Recent Anthem cruisers - How was DD?

We have reservations for every evening except night 1. We purchased the BOGO dining plan for the first two evenings.

Excellent!!! So glad we are able to do the DD before it is eliminated in November.:)

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Question arises though. If they truly are doing away with DD, does that mean the different restaurants as well?

My understanding of the change is that the restaurants will remain the same. Two will be traditional dining, where you go every evening at the assigned time. The other two will use the MTD that is in place on the other RCI ships. The menus will be the same in all of the restaurants.

I'm curious about cruiser's experiences with DD on Anthem since they announced the upcoming end of DD. We will be sailing next month and have DD choice.

 

How was the food? How was the service? Were you able to get reservations?

Did a packed to capacity 5 day Bermuda in July. We had DD Choice, made all our reservations ahead of time and then had to change a few because of show time changes at the last minute. Food in The Grande was very good. Silk was good except for undercooked rice. American Icon was not very good at all and had horrible service. Chic was ok, nothing memorable. When we were first seated in Chic we were literally right next to a bussing station, so close I could have helped them with the dishes. I told the waiter it was unacceptable and they moved us. Not 10 minutes later some other poor souls were sat at that table. Never once got my coffee with my dessert in any of the restaurants. Waiters never came by at the end of the meal to see how it was. I liked the whole concept of DD but Royal just couldn't pull it off in my opinion.

We were on the September 8th cruise and we did not like DD. It might be perfectly wonderful for other people however we did not like DD and this was our experience. We like MTD so picked DD choice because we find traditional either too early or too late. Most of the time we want to eat between 6-7. I made reservations for Wonderland on line and got an early time on the first sea day. The entertainment was not available to reserve until close to the cruise day so I did not want to reserve anything else until I had the entertainment reserved and also the point to us of MTD or DD is to go when you want to eat. By the time the entertainment came up and people were saying they were turned away without them I tried to make some but only 9 p.m was available which is way too late for us.

They made reservations for us at the Solarium Bistro the first and 7th night. We did not care for that venue so decided we needed to try to reserve something else the other nights using the app. We could only get really late reservations so we made them for late and showed up when we wanted to eat anyway. We never had to wait for a table. Chic was fair, Silk was fair, we did not like Icon and did not go to Grande. We ate at the Windjammer one night when we got back late. Jamie's was good and Izumi was very good. Wonderland was very, very good. We did not like the feeling that you had to have reservations and we did not think the menus were as good as many of the other ships we had been on.

We were on the September 8th cruise and we did not like DD. It might be perfectly wonderful for other people however we did not like DD and this was our experience. We like MTD so picked DD choice because we find traditional either too early or too late. Most of the time we want to eat between 6-7. I made reservations for Wonderland on line and got an early time on the first sea day. The entertainment was not available to reserve until close to the cruise day so I did not want to reserve anything else until I had the entertainment reserved and also the point to us of MTD or DD is to go when you want to eat. By the time the entertainment came up and people were saying they were turned away without them I tried to make some but only 9 p.m was available which is way too late for us.

They made reservations for us at the Solarium Bistro the first and 7th night. We did not care for that venue so decided we needed to try to reserve something else the other nights using the app. We could only get really late reservations so we made them for late and showed up when we wanted to eat anyway. We never had to wait for a table. Chic was fair, Silk was fair, we did not like Icon and did not go to Grande. We ate at the Windjammer one night when we got back late. Jamie's was good and Izumi was very good. Wonderland was very, very good. We did not like the feeling that you had to have reservations and we did not think the menus were as good as many of the other ships we had been on.

So why did you not like DD. You are not explaining the issues, unless the late seating is the issue. You would have the same issues with MTD in relationship to the entertainment. First of all the entertainment on the Aug. 25th sail was nothing to speak about--it was the worst of all the cruises that I've taken.

We could only get really late reservations so we made them for late and showed up when we wanted to eat anyway. We never had to wait for a table. .

So what was your problem?:confused: I've been telling this to posters for months, just make reservations!! We had 9:30 reservations every night for a 12 night cruise and ate whenever we wanted to. Sorry to see DD go.

Thank you for proving me correct :)

So what was your problem?:confused: I've been telling this to posters for months, just make reservations!! We had 9:30 reservations every night for a 12 night cruise and ate whenever we wanted to. Sorry to see DD go.

 

Thank you for proving me correct :)

This is good to know. There is one night that I could not get reservations at a decent hour (I think I took the 9:15 slot). So, if we showed up at 7:00, they would take us?

This is good to know. There is one night that I could not get reservations at a decent hour (I think I took the 9:15 slot). So, if we showed up at 7:00, they would take us?

Yes, as long as you have a reservation for ANY time, they will seat you prior to those who do NOT have reservations.

Have a wonderful cruise, BTW we had lobster in The Grande 5 nights out of 12!! :eek:

Yes, as long as you have a reservation for ANY time, they will seat you prior to those who do NOT have reservations.

 

Have a wonderful cruise, BTW we had lobster in The Grande 5 nights out of 12!! :eek:

EXCELLENT!!!! Thank you so much! Very much looking forward to the lobster with a side order of prime rib..:eek:

My advice is just to have reservations for every night, no matter which time you can get.

We booked CK for all 5 nights. Our sailing was full. When I tried to make one night earlier, the podium person seemed really stressed out about it. Restaurant was half full all week long. Our servers were stressed/overloaded. This was our experience as a party of 5.

I heard the concierge trying to making reservations for people throughout the cruise. One lady was very upset: 'the restaurant (Grande) is half full, how can they not take us?!'. So it was like that.

So what was your problem?:confused: I've been telling this to posters for months, just make reservations!! We had 9:30 reservations every night for a 12 night cruise and ate whenever we wanted to. Sorry to see DD go.

 

Thank you for proving me correct :)

Just show up as there are always openings as pax eat in for pay restaurants.

So why did you not like DD. You are not explaining the issues, unless the late seating is the issue. You would have the same issues with MTD in relationship to the entertainment. First of all the entertainment on the Aug. 25th sail was nothing to speak about--it was the worst of all the cruises that I've taken.

The issue was that the whole process was very stressful. I didn't want to have to make reservations except for Wonderland but felt pressured to have a reservation for each night once we were on the ship. When I made the reservations the only thing open was very late and silly me I first thought that one had to show up when their reservation was. Once we figured out we could still eat when we wanted to it was a lot less stressful. I just prefer the big open dining rooms with a new menu each night where we can just show up or if we didn't like the menu that night we could go to one of the specialty restaurants. Like I said I am sure a lot of people really like DD, I am just not a fan.

Our entertainment was really very nice and I liked being able to reserve the 3 main shows in advance.

Just show up as there are always openings as pax eat in for pay restaurants.

On our cruise and from many posters, there is a no reservation line and a podium that people with reservations just walk up to and are seated without any wait. The no reservations folks are still standing there getting frustrated.

Weird system, I know. But you need reservations to not wait in line.

Must have been on different ships. On our 9 niter we had 9 different menus and never felt rushed or anything like it. We had a table for 2 and our complete dinner took less than 1 hour, on average, and we were glad as it gave us more free time to explore the ship's ambiance and activities. Also, don't understand "same food we've had in the past." No such thing--the boring food is the MDR concept.

Please stop. Just because someone elses opinion or experience is different from yours doesn't make them wrong or "Must be on a different ship". SMH.

The issue was that the whole process was very stressful. I didn't want to have to make reservations except for Wonderland but felt pressured to have a reservation for each night once we were on the ship. When I made the reservations the only thing open was very late and silly me I first thought that one had to show up when their reservation was. Once we figured out we could still eat when we wanted to it was a lot less stressful. I just prefer the big open dining rooms with a new menu each night where we can just show up or if we didn't like the menu that night we could go to one of the specialty restaurants. Like I said I am sure a lot of people really like DD, I am just not a fan.

Our entertainment was really very nice and I liked being able to reserve the 3 main shows in advance.

If you rotate the 4 restaurants with choice, you get different menus every night of your cruise.

The question was asked about recent cruisers experience with DD. I gave MY experience and MY opinion. Other people will have different experiences and different opinions. It is what it is. We did not like DD.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts on your experience with DD. 2 more days till we sail on her.

I'm curious about cruiser's experiences with DD on Anthem since they announced the upcoming end of DD. We will be sailing next month and have DD choice.

 

How was the food? How was the service? Were you able to get reservations?

We were on the 9/17 cruise. We booked late, so had very little choice for reservations and ended up with all late seating. The food was good at 3 out of 4 restaurants, but we weren't thrilled with Silk. The service was fine, but we felt rushed at Chic and American Icon. Grande was the best of the four.

We had a conversation with one of the Head Waiters. It seems the staff are thrilled that DD is going away. He said he always enjoyed getting to know people and their likes and dislikes. I'm sure it hurts the extra tips as well. We never had the same wait staff more than once, so didn't tip anyone extra.

We always liked classic dining and would have chosen it if we could have.

So what was your problem?:confused: I've been telling this to posters for months, just make reservations!! We had 9:30 reservations every night for a 12 night cruise and ate whenever we wanted to. Sorry to see DD go.

 

Thank you for proving me correct :)

Not our experience. We showed up a half hour early one night and were told to come back in half an hour. Our original reservation was for 9 and we showed up at 8:30. (We had come from a show and had hoped they would seat us.) We were a party of two so it shouldn't have been a problem.

We were on the 9/17 cruise. We booked late, so had very little choice for reservations and ended up with all late seating. The food was good at 3 out of 4 restaurants, but we weren't thrilled with Silk. The service was fine, but we felt rushed at Chic and American Icon. Grande was the best of the four.

 

We had a conversation with one of the Head Waiters. It seems the staff are thrilled that DD is going away. He said he always enjoyed getting to know people and their likes and dislikes. I'm sure it hurts the extra tips as well. We never had the same wait staff more than once, so didn't tip anyone extra.

 

We always liked classic dining and would have chosen it if we could have.

I don't quite understand, how is the waiter's experience different than Classic (MDR) & Choice (MTD). With Classic the waiters & assts. have the same diners each night & Choice have different diners respectively.

Not our experience. We showed up a half hour early one night and were told to come back in half an hour. Our original reservation was for 9 and we showed up at 8:30. (We had come from a show and had hoped they would seat us.) We were a party of two so it shouldn't have been a problem.

Recent experiences, like yours and mine, are very different than those from months ago and some can not see it.

Sailing on the Anthem right now. Haven't minded DD at all. Booked reservations a few months ago. Didn't necessarily get ideal times, but just working with whatever we had. I've enjoyed the different restaurants. That said, ate in Chops last night and it has definitely been our best meal.

We have absolutely loved the ship.

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Sailing on the Anthem right now. Haven't minded DD at all. Booked reservations a few months ago. Didn't necessarily get ideal times, but just working with whatever we had. I've enjoyed the different restaurants. That said, ate in Chops last night and it has definitely been our best meal.

 

We have absolutely loved the ship.

 

 

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Thank you for sharing. :)