A less than auspicious beginning to RC anytime dining.

[dontpanik]

:( I really hope they choose not to go with open dining. My folks just got off an NCL cruise around Hawaii and they said the worst part of the cruise was the dining policy. I love the traditional dining. Is nothing sacred on the ships anymore? Why do they want to turn cruising into the same thing as a land based vacation?

[ollienbertsmum]

Well we might as well have everyone in the family order what they want from room service and sit with a tray on their knees watching television. make sure we all wear shorts and tank tops too.

 

Of course it will seem so much like home to so many people that no one will want to go.

 

I am so glad that my family have had the opportunity to cruise with traditional dining. The evening meal together in 'our' table with 'our' waiting staff remembering what we had ordered was such a special part of our cruise.

 

I am not sure that I see an advantage of a ship over a land tour if you have to fight for an anytime dining experience.

[Brad1185]

I think there is no question that this is going to lower the RCI quality of the cruise experience. Its too bad they want to lower themselves down to the NCL level.

[DrivesLikeMario]

When you had open dining, did it seem that you finished the meal much quicker? A while back there was a trend in the restaurant industry to crank up the stereo speakers so patrons wouldn't sit around and chat.

 

We've had a couple experiences with Anytime-type Dining with a couple cruise lines. Each time, the service was pretty bad. It's impersonal and yes, we did get done with dinner much quicker because we didn't take the time to get to know our tablemates very well since we knew we'd be seated with others the next time. We ate, then left.

 

The waiters were running around like crazy and everything seemed disjointed. The waiters weren't anxious to get everything right because they knew they probably wouldn't see us the next night.

[SherriZ366]

I wonder how the execution of anytime dining will mesh with RC's marketing placing an emphasis on families travelling in large groups' date=' such as reunions, quinceanieras (sp?), anniversaries, etc.

 

Having people show up whenever might work if RC marketed to couples, and the whole dining room were full of tables for two or four, but what happens when so many people are part of parties of 12 or more? With traditional dining they can accommodate that, but I think that getting a table for 12 at 7:00 pm is going to be just as hard as getting a table for 12 at 7:00 at your popular local restaurant (Outback, Macaroni Grill) on a Saturday night - i.e. next to impossible without a long, long wait.[/quote']

We've been in a family group of 22 people and had to large tables at the base of the staircase on Mariner. It was great for everyone to interact at night after running around the ship or the islands during the day.

[we2cruze]

First let me preface this post with the fact that RCCL is my first choice when planning to cruise. I presently have four cruises booked on RCCL for next year. I have sailed Princess and have used both traditional and anytime dining on their ships. I am booked on a Princess cruise next March and have asked for traditional dining. Now the crux of this post - in many of the posts here I keep reading about the "large" wait list for traditional dining - last post stated 600 people. I can not believe that if the waitlist was as large as some of the "traditional" cruisers on these boards state that Princess would not change from one traditional and two anytime to two traditional and one anyone dining rooms. They are in the business to satifsy their customers and if the figures showed they needed to change the above because it was needed it would have been done. I believe the figures some individuals are quoting are a little exaggerated. I do not know about some of you but I have made reservations at some very exclusive resstaurants and when I arrive for my reservation I am placed in a "holding" area because the previous diners at my reserved table have not finished dining. Why should this be different as sea. A little wait never hurt anyone and it a sign of the times. get over it.

 

On our Crown Princess cruise in January, we were waitlisted in the 700's. Our number never came up, however on the first day of the cruise, we were able to meet with the maitre'd and get changed to traditional. If you read the Princess threads concerning anytime dining, you will find that they too wonder why Princess has 2 anytime dining rooms and only 1 traditional when they are having to waitlist so many for traditional. That being said, many do love anytime dining, but there are definitely those who prefer traditional with a waitstaff who get to know you as the cruise progresses.

[FOXTROT]

This all seems to be a matter of money. We have only cruised RCCL 32 times. They want to try Princess type cruises. We might as well also. So next year we will take our 3 cruises with Princess.

[gaileeh]

This all seems to be a matter of money.

 

 

That's it pretty much in a nutshell. Profit rules. Just look at the threads on the "smaller ships". People seem to want the smaller ships for their ambiance... but you dont see it happpening. Nope, just mega ships on the horizon because it's more profitable. I don't happen to agree with anytime dining I think that the traditional dining is all part of the crusing experience but sadly it probably will be going by the wayside.:(

[cooncat]

A few more thoughts, Royal Caribbean already has anytime dining, called the Windjammer. People who don't want to the follow the rules of traditional dining experience can go up to the Windjammer in their shorts, teeshirts and whatever and eat. Folks at RCI if you are reading these comments, don't mess with what you have. You have the best ships in the industry, best service and best of everything. Don't ruin it by going to the anytime dining. I really don't want to change cruise lines to have my traditional dining.

 

Just another two cents worth.

 

Bob

[Hypo]

On our Crown Princess cruise in January, we were waitlisted in the 700's. Our number never came up, however on the first day of the cruise, we were able to meet with the maitre'd and get changed to traditional. If you read the Princess threads concerning anytime dining, you will find that they too wonder why Princess has 2 anytime dining rooms and only 1 traditional when they are having to waitlist so many for traditional. That being said, many do love anytime dining, but there are definitely those who prefer traditional with a waitstaff who get to know you as the cruise progresses.

 

 

I wonder if the deciding factor for the cruise lines is that they can turn a table 3 or 4 times during the dining period, rather than the traditional 2 turns that we currently have with early and late seatings. If you can turn a table more times within a given time period, then you can accomodate more people in a smaller dining room. Smaller dining rooms mean that a ship designer will have more space to utilize for other profit centers.

 

Hypo

[MrsPete]

When you had open dining, did it seem that you finished the meal much quicker? A while back there was a trend in the restaurant industry to crank up the stereo speakers so patrons wouldn't sit around and chat.

This is particularly evident at our local Red Lobster! If you go in on a weekday, the music is softer and slower -- it encourages patrons to sit and chat, which leads to another drink and dessert. On the other hand, on weekends -- this particular restaurant is in a very popular location -- they pump up the volume and play much faster, hipper music; it's an attempt to make people move faster and turn over the tables faster . . . but they take it to the extreme, and I find it unpleasant to go there on a weekend.

 

One of my degrees is in Industrial Psychology, and I'm fascinated by the little things that merchants do to encourage us to buy! It's quite a science.

[cegmar]

I wonder if the deciding factor for the cruise lines is that they can turn a table 3 or 4 times during the dining period, rather than the traditional 2 turns that we currently have with early and late seatings. If you can turn a table more times within a given time period, then you can accomodate more people in a smaller dining room. Smaller dining rooms mean that a ship designer will have more space to utilize for other profit centers.

 

Hypo

 

I think you make a very interesting point. Smaller dining rooms would also mean less waitstaff needed to run the dining room.

[cegmar]

A few more thoughts, Royal Caribbean already has anytime dining, called the Windjammer. People who don't want to the follow the rules of traditional dining experience can go up to the Windjammer in their shorts, teeshirts and whatever and eat. Folks at RCI if you are reading these comments, don't mess with what you have. You have the best ships in the industry, best service and best of everything. Don't ruin it by going to the anytime dining. I really don't want to change cruise lines to have my traditional dining.

 

Just another two cents worth.

 

Bob

 

Why is there an insistance of labelling people who prefer anytime dining as "rule breakers" who want to wear shorts and tees. One has nothing with the other.

 

I am quite sure that those you would prefer anytime dining also enjoy dressing nicely and being served by a waitstaff and enjoying the dining room.

[Don Pedro]

A few more thoughts, Royal Caribbean already has anytime dining, called the Windjammer. People who don't want to the follow the rules of traditional dining experience can go up to the Windjammer in their shorts, teeshirts and whatever and eat. Folks at RCI if you are reading these comments, don't mess with what you have. You have the best ships in the industry, best service and best of everything. Don't ruin it by going to the anytime dining. I really don't want to change cruise lines to have my traditional dining.

 

Just another two cents worth.

 

Bob

 

Bob,

We pretty much agree with your comments but take some offense at your characterization of people who eat in the Windjammer as people dine in shorts and tee-shirts and who don't want to follow the rules of the traditional dinning experience.

 

We eat many of our evening meals in the Windjammer primarily because usually we don't find the food and service in the dining room worthy of two hours of our time every evening. A few times is OK but often we don't want to sit through a drawn out four-course meal when we still feel stuffed from breakfast and lunch.

 

Plus, we find that eating at the same table, with the same people, the same menu protocol and the same waitstaff night after night a repetitous drag. We have a couple favorite upscale restaurants in New Orleans, but when we are in town we don't frequent the same places every night. Some nights its upscale other nights we opt for red beans and rice or barbeque at a local diner.

 

We, as do most people, still dress nicely when dining in the Windjammer. We enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and enjoy being able to pick and chose what and how much we want on our plates. Our decision has nothing to do with wanting to dress inappropriately or to not follow rules.

 

We hasten to add that we also prepay our gratuities so our dining decisions have nothing to do with avoiding tipping. We hope that RCCL continue having traditional dining. There are already other options for those of us don't use the dining room every night. Perhaps, a few other options could be explored but certainly not at the expense of the traditional dining experience.

[SherriZ366]

I wonder if the deciding factor for the cruise lines is that they can turn a table 3 or 4 times during the dining period, rather than the traditional 2 turns that we currently have with early and late seatings. If you can turn a table more times within a given time period, then you can accomodate more people in a smaller dining room. Smaller dining rooms mean that a ship designer will have more space to utilize for other profit centers.

 

Hypo

Some posters on this and other threads on the open dining experiment have said that on lines featuring open dining, it took longer for them to be served because the waiters were dealing cruisers at tables who were eating different courses.

[we2cruze]

Why is there an insistance of labelling people who prefer anytime dining as "rule breakers" who want to wear shorts and tees. One has nothing with the other.

 

I am quite sure that those you would prefer anytime dining also enjoy dressing nicely and being served by a waitstaff and enjoying the dining room.

 

Just for your information, on Princess the anytime dining rooms have the same dress for the evening as the traditional dining room.

[J and G]

This all seems to be a matter of money. We have only cruised RCCL 32 times. They want to try Princess type cruises. We might as well also. So next year we will take our 3 cruises with Princess.

 

I know alot of this has been said so please forgive my redundancy, but I am really bummed at the prospect of freestyle dining on RC.

 

I agree that traditional dining is one of the things that separates RC from other cruise lines. If RC does away with the things that set it apart, then those of us who are loyal RC cruisers might as well cruise with other lines that may have more appealing itineraries or pricing.

 

We find traditional dining to be one of the things that attracts us to cruising over other types of vacations. There is a certain classiness and charm to the feeling that your waitstaff knows and pampers you (for us that is one of the only times we get that kind of special treatment). The cruise experience loses something if that option becomes unavailable.

 

We have tried the dining room's anytime-dining for breakfast and lunch and found it tiresome to have to get to know new tablemates at every meal. If we were seated with a large group, we found that we conversed with each other (which we can do anytime) while the group talked and laughed loudly amongst themselves. They were certainly entitled to have a great time, but it was stressful for us to eat a meal while feeling like our presence at "their table" was an intrusion, or worse, that we didn't exist at all. If seating strangers together at large tables was a great dining idea, I'm sure restaurants would have picked up on it by now.

 

We also found both the food and service during anytime-dining to be sub-standard. After a few tries, we returned to the Windjammer for those meals, as we found that a much better option for us. From what I read, many people love the dining room for breakfast and lunch, but for us, if that is a precursor to anytime-dining at dinner, we may have to pass. We'll see how it goes and whether it ruins the "cruise experience" for us.

[FOXTROT]

Have to agree with a lot that has been said. Cruising carries a sort of ambiance with it. We grew up with Love Boat. Why do people want to turn it into a trip to McDonald's? RCCL has set itself apart from the rest of the industry with their ships & service. Keep it a different cruise experience.

[codewize]

I would like to jump in here and say that I also feel VERY strongly about keeping traditional dining.

 

Freestyle dining is silly and disorganized. It inherently lowers the quality of service and your expectations.

[CruisinMommas]

I know alot of this has been said so please forgive my redundancy, but I am really bummed at the prospect of freestyle dining on RC.

 

I agree that traditional dining is one of the things that separates RC from other cruise lines. If RC does away with the things that set it apart, then those of us who are loyal RC cruisers might as well cruise with other lines that may have more appealing itineraries or pricing.

 

We find traditional dining to be one of the things that attracts us to cruising over other types of vacations. There is a certain classiness and charm to the feeling that your waitstaff knows and pampers you (for us that is one of the only times we get that kind of special treatment). The cruise experience loses something if that option becomes unavailable...

.

 

We felt that pampering when we sailed in Feb. with you. Dh wanted Jello which was not on the menu. Our server every night went up to the wj to get him some. How nice was that? We also go to the dr for breakfast and lunch and find it difficult to get into conversations with strangers several different times, that is why we prefer to lunch in the wj. I certainly hope that traditinonal dining will continue to be available to ALL that want to enjoy that kind of dining. Hopefully RCL will not chip away this service.

[emilygrace]

It's all about CHOICES, people!!! I've been reading the threads about the Open Seating dining option, and one thing most of the posters seem to overlook is that it will be an OPTION! I love traditional dining and will probably always choose that when sailing with DH. We like meeting our tablemates and sharing meal time with them. But if I cruise with the girlfriends (hah! we're in our 50's) the Open Seating would work better for us. All of you that are up in arms about this change act like RCL is totally doing away with traditional dining, which just isn't true.

 

My question to those of you who have been contacted about choosing this option is do they tell you anything about the tipping procedure if you go the Open Dining route?

[CruzinPat]

We also like the traditional dining experience...that is a significant difference between land based vacations and cruising!! Getting to know your tablemates and waitstaff, DH having his scotch and soda and my wine waiting for us each night, the details and the level of service is a memorable experience! Anytime dining options are the windjammer, room service and speciality venues!!

 

It is definitely profit driven...what about this theory? RCI will gradually lessen traditional dining options, increase anytime dining options (like Princess and NCL) and then charge a fee for those wanting traditional dining??

[cheshire999]

I have to say that the main reason we have not booked on NCL is the freestyle dining. Every review I read that was the "con" that people talked about, how bad the service was and how bad the attitudes of the staff are. They are apparently run ragged trying to service so many tables that have come in at so many different times. I love having the same tablemates and the same waitstaff. Why would the waitstaff try any harder when they know they may never see you again and you'll probably tip out anyways? There's no motivation for good service.

[codewize]

This is what I'm afraid of. I say we don't even let them start the ball rolling.

 

It is definitely profit driven...what about this theory? RCI will gradually lessen traditional dining options, increase anytime dining options (like Princess and NCL) and then charge a fee for those wanting traditional dining??

[Retired not Expired]

I have to say that the main reason we have not booked on NCL is the freestyle dining. Why would the waitstaff try any harder when they know they may never see you again and you'll probably tip out anyways? There's no motivation for good service.

 

I've read this time and again, mostly by people who have never tried freestyle.

 

Those crew members have all the motivation in the world. First, they know there are thousands of people in the third would who would do anything for their job. They know this because they were most likely one of them before they got the job. They know if they get too many complaints, they are gone and one of those others will have their job. That's pretty good motivation alone.

 

They also know that they will get their tips if they can hold their job and not get stiffed like happens on lines without the autotip.

 

I've found little difference between service on NCL & RCI. I've also found that some people from the NCL board who does not like traditional will complain about the service on RCI and some of those from RCI who does not like freestyle will complain about the service on NCL. Most times the service on either line has nothing to do with it, they just don't like that style of dining.