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| Adam Goldstein, CEO and President of Royal Caribbean International, unveils Dynamic Dining |
Last week Royal Caribbean unveiled a
revolutionary new dining system for its Quantum class ships - - the
forthcoming Quantum of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas and a ship to be
named later. The presentation quite impressed me because the new
system, which Royal Caribbean is calling “Dynamic Dining” is so
different than what anyone - - including Royal Caribbean - - are
presently doing.
Traditionally, cruise ship passengers
were assigned to a specific table in the ship's main dining room for
their meals. On larger ships where the main dining room could not
accommodate all of the passengers at the same time, each passenger
was assigned to either the early or the late seating.
In the 1990s, this began to change as
ships developed buffet restaurants that became a viable alternative
for breakfast and lunch. However, for dinner, passengers continued
to be assigned to a specific table at one of the two seatings on most
ships. Some ships began to add a specialty restaurant where you
could dine for an extra charge.
Early this century, Norwegian Cruise
Line developed Freestyle dining. Its ships have more than one main
dining room plus an array of specialty restaurants. Guests could eat
in any of the main dining rooms or in any of the specialty
restaurants when they wanted. No assigned tables, no assigned dining
times.
In response, almost all of the other
major cruise lines have added flexible dining options. Usually, one
part of the main dining room follows the traditional system while
another part has a system that allows guests to come when they chose.
On ships that have multiple dining rooms, typically, one dining room
is devoted to the traditional system while the other(s) have flexible
dining. The menus used in all the dining rooms are the same. These
lines have also added more specialty restaurants as time has passed
to give the guests more alternatives.
With Dynamic Dining, Royal Caribbean
is doing away completely with the traditional dining system. Instead
of one main dining room, there will be five complimentary dining
rooms as well as an array of extra tariff specialty restaurants. It
is up to the guest to decide where and when to dine.
Dynamic Dining differs from Freestyle
dining chiefly in that each of the complimentary dining rooms will be
different with a unique theme and a unique menu. One will be
American favorites, one will be a grand formal restaurant, one will
be very hip and cutting edge, one will be Asian-inspired and one will
be a California-style venue.
In addition, each of the complimentary
restaurants is a relatively small venue and each has its own galley.
(On most ships with multiple dining rooms, all of the food is
prepared in the same galley). Thus, the chefs will be able to give
more time and attention to each meal. This should enable them to
make more sophisticated dishes.
To prevent more passengers than a
particular restaurant can handle all arriving at the same time, Royal
Caribbean is instituting a reservations system. Making reservations
for cruise ship specialty restaurants is something passengers are
used to but it is a rare exception for complimentary dining rooms.
In any event, Royal Caribbean has developed an app that will enable
guests to make reservations before they board and while on ship.
There will also be other more traditional means of making
reservations.
Dynamic Dining is a bold move. It
promises to offer more choice and variety in cruise dining. At the
same time, there are risks. For example, the traditional dining
system lends itself to getting to know your fellow passengers. Over
the course of the cruise, you often become friends with the people
that dine at your table each night. This is particularly important
to solo travelers.
There is also the question of how
passengers will react to having to make reservations for dinner.
Requiring reservations could dampen the feeling of being able to
decide at the spur of the moment where and when to dine. Also, will
people who purchase their cruises near the sailing date be
disadvantaged because people who booked the cruise earlier have taken
all the choice spots.
I tend to think such concerns can be
dealt with using a little creative thinking. Thus, I look forward to
seeing this concept in action. Moreover, the food samples served at
the unveiling event in New York were excellent.
I spoke with several Royal Caribbean
executives including Adam Goldstein, Presidenmt and CEO of Royal
Caribbean International, about Dynamic Dining. That article is at
http://www.beyondships2.com/quantum-of-the-seas-dining.html
The article also covers the new specialty restaurant offerings on
Quantum including venues developed in partnership with celebrity
chefs Jamie Oliver, Michael Schwartz and Devin Alexander.
Turning from Royal Caribbean's newest
ships to the grand dame of the fleet, we have a photo feature showing
Majesty of the Seas as she traveled on one of her short Bahamas
cruises.
http://www.beyondships2.com/majesty-of-the-seas-in-the-bahamas.html
There is also a video of Majesty at sea.
http://www.beyondships2.com/majesty-at-sea.html
All of this augments our profile of Majesty of the Seas.
http://beyondships.com/RCI-MJOS-Profile.html
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