ANTHEM - What's going on with DD/Classic Dining?

[beachbuddy]

I'm gonna' go with Patti on this one. It's been my experience where she sees smoke there's usually a fire. Just my humble opinion.

 

 

I agree with you.

 

 

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[kevinyork]

 

"The contract between us is governed by English law"

 

 

 

I think that seals it. It's a contract between you and a UK company and governed by UK law. Irrespective of where the servers or card processing are located.

 

I wouldn't be happy either with the changes if I hadn't got a fee free cancelling option.

 

I would send off an email to Stuart Leven, UK head of RCI with your well reasoned views. sleven@rccl.com Mentioning BBC Watchdog never does any harm.

[Expat Cruise]

Not so fast it also says "other conditions also apply......" nothing is sealed here.... While you may not want to hear it in these case, like so many other cases the UK is subservient to the United States.

 

Never like DD dinning happy to see it dying. Its a win win...

[kevinyork]

Not so fast it also says "other conditions also apply......" nothing is sealed here.... While you may not want to hear it in these case, like so many other cases the UK is subservient to the United States.

 

 

 

Never like DD dinning happy to see it dying. Its a win win...

 

 

 

The first sentence overrides the second. We've been booking cruises with Royal and Celebrity over the years and everything we receive in our confirmations or publicity clearly shows the UK companies are the ones we are in contact with. Other conditions may also apply but unless they are specified we have the unfair terms and conditions act to fall back on.

 

Royal, Princess and Celebrity sell their cruises to UK customers from their UK companies therefore UK law applies.

 

Sorry you didn't like DD.

[beachbuddy]

I don't know why people complained about DD so much. It's only on 1 ship in the US and those that didn't like it could have sailed 1 of Royals many ships.

 

There's plenty of us that did like it.

 

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Edited April 5, 2016 by beachbuddy

[MisterBill99]

I don't know why people complained about DD so much. It's only on 1 ship in the US and those that didn't like it could have sailed 1 of Royals many ships.

Sorry, that is a ridiculous thing to say. It's their only ship out of the NYC area. It's not like you're sailing out of FLL where if you don't like it, you just book another ship the next day. If you don't want Anthem because of DD but don't want to fly to Florida, you would have to choose another cruise line instead.

 

And for the record, I actually didn't mind DD (we were on Anthem in January and will be again in August). I thought that much of the food wasn't very good, but had expectations that it would be fixed by August.

[ocav]

Not so fast it also says "other conditions also apply......" nothing is sealed here.... While you may not want to hear it in these case, like so many other cases the UK is subservient to the United States.

 

 

 

Never like DD dinning happy to see it dying. Its a win win...

 

 

 

Well regardless of what other conditions apply, UK law applies to the entire contract, and as such any European directive that gives us consumer rights also applies.

 

Europeans get a pretty crappy deal, we aren't allowed to change cruises after paying a deposit, we are charged Value Added Tax ON TOP of the sales taxes if booking a NA based cruise. Future Cruise Certificates on UK booking also have a lot more restrictions. We also don't get any availability on Credit Cards to earn any additional perks, plus the fact flights to the ship are a lot more than if having to travel domestically. The reason for all this is the fact RCI Cruises Ltd is responsible for a lot of things if anything goes wrong, the point that they have to legally pay for an insurance company called ABTA or ATOL to back up any finances for a consumer should they go out of business.

[psupa]

I just booked the Anthem for Oct 20th and selected classic dining. This will be our first time on a ship this large so like reading comments from those who have already experienced this class ship.

[Biker19]

Well regardless of what other conditions apply, UK law applies to the entire contract, and as such any European directive that gives us consumer rights also applies.

 

OK, and where in that contract does it say what kind of menu DD must have or what DD must deliver? Or for that matter, that the ship must have DD?

Edited April 6, 2016 by Biker19

[Expat Cruise]

People talk about the contracts here and what Royal must do. But really Royal can do almost anything they want. They can change every single port and say it is weather and what can the passengers due?

 

The only recourse here is to fight with the credit card company (dispute) or go to court. Most passengers do not have the time or money to do this. Royal has a fulled paid staff trained to handle these cases. So really most of the views posted here in the end mean very little.

 

Royal does something that you believe is a $1000 loss to you. So yes you can try to go to court and 5 to 7 years later, and $50,000 dollars later you win. Really does not seem like a win to me.

[davy jones]

OK, and where in that contract does it say what kind of menu DD must have or what DD must deliver? Or for that matter, that the ship must have DD?

 

The cruise contract would allow the cruise line to serve only biscuits and gruel 3 times a day for the entire cruise in stark settings

 

The marketing materials state that "fine" dining and multiple free venues are part of the ship. People make decisions based on the promise of the (any) cruise line and if the cruise line makes substantial changes to things that they completely control, like dining, then I believe that they have the ethical obligation to allow the passenger to cancel up to sailing date with full refund.

[ocav]

OK, and where in that contract does it say what kind of menu DD must have or what DD must deliver? Or for that matter, that the ship must have DD?

 

 

 

Because on my cruise contract it lists the ship, sailing date, and my dining choice, which is Dynamic Dining Choice. I've never said the menu choice is in the contract, as well as the advertised materials having to be accurate to the product purchased.

[Expat Cruise]

Because on my cruise contract it lists the ship, sailing date, and my dining choice, which is Dynamic Dining Choice. I've never said the menu choice is in the contract, as well as the advertised materials having to be accurate to the product purchased.

 

OK, even if everything you said is 100% correct.... so what? Royal is going to see it from their side and then your options are as I already said, try to prove you are right, pay a very large fee to a lawyer, and spend the next several years in court. Yes I see how it is a win for you....

[swoopy2110]

Because on my cruise contract it lists the ship, sailing date, and my dining choice, which is Dynamic Dining Choice. I've never said the menu choice is in the contract, as well as the advertised materials having to be accurate to the product purchased.

 

That isn't a cruise contract. It's a confirmation invoice.

[Peeker28]

Someone who is currently on Anthem posted on Facebook that Chic and Grande will be used for traditional dining. American Icon & Silk will be used for MTD. Solarium Bistro for Suite and Pinnacle guest. He stated that implementation will be around 6 weeks from now. He heard this information during his galley tour from the Executive Chefs.

[Biker19]

Because on my cruise contract it lists the ship, sailing date, and my dining choice, which is Dynamic Dining Choice. I've never said the menu choice is in the contract, as well as the advertised materials having to be accurate to the product purchased.

 

I wonder how many folks who booked in the UK and had an invoice showing they had DD on Oasis got any sort of refund or OBC?

[MAGICEJS]

First we heard it started April 30th, now it may be 6 weeks , I'm on the May 5th cruise, I hope it doesn't change till after that, I don't want to be the Guinea pig for this new change

[starfish216]

First we heard it started April 30th, now it may be 6 weeks , I'm on the May 5th cruise, I hope it doesn't change till after that, I don't want to be the Guinea pig for this new change

 

Six weeks from now is the best news I heard regarding DD change! That will actually be on the cruise that embarks when we disembark.

 

We too are sailing May 5th and are looking forward to DD.

 

We had it on the Quantum and loved the concept.

[MAGICEJS]

When where you on the Quantum? We sailed on her last year over Easter

[Bobbie John]

First we heard it started April 30th, now it may be 6 weeks , I'm on the May 5th cruise, I hope it doesn't change till after that, I don't want to be the Guinea pig for this new change

 

We are on the May 14 cruise. We don't want to be the guinea pig either!

[Scooter girl 58]

Hi, We are on the May 14th sailing after spending 5 nights in New York. I booked online on the UK site and have received my Guest ticket book, which show all my DD bookings on my onboard confirmations. It seems strange to receive confirmation of my bookings if they are going to do away with DD. I hope they don't as we were very much looking forward to trying something new.

[starfish216]

When where you on the Quantum? We sailed on her last year over Easter

 

I know it wasn't over Easter.....no need to do that anymore since the kids are grown. lol

 

We sailed on the QOS March 13, 2015

[familyofour]

Hi cruisers,

Keep reading different stories about the Dining on Anthem. Some say it should all go Dynamic, as is, making reservations for restaurant and time of your choice. That would be the gest. Different restaurants, trying different menu's.

 

I personally think DD is the way of the future. Mixing it with Classic, just doesn't seem to work. Classic folks could still choose their 5:30 or whatever time as they do for classic. It would prevent much confusion all around.

 

RCI should take their cue from NCL....especially some of the older ships. Dine when YOU want, not when the cruise line says you should. You can even make dining reservations in advance on line. They were the Innovator of MTD and everyone else started following.

 

People want flexibility of their choosing.

 

I hope Anthem sticks with Dynamic Dining, making ressies in advance as to which restaurant the passengers want to dine in.

 

This is just my opinion. I'm sure I'm not alone. How this plays out might determine whether or not we stick to our 12 night Western Oct. 29, 2016!! Let's hope we won't have to change.

 

Safe travels all.

 

PS I appreciate feedback and opinions, just as long as it's kept civil.

Thanks.

:-)

 

We had anytime dining on The NLC last year and it was bad. We waited most nights 40 minutes in a crowded area for our table most nights. The night we made a reservation, they told us to wait on the side and forgot about us for about 40 minutes until we reminded them we were waiting.

Would much rather sit down at a designated time and have a seat for our family.

[beachbuddy]

We had anytime dining on The NLC last year and it was bad. We waited most nights 40 minutes in a crowded area for our table most nights. The night we made a reservation, they told us to wait on the side and forgot about us for about 40 minutes until we reminded them we were waiting.

 

Would much rather sit down at a designated time and have a seat for our family.

 

 

DD worked great for us on Quantum. We never had to wait. Very disappointed that it's going away.

 

 

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[cot427]

6 weeks from now? That sure sounds like my May 14th sailing or the following sailing. I really hope it's the following. Wouldn't want to be on the first sailing for the change...I can only imagine the chaos and confusion.