes:

The ad stated Quantum suite drop 77% then $17,744 and then showed a price of $4,028.

 

You don't believe it then check it as I am not interested in booking a suite on Quantum at any price.

But I can do basic math and even if a suite cost $10,000 for 2 pax a $7,700 price drop is a big hit so what is your point again?

It was posted by CC so go question them and report back to us as I don't work for you.

 

Sign up for the Cruise Critic price drop email yourself and get informed they email you the Top Ten Price Drops of all cruise lines not the variance on price in given categories thus the name. It may be of use to you if you can trust them.

 

You still don't get it.

The price drop app does not specify type of suite.

I take it English is not your native tongue.

[bohemnartsn]

No you look it up or do the math you embarrass yourself!:rolleyes:

The ad stated Quantum suite drop 77% then $17,744 and then showed a price of $4,028.

 

You don't believe it then check it as I am not interested in booking a suite on Quantum at any price.

But I can do basic math and even if a suite cost $10,000 for 2 pax a $7,700 price drop is a big hit so what is your point again?

It was posted by CC so go question them and report back to us as I don't work for you.

 

Sign up for the Cruise Critic price drop email yourself and get informed they email you the Top Ten Price Drops of all cruise lines not the variance on price in given categories thus the name. It may be of use to you if you can trust them.

 

Believe me I agree w/ you. But, I looked it up. The fare posted was for one person sailing in a junior suite, now multiply that times two. Now on top of that a junior suite is the very bottom level of suites. Suites can range for two, from 5k to 25k depending upon which category one selects. I normally sail in a Grand Suite and they run 5 -8k for one week cruise in the Caribbean. I managed to pull a Crown Loft on the Oasis for less than a Grand Suite - 30% larger, two stories and more perks. Again, paid less than someone sailing in a G/S and treated like someone sailing in the Royal Suite. It all boils down to timing, but you need to read the details for each type of suite and what each suite affords a pax.

[John&LaLa]

OK Debris, I followed the link from earlier. the price on a Spa JS is now $4,169 PP. However, the Royal Loft is still $17,774 PP. This was not a drop, just a JS became available and the App thought it was a price drop of 77%.

Please crawl back under the rock from where you came.

[John&LaLa]

Believe me I agree w/ you. But, I looked it up. The fare posted was for one person sailing in a junior suite, now multiply that times two. Now on top of that a junior suite is the very bottom level of suites. Suites can range for two, from 5k to 25k depending upon which category one selects. I normally sail in a Grand Suite and they run 5 -8k for one week cruise in the Caribbean. I managed to pull a Crown Loft on the Oasis for less than a Grand Suite - 30% larger, two stories and more perks. Again, paid less than someone sailing in a G/S and treated like someone sailing in the Royal Suite. It all boils down to timing, but you need to read the details for each type of suite and what each suite affords a pax.

 

BTW, the full cabin price on the Royal Loft is 35K :cool:

[iheartbda]

Out of curiosity, I looked as well. A suite is listed at $17,744 and in red is $4,024. Isn't the red number the amount it has gone down and not what the suite costs now? The cost of the cruise with the drop is now $13,720, not $ 4,024.

[bohemnartsn]

BTW, the full cabin price on the Royal Loft is 35K :cool:

 

I understand what your stating, but that is ludicrous... 35k for one week. Basically incomprehensible, someone sailing on his daddy's hard earned money. I have the R/S on the Adventure booked for next Jan. for 8K. Would never ever pay more than 8k for a one week vacation. I did the same in 2014 as a bucket list item, and booked another again - so far in advance that I was given the same rate, so I figured what the hell, and this time, I have some family members booked in other cabins to take advantage of such. But in realty, I would never pay more than 5k for a G/S for a week, which we normally sail in. I'll catch a deal every now and then and sail in an O/S for less than a G/S - just part of cruising and paying attention to what's going on after booking. We're cruising on the Oasis in a couple of weeks and I got a C/L for less than a G/S, it's still pricey but, another bucket list item.

[Gazza64]

I understand what your stating, but that is ludicrous... 35k for one week. Basically incomprehensible, someone sailing on his daddy's hard earned money. I have the R/S on the Adventure booked for next Jan. for 8K. Would never ever pay more than 8k for a one week vacation. I did the same in 2014 as a bucket list item, and booked another again - so far in advance that I was given the same rate, so I figured what the hell, and this time, I have some family members booked in other cabins to take advantage of such. But in realty, I would never pay more than 5k for a G/S for a week, which we normally sail in. I'll catch a deal every now and then and sail in an O/S for less than a G/S - just part of cruising and paying attention to what's going on after booking. We're cruising on the Oasis in a couple of weeks and I got a C/L for less than a G/S, it's still pricey but, another bucket list item.

 

There are people who will find spending 8K for a weeks vacation incomprehensible, e.g. those that don't earn much more than that in a year!.

 

How can you say you are happy to spend 8K for a week and then judge others for spending more, just sounds like envy!

[baldercash]

As it happens we have also cancelled the Dubai - Singapore cruise, for us it is due to the rumored changes being made ready for the Chinese market (several threads on that topic). RCI seem reluctant to confirm or deny, rather than spend £££s on something that may not be what we booked we decided to cancel. Your comments about it getting boring are very well put.

 

We really want to cruise on this class of ship, maybe next year now. For this vacation we have decided to spend time at the Qasr Al Sharab Desert Resort in Abu Dhabi

 

Hope you enjoy SE Asia, we love it there!

 

The renovations ongoing on the Oasis TA crossing was just one of the reasons the cruise did not go so well, they also changed staff while in dry dock in Rotterdam.

 

Likely when the Quantum hits Dubai they will change out a large portion of staff and the crew will start to get a heavy Asian mix by the time it hits Singapore. There will be a lot of training going on on top of areas closed for modification. The casino will likely be changed out for Asian style of play as well.

We did the Millennium from Honolulu to Singapore fall of 2013 and a lot of crew departed in Sydney and even more once they got to Singapore. The ship gets bad staff and service revues every year while it winters in Asian waters.

 

We found weather comfortable in Thailand in November and from what we have researched if one is doing the inland and North of Vietnam weather is best in the fall and early winter so another reason to drop the cruise and wait for one that is doing a fall transition.

 

We have not been to Dubai but I will research your retreat. sounds interesting.