Return of Dynamic Dining on Celebrity Edge?

[little britain]

Not strictly RCI but still the same family...I thought this made very interesting reading....wondered if they were giving DD another go?

 

How do others read this?

 

 

 

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[bigbeergut]

Not strictly RCI but still the same family...I thought this made very interesting reading....wondered if they were giving DD another go?

 

How do others read this?

 

 

 

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It looks like a similar approach but it has a couple of improvements and one inherent problem.

 

1. About 75% of the menu will be available in all of the venues, so groups can rotate through the dining rooms without everyone in the group having to order something from the featured menu.

 

2. Standard dining will be available with the group assigned to one location.

 

 

However the approach still suffers from the inherent problem that some venues will be much more popular than others and the popular venues will likely have longer waits and possibility limited availability on some nights. Perhaps they can balance this by assigning the fixed dining to the least popular venues.

[nelblu]

That was the be beauty of DD on RCL. Different menus & different themes. Don't see a problem if you rotate between the restaurants. I enjoyed it on Quantum and even better on Anthem where the staff & tablemates rotated with you.

[yuvraj]

There were two problems with DD on Anthem. The first was insufficient thought on how to manage this effectively. The second was RCI regulars set in their ways who booked a cruise on a ship which did things differently and then complained about it.

 

I really like the DD approach. I tried it on Anthem before they decided to get rid of it. I didn't encounter any problems. However, I found quite a few on the same sailing having a good moan.

 

Now for Celebrity. It is a different brand which appeals to a different group of people. Not sure whether they will like it. Depends on how it is implemented. My experience of Celebrity is that the speciality restaurant experience is first class. If they build on that concept then people may really get to like it. I suspect, whatever they do, the complainers will have their say.

[cot427]

I loved the DD approach when I sailed on Anthem 2 years ago. With that said, I did not run into any issues. We had classic DD. Our wait staff was average. Our tablemates however, we're part of the problem. Like I said, no real issues, but they were chronic complainers. So much so that a solo traveler who was assigned at our table took us aside afterward and said she was requesting a switch due to them.

 

As evidenced on here, lots of people did not like it. They essentially ruined a good thing for everyone else. The fault is not all of them. RCI could have implemented it better or responded and implemented process improvements. Instead, they abandon the entire concept.

 

I genuinely hope it works in this iteration better on Celebrity. I was really impressed with my one and only Celebrity sailing and would jump on the chance to experience something different like this in terms of dining.

[nelblu]

I loved the DD approach when I sailed on Anthem 2 years ago. With that said, I did not run into any issues. We had classic DD. Our wait staff was average. Our tablemates however, we're part of the problem. Like I said, no real issues, but they were chronic complainers. So much so that a solo traveler who was assigned at our table took us aside afterward and said she was requesting a switch due to them.

 

As evidenced on here, lots of people did not like it. They essentially ruined a good thing for everyone else. The fault is not all of them. RCI could have implemented it better or responded and implemented process improvements. Instead, they abandon the entire concept.

 

I genuinely hope it works in this iteration better on Celebrity. I was really impressed with my one and only Celebrity sailing and would jump on the chance to experience something different like this in terms of dining.

 

Bad tablemates are a problem no matter what dining methods. We've selected table for 2 because of some issues in past sailings.

[WisconsinFan]

I don't understand why this has ended up being an issue on lines other than Disney. Granted Disney was a long time ago for us, so maybe things have changed but when we sailed Disney we had a different dinning room each night, same time, same wait staff. Theme was different, menus different. Animators Palate (room starts out all white, by the time you have finished dinner all brightly colored), Lumière's is French themed (Beauty and the Beast) and Carioca’s, based on The Three Caballeros. If they can do it, why is it so hard for others? Didn't like that idea, still adult only venues and the buffet.

[Clarea]

I don't understand why this has ended up being an issue on lines other than Disney. Granted Disney was a long time ago for us, so maybe things have changed but when we sailed Disney we had a different dinning room each night, same time, same wait staff. Theme was different, menus different. Animators Palate (room starts out all white, by the time you have finished dinner all brightly colored), Lumière's is French themed (Beauty and the Beast) and Carioca’s, based on The Three Caballeros. If they can do it, why is it so hard for others? Didn't like that idea, still adult only venues and the buffet.

Does Disney's rotating dining system allow "anytime" dining?

[WisconsinFan]

Does Disney's rotating dining system allow "anytime" dining?

Good question. At the time we sailed Disney no one was doing "anytime" but I doubt they have changed it. For flexible times I believe they encouraged the buffet or the adults only venue.

[Clarea]

Good question. At the time we sailed Disney no one was doing "anytime" but I doubt they have changed it. For flexible times I believe they encouraged the buffet or the adults only venue.

I think it would be much easier to implement a rotating dining scheme if they only had to deal with fixed dining.

[LXA350]

Not strictly RCI but still the same family...I thought this made very interesting reading....wondered if they were giving DD another go?

 

How do others read this?

 

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Well wasn't a certain Lisa Lutoff-Perlo a the time at RCCL launching dynamic dining ;) Now the same person is trying it again with a revamped concept and maybe this time it will work.

The concept itself was also quite nice at RCCL however all those annoying Pinnacles made so much noise that the cruiseline got rid of it. I am sure that RCCL would have been better off loosing those low yielding Pinnacles, who would not have stoped crusing anyhow, than getting rid of the concept. The Quantum Class was perfectly designed for it and it should have remained on that class of ship only. They wanted to implement the concept as well on the Oasis Class which luckily was not done, since this and the other class of ships are not made for that concept.

[CanadaRob]

I think it would be much easier to implement a rotating dining scheme if they only had to deal with fixed dining.

 

True and if you didn't like the particular night offerings(as with any restaurant now) could opt for buffet.

[TeeRick]

Here is the detailed info from Celebrity on their version of "Dynamic Dining" on the new Edge.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/edge/dining/main-dining/

 

And the Whining has begun!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2606216

 

I think that Quantum Class and Celebrity's Edge Class share quite a few similarities. I was disappointed that when I sailed Anthem in Dec 2016 they had just completely abandoned DD on my cruise. There was a long thread here on CC about how the Whiners ruined DD. Hopefully a lot was learned and Celebrity's version will be more successful. I am a bit concerned because the Celebrity demographic is older than the RCCL demographic. And I think the older traditional cruisers had the most difficulty adapting to the dining change on Anthem. I hope that the traditionalists on Celebrity give it a chance. Or choose another ship with traditional dining options vs whining.

Edited March 6, 2018 by TeeRick
typo

[karl_nj]

Does Disney's rotating dining system allow "anytime" dining?

 

No, they only do "traditional" dining; your waitstaff rotates with you.

[nelblu]

Better

Here is the detailed info from Celebrity on their version of "Dynamic Dining" on the new Edge.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/edge/dining/main-dining/

 

And the Whining has begun!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2606216

 

I think that Quantum Class and Celebrity's Edge Class share quite a few similarities. I was disappointed that when I sailed Anthem in Dec 2016 they had just completely abandoned DD on my cruise. There was a long thread here on CC about how the Whiners ruined DD. Hopefully a lot was learned and Celebrity's version will be more successful. I am a bit concerned because the Celebrity demographic is older than the RCCL demographic. And I think the older traditional cruisers had the most difficulty adapting to the dining change on Anthem. I hope that the traditionalists on Celebrity give it a chance. Or choose another ship with traditional dining options vs whining.

 

 

One of the other needs was education on the part of Paxs. Many on our first Quantum cruise were not aware that they needed reservations and wound up in the WJ on many nights. Better education from both TAs and RCL would have made the transition easier.

[denamo]

Does Disney's rotating dining system allow "anytime" dining?

 

Been about 4-5 years since last sailed Disney.

We did enjoy the shift of dining rooms each night.

 

You could go to the buffet for "anytime" dining. They used this as a training for upcoming waiters in their MDRs. You would be seated, brought a menu, and would be served.

 

Most do go ahead and use the MDR. Disney relaxed their dress code to be more family friendly. One thing we noticed was it seemed like they assigned those not traveling with kids to the same dining room. The two Disney cruises I've taken were not with kids. Both cruises there were only adults at our table.

[Clarea]

Been about 4-5 years since last sailed Disney.

We did enjoy the shift of dining rooms each night.

 

You could go to the buffet for "anytime" dining. They used this as a training for upcoming waiters in their MDRs. You would be seated, brought a menu, and would be served.

 

Most do go ahead and use the MDR. Disney relaxed their dress code to be more family friendly. One thing we noticed was it seemed like they assigned those not traveling with kids to the same dining room. The two Disney cruises I've taken were not with kids. Both cruises there were only adults at our table.

So in your recollection, the rotating dining rooms had two fixed dining times?

[SherriZ366]

Well wasn't a certain Lisa Lutoff-Perlo a the time at RCCL launching dynamic dining ;) Now the same person is trying it again with a revamped concept and maybe this time it will work.

The concept itself was also quite nice at RCCL however all those annoying Pinnacles made so much noise that the cruiseline got rid of it. I am sure that RCCL would have been better off loosing those low yielding Pinnacles, who would not have stoped crusing anyhow, than getting rid of the concept. The Quantum Class was perfectly designed for it and it should have remained on that class of ship only. They wanted to implement the concept as well on the Oasis Class which luckily was not done, since this and the other class of ships are not made for that concept.

Yes she was at RCI when DD was implemented.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Well wasn't a certain Lisa Lutoff-Perlo a the time at RCCL launching dynamic dining ;) Now the same person is trying it again with a revamped concept and maybe this time it will work.

The concept itself was also quite nice at RCCL however all those annoying Pinnacles made so much noise that the cruiseline got rid of it. I am sure that RCCL would have been better off loosing those low yielding Pinnacles, who would not have stoped crusing anyhow, than getting rid of the concept. The Quantum Class was perfectly designed for it and it should have remained on that class of ship only. They wanted to implement the concept as well on the Oasis Class which luckily was not done, since this and the other class of ships are not made for that concept.

Interesting observation about Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.

 

I've speculated that DD was abandoned because of reasons unknown to us. Maybe it costed too much and was hurting the bottom line. This would make more sense, as it is the perfect concept for Royal's desired clientele and I was surprised they abandoned it so quickly, especially when the ships were specifically designed for it.

 

I am also glad it was never added to Oasis Class. Not only would there be one less restaurant, but it was just a strange setup with the dining rooms being open to each other.

[ONECRUISER]

Well wasn't a certain Lisa Lutoff-Perlo a the time at RCCL launching dynamic dining ;) Now the same person is trying it again with a revamped concept and maybe this time it will work.

The concept itself was also quite nice at RCCL however all those annoying Pinnacles made so much noise that the cruiseline got rid of it. I am sure that RCCL would have been better off loosing those low yielding Pinnacles, who would not have stoped crusing anyhow, than getting rid of the concept. The Quantum Class was perfectly designed for it and it should have remained on that class of ship only. They wanted to implement the concept as well on the Oasis Class which luckily was not done, since this and the other class of ships are not made for that concept.

Wow, didn't know that Pinnacles had so much pull. You do realize when lot of these Pinnacles started cruising 20-30 yrs ago cost ton more then today? Back in 1988 a 7 nite cruise on Sovereign in a tiny porthole deck 2 cabin was over $3400 US. Top cabin was over $10000(in 1988 dollars) and none of them even had a balcony. Not saying they are better, but they earned some perks and I'd venture to say if you are a Pinnacle you paid your dues...

[kevinyork]

I think this would have been the time for Celebrity to introduce a new ship without traditional dining at all. The luxury lines don’t have it and Celebrity call themselves “Modern Luxury”. It would only be in that new ship and could be rolled out on later new additions. There would still be plenty of other ships for the traditionalists to choose. However the problem for Anthem was that stalwart Royal cruisers wanted to experience a brand new, different style of ship to the previous classes and then moaned about DD, separate restaurants instead of one big tiered restaurant and a smaller esplanade rather than the bigger promenades. If Royal had held its nerve I think Anthem would have found her correct market. We loved the original DD on Anthem but probably won’t sail on her again as we don’t like the idea of 4 restaurants, all styled differently but having the same menus. To be stuck in the rather garish “Silk” restaurant all Cruise would be too much for us.

 

 

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[bri1035]

So in your recollection, the rotating dining rooms had two fixed dining times?

This still correct on the Disney ships. Rotating dining rooms with two fixed dining times. For a "my time" experience, you can dine in the buffet venue - which for dinner, becomes table service rather than buffet-style. The menu offered tends to be a combination of selections from the three main dining rooms.

 

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[Clarea]

This still correct on the Disney ships. Rotating dining rooms with two fixed dining times. For a "my time" experience, you can dine in the buffet venue - which for dinner, becomes table service rather than buffet-style. The menu offered tends to be a combination of selections from the three main dining rooms.

Thank-you for the explanation.

[Hidden Minnie]

This still correct on the Disney ships. Rotating dining rooms with two fixed dining times. For a "my time" experience, you can dine in the buffet venue - which for dinner, becomes table service rather than buffet-style. The menu offered tends to be a combination of selections from the three main dining rooms.

 

Just to add a touch more detail on how it works on DCL - There are 3 MDRs on each ship. Each has a unique theme. You are assigned to a rotation within your fixed dining time, moving between dining rooms each evening. Most nights each has a different menu; on a theme night such as Pirate Night all three serve the same menu.

 

If you select not to eat in your assigned dining room, you can go to the buffet restaurant, which bri described above, although it is not open on the first and last nights, I believe. Alternatively, you can get pizza, sandwiches, salads, etc. on the pool deck. Or adults can get reservations in a specialty restaurant and pay the upcharge.

 

I'd like to see DD on more ships, although my time does add a layer of complication. We found that eating in the same MDR every night on our first Royal cruise after several Disney cruises was kind of boring.....but we did like having a wider selection of specialty venues.