Article in USA Today on the postponement of Dynamic Dining

[Bmulder1]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2015/01/02/royal-caribbean-dynamic-dining/21181665/

[kiyoko]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2015/01/02/royal-caribbean-dynamic-dining/21181665/

 

Reads like it's just one big ad for the ship. Where's the balanced, unbiased news? Having been on the Christmas cruise where there were so many issues, I will never look at USA Today the same again. Thanks for posting and opening my eyes.

[MAZ100]

Maybe RCL is finally getting that everyone hates Dynamic Dining from the disaster on the Quantum

[Nextholiday?]

Assume anthem will still have it?

[A&L_Ont]

Assume anthem will still have it?

 

If not, it might be the last one to get it. I am not sure if the ship has been constructed too far to change the dining "style" in the venues. I do wonder if they are considering changing it.

Edited January 2, 2015 by A&L_Ont

[kiyoko]

Maybe RCL is finally getting that everyone hates Dynamic Dining from the disaster on the Quantum

I don't want to get crew and staff in trouble so I won't mention particular names or positions. I spoke with quite a few and all that I spoke with couldn't wait to get off the ship and get back on a different one. In particular one, who should know, told me that RCL is considering doing away with DD. It not only apparently puts extreme stress on the Chefs but there's an incredible amount of waste, let alone not popular with the passengers. I was looking forward to DD until we experienced issues on a lot of different levels. IMHO I'm not sure if RCL will ever get it to work unless drastic changes are made to policies and procedures.

 

Actually, the only person employed by RCL on our sailing who said to me that he liked the ship was the Captain. But then, it wouldn't have looked good if he had said otherwise.

[Dave85]

If not, it might be the last one to get it. I am not sure if the ship has been constructed too far to change the dining "style" in the venues. I do wonder if they are considering changing it.

 

I agree Andrew. I don't see how they could possibly change course on Anthem at this advanced stage of the game. If anything, I should see them nixing implementation on Oasis and Allure (and even the anticipated implementation on Oasis III).

[cruisenfever]

Maybe RCL is finally getting that everyone hates Dynamic Dining from the disaster on the Quantum

I'm sorry, but not "everyone" hates DD. :eek: We thoroughly enjoyed it and never found it to be a disaster during our 19 days on board Quantum.

[kiyoko]

I was on the Oasis Dec. 6 sailing after it came out of retrofit and it didn't look at all like RCL put a whole lot of money into renovating MDR into the different restaurants. At most, it just looked to my unsophisticated eyes that a few cosmetic changes were made to some light fixtures, wall decorations and chairs.

[LorraineP]

I'm sorry, but not "everyone" hates DD. :eek: We thoroughly enjoyed it and never found it to be a disaster during our 19 days on board Quantum.

 

We were on the 12/1 sailing, enjoyed so much, going back on the 4/24 cruise and also booked the Anthem for 11/10. Didn't mind DD, thought food was a little better and came out warmer.

[A&L_Ont]

I agree Andrew. I don't see how they could possibly change course on Anthem at this advanced stage of the game. If anything, I should see them nixing implementation on Oasis and Allure (and even the anticipated implementation on Oasis III).

 

When we sail Lady O III in her inaugural year, if she is in North America, I have a feeling we can have traditional dinner together in the MDR. ;)

 

Happy New Year to the both of you.

Andrew

[Dave85]

When we sail Lady O III in her inaugural year, if she is in North America, I have a feeling we can have traditional dinner together in the MDR. ;)

 

 

 

Happy New Year to the both of you.

 

Andrew

 

 

I look forward to it :D Happy New Year to you and the fam!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[Trail46]

How about as a fix to dynamic dining on Quantum, keep the various venues but institute two seatings as in old MDR. Seems like this would avoid long waits and backed up reservations.

[Dave85]

How about as a fix to dynamic dining on Quantum, keep the various venues but institute two seatings as in old MDR. Seems like this would avoid long waits and backed up reservations.

 

 

I don't believe there are enough seats in the included restaurants on Quantum for that to work. My understanding is they can only accommodate 1/3 of guests at a time (? correct me if that figure is off). That would not be enough to accommodate everyone over 2 seatings.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[xcell]

DD = NCL Freestyle and it's not my cup of tea. Did no one show up? Of course not, so there are people who like it and people who don't.

[loupana]

11 days on Quantum and never seen a line or more than half full dinning room. From appetizer to desert always about 1 hour, proof in my photos metadata. Like someone else has said not everyone hates DD. We have only cruised 7 times but have enjoyed all types of dining. Celebrity MDR, Celebrity Blu, Norwegian Freestyle, RCL My Time and Dynamic Dining. I have enjoyed them all. So if you've tried DD and don't like it it's nice you still have traditional options.

[Mythbuster]

I don't want to get crew and staff in trouble so I won't mention particular names or positions. I spoke with quite a few and all that I spoke with couldn't wait to get off the ship and get back on a different one. In particular one, who should know, told me that RCL is considering doing away with DD. It not only apparently puts extreme stress on the Chefs but there's an incredible amount of waste, let alone not popular with the passengers. I was looking forward to DD until we experienced issues on a lot of different levels. IMHO I'm not sure if RCL will ever get it to work unless drastic changes are made to policies and procedures.

 

I am not surprised by the reaction you experienced with the crew and staff. If this board is any indication of the belly aching and complaining that cruisers are dishing out to them, who in their right mind would want to endure more. I understand the disappointment and frustration many are experiencing for their missed expectations for their expensive vacation, but many people take their frustrations out on anyone with a RCL uniform on. The other reason many want off is that they do not want to go to the Asian market so it is a short term tour to begin with.

[Jimmers]

I don't want to get crew and staff in trouble so I won't mention particular names or positions. I spoke with quite a few and all that I spoke with couldn't wait to get off the ship and get back on a different one.

 

You too?. We've never had one crew complain to us on a cruise, let alone three, and we thought it odd that they would risk their jobs by saying such things to a stranger. One crew member told us that the main reason he transferred to the Quantum was because he was told it had the best internet speed; he wanted to be able to communicate better with his family back home. But he found it to be worse than the ship he came from. When he complained to management about not getting what he paid for (yes, they have to pay for their internet) they told him "too bad".

[kiyoko]

I am not surprised by the reaction you experienced with the crew and staff. If this board is any indication of the belly aching and complaining that cruisers are dishing out to them, who in their right mind would want to endure more. I understand the disappointment and frustration many are experiencing for their missed expectations for their expensive vacation, but many people take their frustrations out on anyone with a RCL uniform on. The other reason many want off is that they do not want to go to the Asian market so it is a short term tour to begin with.

 

Actually, the impression I got for the main reasons they wanted out was because of understaffing, the technology not working right or unworkable and difficult procedures put in place by RCL. I'm guessing that the comments were made to me because I wasn't taking out the many problems I encountered on them. Mostly just casual conversation on my part. Many were unhappy because of issues they personally encountered and were actually sympathetic to the passengers' legitimate complaints. I didn't see the majority of the issues that I had with my sailing as having to do with the crew or staff since the ones I observed were mostly working as hard as they could under very difficult conditions. But I place blame on corporate for my dissatisfaction.

[ReneFlores]

I don't want to get crew and staff in trouble so I won't mention particular names or positions. I spoke with quite a few and all that I spoke with couldn't wait to get off the ship and get back on a different one. In particular one, who should know, told me that RCL is considering doing away with DD. It not only apparently puts extreme stress on the Chefs but there's an incredible amount of waste, let alone not popular with the passengers. I was looking forward to DD until we experienced issues on a lot of different levels. IMHO I'm not sure if RCL will ever get it to work unless drastic changes are made to policies and procedures.

 

Actually, the only person employed by RCL on our sailing who said to me that he liked the ship was the Captain. But then, it wouldn't have looked good if he had said otherwise.

Hello guys, first a little introduction. New cruiser from México, this will be my second cruise, my first being on the Freedom of the seas circa 2013. While I know my knowledge will not even manage to scratch the experience some of our fellow cruisers have, nor the appreciation for the old things that I never experienced, I want to share my opinion with you.

 

I’ve been following the QotS since its Keel blocks thread, and booked in May of 2014 for a 12 day cruise on March 2015. I agree based on threads that the QotS has way more glitches than it should considering the price and expectations built around it, but I can also see the value of having a different, more appealing for the younger crowd ship which seems to be what RCL is seeking with QotS, as the fleet with traditional options is already big enough to offer different alternatives for all types of cruisers.

 

As someone have commented so far, the amount of QotS Haters that go on every post to repeat what they’ve already said in their reviews is scary. I wouldn’t want to be a staff member in QotS, a ship that’s going through an entire learning experience not only because of the changes in the Dining room, but also because of the changes in technology. As far as I’ve read in all reviews (good or bad), the only consistent thing in all of QotS cruises so far is the constant nagging of the crew, either be for reasonable or unreasonable points, it has to be unbearable to have to listen to people blame you for things that are ultimately out of your control.

 

Many people disagree with Royal Caribbean’s forward thinking, but how could Royal Possibly know, when it was true that they were taking a leap compared to other cruises currently available. Was dynamic dining, a robot bar, having a crew all work with tablets, or the sea plex different activities a good idea? I think they were, because that’s what made me sign for the QotS, the main mistake Royal made was thinking technology was going to replace human workers, as it seems most of the problems of the Quantum would be fixed if there was more staff / the staff was better prepared. It’s hard to prepare your staff for a ship that breaks the standard though, and I’m pretty sure the cruise experience in the Anthem of the seas will be outstanding.

 

Ultimately, the point most people is failing to realize is that Royal Caribbean was trying to differentiate itself and appeal cruisers, young and old, with new tricks. As far as I’ve read in this forums, most cruisers pick ships based in itinerary and price, as almost all the main cruise lines offer a very similar experience.

 

Like it or not, there is no other Quantum, and there might not be another one (Other than the anthem or the ovation), in a very long time. The quantum attractiveness comes from beign different, and as soon as they’re able to fix their understaffing / undertrained issues, I think the ship will allow Royal to grab a share of the market that’s uninterested in cruises, a younger audience.

 

I don’t mean to offend anyone, but all the photos I’ve seen of the Quantum so far show a very mature and experienced crowd, and unless they can attract new and young customers, cruise lines will have a difficult time surviving the tough competition.

Edited January 3, 2015 by ReneFlores

[Jimmers]

Nice clear and concise post Rene. I agree with most, if not all of the points you made. RCI is indeed focusing on a different demographic with this ship. We knew that going in but still wanted to experience the latest and greatest, "most advanced ship ever built".

 

While we still enjoyed cruising with our friends and the Caribbean, the overall experience left us very disappointed not only in the ship itself but also in RCI. But we never blamed or nagged any of the crew for what was obviously a management problem and we never saw anyone else doing it.

 

We're not going to stop sailing with RCI for one bad cruise out of many other great ones. We wish them great success with the Quantum class ships but unless it's a deal we can't refuse, we likely will not be sailing on them again. We're glad we tried the Quantum but we'll stick with the tried and true.

 

Hope you have a great cruise on her. Watch out for those "very mature" cruisers, they can be dangerous:D.

Edited January 3, 2015 by Jimmers

[JemzRoo]

Thanks for your insight Renee; I agree with a lot of what you said. As Hoopster95 said in his amazing overview, the ship was designed around a younger marketing and a lot of the complaints, while many are warranted, seem to come from the traditional and older crowd.

 

I am somewhat nervous for my upcoming 9 night cruise on Quantum; I'm trying my best to look at the positives but I would be lying if I said I wasn't somewhat dragged down by the onslaught of negativity. Being in my mid twenties I'm leery to see if the average age will end up being 60's. I guess we'll see!

[kiyoko]

Hello guys, first a little introduction. New cruiser from México, this will be my second cruise, my first being on the Freedom of the seas circa 2013. While I know my knowledge will not even manage to scratch the experience some of our fellow cruisers have, nor the appreciation for the old things that I never experienced, I want to share my opinion with you.

 

I’ve been following the QotS since its Keel blocks thread, and booked in May of 2014 for a 12 day cruise on March 2015. I agree based on threads that the QotS has way more glitches than it should considering the price and expectations built around it, but I can also see the value of having a different, more appealing for the younger crowd ship which seems to be what RCL is seeking with QotS, as the fleet with traditional options is already big enough to offer different alternatives for all types of cruisers.

 

As someone have commented so far, the amount of QotS Haters that go on every post to repeat what they’ve already said in their reviews is scary. I wouldn’t want to be a staff member in QotS, a ship that’s going through an entire learning experience not only because of the changes in the Dining room, but also because of the changes in technology. As far as I’ve read in all reviews (good or bad), the only consistent thing in all of QotS cruises so far is the constant nagging of the crew, either be for reasonable or unreasonable points, it has to be unbearable to have to listen to people blame you for things that are ultimately out of your control.

 

Many people disagree with Royal Caribbean’s forward thinking, but how could Royal Possibly know, when it was true that they were taking a leap compared to other cruises currently available. Was dynamic dining, a robot bar, having a crew all work with tablets, or the sea plex different activities a good idea? I think they were, because that’s what made me sign for the QotS, the main mistake Royal made was thinking technology was going to replace human workers, as it seems most of the problems of the Quantum would be fixed if there was more staff / the staff was better prepared. It’s hard to prepare your staff for a ship that breaks the standard though, and I’m pretty sure the cruise experience in the Anthem of the seas will be outstanding.

 

Ultimately, the point most people is failing to realize is that Royal Caribbean was trying to differentiate itself and appeal cruisers, young and old, with new tricks. As far as I’ve read in this forums, most cruisers pick ships based in itinerary and price, as almost all the main cruise lines offer a very similar experience.

 

Like it or not, there is no other Quantum, and there might not be another one (Other than the anthem or the ovation), in a very long time. The quantum attractiveness comes from beign different, and as soon as they’re able to fix their understaffing / undertrained issues, I think the ship will allow Royal to grab a share of the market that’s uninterested in cruises, a younger audience.

 

I don’t mean to offend anyone, but all the photos I’ve seen of the Quantum so far show a very mature and experienced crowd, and unless they can attract new and young customers, cruise lines will have a difficult time surviving the tough competition.

Your generalizations about the demographic target group or most cruisers may be correct for most, but in our situation, we sail because my son who is a very seasoned cruiser has a passion for cruising and the ship is the destination for him. He is in the demographic age group that you mention and he had a more critical view of our Christmas sailing than I did.

 

The biggest problem I saw with this sailing is that RCL had put a ship into service which was not ready for prime time and although we knew going in that there are always issues when a new ship is put into service, we had thought that by our sailing that most of the issues would have been resolved. Unfortunately, even the most basic services were lacking. Your assuming that crew and staff were berated for these problems may be an accurate assumption but I never saw it, except for the times I was waiting in line at Guest Services. I don't know where you saw that the most consistent theme of the reviews was the constant nagging of the crew and I must respectfully disagree. Although I haven't read all of the reviews, that is not what I found. In fact, the consistent theme I read was that the blame was towards management. Same here for me.

 

My main intention in reporting the issues I encountered back here on CC was to let future passengers know what to expect. The Quantum may someday be everything that RCL advertises that she currently is, but not now, and IMHO not for a while. That does not help the passengers that have already sailed on her and were disappointed. RCL, by putting this ship into service without resolving its issues and by still having the continuing problems, set itself up for the many complaints. For me, whatever RCL has done to present hasn't resolved the basic issues, which IMHO should have been addressed by now.

 

Hopefully, by the time of your sailing, the issues will be resolved.

Edited January 3, 2015 by kiyoko

[ReneFlores]

Thank you so much for your comments Kiyoko, Jimmers, and JemzRoo.

I’m actually worried as well since it’s going to be a very expensive trip for us and we’ve been saving for a year to be able to make it! We’re in a group of four, me (28), my sister (31), my grand mom (82) and my grand mom’s female friend (73), traveling from México City. This trip will be over twice as expensive as the 7 day Freedom cruise we did.

 

I’ve read so far all the reviews that have come through in Cruise Critic’s forums (not in the reviews section at CC), and specially the first ones that came it seemed like there would be a lot of pressure on the staff because of the hindering problems.

 

We cannot deny that Morale is very important, and if 1/3rd of the crew has their Morale down due to constantly having to deal with issues, I bet most of the crew is sharing the same unpleasing feeling.

 

Morale is affecting us cruisers too, which haven’t even set foot on the ship, as we already have a bad impression of the QotS, and first impressions are hard to erase.

 

It’s clear that Royal Caribbean was / is testing the waters to see how much they could get away with reducing the amount of staff in the ship and that’s why they bought the tablets (it wasn’t a nice gesture to the crew, but instead it was supposed to increase productiveness). Removing assistant waiters made no sense, but Royal was trying to see if they could get away with it.

 

That’s the problem with our capitalist world, companies will keep trying to give you a cheaper product for a higher price (apple), and if presentation is good enough, they sometimes get away with it. Royal tried and they failed, the attractiveness in Cruise ships isn’t the technology, but the feeling of luxury you don’t get in any other form of trip, unless you spend a fortune.

You can see though how big the problematic is on the cruising world regarding two things:

 

1. The lack of young cruisers when it’s not a short spring break trip (I’ve never been in one though I read the horror stories :D)
   
2. The fact that cruisers pick ships based on itinerary and costs regardless of company or ship, because most cruise ships offer you the same quality service.
   

I honestly don’t expect everything to be fixed by the time we’re cruising, as they would have to stop using tablets in some areas of the ship and replace their IT Crew, but whatever happens I will make the best of it, as it’s up to me to make my vacations enjoyable by not being bothered by all the issues, as most of the time there is an alternative.

 

Cheers!

[kiyoko]

Thank you so much for your comments Kiyoko, Jimmers, and JemzRoo.

I’m actually worried as well since it’s going to be a very expensive trip for us and we’ve been saving for a year to be able to make it! We’re in a group of four, me (28), my sister (31), my grand mom (82) and my grand mom’s female friend (73), traveling from México City. This trip will be over twice as expensive as the 7 day Freedom cruise we did.

 

I’ve read so far all the reviews that have come through in Cruise Critic’s forums (not in the reviews section at CC), and specially the first ones that came it seemed like there would be a lot of pressure on the staff because of the hindering problems.

 

We cannot deny that Morale is very important, and if 1/3rd of the crew has their Morale down due to constantly having to deal with issues, I bet most of the crew is sharing the same unpleasing feeling.

 

Morale is affecting us cruisers too, which haven’t even set foot on the ship, as we already have a bad impression of the QotS, and first impressions are hard to erase.

 

It’s clear that Royal Caribbean was / is testing the waters to see how much they could get away with reducing the amount of staff in the ship and that’s why they bought the tablets (it wasn’t a nice gesture to the crew, but instead it was supposed to increase productiveness). Removing assistant waiters made no sense, but Royal was trying to see if they could get away with it.

 

That’s the problem with our capitalist world, companies will keep trying to give you a cheaper product for a higher price (apple), and if presentation is good enough, they sometimes get away with it. Royal tried and they failed, the attractiveness in Cruise ships isn’t the technology, but the feeling of luxury you don’t get in any other form of trip, unless you spend a fortune.

You can see though how big the problematic is on the cruising world regarding two things:

 

1. The lack of young cruisers when it’s not a short spring break trip (I’ve never been in one though I read the horror stories :D)
   
2. The fact that cruisers pick ships based on itinerary and costs regardless of company or ship, because most cruise ships offer you the same quality service.
   

I honestly don’t expect everything to be fixed by the time we’re cruising, as they would have to stop using tablets in some areas of the ship and replace their IT Crew, but whatever happens I will make the best of it, as it’s up to me to make my vacations enjoyable by not being bothered by all the issues, as most of the time there is an alternative.

 

Cheers!

My suggestion to you is instead of being worried, take a proactive approach by considering what issues previous sailings entailed and try to work around them. Worrying will not solve anything. For example, make sure you have all your dining and entertainment reservations done in ample time prior to boarding and make sure you bring copies of those with you. Also consider dining early. It sounds like the passengers who encountered the least amount of problems ate at 6pm. Read through what others have posted to get tips on where to avoid or what problems they encountered and how it was or not resolved. For example, we hated American Icon's dining choices and would not recommend eating there. Many didn't care for the buffet, including us. However, keep in mind that these are opinions and food likes and dislikes are subjective. Do ifly, Northstar and bumper cars early, otherwise you may not get a chance to try them. For example, we loved bumper cars and got to try it once, but were disappointed later because we weren't aware until too late that they aren't running very often. Although no guarantee, planning ahead may prevent you from encountering some of the problems we had. The lack of hot water for showers on disembarkation day, I'm not sure how I could get around that since I was rushing. Perhaps I would have had a plan B if I knew it was a possibility--but it never occurred to me that I would need a plan for that until it happened.

 

Although it should not be necessary, in hindsight, I would have been better prepared had I known of these issues before I boarded. Unfortunately, I had been traveling for an extended period of time prior to boarding and did not have the advantage of seeing reviews ahead of time. You have until March. Again, hopefully the issues will have been resolved by then. If not, you will be better prepared and at least will have been given prior notice of what others have experienced and won't be taken by surprise like we were. Hopefully, you can find my limited tips useful.

Edited January 4, 2015 by kiyoko