How The Whiners Ruined Dynamic Dining

[christycruiser]

What was advertised was the choice of restaurants with distinctive menus. Now its just all across the board. How boring! I thought this was what Quantum class was all about. You can't entice people to book and pay more for a cruise that included more for choice than your average cruise then just take it away. The people that commented they preferred fixed main dining rooms should not have booked a cruise that had DD. Thousands are now in a position where they booked a cruise for DD and have had that stripped away! ANGRY!

[woodyren]

@woody. We were (the first I believe) to do the classic dining, rotating with staff and table mates. The food and experience was good. But seeing loads of queues every night outside of half empty dining rooms was quite bad I think.

 

 

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I don't disagree with what you say. What is driving me crazy is HOW Royals boffins think this will change by reverting to traditional .

 

DD classic. Two seatings per night =

Traditional early or late. Same amount of tables.

 

DD or MTD. The rest of the people trying to book or walk up for what is left with exactly the same amount of tables left.

 

The only difference is menus and food along with now looking at the same decor which seamed not to be the major gripe of DD in the first place.

 

As for Aussie's with our stronger truth in Advertising laws. If I had booked with an Aussie TA, particularly the one who chartered Ovation to sell at a more expensive price and the style I booked and was heavily advertised (DD) changed. Well let's just say I would be testing those laws to the max.

,

 

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[Stitchman]

Also, when we booked anthem, we booked it because we were meeting up with people that we had met on Indy the previous year. I'm not big on research, but I didn't realise there wasn't a proper formal night, and dress code in the grande (allegedly formal all the time) wasn't even enforced. So a bit of a mess really.

 

 

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[woodyren]

Also, when we booked anthem, we booked it because we were meeting up with people that we had met on Indy the previous year. I'm not big on research, but I didn't realise there wasn't a proper formal night, and dress code in the grande (allegedly formal all the time) wasn't even enforced. So a bit of a mess really.

 

 

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Again no different for some who is not big on research arriving on a traditional dinning cruise and finding out there IS a formal night and as a result being shut out of all free venues bar the buffet. Or even worse a person who has booked a ship that was advertised with DD because they liked the fact that there was no formal night and suffering the same fate. Again I don't disagree with what your experience was. I am just highlighting what Royal appears to have done without thinking things through very well.

 

 

 

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[tugboat]

No such thing.

 

1. YOU never tried it, so as far as I am concerned, you have no legitimate input on the subject.

 

2. Not the majority. The LOUDEST complainers.

 

Must have a basket full of complainers :eek:

[Ocean Dancer]

MEH -Anthem is close my home and I am excited to try it now that DD is gone. Sailed on Quantum a couple years ago and found the menus to be severely lacking. We have a large family and found ourselves going to American Icon and eating burgers almost every night until we were reduced to going to the Windjammer.

 

We love a good burger too, but why would your large family eat burgers every night? :confused:

 

Now the menus will be down to one across the ship. You will even have less choice.

[baileymouse]

My husband can be described as an adventurous foodie and I booked Anthem for our anniversary next year because of the different restaurants. The change is disappointing.

 

Most of the people I talked with really enjoyed the different experiences.

[OSUZorba]

We love a good burger too, but why would your large family eat burgers every night? :confused:

 

Now the menus will be down to one across the ship. You will even have less choice.

 

Except they will change every night. And they won't be strictly tied to one type of cuisine. So there will be more choices.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

I vaguely recall that some people we've met onboard previously enjoyed WHINE with their CHEESE.

[Ocean Dancer]

Except they will change every night. And they won't be strictly tied to one type of cuisine. So there will be more choices.

 

I've sailed Anthem and do not understand your reasoning.

 

Currently four menus changing every four days in four restaurants = eight

menus of a different type/style of food. Plus lobster every night if you choose. Or that yummy whatever that you had a day or two ago. Or eating in Chic and ordering from Grande's menu, eating in Silk and ordering from American Icon etc.. The only choice you will have in November is what is on the menu in front of you, yes, it will change daily, but your other many choices will be gone.

 

Way less options the way I see it. Back to cruise ship boring. Anthem had a great thing going and did not figure out how to make it work. Sad!

[robbykapnj]

I simply still do not get the rush to change back. Why not wait until next year when people have time to book (or change) based on the vastly different experience that will be offered.

 

We were looking to a new and different cruising experience as we are tired of the same old (dining, stuck in same venue, food, cuisines, fly on acts, parades, belly flop, love and marriage).

 

If they are indeed going to switch it based on feedback, can't they wait until next year when people can more easily change if they'd like based on the newly (old) offered experience compared to the dynamic one we booked?

[Ocean Dancer]

I simply still do not get the rush to change back. Why not wait until next year when people have time to book (or change) based on the vastly different experience that will be offered.

 

We were looking to a new and different cruising experience as we are tired of the same old (dining, stuck in same venue, food, cuisines, fly on acts, parades, belly flop, love and marriage).

 

If they are indeed going to switch it based on feedback, can't they wait until next year when people can more easily change if they'd like based on the newly (old) offered experience compared to the dynamic one we booked?

 

My guess is that most want a cookie cutter cruise and we are in the minority.

 

And by the way, Two formal nights will also be brought back, so men, have your jackets cleaned. :D

[DaisyL]

I don't disagree with what you say. What is driving me crazy is HOW Royals boffins think this will change by reverting to traditional .

 

DD classic. Two seatings per night =

Traditional early or late. Same amount of tables.

 

DD or MTD. The rest of the people trying to book or walk up for what is left with exactly the same amount of tables left.

 

The only difference is menus and food along with now looking at the same decor which seamed not to be the major gripe of DD in the first place.

 

Not really.... It was a nightmare to schedule service with mixed dining rooms. The waitstaff for Classic needed to service tables near each other and could not serve a Choice table. And in turn the Choice tables needed to be near each other with staff serving in a controlled manor. All in one dining room... a nightmare. With MTD or Traditional dining rooms makes service easier for timing.

 

Also, add in the mix of some dining rooms were preferred (for whatever reason, decor or menu) hence a wait for DD Choice diners. And less desirable dining rooms with many empty tables so underutilized. And we saw this in May on our Anthem cruise.

 

I think RCL can better utilize the dining rooms with the changes to take place. And looking at the sample menus it looks appealing, trying to add some of the choices from the current DD, favorites from traditional menus, and everyday choices always available.

Edited September 18, 2016 by DaisyL

[Danswife12]

We love a good burger too, but why would your large family eat burgers every night? :confused:

 

Now the menus will be down to one across the ship. You will even have less choice.

 

We were traveling with children, teenagers and young adults. Some of us wanted asian, some wanted Italian, some didn't like either of those things so we were stuck eating American Icon and there was not a variety of foods on the menu.

 

With the main dining room you can choose pasta or steak or seafood etc. There is something for everything and you don't have to pick from a theme. It's pretty rare that if you are traveling with a large group everyone will want the same type of foods. Make sense?

[Danswife12]

I've sailed Anthem and do not understand your reasoning.

 

Currently four menus changing every four days in four restaurants = eight

menus of a different type/style of food. Plus lobster every night if you choose. Or that yummy whatever that you had a day or two ago. Or eating in Chic and ordering from Grande's menu, eating in Silk and ordering from American Icon etc.. The only choice you will have in November is what is on the menu in front of you, yes, it will change daily, but your other many choices will be gone.

 

Way less options the way I see it. Back to cruise ship boring. Anthem had a great thing going and did not figure out how to make it work. Sad!

 

I guess that have changed it since we went on Quantum. I would enjoy this version of DD much better. Our issue was that we were stuck eating at American Icon because none of the kids wanted to try the other restaurants.

[dahirsh]

We were traveling with children, teenagers and young adults. Some of us wanted asian, some wanted Italian, some didn't like either of those things so we were stuck eating American Icon and there was not a variety of foods on the menu.

 

With the main dining room you can choose pasta or steak or seafood etc. There is something for everything and you don't have to pick from a theme. It's pretty rare that if you are traveling with a large group everyone will want the same type of foods. Make sense?

 

you are unlikely to find both Asian and Italian on any one main dining room menu. That is not a result of DD. On the other hand often Chic and AI would have a pasta dish, steak and some sort of seafood, so using DD as an excuse for "we had no choice but to eat hamburgers" doesn't really hold water. In fact is you include the "always available" option all four dining rooms have steak and seafood every single day

[TrishRip]

We LOVED DD...going back to "normal boring dining" is disappointing. "Upgraded" menus?? Not so sure. Why be stuck with ONE choice (dining experience) for the entire cruise? For thise who didn't try it, they're clueless!

 

Peter

 

Not quite sure how you figure you'll be stuck with "one" choice. You still have specialty restaurants, as well as MDR and the other dining venues. One of the reasons we have chosen not to cruise on the Quantum Class was BECAUSE of Dynamic Dining. We didn't want to be "forced" into DD. I am sure there are others who feel the same. We love the MDR and do not find it boring at all... being on vacations, we don't like having to make reservations for everything. We do our late dinner seating and enjoy the menus (though I am excited for new ones as it has been a while). We look at the menu each day ahead of time and if it is something no one in our group is excited about, them we go somewhere else.

 

I'm sorry that you enjoyed DD and now it is being taken away. I know the changes are frustrating, no matter what they are. I was fine with never going on a DD Ship but, was soo glad when they decided not to do it on the Oasis class. At least, you still have MTD and other dining choices, even if some have a charge.

 

RCL has nearly 6 million passengers a year to please. Obviously, they can't please everyone, but still need to run a profitable business and make as many of those passengers happy, and coming back. I am sure ending DD was not a decision made lightly, but one that they feel is best. Some things, you just have to roll with it.

 

I, however, am just happy to be able to enjoy my cruises as often as I can. So long as the food is good, the service is amazing, and the ship sails....I am happy! =)

[Danswife12]

you are unlikely to find both Asian and Italian on any one main dining room menu. That is not a result of DD. On the other hand often Chic and AI would have a pasta dish, steak and some sort of seafood, so using DD as an excuse for "we had no choice but to eat hamburgers" doesn't really hold water. In fact is you include the "always available" option all four dining rooms have steak and seafood every single day

 

Actually it does hold water because there is definitely more variety in the main dining room then there was at Silk or Wonderland or whatever those other limited options were. Were you on my cruise? There was definitely not steak and seafood that we wanted to eat at every restaurant.

 

I never had an issue finding something that I like in the main dining room and neither have my kids. Suddenly on Quantum we were forced to choose a specialized restaurant or eating off of a one page menu biting into burgers with gristle.

[Biker19]

Were you on my cruise? There was definitely not steak and seafood that we wanted to eat at every restaurant.

 

In the early days of DD, the "always available" menu option was not always available (I assume it was not on your sailing or it was limited). Because of the issues you mentioned, that was rolled out and it has been available since Anthem came out.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Biker19

[PQI]

Not quite sure how you figure you'll be stuck with "one" choice. You still have specialty restaurants, as well as MDR and the other dining venues. One of the reasons we have chosen not to cruise on the Quantum Class was BECAUSE of Dynamic Dining. We didn't want to be "forced" into DD. I am sure there are others who feel the same. We love the MDR and do not find it boring at all... being on vacations, we don't like having to make reservations for everything. We do our late dinner seating and enjoy the menus (though I am excited for new ones as it has been a while). We look at the menu each day ahead of time and if it is something no one in our group is excited about, them we go somewhere else.

 

I'm sorry that you enjoyed DD and now it is being taken away. I know the changes are frustrating, no matter what they are. I was fine with never going on a DD Ship but, was soo glad when they decided not to do it on the Oasis class. At least, you still have MTD and other dining choices, even if some have a charge.

 

RCL has nearly 6 million passengers a year to please. Obviously, they can't please everyone, but still need to run a profitable business and make as many of those passengers happy, and coming back. I am sure ending DD was not a decision made lightly, but one that they feel is best. Some things, you just have to roll with it.

 

I, however, am just happy to be able to enjoy my cruises as often as I can. So long as the food is good, the service is amazing, and the ship sails....I am happy! =)

 

Given all other options are for charge, then yes, everyone is now stuck with a single option of menu or go to the Windjammer. DD was great because you had four different menus to choose from without having to pay extra. Now, if you don't like that night's menu, you have to either go to Windjammer, Sorrento's, or any other free place unless you are willing to spend extra.

 

If you don't like making reservations and enjoy the traditional, same time seating everyday, you could have just chosen DD Classic and have an early or late seating, the only difference being that instead of going to the same MDR every night you would go to different restaurants. You still would only have one single menu, which you could ditch and go eat somewhere else if you didn't like it.

 

I do believe DD Classic was a great solution for many of the issues the traditionalist cruiser had with DD. Even those people with DD Classic took advantage of the flexibility DD allowed on my cruise when we had a port stop in St. Martin until 8pm, which meant those with early dining would either be required to return early to the ship or miss their dining. Instead, they took advantage of DD and many of them were able to get seats and choose one of the four restaurants even though their time for dining had long passed.

 

Therefore, I don't see any advantage for us cruisers on this outcome. The only advantage is for Royal, who can now save money by being able to keep a single menu every night instead of having to prepare four different ones, especially given that there won't be lobster available every night now.

[TC1957]

Does anyone else find it amusing that the lovers of DD coming here to complain about the whiners are now "the whiners"?

 

Life is full of disappointments...move on.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

does anyone else find it amusing that the lovers of dd coming here to complain about the whiners are now "the whiners"?

 

Life is full of disappointments...move on.

+1 :)

[kutchyone]

I think this sucks but won't cancel because of it. Much less options. As far as kids, ours eat where we tell them too. If they are old enough to eat unsupervised they can go where they want. Sorry but to eat burgers every day is just silly.

 

I think financially this change had to be a win for RCCL. The menu to me us cookie cutter to the entire fleet. And pretty boring. The individual menus gad looked wonderful. Oh well.

 

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[PQI]

Does anyone else find it amusing that the lovers of DD coming here to complain about the whiners are now "the whiners"?

 

Life is full of disappointments...move on.

 

Not whining. Grieving. As far I understand no one who liked DD will stop cruising or are threatening to do so because of this, unlike the peevish DD-haters who for most the part never got to experience it, and actually refused to do so, and complained about it.

 

And that's what we're doing, moving on. At least some of us got to experience a good thing while it lasted.

Edited September 19, 2016 by PQI

[caribbean sailor]

Feel very fortunate. You didn't miss anything but confusion, a foray of errors, and FAILURE of a dining program that didn't work out.

 

TRADITIONAL DINING was not broke why fix it.We want no parts of DD DINING OR THE Quantum ships.The amusement parks of the seas.:)