interesting rumor - X going to all select?

[cgags47]

If they did make this change I hope they do away with allowing reservations for certain times or preferences for a certain table or waitstaff as this just reduces availability and makes it less flexible for everyone else.

 

This would alienate an entire segment of cruisers who like to have a set dining time every night, with the same waiter, same table, etc. Ya know, about half of this thread.

 

Anybody who wants Select already has it. Anybody who wants Traditional already has it. Why the need for any change at all? This seems like one of those situations where the status quo doesn't need to change. You want to eat at a specific time, just choose Select. You want scheduled dining, stick with Traditional. You want to choose from the myriad of Specialty dining, go right ahead. They are called options for a reason, and it makes no sense to limit your customers.

[terrierjohn]

Never thought that the "feeding frenzy" in the MDR that they called brunch was upscale:confused:

Have to agree with you, the idea sounded great and maybe it was in the old days, so probably the feeding frenzy was due to a lowering in the standard of passengers.

[terrierjohn]

Ditto. NCL has perfected the casual dining times.

 

Did Select on a busy X sailing and was not impressed, good to hear that they could be improving things.

 

And one poster said they fixed the grat thing on the 123Go with Select, great! :)

We booked select with paid grats via 123go last october for a 2016 Baltic cruise with no problem.

[richsea]

This would alienate an entire segment of cruisers who like to have a set dining time every night, with the same waiter, same table, etc. Ya know, about half of this thread.

 

 

Thanks for the chuckle, LOL. It seems like Celebrity is perfecting the art of alienating their customers,like changing itineraries & chartering ships that are partially booked!

 

But seriously, this whole thing is a result of one report that something might happen. It might be a good idea to wait until it has been announced. Then we can get all worked up!

[Iamcruzin]

But seriously, this whole thing is a result of one report that something might happen. It might be a good idea to wait until it has been announced. Then we can get all worked up!

 

Come on now....you have been reading these boards long enough to know that this doesn't happen on Cruise Critic, especially on the Celebrity board. As soon as one rumor dies another one is born. :D

[Cruising_Tiger]

This would alienate an entire segment of cruisers who like to have a set dining time every night, with the same waiter, same table, etc. Ya know, about half of this thread.

 

Anybody who wants Select already has it. Anybody who wants Traditional already has it. Why the need for any change at all? This seems like one of those situations where the status quo doesn't need to change. You want to eat at a specific time, just choose Select. You want scheduled dining, stick with Traditional. You want to choose from the myriad of Specialty dining, go right ahead. They are called options for a reason, and it makes no sense to limit your customers.

 

This perspective seems a little narrow. The problem is that fewer people are choosing Traditional Dining and Celebrity has too much dining space and too many people serving a smaller segment. The result is that Select dining is becoming too crowded with many passenger experiencing longer waits for a table. Celebrity needs to do something to accommodate this change in preferences. Either eliminate Traditional, reduce the space allocated to traditional or perhaps only have a single dining time for Traditional. Eliminating Traditional is the easiest for Celebrity and allows Celebrity to be more flexible with new cruise markets that have never experienced Traditional dining.

[dkjretired]

Thanks for the chuckle, LOL. It seems like Celebrity is perfecting the art of alienating their customers,like changing itineraries & chartering ships that are partially booked!

 

But seriously, this whole thing is a result of one report that something might happen. It might be a good idea to wait until it has been announced. Then we can get all worked up!

 

True but since this thread has been out for a few days and the Celebrity Cruises poster has not come on to deny or confirm it, I am curious. Makes me think that something is up and we may get hit with a press release shortly. We did ask them to comment a couple of days ago and usually they come on to help.

[biker1972]

For how this rumor plays out, all we have to do is watch the parent company. RCL seems to be going toward an absence of traditional dining so I would suspect that X is taking a close look as well.

[curtdesilets]

It Would not Surprise me At All

 

There are so many changes for Celebrity in the past few years that it seems like this is definitely going to happen.

[chamima]

 

 

For how this rumor plays out, all we have to do is watch the parent company. RCL seems to be going toward an absence of traditional dining so I would suspect that X is taking a close look as well.

 

 

Not sure that what RCL does is the luxury "vibe" Celebrity is looking to create.

Check out the thread from the Royal passenger who wants to know about wearing shorts to dinner and the theater (Which he says he does on Royal).

I would think they (hopefully) are trying to be something in-between Royal and Azamara.

 

 

Although, as richsea said "It seems like Celebrity is perfecting the art of alienating their customers,like changing itineraries & chartering ships that are partially booked!"

Edited June 20, 2015 by chamima

[Charles4515]

For how this rumor plays out, all we have to do is watch the parent company. RCL seems to be going toward an absence of traditional dining so I would suspect that X is taking a close look as well.

 

 

Actually they had to step back from that because of the problems they had implementing it on Quantum. They went back to offering what they call a classic option that has two seatings in addition to the open seating.

 

 

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[Charles4515]

Not sure that what RCL does is the luxury "vibe" Celebrity is looking to create.

Check out the thread from the Royal passenger who wants to know about wearing shorts to dinner and the theater (Which he says he does on Royal).

I would think they (hopefully) are trying to be something in-between Royal and Azamara.

 

 

Although, as richsea said "It seems like Celebrity is perfecting the art of alienating their customers,like changing itineraries & chartering ships that are partially booked!"

 

 

I was on Oasis a few weeks ago and some did wear shorts to the dining room in the evening. Also formal evenings are pretty much optional in practice. They don't advertise luxury, it is more a family vibe, but Modern Luxury is marketing spin on Celebrity. The Celebrity vibe is more understated than the Royal Caribbean glitz.

 

 

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[gimletgal]

Thanks for the chuckle, LOL. It seems like Celebrity is perfecting the art of alienating their customers,like changing itineraries & chartering ships that are partially booked!

 

But seriously, this whole thing is a result of one report that something might happen. It might be a good idea to wait until it has been announced. Then we can get all worked up!

 

Well, that's no fun Rich! Much more fun to whine and moan about a "perceived" change rather than wait for an actual/confirmed change! :D:D This board would die without speculation OR the dredging up of years old threads that are no longer even relevant. Now, I'm waiting for a poll to appear. :eek:

[richsea]

Well, that's no fun Rich! Much more fun to whine and moan about a "perceived" change rather than wait for an actual/confirmed change! :D:D This board would die without speculation OR the dredging up of years old threads that are no longer even relevant. Now, I'm waiting for a poll to appear. :eek:

 

Poll....yes!!!!! Great idea!! And I have an idea who will start it!:rolleyes:

[Cathy p]

We love select dining as I am a diabetic and need to eat mostly at the same time. We have never had a problem and I prefer it as it does not seem as long between courses.

 

This is our first Aqua cabin and really am excited to try Blu. My hubby on the other hand is a meat and potato guy but said he was willing to try anything. I trained him well.:)

[cle-guy]

The cruise line needs to be very careful about a all select dining because any one with ADA medical problems will need to eat at certain times . If the cruise line denies these people ,the Federal government will be involved ;because the cruise line headquarters here in the USA & must live under USA laws when it comes to issues like health:eek:

 

Not quite true. There was a court case a while back, that ended up with a ruling on these situations, and basically what was ruled was the "reasonable accommodation" clause was used to lay out some specific rules as related to Cruiseships and their nuance relative to what laws apply.

 

People are often quick to suggest that they must follow US laws with HQ here and ships coming and gong, yet the ship staff don't get minimum wage and overtime accommodations.

 

Not every piece of ADA Regulation applies to cruise ships.

 

The fact that there is a buffet available from 7 am to 2 am daily, would meet this requirement for feeding anyone who has such issues. Room service would also be a "reasonable accommodation". Anyone with such issues should have also already contacted the Special Needs Department in advance, who would certainly manage the 1 or 2 people per cruise who simply MUST eat dinner at 5:25pm each day for "medical reasons".

 

And if one wanted to really dig in here, read the cruise contract, meals are not a part of it, only transport from point A to point B is what's being granted.

[cle-guy]

This would alienate an entire segment of cruisers who like to have a set dining time every night, with the same waiter, same table, etc. Ya know, about half of this thread.

 

My 13 night connie TA crossing, we did select, and a table for 10 nightly reserved at 6:45 with same waiters and table the entire trip. So even though we were Select dining, we had a fixed dining time that worked with our schedules better than 6 pm or 8:30 pm.

 

Though such arrangements don't seem to be able to be made in advance, once on board, it's not a problem in my experience.

 

Anyone who wants the experience of meeting new people at a large table, simply needs to let the door star know they want to share a table and they will then meet those new people, and perhaps you all get along, and do as we did, ask the door staff to make a standing reservation or the group - then its it's like fixed dining., just at a flexible time.

[mrsgoggins]

I did a dummy booking a few days ago for a 2017 Panama sailing and was surprised that only 'Select' was offered - we wanted early traditional.

[villauk]

My 13 night connie TA crossing, we did select, and a table for 10 nightly reserved at 6:45 with same waiters and table the entire trip. So even though we were Select dining, we had a fixed dining time that worked with our schedules better than 6 pm or 8:30 pm.

 

 

Anyone who wants the experience of meeting new people at a large table, simply needs to let the door star know they want to share a table and they will then meet those new people, and perhaps you all get along, and do as we did, ask the door staff to make a standing reservation or the group - then its it's like fixed dining., just at a flexible time.

 

Not quite, Curt. In Select there is no guarantee that you will get the same table and wait staff just because you have the same time reserved each evening, whether the door staff say this or not. We were informed by those such door staff that you will be accommodated as soon as is possible to that time slot and at a table of their choice ;). From experience, this is definitely the case.

 

We were very happy at a table we had eaten at on Infinty for the first couple of nights and requested to the door staff if we could stay with those wait staff as they were outstanding. The next evening another group had been placed at 'our' table as they had not liked the area they had eaten in on the previous evening. We were placed at 'their old' table and they had our 'spot'. The door staff reiterated to us that in Select, you are placed where there is space whether you have a reserved time or not - there is no reserving of tables ;). Consequently, we started arriving a little early than our allotted time and were more successful in gaining our preferred table and staff ;).

 

I also pointed out on an early post that there was another group of 4 on the same cruise that sat behind us, they too had reserved their time. They were very happy with their waitstaff and asked if they could stay there for the duration of the cruise. The door staff again said no reserving of tables in Select. The next evening they went to sit at 'their' table and were informed someone else was going to be using that particular table. They obviously queried this as the table was empty, especially as they had been informed the day before that no reserving of tables was allowed. It got quite heated, but the door staff directed them to another table. Their old table sat empty for approximately 30/40 minutes before a couple came in and sat down. You can imagine how unhappy that other family were - obviously it depends who you are as to whether you can 'reserve' a table in Select dining :confused:?

Edited June 20, 2015 by villauk

[kevinyork]

This would alienate an entire segment of cruisers who like to have a set dining time every night, with the same waiter, same table, etc. Ya know, about half of this thread.

 

Anybody who wants Select already has it. Anybody who wants Traditional already has it. Why the need for any change at all? This seems like one of those situations where the status quo doesn't need to change. You want to eat at a specific time, just choose Select. You want scheduled dining, stick with Traditional. You want to choose from the myriad of Specialty dining, go right ahead. They are called options for a reason, and it makes no sense to limit your customers.

 

 

I dont disagree except to say that flexible dining is becoming more popular on more lines. I believe the luxury lines dont have set dining and yet attract those willing to pay top dollar. Moving to all Select makes the dining room far more flexible. No more empty seats where a traditional club diner has chosen to eat elsewhere.

 

I know many like meeting new table mates via club dining but this can be achieved in Select too and we have always made cruisemates with those on adjacent tables in Select. Flexible dining definately fits in more with Modern Luxury than set dining times.

 

 

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[Azulann]

Actually they had to step back from that because of the problems they had implementing it on Quantum. They went back to offering what they call a classic option that has two seatings in addition to the open seating.

 

 

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Thanks for giving a new fact into the mix.

Still speculation here on the Celebrity thread.:)

[bEwAbG]

I guess I will show up at 6:10 then lol. What happened that it was only the first two nights and not every night? Did it sort itself out after?

 

It typically only happens on the first night because everyone is escorted to their table. After that, people generally seat themselves and that crush at the door is gone after a few minutes. The crush is really just the volume of everyone who showed up waiting for the doors to open. Not sure why that happened a second night on this particular cruise. Maybe they opened the doors late or there was something blocking access to the room for a few minutes? Sounds atypical to me. I'm guessing that now that there is only one door to use, it takes a little longer for people to get inside.

Edited June 20, 2015 by bEwAbG

[bEwAbG]

We're getting very worked up over a rumor that so far came from one poster who didn't even hear it themself! ... once you have made final payment you can go on their website and make all your reservations for the entire cruise...

 

Let's pretend Celebrity is floating this rumor so they can gather feedback. As they design the reservations system, please (please please) let it only allow people to make one reservation for each dining period, i.e., if I have a reservation for the MDR and I book a specialty restaurant, then my MDR reservation goes away altogether.

 

I'm having flashbacks to how terrible the Disney reservation system has become where people are waiting at their computer six months in advance (when they open the system for your trip) to snag all of the prime reservations at multiple restaurants and then wait until the last minute to decide where and when they're going to eat, thereby preventing other people from even making reservations on some nights. Unconscionable, really, but we see posts all the time from people who try to game the system for other aspects on Celebrity (probably an overlap of the people who do it at Disney) so I have no doubt that there will be people who try to game the reservation system if Celebrity allows it to become an issue in the first place. Disney's method introduces a level of stress and planning that no one going on vacation should have to endure.

Edited June 20, 2015 by bEwAbG

[Giorgi-one]

If I understood correctly posters indicated that early and late traditional seating were waitlisted on many cruises. If traditional seating is so popular, why would Celebrity do away with it. It makes no sense which means that there is a high probability it will happen!!! When is the last time that a cruise line did something that actually made sense?

[bEwAbG]

If I understood correctly posters indicated that early and late traditional seating were waitlisted on many cruises. If traditional seating is so popular, why would Celebrity do away with it. It makes no sense which means that there is a high probability it will happen!!! When is the last time that a cruise line did something that actually made sense?

 

Is that a function of popularity or simply that you have to choose one or the other and most people just opt for traditional? After a certain point, all of those reservations fill up the dining room and everyone else is put in select. I posted earlier in the thread my experience of just the two of us sitting at an 8-top table by ourselves almost every night. Our waiter said that the other seats were reserved, yet at least four of the seats were never occupied and we know the other two were only occupied on the first and third night because that couple had plans to go elsewhere the other nights, yet their seats were still held for every night.

Edited June 20, 2015 by bEwAbG