How The Whiners Ruined Dynamic Dining

[gaylemh]

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.:)

 

That's you. There are plenty of other ships for you to enjoy. I loved both Quantum and Anthem, and I didn't do most of the "amusements". Change to me is good, and I loved the different restaurants along with the many different offerings in each. I always liked dining on Explorer until I dined on Quantum. I sailed on Liberty after my 3 sailing on Quantum and was bored with the dining after experiencing DD.

[DaniDanielle]

I agree Gaylemh! I will admit to preferring Oasis and Allure, but not flying has its perks!! Dynamic Dining was not a problem for us,maybe we were lucky. We had 15 of us on the last cruise and were able to change reservations if we needed. We are going again Thursday and will enjoy the last DD for us[emoji854]

 

 

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[gaylemh]

I agree Gaylemh! I will admit to preferring Oasis and Allure, but not flying has its perks!! Dynamic Dining was not a problem for us,maybe we were lucky. We had 15 of us on the last cruise and were able to change reservations if we needed. We are going again Thursday and will enjoy the last DD for us[emoji854]

 

 

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Me too, never had a problem in 70 nights. I get to enjoy it one more time on the 20th, and then I'll be on the 2nd cruise after the change on 12/9. I have a feeling it's going to be a mess.

[Lizcourt]

I will admit to preferring Oasis and Allure, but not flying has its perks!! [emoji854]

 

 

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I used to be of the same mind -- being able to drive to the pier, board, and immediately be on vacation seemed great. But frankly, the last few times we have sailed out of NY/NJ the weather has been far too cold on the first days out and the last days back to enjoy any of the outdoor facilities (not to mention that the North Atlantic tends to be much rockier than the Caribbean). So we've decided that getting those three to four days in full vacation mode by sailing out of Florida is worth the hassle of a few hours flying down and back, and have gone back to the Oasis for our next cruise.

[DaniDanielle]

Jealous!

 

 

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[Merion_Mom]

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.

 

Particularly well said, PQI! I salute you. ;) :D

[OSUZorba]

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 knew they had started offering the everyday menu pretty early on, but I didn't realize they now let you order from the other restaurants. I know that would solve a lot of the issues I originally had with the concept. Its been a while since I've looked at the DD menus, but originally they never changed and then when they first started change I thought they were pretty minor changes, not really completely new menus.

 

I still wouldn't like the reservation side of it, that is the worse thing about going to WDW would not want on a cruise.

 

I had come around to being willing to try out DD some time, but I am glad it didn't go fleet wide.

 

I assume with all of the changes made to DD to make it better, it went from a money saver to a money spender and they decided to go back to the standard barrier, especially if they were spending more for lower satisfaction.

[Baron Barracuda]

I used to be of the same mind -- being able to drive to the pier, board, and immediately be on vacation seemed great. But frankly, the last few times we have sailed out of NY/NJ the weather has been far too cold on the first days out and the last days back to enjoy any of the outdoor facilities (not to mention that the North Atlantic tends to be much rockier than the Caribbean). So we've decided that getting those three to four days in full vacation mode by sailing out of Florida is worth the hassle of a few hours flying down and back, and have gone back to the Oasis for our next cruise.

 

Yes sailing from NJ in winter can get rocky, but by day two am usually on deck in shorts. Personally prefer nine days at sea including two cool ones, to seven days on Oasis plus two days of air travel. No baggage limits and cheaper too.

[shdixon]

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Anthem/Dining_FAQs_2016

 

Can someone please tell me what DD is? I have seen many post but still not clear what it is and why people dont like it

Edited September 19, 2016 by shdixon
Trying trying to change the settings to see if I can be informed about replies

[Clarea]

Can someone please tell me what DD is? I have seen many post but still not clear what it is and why people dont like it

Dynamic Dining is the same a My Time, with the additional choice of one of four "free" restaurants. The four free restaurants have only two different menus per cruise.

[Ocean Dancer]

To add to what Bob said, you had to make My Time Dining (DDchoice) reservations 90 days out. It was the walk ups that did not work well.

 

All 4 free dining rooms had a steak, chicken, pasta, and fish option as well as the main menu for that room. You could cross order as 2 dining rooms shared kitchens.

[ChristieNJ]

I never had a problem with traditional dining before, never even thought of how a change might be better.

 

So when we booked our Quantum cruise before the ship was even built, I had read about DD. I was SO, so excited to try it! I thought it would be great to come back from an island and not rush to get ready for dinner at a certain time. Also to pick whatever restaurant I felt I wanted to dine at, depending on what mood we were all in. I couldn't wait to try it!

 

Then after about the 2nd or 3rd night on Quantum, I severely missed traditional. Our reservations that I made previous to our stepping foot onboard QOS had disappeared once we got on QOS, however fortunately we were able to walk right into any restaurant without barely a wait, so that wasn't an issue at all. I found the service was not like you had with traditional dining at all, and I felt the servers felt the same way. A number of them had even stated that to us. And you could just tell. Something that I thought would make a perfect cruise even more prefect, I came to severely dislike. I missed walking into a dining room and knowing which waiter I was going to have. I missed the personal aspect of it all. I missed a lot of things! I cannot wait to go back on Freedom in November and get back to traditional dining.

 

So I was one who actually was eagerly anticipating DD with every ounce of soul in my body, but who ended up pretty much loathing it. The majority of the passengers on our cruise felt the exact same about DD. I do hope QOS and AOS finds something that they can work with and succeed for long-term, given all the different restaurants that there are. But I can't wait to step foot in the same dining room every evening once again! :D

[dahirsh]

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.

 

Wonderland is not one of the main dining rooms, so if you are going to complain about the menu there you might as well be complaining about not being able to get chicken parm at Izumi.

 

And once you change the" steak and seafood always available" to "steak and seafood that I want to eat, always available" we are no longer discussing your issues with DD but with RC's menu choices as a whole. You don't like salmon? fine, not a big deal, but that doesn't mean seafood is not available in every main dining room every night

[Moltar]

We leave on October 1st for the Anthem 5 night Bermuda. Glad we get to experience it and give first hand thoughts when we get back.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Moltar

[Ocean Dancer]

And to add, when the change occurs, there will be one FORMAL night on 5 day cruises and 2 Formal nights on all other sailings ship wide.:)

 

It won't be GRANDE anymore ;)

[shdixon]

Thank you for explaining DD.

[finz2u]

We are on Anthem right now. Had no trouble with reservations. Basically, as DD Choice (aka MTD), I chose Silk, Chic, and American Icon. DH did not like Silk décor and concept, but love his filet; my duck was so-so. Liked Chic and like American Icon, but felt the menu choices were too similar. Never had the same waiters and, while they were attentive, I found I missed getting to know their names and something about their lives and families. One waiter did mention that the guests had made a lot of negative comments and that's why it is changing.

 

Personally, I think I would like the dining experience better under a more traditional format.

 

Anthem is beautiful, but it takes awhile to adjust to this new smart ship.

[Stitchman]

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

 

 

Agreed, you are in the minority. It was a rubbish system, and real cruisers love formal nights .........

I take my hat off to Royal Caribbean for actually listening to their customers. They really have gone up in my estimations.

 

And what in heavens name are you going on about ? What's a cookie cutter cruise ?

 

 

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[Stitchman]

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.:)

 

 

Well said sir ! I salute you !

And we get to dress up beautifully again on quantum class ships [emoji3]

 

WIN WIN !!!!!!

 

 

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[Biker19]

And what in heavens name are you going on about ? What's a cookie cutter cruise ?

 

Something like....

 

[Stitchman]

Obviously that's taking it a little to the extreme. But tbh, an awful lot of people cruise because of this regime.

Personally, I do. I like to know what time to have dinner. And I don't pay thousands of pounds to have to book stuff myself.

Anthem and ovation were like really expensive Benidorms. Like being at those stereotype all inclusive places.

 

Cookie cutter cruise

Scruffy git cruise ......

 

 

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[caribbean sailor]

I never had a problem with traditional dining before, never even thought of how a change might be better.

 

So when we booked our Quantum cruise before the ship was even built, I had read about DD. I was SO, so excited to try it! I thought it would be great to come back from an island and not rush to get ready for dinner at a certain time. Also to pick whatever restaurant I felt I wanted to dine at, depending on what mood we were all in. I couldn't wait to try it!

 

Then after about the 2nd or 3rd night on Quantum, I severely missed traditional. Our reservations that I made previous to our stepping foot onboard QOS had disappeared once we got on QOS, however fortunately we were able to walk right into any restaurant without barely a wait, so that wasn't an issue at all. I found the service was not like you had with traditional dining at all, and I felt the servers felt the same way. A number of them had even stated that to us. And you could just tell. Something that I thought would make a perfect cruise even more prefect, I came to severely dislike. I missed walking into a dining room and knowing which waiter I was going to have. I missed the personal aspect of it all. I missed a lot of things! I cannot wait to go back on Freedom in November and get back to traditional dining.

 

So I was one who actually was eagerly anticipating DD with every ounce of soul in my body, but who ended up pretty much loathing it. The majority of the passengers on our cruise felt the exact same about DD. I do hope QOS and AOS finds something that they can work with and succeed for long-term, given all the different restaurants that there are. But I can't wait to step foot in the same dining room every evening once again! :D

 

 

I also agree we can't wait to walk into a traditional dining room. Change is not always good.Also a new ship is not always better.After fourteen cruises on Voyager and Freedom class ships, Most Out of Cape Liberty.We will suck it in and drive to Baltimore for a Eleven Night cruise on the The Grandeur.Our first small ship.No Quantum class ships for us.:)

[Stitchman]

A true Caribbean Sailor [emoji4]

 

 

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[Ocean Dancer]

Agreed, you are in the minority. It was a rubbish system, and real cruisers love formal nights .........

I take my hat off to Royal Caribbean for actually listening to their customers. They really have gone up in my estimations.

 

And what in heavens name are you going on about ? What's a cookie cutter cruise ?

 

 

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By your signature, you have not been on many cookie cuter cruises. See bikers video. If you did not like Anthem with DD, why did you sail her twice?

 

We are REAL cruisers, you don't know us......DH was in the NAVY!! Protecting your a@@ :mad:

 

 

 

 

Well said sir ! I salute you !

And we get to dress up beautifully again on quantum class ships [emoji3]

 

WIN WIN !!!!!!

 

 

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I never said we didn't like to dress up, when we normally cruise, DH wears a tux. We booked The Grande on Anthem 5 nights out of 12. I, too am happy about across the ship Formal nights. Avoiding Grande will not be an option anymore.

[Moltar]

Isnt that what this forum is? full of whiners? I could of swore.