Anytime DINING coming to the Brilliance

[Cruising89143]

You will pay more for premium lines but you will soon realize that you will be getting a much finer experience for your dollars. RCI has gone the way of other mass marketed lines and will continue to do so. I think that throwing cruisers a bone by instituting fine dining restaurants won't cut the mustard once those too begin to become dumbed down.

 

Mass marketed lines are appealing because they are cheap and getting cheaper.

 

I would have no problem with paying more to cruise RCI if it would bring some of the quality back of ten years ago but Anytime dining is about having the option of when I want to dine regardless of cruise line or price paid. I for one am glad to see some of old traditions being ushered out the door. Cruising is no longer for the old and nearly dead and I for one am glad of it.

 

For the ones that are no longer happy with the mass market lines then yes they do need to look at other alternatives that will meet their needs. I bet it won't be long before Carnival and Celebrity move to some type of Anytime dining and that will complete the mass market lines.

[Tranquil Waters]

It is my understanding that the same staff works the "My Time Dining" for the entire cruise and then will rotate out on the next cruise....Like WJ.

 

The info states that you can request a certain waiter and have them serve you the entire cruise. However, they share their tips with the other MTD wait staff. Additional tipping can be given.

 

You can also request to dine alone or with other guests. Once the dinner service has begun, no additional guests will be seated at your table.

 

And what if a large number of passengers request the same wait staff? Something tells me you won't get the staff you request in that case.....

 

And what if 100 couples (out of 300 passengers allowed to request AD) request to dine alone? I don't think any RCI ships have 50 tables for 2....:eek:

 

As to closing a table once service has started, what happens if that doesn't leave enough table slots for all the AD diners? If you are closing tables with empty seats then those seats are - in essence - no longer available. And they would not open up again until the table had totally finished being served the entire meal. Talk about a wait line at the door!! I don't see how that could work.

 

As to requiring pretipping to assure same service in AD as traditional, that doesn't make any sense to me. Waiters know they have their tips regardless of what their service is like - not much motivation to go the extra mile........

 

I agree that AD is coming. But I think many of these "plan" will quickly fall by the wayside.....

[Cruising89143]

And what if a large number of passengers request the same wait staff? Something tells me you won't get the staff you request in that case.....

 

And what if 100 couples (out of 300 passengers allowed to request AD) request to dine alone? I don't think any RCI ships have 50 tables for 2....:eek:

 

As to closing a table once service has started, what happens if that doesn't leave enough table slots for all the AD diners? If you are closing tables with empty seats then those seats are - in essence - no longer available. And they would not open up again until the table had totally finished being served the entire meal. Talk about a wait line at the door!! I don't see how that could work.

 

As to requiring pretipping to assure same service in AD as traditional, that doesn't make any sense to me. Waiters know they have their tips regardless of what their service is like - not much motivation to go the extra mile........

 

I agree that AD is coming. But I think many of these "plan" will quickly fall by the wayside.....

 

More than likely RCI will have to go back and reconfigure the Anytime dining room. I tried Freestyle this past summer on the Norwegian Dawn and it worked out great. NCL has a lot of tables for two and four as those are the more popular size tables. Maybe this is the reason that RCI is taking it slow so that they can have time to work out the bugs in the system.

[Captain Jake]

You will pay more for premium lines but you will soon realize that you will be getting a much finer experience for your dollars. RCI has gone the way of other mass marketed lines and will continue to do so. I think that throwing cruisers a bone by instituting fine dining restaurants won't cut the mustard once those too begin to become dumbed down.

 

Mass marketed lines are appealing because they are cheap and getting cheaper.

 

You are right.I beleve anytime dining has to be cheaper for the cruiseline or they wouldn't consider it.We love cruising but the mass market lines are going from 3 or 4 star resorts to 2 stars.What use to be floating Marriots are floating Holiday Inns.How long until they become a floating Motel 6 with 24HR Denny's attached?

[jmmcruiser]

We are cruising Freedom 01/27/08, is the "test" going to be continued? we enjoy traditional dining but may volunteer for anytime, how do we do that, contact TA or MD in the dining room when we board. I understand people like what they like but to get your undies in a bind over simply "offering" AD as an "option" while RCCL is maintaining traditional dining... :rolleyes:

[Host Karen]

Ok, I understand your thoughts about this now. Since it seems you have enjoyed your Royal Caribbean cruises in the past, have you considered RCCL's more upscale products? Like Azamara or Pullmantur? I would be curious to know the comparison (RCCL's mass market ships vs. RCCL's more premium lines) from a Royal cruisers point of view. I hope you give them a try.

 

Please note that Azamara only offers open seating in the dining room at dinner, so for DonnaK, that is not a viable option.

 

What type of comparison are you interested in? I just returned from a sailing on Azamara's Quest, and as you can see from my signature, I've also sailed Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. I'd be happy to provide some information, but I'm not certain exactly what you're looking for.

[shirleygr]

Many of the luxury lines only offer open seating (Silversea, Oceania, Regent), so how does anytime dining equal lower quality? :confused: :confused:

[Emi's Mom]

Many of the luxury lines only offer open seating (Silversea, Oceania, Regent), so how does anytime dining equal lower quality? :confused: :confused:

 

My thoughts exactly! I was reading this thread wondering why is it assumed that AD = lower quality/lower service? Has anyone noticed that you get less quality and service with AD? And if you have, please explain...

[ShillyShally]

And what if a large number of passengers request the same wait staff? Something tells me you won't get the staff you request in that case.....

 

And what if 100 couples (out of 300 passengers allowed to request AD) request to dine alone? I don't think any RCI ships have 50 tables for 2....:eek:

 

As to closing a table once service has started, what happens if that doesn't leave enough table slots for all the AD diners? If you are closing tables with empty seats then those seats are - in essence - no longer available. And they would not open up again until the table had totally finished being served the entire meal. Talk about a wait line at the door!! I don't see how that could work.

 

As to requiring pretipping to assure same service in AD as traditional, that doesn't make any sense to me. Waiters know they have their tips regardless of what their service is like - not much motivation to go the extra mile........

 

I agree that AD is coming. But I think many of these "plan" will quickly fall by the wayside.....

 

These are my concerns as well. I won't knock it until I try it, and while I would be willing to try it, I do prefer traditional when I have great wait staff - if my waitstaff is mediocre then I'd like the change to switch it around :)

 

While I support prepaid gratuties on the level that they would ensure everyone paid their tips - my fear in the dining room would be that my dinner service would become more like my breakfast and lunch experiences in the dining room - which are far more impersonal then dinner usually is, IME.

[hcat]

The conversion of cruiseships to floating malls is taking yet another step--

And with the large ships they may just park them at the dock & keep them there....Pax can go bowling, skating & shopping & visit the food court without ever leaving port!

 

Hope it does not affect anyone who planned for a regular cruise experience while they try out this "come when you want dress as you please" intitiative....

[RetireeWannabee]

....Hope it does not affect anyone who planned for a regular cruise experience while they try out this "come when you want dress as you please" intitiative....

Where does it say that Anytime is "dress as you please?"

[RetireeWannabee]

Many of the luxury lines only offer open seating (Silversea, Oceania, Regent), so how does anytime dining equal lower quality? :confused: :confused:

Thank you, that's what I've been wondering.

[petesweet]

My thoughts exactly! I was reading this thread wondering why is it assumed that AD = lower quality/lower service? Has anyone noticed that you get less quality and service with AD? And if you have' date=' please explain... [/b']

 

Unfortunately, yes. Unfriendly waiters, rushed service, slow service (to the point we missed an evening program), and long lines. Given the choice, I'll take traditional dining any day. However, that doesn't keep me from NCL if something else "calls" me to one of their ships. Note we are going to the Baltics on NCL in May. And like a previous poster, we can always go to the cafeteria. We like it there, too.:) We're easy to please.

 

Dining (and we don't care about the quality of the food, just the quality of the experience) is one of the things we greatly look forward to when we cruise, so traditional wins out over anytime.

 

But I don't try to argue anyone out of AD if they like it. We are all different. And if RCCL goes to AD totally, we will still cruise with RCCL if we like the price, ship, and itinerary.

[Jay Bee]

Does Anytime Dining differ from the traditional in any way besides the lack of a time slot? Is the "Suggested Attire" still the same? What about theme nights?

[madforcruising]

My thoughts exactly! I was reading this thread wondering why is it assumed that AD = lower quality/lower service? Has anyone noticed that you get less quality and service with AD? And if you have' date=' please explain... [/b']

 

Yes I have, though it was not called Anytime Dining, but Freestyle Dining, so you know it was on NCL.

It was the worst dining experience ever I had. It would need some very good reasons, like itinerary not to be found elsewhere to go back to this.

 

Almost every evening I had to stand in loooong lines to even get to the entrance and I´m talking about half hour or more waits here. Switching restaurants wasn´t an option, as the lines usually were the same at all the restaurants.

Once seated at a table all the waiters have been majorly stressed and that reflected the service level. They had to rush you through dinner as fast as possible because they needed the table with that long lines outside. Not a bit of a relaxed dinner. Of course it was a constant coming and going of guests and the tables around you have been set up with new table cloth etc. while you´ve been trying to enjoy your meal. I know you have this at a shoreside restaurant as well, but it´s not what I expect from a relaxed dinner on the ship.

 

No more Freestyle, Anytime or whatever they call this crap for me. Never ever. And yes to me it´s a dealbreaker as well. I either get traditional confirmed in writing upon booking or I won´t book.

[Emi's Mom]

Yes I have, though it was not called Anytime Dining, but Freestyle Dining, so you know it was on NCL.

It was the worst dining experience ever I had. It would need some very good reasons, like itinerary not to be found elsewhere to go back to this.

 

Almost every evening I had to stand in loooong lines to even get to the entrance and I´m talking about half hour or more waits here. Switching restaurants wasn´t an option, as the lines usually were the same at all the restaurants.

Once seated at a table all the waiters have been majorly stressed and that reflected the service level. They had to rush you through dinner as fast as possible because they needed the table with that long lines outside. Not a bit of a relaxed dinner. Of course it was a constant coming and going of guests and the tables around you have been set up with new table cloth etc. while you´ve been trying to enjoy your meal. I know you have this at a shoreside restaurant as well, but it´s not what I expect from a relaxed dinner on the ship.

 

No more Freestyle, Anytime or whatever they call this crap for me. Never ever. And yes to me it´s a dealbreaker as well. I either get traditional confirmed in writing upon booking or I won´t book.

 

Why the long lines? And was this during a time when the "Anytime Dining" was new and being tested? :confused: Is it possible that the "kinks" have be straightened out? I guess I'm being the optimist here, I really believe that AD will work for me, that is of course if its run smoothly. Only time will tell. We're on the Voyager in March '08, hope they will test it by then :)

[Bakincakes]

Many of the luxury lines only offer open seating (Silversea, Oceania, Regent), so how does anytime dining equal lower quality? :confused: :confused:

 

You are comparing apples to oranges.

 

RCI and the rest of the mass marketed lines don't even belong in the same paragraph with the others.

 

Different ships....different pax.

[RetireeWannabee]

Why the long lines? And was this during a time when the "Anytime Dining" was new and being tested? :confused: Is it possible that the "kinks" have be straightened out? I guess I'm being the optimist here' date=' I really believe that AD will work for me, that is of course if its run smoothly. Only time will tell. We're on the Voyager in March '08, hope they will test it by then :) [/color']

I tried it on Princess and did not have the same experience reported by the other poster. We had no waits, no rush, nothing negative. In fact, we had the best time on the second formal night sharing a table with 4 people we'd never met before that night.

 

My guess is that each cruise line will come up with their own procedures and perhaps NCL didn't plan theirs very well. I have heard the same types of things from others on the same line. "freestyle" may need some tinkering.

 

Could be growing pains, could be someone stubborn higher-up in management who wants his way, regardless of impact to passengers. Could even be staff - maybe they hired brand new servers unfamiliar with anything on the ship.

 

I would not refuse the concept on one line just because another line botched it for me one week.

[SherriZ366]

Why the long lines? And was this during a time when the "Anytime Dining" was new and being tested? :confused: Is it possible that the "kinks" have be straightened out? I guess I'm being the optimist here' date=' I really believe that AD will work for me, that is of course if its run smoothly. Only time will tell. We're on the Voyager in March '08, hope they will test it by then :) [/b']

I think MadforCruising was talking about NCL FREESTYLE DINING not Anytime dining that was being testing on RCI (the new name from RCI is My Time Dining -- according to the fax they sent to TAs.)

[shirleygr]

Ohhhh, so it's only pax on RCI that choose Anytime that are low class? But the rest of the RCI pax don't fit into that category because they want to stick with fixed time dining, which is high class, altho on the same ship, which is mass market?

Thanks for posting what I was thinking. LOL

We did freestyle on Norwegian Dawn and experienced no long waits at any time. Service was good for all meals. I know some of the older ships, which are being phased out of the Norwegian fleet, experienced many problems since they were not designed for freestyle. The newer ships have fewer problems. Of course, no system is going to be perfect. We had a particularly bad wait team on Explorer, Oct 2006, and were stuck with the situation. I believe offering both fixed and open should please everyone. YMMV

[Cruising89143]

You are comparing apples to oranges.

 

RCI and the rest of the mass marketed lines don't even belong in the same paragraph with the others.

 

Different ships....different pax.

 

Makes no difference. Both mass market and luxury lines offer open seating. The passengers may be different but they still put their pants on the same way. Just how many of those luxury lines have you sailed? When was the last time you cruised? I seem to remember reading a post by you that you had not cruised in several years.

[Mydnite]

I hope they introduce it on Mariner soon :)

[UCONN Women Rule]

It is my understanding that the same staff works the "My Time Dining" for the entire cruise and then will rotate out on the next cruise....Like WJ.

 

The info states that you can request a certain waiter and have them serve you the entire cruise. However, they share their tips with the other MTD wait staff. Additional tipping can be given.

 

You can also request to dine alone or with other guests. Once the dinner service has begun, no additional guests will be seated at your table.

Tobi

I see you're on the 3/24 cruise - come and visit our thread!

[RevSmith]

That is GREAT news. Glad to see it expanding. Also glad to see that they are going to offer both traditional for the ones that still like this and then the Anytime for those of us that prefer something different. It's nice to have a choice.:)

 

Me too...I'm on 12/21/07...oh well...would love to try it out on RCI

[elhenry]

I first cruised in 88 on the Song of America. Sorry, I don't see the decline of Western Civilization, or even of dining standards, in the intervening years. I have tried, and mightily enjoyed, Anytime Dining. Probably because the Earl Grey magically appearing at dinner isn't as exciting after 20 years, but choosing my tablemates and choosing my dining time does excite me.

 

If some posters truly believe that AD heralds the invasion of the Visigoths, then they are free to go where it is not offered. (and they absolutely should, no one should be unhappy on a cruise!) I for one, having evenly divided my cruising between trad and AD, am pleased to see it offered on RCCL. It mean that they may book me for that fifth cruise yet<G>

 

el henry