Specialty Restaurants CLOSED for a month after drydock

[constantcruiser]

For several weeks I've been trying to make reservations for specialty restaurants on our Feb. 5 Navigator of the Seas cruise (the first after drydock), but the only restaurant that comes up is Chops. Yesterday I gave up and phoned C&A, and I was transferred to a department called "On-Board Dining" which I assume is in the corporate office.

 

I was told by a Supervisor in that department the reason I can't make reservations for Giovanni's, Isumi or Sabor online is that they aren't scheduled to open until the first sailing in March! Her excuse was that, although the new specialty restaurants will be added during drydock and construction should be complete before our sailing, "it takes time to train staff to work there." Really? I told her I didn't think it was fair for these venues to be shown on the deck plans starting February 1, if they already know they won't be open for another month. That leaves Chops as the only available specialty restaurant for at least 4 sailings, but you can be sure the prices aren't discounted for those cruises. Grrr....

[Merion_Mom]

For several weeks I've been trying to make reservations for specialty restaurants on our Feb. 5 Navigator of the Seas cruise (the first after drydock), but the only restaurant that comes up is Chops. Yesterday I gave up and phoned C&A, and I was transferred to a department called "On-Board Dining" which I assume is in the corporate office.

 

I was told by a Supervisor in that department the reason I can't make reservations for Giovanni's, Isumi or Sabor online is that they aren't scheduled to open until the first sailing in March! Her excuse was that, although the new specialty restaurants will be added during drydock and construction should be complete before our sailing, "it takes time to train staff to work there." Really? I told her I didn't think it was fair for these venues to be shown on the deck plans starting February 1, if they already know they won't be open for another month. That leaves Chops as the only available specialty restaurant for at least 4 sailings, but you can be sure the prices aren't discounted for those cruises. Grrr....

 

I sympathize with your frustration, but "not fair"? If you sailed before the drydock, you would not have had Izumi, Sabor or Giovanni's Table.

 

Explorer only has Portofino.

 

Voyager only has Portofino.

 

Adventure only has Portofino.

 

Enchantment only has Chops.

 

Enjoy Chops.

 

:)

[Coralc]

I would be disappointed too. Especially if your expectation for the cruise after dry dock was to try out all the new restaurants. On the other hand, training in the new venues is probably a good thing to improve the dining experience without a bunch of horrible reviews. It's too bad that they won't be available.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Coralc

[The Big Booper]

The way I look at it, the construction will be finished on the new restaurants right at the end of drydock at which point the ship goes right back into service. They need time to set up the venues and train the staff which takes time. They have to figure out traffic patterns and all kinds of things going on in the background which we don't see.

 

This is a proper move by a prudent management.

[BekkaW]

I agree that customers should have been made aware at time of booking that these facilities would not be available.

[Desertbelle]

The cruise after a dry dock is a crap shoot at best. Our one and only cruise immediately following a dry dock didn't have full use of the pool until half way into the cruise, no internet the whole cruise, we missed half our ports and the three we got to (10 day cruise) we got there late because the new engines needed a "breaking in period" and couldn't go to top speeds. The dry dock was 3 weeks so the crew were in various states of just coming on duty or just returning from long vacations....they got their acts together after about 5 days. Carpeting was still be laid throughout the ship, along with that burning chemical and glue smells. They replaced the underside of all the decking around the pool so covered pool seating was unavailable the whole cruise. There were other issues to boot! Oh yeah, they gave us $100 per cabin for our inconvenience! I would never cruise after a dry dock again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[peteukmcr]

I sympathize with your frustration, but "not fair"? If you sailed before the drydock, you would not have had Izumi, Sabor or Giovanni's Table.

 

Explorer only has Portofino.

 

Voyager only has Portofino.

 

Adventure only has Portofino.

 

Enchantment only has Chops.

 

Enjoy Chops.

 

:)

But sailing before dry dock would have the choice of both Chops and Portofino on Navigator. So having the choice of 2 reduced to 1 is a disappointment. Edited January 16, 2014 by peteukmcr

[estoyer]

We sail the first week of March and I just checked and now all they list is Chops... Maybe they have yet to do the up dates necessary for their website? We hope??

[SamFritz]

If you are lucky, the "training" could involve free or reduced fee dining in the new venues. I wouldn't count on it, but its not out of the realm of possibility.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, please excuse all the typos.

[Mark_K]

The cruise after a dry dock is a crap shoot at best. Our one and only cruise immediately following a dry dock didn't have full use of the pool until half way into the cruise, no internet the whole cruise, we missed half our ports and the three we got to (10 day cruise) we got there late because the new engines needed a "breaking in period" and couldn't go to top speeds. The dry dock was 3 weeks so the crew were in various states of just coming on duty or just returning from long vacations....they got their acts together after about 5 days. Carpeting was still be laid throughout the ship, along with that burning chemical and glue smells. They replaced the underside of all the decking around the pool so covered pool seating was unavailable the whole cruise. There were other issues to boot! Oh yeah, they gave us $100 per cabin for our inconvenience! I would never cruise after a dry dock again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We had much the same experience on Voyager after a dry dock, except we didn't miss any ports and didn't get any compensation. It was so bad people actually organized a protest rally.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Edited January 16, 2014 by Mark_K

[margeecruiser]

So it seems no specialty restaurants except Chops for a month. What impact do you think that will have on crowding in MDR or Windjammer? We did make reservations for a Wine Tasting in Chops several months ago and I'm sure glad we did. Chops will be full every night, I imagine.

 

Margee

[Clarea]

So it seems no specialty restaurants except Chops for a month. What impact do you think that will have on crowding in MDR or Windjammer? We did make reservations for a Wine Tasting in Chops several months ago and I'm sure glad we did. Chops will be full every night, I imagine.

 

Margee

As mentioned earlier by Merion Mom, Voyager, Explorer, and Adventure only have one specialty restaurant. I don't think it will make a noticible difference in the MDR or Windjammer.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

To the OP, I do understand your frustration and disappointment. I have certainly learned something from this thread that I didn't know--do not book a cruise after a dry dock. Even a cruise just before a dry dock can have some disruptions such as enormous rolls of carpet occupying public space. Even worse, after a drydock, to think you will be able to enjoy new amenities which turn out not to be available--that would be a disappointment.

[Rewind]

I was on the first cruise of Enchantment after its Nov/Dec 2012 refurbishment. We boarded late, departed late, and yes there were a few minor things they were working on during the cruise (even new cabins were not ready yet). Was it an inconvenience - a bit. Did it ruin my vacation - heck no. Would I book the first cruise after a refurb again - probably not. It's just like any major redesign - you need to let them work the kinks out for a bit.

[Topo Gigio]

What I don't understand is why they don't send waiters who have worked in those specialty restaurants on other ships to the Navigator. You must have some people around who has worked in Izumi and/or GT. Besides that they must have sent some waiters to see how it works in those restaurants on other ships.

[Aquahound]

To the op, I don't blame you for being disappointed. Sailing for a full month with all but one specialty restaurant closed would disappoint me too. We usually spend at least half our cruise dinners in the specialties and if I was on the NOS next month, I would have been looking forward to this.

 

I have to wonder about that excuse they gave you because other ships have had new restaurants added and they were open right away.

[houstoncruisers2001]

As a courtesy, the cruise lines should at least put out a statement in regards to the first cruise after dry dock when people are looking to book a cruise.

 

"All speciality restaurants and certain public areas may be unavailable for the duration of your cruise. Sorry for the inconvenience."

 

Of course, they would lose business, so they don't.

 

I know when booking hotels online they usually mention ongoing construction and things off that nature.

 

I don't think it's about being "entitled", it's more about getting what was advertised. You pay in good faith, so you expect the same in return.

[spookwife]

I wouldn't go do far as to say closed. Closed intimates that at some point they were open.. they just won't be available as scheduled. and even then maybe the original schedule had them not opening for a month after the DD anyway.

 

It's no different than anything else.. take Disney.. they refurb rides or attractions all the time and sometimes things don't go as planned or on schedule and they have to adjust on the fly.

 

or the implementation of the Freestyle machines.. a few cruises on a few ships they were sitting there but not hooked up.

 

I guess I don't understand why you would demand something that wasn't even an option prior. yes it's a bummer that they won't be available to book( but again like someone else said they may offer guests the option to be beta testers/guinea pigs) but I cannot see how you are being penalized or punished. It's like griping that a polar vortex swept down and made embarkation day frigid in an area that generally speaking does not have that issue. things happen( or don't happen)

[nanwel]

Was on a cruise once not RC that was due to dry dock in 3 wks - one floor was closed off - elevators would not stop and hoarding blocked the halls - all you could hear from 8 - 5 was hammer and saw noise. Echoed through the ship during the day - all we had was a sorry for inconvience!.

So, now watch carefully for upcoming and from this thread - post dry dock!

We all know the work has to be done, and they do not want to loose $, but better to stay in dry dock a day or so more and get more of the kinks out.

Bring in staff from other ships for new restraunts - they will already be up to speed - top staff should not take a month to train on new venues!

[LoveyHowell]

I had made a response that I believed the cruise line should inform guests ahead of time if they know new venues will not be operating as advertised and it was removed :confused:

[A&L_Ont]

I believed the cruise line should inform guests ahead of time if they know new venues will not be operating as advertised

 

I agree with you.

Edited January 16, 2014 by A&L_Ont

[constantcruiser]

I can understand unavoidable interruptions (the flowrider isn't working right now, internet is down, etc.) but I think it's poor marketing practice to publicize four unique dining venues on your website and clearly show them on the deck plans as effective Feb. 5, when you already know they won't be available for at least the first four sailings. That's just asking for disappointed customers. At very least, they should say "coming soon."

[LoveyHowell]

I think it was deleted as it somehow related to another CC poster's comments on this thread. Yours wasn't the only one to go poof.

 

Thank you. I usually quote whoever I am replying to on a forum so as to not have miscommunication. I was not aware of anything out of bounds on my statement and so your explanation is helpful.

[peteukmcr]

No. You're wrong. Anyone cruising right after drydock should embrace the idea of "buyer beware". To just assume everything is going to be 100% demonstrates poor judgment and a lack of common sense.

 

The sense of entitlement people have around here is PATHETIC! The cruise line doesn't "owe" the OP anything.

I humbly disagree that the cruise doesn't 'owe' the OP anything. They owe what is advertised, there is no question of entitlement. BTW you do pay extra for the speciality restaurants so you're not expecting them as part of your standard offerings in the cruise fare.

 

So imagine this scenario. You are a first time cruiser and look online for a cruise on 5th Feb on Navigator. You are not a member of CC, so you don't know Navigator is in dry dock having revitalization. There is nothing obvious when you search for a sailing on Navigator.

 

Now please, I said obvious, so don't go digging on the RCI website and show me some info that is not clearly visible when booking the Navigator cruise.

 

You look at the advertised 'added extras', and specifically speciality dining. As you can see a Mexican and Italian are mentioned.

 

 

Then you look at the Ship Details and look at the 'Featured Ship Amenities' and see this

 

 

So you think 'oh what's Chops Grille and Portofino?', thinking one could be the Mexican mentioned above, so you check out the ship detail from the RCI website and you see this

 

 

Oh, now I understand what Chops Grille and Portofino are. Fine dining venues. What about the Mexican?

 

mmm, OK let me look at the deck plans.

 

So you look at the deck plans which are dated 05-Feb-2014 to 05-Apr-2015

 

and you see this on deck 4

 

 

Ah, so the Mexican restaurant mentioned above is on deck 4 'Sabor Modern Mexican'. Cool.

 

You continue viewing the deck plans and you see on deck 14

 

 

So now you have discovered what the Mexican and Italian restaurants are and also found a steak house and 'Izumi' a Japanese venue, that's a bonus, 4 great restaurants. Woo hoo, you like the sound of that, so you proceed to select a cabin and book.

 

Nowhere during the booking process (which at this late stage means you pay in full) does it mention that some of the facilities may not be available due to revitalization.

 

So you pay in full and you think you're all set to enjoy a Mexican, Italian, Japanese and Steak house on your cruise.

 

Only you go and try to book online to find that not only is the only option available Chops Grille, but the Italian is not available either, as it's now called Giovanni's Table, but you don't know it's a totally new restaurant concept, as far as you know it could just be a change of name. Neither are Sabor or Izumi available.

 

So wouldn't you be a little disappointed with the way RCI have advertised this cruise and the facilities that made you choose this sailing and have now paid in full?

 

OK, so you think 'I'll wait until I'm on board to book the Mexican and Italian'.

 

Imagine your disappointment when you board to find that the only speciality restaurant available is Chops Grille.

 

I'd feel annoyed, I know I'm not necessarily 'entitled' so don't think I have a sense of 'entitlement' but boy would I be dismayed and as a first time cruiser, this experience could have a negative influence on my decision to sail RCI in the future as I may think I can't trust what they advertise is what I'm going to be able to experience.

Edited January 16, 2014 by peteukmcr

[TC1957]

For several weeks I've been trying to make reservations for specialty restaurants on our Feb. 5 Navigator of the Seas cruise (the first after drydock), but the only restaurant that comes up is Chops. Yesterday I gave up and phoned C&A, and I was transferred to a department called "On-Board Dining" which I assume is in the corporate office.

 

I was told by a Supervisor in that department the reason I can't make reservations for Giovanni's, Isumi or Sabor online is that they aren't scheduled to open until the first sailing in March! Her excuse was that, although the new specialty restaurants will be added during drydock and construction should be complete before our sailing, "it takes time to train staff to work there." Really? I told her I didn't think it was fair for these venues to be shown on the deck plans starting February 1, if they already know they won't be open for another month. That leaves Chops as the only available specialty restaurant for at least 4 sailings, but you can be sure the prices aren't discounted for those cruises. Grrr....

 

As I always told my kids "Show me on your birth certificate where is says life will be fair."

 

Sorry you are disappointed but you should have known that restrictions, closed venues, etc. were PROBABLE on the first sailing after dry-dock.

 

As far as a discount...don't you pay MORE to dine in a specialty restaurant? So you want a discount on the price of the cruise because you cannot pay additional money in a closed venue?

 

Ooookay...