RCCL New dining concept

[joeyancho]

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2014/03/28/royal-caribbean-ditches-traditional-dining-on-quantum/?intcmp=features

 

Just read this article on the new dining concept on the Quantum. Traditional dining is gone. MDR is gone. Looks amazing. I wonder how Carnival will compete with this or if they will even try. It is different than NCL in that the venues are not for fee. Anyway very interesting.

[gilboman]

meh...so instead of one giant food court with separate stalls, it'll be 5 separate stalls.

 

with anytime dining available on most of the econolines already..this isn't anything worth mentioning. Not like the food would be actually any better.

 

and you'll need an app or check the info boards in the common areas to see which mini food court has tables available.. this is just cheesy and lame... it's like themed dining at disney and creating illusion of variety when its just the current one divided 5 ways

Edited March 28, 2014 by gilboman

[jimbo5544]

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2014/03/28/royal-caribbean-ditches-traditional-dining-on-quantum/?intcmp=features

 

Just read this article on the new dining concept on the Quantum. Traditional dining is gone. MDR is gone. Looks amazing. I wonder how Carnival will compete with this or if they will even try. It is different than NCL in that the venues are not for fee. Anyway very interesting.

It actually looks like they copied NCL. Most other venues on NCL are for pay also.

[jimbo5544]

meh...so instead of one giant food court with separate stalls, it'll be 5 separate stalls.

 

with anytime dining available on most of the econolines already..this isn't anything worth mentioning. Not like the food would be actually any better.

 

and you'll need an app or check the info boards in the common areas to see which mini food court has tables available.. this is just cheesy and lame... it's like themed dining at disney and creating illusion of variety when its just the current one divided 5 ways

Having just sailed the Oasis, I can tell you the having to make reservations for any specialty items in advance was not something thta I viewed as a plus. Expanding that to all restaurants would be a big negative for me.

[gilboman]

Having just sailed the Oasis, I can tell you the having to make reservations for any specialty items in advance was not something thta I viewed as a plus. Expanding that to all restaurants would be a big negative for me.

 

they are trying hard to be more like "on land" experience but without the quality or actual variety, that and it's still on a ship, even a giant one..there's no point for it.

 

I mean, why have 5 small stalls instead of one big one? it's one big galley really..they can just have a huge single room and just serve all menu items on there.. it's like if each "action station" at the caesars buffet was made into individual restaurants lol

 

whats the point? there is none.

[missy428]

I like the sound of it actually. I like NCLs freestyle, but this sounds like you'll get a lot more choice, a completely different free, sit down meal at a new venue for each night almost. I also love the idea of the new technology they are integrating. I can see myself lying near the pool and browsing dinner options on my phone instead of having to find the monitor in public areas or going to my cabin or having to call the dining room. I'm pretty excited about trying RCI in the near future now.

 

Also, I think "millennials" is a horrible name for my generation...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[champagne123]

Wow...what a bunch of Debbie Downers.

I love it.

Carnival has soooo few choices of venues for dinner.

On the Breakaway, I loved each night picking a no fee restaurant (many to choose from)

On the Allure and Oasis, if we went to a restaurant that required a reservation, it really was not exhausting to pick up the phone to make a reservation.

 

Love having choices and options. Such is the spice of life.

 

Cannot WAIT to go on the Quantum

Edited March 28, 2014 by champagne123
zzzzz

[jimbo5544]

they are trying hard to be more like "on land" experience but without the quality or actual variety, that and it's still on a ship, even a giant one..there's no point for it.

 

I mean, why have 5 small stalls instead of one big one? it's one big galley really..they can just have a huge single room and just serve all menu items on there.. it's like if each "action station" at the caesars buffet was made into individual restaurants lol

 

whats the point? there is none.

The point is like a lot of other things on Royal.....revenue generation.

[jimbo5544]

I like the sound of it actually. I like NCLs freestyle, but this sounds like you'll get a lot more choice, a completely different free, sit down meal at a new venue for each night almost. I also love the idea of the new technology they are integrating. I can see myself lying near the pool and browsing dinner options on my phone instead of having to find the monitor in public areas or going to my cabin or having to call the dining room. I'm pretty excited about trying RCI in the near future now.

 

Also, I think "millennials" is a horrible name for my generation...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Where did you see many free in the announcement email. While I ahve to admiont to not reading it line by line., over on the Royal main site there were complaints about adding additional fare paying venues.

[jimbo5544]

Wow...what a bunch of Debbie Downers.

I love it.

Carnival has soooo few choices of venues for dinner.

On the Breakaway, I loved each night picking a no fee restaurant (many to choose from)

On the Allure and Oasis, if we went to a restaurant that required a reservation, it really was not exhausting to pick up the phone to make a reservation.

 

Love having choices and options. Such is the spice of life.

 

Cannot WAIT to go on the Quantum

Options are not a bad thing. When they turn into everything having a price tag associated to it, I am of the opinion its less of an option and more of charging for things that used to be for free.

[missy428]

"So no longer will there be two seatings (at 6 and 8 p.m.) in a main dining room serving crowds nearly the half the size of a ship’s passenger population. Now, passengers will select a different dining spot every night, choosing one of the themed main dining rooms included in the cruise fare. "

 

Quoted from the article. They list detail about each of the free venues, and then they tell you about the new surcharge venues being added as well. Which is like NCL, a few free choices and a few surcharge places run by celebrity chefs. It's nice to see other lines following suit

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[jimbo5544]

"So no longer will there be two seatings (at 6 and 8 p.m.) in a main dining room serving crowds nearly the half the size of a ship’s passenger population. Now, passengers will select a different dining spot every night, choosing one of the themed main dining rooms included in the cruise fare. "

 

Quoted from the article. They list detail about each of the free venues, and then they tell you about the new surcharge venues being added as well. Which is like NCL, a few free choices and a few surcharge places run by celebrity chefs. It's nice to see other lines following suit

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

thanks

[cdamion]

Wow, I am not that old, but I feel like I am getting that way when I talk about "the good old days."

 

Whatever happened to going onto a cruise ship in order to be at sea? I do not want a land-based experience at sea. I have plenty of restaurants and places to go here at home. What I don't have is the ocean.

 

Why do people get so excited about floating malls?

 

Sigh, it may be time to go to HAL.

 

I better go yell at the kids to get off my lawn.

[Havingfun2010]

What would really be amazing, if Carnival opened up their eyes, and notice that other cruises lines are looking at different ways to present a product. RCCL has several different "concepts" going all at once, and you can pick and chose from the small classic and traditional cruise to the mega ships, and now to a completely new class and style of cruising. What does Carnival have? Cookie cutter ships and cost cutting every year. This change is not fleet wide. It is only on the new class of ships.:cool:

[crewsweeper]

Folks, FYI, there another thread just below with over 83 posts yammerin' on this topic. :eek:

[jimbo5544]

Wow, I am not that old, but I feel like I am getting that way when I talk about "the good old days."

 

Whatever happened to going onto a cruise ship in order to be at sea? I do not want a land-based experience at sea. I have plenty of restaurants and places to go here at home. What I don't have is the ocean.

 

Why do people get so excited about floating malls?

 

Sigh, it may be time to go to HAL.

 

I better go yell at the kids to get off my lawn.

I tend to agree, the yelling at the kids on the lawn made me laugh out loud.:D

[Jimmy Geegitz]

I think it's a great idea.

[jimbo5544]

What would really be amazing, if Carnival opened up their eyes, and notice that other cruises lines are looking at different ways to present a product. RCCL has several different "concepts" going all at once, and you can pick and chose from the small classic and traditional cruise to the mega ships, and now to a completely new class and style of cruising. What does Carnival have? Cookie cutter ships and cost cutting every year. This change is not fleet wide. It is only on the new class of ships.:cool:

SO what is it about the Carnival product that you do like?:rolleyes:

[Pete C]

So they copied NCL and called it a new concept? NCL already has free themed "restaurants" that you can reserve at your leisure. I don't see the difference...at all.

 

Here are 3 of 6 of the Getaway's free, separate, anytime restaurants:

http://www.getaway.ncl.com/ship/restaurants/taste-restaurant/

http://www.getaway.ncl.com/ship/restaurants/savor-restaurant/

http://www.getaway.ncl.com/ship/restaurants/le-bistro-french-restaurant/

 

Personally, I think it's cool.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Pete C

[rene194215]

I guess my biggest question would be this, will these new venues be able to accomadate large groups who are on vacation together and would like to spend dinner together?

 

I know for me, dinner is when you get together with family or new friends and talk about your day. Typically, groups will go thier own way during the day. Will the venues have large tables and how will guests be able to make a reservation say for 20 in 1 location?

 

Cruising to me is getting away from land and having a completely different expieience from home. You get to meet new people at your dinner table and have that relationship with your wait staff. I know that they have made dinner a fun time! I tried anytime dining once and hated it. There was a different waiter each time and the service was not good.

 

I just know I would not want to spend my vacation worrying about getting a reservation for dinner. I like the fact that I have dinner at 6 and go on my merry way before and after.

 

IMHO

[noxiousdog]

I guess my biggest question would be this, will these new venues be able to accomadate large groups who are on vacation together and would like to spend dinner together?

 

This was my first thought as well. I'm travelling with 30 people in August. I know we aren't all going to eat in the MDR every night, but it would absolutely splinter us into little groups doing this.

[AmberTeka]

I think he is wrong. We took my Daughter and SIL on our cruise last week. They loved the MDR. They are both" foodies" and my daughter is a vegan and a marathon runner. SIL runs with her, but eats more things.

 

She ordered the Indian entrée the first night. One of our servers spoke quietly to her and told her it was spicy. She assured him that was OK. When he served the dish, he told her she could order something else. Well, as she enjoys eating at Indian and Thia restaurants here, she ate every scrap. She did share some with her husband. The waiter asked her if she liked it, she assured him it was delightful. He beamed. I was impressed with his making sure she knew what it was, and his kindness in telling her she could get something else. She ate that entree ( on the anytime dining lise) two more times. She had all of the vegetable meals.

 

There is just something special about being seated. Tablecloth and all. they even ate breakfast in the MDR when they could.

 

They are 32 and 31. She is A teacher and he is a logistic manager for an import/export company.

 

Seems to me.........that Dining Room sort of anchors the cruise. You met with your family or friends there each night.............and it is the same place.

I am probably not making sense.....but...........I want a MDR. ATD or Set times..either is fine.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Wow, I am not that old, but I feel like I am getting that way when I talk about "the good old days."

 

Whatever happened to going onto a cruise ship in order to be at sea? I do not want a land-based experience at sea. I have plenty of restaurants and places to go here at home. What I don't have is the ocean.

 

Why do people get so excited about floating malls?

 

Sigh, it may be time to go to HAL.

 

I better go yell at the kids to get off my lawn.

 

Floating malls, multiple restaurants, laundry mats... Pretty soon they'll have job opportunities to earn some OBC while at sea, it will make you feel at home!

 

In all seriousness, I don't mind any of the new features, as long as they don't delete the old ones. Why not have a smaller MDR with 4 other free restaurants? Everyone wins. If they axe the MDR, then everyone's mobile, and it's easier to choose pay restaurants ;)

Edited March 28, 2014 by Stateroom_Sailor

[Sea Raven]

Why do people love the floating malls?? Very likely they are like some friends of mine that, while on vacation, dash from activity to activity - never slowing down long enough to relax for a second. It's just how they are. This mad dash is part of their fun.

 

Having said that, I think that this dining concept could have it's merits. But maybe not so many choices are necessary to feel like you are dining in a different restaurant every night, I don't know. I did like how one of the choices of venue seemed geared to old-school "fine dining" standards like beef wellington. With the proper decor and staff uniforms, this could be a really fun retro experience.

[SkyMaster]

Just a matter of opinion, but I quit sailing NCL because of this same concept, and now RCI thinks it's cool. HMMM,,,another one bites the dust for me. :mad:

 

"SKY"