Dynamic Dining postponed for Oasis & Allure

[LetsGetWet!]

Cutting prices would be a real statement vis-a-vis RCI's newest, showcase ship. Too many choices out there (RCI and other lines) to have a product that is not well accepted.

Agreed - if they have to start cutting prices to fill Quantum, something is definitely wrong. Will be interesting to watch.

[twindaddy]

I don't care how many threads you've said it on, it's still nothing more than wishful thinking on your part. Hoping your unsubstantiated guesses turn out to be correct so that you get what you want.

 

Because I'm pretty sure you have absolutely nothing to back up your claim that cruisers don't want table mates or care to know thier waiters names - no matter how many times you post it.

 

Big HUGE thumbs up!

 

Some people do not want table mates, others do, why not have ships that give all options?

 

My question, what was the problem that dynamic dining was supposedly solving? How is it any better than an MDR/MTD mix?

[SherriZ366]

Big HUGE thumbs up!

 

Some people do not want table mates, others do, why not have ships that give all options?

 

My question, what was the problem that dynamic dining was supposedly solving? How is it any better than an MDR/MTD mix?

Agree -- MDR/MTD gave folks a choice of having tablemates or not. We were on EX earlier this month and were assigned to a table for 2 so in traditional late so we changed -- they put together a table that included a few other couples that had been assigned to tables for two and wanted larger tables.

[Charles4515]

Big HUGE thumbs up!

 

Some people do not want table mates, others do, why not have ships that give all options?

 

My question, what was the problem that dynamic dining was supposedly solving? How is it any better than an MDR/MTD mix?

 

As I said a couple of times it is not aimed at solving our problems. We already have good options. I have used both current options. Sometimes I have set tablemates. Sometimes I do MTD. Dynamic Dining is a plan to increase Royal Caribbean profits. Increase the productivity of workers and cut provisioning costs. More bookings of the specialty restaurants. It is not passengers who need Dynamic Dining, what we have is dynamic enough. It is for the RCI bean counters .......

Edited December 31, 2014 by Charles4515

[SherriZ366]

As I said a couple of times it is not aimed at solving our problems. We already have good options. I have used both current options. Sometimes I have set tablemates. Sometimes I do MTD. Dynamic Dining is a plan to increase Royal Caribbean profits. Increase the productivity of workers and cut provisioning costs. More bookings of the specialty restaurants. It is not passengers who need Dynamic Dining, what we have is dynamic enough. It is for the RCI bean counters .......

Well it won't help the bean counters if bookings are down as per earlier posts. RCI wants to get top dollar for QU and will have to start cutting prices to fill the ship if people hate DD. Right now, the ship gets a 34% satisfaction rate.

[twindaddy]

As I said a couple of times it is not aimed at solving our problems. We already have good options. I have used both current options. Sometimes I have set tablemates. Sometimes I do MTD. Dynamic Dining is a plan to increase Royal Caribbean profits. Increase the productivity of workers and cut provisioning costs. More bookings of the specialty restaurants. It is not passengers who need Dynamic Dining, what we have is dynamic enough. It is for the RCI bean counters .......

 

Ok, very true. I guess I meant more like from the PR standpoint, what was the justification for dynamic dining vs. mdr/mtd.

 

Why not just jazz up the menus and rotate the mdr menu each night?

 

I was not active on these boards when dynamic dining was first rolled out, I am wondering how RCI spun it. I can see it now!

 

You now have a choice! (crappy free dining rooms vs. slightly less crappy pay dining rooms!)

[SherriZ366]

Ok, very true. I guess I meant more like from the PR standpoint, what was the justification for dynamic dining vs. mdr/mtd.

 

Why not just jazz up the menus and rotate the mdr menu each night?

 

I was not active on these boards when dynamic dining was first rolled out, I am wondering how RCI spun it. I can see it now!

 

You now have a choice! (crappy free dining rooms vs. slightly less crappy pay dining rooms!)

Hope DD is fixed and limited to QU class ships or eliminated. Many folks will feel their choice is another cruise line if this goes fleetwide especially in its crappy condition.

[LetsGetWet!]

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::)

Yes, by all means lets definitely incorporate some facts into the conversation. I just spent a few minutes looking at CC member reviews.

 

Royal Caribbean overall: 76% loved it

Adventure of the Seas: 75% loved it

Allure of the Seas: 84% loved it

Brilliance of the Seas: 76% loved it

Enchantment of the Seas: 78% loved it

Explorer of the Seas: 77% loved it

Freedom of the Seas: 85% loved it

Grandeur of the Seas: 73% loved it

Independence of the Seas: 75% loved it

Jewel of the Seas: 83% loved it

Legend of the Seas: 69% loved it

Liberty of the Seas: 83% loved it

Majesty of the Seas: 76% loved it

Mariner of the Seas: 84% loved it

Navigator of the Seas: 78% loved it

Oasis of the Seas: 83% loved it

Quantum of the Seas: 34% loved it

Radiance of the Seas: 80% loved it

Rhapsody of the Seas: 76% loved it

Serenade of the Seas: 88% loved it

Splendor of the Seas: 78% loved it

Vision of the Seas: 68% loved it

Voyager of the Seas: 75% loved it

 

So, class, what does this tell us? Well, there are a number of facts:

 

• RCI has an overall CC member "loved it" rating of 76% across all ships
  
• RCI currently has 22 operational ships
  
• 21 of the 22 ships received CC member ratings ranging from 68% to 86% "loved it"
  
• The 22nd ship - Quantum - received a rating of 34% "loved it" (exactly HALF of the next lowest rated ship!)
  

Does anyone see a problem here? Obviously, as I pointed out earlier, these are ship reviews, and not reviews of Dynamic Dining vs. traditional dining. However, it would appear from early reviews that RCI is in trouble with Quantum. I certainly don't remember such poor reception/reviews of Oasis/Allure when they were brand new, or of any other ship. Quantum is WAY out of line with the rest of the fleet in terms of customer satisfaction, if CC member reviews are any indication. Heck, one might even say that the "vast majority of reviews are negative" - at least compared to every single other ship in the fleet.

Edited December 31, 2014 by LetsGetWet!

[LetsGetWet!]

And one more tidbit of information from those CC member reviews.

 

Of RCI's 22 ships:

 

• 15 ships got 4 of 5 Dining rating
  
• 6 ships got 3 of 5 Dining rating
  
• Quantum got 2 of 5 Dining rating
  

Edited December 31, 2014 by LetsGetWet!

[mcatmcat]

So glad I'm not doing oasis class for 2015 anyways 😜

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[ChampagneBrut]

Sailed on the December 12 - 20 cruise. Will be thrilled if RCCL does not retrofit other ships with DD. It was a lot of fancy footwork to book restaurants on the Quantum for my party of 19.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Georgeny]

Sailed on the December 12 - 20 cruise. Will be thrilled if RCCL does not retrofit other ships with DD. It was a lot of fancy footwork to book restaurants on the Quantum for my party of 19.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We saw a lot of parties of 5, 6 or 8 waiting for seating or discussing reservations etc, can't even imagine what you went through for a party of 19!

 

George in NY - sailed Quantum 12/20-12/27

[Georgeny]

Yes, by all means lets definitely incorporate some facts into the conversation. I just spent a few minutes looking at CC member reviews.

 

Royal Caribbean overall: 76% loved it

Adventure of the Seas: 75% loved it

Allure of the Seas: 84% loved it

Brilliance of the Seas: 76% loved it

Enchantment of the Seas: 78% loved it

Explorer of the Seas: 77% loved it

Freedom of the Seas: 85% loved it

Grandeur of the Seas: 73% loved it

Independence of the Seas: 75% loved it

Jewel of the Seas: 83% loved it

Legend of the Seas: 69% loved it

Liberty of the Seas: 83% loved it

Majesty of the Seas: 76% loved it

Mariner of the Seas: 84% loved it

Navigator of the Seas: 78% loved it

Oasis of the Seas: 83% loved it

Quantum of the Seas: 34% loved it

Radiance of the Seas: 80% loved it

Rhapsody of the Seas: 76% loved it

Serenade of the Seas: 88% loved it

Splendor of the Seas: 78% loved it

Vision of the Seas: 68% loved it

Voyager of the Seas: 75% loved it

 

So, class, what does this tell us? Well, there are a number of facts:

 

• RCI has an overall CC member "loved it" rating of 76% across all ships
  
• RCI currently has 22 operational ships
  
• 21 of the 22 ships received CC member ratings ranging from 68% to 86% "loved it"
  
• The 22nd ship - Quantum - received a rating of 34% "loved it" (exactly HALF of the next lowest rated ship!)
  

Does anyone see a problem here? Obviously, as I pointed out earlier, these are ship reviews, and not reviews of Dynamic Dining vs. traditional dining. However, it would appear from early reviews that RCI is in trouble with Quantum. I certainly don't remember such poor reception/reviews of Oasis/Allure when they were brand new, or of any other ship. Quantum is WAY out of line with the rest of the fleet in terms of customer satisfaction, if CC member reviews are any indication. Heck, one might even say that the "vast majority of reviews are negative" - at least compared to every single other ship in the fleet.

 

NOW THAT tells the story with more clarity.

 

George in NY

[Ocean Boy]

Yes, by all means lets definitely incorporate some facts into the conversation. I just spent a few minutes looking at CC member reviews.....

 

 

You just have to muddle up some other people's well thought out emotional responses with facts don't ya.:p

[redwings1958]

SO glad I don't have to plan the whole trip in advance now. Our family MUCH PREFERS traditional dining to the DD or MTD concept. Now all I have to do is figure out the shows and times that work for us. Looking forward to a memorable July cruise

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

A little confused now...

 

Just finished booking our May 23 Oasis Sailing. Our travel agent was on the phone with the RC Vacation Planner who said that even though Dynamic Dining has been postponed, it is still to be on this sailing. (But we know how the reps don't always have the info correct) Our reservation reflects DD, but that might be because IT didn't put the change into the computers yet. Who knows.

 

Its not a deal breaker, but I just want to know the definite answer. I'm thinking about calling Royal again to see if anyone can offer any further info.

 

EDIT: If I want to call Royal to see if I can get more info, do you think I'd have better luck with the general number for website questions, or the C&A number??

Edited December 31, 2014 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[Clarea]

A little confused now...

 

Just finished booking our May 23 Oasis Sailing. Our travel agent was on the phone with the RC Vacation Planner who said that even though Dynamic Dining has been postponed, it is still to be on this sailing. (But we know how the reps don't always have the info correct) Our reservation reflects DD, but that might be because IT didn't put the change into the computers yet. Who knows.

 

Its not a deal breaker, but I just want to know the definite answer. I'm thinking about calling Royal again to see if anyone can offer any further info.

Definite answers can be elusive when dealing with Royal.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Definite answers can be elusive when dealing with Royal.

 

Haha, unfortunately that's very true. :rolleyes:

[lovelife]

FYI: Just received a call from my TA. RCCL asked her to call me and have me select my preferred dining time since DD will not be on my 5/30/15 Oasis cruise.

[Lionesss]

Definite answers can be elusive when dealing with Royal.

 

 

 

Yes, and if you call back and speak with another representative, you will get another answer.

 

So frustrating.

 

The waiting game is going to begin as to when DD will BEGIN.

 

Sea Ya

[Clarea]

FYI: Just received a call from my TA. RCCL asked her to call me and have me select my preferred dining time since DD will not be on my 5/30/15 Oasis cruise.

Encouraging news!:)

[redcrown]

Encouraging news!:)

 

That's good for us as we are on the May 16th sailing.

[tokyo1949]

I for one am not happy.:(

 

I loved the flexibility of DD on Quantum

And I was looking forward to it on both Anthem and Allure

 

I love having 32 choices for entrée for dinner instead of the boring same old same old limited choice MDR menus.

 

A lone voice amongst the complainers.

 

We are booked on the Anthem on 13th June and looking forward to DD and trying something different. If you cruise Royal several times a year like us you have tried all the items on the menu many times so whats the difference

[Sunny AZ Girl]

FYI: Just received a call from my TA. RCCL asked her to call me and have me select my preferred dining time since DD will not be on my 5/30/15 Oasis cruise.

 

Well, that is the most defintive thing I have heard lately beyond simple conjecture.:) We are on the May 9 sailing and that gves us a guide. To be honest I could care less if we have DD or Traditional. I know we won't starve. We booked the cruise almost two years in advance, way before we had heard the words Dynamic Dining and were originally booked as Main Dining with our group. Now what needs to be determined is if that stautus will be returned to us, or if we have to have it reinstated. One of our group members called the Diamond Desk and was told we still had DD.:rolleyes:

[royzer76]

We are sailing on the Allure of the Seas Westbound TA in October 2015.

 

When we booked it was MTD. This was reflected on invoices and in the Cruise Planner.

 

However just recently it has switched to DD in the Cruise Planner.

 

So from that I would guess DD will definitely be launching towards the end of 2015 on Oasis class.

Edited December 31, 2014 by royzer76