Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International has halted the expansion of Dynamic Dining, a concept that reinvented the way cruise passengers ate dinner.
Introduced on Quantum of the Seas, Dynamic Dining essentially did away with the mammoth main dining room and lets guests eat when and where they choose among four complimentary restaurants-there were no set dinner times, no required formal nights and no assigned seats.
But the flexible dining program ran into snags on Quantum of the Seas when people couldn't get into the restaurant of their choosing, orders were delayed and overall service suffered.
So Royal Caribbean retooled the program when Anthem of the Seas entered service in April, offering two formats - Choice and Classic. Dynamic Dining Choice lets people make reservations for the four complimentary restaurants online in advance, at kiosks onboard or through the Royal iQ app, while Dynamic Dining Classic lets passengers eat at the same table, with the same companions and wait staff, every night, while moving among four free restaurants.
Previously, Dynamic Dining was also to expand last March to Oasis of the Seas, which had its three-story main dining room divided into three complimentary venues in a dry-dock renovation last October. The roll-out was to continue on sister ship Allure of the Seas, which got the same restaurants in a dry-dock renovation in May.
However, Royal Caribbean in January postponed the expansion to Oasis of the Seas to "later this year."
Now, apparently it's not going to Oasis of the Seas or other ships at all. The news was first reported by RoyalCaribbeanBlog.
"The revolutionary Dynamic Dining concept was created for Royal Caribbean International's newest and most technologically advanced Quantum-class ships," the company said in an email to travel agents. "It has been decided not to introduce the Dynamic Dining concept to the rest of the fleet, which was not specifically designed to support it, although previously announced for Oasis-class ships."
Passengers booked on Oasis, Allure and Harmony of the Seas will select from two seating times in the main dining room or the flexible My Time Dining program. Or, guests can dine when they choose at specialty restaurants.
The travel agent letter said guests who pre-selected the Dynamic Dining Classic option on Harmony of Seas, which enters service in May, will be assigned to either early or late seating to match their original choice of time. Guests who have selected the Dynamic Dining Choice option will be assigned to the My Time Dining program. All dining reservations for guests sailing on Harmony of the Seas should be converted by the end of July.
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