Rotational Dining coming to Quantum

[Georgeny]

That sucks.

 

It just goes to show how much influence the Quantum whining guests had.

 

I can live with Rotational Dining…but Dynamic Dining worked great for me on the Quantum.

 

Your " whining guests " comment is inappropriate at best, elitist at worst. To consider others comments concerning their unhappiness with this ships systems or style " whining, " is to indicate that others have no business sharing their comments? Am I wrong?

 

A members board such as this is here just for the the reason of sharing such differing view points. Since I am not a fan of DD and have certainly made that known both here and in my review after actually sailing the Quantum, I should be considered a " whining guest? " No I consider myself an informed consumer rendering a comment and concern regarding a product I have always enjoyed. A product that did not provide the same quality as it did previously.

 

Do you really think they would even consider changing this concept because of " whining guests " if this system hadn't prove to be conceptually bad in multiple areas.

 

I don't know who decided to go with DD but I am more than sure than customer satisfaction was not the driving force behind this decision. I am glad you enjoyed DD and I hope they keep it on some ships so that you can continue to enjoy it. I have no problem with that I will sail other ships and lines as I do anyway.

 

George in NY

[Dave85]

At 110 it is definitely smaller.

 

 

 

With 4 restaurants each capable of seating 430 guests that is 1720 guests. Early and late seating is 3440 guests. Quantum sails with 4180 at double and 4900 at max.

 

 

 

There is no way that they can be having the rotational dining available for every seat in the dining rooms.

 

 

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post maybe they will make a certain number of tables available for rotational dining. This will appeal to those that want the same waiters every night yet leave the flexibility in booking for those that don't mind having different waiters and doing a little bit more planning.

 

 

Agree 100% and this mathematical quandary actually occurred to me later last night after I posted lol.

 

Unless they go to a very difficult to pull off 3 seating system as a subsequent poster suggested, the math just doesn't work.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[Georgeny]

They absolutely screwed the pooch with this aspect of the Quantum class. Bad publicity and reviews with the implementation of dynamic dining and now sour feelings towards rotational dining.

 

They should have left well enough alone and stuck with what works while adding additional for fee and complementary dining options. Now they're stuck with all these separate dining areas and seemingly no good solution.

 

No worry's they are hiring the Turbo Tax CO guy to remake it all. He's been looking for something to do since being fired :)

 

George in NY - sorry could't help myself

[Dave85]

The most important thing for RCCL is now to inform passengers ASAP about this change, so they can rearrange their plans if needed.

 

 

Agreed. The current level of confusion is unacceptable and RCI should have known that as soon as something like this left their lips to a TA audience it would end up on the internet, and CC in particular.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[LPCKG]

We sail on board Anthem on 20 June. We have booked all our dining options to include complimentary and speciality restaurants.

 

DD appealed to us although I find the negative comments about 'queues and limited staff' very concerning, as they are repeated month-on-month despite the fact Quantum left Southampton on 2 November 2014.

 

Our first cruise was on-board Disney Wonder where rotational dining was in operation. It was novel, it worked well. For us it worked well because we'd never cruised and hadn't 'looked up' the menus in advance. However, one evening I didn't like any of the desserts in one restaurant - so our waiter, whom we had had every night, went and got a dessert from the restaurant we were in the previous evening, as the same menu was used each night - perfect solution.

 

I wait in anticipation as to what RCI plans are for Quantum and Anthem, but would like to know sooner rather than later.

[dillie]

I know this may seem like a silly question but what is rotational dining?. I've never been on Disney cruises or actually heard about it. IT took ages to book all the dining including the speciality restaurants. We go on the anthem on the 6th May. I just hope RCI will announce once & for all the decided dining & stick to it.

[spazzyjanet]

Cool! I'm hoping this will be in place for our Allure cruise next December and am hoping they decide soon. Out of all of the options, this seems to be the best of all worlds. No stress about reservations and same wait staff with the luxury of going to different restaurants each night.

[time4u2go]

I find this almost comical, if true. I just booked all my dining on Quantum a few weeks ago among some angst worrying about shows, etc. So, it was all in vain? It doesn't matter to me either way as I had pretty much rotate through them anyway, with one specialty thrown in for DH and our friends.

 

As for those worried about the "math", if this is what is really going to happen, they've already figured it out.

 

Just like they "figured out" that DD would work?:rolleyes::D

[pawmtweez]

I have rarely heard anything bad about Disney's version of rotational dining so hopefully it will work as well on Royal Caribbean. In fact, if I recall correctly, when Dynamic Dining was first announced many who opposed that concept suggested the rotational concept instead.

 

For us, this makes us much more likely to try a ship with this feature than we would have with DD.

 

I am sure there will be bugs to be worked out with this approach as well (such as the previously mentioned "what if I don't want to dress up") but hopefully they will test the technology in advance to make sure it will work (unlike what apparently happened with DD). I am also hopeful that they will make rotational dining an option if you want to sail on ship ___ of the Seas rather than mandatory.

 

At the very least it should alleviate the hassle of making all your dining reservations in advance and then hoping they don't happen to conflict with the shows you want to see or the other activities you want to participate in.

Edited February 1, 2015 by pawmtweez

[ahecht]

But what if you don't like the style of food at the next restaurant?:

 

The exact same thing that happens if you don't like the following night's menu in the MDR: you do specialty dining or Windjammer.

[Biker19]

I know this may seem like a silly question but what is rotational dining?. I've never been on Disney cruises or actually heard about it. IT took ages to book all the dining including the speciality restaurants. We go on the anthem on the 6th May. I just hope RCI will announce once & for all the decided dining & stick to it.

 

In the Disney version you are assigned a table and wait staff and every night (early or late seating) you move to another venue. Due to the seating capacity of Anthem (not enough to allow for two seatings) that is not possible so no one knows what the RCI version will be like.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

If Royal somehow figures out how to make this work, I am all for it! IMO, it's the best of both worlds...same waitstaff, but in different restaurants.

 

However, there is no way that Royal would abandon a flexible option, like some previous posters were worrying about.

[ahecht]

Im neither for nor against it at the moment ,I will have to see how its going to work

, A couple of things though what will happen to Grande I don't mind the formal attire but some people wont want to do that, so will they do away with Grande being formal and what will happen to the entertainment timings ,its not going to be an easy change over.

 

How is having The Grande in the rotation any different from Formal Nights on every other ship?

[nycruise]

I know this may seem like a silly question but what is rotational dining?. I've never been on Disney cruises or actually heard about it. IT took ages to book all the dining including the speciality restaurants. We go on the anthem on the 6th May. I just hope RCI will announce once & for all the decided dining & stick to it.

 

Here's a description from the Disney website.

 

 

"Disney Cruise Line Dining Rotation: The Disney Cruise Line boasts a unique approach to Cruise Dining. The rotational dining system allows guests to enjoy each of the three themed restaurants on board each Disney cruise ship. Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay, and Lumiere's (Disney Magic) or Triton's (Disney Wonder). On the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy the restaurants include Animators Palate, Cabanas, Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace, Palo and Remy. One of the best parts of cruising is trying different cuisines. Don't be afraid to try something new! If you don't like it, your server can get you something else (or bring you more if you love it!).

 

When you get your Key To The World Card, you'll notice a series of letters. This is your dining assignment. For example, if you have APL, your rotation will be Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay and Lumiere's. On a longer cruise, you will visit the same restaurants again, but the theme and menu will be different. You will also find tickets with your assigned seating time, restaurant schedule and table number in your stateroom. That will follow you for the duration of your Disney cruise.

 

On your first night, you will be introduced to your Server and Assistant Server (they will follow you from restaurant to restaurant each evening). You will be amazed at how attentive the wait staff can be - don't be surprised if they learn all your names right away (and even what you prefer to drink and how you like your food prepared!).

 

Main seating on the Disney cruise ships is at 5:45 pm and Second seating is at 8:15 pm. On the Dream's Caribbean and Bahamian sailings, your dinner seating time determines which evening show you will have tickets for. If you have Main dining, you will have tickets to the 8:30 show. Second dining will have tickets to the 6:15 show.

 

Seating Assignments and Requests:

 

You will most likely be sitting with other passengers at dinner. Private tables for your party can be requested but cannot be guaranteed, but part of the fun of cruising is meeting new people! So, don't be shy - you might just make new friends and meet interesting people.

 

Be sure to request your preferred seating time and table size when you make your cruise reservation. Disney Cruise Line will do their best to accommodate you. You can also ask to be waitlisted for the dining time you prefer. If for some reason you don't get what you requested, there is a time and place listed on your Personal Navigator on Embarkation Day where you can make dining changes once onboard.

 

If you are traveling with a group you can have your reservations linked by Disney so that you are seated at the same table. They may be able to combine tables for a large group that wish to dine together. Disney or your travel agent will be able to help with this. You will be seated with the same people at your table for every night of your cruise. If you aren’t going to be dining in the dining rooms, you should notify your server."

[vermontvoyager]

Ooops !!

Edited February 1, 2015 by vermontvoyager

[vermontvoyager]

There have been many posts on various threads that said that Royal Caribbean is trying to get passengers to use "pay extra for" speciality dining.

 

With Rotational Dining people who dislike certain types of food will now be forced to either dine in those venues or go to speciality (pay extra for) restaurants OR go to the Windjammer.

 

I agree with your statement.

I thought DD was one of the best things I liked about Quantum. We never had a problem being seated at our dining times, or changing restaurants if needed and thought the food was good even if service was a little slow on occasion, but that was due to the fact there were no assistant waiters on our Inaugural and 12/1 cruises.

The main dining room menus were boring and left you many nights trying to decide what you wanted because nothing was really all the appealing.:rolleyes:

[jennywren46]

Sorry I didn't make myself clear.

I like the idea of Grande (formal) but some people don't. If its rotational dining what happens to people who don't want to book into Grande because it is formal , will they be allowed into Grande dressed casually or will they only have three options and the fourth being that they have to be go to the windjammer or a speciality restaurant.

[vermontvoyager]

I would think the current DD menus would work fine with RD, they are after all for different restaurants.

 

Hi Liz...I think the menus would work great with RD as well. They may even add another menu items to some some RD menus for added appeal.

[Debde]

As I mentioned earlier - I believe this will be an option for those that prefer traditional dining. Please don't panic! I don't see them having no Anytime option.

 

From your mouth to gods ears!!;)

As long as I could choose this option or actually-none I'd be thrilled. I could easily see myself eating in CK, WJ and a specialty venue and be kept out of any rotation or MTD at all!!

 

Besides, they could not make DD work-aka freestyle which seems to work on NCL. I shutter to think how they could possibly screw up Disneys idea of rotation!!:eek: Seriously though-they really better think this one through. If this would flop....................:eek::eek:

[JezzaC]

Sorry I didn't make myself clear.

I like the idea of Grande (formal) but some people don't. If its rotational dining what happens to people who don't want to book into Grande because it is formal , will they be allowed into Grande dressed casually or will they only have three options and the fourth being that they have to be go to the windjammer or a speciality restaurant.

 

Very good question. We have booked Anthem and it has been sold to us as Dynamic Dining. We have also made bookings for each night and since we don't want to be formal - we have passed Grande. Buffet is not an option and we want decide ourselves when to go speciality restaurants - not to be forced by RCCL since they are making changes to product which was already sold.

 

We also want to choose with whom to have dinner and what time - so hope they will have My time dining option available and restaurants selectable - if Dynamic dining will be stopped.

Edited February 1, 2015 by JezzaC

[jstraw20]

Whew! After all I've read for the last 2 months I have to say that I'm relieved that circumstances prevented DW and myself booking Quantum before she leaves for China. Maybe we'll book Anthem at some point *after* all the issues are sorted out but for now Baltimore is a reasonably short drive away.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Whew! After all I've read for the last 2 months I have to say that I'm relieved that circumstances prevented DW and myself booking Quantum before she leaves for China. Maybe we'll book Anthem at some point *after* all the issues are sorted out but for now Baltimore is a reasonably short drive away.

 

I agree! We were considering Quantum for a Spring Break cruise (a few months before her Inaugural), and I'm kind of glad our plans changed and we chose the Oasis instead. I actually really want to try a Quantum class ship, but not until everything is figured out. Since I can only go on one cruise a year, I want it to be as perfect as possible! :D

[dillie]

In the Disney version you are assigned a table and wait staff and every night (early or late seating) you move to another venue. Due to the seating capacity of Anthem (not enough to allow for two seatings) that is not possible so no one knows what the RCI version will be like.

 

Thank you for answering. I'm wondering this too about how it will work with the complimentary restaurants. We've already booked the restaurants & got 6.30 every night. So I guess we'd be early sitting. But wondering would they honour the restaurants we've booked. How annoying. Also we've booked 3 speciality but that should stay as it is I guess & have their own staff. For example if say you were going to Chops on the independence they'd have different waiters to your main dining or complimentary.

[sharktums]

This is crazy. It worries me a bit that RC chose to so quickly abandon something new instead of fixing it for the few (but loud) people that had problems. We cruised Quantum and had no problem making reservations, showing up for reservations, and eating. We are booked for Anthem and again had no problems making reservations based on where and when we wanted to eat.

 

To quote the Simpsons "They revamped this ride due to massive complaints from two people."

[LMaxwell]

How is having The Grande in the rotation any different from Formal Nights on every other ship?

 

Right now formal nights vary usually based on itinerary. I wouldn't want the formal venue on a port day where I may be first getting back on to the ship late afternoon/early evening. But I also wouldn't want to forgo table service dinner and ordering off a menu (and not paying additional for specialty).

 

IMO, you are going to see a massive relaxation of current Grande dress code which is already pretty relaxed from cruise formal. Basically pants = you're in.