Can someone explain Dynamic Dining?

[RocketMan275]

You can as long as you have pants and a decent shirt, the venue will provide a suit coat. ;)

 

And, you can hang the suit coat over the back of your chair once you arrive at your table. So what's the point? Why doesn't the cruise line simply hang a coat over the back of all the chairs and be done with it?

[Nana57]

I don't like it either. I'm booked on the Anthem, next November, and had to choose times to eat when I don't even know when the entertainment starts. There is no entertainment listed yet to try and coincide the two. But when making the restaurant reservations the early seatings are already limited or gone. Too much work to do all this. Thinking of canceling. I guess a lot of us hate change.

[Clarea]

I don't like it either. I'm booked on the Anthem, next November, and had to choose times to eat when I don't even know when the entertainment starts. There is no entertainment listed yet to try and coincide the two. But when making the restaurant reservations the early seatings are already limited or gone. Too much work to do all this. Thinking of canceling. I guess a lot of us hate change.

That's our problem too. How does one know what times will be convnient for shows?

[QTBabyNurse]

In the process of moving their ships away from Traditional Dining and to Dynamic Dining, they have removed the enjoyment many of us like to experience when we cruise.

 

We enjoy Traditional Dining where we get to meet new friends on night 1 and discuss where we are from, our families, etc. That progresses through each night of the cruise where as we all meet again for a meal, we each share what we did that day and enjoy the daily experiences of each other. It is a wonderful social experience for us as we cruise!

 

Now with Dynamic Dining, you either sit with just your spouse and have the same conversations you have while you are at home or you sit with new people every single night. So the conversation each night is the same as you try to make conversation..."where are you from", "what do you do", "how many kids do you have"...by the time you discuss those things, the dinner is over only to be repeated the next night and the night after that. You never get a chance to move on to more in-depth conversation because your tablemates keep changing each night.

 

Why couldn't they just leave it as it was so that we ALL can enjoy the different aspects of why we cruise. My Time Dining could satisfy the people who do not enjoy the MDR and dining with strangers. Traditional Dining could satisfy cruisers that tend to like more of a social atmosphere at dinner and love to meet new friends! :)

[negc]

To remove the contradictory spin from the press release, the basics of Dynamic Dining is the elimination of the Traditional Main Dining Room. Replacing the MDR space are specialty restaurants. Dynamic Dining encompasses all the specialty restaurants ("complimentary" and extra charge), the Windjammer buffet, and the snack venues (Doghouse, Sorrentos Pizza, Cafe Promenade) for dinner.

 

On Oasis-class ships, the MDR becomes American Icon Grille on Deck 3, The Grande on Deck 4, & Silk on Deck 5. These 3 restaurants, along with Chic, are on Quantum-class ships. California Kitchen is on both Quantum and Oasis-class ships, with the latter replacing the Viking Crown Lounge, is for Grand Suite guests and above along with Pinnacle only. These are the so-called "complimentary" restaurants.

 

American Icon Grille is "comfort food with a twist" and Silk is Pan Asian fare. These are the only two I would consider "complimentary", along with Chic on Quantum.

 

The Grande is Formal Night every night, suits/tux required for men. Hardly consider this "complimentary" if it requires the purchase of a suit or a tux rental.

 

California Kitchen requires the purchase of a suite, so it's only "complimentary" if you're a Pinnacle member of Crown & Anchor Society.

 

Wonderland is an extra charge restaurant being adding to Oasis from Quantum.

 

"On Oasis Class, American Icon Grill, Silk, and The Grand will feature two menus that rotate midway through the cruise". Otherwise, each restaurant will have the same menu every night of the cruise.

 

If you ate all your meals in the Traditional Dining Room in the past, Dynamic Dining is a major change. No more nightly rotating menus. No more assigned tables with other guests and the same waitstaff nightly. You will be required to choose where you will dine and make reservations for each restaurant you wish to dine, or dine in the Windjammer.

 

If you never ate in the MDR, or only one or two meals, then Dynamic Dining is nothing new for you. For those mostly dining in the specialty extra charge restaurants, you may view Dynamic Dining as "more choice". If you ate all your dinners in the Windjammer in the past, well, the Windjammer is still there.

 

For the DD cheerleaders promoting "more choice" as a good thing; Traditional diners may view this as "too much choice" in having to choose where to dine each night, and "less choice" as the MDR is no longer an option and the menus only appeal to a specialty rather than the variety offered on the MDR rotating menu.

 

[For me personally, Dynamic Dining is a bad thing. As I often sail on my own, I will no longer have the same tablemates (or any tablemates) and same waitstaff. Without that experience, the menu becomes more important to me as it does when dining alone on land. I can't afford suites, so California Kitchen is out. Don't own a suit and not paying extra to rent a tux to dine by myself, so The Grande is out. Menus at Silk and Chic do not appeal to me, so they're out. That leaves me with American Icon Grille, which the Children's menu looks better, but not enough variety for a 7 night cruise. So this forces me to repeat the menu, or eat at the Windjammer, or pay extra for Chops Grille. That is why I put on my survey from my recent Oasis cruise that I will never sail on a ship with Dynamic Dining. (Well, not solo anyway.) It's a shame that they put the new Studio Balcony staterooms on a ship with no MDR.]

 

Why can't you find others to dine with and make reservations together for a restaurant or restaurants once you are on board? If so you only need to dine alone if you choose and it appears that when you arrive in one of the dynamic dining venues, you have the option of dining with others if you prefer. We find and make friends elsewhere on the ship besides in the dining room so it seems that when you make those new friends you might ask if they would like to join you at dinner and thus replicate what you find so attractive about traditional and my time dining, while avoiding the issue of being seated for the length of a cruise with people with whom you have nothing in common or whose behavior is less than exemplary. If you re-read their "formal dining" clothing requirement you should see that suits and/or tuxes are NOT required. Unless there is absolutely only one item on each venue's menu that you can tolerate, you should be able to dine in the same room more than once without repeating the same selection (though if it is a very good item, having it again should not be such a horrible thing). Under the current system I have found MDR menus that absolutely had nothing that appealed to me except for the "always available" items which sometimes meant skipping the starters altogether so I think I will wait until we have tried it before giving up entirely on this new style of dining. For me, the only negative may be the loss of having the same wait staff for the entire cruise but we have had such excellent service from almost everyone who has served us that it might not be that much of a sacrifice.

Edited November 15, 2014 by negc

[Biker19]

If you re-read their "formal dining" clothing requirement you should see that suits and/or tuxes are NOT required.

 

...because the venue will provide you with a black suit coat if you don't have one.:cool:

[Hoopster95]

I'm booked on the Anthem, next November, and had to choose times to eat when I don't even know when the entertainment starts. There is no entertainment listed yet to try and coincide the two.

 

On my upcoming 11 nighter on Q, I had booked all my dining in one evening, took me maybe 1 hour... I guess I was just plain lucky that the cruise planner has never caused me any problems. I was not one of the early guinea pigs who got to pre-book dining 6 months in advance. I am an early dining eater, and found that I have booked the various free venues rotating either at 6pm, 6:15pm or 6:30pm on any given night. Entertainment schedule was not out yet so I assumed that RCL would match current ships... and that's exactly what happened. All my dining has matched every single entertainment that came up ie. all my early seatings get a 8:30 or 9pm show, etc. Many on this thread are again falling into the trap of the unknown, not liking change, commenting on something you have no factual experience.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

Why can't you find others to dine with and make reservations together for a restaurant or restaurants once you are on board? If so you only need to dine alone if you choose and it appears that when you arrive in one of the dynamic dining venues, you have the option of dining with others if you prefer. We find and make friends elsewhere on the ship besides in the dining room ..... For me, the only negative may be the loss of having the same wait staff for the entire cruise but we have had such excellent service from almost everyone who has served us that it might not be that much of a sacrifice.

 

Nicely said...

 

From experience just 2 months ago on Serenade... still MDR on this ship yes?.... my 2nd to last day booking in Giovanni's in a table for 11 were only 4 people from my MDR table as the rest were friends made on board with similar interests at other venues. If you force yourself to make friends with someone you have not even met yet, there is no way to know whether that connection will ever hold.

 

My best friends from Turkey/Greece cruise 4 yrs ago were Aussie... they have both visited me and I visited both of them. They were not MDR table mates.

 

On my current Q roll call I have already been invited by two high D+'s and a Pinnacle solo to join them for dinner whenever I wanted. I have not met them but have connected via the roll call and other threads.

 

To those who feel the need to be forced to meet new people with the MDR experience, please as you walk around the ship just simply smile and say hello... if you're at a venue you really enjoy with similar interests to others, like the CL/DL or Karaoke or Boleros, or.... you name it , simply sit down with someone new... you may just meet your best friend of your life rather than sit in a corner lamenting that you have new table mates for dinner tonight.

 

(Edited: I am 100% positive that many others here can say they have friends from previous cruises that were not on their MDR table when they first met)

Edited November 15, 2014 by Hoopster95

[printingchick]

To remove the contradictory spin from the press release, the basics of Dynamic Dining is the elimination of the Traditional Main Dining Room. Replacing the MDR space are specialty restaurants. Dynamic Dining encompasses all the specialty restaurants ("complimentary" and extra charge), the Windjammer buffet, and the snack venues (Doghouse, Sorrentos Pizza, Cafe Promenade) for dinner.

 

On Oasis-class ships, the MDR becomes American Icon Grille on Deck 3, The Grande on Deck 4, & Silk on Deck 5. These 3 restaurants, along with Chic, are on Quantum-class ships. California Kitchen is on both Quantum and Oasis-class ships, with the latter replacing the Viking Crown Lounge, is for Grand Suite guests and above along with Pinnacle only. These are the so-called "complimentary" restaurants.

 

American Icon Grille is "comfort food with a twist" and Silk is Pan Asian fare. These are the only two I would consider "complimentary", along with Chic on Quantum.

 

The Grande is Formal Night every night, suits/tux required for men. Hardly consider this "complimentary" if it requires the purchase of a suit or a tux rental.

 

California Kitchen requires the purchase of a suite, so it's only "complimentary" if you're a Pinnacle member of Crown & Anchor Society.

 

Wonderland is an extra charge restaurant being adding to Oasis from Quantum.

 

"On Oasis Class, American Icon Grill, Silk, and The Grand will feature two menus that rotate midway through the cruise". Otherwise, each restaurant will have the same menu every night of the cruise.

 

If you ate all your meals in the Traditional Dining Room in the past, Dynamic Dining is a major change. No more nightly rotating menus. No more assigned tables with other guests and the same waitstaff nightly. You will be required to choose where you will dine and make reservations for each restaurant you wish to dine, or dine in the Windjammer.

 

If you never ate in the MDR, or only one or two meals, then Dynamic Dining is nothing new for you. For those mostly dining in the specialty extra charge restaurants, you may view Dynamic Dining as "more choice". If you ate all your dinners in the Windjammer in the past, well, the Windjammer is still there.

 

For the DD cheerleaders promoting "more choice" as a good thing; Traditional diners may view this as "too much choice" in having to choose where to dine each night, and "less choice" as the MDR is no longer an option and the menus only appeal to a specialty rather than the variety offered on the MDR rotating menu.

 

[For me personally, Dynamic Dining is a bad thing. As I often sail on my own, I will no longer have the same tablemates (or any tablemates) and same waitstaff. Without that experience, the menu becomes more important to me as it does when dining alone on land. I can't afford suites, so California Kitchen is out. Don't own a suit and not paying extra to rent a tux to dine by myself, so The Grande is out. Menus at Silk and Chic do not appeal to me, so they're out. That leaves me with American Icon Grille, which the Children's menu looks better, but not enough variety for a 7 night cruise. So this forces me to repeat the menu, or eat at the Windjammer, or pay extra for Chops Grille. That is why I put on my survey from my recent Oasis cruise that I will never sail on a ship with Dynamic Dining. (Well, not solo anyway.) It's a shame that they put the new Studio Balcony staterooms on a ship with no MDR.]

 

You explained much more clearly than I've seen anywhere else. Thanks!

[MAJPLO]

Why can't you find others to dine with and make reservations together for a restaurant or restaurants once you are on board? If so you only need to dine alone if you choose and it appears that when you arrive in one of the dynamic dining venues, you have the option of dining with others if you prefer. We find and make friends elsewhere on the ship besides in the dining room so it seems that when you make those new friends you might ask if they would like to join you at dinner and thus replicate what you find so attractive about traditional and my time dining, while avoiding the issue of being seated for the length of a cruise with people with whom you have nothing in common or whose behavior is less than exemplary. If you re-read their "formal dining" clothing requirement you should see that suits and/or tuxes are NOT required. Unless there is absolutely only one item on each venue's menu that you can tolerate, you should be able to dine in the same room more than once without repeating the same selection (though if it is a very good item, having it again should not be such a horrible thing). Under the current system I have found MDR menus that absolutely had nothing that appealed to me except for the "always available" items which sometimes meant skipping the starters altogether so I think I will wait until we have tried it before giving up entirely on this new style of dining. For me, the only negative may be the loss of having the same wait staff for the entire cruise but we have had such excellent service from almost everyone who has served us that it might not be that much of a sacrifice.

 

 

How might one meet a new friend(s) on the ship and plan to dine together that evening if dinner times/reservations are to be pre scheduled before cruising? Am I missing something?

[AtlantaCruiser72]

How might one meet a new friend(s) on the ship and plan to dine together that evening if dinner times/reservations are to be pre scheduled before cruising? Am I missing something?

 

Reservations are not required, merely suggested. If you are traveling with a significant other, family or friends and know that you do NOT want to share a table with others then making a reservation is your best option. RCCL only allocates a certain percentage of space at any time slot for reservations. They hold back some space for walk ups. If you meet others onboard and wish to dine together you simply go to the venue of choice an enquire about table availability for your party size or request to share with others. It's really just the same as MTD but with 4 dining options rather than 1.

 

As a solo I MUCH prefer MTD over traditional as I can choose to dine alone or not. I've heard many stories of solos showing up to their fixed dining table and being the only one there as the others they were seated with have decided to dine elsewhere. Not fun to be sitting solo at a table for 10!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

From what I have read on the Quantum threads the experiences of the people who have actually had DD have been more positive than negative. The biggest complaints have been based on the reservation system. So, I think it is in practice going to better than many of us originally thought. once the pre-bookng snafu's are worked out. It sounds as if people who did not have reservations could get into the restaurant of their choice with only a few minutes wait.

 

My concern is the pre-booking of a group of 10 (5 cabins), all booking separately. Any suggestions as to the best way to accomplish this? I am looking for practical suggestions, not complaints from those who have not done this yet. We will be on the Oasis in May. Also, even though we tend to be later diners I am thinking that earlier reservations have the best chance of not being in conflict with show reservations.

 

Dynamic Dining is here on the Oasis and Quantum Class ships. No amount of complaints from those who have not yet experienced DD is going to change that. So, for those of us who are actually booked on a ship with DD in place I would like to see a thread based on positive recommendations for navigating the system. I am sure as experience grows there will be some good suggestions out there. This is a resourceful group!:)

[Biker19]

A few data points to help others with planning:

 

While the sailing was not full, none of the restaurants were anywhere near full at peak dining times

 

In all venues, if you sit at a table for 2 you can easily finish dinner in one hour (even though the planner blocks 2 hrs for you)

 

If you want to dine with others simply get their booking number and link your reservation with theirs

Edited November 15, 2014 by Biker19

[Sunny AZ Girl]

A few data points to help others with planning:

 

While the sailing was not full, none of the restaurants were anywhere near full at peak dining times

 

In all venues, if you sit at a table for 2 you can easily finish dinner in one hour (even though the planner blocks 2 hrs for you)

 

If you want to dine with others simply get their booking number and link your reservation with theirs

 

Thank you!

 

One question - can one reservation book a table for all 10 in the group, or do we all have to try to get the same dining times and book separately? If we are linked we would then be seated together at the restaurant when we show up at our reserved time?

[Biker19]

Thank you!

 

One question - can one reservation book a table for all 10 in the group, or do we all have to try to get the same dining times and book separately? If we are linked we would then be seated together at the restaurant when we show up at our reserved time?

 

I don't know what the limit is, but 10 should not be an issue. I'm pretty sure every restaurant has tables that can sit 10 (Silk has a really fancy one right by the entryway) - once linked, everyone's reservation is at the same time and same venue.

[pcur]

Here's what we decided to do:

 

First of all, we aren't into spending extra money ahead of time for specialty restaurants, so those are always spur of the moment decisions on board the ship.

 

Then, I compiled the menus from the "free" DD restaurants. These may not be 100% accurate, because I'm sure they are going to tweak them. But, this helped us narrow down our preferences for the restaurant and menus we liked.

 

When we sail on a DD ship, I will make advance reservations for the top three choices. If we like them, we will make reservations for another night on the cruise, asking for the same table/dining staff if we like them.

 

That takes care of 6 nights out of a 7 night cruise. The extra night can be specialty, WJ, or a repeat.

 

This makes the whole decision-making process a lot more palatable (pardon the pun :D) for us. My husband hates to go hunting for his food, as he calls it, so I came up with this plan to get as close to a more traditional dining scenario as possible.

 

We'll see later on how it works, but for now it looks pretty good for us.

Dynamic Dining Complimentary Menus.pdf

Edited November 15, 2014 by pcur

[Folk Singer]

In addition, you don't have to figure out show times if you have traditional.

 

 

Bob

 

Very true.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Peggy, your idea sounds good to me, too. When are you sailing? I would like to know how it works in practicality.

 

I am confused by the linking. While we all would want to eat together most nights, there may be nights when we split up. If we link our reservations will that mess up reservations for those who may choose another restaurant one night? There may be nights when some may prefer a specialty restaurant. Plus, two cabins n our group are in suites, so they may want to choose Coastal Kitchen one or two nights, while the rest of us will be banned from that eatery! We will probably eat as a group 5 out of 7 nights in DD restaurants.

[Clarea]

Here's what we decided to do:

 

First of all, we aren't into spending extra money ahead of time for specialty restaurants, so those are always spur of the moment decisions on board the ship.

 

Then, I compiled the menus from the "free" DD restaurants. These may not be 100% accurate, because I'm sure they are going to tweak them. But, this helped us narrow down our preferences for the restaurant and menus we liked.

 

When we sail on a DD ship, I will make advance reservations for the top three choices. If we like them, we will make reservations for another night on the cruise, asking for the same table/dining staff if we like them.

 

That takes care of 6 nights out of a 7 night cruise. The extra night can be specialty, WJ, or a repeat.

 

This makes the whole decision-making process a lot more palatable (pardon the pun :D) for us. My husband hates to go hunting for his food, as he calls it, so I came up with this plan to get as close to a more traditional dining scenario as possible.

 

We'll see later on how it works, but for now it looks pretty good for us.

I agree with your husband.

 

I appreciate your info on booking strategy. I may use that for our Oasis cruise next year. I wish they would just have a single option that says "Book us at random restaurants at times when we can easily see the show after dinner".

[pcur]

Peggy, your idea sounds good to me, too. When are you sailing? I would like to know how it works in practicality.

 

I am confused by the linking. While we all would want to eat together most nights, there may be nights when we split up. If we link our reservations will that mess up reservations for those who may choose another restaurant one night? There may be nights when some may prefer a specialty restaurant. Plus, two cabins n our group are in suites, so they may want to choose Coastal Kitchen one or two nights, while the rest of us will be banned from that eatery! We will probably eat as a group 5 out of 7 nights in DD restaurants.

 

I'm not sure when we will get to "test" our DD theory, but probably towards the end of next year on a cruise. By then, the kinks will have been shaken out.

 

I don't think there's any banning going to happen with linked reservations. I think it's more like make a phone call that day and tell them the reservation for cabin X has changed for that evening. Then, either show up or make the reservation for the other restaurant.

 

We always find that keeping with a late dining time, say some time between 7:30- 8:30, always accomodates at least one of the show times.

 

Call me naive (which is hard to believe after cruising for 41 years), but I always believe that RCCL does want me to have a good time, so being the experts in the hospitality business that they are, they will make their onboard policies and procedures work in my favor.

 

Speaking seriously now, I have yet to experience many, many, many of the problems people complain about here on CC. I just find a good attitude, asking questions, and some advance planning works to make things go smoothly. That's why I sat down with my picky eater husband and said, "OK, here's the choices. What looks good to you?". Eliminate the element of surprise that he doesn't like when it comes to getting his food, and we are happy.

[pcur]

I agree with your husband.

 

I appreciate your info on booking strategy. I may use that for our Oasis cruise next year. I wish they would just have a single option that says "Book us at random restaurants at times when we can easily see the show after dinner".

 

Ahhh, Bob, what a BRILLIANT idea! Why didn't they think of that already?

 

I'm serious: I'd call up C&A and ask them to put that one in the change request hopper for IT.

[Biker19]

I am confused by the linking. While we all would want to eat together most nights, there may be nights when we split up. If we link our reservations will that mess up reservations for those who may choose another restaurant one night? There may be nights when some may prefer a specialty restaurant. Plus, two cabins n our group are in suites, so they may want to choose Coastal Kitchen one or two nights, while the rest of us will be banned from that eatery! We will probably eat as a group 5 out of 7 nights in DD restaurants.

The DD reservations are per venue per day not for all days. So you reserve and dine only on the days you want - you are not locked in. And if on the day itself you decide to do something else - just do something else. It's not like you'll be charged a no-show fee.:cool:

 

Dining in CK might be a bit murkier - some suite guests might be able to invite non-suite guests on the same reservation.

[negc]

...because the venue will provide you with a black suit coat if you don't have one.:cool:

 

No, because it appears that they have already relaxed their definition of the formal dress code and a black suit coat is not a requirement. In fact some have already questioned whether or not a jacket and tie will actually be required. We will be on Quantum next week and will see what really happens. I suspect that my blazer, dress shirt and necktie may find me a bit overdressed even for Grande.;)

[negc]

How might one meet a new friend(s) on the ship and plan to dine together that evening if dinner times/reservations are to be pre scheduled before cruising? Am I missing something?

 

Pre-scheduling your dinner reservations is a recommendation and not a requirement much as is the case with My Time Dining at the present time, so it should definitely be possible to make reservations each day during the cruise and it may also be possible to simply walk up and request a table just as you would at many land-based restaurants. While they claim that pre-scheduling your reservations is for your convenience, I believe that is as much or more for their convenience in knowing approximately how many people they will be serving at any given time period.

[Nana57]

What happens if you book a cruise 3 months from sailing or last minute bookings, and the times you want to dine and see the shows are all gone? Too stressful to think about. I just want to enjoy my cruise not worry about show times or dinnertimes. I don't think I want to eat in the windjammer every night either.