Dynamic Dining postponed for Oasis & Allure

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Maybe the wait staff are unhappy with DD and have complained. The last couple of cruises we had MTD, but when we arrived at about the same time each evening, we had the same table and waiters each night. This solved part of the problem mentioned earlier about slow service, since the waiters automatically brought some of the requests (like beverages) we would have each evening. We had the flexibility if we wanted it, but in our cases, it was pretty much like traditional dining.

 

I also think the waiters enjoy the interaction with us. It is more difficult for them to have new customers each night. There is also an incentive to please the same group of cruisers for the entire trip.

 

The big issue I believe is the tips. We have always given additional amounts directly to the wait staff the last evening because we have never been disappointed with the service we have received. We would probably not tip more if we did not have the same staff each night. Or we would feel we would have to tip each night based on the service for that evening only since we may not see them again.

 

If the wait staff starts receiving less income as a result of no direct additional tips I would think that would create a problem. All they would be getting is the minimum required or an equally divided portion of any additional tips people add to their accounts. This would certainly make them unhappy and less inclined to provide better service if they don't receive any additional benefit. I don't suspect that RCL would make up the difference by raising salaries and then needing to increase cruise fares.

 

This could be a very valid reason. With Traditional dining, we would tip both our waiter/waitress and assistant $20-$25 at the end of the week if we received amazing service.

 

Unfortunately, I would probably be less likely to tip above the auto-gratuities if we had different waitstaff every night that were delivering subpar service.

 

I read some reviews that mentioned with DD there are no assistant waiters ...is this true?

 

I believe so.

Edited December 27, 2014 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[RocketMan275]

No, Royal "hasn't determined" all that, despite your continued claims to the contrary. Rather, Royal is planning to determine, by how successful DD is or isn't on a few ships - whether or not to roll it out to more ships.

 

Nah, his credibility, as the head cheerleader without evidence for DD - isn't getting shaky, it's pretty much shot already.

 

The success of Dynamic Dining will be determined by whether it attracts the demographic Royal wants to attract. Of course, it must work smoothly and the principal problems seem to be with the menus and with the IT support not with the concept itself. Those problems can be solved without reverting to classic dining.

 

BTW, I guess you must be the 'head defender' of traditional dining and your credibility is no better or worse than mine.

[Lionesss]

Whatever happens on our future Oasis cruise is out of my control.

 

I am glad for our family we still have options....

 

If DD is a flub and I want consistent dining with the same group of people we will just make reservations every evening for the suite dining venue. (Coastal Kitchen).

 

Heres hoping we get to enjoy the early dining seating in the MDR.

We loved it on all our previous sailings.

 

Sea Ya

[INGODWETRUST]

What about May? DD?

[SherriZ366]

I read some reviews that mentioned with DD there are no assistant waiters ...is this true?

 

 

I wonder if RCI will tweak this & put Assistant Waiters back into ships with DD

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SF]

Whatever happens on our future Oasis cruise is out of my control.

 

I am glad for our family we still have options....

 

If DD is a flub and I want consistent dining with the same group of people we will just make reservations every evening for the suite dining venue. (Coastal Kitchen).

 

Heres hoping we get to enjoy the early dining seating in the MDR.

We loved it on all our previous sailings.

 

Sea Ya

 

Having the option for Coastal Kitchen is great for you and for those that have suites but for the rest of us we only have two complementary restaurants if we choose not to do formal. Hot dogs, hamburgers or pizza is not the choice for most people for dinner.

Agree, whatever RCCL does we can either go with it or find another line. Only way they'd ever consider changing DD is if they saw a drop in sales. Time will tell if they straighten all the problems out and if this ends up being a positive change or not.

[PhDUnderTheSea]

We booked Allure specifically this spring to avoid DD. Not that we personally have anything against DD menus, but we did not want to be on Oasis and face logistical issues or system issues. I can only hope they are using the extended roll out period to collect more data and put fixes to reported service issues on Quantum. Without knowing a time frame for roll out we would be hesitant to book for late 2015 and encountering issues. We have done the various anytime dining scenarios on other lines and looking forward to MTD on Allure.

 

Best-

 

Steve

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

What about May? DD?

 

That's what I'm wondering, because we are almost definitely sailing on the Oasis at the end of May. My guess is that we will have traditional dining.

Edited December 27, 2014 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[SF]

We booked Allure specifically this spring to avoid DD. Not that we personally have anything against DD menus, but we did not want to be on Oasis and face logistical issues or system issues. I can only hope they are using the extended roll out period to collect more data and put fixes to reported service issues on Quantum. Without knowing a time frame for roll out we would be hesitant to book for late 2015 and encountering issues. We have done the various anytime dining scenarios on other lines and looking forward to MTD on Allure.

 

Best-

 

Steve

 

Same here. We have an upcoming cruise on Allure and we booked it also because we did not want to deal with DD. We also have an upcoming cruise on Oasis I knew that they would have DD on that cruise but we figured if it came out in March and we were sailing towards the end of 2015 that they would have had all the kinks worked out already and we'd give it a try. Now since all they say is it'll be coming out later in 2015 we're also wondering and don't want to deal with all the issues when it is first implemented. We plan to wait a few months see if any announcement is made. Come final payment if no announcement is made we will have a decision whether to take a chance that it comes out when we're sailing or cancel and book another line. I'm sure there are plenty people in the same situation and then again there are plenty looking forward to DD.

[Mike & Julie]

The postponement of DD is a blessing. We were on the Oasis in November 2014 and they failed miserably ay My Time Dinning (MTD) as we were forced into this type of dinning platform as the traditional two seating times were not an option when we booked our cruise. The MTD lines were long and the wait time was 30-45 minutes on the formal nights. Even on the nights where we had MTD reservations we waited in line. RCCL must take small steps and gradually move into DD. Maybe the idea of having DD on such large ships ( oasis and higher) does not logistically work. It may work best on the Freedom Type vessels. Who knows? Our travel agent did acknowledge that RCCL was getting unfavorable client comments on MTD on Oasis and DD on Quantum. I think for once, RCCL has taken the negative feedback and has acted on it by slow playing the DD roll-out. As a client who enjoys the RCCL product I think this is a prudent move that will help in the cruise experience for all future cruisers from beginners to seasoned veterans.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

The postponement of DD is a blessing. We were on the Oasis in November 2014 and they failed miserably ay My Time Dinning (MTD) as we were forced into this type of dinning platform as the traditional two seating times were not an option when we booked our cruise. The MTD lines were long and the wait time was 30-45 minutes on the formal nights. Even on the nights where we had MTD reservations we waited in line. RCCL must take small steps and gradually move into DD. Maybe the idea of having DD on such large ships ( oasis and higher) does not logistically work. It may work best on the Freedom Type vessels. Who knows? Our travel agent did acknowledge that RCCL was getting unfavorable client comments on MTD on Oasis and DD on Quantum. I think for once, RCCL has taken the negative feedback and has acted on it by slow playing the DD roll-out. As a client who enjoys the RCCL product I think this is a prudent move that will help in the cruise experience for all future cruisers from beginners to seasoned veterans.

We shared your "less than desirable" My Time Dining on our last cruise, so we've been apprehensive about Dynamic Dining to start with. Now that things are "postponed", no tears will be shed.

 

If tomorrow they announced canning the idea and keeping the traditional dining rooms, we'd be just fine. Every fellow passenger we've met at our dining tables on all our cruises made it a point to mention that they really enjoyed the experience of the main dining room and meeting their fellow passengers with some regularity.

 

One of those fellow diners was a veteran of 42 cruises, and said that the main dining room experience was one of the best things about Royal Caribbean. We'd agree.

 

If RCI wants to have Dynamic Dining on the new amusement park ships...go for it...but please don't punish all passengers on all ships to have to pay musical meals in musical chairs.

[RocketMan275]

Just spoken with a Travel Agent in the UK who said they can still book cruises from April 8th onwards with the option for Dynamic Dining.

 

Prior to April 8th they say the system is showing traditional dining. After the April 8th sailing its showing Dynamic Dining when booking.

 

The RCI website shows TD and MTD for cruises departing on or before 7 March and DD for cruises departing 14 March and beyond. I guess 14 March maybe "later this year" and 7 March is not.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

The RCI website shows TD and MTD for cruises departing on or before 7 March and DD for cruises departing 14 March and beyond. I guess 14 March maybe "later this year" and 7 March is not.

 

I don't think March 14th is considered later this year. That was originally supposed to be the start of DD on Oasis, but something made Royal change their minds and put on the website that it is delayed and therefore will not start on March 14th. Since we all know how bad IT can be, I'm just assuming that they haven't changed the options from DD back to traditional when booking a cruise yet (Maybe because they aren't sure when the start date will be.)

[Cindy]

The postponement of DD is a blessing. We were on the Oasis in November 2014 and they failed miserably ay My Time Dinning (MTD). The MTD lines were long and the wait time was 30-45 minutes on the formal nights. Even on the nights where we had MTD reservations we waited in line.

 

I was very surprised at how ineffective the MTD procedures were on the Oasis. We also witnessed and experienced long lines and waits even with reservations. Luckily we only ate in the MDR one night so our inconvenience was minimal. They were not able to honor our reservation in our assigned dining room, and they were scrambling to group guests together and find other venues.

[LAS2002]

After reading the negative reviews on Dynamic Dining on the Quantum, I'm elated that Dynamic Dining has been postponed (and I hope totally eliminated on the Oasis). Using a less than robust WebSite to juggle dining times, restaurants, shows, tours, and whatever else is not (for me) and not the way I want my cruise experience to start. Being told to do it on the ship is even worse - lines, and running all over the place at the last minute is not for me. I've been on the Allure 3 times and will cruise the Oasis later in 2015. I'm VERY happy with 1st, 2nd, and My Time dining options and was very happy with the way things are/were. And I don't need yet more dining options. To their credit, it looks like RCI got the message from many passengers that have experienced both Traditional and Dynamic Dining. Kudos to RCI for listening!!!

Cruises

Numerous

[LPCKG]

We.re booked to travel on Anthem of the Seas in June - I hope the issues with DD are resolved by then...

[tapemann]

I would not be forced into making a Reservation each night. I would just show up at * PM or 6PM and request a to be seated at a large 10 Top table. If they don't comply no tip that night. RCCL has to learn that some people want to cruise because the don't have to make ReZ and want to meet new people. The dinner table is a good place to do that!

[allready]

Just for off the Quantum… they are having so many issues with Dynamic Dining. Its probably the smartest thing they have done to post-pone it for now. It is horrible for probably most of the cruisers. Reservation times meant pretty much nothing. It was squeaky wheel first, as they were so far behind. They were totally incapable of handling this type of system.

 

Food comes out cold, pretty much every night. You wait on line to be seated and then wait a long time for food to arrive.

 

Menus are boring and do not change. That is a little frustrating.

 

Best they not ruin two other ships with a concept with so many problems. Straighten it out first, then roll it out.

[kerrydee]

I would not be forced into making a Reservation each night. I would just show up at * PM or 6PM and request a to be seated at a large 10 Top table. If they don't comply no tip that night. RCCL has to learn that some people want to cruise because the don't have to make ReZ and want to meet new people. The dinner table is a good place to do that!

 

first you could wait to be seated for an hour or two. then, the tips are added to your sea pass account every day.

[allready]

I would not be forced into making a Reservation each night. I would just show up at * PM or 6PM and request a to be seated at a large 10 Top table. If they don't comply no tip that night. RCCL has to learn that some people want to cruise because the don't have to make ReZ and want to meet new people. The dinner table is a good place to do that!

 

Good luck with that. People showing up without reservations were not seated. People showing up with reservations were not seated. I had not seen them add people to the table, they pretty much sat table of 2 at a table for 2.

[joepeka]

Just for off the Quantum… they are having so many issues with Dynamic Dining. Its probably the smartest thing they have done to post-pone it for now. It is horrible for probably most of the cruisers. Reservation times meant pretty much nothing. It was squeaky wheel first, as they were so far behind. They were totally incapable of handling this type of system.

 

Food comes out cold, pretty much every night. You wait on line to be seated and then wait a long time for food to arrive.

 

Menus are boring and do not change. That is a little frustrating.

 

Best they not ruin two other ships with a concept with so many problems. Straighten it out first, then roll it out.

And this is probably why RCI stated that DD would be further rolled out based on the results of the Quantum (and Anthem) experiences. So far, it sounds pretty much negative so the decision to postpone Oasis and Allure is a good one.

[Julesben]

Just for off the Quantum… they are having so many issues with Dynamic Dining. Its probably the smartest thing they have done to post-pone it for now. It is horrible for probably most of the cruisers. Reservation times meant pretty much nothing. It was squeaky wheel first, as they were so far behind. They were totally incapable of handling this type of system.

 

Food comes out cold, pretty much every night. You wait on line to be seated and then wait a long time for food to arrive.

 

Menus are boring and do not change. That is a little frustrating.

 

Best they not ruin two other ships with a concept with so many problems. Straighten it out first, then roll it out.

 

We had the same issues on a daily basis on our 1st December sailing on Quantum.

 

We have no interest in putting ourselves through this experience again.

[twindaddy]

My 3/28 Oasis cruise still says Dynamic Dining, I will not be fully relieved until that reverts back to what I had originally. My TA said she put me back on late dining, not sure what she sees on her end.

 

Does anyone show MDR dining times for any Oasis cruise?

[Haber]

I don't think March 14th is considered later this year. That was originally supposed to be the start of DD on Oasis, but something made Royal change their minds and put on the website that it is delayed and therefore will not start on March 14th. Since we all know how bad IT can be, I'm just assuming that they haven't changed the options from DD back to traditional when booking a cruise yet (Maybe because they aren't sure when the start date will be.)

 

I contacted Royal today and was told that our online cruise planners should reflect the type of dining we originally booked by Feb 1st. Hopefully that will give a better idea for those of you with Oasis cruises "later in the year."

[twindaddy]

I contacted Royal today and was told that our online cruise planners should reflect the type of dining we originally booked by Feb 1st. Hopefully that will give a better idea for those of you with Oasis cruises "later in the year."

 

Ok. So what happens on January 1st. Can I go in and book dynamic dining times anyway? Or just the regular specialty restaurants?

 

And why is it taking 5 weeks to get it updated?