Honestly, how do you long-time RC cruisers feel about Dynamic Dining?

[poncho1973]

I know. What's your point?

 

I have not read anywhere about Celebrity having current plans to switch to DD dining.

 

The point is that the person they were replying to, which I know wasn't you, was saying that they were voting with their pocketbook and would leave Royal to go to Celebrity.

 

That's like saying you were going to never buy Coke again because you were mad at the company, but you are switching to Diet Coke or Sprite.

 

Woooo... how scary for Coke!

 

That may be voting for your favorite brand under the same corporate umbrella, but it's not voting with your wallet. It's still going from your wallet to their wallet.

[EGG]

The point is that the person they were replying to, which I know wasn't you, was saying that they were voting with their pocketbook and would leave Royal to go to Celebrity.

 

That's like saying you were going to never buy Coke again because you were mad at the company, but you are switching to Diet Coke or Sprite.

 

Woooo... how scary for Coke!

 

That may be voting for your favorite brand under the same corporate umbrella, but it's not voting with your wallet. It's still going from your wallet to their wallet.

 

Please do not make fun of anyone. We all got the point of the poster loud and clear. And if RCCL is reading these boards they got the point also.

 

While it is true that Celebrity and RCCL are both owned by the same company I have worked for a large multinational company and they do look at how the different companies and the different products are selling. Those of us who will not sail on a ship with Dynamic Dining are probably helping the rest of you because if this is well received the next step is probably to push more and more people into the pay specialty restaurants or to give your fewer free choices.

 

I would guess most of the people on these boards have enjoyed RCCL cruises and some of us are sad to see the dining experience ruined for us. I have sailed on Explorer 6 times and I was looking forward to Quantum. We did not choose RCCL this year for any of our cruises, Will RCCL miss me? Probably not. If there are 100 people who have not booked because of DD, maybe it will make someone at Corporate wonder why. I know it will be a while down the road for my decision to not cruise a quantum class ship even be noticed, because some people just love new ships. Will RCCL fool people into believing these are specialty restaurants? I doubt it. Will the cruisers who do not get the meal times and entertainment they prefer be happy? I am sure they will not be happy and they will not cruise on these ships again.

 

If there are no lines to get reservations or to get into the restaurant for early seating and then see the show (at the last minute) I might some day decide to try one of these ships. I will still not be happy without the traditional dining experience of eating with the same people every night and getting to know them. In the mean time I will choose other RCCL ships or other cruise lines. Dynamic Dining is not the dining experience I want.

[Jiffymom]

Love the idea

[GOIN2C]

Looking forward to the change

[caribill]

Love the idea

 

Looking forward to the change

 

Please tell us why.

[poncho1973]

Please do not make fun of anyone. We all got the point of the poster loud and clear. And if RCCL is reading these boards they got the point also.

 

While it is true that Celebrity and RCCL are both owned by the same company I have worked for a large multinational company and they do look at how the different companies and the different products are selling. Those of us who will not sail on a ship with Dynamic Dining are probably helping the rest of you because if this is well received the next step is probably to push more and more people into the pay specialty restaurants or to give your fewer free choices.

 

I would guess most of the people on these boards have enjoyed RCCL cruises and some of us are sad to see the dining experience ruined for us. I have sailed on Explorer 6 times and I was looking forward to Quantum. We did not choose RCCL this year for any of our cruises, Will RCCL miss me? Probably not. If there are 100 people who have not booked because of DD, maybe it will make someone at Corporate wonder why. I know it will be a while down the road for my decision to not cruise a quantum class ship even be noticed, because some people just love new ships. Will RCCL fool people into believing these are specialty restaurants? I doubt it. Will the cruisers who do not get the meal times and entertainment they prefer be happy? I am sure they will not be happy and they will not cruise on these ships again.

 

If there are no lines to get reservations or to get into the restaurant for early seating and then see the show (at the last minute) I might some day decide to try one of these ships. I will still not be happy without the traditional dining experience of eating with the same people every night and getting to know them. In the mean time I will choose other RCCL ships or other cruise lines. Dynamic Dining is not the dining experience I want.

Specifically to the items in bold

 

1. I wasn't, explaining something in simple terms isn't making fun of someone.

 

2. This has nothing to do with my comment. I have, as well, but someone saying they are voting with their pocketbook (who is still giving money to that same company's other product) is not taking money away from that company. They are preferring one product over another from the same company... a more expensive one at that. So you are actually rewarding the company by moving up to their next level of product.

 

3. I can't even imagine how you think that is the next step from DD. Mind-blowing.

 

4. How on Earth can something you've never tried (and no one has tried) ruin the dining experience for you? Who is to say that it won't amplify the awesomeness of your dining experience? You can't say that because it hasn't even been implemented yet. To stay on my Coke thing, that is like saying you hate Mountain Dew because you've tried Coke and hate that. Other lines have dining that is similar sounding in nature, but we have NO IDEA how similar they might be in reality. You know what they say about people that assume...

 

5. And some people just fear change so badly that they are convinced they can foretell the future based on their fears and preconceived notions.

 

6. That's a BOLD BOLD BOLD BOLD BOLD prediction. One with absolutely no facts to back it up.

 

7. Noted for future use. That's all. In a couple years, I'm going to check up on all these people that have sworn off Royal because of bands or DD and see if they really have never sailed again. Should be a ton of fun.

Edited September 4, 2014 by poncho1973

[caribill]

4. How on Earth can something you've never tried (and no one has tried) ruin the dining experience for you? Who is to say that it won't amplify the awesomeness of your dining experience? You can't say that because it hasn't even been implemented yet.

 

Right, neither I nor anybody else has experienced this yet.

 

But, with a total of four fixed menus in the no-extra-fee dining rooms, I know that my meal choices if I want dining room meals will be severely limited.

 

On a fifteen day TA for example, instead of having 15 different menus I will only have four.

 

No way is that an awesomeness experience in culinary delight.

 

Even on a typical 7 day cruise, it will be four menus with DD vs. seven now.

Edited September 4, 2014 by caribill

[poncho1973]

Right, neither I nor anybody else has experienced this yet.

 

But, with a total of four fixed menus in the no-extra-fee dining rooms, I know that my meal choices if I want dining room meals will be severely limited.

 

On a fifteen day TA for example, instead of having 15 different menus I will only have four.

 

No way is that an awesomeness experience in culinary delight.

 

Even on a typical 7 day cruise, it will be four menus with DD vs. seven now.

 

Someone can correct me with proof, if I've missed an official announcement, but has it been said that these menus are fixed and the only menus that will ever be used?

 

There aren't 15 different menus in the regular lineup, but having never been on a TA myself, do they have special expanded menus on those? Do you really have 15 unique menus???? I've never heard that.

 

The MDR now has what... 7 right?

 

****ake (Edited to add: HAHAHA the bad word filter hates mushrooms! It is s-h-i-t-a-k-e as in the mushroom), Basil, Pomodoro, Mojo, Saffron, Pimiento, and Jasmine?

 

Each of those has like ~5 unique starters, ~5 unique entrees, ~3 unique desserts? I think my numbers are close.

 

Each of those has like ~5 same every day starters, ~5 same every day entrees, ~3 same every day desserts. Again, I think my numbers are close.

 

So that means 40 starters (7x5=35+5=40), 40 entrees and 25 desserts

 

The 4 new menus (not including the JS option) have 8 unique starters, 8 unique entrees, and 5 unique desserts.

 

So that means 32 starters, 32 entrees, and 20 desserts.

 

You are absolutely correct that it seems to limit your choices. What we don't know is if the new menus will also include something like we have now. Will each restaurant also have the "old reliable" options for people who don't enjoy eating outside their comfort zone?

 

If they add something in like the stock Linguine, Beef Sliders, Broiled Cod, Grilled Chicken, and Steak options then the new menus are basically right up to the same numbers that the old ones were.

 

If they don't announce it, we'll have to wait until someone experiences it to find out.

 

However, I definitely agree that it currently SEEMS like the number of total options is lower and that's not a good thing on longer cruises.

Edited September 4, 2014 by poncho1973

[Clarea]

...There aren't 15 different menus in the regular lineup, but having never been on a TA myself, do they have special expanded menus on those? Do you really have 15 unique menus???? I've never heard that....

We've been on 13 day cruises, and had a different menu each day. There were a few repeat entrees, but the menus were largely different.

[ckfred]

My issue was that RC first announced DD on the Quantum class. Then, it said that DD woudn't expand to other ships until it had been tested to see how well it worked and how well received it was. Further, expansion would be to new builds (i.e., new ships in the Quantum class and new ships in the Oasis class).

 

Then, RC decided to expand DD to the Oasis starting in March of 2015, while DD changes are done to its restaurants while in dry dock in Rotterdam this fall.

 

Further, it's been posted on Cruise Critic that the captain and hotel director aboard the Freedom have said at C&A parties that Freedom will undergo DD changes, when it goes into drydock in January.

 

In my mind, senior management at RC aren't being honest with potential RC passengers. I have to wonder if there is a plan to expand DD to most of the fleet, as each ship goes into drydock. The Jewel still hasn't gone into drydock for its revitalization, and that probably will take place in 2016.

 

Will it undergo DD changes to its dining venues? Who knows. But more honesty from RC management would be appropriate.

[poncho1973]

We've been on 13 day cruises, and had a different menu each day. There were a few repeat entrees, but the menus were largely different.

 

We were on a long Med cruise (I think that was 13 nights as well) and they repeated the menus. That I'm positive of. It was either 11 or 13 nights?

 

However, if they make exceptions and have different menus each night today, one would assume that the really long cruises would have expanded items to add to those menus as well. However, I well know what happens when you assume...

 

So, let me phrase it differently. Let's hope that if longer cruises would be better served having more menu options they actually break from the norm and add more options.

 

Besides... one of these ships is going to Asia right? Don't they run Asian menus in places where the primary customers are Asian?

[Cuizer2]

The point is that the person they were replying to, which I know wasn't you, was saying that they were voting with their pocketbook and would leave Royal to go to Celebrity.

 

That's like saying you were going to never buy Coke again because you were mad at the company, but you are switching to Diet Coke or Sprite.

 

Woooo... how scary for Coke!

 

That may be voting for your favorite brand under the same corporate umbrella, but it's not voting with your wallet. It's still going from your wallet to their wallet.

 

Well, at least one person got it.

 

Okay, perhaps more than one ...

 

We all got the point of the poster loud and clear. And if RCCL is reading these boards they got the point also.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Cuizer2

[letsgocruising10]

Could it be that the Dynamic Dining concept is just a transition stage to 100% For Fee Specialty Dining? Perhaps not now but certainly in the future. After all, the ships will be set up with all the individual restaurants, why not charge a nominal fee for dining? This could turn into a real cash cow for the cruise lines. Either way I enjoy the Specialty restaurants as well as the current Main dining room, as long as I can make reservation ahead of time, I am OK with the Dynamic Dining concept, as long as they keep the current quality.

 

I can only compare with NCL freestyle dining which you cannot make a reservation. This leads to long lineups and long waits, at least RCI is making an attempt at making it easier for their patrons and I am sure they will perfect it over time.

[EGG]

I would like to respond to those people who keep saying that a person cannot know that they don't like something until they tried it. First of all, this topic of this thread is what do your really think about DD. No one should criticize another person's opinion. Below are some of the reason's I do not think I will like DD.

 

1 - Many of us have tried My Time Dining and we do not like it. For me it is because I enjoy getting to know a few people very well. Fortunately we have never sat with people we do not like, but we have sat with people who have become good friends and we have sailed with or visited when we were in their home port.

 

I also do not like My Time Dining because you often have to wait in line.

 

2 - My husband has food restrictions as do many people who cruise. I have read it on these boards and I have seen people getting the menu the day ahead of time so that they are able to see the next nights menu and to order any changes. The solution seems to be cook to order. I will wait to see how RCCL handles this.

 

3 - On one cruise my husband had a tooth problem and he asked if he could have a bran muffin instead of bread every night. This was a 14 night cruise. No problem. Not sure how they would handle this with a different restaurant every night.

 

4- Many years ago I was on Sapphire Princess. It was early in my cruising career and I did not request traditional dining. For those people who did not get traditional dining there were 4 restaurants and you had to make a reservation each night. We sat in tables for 2 that were stacked so closely together we could have been in a table for 24. Since we had different neighbors each night, we did not get to really know anyone. Many nights we had to wait in line to get in, even though we had reservations. We never sailed on that ship again.

 

5 - On one cruise we were given a table for 2 and we also did not like that. We like to talk to other people. I guess we've been married too many years and after spending the whole day together we do not have a lot to talk about for an hour and a half. We enjoy hearing about other people's cruises, about their excursions, about the cities they have seen and about where they live. We've had amazing tablemates from Scotland, Australia, England, Ireland and other parts of the U.S.

 

6 - I have had the problem of having to change reservations for enterainment on Oasis. It is not fun.

 

7 - I have eaten dinner at the buffet and I do not think that is an acceptable choice if you do not get the reservation you want.

 

8- Will the Dynamic Dining become pay dining? It really doesn't matter since RCCL can charge whatever they want for the cruise fare. I saw someone write that there were 50% free restaurants and 50% pay restaurants but they did not say anything about the number of seats in some restaurants. I did see people early on the Quantum board saying they had to take specialty dining some nights to get the time they wanted but that may have changed.

 

9- Some of us just don't like the menus. It is as simple as that. Please don't criticize because their eating preferences are different than yours. Some people take longer cruises. They are concerned about seeing the same menus over and over. It is as simple as that.

 

Okay, enough of this. Sorry, but this is my opinion. I am open to change. I actually like going on different cruise lines for the change. I have been on several Cunard cruises and I have been on Oasis. I've been on X, Princess, HAL and Carnival. I certainly do not fear change. I've been on enough cruises to know what I like and this is a change that I do not think I will like. And that is my opinion. If several years down the road all the glitches are out and everyone can get the reservations they want and they can change their mind at the last minute and still get into a restaurant at a new time without waiting on line for over 20 minutes, then maybe I will try it. But given my previous experience with RCCL IT, I am not hopeful.

[kassimer1]

I can see your point...often on some nights I struggle to choose an entree, whereas on other nights there are 3 or 4 I want (usually formal night!)

 

yes but what if you like the menu in restaurant A and your other half likes the menu in B -will you have to eat seperately so you can each get what you like? you dont have 72 choices, you only get the choice for the one place you made reservations for. and how are you to know what one you want to eat at if you have to make the reservations before yu cruise? will it have the menus for each day when you have to chooseor are we going blindly??

[kassimer1]

Me, too.

 

I booked Quantum and have all my shows and dining booked. But I don't like having to do it this way. It was too much up front work to sort it all out in relation to the port schedule, too.

 

If I'm going to eat in different restaurants on a ship, I'd like to do it Disney's way - take my wait team with me.

 

I do like the idea of the different meal options.

 

But for those without reservations...good luck finding a seat at the restaurant of choice at the time desired. They'll be wasting their time sitting around with a beeper which is what has begun to happen with MTD.

 

Gina

 

hi, since you already reserved, I want to know if for each day did they have a menu for each place? I would hate to just blindly choose a palce and find out there was nothing I liked that day but the next day it has a lot I like.

[caribill]

Someone can correct me with proof, if I've missed an official announcement, but has it been said that these menus are fixed and the only menus that will ever be used?

 

The menus for the DD restaurants are on the RCCL web site. Nothing incates that these are other than the complete actual menus, nothing saying these are just examples.

 

There aren't 15 different menus in the regular lineup, but having never been on a TA myself, do they have special expanded menus on those? Do you really have 15 unique menus???? I've never heard that.

On our RCCL 17 Day TA (and a subsequent additional 17 day segment) there were 17 different menus. I have photos of all 17, so I know they were different.They were in a different order on the second segment.

 

The MDR now has what... 7 right?

 

****ake Basil, Pomodoro, Mojo, Saffron, Pimiento, and Jasmine?

 

Each of those has like ~5 unique starters, ~5 unique entrees, ~3 unique desserts? I think my numbers are close.

 

Each of those has like ~5 same every day starters, ~5 same every day entrees, ~3 same every day desserts. Again, I think my numbers are close.

 

So that means 40 starters (7x5=35+5=40), 40 entrees and 25 desserts

 

The 4 new menus (not including the JS option) have 8 unique starters, 8 unique entrees, and 5 unique desserts.

 

So that means 32 starters, 32 entrees, and 20 desserts.

 

You are absolutely correct that it seems to limit your choices. What we don't know is if the new menus will also include something like we have now. Will each restaurant also have the "old reliable" options for people who don't enjoy eating outside their comfort zone? Those "old reliable" options were available every night for those who did not like that evening's selections. Again, the menus posted on the RCCL web site do not contain those items. If the menus on the web site are the accurate ones, then every item on them is available every night.

 

However, I definitely agree that it currently SEEMS like the number of total options is lower and that's not a good thing on longer cruises.

 

see above in red

[John&LaLa]

Then, RC decided to expand DD to the Oasis starting in March of 2015, while DD changes are done to its restaurants while in dry dock in Rotterdam this fall.

 

Further, it's been posted on Cruise Critic that the captain and hotel director aboard the Freedom have said at C&A parties that Freedom will undergo DD changes, when it goes into drydock in January.

 

We are booked on Oasis in early March and Freedom in June. there is no access to dining room scheduling on the web site. :confused: :D Has anyone been able to reserve anything yet

[SherriZ366]

My issue was that RC first announced DD on the Quantum class. Then, it said that DD woudn't expand to other ships until it had been tested to see how well it worked and how well received it was. Further, expansion would be to new builds (i.e., new ships in the Quantum class and new ships in the Oasis class).

 

Then, RC decided to expand DD to the Oasis starting in March of 2015, while DD changes are done to its restaurants while in dry dock in Rotterdam this fall.

 

Further, it's been posted on Cruise Critic that the captain and hotel director aboard the Freedom have said at C&A parties that Freedom will undergo DD changes, when it goes into drydock in January.

 

In my mind, senior management at RC aren't being honest with potential RC passengers. I have to wonder if there is a plan to expand DD to most of the fleet, as each ship goes into drydock. The Jewel still hasn't gone into drydock for its revitalization, and that probably will take place in 2016.

 

Will it undergo DD changes to its dining venues? Who knows. But more honesty from RC management would be appropriate.

I was surprised about the decision to implement DD on FR before they tested it on purpose built QU ships after Adam Goldstein said in the Google Hangout that they would thoroughly test it before it was implemented on other class ship.

[SherriZ366]

see above in red

Hope they will have the standards that are on the menu now as "Always Available" menu. 1/2 of our group almost always orders from these menus.

[SherriZ366]

I would like to respond to those people who keep saying that a person cannot know that they don't like something until they tried it. First of all, this topic of this thread is what do your really think about DD. No one should criticize another person's opinion. Below are some of the reason's I do not think I will like DD.

 

1 - Many of us have tried My Time Dining and we do not like it. For me it is because I enjoy getting to know a few people very well. Fortunately we have never sat with people we do not like, but we have sat with people who have become good friends and we have sailed with or visited when we were in their home port.

 

I also do not like My Time Dining because you often have to wait in line.

 

2 - My husband has food restrictions as do many people who cruise. I have read it on these boards and I have seen people getting the menu the day ahead of time so that they are able to see the next nights menu and to order any changes. The solution seems to be cook to order. I will wait to see how RCCL handles this.

 

3 - On one cruise my husband had a tooth problem and he asked if he could have a bran muffin instead of bread every night. This was a 14 night cruise. No problem. Not sure how they would handle this with a different restaurant every night.

 

4- Many years ago I was on Sapphire Princess. It was early in my cruising career and I did not request traditional dining. For those people who did not get traditional dining there were 4 restaurants and you had to make a reservation each night. We sat in tables for 2 that were stacked so closely together we could have been in a table for 24. Since we had different neighbors each night, we did not get to really know anyone. Many nights we had to wait in line to get in, even though we had reservations. We never sailed on that ship again.

 

5 - On one cruise we were given a table for 2 and we also did not like that. We like to talk to other people. I guess we've been married too many years and after spending the whole day together we do not have a lot to talk about for an hour and a half. We enjoy hearing about other people's cruises, about their excursions, about the cities they have seen and about where they live. We've had amazing tablemates from Scotland, Australia, England, Ireland and other parts of the U.S.

 

6 - I have had the problem of having to change reservations for enterainment on Oasis. It is not fun.

 

7 - I have eaten dinner at the buffet and I do not think that is an acceptable choice if you do not get the reservation you want.

 

8- Will the Dynamic Dining become pay dining? It really doesn't matter since RCCL can charge whatever they want for the cruise fare. I saw someone write that there were 50% free restaurants and 50% pay restaurants but they did not say anything about the number of seats in some restaurants. I did see people early on the Quantum board saying they had to take specialty dining some nights to get the time they wanted but that may have changed.

 

9- Some of us just don't like the menus. It is as simple as that. Please don't criticize because their eating preferences are different than yours. Some people take longer cruises. They are concerned about seeing the same menus over and over. It is as simple as that.

 

Okay, enough of this. Sorry, but this is my opinion. I am open to change. I actually like going on different cruise lines for the change. I have been on several Cunard cruises and I have been on Oasis. I've been on X, Princess, HAL and Carnival. I certainly do not fear change. I've been on enough cruises to know what I like and this is a change that I do not think I will like. And that is my opinion. If several years down the road all the glitches are out and everyone can get the reservations they want and they can change their mind at the last minute and still get into a restaurant at a new time without waiting on line for over 20 minutes, then maybe I will try it. But given my previous experience with RCCL IT, I am not hopeful.

Very well said. Your concerns (and mine) are legitimate and we don't need to be ridiculed by one or two posters who disagree with us.

 

We have My Time twice booking the same table and waitstaff for the same time and it worked out but it was a lot of work prior to and on the first 2 days of the cruise to get it accomplished.

 

From reading Cruise Critic, I think RCI does My Time better than their competition, particularly Princess and NCL as you can get a reservation at a time you want if you want.

[SherriZ366]

We are booked on Oasis in early March and Freedom in June. there is no access to dining room scheduling on the web site. :confused: :D Has anyone been able to reserve anything yet

This must be new. We have traditional late for our upcoming FR cruises: 2-22-2015, 5-17-2015, 8-30-2015 and 1-16-2016. They were booked awhile ago -- the latest bookings were under the first BOGOHO sale before reports that FR might go to DD began appearing on Cruise Credit etc.

 

This is the first indication on the website that DD may be coming to FR although reports have been coming back for a few weeks that officers are talking about it on the ship.

 

I guess I better start figuring out what we will book if DD is instituted. One in our party has special diet, 2 order mostly from Always Available.

[Cuizer2]

I was surprised about the decision to implement DD on FR before they tested it on purpose built QU ships after Adam Goldstein said in the Google Hangout that they would thoroughly test it before it was implemented on other class ship.

 

That happened because the people in charge of implementing ship board policies don't even know who Adam Goldstein is.

[ALSEAU]

The point is that the person they were replying to, which I know wasn't you, was saying that they were voting with their pocketbook and would leave Royal to go to Celebrity.

 

That's like saying you were going to never buy Coke again because you were mad at the company, but you are switching to Diet Coke or Sprite.

 

Woooo... how scary for Coke!

 

That may be voting for your favorite brand under the same corporate umbrella, but it's not voting with your wallet. It's still going from your wallet to their wallet.

 

I don't hate Royal because they are making a change and I want to punish them. Every new ship they have built they have made a lot changes.

 

My pocketbook vote is simply I will not be spending my money on a ship that has replaced traditional dining with a glorified my time dining concept.

[poncho1973]

I don't hate Royal because they are making a change and I want to punish them. Every new ship they have built they have made a lot changes.

 

My pocketbook vote is simply I will not be spending my money on a ship that has replaced traditional dining with a glorified my time dining concept.

 

You have replied to me directly twice now in this thread, but you weren't the person my comment was directed to. It's great that you feel that way... however... you aren't the person who made the comment. I quoted them.

 

It's misleading to people reading this thread who think you are rebutting a comment I made about you, when I didn't make the comment about you. They aren't going back pages to see who I was actually talking to. I never said YOU were going to Celebrity and voting with your pocketbook, that was someone else. They clearly said that they were doing that.

 

Like I said, it's great you have feelings about it, but it's weird you keep answering comments not directed at you. I'm not saying you are doing anything.

 

 

 

As a sidebar... I grew up in the Northern Cincy suburbs and actually had a Fairfield address for a couple of years after school. I lived across from what was then (current status unknown) the Showcase Cinemas @ I-275 & Route 4, up in one of those apartment complexes on the hill. It's not really Fairfield proper, but it had a Fairfield zip code.