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Oasis Main Dining and Other Glitches


Lis

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If this was our 1st cruise I probably wouldn't go on another one. It makes me sad to say this as I have loved cruising with RC.

 

The MDR scheduling was a huge disappointment. We attempted to reserve our time just as we had in our previous cruises but were unsuccessful. Either the website was down or IT told us that we couldn't reserve "at this time". Finally we were told to schedule dining by RC when we boarded. Once on board we learned we would have to schedule our dining times EVERY DAY. One of the things we liked about cruising was the ability to have "it all done" from dining to excursions, etc. We missed having the experience of getting to know our waiters as we did in the past.

 

Waiting in line to schedule dining was a drag.. 

 

There were so many IT glitches with our reservations. Our children were de-linked with our reservation. This meant that we had to reschedule all of our entertainment so that we could go together. Of course some of the shows were totally sold out so we had to be on stand by. Oddly and thankfully our excursions were not affected.

 

I don't understand the selection of CATS. Many were leaving mid-way and heard many negative comments about it from other passengers. Seems like there are so many better choices.

 

There was a lack of poolside bar service, very little poolside live music, and generally a lack of activities around the ship. Finding tables in the Windjammer wasn't a problem, finding a clean one without dirty dishes was. There clearly wasn't enough staff in the Windjammer. 

 

On the positive, our stateroom attendant was top notch.

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Not sure if you were aware of the changeover on Oasis to Dynamic Dining.  Well, half-change.  The full change has been postponed but during the ship's refurbishment, they converted the MDR to prepare for Dynamic Dining.  Wondering if that change contributed to your dining troubke.

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We were on the Oasis in January - post refurb - and it was very nice.  We had no problem whatsoever with the new dining config (MDR chopped up into 3 separate venues)....however, they had not yet changed from the traditional dining scheme to the new Dynamic Dining so I don't know how that is going to impact things.  Our table service, as always, was impeccable.  IMO this is one of the few, last things that RCCL is doing well.  While I understand why they have given into the pressure [from other cruise lines] of going with the Dynamic Dining I personally think it is a mistake.  My experience on some of the other lines that offer the more "flexible dining" options is that they have spread their wait staff too thin across too many venues and the result is reduce quality of service.  I fear that this is going to happen to RCCL as well as RCCL has already reduced staff across the board.  I hope that doesn't happen but I fear it will.  I think the part of losing the traditional dining that I will most miss is the nightly rotating menu.  With the new DD the different restaurants are going to offer the same menu night after night.  I think this will get old very fast....and as I have read so many times before in blogs and reviews, the hassle of having to make reservations at a different (or even the same !) restaurant every night is - well, a hassle.  I guess I am just a creature of habit.  I always choose the earliest My Time Dining slot so that I get dinner out of the way and do not have to worry about interrupting whatever activities I choose to participate in (usually the casino !) to go and eat.  Also, with the earliest times you are NEVER delayed because they are running behind and you never have to worry about someone else's schedule getting in your way.  It works out very well for us.

 

From what I have read, Harmony seems like it will be trying a wonderful hybrid of the traditional dining and DD.  According to what I have read, they will be having traditional dining that will "rotate through" the different dining venues.  It sounds like you will remain with whatever group you choose to dine with (or alone, if that is your choice) and will retain the same wait staff even when you change restaurants.  How that is going to work, logistically, is something of a mystery, and it sounds complicated enough to potentially cause some serious problems - however - if they get it worked out, it sounds like a great compromise to those of us that don't want to hassle with making nightly reservations.  Maybe it will work....

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