Dynamic Dining

[chazg]

I unlike others, am looking forward to trying something different. Different Class Ship, Different Options. They aren't changing the entire fleet over to this concept are they? I tried NCL's Freestyle concept once and did not like it, but I also didn't like the ship nor the food so I'm sure RCI will bring a different twist to the concept.

 

Plus after seeing the current RCI Menu's not sure if the MDR is my Cup of Tea any longer!

[OCruisers]

It'll be interesting to see how this works out.

We'd be willing to get it a try. :)

LuLu

~~~

[nelblu]

It's only 2 ships. I don't think that it will become common on all of the other 21 ships. Internet upgrade--Really--It's the slowest it has ever been, plus the higher costs. QUOTE]

 

Not to turn this into a technology thread as the focus is on dining, but as we move toward 5G connectivity with our tablets and phones, we will not need the cruise line in the same way. They will enhance the service with software and apps that will add to the experience.

 

Whether this is 3 years or 5 years from now is the question, but they have no choice but to move with society.

 

There will always be those that adapt quickly to the changes and thus choose the latest ships applying the latest trends and then others will choose maybe not to have the same degree of connectivity and choose a more traditional cruise product.

 

I agree and hope you are right. It needs dedicated investments by the cruise lines in technology because connectivity and speed have deteriorated over the past 10 years.

[wwcruisers]

Looks like lots of restaurants -- but, are any of them free? Don't get me wrong, I love specialty restaurants, but I don't want to have to pay extra to eat dinner every single night. And I, for one, will miss formal nights. :(

[MADflyer]

I understand the resistance to change, but they do have many problems with dining onboard the ships now and they are only trying to find a solution to maximize the cruise experience for all.

 

I had posted this on the thread running on the main board earlier today. It will be interesting to see what they actually announce today.

 

 

 

Read what they actually state in the description of 'Dynamic Dining'

 

Exploration = Optional choices, Variety, new experiences

 

Dining at Sea, reimagined (new world) = Not anything you have already experienced or thought of.... thus not Freestyle or not Disney rotation

 

No Set dining times = Do not inconvenience others with an empty table waiting for you while you are enjoying that last cocktail in the lounge (noted as a solo sitting alone at a table for 10 on one night recently and sitting with the same 4 guests at our Liberty TA 10 top, on night 3 of 12 they took away 2 chairs and we were then the same 4 of 8 showing up each night. The other 4 guests refused to give up their seats at our table, but never came to dinner for the entire sailing)

 

Pre-cruise reservations = as everyone is forced to make the same choices, those wishing to sit with others, could be placed at a table with those making the same choices. Today table placement is based mostly only on age and nationality (language) and not everyone is as happy as some like to present here with the tables they end up at.

 

No required formal nights = those opting in get that experience and dine with other like minded cruisers, those opting out do not have the stress often associated with their choice to not participate.

[tls1012]

Looks like lots of restaurants -- but, are any of them free? Don't get me wrong, I love specialty restaurants, but I don't want to have to pay extra to eat dinner every single night. And I, for one, will miss formal nights. :(

 

I'm right there with you. I love formal nights actually and I'll eat at the Windjammer every night if I have to pay for my dinners. :mad:

[hellsop]

One last tidbit about the internet on board. It's not available yet. RCCL had a press release on the 21st. Oasis, Allure and Quantum will have more wireless capability than every cruise ship in the world combined. They reduced the response time from 750ms to 140ms. In other words, you'll be able to skype video call and stream movies to your devices. It also says Royal will be using the new internet for technological innovations. I'm hoping they use it for Ship texting over Wifi.

 

And, I'm sure, that response time will be quickly be destroyed by people trying to stream tv programs. ;)

[viper17d]

I'm right there with you. I love formal nights actually and I'll eat at the Windjammer every night if I have to pay for my dinners. :mad:

 

 

Don't worry, they won't make you pay for your dinners. It'll still be 3/4 specialty. The rest will be free.

 

 

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[swim13]

I'm right there with you. I love formal nights actually and I'll eat at the Windjammer every night if I have to pay for my dinners. :mad:

 

Don't be ridiculous, RCCL would never make you pay for dinner in a place other than the buffet!! :eek:

[Schplinky]

I'm pretty happy about this, actually.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Well we won't be sailing Quantum or Anthem anytime soon. Tried NCL last year and because of their freestyle dining we're heading back to Royal. This is disappointing. Atleast it probably won't be expanded to the rest of the fleet that already have the main dining room.

Edited March 26, 2014 by cruiserccl1212

[roe2ship]

Looks like lots of restaurants -- but, are any of them free? Don't get me wrong, I love specialty restaurants, but I don't want to have to pay extra to eat dinner every single night. And I, for one, will miss formal nights. :(

I enjoy formal nights as well. I think they may designate "The Grande" for a formal dress code a few nights.

[DEIx15x8]

Wonder how they calculate "let your appetite be the guide, as 18 tantalizing possibilities lay before you". Do you think they have 6 complimentary restaurants with 3 menus each, or maybe 3 restaurants with 5 menus and the formal only has 3. They'd have to announce far in advance so you can pick not only the dining room, but the menu. Then you have to sort out trying them all. We're on an 8 night and 11 night B2B, 19 nights total. Does that mean we could theoretically try a different menu every day and the windjammer the last? Should be interesting to hear the details on how this works out. I still remember the spreadsheet I made for Oasis when those shows were first announced and I had to figure out what show worked best each day while making sure I saw them all. Not sure how many average cruisers will go through the work to plan these things out. Maybe they'll have an auto button where they have a computer pick shows and dinners for you.

 

I read Disney World forums as well and everyone has been flipping out for a year over the new FastPass+. You have to book your hotel 9+ months out, know what your doing every day so you can book your restaurants 6 months out, and then know your exact schedule each day so you can reserve your ride FastPasses at 3 months (may be off at these exact months but it is months ahead of time). If you do any of it late or just show up you get nothing. Tons of unknown first timers (and even experienced vacationers that haven't heard about the changes) are getting bit by showing up and thinking they can do what they want when they want. Hope Royal Caribbean has this thought out a little better so that first timers won't have their vacations ruined and not come back.

 

Only have to wait 3 more hours and then hopefully all of our questions will be explained.

Edited March 26, 2014 by DEIx15x8

[Elizanessie]

Wonder how they calculate "let your appetite be the guide, as 18 tantalizing possibilities lay before you".

 

Doesn't it mean there are 18 restaurants/places to eat?:confused:

[Cruzin-K]

I wonder how long it will be for them to publish a dress code for the formal restaurant, and how long after that before someone asks on CC, "can I eat in The Grande wearing black jeans and a sparkly top?" :rolleyes:

 

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Edited March 26, 2014 by Cruzin-K

[tls1012]

Don't be ridiculous, RCCL would never make you pay for dinner in a place other than the buffet!! :eek:

 

That's good because I think I read it on one of the other posts too. OK, so I've decided that I'm bummed out over this free style dining and not having the same waitstaff but I will still get dressed up for a formal dinner in The Grande at least twice and will approach this with an open mind.

[Overtyme]

Wonder how they calculate "let your appetite be the guide, as 18 tantalizing possibilities lay before you". Do you think they have 6 complimentary restaurants with 3 menus each, or maybe 3 restaurants with 5 menus and the formal only has 3. They'd have to announce far in advance so you can pick not only the dining room, but the menu. Then you have to sort out trying them all. We're on an 8 night and 11 night B2B, 19 nights total. Does that mean we could theoretically try a different menu every day and the windjammer the last? Should be interesting to hear the details on how this works out. I still remember the spreadsheet I made for Oasis when those shows were first announced and I had to figure out what show worked best each day while making sure I saw them all. Not sure how many average cruisers will go through the work to plan these things out. Maybe they'll have an auto button where they have a computer pick shows and dinners for you.

 

I read Disney World forums as well and everyone has been flipping out for a year over the new FastPass+. You have to book your hotel 9+ months out, know what your doing every day so you can book your restaurants 6 months out, and then know your exact schedule each day so you can reserve your ride FastPasses at 3 months (may be off at these exact months but it is months ahead of time). If you do any of it late or just show up you get nothing. Tons of unknown first timers (and even experienced vacationers that haven't heard about the changes) are getting bit by showing up and thinking they can do what they want when they want. Hope Royal Caribbean has this thought out a little better so that first timers won't have their vacations ruined and not come back.

 

Only have to wait 3 more hours and then hopefully all of our questions will be explained.

 

It's slightly off-topic, but we went to Disney World a few months ago with our daughter, and the FastPass+ bracelets (and app) were the best things since sliced bread!

Those that have been to Disney before, know that there's a line for everything!!

It might seem that you're forced to plan everything ahead, but that's not exactly true.

You're loosing sight of the big picture- Big Data!

Giving guests (and Hotel Management) the information that they need to make informed decisions based on real-time information.

The bracelets are equipped with RFID's (radio frequency ID chips), which when you go on a ride, register that you're on that ride or in a queue for a ride, if you reserved it or not.

Then, that data is dynamically updated, and guests with the app can look at the amount of people in the queue and determine if they want to head over to that ride or not based on calculated wait time (some sort of algorithm based on time to complete a ride from start to finish and ride capacity).

You have a certain amount of fast passes allocated to your wrist band per day, so you don't want to squander them.

You can pull your reservation from the app at any time, especially if you find that there's no wait at that ride any way.

Also, for dining reservations, someone's last minute cancelation or no-show will allow you to know if there is availability.

Viewing this information allows guest to make informed choices and keeps your day moving rather than spending time in lines.

[Dave85]

I think the fact that so many people are referring to "Dynamic Dining" as "Freestyle Dining" is a huge problem for Royal Caribbean and they better work hard to make sure they distinguish their new dining program from NCL's long-standing program. As it stands (based on limited information), this hardly conveys the sense of innovation that they're going for. Perhaps when all of the information is out and available there will be key distinctions between the two programs.

[shutterbug63]

I am so sorry to think that they are doing away with traditional dining. I love meeting new people and sharing our days activities and hearing about theirs at dinner every night. We did MTD once and hated it because we usually were given a table for 2, which is just like at home! We met no one!

 

 

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

I couldn't agree more. There's a reason I've never done My Time Dining.

[DEIx15x8]

It's slightly off-topic, but we went to Disney World a few months ago with our daughter, and the FastPass+ bracelets (and app) were the best things since sliced bread!

Those that have been to Disney before, know that there's a line for everything!!

It might seem that you're forced to plan everything ahead, but that's not exactly true.

You're loosing sight of the big picture- Big Data!

Giving guests (and Hotel Management) the information that they need to make informed decisions based on real-time information.

The bracelets are equipped with RFID's (radio frequency ID chips), which when you go on a ride, register that you're on that ride or in a queue for a ride, if you reserved it or not.

Then, that data is dynamically updated, and guests with the app can look at the amount of people in the queue and determine if they want to head over to that ride or not based on calculated wait time (some sort of algorithm based on time to complete a ride from start to finish and ride capacity).

You have a certain amount of fast passes allocated to your wrist band per day, so you don't want to squander them.

You can pull your reservation from the app at any time, especially if you find that there's no wait at that ride any way.

Also, for dining reservations, someone's last minute cancelation or no-show will allow you to know if there is availability.

Viewing this information allows guest to make informed choices and keeps your day moving rather than spending time in lines.

 

I'm with you. I went in October and loved the Magic Bands. Made everything so much simpler and the data will surely help with crowd disbursement going forward. I love technology and plan everything months and years in advance though so it worked with my style. We went during the low season and even then we decided to add a breakfast one month after dining opened and couldn't get anywhere good. I monitored it daily and eventually jumped on an opening but I doubt the average person is that way. The FastPass+ were never used though. We tried to manage those the night before and only got one day that we actually got useful reservations. We went back to classic FastPass and everything was much easier.

[Maraprince]

I couldn't agree more. There's a reason I've never done My Time Dining.

 

 

Also agree. Just because we are 2 people (cousins or friends) we do not want to be seated at a table for 2. We love having a large table with 8-10 people and becoming friends during the sailing. After dinner we usually go with some of our tablemates to the shows or other venues. By the end of the sailing, we exchange e-mail addresses and keep in touch.

 

On one sailing I was by myself for the first time and very glad that my assigned table had 2 separate families who did not know each other prior to the sailing. We were able to do things together during the voyage.

 

They can call it any name they want, it all comes down to "freestyle" dining a la NCL but at a much higher cost.

 

Will not be booking the larger RCCL ships in the future if this is the way they are going. Sorry...just not my "cup of tea".:(

 

MARAPRINCE

[Overtyme]

I'm with you. I went in October and loved the Magic Bands. Made everything so much simpler and the data will surely help with crowd disbursement going forward. I love technology and plan everything months and years in advance though so it worked with my style. We went during the low season and even then we decided to add a breakfast one month after dining opened and couldn't get anywhere good. I monitored it daily and eventually jumped on an opening but I doubt the average person is that way. The FastPass+ were never used though. We tried to manage those the night before and only got one day that we actually got useful reservations. We went back to classic FastPass and everything was much easier.

 

We went this February, and they were still working on them, but they were awesome! We did use our fast pass + without any issue, but they were still in testing mode.

They may have worked out some kinks from when you were there in October.

It was a welcome change!

[roe2ship]

I think the fact that so many people are referring to "Dynamic Dining" as "Freestyle Dining" is a huge problem for Royal Caribbean and they better work hard to make sure they distinguish their new dining program from NCL's long-standing program. As it stands (based on limited information), this hardly conveys the sense of innovation that they're going for. Perhaps when all of the information is out and available there will be key distinctions between the two programs.

That's true but with what we know so far....no matter how you slice it, in reality it is exactly the same concept.

[LMaxwell]

That's true but with what we know so far....no matter how you slice it, in reality it is exactly the same concept.

 

I'm not ready to lump it in the same way. Norwegian will have separate MDR rooms; themed slightly different, but still traditional style MDR's with MDR-type menus.

 

It's hard to say from my seat if NCL has been having a good time with upcharge restaurants or not. They have now come up with an unlimited dining plan which gets you to part with a good sum of money up front. On the other hand...they are giving this away as incentives as well. I haven't been on an NCL ship; I don't know how full those upcharge venues are or not. But there sure are a LOT of them. I think Royal will have a better balance AND be offering a touch of "specialty" dining in the included venues.

 

Just my thoughts. Could be wrong. We'll know more this evening.

 

I am not entirely change resistant; I am excited to hear the new concepts and ideas and discuss the virtues or potential flaws. I do admit that I very much prefer to have familiar waitstaff when possible; I find the service better and they become a bit more committed to providing exceptional service, a rapport is built. It's hard/difficult/impossible to do that with different dining staff each evening.

 

I remain an optimist. I sense the taking of the best parts of other cruise line concepts and adding some new innovation or twist to it. I believe the option will exist for people to be sat with strangers, but let's face it, these ships are marketed as family fun parks at sea. This is not where to go for a traditional cruise experience. These ships will be jam packed with families not because it was DisneyWorld or a cruise, it will be packed because it was Disney or Quantum. That's a distinction.

[viper17d]

That's true but with what we know so far....no matter how you slice it, in reality it is exactly the same concept.

 

 

I have been on the side of RCCL for quite some time prior to this announcement, but I have to say I'm disappointed.

 

Even with the updated deck plans yesterday, I was OK because I figured the majority of options would be free of charge. Who isn't a fan of options?

 

But now, it seems, everything other than American-type fare is tied to a surcharge. I don't like the idea of going on an all inclusive vacation and paying extra for having quality food. I mean really - even the pub food?

 

It may turn out OK, but with only 3 free of charge dining rooms, I feel like I will be out of options by night 5.

 

Why invite people to event to show off new food if it's ONLY going to be the food that has a surcharge. It seems moronic.

 

More specialty restaurants mean a decline in the quality of food us commoners eat. Heading the wrong way in my opinion...

 

 

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