Dynamic Dining postponed for Oasis & Allure

[red devil]

What the should do is keep traditional and my time dinning.

I think the majority of passengers had no complaints regarding this kind of dinning.

[Elizanessie]

Maybe this is an issue that RCI is looking at (i.e. a more complete alternate menu) as evidenced by the pullback on DD implementation on OA & AL.

 

The Director of Food & Beverage Operations was having a meeting last week with Chefs with regards to possibly changing the Alternative/Simple Tastes Menu.

[Mass2Cruise]

Interested in what they mean by later in the year? I'm on Allure next November. Just off the Q with DD. I could go either way with it. Not disappointed, but not joyous either.

[poncho1973]

What the should do is keep traditional and my time dinning.

I think the majority of passengers had no complaints regarding this kind of dinning.

 

"Change. We fear change." - Garth Algar

[little britain]

What the should do is keep traditional and my time dinning.

I think the majority of passengers had no complaints regarding this kind of dinning.

 

Really?:rolleyes:

 

Now who can remember the hysterical outcry when RCI announced they were introducing My Time Dining a few years ago.....it was as if they had announced the End Of The World......so many people then swore that they were never going to cruise RCI again......and guess what happened.....MTD is now very popular indeed.

 

RCI are trying something different with DD. Yes, I tried it, yes, I liked it, I liked the flexibility. As others have said once people get over the feeling that they have to prebook every night, and just relax - then you will get the concept.

[ryano]

S

Really?:rolleyes:

 

Now who can remember the hysterical outcry when RCI announced they were introducing My Time Dining a few years ago.....it was as if they had announced the End Of The World......so many people then swore that they were never going to cruise RCI again......and guess what happened.....MTD is now very popular indeed.

 

RCI are trying something different with DD. Yes, I tried it, yes, I liked it, I liked the flexibility. As others have said once people get over the feeling that they have to prebook every night, and just relax - then you will get the concept.

 

Best post in this whole thread and I'm not likely to be affected by DD one way or the other for the next 5 years or so. I was looking forward to it coming to Freedom and was disappointed when I heard it wasn't. I'm ok with change. I've been on 3 RCI cruises and already the whole MDR "experience" is old to me. I don't care for the Windjammer or specialty dining so I guess I will just go on to the MDR though. I was looking forward to DD.

 

How about the outcry about the Oasis ships and how they would sink Royal? And how people would NEVER sail those ships? :rolleyes: They are some of the most popular ships sailing now and 99% of those "never" people here have sailed them and love them.

Edited December 26, 2014 by ryano

[Elizanessie]

What I don't like with Dynamic Dining is the making of reservations months in advance but as the restaurants are really not that big then I can understand the reason guests do book before they cruise, they are concerned they will have to stand in line if they don't book before leaving home.

 

The problem with booking beforehand can be a right pain if Royal have to change show times etc due to bad weather etc. That is what happened on Quantum 11/2 Maiden, Mamma Mia had to be rescheduled due to bad weather so when they rescheduled it, it then affected a lot of guests dynamic dining reservations.

[Paulxyz2004]

Really?:rolleyes:

 

Now who can remember the hysterical outcry when RCI announced they were introducing My Time Dining a few years ago.....it was as if they had announced the End Of The World......so many people then swore that they were never going to cruise RCI again......and guess what happened.....MTD is now very popular indeed.

 

RCI are trying something different with DD. Yes, I tried it, yes, I liked it, I liked the flexibility. As others have said once people get over the feeling that they have to prebook every night, and just relax - then you will get the concept.

 

Yep I remember very well. One major difference though. When MTD was introduced it was promised that traditional Dining would still be around and MTD was just an additional choice. I think I still have that email from AG somewhere.

 

With DD however traditional is entirely eliminated and even MTD which could be used almost the same as traditional with some planning will be eliminated and there will be no way to get the traditional Dining experience anymore.

 

I´ve said it before RCI Needs to do what they Need to do and I will still consider their ships without DD. But I will stay away from ships with DD. It´s a poor concept to me, even if it works perfectly without any glitches.

[lisiamc]

Really?:rolleyes:

 

Now who can remember the hysterical outcry when RCI announced they were introducing My Time Dining a few years ago.....it was as if they had announced the End Of The World......so many people then swore that they were never going to cruise RCI again......and guess what happened.....MTD is now very popular indeed.

 

RCI are trying something different with DD. Yes, I tried it, yes, I liked it, I liked the flexibility. As others have said once people get over the feeling that they have to prebook every night, and just relax - then you will get the concept.

 

S

 

Best post in this whole thread and I'm not likely to be affected by DD one way or the other for the next 5 years or so. I was looking forward to it coming to Freedom and was disappointed when I heard it wasn't. I'm ok with change. I've been on 3 RCI cruises and already the whole MDR "experience" is old to me. I don't care for the Windjammer or specialty dining so I guess I will just go on to the MDR though. I was looking forward to DD.

 

How about the outcry about the Oasis ships and how they would sink Royal? And how people would NEVER sail those ships? :rolleyes: They are some of the most popular ships sailing now and 99% of those "never" people here have sailed them and love them.

 

Well, DH and I are some of the "never" people. More and more we are saving up and choosing to cruise on lines with smaller ships. Oasis and Allure are not for us, based on having tried Adventure and Navigator once each, and finding they're really too large to suit us too, so going even bigger wouldn't make any sense for us. Dynamic dining is not for us. (My Time Dining, on the other hand, is fine.) So except for the occasional cruise on Legend or Splendour, chosen because of the price and itinerary, and enjoyed because of all the many things that RCI does very well, they have effectively pushed us out of their loop. One size, or one approach, really doesn't fit all.

[Cindy]

S

 

How about the outcry about the Oasis ships and how they would sink Royal? And how people would NEVER sail those ships? :rolleyes: They are some of the most popular ships sailing now and 99% of those "never" people here have sailed them and love them.

 

I was one of those "never" people for MTD (love it!):o and Oasis (loved it!):o. I'm done saying never!:D

 

I'm really open to the concept of DD, and we actually treated our Oasis cruise kind of like that, with one night in the MDR, 2 nights in Coastal Kitchen, and 4 specialty restaurants. The nicest thing about being on a ship with so many choices is that we never even stepped foot in the Windjammer, which is a win in our opinion!:)

[Julesben]

Really?:rolleyes:

 

Now who can remember the hysterical outcry when RCI announced they were introducing My Time Dining a few years ago.....it was as if they had announced the End Of The World......so many people then swore that they were never going to cruise RCI again......and guess what happened.....MTD is now very popular indeed.

 

RCI are trying something different with DD. Yes, I tried it, yes, I liked it, I liked the flexibility. As others have said once people get over the feeling that they have to prebook every night, and just relax - then you will get the concept.

 

The problem is hugely created by the lack of supply, not enough seats for every customer on the ship.

Unfortunately there is a reason for that!

[SarahD112]

I, for one, don't care why it has been delayed. I suspect I'm not alone! What I want to know is...what does it mean for my cruise? We were supposed to make dining reservations in less than a week. There's been very little menu information out there - probably because we were scheduled to be on the first DD cruise, March 14th. So if the main dining room remains...how does it work now that they've been rethemed into three different venues? I assume Silk won't have a pan-Asian menu? The Grande can't possibly be formal every night. There is no way someone would be assigned to American Icon and chicken and waffles every night, while someone else gets The Grande - and shrimp cocktail and steak. Does anyone have any facts to share?

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I, for one, don't care why it has been delayed. I suspect I'm not alone! What I want to know is...what does it mean for my cruise? We were supposed to make dining reservations in less than a week. There's been very little menu information out there - probably because we were scheduled to be on the first DD cruise, March 14th. So if the main dining room remains...how does it work now that they've been rethemed into three different venues? I assume Silk won't have a pan-Asian menu? The Grande can't possibly be formal every night. There is no way someone would be assigned to American Icon and chicken and waffles every night, while someone else gets The Grande - and shrimp cocktail and steak. Does anyone have any facts to share?

 

The Dynamic Dining menus will not be implemented if Dynamic Dining is not implemented.

 

So therefore, as long as the Oasis and Allure have Traditional Dining, the regular rotating MDR menus will be used in the 3 restaurants. If you pick traditional dining, you will be assigned a table in either the Grande or American Icon. If you pick MTD, you will go to Silk every night. Grande will not be formal every night. Dress code will follow the usual schedule with two formal nights.

 

Dining will run the same as it did before Oasis' dry dock. The only difference is the re-decoration of the MDR.

Edited December 26, 2014 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[setsail]

I, for one, don't care why it has been delayed. I suspect I'm not alone! What I want to know is...what does it mean for my cruise? We were supposed to make dining reservations in less than a week. There's been very little menu information out there - probably because we were scheduled to be on the first DD cruise, March 14th. So if the main dining room remains...how does it work now that they've been rethemed into three different venues? I assume Silk won't have a pan-Asian menu? The Grande can't possibly be formal every night. There is no way someone would be assigned to American Icon and chicken and waffles every night, while someone else gets The Grande - and shrimp cocktail and steak. Does anyone have any facts to share?

 

It means you will have the standard menu with a 6 or 830 TD/MTD and be assigned to one of the three decks depending on how you booked. The silk level is for MTD.

[SF]

Really?:rolleyes:

 

Now who can remember the hysterical outcry when RCI announced they were introducing My Time Dining a few years ago.....it was as if they had announced the End Of The World......so many people then swore that they were never going to cruise RCI again......and guess what happened.....MTD is now very popular indeed.

 

RCI are trying something different with DD. Yes, I tried it, yes, I liked it, I liked the flexibility. As others have said once people get over the feeling that they have to prebook every night, and just relax - then you will get the concept.

 

Totally different with MTD they kept traditional dining and added something so everyone was happy. Like other posters have already said with DD they are taking our choice away. Why they didn't just leave everything alone beats me. Those that like to make their reservations that day had MTD the rest had traditional. If they wanted to update things they could have just changed the menus. We like having the same dining time and same waiter. DD is a great concept on paper but it is never really going to work without any glitches. Too many people wanting to eat at the same time and if you don't make reservations ahead of time you're going to be standing in line at a later point. Even if they limit the number of reservations those that want to make reservations are going to get upset and those that don't make reservations are going to find long wait times. Even MTD during prime time can have some wait and that's only a portion of passengers on that. Plus some on MTD have already made their reservations for the whole week once they board so that also limits the space. So how they're going to work all the glitches out of DD is something well I'll have to wait and see but personally I don't think it's going to happen and I have no plans on sailing on a ship that has DD until it is completely worked out. Just hoping they announce when it will be but don't think they'll do that right away as they don't want people canceling if its near their cruise.

[TravelerThom]

The problem is hugely created by the lack of supply, not enough seats for every customer on the ship.

Unfortunately there is a reason for that!

VERY few cruise ships have a dining seat for every passenger simultaneously. With traditional dining on a mass market ship (which RCI is) there will be the ability to seat somewhat more than 50% of the max passenger load at either early or late dining. I found a newspaper ship review that said that Quantum's four complimentary restaurants could hold "about 430" passengers each. Quantum's maximum passenger load is 4905, meaning that they can seat 35% in complimentary restaurants at any one time. Obviously RCI hopes that many will go to pay restaurants, Windjammer, or somewhere. Quantum decreased from being able to handle a little over half the passengers in complimentary restaurants at one time, to a little over one third of the passengers. However another major contribution from what I have read (no, I haven't been there) is slow service (perhaps/ probably due to decrease in wait staff) which has lead to longer than optimal time that any one diner sits in one of those seats, causing a back-up as those seats are not available when the next person arrives for their reserved dining time. I know that Quantum would have to add well over 100 staff members to reach the staffing ratios of Freedom or Oasis; not sure how many of these missing staff would have been in dining, but I'm sure it is some. (Okay, two bartenders have been replaced by robots [plus four technicians to fix the robots:rolleyes:]) Perhaps RCI has a plan to solve all of this, but if doesn't involve more staff I'm not sure what it will be.

 

Thom

[poncho1973]

Well, DH and I are some of the "never" people. More and more we are saving up and choosing to cruise on lines with smaller ships. Oasis and Allure are not for us, based on having tried Adventure and Navigator once each, and finding they're really too large to suit us too, so going even bigger wouldn't make any sense for us. Dynamic dining is not for us. (My Time Dining, on the other hand, is fine.) So except for the occasional cruise on Legend or Splendour, chosen because of the price and itinerary, and enjoyed because of all the many things that RCI does very well, they have effectively pushed us out of their loop. One size, or one approach, really doesn't fit all.

 

And you don't need our permission or support to do so. Do what is best for your family. Have a blast! Go!

[SherriZ366]

The Director of Food & Beverage Operations was having a meeting last week with Chefs with regards to possibly changing the Alternative/Simple Tastes Menu.

That makes a lot of sense. Based on the folks that I cruise with who order from the present Alternative Menu, slightly modified menus from each of the DD restaurants would not be appealing -- especially to picky eaters.

[SherriZ366]

Yep I remember very well. One major difference though. When MTD was introduced it was promised that traditional Dining would still be around and MTD was just an additional choice. I think I still have that email from AG somewhere.

 

With DD however traditional is entirely eliminated and even MTD which could be used almost the same as traditional with some planning will be eliminated and there will be no way to get the traditional Dining experience anymore.

 

I´ve said it before RCI Needs to do what they Need to do and I will still consider their ships without DD. But I will stay away from ships with DD. It´s a poor concept to me, even if it works perfectly without any glitches.

With MTD, you can recreate traditional dining -- same table, waitstaff, tablemates. We have done that to accommodate friends who did not want traditional late seating. However, trying to get the same time, wait staff and table size has been stressful. The only way you can recreate traditional dining is to book the same time in ONE restaurant and talk to the M'aitre D about having the same table and wait staff.

 

I remember AG's promise of keeping Traditional Dining.

[SherriZ366]

Totally different with MTD they kept traditional dining and added something so everyone was happy. Like other posters have already said with DD they are taking our choice away. Why they didn't just leave everything alone beats me. Those that like to make their reservations that day had MTD the rest had traditional. If they wanted to update things they could have just changed the menus. We like having the same dining time and same waiter. DD is a great concept on paper but it is never really going to work without any glitches. Too many people wanting to eat at the same time and if you don't make reservations ahead of time you're going to be standing in line at a later point. Even if they limit the number of reservations those that want to make reservations are going to get upset and those that don't make reservations are going to find long wait times. Even MTD during prime time can have some wait and that's only a portion of passengers on that. Plus some on MTD have already made their reservations for the whole week once they board so that also limits the space. So how they're going to work all the glitches out of DD is something well I'll have to wait and see but personally I don't think it's going to happen and I have no plans on sailing on a ship that has DD until it is completely worked out. Just hoping they announce when it will be but don't think they'll do that right away as they don't want people canceling if its near their cruise.

Good post -- I agree with your points.

[loupana]

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.

 

No you are not a lone voice, I loved the choice of choosing one of multiple dinning venues for dinner each night. We took the 11 day cruise and still could not try everything we wanted on all the menu's.

[little britain]

The problem is hugely created by the lack of supply, not enough seats for every customer on the ship.

Unfortunately there is a reason for that!

 

Sorry but I must disagree. Each DD venue seats around 430 people - x 4 venues is around 1700 people seated at a time. Given that they turn the tables at least 2-3 times a night then there is more then enough capacity for everyone.

Then you add the Coastal Kitchen for the suite guests (128 per seating) and the speciality restaurants which adds further capacity of around 700 per seating in total. Then there is with Windjammer which takes 850+ at a time.

Add these all together ...

Edited December 26, 2014 by little britain

[Haber]

I made our final payment today. The rep on the phone hadn't heard anything about DD being postponed and confirmed that our reservation still lists DD and not traditional early seating, which is what we first booked. Six days until DD reservations were supposed to open up.

[Julesben]

Sorry but I must disagree. Each DD venue seats around 430 people - x 4 venues is around 1700 people seated at a time. Given that they turn the tables at least 2-3 times a night then there is more then enough capacity for everyone.

Then you add the Coastal Kitchen for the suite guests (128 per seating) and the speciality restaurants which adds further capacity of around 700 per seating in total. Then there is with Windjammer which takes 850+ at a time.

Add these all together ...

 

Who is talking about anything other than complimentary dining.

Add up your complimentary seats then tell us if there's enough seats for everyone.

In MDR there's enough for every single passenger to eat complimentary.

If you're like us and like to go speciality 5/6 nights out of 14 then that is your choice and not forced upon.

When cruising Quantum 1st December cruisers were being forced into paid for restaurants, including us.

[RocketMan275]

Who is talking about anything other than complimentary dining.

Add up your complimentary seats then tell us if there's enough seats for everyone.

In MDR there's enough for every single passenger to eat complimentary.

If you're like us and like to go speciality 5/6 nights out of 14 then that is your choice and not forced upon.

When cruising Quantum 1st December cruisers were being forced into paid for restaurants, including us.

 

All Royal has done is convert three complimentary dining venues into three complimentary dining menus. Same number of seats before and same number of seats after the conversion. They've even added complimentary seats for suite guests which means less pressure on the non-suite venues.

 

There has never been enough complimentary seating to accommodate each and every diner at one single seating on any cruise ship. Why do you think they had early and late seating? The only reason you're seeing a difference is in the past those in traditional dining were forced to show up at a specific time which regulated the flow into the complimentary venues. Dynamic dining allows passengers to show up when they like. There will be queues at times.