ANTHEM - What's going on with DD/Classic Dining?

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I agree with everything you say. Times are changing and Royal is trying to stay ahead of the curve. They owe it to their shareholders to do that.

 

To add to that: I don't believe that their intent is to completely alienate their loyal customers, but they're not going to let those loyals stop them from adapting to the times. If the D+ and P members stay with them throughout the changes, fine, but if they lose a few, Royal isn't going to be upset. I could be a little off with this claim, but that's my personal take on the situation.

[Hoopster95]

To add to that: I don't believe that their intent is to completely alienate their loyal customers, but they're not going to let those loyals stop them from adapting to the times. If the D+ and P members stay with them throughout the changes, fine, but if they lose a few, Royal isn't going to be upset. I could be a little off with this claim, but that's my personal take on the situation.

 

Yes, excellent add-on to my post. And really, how many of those loyal RCL'ers would they really lose with the quantum class and other fleet wide changes? I'd bet a super low percentage. Out of all the PNs and D+'s I've met or talked to on CC, I think I only know of mommabean taking a break away from Cruising RCL and these boards. So maybe that's 1%?? Chump change to RCL losing one PN couple But maybe winning over 1000 affluent money spending cruisers like

My business partner.

 

Btw, my bus partner's booze bill on that 1st freedom cruise was over $600.

Zero freebies in any DL or CL. Multiply that by 4000 cruisers on a ship if there were no top-tier cruisers and count the profit margin.

[gaylemh]

In 2012 I brought my then 28yr old Phenom partner and his wife on Freedom. After two nights of bad service and food in MDR, having to get ready/dress, go to shows etc (like I had always loved to do until this cruise!!!) they refused to go to MDR for rest of cruise. We hit the WJ every night... First time for me. They asked us why we were up there ... We told them. They treated us like royalty after that. Had our wine and table reserved every night at the window. My young partner and wife did what they wanted when thy wanted, did not do all the shows, went to hot tub whenever, went to game shows whenever, went back to room Whenever! No schedule. Basically treated the traditional Freedom like Anthem and made it THIER choice. I followed them... It was so refreshing!

 

They've been back on RCL since (and they have a freedom Pres suite reserved next year for their whole family) because of My introduction, but they do not like being forced to eat at certain time, being at certain places, etc. they want to do what they want to do when They want to do it.

 

My circle of friends are the more affluent but younger 30-40. They have money, they travel and with family... Most of them Think cruising is for old People, tied down to set menus, "trapped" on a ship. They've asked lots Of questions to me And my business partner. Some Of those friends have since been On a couple of cruises since as well.

 

These are the future customers of RCL, not so Much the aging D+ or PN I'm afraid. My partner does not post on CC. I dare say the avg age on CC is over 50??? That's why DD and Anthem are being talked about negatively whereas the "old" style Radiance Class is a favourite. If there were a CC for only 20-40 yr olds, I would suspect Anthem and DD would get stellar reviews and Radiance/Vision classes with traditional dining not so much.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

I'm 60+ and loved Anthem. I had been on Explorer many times and loved it, until I went on Quantum. I did a Liberty sailing after I sailed on Quantum and was bored. The Music Hall and 270 were so much better than the Viking Lounge and the 'disco' on the other ships. I was tired on the same old menu on Liberty. Every cruise on Explorer I always knew exactly what I was going to order each night. There are so many other new choices in the restaurants on Anthem. My only minor complaint with the dining is, I wish they would do more sharing of tables for dinner for solos. They could even do a sign up board outside the dining rooms for solos that would like to share a table.

[ocav]

I believe it actually adds to their bottom line, because those perks make many cruisers consider Royal either first or exclusively so they can take advantage of those perks. I know it certainly is a factor in my decision when choosing a cruise.

 

 

True, however there is perks that cost relatively little to the bottom line that cruisers get from their 2nd cruise, it's cheaper to have 100 Golds onboard than 100 diamonds.

 

 

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[Hoopster95]

I'm 60+ and loved Anthem. I had been on Explorer many times and loved it, until I went on Quantum. I did a Liberty sailing after I sailed on Quantum and was bored. The Music Hall and 270 were so much better than the Viking Lounge and the 'disco' on the other ships. I was tired on the same old menu on Liberty. Every cruise on Explorer I always knew exactly what I was going to order each night. There are so many other new choices in the restaurants on Anthem. My only minor complaint with the dining is, I wish they would do more sharing of tables for dinner for solos. They could even do a sign up board outside the dining rooms for solos that would like to share a table.

 

Great post! Especially about the solo dining.

But you and I are minorities re our Quantum/Anthem Opinions on Cruise Critic.

 

Some advice for you... On Radiance and Legend last year I decided

To treat dining like quantum. I booked plenty of specialty so that I could

Try all venues, hit WJ at least once, and the MDR just 2-3 times. It was great!

I did the same on Jewel this past Dec with Beachcruzer. One might skipped dinner altogether and hung out in CL all night eating munchies cause we were having lots of fun, then added a few dinners later In the cruise with elleluv who we met in the CL. We made it what we wanted it to. Much harder to do as solo however unless you know people on the roll call you can pre plan a bit

[CruisingChick]

I was tired on the same old menu on Liberty. Every cruise on Explorer I always knew exactly what I was going to order each night.

 

I have to agree with you on that part. Dinner menus on Anthem much better than past RCCL cruises.

[angelofsin]

I'm 60+ and loved Anthem. I had been on Explorer many times and loved it, until I went on Quantum. I did a Liberty sailing after I sailed on Quantum and was bored. The Music Hall and 270 were so much better than the Viking Lounge and the 'disco' on the other ships. I was tired on the same old menu on Liberty. Every cruise on Explorer I always knew exactly what I was going to order each night. There are so many other new choices in the restaurants on Anthem. My only minor complaint with the dining is, I wish they would do more sharing of tables for dinner for solos. They could even do a sign up board outside the dining rooms for solos that would like to share a table.

 

I absolutely love this idea of solo sign-ups for sharing a dinner table.. would make things easier the best thing about classic dining to me is being able to converse with others. I am going to try DD (if it is still available for my sailing) so I can see for myself what it is all about. going to a different restaurant does seem interesting.

[ISABELLA]

I think they are tired of the old clients and just want all new clients.

 

It is clear that RC target for " new blood", but " new young blood" would not have patience to deal with dysfunctional website and other issues, they will move on fast.

[cot427]

But then you have nothing but your product to entice new passengers to come back again, and again, if you are not going to offer perks.

 

If we weren't Diamond on RCCL I am not sure we'd ever sail them again. I mean of course I would never, say never, but it would be hard for me to justify the cost of sailing with no perks whatsoever just on the merit of the product they put out.

 

We are not interested in rock climbing walls, flow riders, water slides, etc. So prefer not to pay for that in our cruise fare. At least getting some free drinks, capuccinos, internet minutes etc. helps offset the cost of our sailing.

 

Here's my scenario. I'm 25 points away from D+. 2 Royal cruises booked so that takes 14 off and only 11 away. But after each Royal cruise I've been on in the past 2 years, it makes me less and less consider taking another. The two upcoming, I was kinda stuck and had to pick something without airfare, so I picked Anthem (which I wanted to try anyway) and the Jewel I found a deal online. If those scenarios weren't there, I'd probably be sailing NCL more. So loyalty certainly isn't keeping me...especially with their regular prices. Sure the drinks are great, free internet, etc. But what's getting me lately is the company itself and the service on board. No excuses for what they are letting happen.

[UandMe4Ever]

I agree! If they can't figure out how to make both work, just do DD and let passengers choose their time and restaurant. Easy Peasy. Such a production OMG.....If they would have made the dining rooms large enough in each of the 4 restaurants, this would not have become such a issue. Yet, the wasted space on a "robot bar"...Wonder who the brains were in the designs/management space?

 

We'll have to wait and see, won't we. Hope they do not go back to Classic..the times just do not work for us. Perhaps if they added in a 7-7:15 time, maybe.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

I just got off the phone with a very nice rep trying to see if they know anything for certain. They do not - yet. All he would say is they are "leaning to full dynamic" and possibility of eliminating classic...He said nothing is in stone yet and no final decision has been decided. He mentioned that the majority of the passengers like dynamic, but want to keep the option of choosing what time and which restaurant they want, making it more flexible and not having RCI choose for them. It's still in the works. When the make their final decision, he believes emails will be sent to passengers directly or through their T/A....

 

That's it for today!

[CheerMom15]

I just got off the phone with a very nice rep trying to see if they know anything for certain. They do not - yet. All he would say is they are "leaning to full dynamic" and possibility of eliminating classic...He said nothing is in stone yet and no final decision has been decided. He mentioned that the majority of the passengers like dynamic, but want to keep the option of choosing what time and which restaurant they want, making it more flexible and not having RCI choose for them. It's still in the works. When the make their final decision, he believes emails will be sent to passengers directly or through their T/A....

 

That's it for today!

 

I am currently signed up for classic for my cruise in June. Guess I will see if that goes away in my cruise planner too. However, as much as I don't want to bother with reservations, I would prefer to make them at all different places than to only be able to see 1 dining venue.

[CruisingChick]

I just got off the phone with a very nice rep trying to see if they know anything for certain. They do not - yet. All he would say is they are "leaning to full dynamic" and possibility of eliminating classic..

 

Okay, I am totally confused. Isn't this what Quantum had when it came out - all Dynamic Dining?

 

But then too many people complained so on Anthem they added Classic Dining as well to make them happy?

 

So if they eliminate Classic then will Dynamic Dining lines to get into the restaurants be even longer than they were on our cruise? :(

[Clarea]

Okay, I am totally confused. Isn't this what Quantum had when it came out - all Dynamic Dining?

 

But then too many people complained so on Anthem they added Classic Dining as well to make them happy?

 

So if they eliminate Classic then will Dynamic Dining lines to get into the restaurants be even longer than they were on our cruise? :(

We will have to wait for Patti's report next week.

[beachnative]

To add to that: I don't believe that their intent is to completely alienate their loyal customers, but they're not going to let those loyals stop them from adapting to the times. If the D+ and P members stay with them throughout the changes, fine, but if they lose a few, Royal isn't going to be upset. I could be a little off with this claim, but that's my personal take on the situation.

 

We loved all the changes that were evident on the Quantum and Anthem.:)

We also love the changes that were made on the Oasis and Allure.:)

We are looking forward to loving the changes that will be evident on the Harmony.:)

 

The enhancements that were introduced on the 5 ships that I mentioned have brought new excitement to cruising and we have found ourselves booking these 5 more than the other Royal ships.:)

 

There is enough variety in the fleet that all of us should be able to find a class of ship that we like.

Edited March 25, 2016 by beachnative

[beachnative]

Okay, I am totally confused. Isn't this what Quantum had when it came out - all Dynamic Dining?

 

But then too many people complained so on Anthem they added Classic Dining as well to make them happy?

 

So if they eliminate Classic then will Dynamic Dining lines to get into the restaurants be even longer than they were on our cruise? :(

 

Maybe the people who complained so strongly about Dynamic Dining never returned to the Quantum or Anthem. Maybe the company realizes that the problems caused by adding "Classic" outweigh the negative reviews about Dynamic Dining Choice.

[Clarea]

Maybe the people who complained so strongly about Dynamic Dining never returned to the Quantum or Anthem. Maybe the company realizes that the problems caused by adding "Classic" outweigh the negative reviews about Dynamic Dining Choice.

Could very well be the case.

[Merion_Mom]

We loved all the changes that were evident on the Quantum and Anthem.:)

We also love the changes that were made on the Oasis and Allure.:)

We are looking forward to loving the changes that will be evident on the Harmony.:)

 

The enhancements that were introduced on the 5 ships that I mentioned have brought new excitement to cruising and we have found ourselves booking these 5 more than the other Royal ships.:)

 

There is enough variety in the fleet that all of us should be able to find a class of ship that we like.

 

Variety is the spice of life!!!!!

[graphicguy]

It's amazing, all the different experiences people have had with dining on Quantum and Anthem. I guess I was extremely lucky, on 5 cruises, I never had a problem with reservations, food or waiting for dinner. There were some dishes I liked better than others, but that is my personal taste. I loved DD and hope it continues in some form.

 

We'll see if my luck hold out on number 6 in April.

 

Yeah...not sure where the angst is coming from, aside from the fact there's always resistance to change. I thought RCCL did a great job back in December, 2015 with DD. Everything went smoothly.

 

Never waited. Food was great and served promptly, regardless of the restaurant I went to.

 

If anything, I'm betting RCCL will go totally DD before they go back to fixed dining schedules. It's the way the entire industry is going.

[beachnative]

Variety is the spice of life!!!!!

 

………..and as much as we love the Quantum, Anthem, Oasis, and Allure……

 

………..WE WILL SEE YOU ON THE OLD EMPRESS IN MAY!!!!:):)

Edited March 25, 2016 by beachnative

[DaisyL]

We're booked early May on the Anthem with 10 (maybe 12) people with Classic dining late seating, 8:30 pm.

 

Having cruised on different cruise lines it depends on the number of our group whether we prefer a flexible or fixed dining time. A large group of 10 is very difficult for a MT type of dining and trying to agree and make reservations is even worse.

 

When it's just DH and myself, or 1 or 2 additional couples, MT works well. Also add in the dislike of dining with 'strangers' traditional is not preferable either, unless it's a 2 or 4 or 6 top for just our group.

 

When we heard that our large group can dine the same time every night on the Anthem we booked this cruise in a heartbeat, a year in advance. We already have shows, North Star and iFly booked too.

 

We'll see.... I'll review as I go along.

[Phoenix1949]

It's amazing, all the different experiences people have had with dining on Quantum and Anthem. I guess I was extremely lucky, on 5 cruises, I never had a problem with reservations, food or waiting for dinner. There were some dishes I liked better than others, but that is my personal taste. I loved DD and hope it continues in some form.

 

We'll see if my luck hold out on number 6 in April.

 

On our two sailings on Quantum and our one sailing on Anthem we had no problems with DD. Not with making reservations online or changing reservations onboard. Looking forward to our next cruise on Anthem and hoping they keep DD.

 

Obviously this ship and this dining concept isn't for everyone.

Edited March 25, 2016 by Phoenix1949

[Hoopster95]

Maybe the people who complained so strongly about Dynamic Dining never returned to the Quantum or Anthem. Maybe the company realizes that the problems caused by adding "Classic" outweigh the negative reviews about Dynamic Dining Choice.

 

Hmmm, I think this could be spot on.

Compared to that dec 1, 2014 Quantum sailing that had a record number of D, D+ and PNs in RCL history up to that sailing (everyone had to beat the Jones' and get on that new ship hell or high water!!!), I wonder how many D and up sail On any given sailing today?

 

I couldn't keep track back then but seemed like every second post was how someone hated DD, never sailed on her yet so had zero factual base for their opinion, but we're hooked on her anyways. Those sailings were doomed from the beginning with hundreds of negative cruisers getting on board right off the bat.

[curry767]

Is it possible all the conflicting stories are because RCI will have a different program in the future for different boats within the Quantum Class?

 

For example, Anthem is based more around the American market that prefers classic. So maybe DD will disappear from Anthem.

 

However for Quantum and Ovation which will be based mainly in China, it will be completely different. The Chinese market is very very different to anywhere else in the cruising world. Also when these ships move to Australia/NZ for a short season they may only have DD as it more preferred by these customers.

 

I think RCI would be stupid to try and make one rule fits all markets in the modern day world of cruising.

[parrotfeathers]

I may need to start a new thread, but I'd like to know if I just eat in Coastal Kitchen every night will I miss anything by not eating in the other restaurants, especially Wonderland?

[ocav]

I may need to start a new thread, but I'd like to know if I just eat in Coastal Kitchen every night will I miss anything by not eating in the other restaurants, especially Wonderland?

 

 

 

Yeah you'll miss out on the different menu choices, and in the case of wonderland you'd be missing out on spending more money. I'd highly recommend trying every restaurant on the ship where possible at least once (except specialities)