Select Dining for large parties on Summit

[roe2ship]

We have about 18 people in our party and prefer to choose select dining since we all like a 7:00 pm dinner. Is it possible to make reservations the day we board for two tables next to one another at the chosen time for the entire week of the cruise?

[cb at sea]

With a group that large, I would DEFINITELY make daily reservations, or you risk a long wait, or tables not near each other. Yes, you can reserve in advance.

[KaraokeMusic]

Yes, you can reserve specific tables. Have your TA request Celebrity FAX a diagram of the table layout. Select what tables you want, by table number, and tell your TA to send this request to Celebrity for confirmation. Do not let your TA talk you out of doing this or accept "we can not do that."

 

You did not say what your cruise date is, hope you have enough time to do this. I always reserved tables 120 to 160 days out.

 

Good luck with your cruise. A group of 18 should be a fun time.

[roe2ship]

Yes, you can reserve specific tables. Have your TA request Celebrity FAX a diagram of the table layout. Select what tables you want, by table number, and tell your TA to send this request to Celebrity for confirmation. Do not let your TA talk you out of doing this or accept "we can not do that."

 

You did not say what your cruise date is, hope you have enough time to do this. I always reserved tables 120 to 160 days out.

 

Good luck with your cruise. A group of 18 should be a fun time.

Interesting....I did not think something like reserving specific tables was possible.

 

We have plenty of time..........next year 2011. Thanks!

[Ma Bell]

You can do that with Traditional Dining but it's questionable with Select. We found that large parties don't work well with Select. Whether you make a reservation or not you may have a long wait. We reserved ahead and even though our group were some of Celebrity's more frequent cruisers, we waited for long periods every night because of our group size. Two tables like that.........:(

[scf1270]

Good advice from the previous posters.

In May there were only two tables of ten. Our group (no reservation, and we went at peak time) waited 1.5 hours. Waited in the Martini bar so it wasn't too bad :eek:.

 

If they know in advance you want to be together and at the same time all week, there shouldn't be any reason they can't arrange tables to accomodate your group, instead of your group working around their tables.

 

Good luck!

Sara

[KaraokeMusic]

Interesting....I did not think something like reserving specific tables was possible.

 

We have plenty of time..........next year 2011. Thanks!

 

It depends on how strong your TA is. With a group of 18 you are wise to do this.

 

Yes, 2011 provides you sufficient time.

 

Groups are a lot of fun.:D

[SeaCod]

You can do that with Traditional Dining but it's questionable with Select. We found that large parties don't work well with Select. Whether you make a reservation or not you may have a long wait. We reserved ahead and even though our group were some of Celebrity's more frequent cruisers, we waited for long periods every night because of our group size. Two tables like that.........:(

 

Ma Bell, can't agree with you more.

 

OP, our sole experience with Select was on a 7 day cruise on Century in May. We were a party of 2 and made a standing reservation at 8:00 each evening when we first boarded. There was a wait or some issue every night and formal nights were a nightmare. I can't imagine that they'll be willing to hold two tables of 9 for you to arrive at 7:00. It's unlikely they would be able to seat anyone at these seats before you so it would take up a good chunk of the allotted Select Time seats for basically the whole evening.

 

Sorry I can't paint a rosier picture, but your group is too large for eating in Select Time and I fear you will be very disappointed.

[Ma Bell]

We found that having a reservation meant nothing. If tables are full before you get there you have to wait. We were notified that reserving ahead meant they would try to seat you at that time and with a small party your chances are good that you will be. I wouldn't even consider trying this with 18 people.

[SeaCod]

We found that having a reservation meant nothing. If tables are full before you get there you have to wait. We were notified that reserving ahead meant they would try to seat you at that time and with a small party your chances are good that you will be. I wouldn't even consider trying this with 18 people.

 

We're going on the Summit next week and after our experience with Select for 2 on Century, we quickly called and switched to Late Seating.

[roe2ship]

I see there are mixed reviews here. I have to admit....having a reservation and waiting close to an hour or over is excessive. When Celebrity introduced Select dining, I thought it is strongly suggested that you do make reservations...so if you follow their own suggestion, waiting that long is really uncalled for regardless of how many people are in your party.

[Ma Bell]

It is uncalled for but it's the way it works. I have a TA who is one of Celebrity's best producers, reserved ahead and have been on close to 60 Celebrity cruises and it didn't help us at all. In every other venue on the ship they do their best to accommodate reservations, but this area just doesn't work well for large parties.

[kitty9]

FYI, it's reported here on CC that more than a few passengers who've done Select with large groups have had nothing but problems. They've pretty much have said that those with large groups are better accommodated via traditional dining. While it's obviously your choice to go with Select, you might want to take this into consideration.