Steve's Travel Tips #32 - Pizza in Italy

Royal Caribbean Discontinuing Dynamic Dining on Anthem of the Seas

Royal Caribbean will be discontinuing Dynamic Dining on Anthem of the Seas starting with the November 27, 2016 sailing.  Another change that’s likely to be popular with Royal Caribbean passengers is the introduction of formal nights to the cruise ship for the first time.

The cruise line said that the reason for this change, was feedback that they received from their guests.  

Starting on November 27, 2016, Anthem of the Seas will offer the My Time Dining program that has both traditional and flexible options.  There will also be new, upgraded dinner menus on the cruise ship.

All active bookings on or after November 27 will automatically convert to the new dining program.  RoyalCaribbean.com now describes dining on Anthem of the Seas as: “Seek out more than 15 dining options like; Jamie’s Italian by one of Britain’s most famous food exports, Chef Jamie Oliver, Wonderland Imaginative Cuisine, Chops Grille American steakhouse, Izumi Japanese Cuisine and Michael’s Genuine Pub”.  Quantum of the Seas is the now only ship that has Dynamic Dining as the description of the dining on RoyalCaribbean.com.

Beginning with the November 27 sailing on Anthem of the Seas, each cruise will have either one or two formal nights, depending on the length of each voyage.  There will be four main restaurants on Anthem of the Seas: Chic, Silk, Grande, and American Icon.  American Icon and Silk will be designated for passengers who choose My Time (anytime dining) while Chic and Grande will be used for passengers who choose traditional dining (early and late seating).

Passengers will be assigned to dine in one of the four main restaurants for the entirety of their cruise.  The ship offers several specialty dining options that are also available.

Royal Caribbean has the following description for the new dining on Anthem of the Seas:“New, upgraded dinner menus will be introduced each evening in all four main dining restaurants. Each restaurant will feature distinctive, new dishes alongside your clients’ classic favorites shared between the four restaurants. Every night there will be a new, upgraded dinner menu to explore, offering delectable dishes to tantalize the palette of even the savviest foodie.”

View Anthem of the Seas Dining FAQ

Royal Caribbean will be making adjustments to the entertainment schedule to better line up with the evening dining options. They will also be adding more staff to iFly and North Star to give passengers an expanded hours of operation.  This will allow more passengers to experience these two popular attractions.

Families and Ecotourism: A Natural Fit

Just as the 100th birthday of the National Park Service is casting a spotlight on U.S. national parks in 2016, we can expect an enhanced emphasis on ecotourism throughout 2017—declared the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations. 

To be sure, the idea of ecotourism isn’t a new one—it’s already known as one of the fastest growing segments in the tourism industry. Put that together with family travel—another of the industry’s rapidly growing segments—and the time is ripe for family vacations that include ecotourism. 

At its core, the concept of ecotourism is simple. According to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), ecotourism is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education."  

And, as with so many segments of tourism, the line blurs easily, with ecotourism overlapping with adventure travel, wellness travel and voluntourism, to name just a few other popular segments that often go hand-in-hand with ecotourism. 

For some, ecotourism means a group of millennials climbing Mount Everest; for others, it’s a month-long safari tour of South Africa—but for most, it’s a natural integration of the unique environmental and cultural aspects of any destination into a vacation experience.