Dynamic Dining postponed for Oasis & Allure

[Lionesss]

Well, our cruise is August on the Oasis and when I emailed them they quickly changed it from the "default" MTD to traditional main seating, so that makes me think DD won't be coming until at least after August.. But who knows?

 

 

 

Thank you for your post.

 

When we booked our Oasis cruise last July we were defaulted to MTD.

 

Just got off the phone with the TA and she is calling to change our status to traditional main seating.

 

Will update when we are contacted.

 

Safe travels.

[RocketMan275]

I'm going in May. Are we or are we not having DD?

 

There is only one man who knows:

 

[clawmachine]

Thank you for your post.

 

When we booked our Oasis cruise last July we were defaulted to MTD.

 

Just got off the phone with the TA and she is calling to change our status to traditional main seating.

 

Will update when we are contacted.

 

Safe travels.

 

Glad to hear it! We are going the week after you! There are several children and 3 people with severe food allergies in our group, so I am very hopeful and relieved to think we may have the traditional seating after all. It is just much easier to have consistent waiters who get to know you..

[joepeka]

There is only one man who knows:

 

 

And I heard he had been removed! :eek:

[Charles4515]

Glad to hear it! We are going the week after you! There are several children and 3 people with severe food allergies in our group, so I am very hopeful and relieved to think we may have the traditional seating after all. It is just much easier to have consistent waiters who get to know you..

 

Whenever I have had tablemates withs some of the special diets, gluten free, vegan, etc. the head waiter came to the table the evening before and menu items were planned together for the next evening to accomodate them. I guess with DD or MTD you would have to do it when ordering. Doable but I think not as good as doing that with traditional the evening before. And you would not have to explain everything all over again.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Charles4515

[Clarea]

And I heard he had been removed! :eek:

Me too. Something about saying Dynamic Dining was not a good idea.

[SherriZ366]

I agree -- hope it stays on purpose built ships

 

 

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[tapemann]

My feeling is that DD is not as good as they make it sound. They force you into deciding every day where to eat. Make Rez. Who needs that. Yes you get a different menu, but they can do that without all the other mess. Plus what's nice about a cruise is meeting new people. If you want a large table with others your at a loss. The cruise rather have you make Rez in 2,4,6 at a table. They also want you to get use to going to the special Rest and paying extra to eat.

[TravelerThom]

Today's conversation with RC summary

June Allure. MTD and traditional dining. No Coastal Kitchen.

October Freedom. MTD and traditional.

December Oasis. DD. Didn't ask about CK because we are not in that class of room

Changes day by day, but this is today's report

Did this come from talking to a RCI regular agent? from C&A? or?

 

Allure arrives in Barcelona on 1 May, and I think its next scheduled cruise is 19 May, so this is the dry dock period, isn't it? IMO the one (and only) thing that was almost universally acclaimed on the Oasis conversion was Coastal Kitchen. Sure, there was a little grumbling from non-suites about losing VCL, but remarkably little, and almost all comments on Coastal Kitchen itself were highly favorable.

 

So is what I have highlighted saying they are not installing CK in Allure at all, or that it will not be up and running in June (Oasis still had lots of work going on when it came out of drydock, but CK was up and running). You may be accurately reporting what you were told, but without considerably more confirmation from clearly identified reliable sources, I am not believing CK will not be on Allure in June.

[LetsGetWet!]

Did this come from talking to a RCI regular agent? from C&A? or?

 

You may be accurately reporting what you were told, but without considerably more confirmation from clearly identified reliable sources, I am not believing CK will not be on Allure in June.

Admittedly, it's not difficult to get conflicting information from RCI agents. However, I haven't seen any reports of anyone being told CK WILL be on Allure by late May.

 

Gotta love it though. "That's not what I WANTED to hear, so I think I'll simply choose not to believe it!" :rolleyes:

[LMaxwell]

Admittedly, it's not difficult to get conflicting information from RCI agents. However, I haven't seen any reports of anyone being told CK WILL be on Allure by late May.

 

Gotta love it though. "That's not what I WANTED to hear, so I think I'll simply choose not to believe it!" :rolleyes:

I think RCI new way of operating is to just not announce new venues because they may not be ready immediately following dry dock which isn't shocking given the short length of the dry dock but poor form on the company IMO.

 

We should know more in 20 short weeks give or take

[Jimmers]

My feeling is that DD is not as good as they make it sound. They force you into deciding every day where to eat. Make Rez. Who needs that. Yes you get a different menu, but they can do that without all the other mess. Plus what's nice about a cruise is meeting new people. If you want a large table with others your at a loss. The cruise rather have you make Rez in 2,4,6 at a table. They also want you to get use to going to the special Rest and paying extra to eat.

 

I don't know what the vote would be from the cruising population and I doubt RC knows either. I think it's safe to say though, that a sizable portion would still prefer traditional dining and for the reasons you cited.

 

There are many cruisers who just don't want the hassle of making a bunch of decisions, that's why they cruise in the first place. And it's not just not wanting the hassle, there are many up in age folks (we spoke to many on the Quantum) who are at a loss when it comes to handling these decisions.

 

The big question is whether or not RCCL will go with the one size fits all formula or will they attempt to accommodate both the DD fans and the TD fans.

[cindivan]

Did this come from talking to a RCI regular agent? from C&A? or?

 

Allure arrives in Barcelona on 1 May, and I think its next scheduled cruise is 19 May, so this is the dry dock period, isn't it? IMO the one (and only) thing that was almost universally acclaimed on the Oasis conversion was Coastal Kitchen. Sure, there was a little grumbling from non-suites about losing VCL, but remarkably little, and almost all comments on Coastal Kitchen itself were highly favorable.

 

So is what I have highlighted saying they are not installing CK in Allure at all, or that it will not be up and running in June (Oasis still had lots of work going on when it came out of drydock, but CK was up and running). You may be accurately reporting what you were told, but without considerably more confirmation from clearly identified reliable sources, I am not believing CK will not be on Allure in June.

 

 

This was from an agent and I specifically questioned them about this. They said no DD and therefore no CK. I said I had heard yes on CK even without DD but they said that wasn't true.

 

But who knows. When dining opens up in a couple months maybe we will be pleasantly surprised.

 

 

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Edited January 18, 2015 by cindivan

[TravelerThom]

Admittedly, it's not difficult to get conflicting information from RCI agents. However, I haven't seen any reports of anyone being told CK WILL be on Allure by late May.

 

Gotta love it though. "That's not what I WANTED to hear, so I think I'll simply choose not to believe it!" :rolleyes:

I personally don't care one way or the other whether CK is on Allure in June or not. I don't have a suite reserved on Allure in June, nor in fact do I have a suite reserved on Allure at any point.

 

CK and the Suite Lounge are the items, based on what I am reading, that seemed to be the most successful after the Oasis drydock. That is why I am surprised to have it said that it will not be done (at least in a timely manner) on Allure. Do you have a different impression of the implementation of CK on Oasis?

 

Rationally it seems that RCI would want to continue to implement successes in a timely manner. [i know, I used "rationally"and "RCI" in the same sentence:rolleyes:]

 

Thom

[bgoff60]

Just off the Oasis last week. (1/10 - 1/17) In speaking with our head waiter, floor captain and our bar attendant while in the MDR, they ALL confirmed that they have been told that DD is off the table and will not be implemented - ever. They were told that form now, the 3 differing themes will stay in place as a way to offer visual variety and not having to incur the cost of a make-over into a more uniform look. They (the wait staff) for the most part are very pleased with this decision. For them, MDR service was working fine and folks (for the most part) loved it. We loved our service. We ate MDR 5 nights at varying times. All were a very positive experience and would do it again. Also did 150 Central Park one night. All I can say about that is - WOW! a must do again. Only next time we will skip the paired wine offerings that come with it. Not because it costs $75 EXTRA per person but because we had already had 2-3 glasses before dinner and it was a bit much. However, the Cucumber Martini was one THE BEST martini's i have EVER had. Worth the price and ONLY made at 150 Park Ave.

-Cheers-:)

[bgoff60]

And I heard he had been removed! :eek:

 

AS of last week the mighty Zoltar is STILL THERE!

[Folk Singer]

I was surprised there wasn't a thread about this already (I apologize if I missed it), but I saw this posted on Royal's website under Oasis dining options:

 

"The scheduled introduction of dynamic dining on Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas has been postponed until later in the year."

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?shipClassCode=OA&shipCode=OA&br=R

 

:):)

[3dog]

I personally don't care one way or the other whether CK is on Allure in June or not. I don't have a suite reserved on Allure in June, nor in fact do I have a suite reserved on Allure at any point.

 

CK and the Suite Lounge are the items, based on what I am reading, that seemed to be the most successful after the Oasis drydock. That is why I am surprised to have it said that it will not be done (at least in a timely manner) on Allure. Do you have a different impression of the implementation of CK on Oasis?

 

Rationally it seems that RCI would want to continue to implement successes in a timely manner. [i know, I used "rationally"and "RCI" in the same sentence:rolleyes:]

 

Thom

 

I agree. The conversion of the VCL has been successful, so I personally doubt that it will not be part of updates during the Allure dry dock. They may or may not implement any of the other conversions.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Just off the Oasis last week. (1/10 - 1/17) In speaking with our head waiter, floor captain and our bar attendant while in the MDR, they ALL confirmed that they have been told that DD is off the table and will not be implemented - ever. They were told that form now, the 3 differing themes will stay in place as a way to offer visual variety and not having to incur the cost of a make-over into a more uniform look. They (the wait staff) for the most part are very pleased with this decision. For them, MDR service was working fine and folks (for the most part) loved it. We loved our service. We ate MDR 5 nights at varying times. All were a very positive experience and would do it again. Also did 150 Central Park one night. All I can say about that is - WOW! a must do again. Only next time we will skip the paired wine offerings that come with it. Not because it costs $75 EXTRA per person but because we had already had 2-3 glasses before dinner and it was a bit much. However, the Cucumber Martini was one THE BEST martini's i have EVER had. Worth the price and ONLY made at 150 Park Ave.

-Cheers-:)

 

Wow, this is big news! Thanks for the update.

[TravelerThom]

... I haven't seen any reports of anyone being told CK WILL be on Allure by late May...

FWIW the current as of today http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/class/ship/home.do?shipClassCode=OA&shipCode=AL&br=R

 

after saying: "The scheduled introduction of dynamic dining on Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas has been postponed until later in the year."

 

further down under New for Suite Guests:"The Coastal Kitchen restaurant offering fresh cuisine that fuses Mediterranean influences with California cool"

 

I don't believe everything that is on RCI's webpages, just as I don't believe everything said by RCI agents, but this is still in writing.

 

Thom

[3dog]

I don't know what the vote would be from the cruising population and I doubt RC knows either. I think it's safe to say though, that a sizable portion would still prefer traditional dining and for the reasons you cited.

 

There are many cruisers who just don't want the hassle of making a bunch of decisions, that's why they cruise in the first place. And it's not just not wanting the hassle, there are many up in age folks (we spoke to many on the Quantum) who are at a loss when it comes to handling these decisions.

 

The big question is whether or not RCCL will go with the one size fits all formula or will they attempt to accommodate both the DD fans and the TD fans.

 

I am reasonably certain that they have a good feeling of what their cruisers prefer. I expect that this is what led to the DD concept, as lots of cruisers like MTD, and it would seem like (conceptually) DD is an extension to MTD. It also seems as if there is enough demand for MTD that they allocate half (or more) of the dining room to MTD.

 

Indeed there are cruisers that prefer traditional, and some of those prefer it enough that if it is not available they will not cruise. I have a slight preference to traditional for a many of the experience reasons that people mention, but also like the ability to dine at a time other than 6:30 or 8:30 (and don't find it any more of a hassle to make choose dining times, as I am already needing to choose from a number of other activities I wish to do on a cruise).

 

So part of the Quantum issue (IMO), is as you suggest: they didn't accommodate the traditionalists (not to mention that the implementation was poor enough to even upset the MTD/DD enthusiasts).

 

However, making reservations or even making dining location choices is not a problem for people new to cruising, as they come from common land-based types of vacations where you need to do this anyway, so it is nothing new to them (if it is working correctly - keep in mind that "Formal Nights" is a traditional part of cruising, and we are seeing this diminish over time).

 

So I don't see it as a one-size-fits-all formula (since "Traditional" actually fits that formula as well), but an evolution in some attempt to satisfy an ever-growing population of younger cruisers that either just don't remember the "old days of cruising" or were dragged into it where it isn't a fond memory.

 

But this is just my $.02.

[Debde]

Just off the Oasis last week. (1/10 - 1/17) In speaking with our head waiter, floor captain and our bar attendant while in the MDR, they ALL confirmed that they have been told that DD is off the table and will not be implemented - ever.

 

Keeping up with CC-the ones that hate DD will take this as gospel and the rest don't ever believe anything anyone says on board, on the phone or on-line!!:p;) The ones that want DD, it still says later in the year on the website. So.........it's still a mystery!!!:D

[suep]

Just off the Oasis last week. (1/10 - 1/17) In speaking with our head waiter, floor captain and our bar attendant while in the MDR, they ALL confirmed that they have been told that DD is off the table and will not be implemented - ever. They were told that form now, the 3 differing themes will stay in place as a way to offer visual variety and not having to incur the cost of a make-over into a more uniform look. They (the wait staff) for the most part are very pleased with this decision. For them, MDR service was working fine and folks (for the most part) loved it. We loved our service. We ate MDR 5 nights at varying times. All were a very positive experience and would do it again. Also did 150 Central Park one night. All I can say about that is - WOW! a must do again. Only next time we will skip the paired wine offerings that come with it. Not because it costs $75 EXTRA per person but because we had already had 2-3 glasses before dinner and it was a bit much. However, the Cucumber Martini was one THE BEST martini's i have EVER had. Worth the price and ONLY made at 150 Park Ave.

-Cheers-:)

 

This is excellent news. We booked the Oasis last year before it was mentioned that DD would be implemented. We seriously considered cancelling our cruise on the Oasis when we learned that DD would be implemented by the time we cruised in August. Glad that we held off on cancelling, and extra glad that we will be able to enjoy the dining that we're used to on Royal Caribbean.

[baman]

Ok i want to chime in. The label them self as autism friendly. That is not make all these chsnges . The only thing that was good on my ladt cruise was dinner. You dont have to explain every time u sit down what your kid needs. And having to go to different places is great on land but that is not something i do 3 meals a day 7 days a week. So to have some normal things nakes the trip much better. So we will see what accommodation they make for special needs . Oh and we both have food allergies. I don't want to be sick. I will have to spend my first day talking to chefs ,waiters , and god knows who else to make sure we dont have problems

 

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[deanamarie212]

Ok i want to chime in. The label them self as autism friendly. That is not make all these chsnges . The only thing that was good on my ladt cruise was dinner. You dont have to explain every time u sit down what your kid needs. And having to go to different places is great on land but that is not something i do 3 meals a day 7 days a week. So to have some normal things nakes the trip much better. So we will see what accommodation they make for special needs . Oh and we both have food allergies. I don't want to be sick. I will have to spend my first day talking to chefs ,waiters , and god knows who else to make sure we dont have problems

 

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I'm right with you... I also have a child with a food allergy, on the last cruise after talking with waiter & head waiter & spending at least 30 minutes with them most of dining experience went smoothly. We are booked on the quantum not looking forward to going explaining my sons allergy at every meal with different waiters... Hopefully they will have something in place as mr Goldstein stated they would, will have to wait & see how it goes....