Problem with Dynamic Dining

[Spurschick]

"Why we chose this ship?"

Because, at the time we chose, made our deposit, and jumped through all the hoops with 9 different employers (we're a party of 12) to get our vacation dates scheduled; they didn't have Dynamic Dining.

When we booked, if we had wanted this, we would have gone with NCL.

Now, our choice is to cancel and try to get everyone rescheduled to another ship (cruise line?), itinerary and time frame, or . . . just suck it up and hope for the best from this change.

 

I was actually referring to OP. My point was DD was made public in March and they are saying their TA over the last several months has been trying to get them into TD and they only now have found out TD doesn't exist. OP is booked on Quantum. So my point was geared towards the Quantum not the Oasis.

 

Given all the publicity I don't get how neither the Op TA nor the OP have taken this long to find out about DD. Had they known earlier it would have given them more time to change cruises if they didn't want to stay on Quantum.

 

I hope you resolve your issue of whether or not to stay with your booking. We are booked on Allure which by the time we sail will likely be the same.

 

If cruise lines started telling me what to eat, where to eat and the exact time to eat I wouldn't be happy. Having choices and flexibility is not nearly as bad IMHO.

 

I choose a ship based on date, itinerary availability and price. Not on dining options as I know I'm not going to go hungry even if I can't eat where I want when I want.

 

Just saying

Edited October 12, 2014 by Spurschick

[TM38Rob]

From what I get from the VP and F&B, it's going to cost more to cruise on RCI. Yes you can stick to the free places, but those are going to be very few. If this DD goes fleet wide especially on the Explorer of the Seas series and larger and newer, those of us who don't wish to partake in this, will have a choice of either changing cruise lines, Celebrity or Princess for me or cruise on the smaller and older ships which doesn't appeal to me.

...said Brian Abel, vice president of food and beverage operations, talking exclusively to Cruise Industry News. “Eighteen distinct restaurants really provide a huge variety in type of cuisine, price point, service style and they allow guests to pick and choose based on their state of mind and mood. Each restaurant is a distinct concept."

 

I agree it's going to cost more if you want a different full service restaurant/menu each night. At the same time, it's a cost cutting measure. As DD encompasses all the "restaurants", they are trying to encourage people to include a hot dog and/or frozen pizza in lieu of a 3 course meal in the MDR for one or more nights.

 

Abel noted some major differences in the Windjammer (buffet) for Quantum. “The design is more modern and more contemporary than what we’ve done in the past,” he said. “We have more action stations, and food islands each with someone behind them doing food prep.”

 

With the changes to Windjammer I'm sure they need more staffing and need to justify the expense by getting more people out of the MDR and eat at Windjammer for dinner if they don't want the headache of making nightly reservations for multiple restaurants.

 

Celebrity is majority owned and operated by Royal Caribbean, so I'm not sure if DD will make it's way there anytime soon, but it's possible.

[mxylpic]

Not especially interested in DD. DW and I always do MTD and never make reservations. We like the flexibility. On almost every cruise we've done MTD we've been seated almost immediately. On one cruise on one night I think we had to wait maybe 15 minutes.

 

My first reaction to DD was to expect that even with three (or four) complimentary venues, the end result is going to be fewer tables to try and force people who don't want to wait into the pay venues. I like the MDR experience with the different menus every night. We have never eaten in a specialty restaraunt and probably won't. I've paid enough for the cruise and don't want to pay extra for meals.

 

Fortunately, DD so far is only on the big ships -- ships I don't have much interest in sailing anyway because they are big ships. If DD comes to Freedom as rumored, I'll have to deal with it I suppose. But DD won't ruin my cruise, I don't think - I'm sure I can find enough variation in the menus in the complimentary restaurants for seven days.

[KansasK]

I see many empty chairs at traditional dining anymore. Just a guess, but I suspect that on some ships they have problems handling all the folks who want My Time in a timely manner. By eliminating traditional, it will free up many seats that go unused in the space that is currently reserved for traditional.

 

This is interesting to me because on my last three cruises, we were put on a waiting list for traditional dining and given My Time. As time passed, we did get traditional dining and the dining room looked full on the ship. I know some nights there were people were at specialty restaurants, but not all on the same night, so the dining room did not have a large number of empty chairs. Maybe it was just the ships we were on and the length of the cruises - all were 7 or 8 days.

 

We will be on the Oasis in February and my brother, who is Platinum, could not even get on the waiting list for early traditional dining.

 

I am not opposed to trying My Time or Dynamic Dining. It has been my experience, though, that traditional dining remains popular.

[OSUZorba]

This is interesting to me because on my last three cruises, we were put on a waiting list for traditional dining and given My Time. As time passed, we did get traditional dining and the dining room looked full on the ship. I know some nights there were people were at specialty restaurants, but not all on the same night, so the dining room did not have a large number of empty chairs. Maybe it was just the ships we were on and the length of the cruises - all were 7 or 8 days.

 

We will be on the Oasis in February and my brother, who is Platinum, could not even get on the waiting list for early traditional dining.

 

I am not opposed to trying My Time or Dynamic Dining. It has been my experience, though, that traditional dining remains popular.

 

This has been my experience too. On my last Oasis cruise, we had MTD because both traditional seatings were full. I requested to be moved to either of the two MDR times twice but they said they were completely full.

 

As for DD, I don't understand why people think this will bring more variety to dinning. Yeah, you get to sit your butt in three different restaurants instead of one, but you also only get three different menus instead of 7 or 12. So it looks like a lot less variety to me, but I guess there were a lot of people who honestly thought airlines would lower airfare when they started charging for bags too.

[OSUZorba]

“We are looking at our current, loyal guests and their habits. Their behavior is changing over time and we are trying to provide them a new and better experience, while also attracting the new-to-cruise guest,” Abel said. “The new to cruise may have never sailed before, and might not like dining the way it used to be perceived.”

 

I remember both my first cruise I was told by everyone "Yeah all the food is included and great." So that was a pretty good perception. No it is "Yeah there are 18 options, most of which cost a lot extra."

[mxylpic]

Another thought. Since DD is being "introduced" on Quantum, and is already being expanded to Oasis and possibly Freedom, clearly the decision to deploy this throughout the fleet (assuming ships have the space or the space can be created for the new venues) RCI has no intention to wait to see if the passengers really like this or not. If it's good enough for NCL it should be great for RCI as well. :D

[Paulxyz2004]

Another thought. Since DD is being "introduced" on Quantum, and is already being expanded to Oasis and possibly Freedom, clearly the decision to deploy this throughout the fleet (assuming ships have the space or the space can be created for the new venues) RCI has no intention to wait to see if the passengers really like this or not. If it's good enough for NCL it should be great for RCI as well. :D

 

 

LOL, while I think DD is different (worse) than Freestyle on NCL I have to say Freestyle was what made me not go back to NCL after trying them once.:eek:

[RocketMan275]

“We are looking at our current, loyal guests and their habits. Their behavior is changing over time and we are trying to provide them a new and better experience, while also attracting the new-to-cruise guest,” Abel said. “The new to cruise may have never sailed before, and might not like dining the way it used to be perceived.”

 

This quote explains exactly why Royal is going to Dynamic Dining. The majority of their current business base prefers something other than the old style dining experience. They want to expand their business base which means enticing those who haven't cruised before. Evidently, the old style dining experience doesn't appeal to those either.

[cruisenfever]

I remember both my first cruise I was told by everyone "Yeah all the food is included and great." So that was a pretty good perception. No it is "Yeah there are 18 options, most of which cost a lot extra."

Only 7 out of 16 dining venues on Quantum cost extra.

Edited October 12, 2014 by cruisenfever

[Paulxyz2004]

“We are looking at our current, loyal guests and their habits. Their behavior is changing over time and we are trying to provide them a new and better experience, while also attracting the new-to-cruise guest,” Abel said. “The new to cruise may have never sailed before, and might not like dining the way it used to be perceived.”

 

This quote explains exactly why Royal is going to Dynamic Dining. The majority of their current business base prefers something other than the old style dining experience. They want to expand their business base which means enticing those who haven't cruised before. Evidently, the old style dining experience doesn't appeal to those either.

 

 

Well I don´t put much value in such a Statement. They hardly would say, "hey we´ve done a research and we need to change our Dining concept to entice new cruisers and stay competitive in the future, but we do know many of our Long time loyal cruisers will not like it."

 

Of course they will always tell us the majority of all asked for this. True or not None of us can prove and a Research will give you every result you ever wish.

 

Anyway all of this is irrelevant, as RCI made a decision to go the way of DD and we can keep this going forever, but it won´t change a thing. We will see DD on RCI ships in the future.

 

I´m not even trying to Change anyones opinion about it and those being in favor of DD can argue as much they want, they won´t Change my opinion about it.

 

I have to live with it, but I don´t have to like it. Fortunately I´m not forced into DD, as I have no RCI cruise booked at this time and I can make an educated decision to cruise other lines or ships that are not converted yet or if I chose to cruise on a ship with DD to know that the Dining experience won´t be what I´m looking for on a cruise.

[boscobeans]

Well I don´t put much value in such a Statement. They hardly would say, "hey we´ve done a research and we need to change our Dining concept to entice new cruisers and stay competitive in the future, but we do know many of our Long time loyal cruisers will not like it."

 

Of course they will always tell us the majority of all asked for this. True or not None of us can prove and a Research will give you every result you ever wish.

 

Anyway all of this is irrelevant, as RCI made a decision to go the way of DD and we can keep this going forever, but it won´t change a thing. We will see DD on RCI ships in the future.

 

I´m not even trying to Change anyones opinion about it and those being in favor of DD can argue as much they want, they won´t Change my opinion about it.

 

I have to live with it, but I don´t have to like it. Fortunately I´m not forced into DD, as I have no RCI cruise booked at this time and I can make an educated decision to cruise other lines or ships that are not converted yet or if I chose to cruise on a ship with DD to know that the Dining experience won´t be what I´m looking for on a cruise.

 

Well stated esp. "I have to live with it, but I don´t have to like it. Fortunately I´m not forced into DD, as I have no RCI cruise booked at this time and I can make an educated decision to cruise other lines or ships that are not converted yet or if I chose to cruise on a ship with DD to know that the Dining experience won´t be what I´m looking for on a cruise."

 

Our first experience dining at a specialty restaurant was aboard the Millenium. We dined in the Olympic restaurant which was named after, restored and built from the original dining room on the Titanic’s sister ship.

 

At the time it was somewhat of a new experience and well worth the upcharge in almost every aspect. The décor was beautiful, harkening back to days long ago. The food was very good (not that much unlike the MDR) and a cut above many fine restaurants on land. Steaks, salads and other dishes were prepared tableside and to your exact preferences. Courses were served butterfly style by white gloved waiters who, although very attentive, managed to never make us feel rushed. A violin player strolled through the restaurant during the meal providing soft background music.

 

It was to us a very special evening and worth every penny that we paid and the generous tip (which at the time many people thought was included or was the reason for the upcharge) was well earned.

 

The food was very good but the value was really in the “Total Experience” not the food.

 

Over the years since that first experience things have changed. Now for $40 or so you might get a thicker, maybe better marbled, cut of beef or your food is prepared a little closer to the time it is served, your steak knife is really a steak knife or the line cooks plate the dish according to a photo taken of some celebrity chef’s presentation.

 

I do not know if the “Total Experience” will be part of Dynamic Dining, but I hope it is because as good old Sir William stated many years ago, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

 

A ramekin of crème brulee in a fancy joint is nothing more than a cup of rich egg custard sold in many of the local NY deli’s without the top layer of torched sugar caramel and ingredients like clams and eggplant are just that, clams and eggplant no matter what you decide to call them.

 

If you expect to get a meal as good as the ones you see TV or Celebrity Chefs prepare, you may be slightly disappointed when the fork hits the palate.

 

In most cases for their demonstrations they use only the best and usually the most expensive ingredients for their demonstrations. How many times have you seen chef “X” at the dock buying fresh caught seafood or at a select butcher where prime cuts of beef, not readily available to most, are the norm along with other ingredients from imported olive oils and cheeses to canned tomatoes from certain regions in Italy. Sorry but this will not be true of meals prepared on your cruise.

 

Our frequenting of specialty restaurants has diminished over the years because of what we feel to be a downhill trend in the entire meaning of “specialty”. The food quality may have gone down a bit but it seems that there is less “special” and more of “a little better” than in the MDR.

 

This is only my opinion and since I am old and have a love of the Traditional dining, MTD not being a problem as it is not that different other than seating times, I do understand and accept anyone’s right to want something new and for cruise lines to make changes to provide them with these changes.

 

I do hope DD is a success and all the myriad number of kinks and complications do get worked out to everyone’s satisfaction, however I will still look for and book ships of almost any size or age that allow me the, according to many, antiquated options of traditional dining or MTD.

----------------------------------------------------------------

I wonder how the wait staff feels about this new system.

Everyone from the head Maitre d down to the assistant waiter will still get the built in standard tip, but what about the extra tips that many of us have always provided for those little things that seem to be a part of the staff knowing our likes and dislikes after a night or two?

 

Will the service we get at dinner over a 12 day period deteriorate if we wind up with different waiters in different venues each night?

 

Will we be expected to choose one restaurant with a static menu over those 12 days to build up and enjoy a rapport with the staff, as we have always done in the past?

 

 

Best wishes and happy cruising to all.

 

bosco

[RocketMan275]

Well I don´t put much value in such a Statement. They hardly would say, "hey we´ve done a research and we need to change our Dining concept to entice new cruisers and stay competitive in the future, but we do know many of our Long time loyal cruisers will not like it."

 

Of course they will always tell us the majority of all asked for this. True or not None of us can prove and a Research will give you every result you ever wish.

 

 

Why should the preferences of the "long time loyal cruiser" carry a large weight in this decision?

[boscobeans]

Abel said. “The new to cruise may have never sailed before, and might not like dining the way it used to be perceived.”

 

This quote explains exactly why Royal is going to Dynamic Dining. The majority of their current business base prefers something other than the old style dining experience. They want to expand their business base which means enticing those who haven't cruised before. Evidently, the old style dining experience doesn't appeal to those either.

 

"They might or might NOT like dining the way it used to be perceived"

 

That is true. RCCL has decided for them as well as all of us that WE DO NOT like the way dining used to be perceived so they completely did away with a system that has been pretty popular for many, many years and liked by millions of cruise ship passengers over many decades in the past.

 

AS TO "Why should the preferences of the "long time loyal cruiser" carry a large weight in this decision?"

 

Because although it may not carry a large weight in certain decisions it makes good business sense not to ignore any large group by casting aside all those things that created a loyal client base.

 

OMO

 

bosco

[Paulxyz2004]

Why should the preferences of the "long time loyal cruiser" carry a large weight in this decision?

 

I never said it should carry any weight nor did I say it should not carry any weight. I simply commented on the Statement quoted by you.

[RocketMan275]

"They might or might NOT like dining the way it used to be perceived"

 

That is true. RCCL has decided for them as well as all of us that WE DO NOT like the way dining used to be perceived so they completely did away with a system that has been pretty popular for many, many years and liked by millions of cruise ship passengers over many decades in the past.

 

AS TO "Why should the preferences of the "long time loyal cruiser" carry a large weight in this decision?"

 

Because although it may not carry a large weight in certain decisions it makes good business sense not to ignore any large group by casting aside all those things that created a loyal client base.

 

OMO

 

bosco

 

How do you know that the classic dining system is so "popular"? True, it's popular with a subset of those who post on Cruise Critic. But are they reflective of the larger cruising world? Would it be popular with the 'new' cruisers Royal is trying to entice in order to expand it's business base?

 

It makes good business sense to ignore those wishes when necessary to expand the business base. I wasn't around when Royal went to ATD but I understand from other posters that ATD was as widely condemned as DD with many 'long time loyal cruisers' stating they would never cruise Royal again. What was the net result?

 

We disagree on this but I truly believe Royal has done the proper research and this will be very popular and adapted by most other cruise lines. Traditional dining with it's fixed dining times and formal nights will soon be a thing of the past. It's just not that attractive those who are the future of cruising.

[tlatrice]

Even with traditional dining, you already are planning "months in advance when and where to eat". It's called the Main Dining Room.

 

I thought I was the only one who saw it this way. I don't all the angst. LOL!

[boscobeans]

How do you know that the classic dining system is so "popular"? True, it's popular with a subset of those who post on Cruise Critic. But are they reflective of the larger cruising world? Would it be popular with the 'new' cruisers Royal is trying to entice in order to expand it's business base?

 

It makes good business sense to ignore those wishes when necessary to expand the business base. I wasn't around when Royal went to ATD but I understand from other posters that ATD was as widely condemned as DD with many 'long time loyal cruisers' stating they would never cruise Royal again. What was the net result?

 

We disagree on this but I truly believe Royal has done the proper research and this will be very popular and adapted by most other cruise lines. Traditional dining with it's fixed dining times and formal nights will soon be a thing of the past. It's just not that attractive those who are the future of cruising.

 

 

I am glad that we can at least agree to disagree.. Time will tell.

 

bosco

[LizzieandLuke]

On our August Cruise the MDR seemed to be empty on many evenings. We requested a table for our family of 4 and received it. However, the table to our left was a table set for 8 every night and only 1 couple ate there every night. The table behind us was set for 2 large families and they both only showed the first night. The rest of the cruise only one family showed. The table to our far left wasn't seated the whole week. Other than the first formal nights, the MDR was extremely casual with most of the men in shorts.

 

Many evenings I felt our servers didn't have enough to do. Although we relished in the extra service, it seems silly to prepare a dining room for 3,000 knowing only 1/2 will show up.

 

I think DD will solve many problems currently on the ships. I do think service will suffer ever so slightly only because our MDR servers were so much better than the rest of the service we received all week (and we showed our appreciation with a monetary reward) I do think it is a shame for those who want the traditional experience and those looking to make new friends on a cruise. However, I am excited for the new experience and think it will be great.

[travelberlin]

You do not have to know "months in advance what type of food (you) want to eat". When you are seated you will be given a menu with more choices than the standard MDR menu. You will have more choices in dining rooms, menu's, and entrees. You may not get immediate seating, but you will have options beyond the buffer or specialty dining.

 

Thanks. This means flexibility. I have tought, as many have said in this board (actually wasnt the OP complaining about this?) that in order to get a place for dinner you had to make reservations in advance at the different venues. But if this is not the case, it is fine for us.

[travelberlin]

I am not confused by this post. I understood completely what he said. The boards have beat this to death, but he does not want to dine in the same restaurant with the SAME menu every night. He likes the same restaurant with a DIFFERENT menu every night. I am a rather picky eater and only the American Icon Grill and the Grande appears to be within my preference of taste. Therefore in seven nights, I have the SAME menu many nights over. I should be Diamond Plus in 2 years. I will continue to be loyal to Royal, but most likely on the smaller ships. Celebrity is also a fantastic choice for a cruise!

I agree. Also je longer the cruises je more repetitions on food.

[lovetogoaway]

All of those will be on Quantum class, but is it known for sure that they will all be on Oasis?

 

Yes its in 2015.

[lovetogoaway]

When Royal introduced MTD, which I love, people had a choice. If you wanted to continue to participate in traditional dining, eating at one of the pre-determined times and typically being seated with others, you could. If you wanted to choose your own time and dining companions by opting for MTD, you could. You could make reservations for your dining time, or not.

 

With DD, the change is sudden and without any alternative to participate in familiar options most passengers are comfortable with.

 

Personally, I LIKE eating in the same place every night. I LIKE having the same waitstaff every night. That's why I typically opt for MTD, but with reservations. If I understand DD, it's no longer as easy as indicating I want to eat at 6:30 each night, now I have to choose a venue. That's a lot to ask months in advance and it removes the option to choose the MDR providing a broad menu.

 

I have never utilized specialty dining on board. Partly, I admit, for the cost. But partly because I really do ENJOY the MDR experience. I look forward to it. I don't want to go to a different restaurant every night. I enjoy the familiarity. I'm sure some others feel differently, however I suspect I am not alone in my preferences. If DD goes fleet wide, these preferences will have no accommodation. To some of us, that's a loss.

 

I agree with you all the way. I booked for certain time. Now its changes. I pay enough money I did not like DD it really is much free with it.

[travelberlin]

Here's the vague description of Dynamic Dining from Royal Caribbean's VP of F&B Brian Abel in an article for Cruise Industry News: http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-magazine/feature-magazine-articles/67-articles/11292-summer-2014-food-and-beverage-royal-caribbeans-dynamic-dining-is-a-revolution.html

 

Thanks for the link to the article. You are right, it is vague.

[lovetogoaway]

I am not confused by this post. I understood completely what he said. The boards have beat this to death, but he does not want to dine in the same restaurant with the SAME menu every night. He likes the same restaurant with a DIFFERENT menu every night. I am a rather picky eater and only the American Icon Grill and the Grande appears to be within my preference of taste. Therefore in seven nights, I have the SAME menu many nights over. I should be Diamond Plus in 2 years. I will continue to be loyal to Royal, but most likely on the smaller ships. Celebrity is also a fantastic choice for a cruise!

 

I agree with you are the way. Both my niece and I are picky eaters. Last year with MDR with never had problems and enjoy meeting new people. Plus our severs always new what we would like.