Poll: Traditional dining vs anytime dining

[DonnaK]

I find traditional dining to be more relaxing. Our world is so fast paced and tense. The traditional dining allows us to slow down and work within a schedule. I enjoy returning to my room at a set time each day to get ready for a lovely evening beginning with my dining experience. I enjoy the new friends from my table and the leisurely pace it sets.

Open dining (or freestyle) is actually deceptive. I have witnessed it (see previous post). You may be able to return to your cabin to get ready for dinner at your own timing, however, it was not my experience to see people seated for dinner at their own timing. Long wait times were the order of the day. The absence of large tables and the constancy of tablemates and servers that that brings is sorely missed. Free style provides for a vastly different dining experience (IMHO- one that is lacking).

 

If one would like open dining, there is the Windjammer, room service, Chops and Portofino.

 

Sometimes, old traditional customs are the best. I know that many of us are loyal to RCI for the services they offer us (e.g. traditional dining, more recreation, excellent children's programs, etc.). If we wanted what the other cruise lines are offering, then we would be on those ships.

 

One last thought. RCI appears to be the only line that does not discount their rates. They have been able to do this and maintain their customer base in spite of other lines providing similar cruises at cheaper rates. If RCI can command the better rates, why would they want to change to conform with their less successful competitors. If it ain't broke....

 

 

EXCELLENT POST!

[Janet524]

There already IS an option for "anytime" seating...It's called the Windjammer!

[boykin]

I would like to know if the people who voted for traditional dining have ever tried anytime dining. Maybe the poll should state to vote if you have tried both. Before I tried anytime I would have voted for traditional but cruising in different parts of the world with longer port days, anytime is definitely better.

IMO

[SLH]

I love traditional dining, it's an important part of my whole cruise experience. I look forward to seeing my tablemates every evening and the same waiter and busboy. You can always eat in the Windjammer for anytime dining. Please RCI keep it as is!:)

[janabelle61]

There are many options for those who choose to sail in a very casual, "anytime" atmosphere. As much as I love Royal, If they made a serious change away from traditional dining, I would be looking at alternatives.

[Fran Harp]

Why is everyone here so against having choices? Couldn't they offer both traditional and fixed so everyone is happy? I don't understand the overly-emotional responses to the thought of flexibility for more people.

 

The flexibility and choices are already there. If you want anytime open seating, go to the Windjammer, or one of the specialty restaurants. Taking away the traditional seating dining changes the entire cruise experience. Plus, I can just imagine the number of people who will be upset if they can't get a table in the dining precisely when they want to because all the tables are already taken, and they then have to wait.

 

Fran in Toronto

[janabelle61]

TRADITIONAL!! We remain loyal to RCCL because they're loyal to tradition. Hope they hear us!

 

I couldn't have said it better!

[janabelle61]

TRADITIONAL!! We remain loyal to RCCL because they're loyal to tradition. Hope they hear us!

 

I couldn't have said it better!

[Fran Harp]

The only "freedom" is that they can dress down every night and avoid sitting with fellow passengers with whom they might be forced to be civil for an hour or two.

 

I sincerely hope RCI sticks with the dining formula that has worked just fine since the beginning of cruising.

 

*This* is the real issue. ...and some here have named it. They want to dress the way they want, eat with friends rather than get to know new people, and aim to get the same wait staff... and I visualise lines of people trying to get in early enough to get the "best" tables.

 

Fran in Toronto

[Fran Harp]

The only "freedom" is that they can dress down every night and avoid sitting with fellow passengers with whom they might be forced to be civil for an hour or two.

 

I sincerely hope RCI sticks with the dining formula that has worked just fine since the beginning of cruising.

 

*This* is the real issue. ...and some here have named it. They want to dress the way they want, eat with friends rather than get to know new people, and aim to get the same wait staff... and I visualise lines of people trying to get in early enough to get the "best" tables.

 

Fran in Toronto

[Fran Harp]

Absolutely traditional seating. Changing to personal choice will change the entire atmosphere of the cruising experience. RCI will be sacrificing the elegant and formal level of service that they so pride themselves on now. It would definitely dummy-down the experience for those of us who cruise to feel like Royalty for that one week.

 

Those who want anytime dining have the personal choice option to dine at the Windjammer. They need to leave the dining room traditional.

 

I've already dashed off an email to C&A and to Richard Fain to voice my strong objections to this change.

 

How do I email Richard Fain? You can let me know at franota at rogers dot com

 

 

Fran in Toronto

[beachchick]

This has been RCCL management's position everytime this issue has been brought up especially in D+ and TA forums on inaugural cruises etc.

 

This board often gets NCL or Princess fans who start threads in favor of freestyle/anytime dining and the RCCL cruiser resonse is heavily tilted toward traditional.

 

Just because someone cruises with RCCL, which we do and which we enjoy a great deal, doesn't mean that they don't also enjoy other cruise lines and other dining choices.

 

We had a very good experience with NCL. No problems, no "downgrade" or "dummy down" (whatever that means; that anytime diners are lower class than traditional diners?) in the dining experience. The service was quite good and the experience was enjoyable. OTOH, we don't feel the need to have personal relationship with our waiters on RCCL either. As long as the service is efficient and pleasant, I don't need or want more than that.

 

Either type of dining is fine with us, as long as there are other options onboard for the nights when we don't want to have to eat at an assigned time. Why can't I be a "fan" of more than one type of dining?

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

I think you've hit the nail on the head. The logistical problems of letting 1,500+ passengers feel like they're eating "any time" are enormous. They end up wasting time plotting strategy for which restaurants they want, trying to make reservations (sometimes without success), and waiting in line to be seated, only to have mediocre meals with so-so service in too many cases. And they PAY EXTRA for it in most venues. Due to relentless cruise line marketing pitches, some cruisers now believe this is "freer" than traditional dining. Go figure. :confused:

 

The only "freedom" is that they can dress down every night and avoid sitting with fellow passengers with whom they might be forced to be civil for an hour or two.

 

I sincerely hope RCI sticks with the dining formula that has worked just fine since the beginning of cruising.

 

Certainly, you are entitled to your opinions, but I have some disagreements:

 

1. It's not that hard to plan a meal time. The large dining rooms seat several hundred passengers. The specialty restaurants are much smaller and typically require reservations, just like Chops and Portofino. That anyone could reasonably think "anytime" means that all 2000+ passengers can eat at the same time and the same place is mind-boggling. For NCL Freestyle, it's not a free-for-all with every single dining venue big enough to seat everyone (which is the only way that there could possibly be no disappointments). When Chops and Portofino are booked, do RCI passengers whine that the dining option is bad? (Okay, maybe a few do.)

 

2. On NCL, it is untrue that most of the dining options are pay. Typically, three are pay while anywhere from five to seven (depending on the ship) are included.

 

3. We've had so-so service and mediocre meals on RCI. Traditional dining is no guarantee of perfect service and food.

 

4. It is freer than traditional dining. A little flexibility is all it takes. With traditional, if we don't want to dine in the dining room at our set time, we're SOL; with anytime, we have options, especially if we don't go expecting that every single place will be able to seat us instantly. It's not that much different from land based restaurants (upscale or otherwise).

 

5. I guess you feel that passengers who are on ships with traditional dining who prefer tables for two (or just their family or party) are "avoiding" being civil to their fellow passengers because they don't care to have a 2 hour meal with people they don't know and whom the cruise line has assigned to them? It's no different from the anytime options of sitting with others or alone.

 

6. True, passengers can dress in country club casual every night, but it's not a free for all for attire either. There are some basic expectations. (BTW, considering how many members here have been reporting for years that RCI isn't "enforcing" the requested attire, I don't think that RCI passengers, and that includes DH and me, can look down on cruise lines which have other guidelines. RCI is hardly the best example of enforcing "traditional" dining attire.) With anytime/freestyle, passengers can also dress formally every night, and we saw many passengers do just that.

 

7. The "dining formula" that was in place at the beginning of the modern cruise vacations was basically this: Eat breakfast at the same table, same time every morning; eat lunch ditto; eat dinner ditto; midnight buffet. Want something any other time? Too bad. Slept through dinner? No buffet option, sorry. Want to sleep late? Oh well, you can wait until lunch. Obviously that formula has gone through some changes too.

 

Of course many people will only cruise on ships with traditional dining and many others will only cruise on ships with open dining. And that's fine. I think it's awfully limiting to make cruise choices based primarily on the way dining is set up. OTOH, we don't base our cruises or cruise days around when or where we're going to eat next. Have you actually taken a cruise with the anytime/freestyle option or are you just reporting what you think it's like? I'm giving you my opinions based on having done both (as well as the "pay for meals as you go" on Norwegian Coastal Voyages).

 

As always, JMO.

 

beachchick

[fishing fool]

I like the ability to choose...one of the great things about this country.

[Cindy]

*This* is the real issue. ...and some here have named it. They want to dress the way they want, eat with friends rather than get to know new people, and aim to get the same wait staff... and I visualise lines of people trying to get in early enough to get the "best" tables.

 

Fran in Toronto

 

The "dress the way they want" part is a misconception, at least on Princess. The anytime dining rooms have the same dress code and menu as the traditional dining room. I think the system and policies on Norwegian with "freestyle" dining are different, but since I've never been on NCL I don't know much about it.

[PEGLEG]

I like the ability to choose...one of the great things about this country.

 

Then choose NCL

[isujim]

Then choose NCL

 

:D :D :D

[PEGLEG]

Originally Posted by Tralynn222

TRADITIONAL!! We remain loyal to RCCL because they're loyal to tradition. Hope they hear us!

 

I couldn't have said it better!

 

If RCI changes the policy - I change cruise companies.

[DonnaK]

Just because someone cruises with RCCL, which we do and which we enjoy a great deal, doesn't mean that they don't also enjoy other cruise lines and other dining choices.

 

We had a very good experience with NCL. No problems, no "downgrade" or "dummy down" (whatever that means; that anytime diners are lower class than traditional diners?) in the dining experience. The service was quite good and the experience was enjoyable. OTOH, we don't feel the need to have personal relationship with our waiters on RCCL either. As long as the service is efficient and pleasant, I don't need or want more than that.

 

Either type of dining is fine with us, as long as there are other options onboard for the nights when we don't want to have to eat at an assigned time. Why can't I be a "fan" of more than one type of dining?

 

beachchick

 

"dummy down" means moving away from the traditional cruising experience to something more casual and less elegant. So many things have changed since we started cruising, and it just seems more "watered down" now. Not lower class, just not as special or unique.

[cegmar]

Not lower class, just not as special or unique.

 

The problem is, that what is special or unique to one person, may not be for another.

 

What seems obvious from what I read is that there is a definite push for a more flexible option to be available to the RCI cruising community and to the cruising community as a whole, and in order to get a significant piece of that cruising community pie, RCI is attempting this change to make themeselves an attractive option today and in the future.

 

Obviously, change is always something very difficult to accept because of the fear of the unknown, but if RCI is such a good company as all of you seem to be saying, then shouldn't the benefit of the doubt be given that they would handle this type of change in a proper way to ensure that all are happy?

[RevSmith]

Then choose NCL

Totaly uncalled for...not a pleasent thing to say...fishing fool is entitled to his opinion without you being unkind.

[superjerryw]

Originally Posted by linda_22003

Having cruised on Regent, which is a luxury line and not mass market like RCI, I don't understand this. We had anytime dining, and it was done very graciously, no formality was sacrificed. This may be a factor of the size of the ship; ours was 700 passengers, and yours may be much larger, which creates more of a logistics problem. But I can assure you that open seating itself does not cause a downgrade in service and overall elegance.

 

 

PLEASE...spare us...OF COURSE anytime dining works on REGENT...it also works in THE QUEENS GRILL onboard QE II and QM 2!!! LOL!!! You get what you pay for. IT DOES NOT WORK on PRINCESS or NCL!!! You will notice that most of the people who are advocating ANYTIME DINING are recent cruisers and have very little or no experience compared to long time cruisers. The ANYTIME experience is just a "dumbing down" of what the real cruise experience should be. It is impersonal and lackadaisical, to say the least. There is a world of difference between open seating on a PREMIUM LINE and ANYTIME DINING on a MASS MARKET LINE.

 

"GIVE ME TRADITIONAL DINING OR GIVE ME DEATH!!!":D

 

I'm sorry to tell you this, but RCI no longer offers "the real cruise experience". If you're an experienced cruiser you should have noticed that they have dumbed everthing done, including the dining room. The selection of desserts is small compared to the past, there is no longer a basket of bread on the table at dinner time, the food overall is not as good as it once was, there aren't full scale midnight buffets every day. Nothing in cruising is the same as it used to be on the mass market lines.

[superjerryw]

The only "freedom" is that they can dress down every night and avoid sitting with fellow passengers with whom they might be forced to be civil for an hour or two.

 

For your information, the dress code is the same for all passengers on NCL and Princess regardless of what dining option you choose so those that choose to eat whenever they want cannot dress down. As for being forced to be civil, why should anyone that has paid their hard earned money for their vacation be forced to sit with strangers if they choose not to do so. If you went to a restaurant where you live and asked for a table for two and you were told that you would be seated with a party of six strangers I'm sure you would be appalled and you would refuse to be seated.

[SherriZ366]

The problem is, that what is special or unique to one person, may not be for another.

 

What seems obvious from what I read is that there is a definite push for a more flexible option to be available to the RCI cruising community and to the cruising community as a whole, and in order to get a significant piece of that cruising community pie, RCI is attempting this change to make themeselves an attractive option today and in the future.

 

Obviously, change is always something very difficult to accept because of the fear of the unknown, but if RCI is such a good company as all of you seem to be saying, then shouldn't the benefit of the doubt be given that they would handle this type of change in a proper way to ensure that all are happy?

Had an open attitude about Princess when they changed to anytime dining and sailed on Golden Princess in 2002. The service had really gone down in the dining room -- indifferent waiter etc and this was in traditional. So we have not cruised Princess since then.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

That begs the question of why you take the mass market lines, then. The price differential can't be huge enough to make "indifference, lackluster service, or worse" worth it! :( I would not take a cruise that someone described in such terms.

 

HI LINDA!!! Unlike a lot of folks...I like to try different cruising venues so I can discuss them intelligently. I also write about cruising and it is important to me to be up on the latest trends. I had to try Princess and NCL just to see how they have morphed over the years. Twenty years ago NCL had a nice product with the SS NORWAY...they mixed anytime extra tariff dining with traditional dining...and it worked nicely. Princess had some great dining service 30 years ago...it was traditional and all the waiters were Italian and there were Italian specialties offered everyday. All that has changed now...you cannot get a decent Italian meal on a Princess ship anymore. The quality of the main dining room on NCL has dropped off the chart...compared to years ago. So I guess the short answer to your question would be..."How would you know if you did not try it???" We will no longer consider Princess or NCL for our cruises. I feel they have changed over to a mass market concept that does not fit with my own views on cruising. Our next 2 cruises for 2007 and 2008 have been booked on RCI.

 

Planning a cruise is becoming a challenge...with the changing itineraries and new ships etc. We now opt for longer cruises and avoid holiday cruising...like the plague...and we don't even cruise in the winter anymore because of the Noro Virus. It gets confusing just to pick the right ship and itinerary...never mind the logistics of air and ground transportation etc. I plan on trying something more premium in the future...when we retire. For now...we are opting for a suite accommodation on a line that has beautiful ships that are not too small, with enough good taste and pizazz, great entertainment, a ship with a high activity level, traditional dining with multi dining options, formal and informal and great service in the dining areas, on deck and in the cabins...all at a reasonable expense!!! RCI fits the bill perfectly for us!!!

 

Cruising was created as a result of "The Transatlantic Era". There are many sea-going traditions. that have been preserved for more than 200 years, that you will find onboard ship today. Traditional Dining is certainly one of those traditions. I wish the other lines, who have changed to Anytime Dining, "GOOD LUCK"...just understand...I will not be sailing with them.