Dynamic Dining postponed for Oasis & Allure

[SF]

There are many reasons why "non cruisers" don't cruise. Could be because they prefer to spend more time in a location than just a few hours, maybe they don't like the motion of the ocean and have experienced it on a smaller boat, maybe they don't like the small cabins etc....

The point is just because RCCL decided to implement this new DD it doesn't mean it's going to attract a whole bunch of non cruisers just because it's supposed to be like visiting restaurants at a resort. Even if new cruisers do book do you think they would rebook after experiencing all the problems with DD? It doesn't matter if you're young or old, have experienced cruising or not. Nobody wants to go away on a vacation and have to wait in line or have slow service and constant mix ups. Most people want their vacation to run smoothly or at least as smooth as possible that's why they spend time planning and preparing beforehand. It's one thing if something pops up last minute but to know about all the problems before hand is another. New cruisers may not read CC but it'll spread other ways by word of mouth from friends family and coworkers who have either heard about it or experienced it.

[birdlord]

There are many reasons why "non cruisers" don't cruise. Could be because they prefer to spend more time in a location than just a few hours, maybe they don't like the motion of the ocean and have experienced it on a smaller boat, maybe they don't like the small cabins etc....

The point is just because RCCL decided to implement this new DD it doesn't mean it's going to attract a whole bunch of non cruisers just because it's supposed to be like visiting restaurants at a resort. Even if new cruisers do book do you think they would rebook after experiencing all the problems with DD? It doesn't matter if you're young or old, have experienced cruising or not. Nobody wants to go away on a vacation and have to wait in line or have slow service and constant mix ups. Most people want their vacation to run smoothly or at least as smooth as possible that's why they spend time planning and preparing beforehand. It's one thing if something pops up last minute but to know about all the problems before hand is another. New cruisers may not read CC but it'll spread other ways by word of mouth from friends family and coworkers who have either heard about it or experienced it.

 

Agree. And based on what I've seen on my last two cruises (10 years apart) in the MDR, another reason for the concept may have been those passengers who don't like formal nights but don't want to pay for alternative dining on those evenings.

[John&LaLa]

Frankly, I wonder if they'll wind up bagging DD for Oasis & Allure (and any others). If it isn't working out well on Quantum - which was specifically fitted for it - what are the chances that they're going to be able to make it work on the other ships. I would not be the least bit surprised if they wind up rebranding American Icon, The Grande & Silk, all back to three levels of MDR. For our cruise in 2 months, it will seem kind of silly to see that signage & decor in the 3 levels, when all will have the same MDR menus.

 

No big deal on signage, Freedom names each floor and no one seems to suffer

 

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[SF]

Agree. And based on what I've seen on my last two cruises (10 years apart) in the MDR, another reason for the concept may have been those passengers who don't like formal nights but don't want to pay for alternative dining on those evenings.

 

Yes, a lot of people don't like formal night. Formal night isn't what it once was years ago when we first started cruising. If that's the case like you mentioned then RCCL should have done away with formal night or not make it mandatory on those two night just optional but you'd still be able to eat in the dining room dressed casually. At one time everyone dressed up but now you see people in shorts around the ship on formal night, you see people dressed casually, some in evening clothes and what would be the difference if it extended to the dining room except for including shorts there..of course. What I'm trying to say is there is such a mixture of dress on formal night now anyway and this doesn't bother me nor does it take away from my cruise experience but it may bother some people. Just my two cents worth... :)

[SherriZ366]

Sorry not at all premature. The vast majority of DD reviews are extremely negative. The problems arise from inherent problems with the concept not issues that can be tweaked.

 

Hopefully, RCL will send DD the way of the blimp on Oasis and both will disappear never to be heard from again.

I hope this happens. Looks like people's reactions who have actually experienced DD have echoed my concerns and don't like it.

[SherriZ366]

I don't think RCCL is having a good laugh because I think they're too busy straightening up this mess. However, I am having a good laugh if you think someone needs to experience DD when so many people are posting such negative reviews. If someone burns themself touching a fire I don't need to go touch it also to know its hot. It's one thing if everyone was complaining about different things but not in this case they're all mentioning all the various problems DD brings.

Totally agree -- this is a good comeback to those strident DD supporters who put us down because we said the concept did not appeal to us even if we have not tried it.

[SherriZ366]

I was wondering the same thing. And that got me wondering what they'd do with oasis 3, which supposedly is being built with dynamic dining in mind, like quantum was. It would be a bit strange to have traditional dining on oasis and allure, and dynamic on the new ship of the same class.

 

Some of the quantum threads are reporting that this current quantum cruise finally has assistant waiters, so maybe that will make the service more workable.

Putting Asst. Waiters back is a good sign for DD and also to keep RCI from thinking it was a good idea to get rid of Asst. Waiters in the MDR

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I was wondering the same thing. And that got me wondering what they'd do with oasis 3, which supposedly is being built with dynamic dining in mind, like quantum was. It would be a bit strange to have traditional dining on oasis and allure, and dynamic on the new ship of the same class.

Some of the quantum threads are reporting that this current quantum cruise finally has assistant waiters, so maybe that will make the service more workable.

 

It might be a little strange, but I would definitely be fine with it. It would actually turn out to give more options to people. They could keep traditional dining on Oasis and Allure, and then replace one of them with Oasis 3, which could have DD. That way, anyone who wishes to have DD can sail on Oasis 3 and anyone who wishes to have traditional dining could sail on the existing Oasis Class vessel that remains in FLL (either O or A).

 

Also, I was just checking out the Oasis and Allure pages of the Royal website. Besides the paragraph about how DD has been delayed, it appears that they also removed the slide in the slideshow that once said "Dynamic Dining Coming Soon". Seems like they trying their best to not promote DD on the Oasis Class.

Edited December 29, 2014 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[RocketMan275]

Sorry not at all premature. The vast majority of DD reviews are extremely negative. The problems arise from inherent problems with the concept not issues that can be tweaked.

 

Hopefully, RCL will send DD the way of the blimp on Oasis and both will disappear never to be heard from again.

 

The vast majority of DD reviews are extremely negative? Really?

 

Cruise critic has 110 reviews of Quantum.

Excellent 26

Very Good 10

Average 31

Poor 25

Terrible 11

 

Dining was given a 3 overall.

Six other RCI ships, none with DD, were also rated a 3 for dining.

 

Might be lower than most but hardly a majority rating of "extremely negative". And, quite a few of the negative ratings can be solved by adding assistant waiters and faster service. The only part of the negative reviews that cannot be fixed short of abolishing DD, comes from those who love traditional dining.

[John&LaLa]

The vast majority of DD reviews are extremely negative? Really?

 

Cruise critic has 110 reviews of Quantum.

Excellent 26

Very Good 10

Average 31

Poor 25

Terrible 11

 

Dining was given a 3 overall.

Six other RCI ships, none with DD, were also rated a 3 for dining.

 

Might be lower than most but hardly a majority rating of "extremely negative". And, quite a few of the negative ratings can be solved by adding assistant waiters and faster service. The only part of the negative reviews that cannot be fixed short of abolishing DD, comes from those who love traditional dining.

 

Thanks for incorporating facts into the conversation. :thumbup::beer::)

 

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[TravelerThom]

The vast majority of DD reviews are extremely negative? Really?

 

Cruise critic has 110 reviews of Quantum.

Excellent 26

Very Good 10

Average 31

Poor 25

Terrible 11

 

Dining was given a 3 overall. by CC passengers

Six other RCI ships, none with DD, were also rated a 3 for dining. by CC Editors

 

Might be lower than most but hardly a majority rating of "extremely negative". And, quite a few of the negative ratings can be solved by adding assistant waiters and faster service. The only part of the negative reviews that cannot be fixed short of abolishing DD, comes from those who love traditional dining.

This post was quite selective in how it picked numbers. There is a vast difference between ratings given by the CC Editors and ratings given by people who actually pay for their cruise. The Editors rate Quantum 5+ overall, then say "35% of cruisers love it", but even for that number they are counting people who gave it a "4" (NOT just a "5") as loving it - REALLY? CC Editors rating dining on six older RCI ships (Mariner, Enchantment, Rhapsody, Legend, Splendor, and Majesty) as "3", while giving Quantum dining a "4". Paying passengers rated Quantum dining 3.0 and CC passengers rated dining on EVERY one of the other 21 RCI ships at least 4.0.

 

In not a single case did CC Editor and CC passengers agree when the other party gave a rating of 3, but in the post above they are lumped together. Some may think the post incorporated facts into the conversation, but the facts were misleading at best.

[RocketMan275]

This post was quite selective in how it picked numbers. There is a vast difference between ratings given by the CC Editors and ratings given by people who actually pay for their cruise. The Editors rate Quantum 5+ overall, then say "35% of cruisers love it", but even for that number they are counting people who gave it a "4" (NOT just a "5") as loving it - REALLY? CC Editors rating dining on six older RCI ships (Mariner, Enchantment, Rhapsody, Legend, Splendor, and Majesty) as "3", while giving Quantum dining a "4". Paying passengers rated Quantum dining 3.0 and CC passengers rated dining on EVERY one of the other 21 RCI ships at least 4.0.

 

In not a single case did CC Editor and CC passengers agree when the other party gave a rating of 3, but in the post above they are lumped together. Some may think the post incorporated facts into the conversation, but the facts were misleading at best.

 

 

OH, BS. Here's where I got the information. Not from CC editors but from paying customers who actually cruised Quantum. If you follow the link below, you'll see it is from CC members, not editors.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfmaction=ship&ShipID=705

[LMaxwell]

The question remains this: Can additional waitstaff and the set up of a reservation and stand by line fix the issues with DD or no? Time will tell. I was originally supportive of DD but now that I see the logistical problems I'm starting to backtrack.

[SherriZ366]

OH, BS. Here's where I got the information. Not from CC editors but from paying customers who actually cruised Quantum. If you follow the link below, you'll see it is from CC members, not editors.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfmaction=ship&ShipID=705

Get "Page not Found"

[setsail]

Dining on Q is about logistics

 

Dining on all the other ships is almost always about the food

 

Apple/oranges

[RocketMan275]

Get "Page not Found"

 

I don't know how to explain that. I get the same thing when I follow the link. Here's how to find the information. Go to the reviews page. Select Royal Caribbean. Select Quantum of the Seas. Select 110 reviews (top center of the page) you'll find the information I posted. I did not 'cherry pick' anything. I only reported the results of 110 cc member posters. I did not report anything by the CC editors.

[SherriZ366]

Dining on Q is about logistics

 

Dining on all the other ships is almost always about the food

 

Apple/oranges

Good way of putting it.

[SherriZ366]

I don't know how to explain that. I get the same thing when I follow the link. Here's how to find the information. Go to the reviews page. Select Royal Caribbean. Select Quantum of the Seas. Select 110 reviews (top center of the page) you'll find the information I posted. I did not 'cherry pick' anything. I only reported the results of 110 cc member posters. I did not report anything by the CC editors.

Thanks -- will read it.

[3dog]

Get "Page not Found"

 

Seems like a cut-and-paste error:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=705

 

Plus, the numbers posted appear to be about the ship overall, and not just dining.

Edited December 30, 2014 by 3dog

[SherriZ366]

Seems like a cut-and-paste error:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=705

 

Plus, the numbers posted appear to be about the ship overall, and not just dining.

 

Thanks for the link.

[SaintL]

What a shame was hoping to do DD sooner rather than later. But eventually the whole fleet will be this so I'm good

[fairweather]

Someone previously (I think on another thread) suggested rotational dining though the DD venues. Perhaps this could work. You would still have a set time, table mates and waiter but you move to a new venue each night. There could be a 'with Grande' option for those who like formal and and a 'without Grande' option for those who don't.

 

Perhaps an area could be reserved for a type of my time which is basically free form, any restaurant, any time, try your luck :)

 

Thoughts?

 

I love your idea. :) It's similar to what Disney offers and takes away the need to make separate reservations each night. With your Grande option-out and My Time free-form alternatives, everyone gets to try every restaurant in the way they want.

 

I assume most people are going to book these ships because they like the specialty restaurant concept. Why do passengers have to do all the work when this concept does the reservations for them?

[LetsGetWet!]

Get "Page not Found"

Yep, me too...

[LetsGetWet!]

Plus, the numbers posted appear to be about the ship overall, and not just dining.

You beat me to that observation. Those are Quantum reviews, not specifically Dynamic Dining reviews.

 

Also, it seems rather unusual for a brand new ship to generate as many Poor & Terrible reviews as Excellent & Very Good. Not a ringing endorsement for sure.

Edited December 30, 2014 by LetsGetWet!

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

What a shame was hoping to do DD sooner rather than later. But eventually the whole fleet will be this so I'm good

 

Why do you seem so sure of this? I doubt it.