All change once again for Royal Caribbean!

Only a few months I remember getting excited about Royal Caribbean’s new dining concept “Dynamic dining”. Looking back at my blog I wrote…”Dynamic dining is the next step and offers so much more to your dining experience on board…there will be no more set dining times, no set formal evenings and a choice of no less than 18 restaurants. There will be 4 restaurants included without any extra charge. If you imagine what was the Main dining room offering the 2 options first or second dining will now be transformed into 5 different restaurants for you to choose from.”

I still believe it to be a great idea and a welcome change to the traditional dining room on board a cruise ship but guests who have actually experienced this new dining concept on board Quantum of the Seas seem to disagree! Feedback from guests has been very negative when it comes to dynamic dining , including issues such as poor service, long queues, no chance of dining in the restaurant you choose unless you pre book making it very stressful…the complaints go on. Looking at just some of the restaurants on board to me they sound fantastic and I love the idea of so much choice from not only the four complementary restaurants but the speciality choices too.

In response to so many complaints Royal Caribbean have taken action and listened to their guests. On board Quantum they have increased the number of waiters in the restaurants and the menus have also been changed to offer more variety.

The big change is that  there will now be the “Classic dining” option to for guests sailing on board their newest ship to launch in April, Anthem of the Seas. This option will allow guests to rotate around the 4 restaurants ensuring that the same waiters are with you every evening. Also allowing you to choose from the more traditional dining times, early or late. The Classic option will be available to pre book in March and it’s yet to be seen if this is going to be the most popular choice for guests.

Will the Classic option become available on all Quantum Class ships and if and when Dynamic dining is rolled out fleet wide will the options be the same? The answer is I don’t know!  I think as with any new concept on such a huge scale as this there are always going to be teething troubles. The fact that Royal Caribbean are ready to listen to feedback and make changes goes a long way, although will it be too late for those having a poor dining experience on board their cruise and will they be put off cruising with them again?  They have taken the decision to hold back on introducing Dynamic dining to Oasis and Allure of the Seas which I personally think is a good move, they need to get it right before continuing with this concept on the other ships in the fleet. They have to remember that all these changes they make have a huge impact on their customers cruise, it’s the customers after all who are experiencing this.

It’s a big risk they are taking but will it be one that once it’s perfected will set them aside from the other lines. What do you think…have you experienced Dynamic dining  first hand? What do you think of the Classic option?

As always I would love to hear your views.

Abbi x