Honestly, how do you long-time RC cruisers feel about Dynamic Dining?

[jticarruthers]

We have always been happy with the MDR, with Windjammer as a backup if we want it.

 

Have no interest at all in having to plot out when and where to eat as part of my vacation, but I am sure it will be fun/interesting for some people.

 

I was about to say that it doesn't seem like I will have to worry about it though since Q&A are not coming to Florida anytime soon but it sounds like speculation is rampant that Freedom is getting DD next year.

 

This would be bad since I just setup a large group of family for a reunion on Freedom next year and I am not going to try and juggle DD reservations for a group of 50+ !!!

[exchiefPFD]

I think I read where you could choose to dine in the same rest every night if there is one that you favor over the other choices. For ex. one is formal, one is more relaxed etc. I would choose the one MOST like the current Main Dinning room.

[icedancer43]

Honestly, I am not the happiest hearing this news. We recently tried Norwegian and did not like the "freestyle" aspect of it for dining. We like having the same waiter and assistant waiter that know you and by the 2nd or 3rd day have you drink of choice and what not ready for you at the table when you arrive. Having dinner with the same people is nice as well to develop friendships. We are planing on sailing on the Allure of the Seas. Does anyone know when this is expected to affect the Oasis class of ships?

[leisuretraveler223]

I'm sorry if I'm missing something obvious. But where is there tangible information about what's going to happen "fleetwide"? How is dynamic dining going to be instituted on ships that currently have a conventional MDR? Is the MDR being altered into a number of different venues?

 

Maybe I'm just in the dark, but can anyone point me to information on this?

[luv4cruises]

I don't like te idea. RCI MDRS are some of the most beautiful at sea.

I especially enjoy the grandeur and elegance of the 3 tiered MDR with musicians playing on the beautiful stairway.

 

Restaurants are what we readily experience on land. Too bad Royal couldn't limit Dynamic Dining to just a few ships so that cruisers had a choice. :(

[DebJ14]

If and when it goes fleetwide then we are done with Royal Caribbean. Too bad since we will finally make Diamond next week.

[Galaxa]

Hate the idea.:mad::mad::mad::mad:

 

Hope it doesn't get fleet wide or we might be finished with RCI.:( Otherwise we will avoid the ships that have it.

[mommabean]

I don't like te idea. RCI MDRS are some of the most beautiful at sea.

I especially enjoy the grandeur and elegance of the 3 tiered MDR with musicians playing on the beautiful stairway.

 

Restaurants are what we readily experience on land. Too bad Royal couldn't limit Dynamic Dining to just a few ships so that cruisers had a choice. :(

 

I agree with you . Especially about the grandeur and elegance. I love the 2 tiered dining rooms, too. Small dining rooms have their place and we enjoy them almost every cruise. But most of our time is in the MDR except on Oasis class when we do specialty every night. It gets back to what you said. We have a choice when on Oasis and we opt out of the hectic MDR. But if we have no choice and they totally eliminate the MDR on all ships, they will be eliminating a lot of regular cruisers.

 

They are already pushing us away for other reasons irrelevant to this thread. But a complete dynamic dining experience would seal the deal. We're doing Quantum once, booked it before we ever heard of DD, but I didn't enjoy the process of organizing shows, meals and coordinating them port days. We already do that a bit with Oasis but dining is a lot more flexible there since everyone on the ship isn't fitting into the specialty restaurants every single evening. Most are doing the MDR so we can pretty much walk into any restaurant and be seated when we decide to eat, except for Chops which is always packed and normally requires a reservation.

 

Gina

[ATC cruiser]

I think I read where you could choose to dine in the same rest every night if there is one that you favor over the other choices. For ex. one is formal, one is more relaxed etc. I would choose the one MOST like the current Main Dinning room.

 

 

The only problem with that is you only have the one menu for the entire week. Unless you can order off the other menus as well.

 

 

Aft Cabins Rule

[Peterbilt Driver]

A little glance into the future that RCI doesn't want you to see!

DD will be brought online fleet wide ASAP!

Then shortly thereafter the number of complementary options will slowly be decreased until about 24 months after full implementation there will be no complementary dining of any type on any of the ships!

All dining will be pay as you go!

And yes this includes the windjammer!!!

And yes it will be far more expensive than the same type food establishment on shore after all they have a captive customer base!!!!

Edited August 26, 2014 by Peterbilt Driver

[ryano]

All Ive read here and on Facebook is "we are done with Royal Caribbean if this goes fleetwide :mad:"

 

Maybe if all the people that say they are leaving will actually leave, prices will come down for those of us who choose to stay. :):D

 

Giving up Diamond and Diamond + status over a dining concept? REALLY?

 

Hate to be so blunt but the overdramatizing over something that hasnt even been rolled out blows me away. Reminds me of before Oasis and Allure were built.

 

"RCI will fail!" "We will NEVER sail those ships" "They will NEVER fill those ships" "This will bankrupt RCI"!

 

Yeah, right. I will don the flame suit now

[emdia43]

Shame we don't have any comments from the crew involved in these changes.

For those sailing soon, be sure to ask your DR staff for their opinion - off the record..

[SamFritz]

I am very skeptical of DD. I don't think I'm going to like it. When the time comes where the schedule and itinerary make a ship with DD our choice, I'll give it a try and hope we like it. If not, then it's Celebrity here we come. We'll enjoy the reciprocal benefits while we build loyalty points over there.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[poncho1973]

I'm looking for the thread on dishonest opinions of DD. Help a guy out?

[poncho1973]

A little glance into the future that RCI doesn't want you to see!

DD will be brought online fleet wide ASAP!

Then shortly thereafter the number of complementary options will slowly be decreased until about 24 months after full implementation there will be no complementary dining of any type on any of the ships!

All dining will be pay as you go!

And yes this includes the windjammer!!!

And yes it will be far more expensive than the same type food establishment on shore after all they have a captive customer base!!!!

 

 

I'd wondered where you had gone and which name you'd choose next. You're a truck driver now? Gave up on being an emperor?

[coordinator23]

I don't like the dynamic dining feature. I did freestyle once, on Norwegian, and once was enough. If you want to do my time dining, feel free do so. I like the same table/waiter every night. We do end up "free styling" for breakfast in the MDR, but do not enjoy it that much unless we have a small table. I know many like the Windjammer, but I hate all the noise in the morning and hunting for a table.

I have looked at the menus and do not care for most of the offerings. If I have to make reservations and/or pay for dinner nightly, I'm not interested. I might as well go on a car trip or book into a resort. I have been on 3 RCI cruises since Dec. and one X. 3 nights on X I ate the chicken breast, because I didn't care for the offerings. The night I ordered the halibut, I could have closed my eyes and told you (with all the sauce loaded on it) that I was eating some type of pasta. The dynamic dining menus look like something I would have run across on X.

Currently, we have no future cruises planned. If I want to sky dive on land, there is a place near by. If I want to attend a theater performance, I have my pick of many. If I want to "soar" into the sky, I'll go downtown and eat at the Hancock Building's Signature Room. Amusements parks/water parks - all nearby. I want a comfortable room on a ship with set seating, a variety of shows/entertainment to choose from, and an itinerary of interesting places to go and activities. I want Coco Cay for a beach day and not, not, not Labadee the way it has been changed.

Watching to see what happens before we cruise again.

(as an aside, on another line, I thought it was a joke the way people were walking around with those flashy beepers waiting to be seated for their version of my time dining. Seems everyone wanted to eat around the same time. We walked into our set dining time room and didn't have to wait)

[gkny]

I'm interested in trying dd.

[TC1957]

All Ive read here and on Facebook is "we are done with Royal Caribbean if this goes fleetwide :mad:"

 

Maybe if all the people that say they are leaving will actually leave, prices will come down for those of us who choose to stay. :):D

 

Giving up Diamond and Diamond + status over a dining concept? REALLY?

 

Hate to be so blunt but the overdramatizing over something that hasnt even been rolled out blows me away. Reminds me of before Oasis and Allure were built.

 

"RCI will fail!" "We will NEVER sail those ships" "They will NEVER fill those ships" "This will bankrupt RCI"!

 

Yeah, right. I will don the flame suit now

 

Hate to break it to you but not everyone is at those levels.

 

We enjoy RCI, but of the 40+ vacations we have taken as a married couple only 3 have been a cruise. As I mentioned, when this goes fleetwide we will not consider RCI as a vacation option because we will not be giving up any perks and do not like the loss of one of the things we like most about cruising. Not a big loss for us as we enjoy other types of vacations just as much. When we do decide to cruise, there are other options.

 

To me, this is just another sign that they are not really concerned about building customer loyalty. They can focus on the one-timer/occassional cruiser with all the gimmicks with the assurance that the "cheerleaders" at the higher end of the C&A program will accept it as the best thing since sliced bread because RCI is implementing it and not walk away from the perks they have bought over time.

[ryano]

Hate to break it to you but not everyone is at those levels.

 

 

I didnt say nor even imply that everyone was at those levels. However, the majority of the "Im done with RCI if this happens" crowd have at least been Diamond from my observation.

 

I cant even imagine spending that kind of money with a cruise line and enjoying all those days on board only to walk away over a dining concept.

 

To each their own I guess.

 

Again I say, if everyone avoids Quantum and Anthem that says they will or even RCI altogether, maybe the prices will come down. Just maybe.

[poncho1973]

Hate to break it to you but not everyone is at those levels.

 

We enjoy RCI, but of the 40+ vacations we have taken as a married couple only 3 have been a cruise. As I mentioned, when this goes fleetwide we will not consider RCI as a vacation option because we will not be giving up any perks and do not like the loss of one of the things we like most about cruising. Not a big loss for us as we enjoy other types of vacations just as much. When we do decide to cruise, there are other options.

 

To me, this is just another sign that they are not really concerned about building customer loyalty. They can focus on the one-timer/occassional cruiser with all the gimmicks with the assurance that the "cheerleaders" at the higher end of the C&A program will accept it as the best thing since sliced bread because RCI is implementing it and not walk away from the perks they have bought over time.

 

There are so many things incorrect in this post that it is difficult to pick where to begin.

 

So... instead... I'll just say to enjoy another brand until they go to the same concept. Have a blast and do what is best for your family.

[SherriZ366]

I'm sorry if I'm missing something obvious. But where is there tangible information about what's going to happen "fleetwide"? How is dynamic dining going to be instituted on ships that currently have a conventional MDR? Is the MDR being altered into a number of different venues?

 

Maybe I'm just in the dark, but can anyone point me to information on this?

There have been reports from folks on FR the past weeks that officers talked about the conversion to DD during the Jan. 2015 drydock. I hope they find that it is not feasible. The officers said that the main dining room would have only 3 restaurants as compared with the 5 on QU and AN. So less choice. Also, QU & AN cruisers report that they are having trouble with the reservation system so adding a 3rd ship in a short time frame will create a chaotic situation for booking dining.

[SherriZ366]

Shame we don't have any comments from the crew involved in these changes.

For those sailing soon, be sure to ask your DR staff for their opinion - off the record..

I'd like to know what they think too. We always tip over the amount charged to our sea pass if we have good service. With DD, unless this is done on a daily basis, there will be no extra tips. From reports from cruisers who sail on NCL, it looks like they do not have great service.

[SherriZ366]

I am very skeptical of DD. I don't think I'm going to like it. When the time comes where the schedule and itinerary make a ship with DD our choice, I'll give it a try and hope we like it. If not, then it's Celebrity here we come. We'll enjoy the reciprocal benefits while we build loyalty points over there.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm starting to explore Celebrity as we are Elite on those ships and can also get the OBC for stock ownership as they do not have balcony discounts. Port Canaveral is very convenient for us but we may start looking toward Fort Lauderdale or Miami. We almost sailed on Eclipse a few years ago but times did not work out. DD & SIL had a great cruise on that ship and they were early 30's at the time.

 

Hope DD does not spread to Celebrity.

Edited August 26, 2014 by SherriZ366

[poncho1973]

I'd like to know what they think too. We always tip over the amount charged to our sea pass if we have good service. With DD, unless this is done on a daily basis, there will be no extra tips. From reports from cruisers who sail on NCL, it looks like they do not have great service.

 

So you already hate it AND are deducting tips from people who haven't served you yet?

 

Do you have to visit a restaurant on land 5 times before you like the server enough to tip? Has anyone ever wowed you on the first visit?

[katydyd]

I think the point that most people are missing is that there is ZERO chance that RCCL did this without extensive market research. I can not fathom a conversation going like this:

 

Bean Counter: Well, after extensive market studies, we've determined that the Dynamic Dining concept will alienate 60% of our repeat cruisers and about 55% of our "new to cruising" customers.

 

Adam: I don't care! People keep reproducing, we'll capture the next generation of cruisers....let 'em walk....I'm going Dynamic Dining, baby!!

 

Bean Counter: Okey doke then.

 

 

Just like automatic tipping, no pillow chocolates, and smoke-free balconies didn't drive me away from RCCL, I don't see DD doing it to me either, whether I end up loving it or hating it. I enjoy the overall product too much, and after experiencing the changes, they ended up being a non-issue for me.

 

Now the completely inept IT department....that may actually send me packing.