Royal Caribbean...the "new" NCL

[tx121]

Seems like Royal caribbean is following in the footsteps of Norwegian cruise line with their "dynamic dining" aka freestyle cruising with no set seatings and different waiters every night. This is the approach for the new quantum class ships.A lot of the places on their restaurant list are for fee. This is ashame because most loyal royals prefer to have the same waiters every night and the same table. With this,you will not be able to meet new people as tablemates. This is a bad direction for royal to follow the footsteps of NCL. They will lose many of their loyal customers if they turn the entire fleet this way. I feel like RCCL has been copying NCL for the past few years and losing its image in the process.

[PSCruiser]

Glad to see I'm not the only one.

As I get a better idea of Quantum, I'm starting to think its going to be a class with too many gimmicks and straying too far from the "active but traditional" cruising concept that has built its loyal customer base. If I wanted NCL, I'd cruise NCL.

[SaintL]

You must be joking; this is the natural direction for not only royal but all cruise lines. Since I've mostly have been on mostly ncl cruises I'll tell you to be on a ship with less than 10 restaurants to me is difficult and unappealing.

 

A new generation of younger cruises are on these ships now they are use to having choices , not having to sit with people they don't know, what's a relation with a waiter good for? So they know you like your coffee a certain way, who cares?

 

I only hope this goes fleet wide, I would imagine oasis p, freedom and voyager ships could be converted the rest of the fleet will probably be gone in a few years

Edited March 27, 2014 by SaintL

[jp30338]

May have something to do with their financials success and their marketing of catering to what the majority wants in a cruise these days, take a deeper look by starting here.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co;_ylt=A0LEVxRLgzNT83AAgrJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByNzA1YWV1BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDOQRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkAw--?s=RCL+Competitors

 

Without a doubt my next cruise will be with ncl, my last ncl cruise was awesome and looking forward to sailing with them again!

Edited March 27, 2014 by jp30338

[LMaxwell]

Seems like Royal caribbean is following in the footsteps of Norwegian cruise line with their "dynamic dining" aka freestyle cruising with no set seatings and different waiters every night. This is the approach for the new quantum class ships.A lot of the places on their restaurant list are for fee. This is ashame because most loyal royals prefer to have the same waiters every night and the same table. With this,you will not be able to meet new people as tablemates. This is a bad direction for royal to follow the footsteps of NCL. They will lose many of their loyal customers if they turn the entire fleet this way. I feel like RCCL has been copying NCL for the past few years and losing its image in the process.

 

You can request to have new table mates. I find it funny the "a cruise is what you make of it" crowd bemoan that the cruise line will not force them to meet people now.

 

Request to sit with strangers! Strike up a conversation somewhere and make dinner plans. Not so hard. Wow. So many people so upset and they clearly haven't a grasp how it all works. I will say I do like having the same wait staff each evening.

 

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[katydyd]

I don't know....I'm part of the loyal customer base...and I am excited as all get out about the announcement. I, honestly, haven't even been looking at pricing Quantum, but I am now.

 

I meet people all over the ships...not just at the dining table, and, I'm most often a solo traveler. I'm not worried that my social life will suffer in any way.

 

Not everyone enjoys the dining room experience, I haven't set foot inside one in years. It doesn't suit my personality. No big deal, I just either go to the WJ, or hit up specialty restaurants. So, I've already made the decision some time ago that paying extra for my dining experience almost every night is where part of my vacation budget goes.

 

The restaurants they, appear to be bringing on board, look truly spectacular to me. The other features.....I'm just "meh" about, but this will be what drives me to look at booking. If the other features of the ship out-weight your disappointment in the dining experience, then you'll probably end up on it too.

 

Basically, what I'm saying is that we all have to decide what we want from our vacation. For me, dining in an intimate, interesting restaurant is a crucial part of where my money goes.

 

Once you decide what's the most important thing for you, you will be able to make that decision as well. But, just because this change is being made on the Quantum, a ship that was specifically designed for this, doesn't mean that RCCL is done with traditional dining fleet-wide.

[rummenroman]

My guess is Royal has done their research on this. They don't seem to be afraid of pissing off a couple of loyals in order to bring in the next generation. It's not too often Royal is wrong about a decision they make, and I don't believe this will be one the get wrong either.

[PSCruiser]

You must be joking; this is the natural direction for not only royal but all cruise lines. Since right have been on mostly ncl cruises I'll tell you to be on a ship winless than 10 restaurants to me is difficult and unappealing.

 

A new generation of younger cruises are on these ships now they are use to having choices , not having to sit with people they don't know, what's a relation with a waiter good for? So they know you like your coffee a certain way, who cares?

 

I only hope this goes fleet wide, I would imagine oasis p, freedom and voyager could be converted the rest of the fleet will probably be gone in a few years

 

Had to be a bit amused. Not surprised you like RC going the direction of NCL, since you've cruised them 23 times!

[jp30338]

Also I do believe that ncl has the lowest amount of noro outbreaks, of all the mass market cruise lines.

[nolesrule]

The restaurant themes and menus certainly appeal to my inner foodie.

 

We haven't sat with strangers on our last 3 cruises (2 with our kids, 1 without), and the one before that we were at a table for 10 and a family of 4 showed up half the nights, leaving 4-8 empty seats at the table every night.

[SamFritz]

I'm not a fan of the dynamic dining concept. The more I hear about Quantum the less interested I am.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, please excuse all the typos.

[meaclasact2]

We have sailed almost exclusively on NCL for several years. All of their main dining rooms are freestyle which means you are not at assigned tables at assigned times. That does not mean you cannot have an assigned table, same waitperson, same time...if that's what you want, on NCL you just have to request it and you will be accommodated.

 

We are looking forward to our first Royal cruise this Fall. We did not want assigned dining - we have found, especially on European cruises with long days in port, that having greater flexibility to eat when you want to eat is a better way to go. We have chosen My Time Dining and will show up when we want to eat...we are not concerned about waiting (the longest we ever waited on NCL was 15-20 minutes) and we will ask to be seated with others so we can meet new people.

 

I would imagine the change is difficult for experienced cruisers who are used to assigned seating/times. Royal has advised us that with My Time dining we could make reservations if we so choose. We're going to "free style" it and just show up. We want to give MTD a good try and see if we like it. Well...I already know I will because we are going to have a fabulous time on this cruise...the extraordinary itinerary is what made us choose Royal after many years exclusive to NCL.

[Spurschick]

Appeals to us to have more free options.

It gets boring when you get on and know the menu off by heart because you've eaten it so many times:D

 

Variety is the spice of life - mind you the plate of vegetables served with soil and pebbles has to be the least appealing menu item I saw on the new menu

Edited March 27, 2014 by Spurschick
Addition

[jessicalorene]

Looks terrific to me - the menus look great, there are TONS of options (which I would think Royal loyals would be happy about, a new menu!) and if you want to be formal you can! If you want to be casual you can!

 

Seems like a win win win to me :D

[OCruisers]

Feel sure intensive marketing was done to make the decision that this is the way cruising is heading.

LuLu

~~~

[LMaxwell]

Looks terrific to me - the menus look great, there are TONS of options (which I would think Royal loyals would be happy about, a new menu!) and if you want to be formal you can! If you want to be casual you can!

 

Seems like a win win win to me :D

 

But how are people going to make friends if Royal doesn't force fit and tell them the exact time and place to meet? (Even though like minded individuals can still actually request this exact scenario)

[kruzerci]

I'm not a fan of the dynamic dining concept. The more I hear about Quantum the less interested I am.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, please excuse all the typos.

 

I have to agree. I think we and Royal Caribbean are moving in totally opposite directions.

 

We just booked out first Celebrity cruise. I think it is going to be our new line of choice. The whole appeal to everybody, affordable to everybody, amusement park isn't our thing.

Edited March 27, 2014 by kruzerci

[DrD]

Agree. Tried, didn't like it. Too much planning. I go on a cruise to not have to think.

 

I doubt they'll go that way for the whole fleet. Maybe for all new ships but it'd be hard to convert the others to hold multiple restaurants.

[katydyd]

So...you feel that a business model that makes as many customers happy as possible is a bad approach?

 

I get it if certain aspects don't suit an individual's needs. As I said before, up until this point the new features on the Quantum didn't really appeal to me, but this addition did. But, I don't understand the whole, "I'm moving to another line because RCCL changed how they're doing things on one ship" attitude.

 

So, RCCL managed to take a ship that really (other than a convenient home port) didn't appeal to me at all, and jump it to the top of my to-do list.

 

Seems like they've got a handle on grabbing the market share.

[Priusprof]

There are a lot of features that are being promoted for Quantum and Anthem are just so innovative! The sky diving simulator, the bumper cars, and the 270 Area are just super innovative. Ten years ago I had more NCL cruises than RCCL cruises. The tipping point was the anytime dining vs. the structured dining. Times change and I believe that RCCL is being responsive to more people wanting less regimentation in their vacation. Not a day goes by, on these boards, where someone is not complaining about formal nights. Some complain they don't want to dress. Some complain about the people who don't dress. Then there are the people that don't think that there is enough to do on board. It goes on and on! We live in Florida and chances are that I won't fly to New York to take a cruise to the Bahamas.They will position Anthem in Europe initially and then put her in FL. eventually. We will sail that class in Europe or out of a Florida port. Many of our friends are going on one of the first few voyages and we'll get their feedback.

[bob brown]

Having sailed 'Freestyle' on NCL for many years, I am used to this concept, so it doesn't bother me in the least....the only thing that does disturb me is that if I want to enjoy some of the better offerings like lobster, I will be forced to dress formally, as only the one designated 'always formal', ('The Grande'), MDR will be offering that choice....I imagine that would also include such things as filet mignon or some other top beef selections....

Edited March 27, 2014 by bob brown

[LMaxwell]

Having sailed 'Freestyle' on NCL for many years, I am used to this concept, so it doesn't bother me in the least....the only thing that does disturb me is that if I want to enjoy some of the better offerings like lobster, I will be forced to dress formally, as only the one designated 'always formal', ('The Grande'), MDR will be offering that choice....I imagine that would also include such things as filet mignon or some other top beef selections....

 

Lobster and Rib eye (Surf and Turf) is on the American Icon menu; you can go there every night and it is smart casual. So you won't have to dress up if you want lobster...and you can eat lobster every night.

 

The top beef selections are still going to be at Chops, which is also smart casual. You won't be required to dress formal (which I think is RCI speak for jacket and tie, no jeans) in order to have lobster.

[senior lady]

my problem with this concept is that they want you to pre-reserve the places you want to eat at before you go on the cruise. How do I know what I feel like eating before I go???

When I was on the Allure last November, it drove me crazy to not be able to go and do what I wanted on the "spur" of the moment.

I like the computer boards telling you what places are full but it just didn't feel right

[LMaxwell]

my problem with this concept is that they want you to pre-reserve the places you want to eat at before you go on the cruise. How do I know what I feel like eating before I go???

When I was on the Allure last November, it drove me crazy to not be able to go and do what I wanted on the "spur" of the moment.

I like the computer boards telling you what places are full but it just didn't feel right

 

Pre-reserving exists for those that want a set plan. You can NOT pre-reserve if you wish and go by the seat of your pants. They will NOT book reservations at any particular time for the entire place; they leave room for walk ins at MTD and specialty in regards to reservations, this will be no different. Show up whenever you please (although if it is full at that time you may be waiting).

[liljay6915]

I feel like I am in the minority but I am going to be truly sad when RCL goes by way of NCL. DH and I have made wonderful friends in table mates. In the past couple years we have found that RCL organizes tables by age. We love this as we have been sat with 20-30 y/o we have fun while onward and are able to make life long friends. I feel like sharing one dinner with someone you are unable to make the same connection as a week spent with someone.

 

 

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