Huge Dissatisfaction with Dynamic Dining

[gerif]

Perhaps the fact that I made reservations months ago at Silk for 7pm and they have reservations for American Icon at 7:30pm?

OH - I forgot - RCI solved that for us by "losing" those reservations:mad:.

 

That's what I was thinking. We love traditional dining and sharing experiences with new tablemates. So, assuming just the two of us are sailing, we need to meet people during the day and agree to have dinner together, but, wait, first we'd need to agree on a time and venue and THEN try to get a reservation - oh, none available? Back to the drawing boards. Repeat scenario each day? No thanks. Not how I want to spend my vacation.

 

I was excited when I saw that Quantum would be sailing from our home port but when DH and I sat down to discuss DD, it was a no go.

[Georgeny]

Despite grammar, writing style, etc. from what I experienced on my Dec. 27th Quantum cruise, this article is correct! After over 30 cruises on RCCL, our Quantum cruise was the worst. Have never ever felt this way about any other RCCL cruise!

 

My feelings as well. Sailed her Dec 20th with your exact same feeling!

 

George in NY

[LoveyHowell]

Maybe if people stopped reserving every meal they can because they feel like they need too, then it would actually be alright.

 

Then Royal should stop allowing so many reservations to be made. Allow fewer reservations, make it more Dynamic and on the go.

 

 

Reservations are for those who maybe have picky eating habits or want a specific restaurant for a special occasion

 

What's wrong with just not wanting to stand in line. Isn't that enough of a reason? That's how RC has set it up for the time being.

 

(Grande should be res. only for example)

 

Why?

[Georgeny]

Maybe if people stopped reserving every meal they can because they feel like they need too, then it would actually be alright.

 

A lot of the problems are occurring because people feel forced into reservations, one thing that Royal has never said "you must do"

 

Note the reminder emails are for Speciality Restaurants not reserving complimentary, note the fact nobody outside of CruiseCritic has ever said "you need to reserve".

 

Reservations are for those who maybe have picky eating habits or want a specific restaurant for a special occasion (Grande should be res. only for example)

 

Ocav, You are sailing Feb yes? I will anxiously await you review.

 

George in NY

[steveru621]

First, I'm glad that your opinions are first-hand opinions. That's the best part. Good or bad, you have actually experienced what you are talking about.

 

Second, what about diminishing some people's opinions about your opinions? Where does it end?

 

 

Very true. The DD process is evolving. But this is CC, and opinions are sometimes strong. ;) Actually, one month removed from our Quantum experience, DD by itself was not horrid. Probably could have better feelings if there was not soooo many other issues.

 

Please read my review...

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=267789

 

There were two other minor issues not even mentioned. It took 3 days for us to get our wash and fold returned, the sound and vibration from the Bon Jovi experience was so loud our drink classes were actually moving on the table in the Schooner bar on the floor above the Music Hall!

 

I normally roll with the issues, but the bad issues overwhelmed our really great experiences on Quantum.

[cruizefam]

Despite grammar, writing style, etc. from what I experienced on my Dec. 27th Quantum cruise, this article is correct! After over 30 cruises on RCCL, our Quantum cruise was the worst. Have never ever felt this way about any other RCCL cruise!

 

 

I experienced the same on my Dec 1 Quantum sailing... I had a wonderful time, I just thought DD was the worst concept ever! I will continue to sail RCCL, just will bypass any ship that has DD.

Edited January 22, 2015 by cruizefam

[OceanCruise]

On Quantum now. We have not had any wait times for dining and it has been easy to switch reservations and times. It seemed as if there was less availability for the Grande if you had not reserved it prior to cruise. Overall service in the restaurants has been excellent and we were asked if we wanted to dine with others. Tables for 2 are close together so you can easily socialize if you want. We were happy overall with the food but there were a few things we would not order again. Our only real complaints are the coffee which is either too strong or lukewarm in the restaurants, and we felt the cuts of beef were not that good in the restaurants (although roast beef sandwiches in Cafe 270 were great). They have added items to most of the menus too. We ate in all food venues at least twice (except did not try Wunderland Chops and Johny Rockets). We are Diamond and Felt food has been on par with other cruises we have taken. We loved the convenience of Cafe 270 too. While divinely decadent was ok I would not pay extra for it so we were glad it is currently free. There are over1000 Diamond members on this cruise and they have done a good job replenishing hot horde oeuvres and keeping up with the free drinks in the lounge.

[LoveyHowell]

Just like I said! No one goes on vacation to stand in line.

[ryano]

Just like I said! No one goes on vacation to stand in line.

 

Actually millions do every year to a park that is famous because of a certain mouse :D

[Gazza64]

Actually millions do every year to a park that is famous because of a certain mouse :D

 

Agree, and how often on land are you able to walk straight to a table in a restaurant, even with reservations. Last visit to the US we even had to wait to get a table in Olive Garden (with a reservation)

People are unpredictable when it comes to dining, some are in and out and some love to linger - just ask them to call you when the table is ready and go to the bar....whats the worry, you are on vacation after all!!

[poncho1973]

Just like I said! No one goes on vacation to stand in line.

 

Actually millions do every year to a park that is famous because of a certain mouse :D

 

As ryano aptly pointed out... that's about as far from the truth as possible.

 

BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of vacation hours are spent in line.

 

I could seriously name for you more than 100 things I've stood in line to do on vacation without even breaking a sweat. Theme parks, museums, National Parks, tourist attractions, big buildings, art exhibits, concerts, blah blah blah blah blah... the list is MASSIVE.

 

Now take me, who has done quite a few things in life, but not an insane amount, and multiply that by everyone else on vacation. Your comment is dead wrong. MAYBE you are super rich like Lovey Howell and you don't have to wait in lines, but the other 99.99999999% of humans do if they go on vacation.

[Big_G]

Funny how perceptions differ. We just talked to a couple yesterday that did the Quantum TA. They loved it including DD. They're only complaint was WIFI wasn't great. On the other hand, our waiter says he heard through the waiter grapevine that no one wants to transfer to that ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Gazza64]

As ryano aptly pointed out... that's about as far from the truth as possible.

 

BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of vacation hours are spent in line.

 

I could seriously name for you more than 100 things I've stood in line to do on vacation without even breaking a sweat. Theme parks, museums, National Parks, tourist attractions, big buildings, art exhibits, concerts, blah blah blah blah blah... the list is MASSIVE.

 

Now take me, who has done quite a few things in life, but not an insane amount, and multiply that by everyone else on vacation. Your comment is dead wrong. MAYBE you are super rich like Lovey Howell and you don't have to wait in lines, but the other 99.99999999% of humans do if they go on vacation.

 

Airports & immigration (3 hours last visit to O'Hare)!!!

[LMaxwell]

 

BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of vacation hours are spent in line.

 

 

I think the point was that between a system where there is no lines and one WITH lines, people would prefer the no line option. Didn't seem like such a hard concept to me.

[ryano]

I think the point was that between a system where there is no lines and one WITH lines, people would prefer the no line option. Didn't seem like such a hard concept to me.

 

There didnt seem to be a point to me. Only a very false, blanket statement.

Edited January 22, 2015 by ryano

[SICruiseGirlNYC]

We recently returned from our Quantum cruise and although everyone in our party (4 adults - 2 Diamond Plus and 2 Platinum members) really enjoyed the ship we had many issues with dynamic dining.

 

Making reservations was horrible. After spending an hour making reservations online, we tried to check out and got an error message. (This happened twice). We finally called Royal Caribbean and after spending 2 hrs. on the phone with a representative making reservations for us, the representative tried to check out and had the same issues. I was finally able to make all of our reservations online the next morning successfully, however couldn't get some of the times we originally booked. Total time spent making dining reservations was 5 hrs.

 

Service at breakfast every morning was non-existent. American Icon was really the only sit down venue that offered breakfast. After 7 days of breakfast at American Icon we got tired of the same menu. On past cruises we ate at the main dining room for breakfast and liked that the menu changed daily.

 

Service at lunch was better. Again the only place that had a sit down lunch was American Icon and Devinely Decadence. The menu for American Icon was almost the same as the dinner menu with a few additions. We had dinner reservations there 2 nights and by the end of the cruise we were tired of the limited choices. We tried Devinely Decadence for lunch and after waiting over an hour to be seated we were told they were out of items on the menu. It was definitely not worth the wait.

 

We tried the Windjammer on several occasions and found the same food choices every time we went. We didn't enjoy the Windjammer at all.

 

For dinner we ate at Chops, Jamie's Italian (twice), American Icon (twice), Silk, Chic and Grande. We had poor service at Chops and The Grande. We had great service for dinner at American Icon, Jamie's Italian, Silk and Chic. The best meals we had were at Jamie's Italian and Chic.

 

We spoke to one of our servers about the issues we had been having and I asked him how many tables he was assigned. He said he was responsible for 7tables. (My daughter is a manager at a busy restaurant and the maximum amount of tables they will give to their best server is 5). When I asked how he was able to handle that many tables at once, his response was "I manage". We spoke with one of the managers and were told that because of all the complaints, Royal Caribbean was bringing extra wait staff onboard when we docked.

 

 

The Quantum of the Seas is a beautiful ship. Overall we had a fantastic cruise despite some of the hiccups with dining and service. While onboard we booked another cruise with RCI, however we made sure it was on a ship that wasn't scheduled to go to dynamic dining. Although we had some service issues I would still book on the Quantum or Anthem in the future. Hopefully Royal Caribbean will work out the kinks by the time we are ready to try a ship with dynamic dining again.

[Merion_Mom]

We're traveling with long time cruise buddies and don't sign up for Meet and Mingles when with them. Maybe we will see you in the CL? Have read your postings and reviews for a long time and enjoyed them! See you soon!

 

I look forward to meeting you there! :)

[Merion_Mom]

I can't quote everyone that I want to reply to, so I'll just post as many of my thoughts as possible without those quotes. ;)

 

**************************************************

 

Most of the "problems" mentioned in the so-called 'article' linked in the first post of this thread have now been addressed.

 

1. Devinly Decadence is now complimentary, adding another no-fee venue to the dining rooms, which alleviates the crowding, lines and demands on the other dining rooms. (Chic, Grande, American Icon Grille, Silk)

 

2. Coastal Kitchen is now open to Junior Suites, adding another no-fee venue to the dining rooms, which alleviates the crowding, lines and demands on the other dining rooms. (Chic, Grande, American Icon Grille, Silk)

 

3. New wait staff has been added to the dining rooms.

 

4. There are now two lines at the restaurants: one for people with reservations, one for people without.

 

5. The alternative/always-available menus are now printed on the menu in each restaurant.

 

6. Menu items have been added to each venue.

 

**************************************************

 

There is no evidence whatsoever that the "author" of the "article" has ever stepped foot on the Quantum of the Seas. He appears to be an "accumulator" of "things that he has read".

 

**************************************************

 

Many many many of the things that people are complaining about on this thread are ALSO true on other ships, and evoke the same complaints on those ships! NOT a Quantum issue, NOT a Dynamic Dining issue.

 

Examples:

 

Only one sit-down/served place open for lunch/breakfast. Duh. That's how it is on other Royal Caribbean ships!!!!

 

Lines waiting for dinner. "Even with reservations!!!!" People complain about that with My Time Dining ALL THE TIME on Cruise Critic!

 

Menu doesn't change at lunch in American Icon. There are only TWO rotating lunch menus in the MDR on other Royal Caribbean ships!

 

Same food every day in Windjammer. First of all, the WJ is huge and has so many selections, the mind boggles! And this is one of the most frequent complaints about OTHER Royal Caribbean ships! :eek:

 

*******************************************************

 

On a personal level, I actually prefer traditional dining, myself. I often cruise solo, and I, too, like sitting with the same people every night - when they are compatible souls. On some ships, I have done MTD and the Maitre D' has done a SUPERB job of designating three or so tables as the "solos and couples sit-with-anyone tables", and so I sat with some permutation of 30 or so people every night. Ideal!

 

But I still enjoyed Dynamic Dining. And we made MANY last minute changes, all without any problem. We changed time. We changed venue. We added new friends to our reservations. No problem.

 

*******************************************************

 

I am no Royal Caribbean cheerleader. Instead, I am a thoughtful, interested, articulate cruiser. I post mostly facts, not necessarily opinions. And those opinions are almost always buttressed with facts that I post with the opinions.

 

So, there you have it.

 

Feel free to post YOUR thoughts.

 

:)

 

Or even contact me privately. ;)

Edited January 22, 2015 by Merion_Mom

[beachnative]

I can't quote everyone that I want to reply to, so I'll just post as many of my thoughts as possible without those quotes. ;)

 

**************************************************

 

Most of the "problems" mentioned in the so-called 'article' linked in the first post of this thread have now been addressed.

 

1. Devinly Decadence is now complimentary, adding another no-fee venue to the dining rooms, which alleviates the crowding, lines and demands on the other dining rooms. (Chic, Grande, American Icon Grille, Silk)

 

2. Coastal Kitchen is now open to Junior Suites, adding another no-fee venue to the dining rooms, which alleviates the crowding, lines and demands on the other dining rooms. (Chic, Grande, American Icon Grille, Silk)

 

3. New wait staff has been added to the dining rooms.

 

4. There are now two lines at the restaurants: one for people with reservations, one for people without.

 

5. The alternative/always-available menus are now printed on the menu in each restaurant.

 

6. Menu items have been added to each venue.

 

**************************************************

 

There is no evidence whatsoever that the "author" of the "article" has ever stepped foot on the Quantum of the Seas. He appears to be an "accumulator" of "things that he has read".

 

**************************************************

 

Many many many of the things that people are complaining about on this thread are ALSO true on other ships, and evoke the same complaints on those ships! NOT a Quantum issue, NOT a Dynamic Dining issue.

 

Examples:

 

Only one sit-down/served place open for lunch/breakfast. Duh. That's how it is on other Royal Caribbean ships!!!!

 

Lines waiting for dinner. "Even with reservations!!!!" People complain about that with My Time Dining ALL THE TIME on Cruise Critic!

 

Menu doesn't change at lunch in American Icon. There are only TWO rotating lunch menus in the MDR on other Royal Caribbean ships!

 

Same food every day in Windjammer. First of all, the WJ is huge and has so many selections, the mind boggles! And this is one of the most frequent complaints about OTHER Royal Caribbean ships! :eek:

 

*******************************************************

 

On a personal level, I actually prefer traditional dining, myself. I often cruise solo, and I, too, like sitting with the same people every night - when they are compatible souls. On some ships, I have done MTD and the Maitre D' has done a SUPERB job of designating three or so tables as the "solos and couples sit-with-anyone tables", and so I sat with some permutation of 30 or so people every night. Ideal!

 

But I still enjoyed Dynamic Dining. And we made MANY last minute changes, all without any problem. We changed time. We changed venue. We added new friends to our reservations. No problem.

 

*******************************************************

 

I am no Royal Caribbean cheerleader. Instead, I am a thoughtful, interested, articulate cruiser. I post mostly facts, not necessarily opinions. And those opinions are almost always buttressed with facts that I post with the opinions.

 

So, there you have it.

 

Feel free to post YOUR thoughts.

 

:)

 

Or even contact me privately. ;)

 

BRAVO !!!!!

 

Yours is one of the best posts regarding DD.

 

I agree with everything that you stated.

[Gazza64]

I can't quote everyone that I want to reply to, so I'll just post as many of my thoughts as possible without those quotes. ;)

 

**************************************************

 

Most of the "problems" mentioned in the so-called 'article' linked in the first post of this thread have now been addressed.

 

1. Devinly Decadence is now complimentary, adding another no-fee venue to the dining rooms, which alleviates the crowding, lines and demands on the other dining rooms. (Chic, Grande, American Icon Grille, Silk)

 

2. Coastal Kitchen is now open to Junior Suites, adding another no-fee venue to the dining rooms, which alleviates the crowding, lines and demands on the other dining rooms. (Chic, Grande, American Icon Grille, Silk)

 

3. New wait staff has been added to the dining rooms.

 

4. There are now two lines at the restaurants: one for people with reservations, one for people without.

 

5. The alternative/always-available menus are now printed on the menu in each restaurant.

 

6. Menu items have been added to each venue.

 

**************************************************

 

There is no evidence whatsoever that the "author" of the "article" has ever stepped foot on the Quantum of the Seas. He appears to be an "accumulator" of "things that he has read".

 

**************************************************

 

Many many many of the things that people are complaining about on this thread are ALSO true on other ships, and evoke the same complaints on those ships! NOT a Quantum issue, NOT a Dynamic Dining issue.

 

Examples:

 

Only one sit-down/served place open for lunch/breakfast. Duh. That's how it is on other Royal Caribbean ships!!!!

 

Lines waiting for dinner. "Even with reservations!!!!" People complain about that with My Time Dining ALL THE TIME on Cruise Critic!

 

Menu doesn't change at lunch in American Icon. There are only TWO rotating lunch menus in the MDR on other Royal Caribbean ships!

 

Same food every day in Windjammer. First of all, the WJ is huge and has so many selections, the mind boggles! And this is one of the most frequent complaints about OTHER Royal Caribbean ships! :eek:

 

*******************************************************

 

On a personal level, I actually prefer traditional dining, myself. I often cruise solo, and I, too, like sitting with the same people every night - when they are compatible souls. On some ships, I have done MTD and the Maitre D' has done a SUPERB job of designating three or so tables as the "solos and couples sit-with-anyone tables", and so I sat with some permutation of 30 or so people every night. Ideal!

 

But I still enjoyed Dynamic Dining. And we made MANY last minute changes, all without any problem. We changed time. We changed venue. We added new friends to our reservations. No problem.

 

*******************************************************

 

I am no Royal Caribbean cheerleader. Instead, I am a thoughtful, interested, articulate cruiser. I post mostly facts, not necessarily opinions. And those opinions are almost always buttressed with facts that I post with the opinions.

 

So, there you have it.

 

Feel free to post YOUR thoughts.

 

:)

 

Or even contact me privately. ;)

 

Thanks for a great summary, nice to read a well balanced post:)

[poncho1973]

I think the point was that between a system where there is no lines and one WITH lines, people would prefer the no line option. Didn't seem like such a hard concept to me.

 

Surely (Shirley) you must be joking!

 

In other news, the sky is blue. Water is, indeed, wet. We require water, food, and oxygen to survive. People would rather not wait in line if they didn't have to. Insightful.

 

The comment was that people don't go on vacation to stand in line. HOWEVER, that's exactly what they do on vacation. It isn't a foreign concept to expect people to queue up on a cruise ship.

[SICruiseGirlNYC]

I can't quote everyone that I want to reply to, so I'll just post as many of my thoughts as possible without those quotes. ;)

 

**************************************************

 

Most of the "problems" mentioned in the so-called 'article' linked in the first post of this thread have now been addressed.

 

1. Devinly Decadence is now complimentary, adding another no-fee venue to the dining rooms, which alleviates the crowding, lines and demands on the other dining rooms. (Chic, Grande, American Icon Grille, Silk)

 

2. Coastal Kitchen is now open to Junior Suites, adding another no-fee venue to the dining rooms, which alleviates the crowding, lines and demands on the other dining rooms. (Chic, Grande, American Icon Grille, Silk)

 

3. New wait staff has been added to the dining rooms.

 

4. There are now two lines at the restaurants: one for people with reservations, one for people without.

 

5. The alternative/always-available menus are now printed on the menu in each restaurant.

 

6. Menu items have been added to each venue.

 

**************************************************

 

There is no evidence whatsoever that the "author" of the "article" has ever stepped foot on the Quantum of the Seas. He appears to be an "accumulator" of "things that he has read".

 

**************************************************

 

Many many many of the things that people are complaining about on this thread are ALSO true on other ships, and evoke the same complaints on those ships! NOT a Quantum issue, NOT a Dynamic Dining issue.

 

Examples:

 

Only one sit-down/served place open for lunch/breakfast. Duh. That's how it is on other Royal Caribbean ships!!!!

 

Lines waiting for dinner. "Even with reservations!!!!" People complain about that with My Time Dining ALL THE TIME on Cruise Critic!

 

Menu doesn't change at lunch in American Icon. There are only TWO rotating lunch menus in the MDR on other Royal Caribbean ships!

 

Same food every day in Windjammer. First of all, the WJ is huge and has so many selections, the mind boggles! And this is one of the most frequent complaints about OTHER Royal Caribbean ships! :eek:

 

*******************************************************

 

On a personal level, I actually prefer traditional dining, myself. I often cruise solo, and I, too, like sitting with the same people every night - when they are compatible souls. On some ships, I have done MTD and the Maitre D' has done a SUPERB job of designating three or so tables as the "solos and couples sit-with-anyone tables", and so I sat with some permutation of 30 or so people every night. Ideal!

 

But I still enjoyed Dynamic Dining. And we made MANY last minute changes, all without any problem. We changed time. We changed venue. We added new friends to our reservations. No problem.

 

*******************************************************

 

I am no Royal Caribbean cheerleader. Instead, I am a thoughtful, interested, articulate cruiser. I post mostly facts, not necessarily opinions. And those opinions are almost always buttressed with facts that I post with the opinions.

 

So, there you have it.

 

Feel free to post YOUR thoughts.

 

:)

 

Or even contact me privately. ;)

 

I too agree that Royal Caribbean is addressing the issues with DD however:

 

American Icon has the same menu daily for breakfast and lunch whereas the main dining room menu changes for breakfast and lunch. We found more choices we preferred in the main dining room. American Icon is the only sit down venue for lunch. (I disliked Devinely Decadance and wouldn't return there unless they changed the menu completely).

 

We will usually go to Windjammer for breakfast or lunch a few times when cruising, however this time we found the choices limited and didn't care for it at all. We've never had an issue with the Windjammer on our previous cruises.

 

Like you - everyone in our party prefers traditional dining. We missed having the same wait staff every night.

 

Overall we had a great time and wouldn't hesitate to book on the Quantum or the Anthem in the future.

[emmy]

BRAVO !!!!!

 

Yours is one of the best posts regarding DD.

 

I agree with everything that you stated.

 

I too agree with everything Merion Mom has stated. Thank you! I have tried DD and LIKE it unlike many who THINK they will not like it.

 

I was one who had reservations and I quite enjoyed finally some new menu items

 

I am wondering those of us that have been doing MTD most of the time since RCI implemented that are having an easier time adjusting to new DD.

 

I have not had set dining on RCI cruise in some time.

[gregdude]

Interesting, I have cruised on a variety of ships and cruise lines. Often I cruise alone, but even when I am with my wife I prefer "open dinning" a different table and different people every night. Sitting with the same people can be a drag, but sitting with six of eight new people every night allows for a much broader social experience. I am sailing on 2/2 and am looking forward to a new experience each night. How it all works remains to be seen, but the most recent reviews seem to indicate Quantum of the Seas is maturing!

[LMaxwell]

It isn't a foreign concept to expect people to queue up on a cruise ship.

 

As opposed to traditional dining, however, it is. Of all things Dynamic Dining has accomplished, and there are positives, ease of use / convenience does not appear to be amongst them.

 

From the list above it seems like Royal is making changes quite rapidly. Those are quite a lot of improvements and modifications made in 75 days time. I have heard of new food items, that increase my interest in DD, and of additional free venues, which also increase my interest. But I remain skeptical if they can ever fix the ease of use and convenience issues entirely.

 

Anthem should roll out much smoother.