Celebrity Select Dining

[Queen of Oakville]

Getting ready to book, and I'm sure the TA will want to know my dining preference.

 

We typically book early ... but this time I'm thinking of doing the select dining.

 

Are reservations recommended? If you just show up, based on the flow of your day .... what is the typical wait time?

 

With some lines ... there is an early show at 8ish and then a second show at 10ish for the late seating. Other lines, make the late seating which the show early. How are the shows timed on celebrity?

[footer6]

Select dining gives you flexibility. You can make reservations for specific times before you sail, but if things change Celebrity will try to accommodate you. Advance reservations are not required. On our last cruise we were assigned to early seating, because we were told Select was not available. Friends of ours, who booked after us got Select. We were able to change to Select on embarkation day. No problem getting a table. As for wait times, we like to eat early (6-7 pm), and we have never waited for a table. Later times, especially on European cruises, and large groups may take longer.

[Queen of Oakville]

thx. 6 to 7 is my ideal time.

 

but then I also don't want to miss out on shows if they are early.

 

I didn't think Select could book up, so that is god to know.

[monicajay]

Recent experience on Summit. Loved it!

 

Arrived 7h30 ish, never made reservations, table for 2, rarely waited and when we did it was by choice because we wanted a specific area for our table.

 

Can't imagine going back to traditional.

[Queen of Oakville]

my hubby is worried about not having a dedicated wait team and the usual excellent service that comes with that.

 

I just find that I feel so rushed getting to early dining ... and late is too late :)

 

I just signed up for select.

 

We are officially booked on our first X cruise :D

[rdt10]

my hubby is worried about not having a dedicated wait team and the usual excellent service that comes with that.

 

I just find that I feel so rushed getting to early dining ... and late is too late :)

 

I just signed up for select.

 

We are officially booked on our first X cruise :D

 

Tell the Maitre D' that you want the same wait staff, assuming you like them, and they'll put you at one of their tables. You might have to wait for a table to open up. We did this and had the same waiters the whole cruise.

[obnurse]

We dined at nearly the same time every evening with the same wait staff. We never had a wait, but we have had an occasional short wait on some prior sailings.

[karena1]

Tell the Maitre D' that you want the same wait staff, assuming you like them, and they'll put you at one of their tables. You might have to wait for a table to open up. We did this and had the same waiters the whole cruise.

 

 

That is what we always do. We have done MTD with Royal since it started and we always get the same waitstaff, in fact last year on a B2B on Jewel we had the same one for the whole 14 days. So on Summit we will do the same. Tell the Maitre D' we want the same ones and we will be set. I don't want to have to explain my eating habits every night to someone different b/c I never eat what's on the menu but get what I want - salad and steamed veggies.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Getting ready to book, and I'm sure the TA will want to know my dining preference.

 

We typically book early ... but this time I'm thinking of doing the select dining.

 

Are reservations recommended? If you just show up, based on the flow of your day .... what is the typical wait time?

 

With some lines ... there is an early show at 8ish and then a second show at 10ish for the late seating. Other lines, make the late seating which the show early. How are the shows timed on celebrity?

 

If you are from the Centre of the universe, is the MDR good enough for you :p

[goodycruising]

I was interested to know the show timings also. I didn't think that was an odd or self centred question at all????

 

We have found on RCI that we missed shows as they were sometimes, as per the question, early shows for the late sitting and later shows for the early sitting. If you choose to eat at 7.30 to 8ish then you will sometimes miss getting to the show depending on timings.

 

Hopefully someone will have an idea about that.

[Northern Aurora]

On non-formal nights (when the timing of the shows can change) the shows are generally at 7 PM and 9 PM. Those who prefer to dine early or have the early traditional seating would attend the 9 PM show. Those who have the late traditional seating would attend the 7 PM show and then dine.

[Amy1118]

I'm on Celebrity for the first time and am traveling with friends who like early dining, which I just can't do. On RCI I tried MTD once and it was not good as I was by myself most nights and they were set up for tables of 2 or 4 and I sometimes had to dine by myself as there really weren't any large tables available to be seated at.

 

So then I went back to late seating and was seated at a table for 6 where most people at the table never came to the dining room.

 

Is Select Dining likely to have the same problem as I found on RCI or are there large tables where I will likely be seated with others? If not, should I take my chances with late seating? I can eat a little earlier than 8:30 but I really prefer the late seating time.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Amy1118

[MicCanberra]

I love the select dining, eat when I want and I have never had to wait when I have shown up between 7.30 and 8 pm. If you want an earlier time, then I suggest you book or go traditional dining. :D

[Cardiff Cruisers]

We've sailed Celebrity a few times as a couple we always choose Select Dining and as we always go to the late show we eat between 7.00 & 8.00. We adjust our dining time to suit the show start time.

Eating at this sort of time and only being two of us we've never had any wait issues and never make a reservation.

This time there are 8 of us on Select Dining (the other 6 in my part are newbies so they are leaving the planning to me).

Anyone have any advice, should we make reservations each day and if so how/what time or should the 8 of us just turn up together.

We don't particularly need the same table or wait staff each evening although it would be nice if we did.

[dst87]

The more I read about Select dining, the more I think it's a no brainer to go for.

 

I might try and change to Select when we board (if there's availability). The flexibility to eat when you want is ideal. Alex and I always go for a table for two, but having the flexibility to dine with people we meet and want to spend more time with would be nice.

[Caribbean Chris]

What I like about Select is that - if you choose to - you can treat it like traditional dining, only to your specifications.

 

6:30 suited us on our last Century cruise to Hawaii (earlier or later were the traditional options). We were given a great, quiet corner table location for two the first night by a wall near a window, and loved the waiters and wine steward.

 

The Maitre D came by and asked how things were, then offered to hold that table for us each evening at 6:30. It worked out perfectly, and the nights we were unable to use it, we let the staff know ahead of time (ashore or at specialty restaurant.)

 

If it hadn't been great the first night, we could have tried another area or time the following night without a lot of hassle.

 

That was one of the best dining experiences I've had in 30+ cruises. Terrific food and service, and timing worked well for the shows. So I'm sold on select now. Best of both worlds.

[LeftcoastBC]

If you are from the Centre of the universe, is the MDR good enough for you :p

 

If you are from Cobourg and not Port Hope the prettiest town in Ontario (or is it Canada?).is the buffet good enough for you ?:p

[jagoffee]

I'm on Celebrity for the first time and am traveling with friends who like early dining, which I just can't do. On RCI I tried MTD once and it was not good as I was by myself most nights and they were set up for tables of 2 or 4 and I sometimes had to dine by myself as there really weren't any large tables available to be seated at.

 

So then I went back to late seating and was seated at a table for 6 where most people at the table never came to the dining room.

 

Is Select Dining likely to have the same problem as I found on RCI or are there large tables where I will likely be seated with others? If not, should I take my chances with late seating? I can eat a little earlier than 8:30 but I really prefer the late seating time.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

 

Hard to say with certainty. You should be able to sit with a large group in Select dining most of the time especially if you do not mind waiting a while for others to show up. IMO Select dining is much easier if you are a party of two because the tables are so close together. I think you should be able to dine with others if you desire, but I am not sure why it would necessarily be much different than MTD. Worth the risk IMO. Too bad you cannot convince your friend to do Select dining because if you are both flexible you might be able to join them some nights.

 

With all the dining options I would think that it is not uncommon to see people missing from traditional dining. At least that is what I see when I looked down on the main floor from the Select Dining area.

[ClairetoCruise]

We don't care for the second level dining area used for Select.

The ceiling is low, the tables close together, and service is adequate but impersonal.

 

Traditional dining with the same waiters works better for us. When we want to see a show we eat in the buffet, go to Bistro on 5, or dine in a Specialty Restaurant, early or late.

[Lastdance]

I would never book anything, but select dining. You choose your time; my DH and I almost always dine at the same time, so our waitstaff is the same. We make reservations ahead of time and monitor and adjust when necessary, usually our same table by the window is waiting for us. We dine early so all the food isn't heavy on our stomachs while doing other things after dinner and just because it makes us feel so much better when taking in the various ports. We have been lucky as to never have had a poor server! However, to each his/her own...

[Amy1118]

Hard to say with certainty. You should be able to sit with a large group in Select dining most of the time especially if you do not mind waiting a while for others to show up. IMO Select dining is much easier if you are a party of two because the tables are so close together. I think you should be able to dine with others if you desire, but I am not sure why it would necessarily be much different than MTD. Worth the risk IMO. Too bad you cannot convince your friend to do Select dining because if you are both flexible you might be able to join them some nights.

 

With all the dining options I would think that it is not uncommon to see people missing from traditional dining. At least that is what I see when I looked down on the main floor from the Select Dining area.

Thanks for you input. When I did MTD on the Jewel of the Seas there was only one large table and it happened to be reserved every night by a lorge group. All the other tables were for 2 or 4 and they mostly did not seat strangers together, even when I requested it since I was by myself. I actually have quite a few friends on this cruise but none are doing late seating and those who are doing Select Dining are still eating a bit earlier than I like to eat, although I may go that route if I can still switch to Select from late seating. I guess I need to decide soon or I won't have a choice. :rolleyes:

[jagoffee]

Thanks for you input. When I did MTD on the Jewel of the Seas there was only one large table and it happened to be reserved every night by a lorge group. All the other tables were for 2 or 4 and they mostly did not seat strangers together, even when I requested it since I was by myself. I actually have quite a few friends on this cruise but none are doing late seating and those who are doing Select Dining are still eating a bit earlier than I like to eat, although I may go that route if I can still switch to Select from late seating. I guess I need to decide soon or I won't have a choice. :rolleyes:

 

On the Solstice Class ships they certainly have more than one large table and they do not hesitate to put groups together, so You should be OK. Hopefully you can switch right now and have the flexibility.

 

Good luck with your decision.

[Amy1118]

On the Solstice Class ships they certainly have more than one large table and they do not hesitate to put groups together, so You should be OK. Hopefully you can switch right now and have the flexibility.

 

Good luck with your decision.

I've just switched to Select Dining. Thanks for your help! I'm looking forward to my first Celebrity cruise in just 26 days. :)

[MicCanberra]

On the Solstice Class ships they certainly have more than one large table and they do not hesitate to put groups together, so You should be OK. Hopefully you can switch right now and have the flexibility.

 

Good luck with your decision.

Agree, we have often rocked up with a party of people ranging from 6-10 people and were able to get a table in Select. Bear in mind that a booking helps avoid a wait (if more than 4 people) and they do not like it if some are not 'Select dining' guests although they allow it if it is a late dining time.:D

[bakcd]

We sailed on the Infinity in March and had select dining. We found the tables so close together that the waiters would have to walk around another table to gain access to the table being served. Tables of ten were placed lengthwise in front of the windows. The waiters would have to pass food and drinks down the table as they could not reach the diners in the back.

 

We have enjoyed select dining on several previous cruises, including the Infinity, but will probably not book it in the future. The waiters are spread to thin, the room felt very crowded and we had to wait 15 plus minutes for our table to be filled on more than one occasion. The waiters were busy and doing there best but clearly had to many tables to provide the personal service we experienced in the past.