Specialty Restaurant Package Question

[Host Anne]

Hello everyone ~ haven't sailed Celebrity since last January and have never pre-purchase a specialty dining package. We just booked a short term, spur of the moment, I NEED A CRUISE on Reflection and I have a specialty dining package in mind that we'd like to try since it's just the two of us.

 

Here's my question....when I look at availability on line right now for specialty dining, it's very limited. With the exception Tuscan and Murano (which we enjoy), all the others showing very little, if any, availability. While we like to eat late (8:30 is fine), we don't want to eat at 9:30 or 10:00! I've been told that some reservation times are held back for those with dining packages to book when we board.

 

For those who have done it before, have you had any challenges when you boarded to get reasonable times in the specialty restaurants (7:00 - 8:30 PM)? I'd love to hear your experience before I make my final decision. The pre-booking specialty packages are a great price but not if we have to eat at 9:30 or 10:00 PM each evening.

 

THANKS for sharing your experiences!

[Celebrity Cruises]

Hello everyone ~ haven't sailed Celebrity since last January and have never pre-purchase a specialty dining package. We just booked a short term, spur of the moment, I NEED A CRUISE on Reflection and I have a specialty dining package in mind that we'd like to try since it's just the two of us.

 

Here's my question....when I look at availability on line right now for specialty dining, it's very limited. With the exception Tuscan and Murano (which we enjoy), all the others showing very little, if any, availability. While we like to eat late (8:30 is fine), we don't want to eat at 9:30 or 10:00! I've been told that some reservation times are held back for those with dining packages to book when we board.

 

For those who have done it before, have you had any challenges when you boarded to get reasonable times in the specialty restaurants (7:00 - 8:30 PM)? I'd love to hear your experience before I make my final decision. The pre-booking specialty packages are a great price but not if we have to eat at 9:30 or 10:00 PM each evening.

 

THANKS for sharing your experiences!

 

 

The restaurant that a guest must dine in on the first evening of the cruise is pre-selected by Celebrity, however the guest can choose the time during which they would like to dine. All other dining times for the package beyond the first night will be made once onboard. Guests can speak to the Hostess at the Specialty Restaurant desk that is set up during the Embarkation process, or they can speak to the Maitre' d after completion of their 1st dinner. All dates/times are based on availability.

[Host Anne]

Thanks, Celebrity Cruises ~ I knew all of that.

 

What I'd like to know from cruisers who have experience with booking the rest of their reservations on board is if they were able to secure "reasonable" reservations (between 7:00 - 8:30 PM) in all of the specialty restaurants. I understand how it's done. I just don't want to pay for a package that only has 9:30 - 10:00 PM reservations available or worse yet, no availability in some of the specialty restaurants.

 

Thanks for responding.

[Bo1953]

As per X's response and other postings here on CC, it should not be a challenge if you 'promptly' check in on board for nightly dinning after the first night.

 

One can book times online for the first night, which should be considered immediately if a particular time-frame is preferred.

 

bon voyage and good eats..

[FRMPEI]

Hi Anne,

 

Our last cruise on Silhouette this past March the six in our group booked the 5 dinner special and with that we booked the first night of the cruise at Tuscan, It was during that first visit at Tuscan during our meal I went to the Tuscan reception area and booked the balance of our reservations. Had no Problem getting the time we requested we usually picked around 7:00PM for our reservations. My detailed experience with our past March Cruise and dining options is detailed in my Photo Video Trip Report. Link in my signature. During our last evening in Tuscan I took a survey from all six in our party asking them to rank their dining experience. The Lawn Club Grill won hands down. Since you are looking at Reflection I hope you love Lawn Club Grill as much as our group. Hope this helps? Donna and I are doing the 14 Day Eclipse this coming March and will be booking a 5 specialty dining package.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[BEAV]

Hello everyone ~ haven't sailed Celebrity since last January and have never pre-purchase a specialty dining package. We just booked a short term, spur of the moment, I NEED A CRUISE on Reflection and I have a specialty dining package in mind that we'd like to try since it's just the two of us.

 

Here's my question....when I look at availability on line right now for specialty dining, it's very limited. With the exception Tuscan and Murano (which we enjoy), all the others showing very little, if any, availability. While we like to eat late (8:30 is fine), we don't want to eat at 9:30 or 10:00! I've been told that some reservation times are held back for those with dining packages to book when we board.

 

For those who have done it before, have you had any challenges when you boarded to get reasonable times in the specialty restaurants (7:00 - 8:30 PM)? I'd love to hear your experience before I make my final decision. The pre-booking specialty packages are a great price but not if we have to eat at 9:30 or 10:00 PM each evening.

 

THANKS for sharing your experiences!

 

We have run into this same problem in the past, and, yes, the on line booking tool does not have access to 100% of table inventory. Earlier this year on Reflection we went ahead and booked the package pre-cruise and were able to arrange all the dates/times we wanted (except for the first night which Celebrity books) without any problem on we got on board. Of course I went straight to Murano's when we boarded and they took care of all our reservations. So my suggestion is to make this your first item of business when you board.

 

History repeated itself again in May when we sailed Infinity for 11 nights (also booked a 5 night package), only this time we didn't pre-purchase the package, but booked it as soon as we boarded and got everything arranged without any problem.

 

Good luck and enjoy. Nothing like a last minute cruise to look forward to!

[Host Anne]

Thanks so much for your input, FRMPEI and BEAV. Exactly what I was looking for. We always make specialty reservations as soon as we board but this is a Thanksgiving cruise and it's sold out. I got luck and picked up the cabin when there was a cancellation. So we've never done a specialty package like this and we've never booked a cruise so close to sailing before.

 

I went ahead and booked the 5-night package and will head straight book the other four nights as soon as we board, which is what we would have done if we were just booking one or two nights.

 

Can't wait to step on board....thanks again for your help!

[jfong]

We were on the Reflection for last year's Thanksgiving sailing. We had wanted to purchase the specialty dinner package with OBC so we waited until we were onboard. I just looked up our flight which landed at the Fort Lauderdale airport at ~11am so we probably had checked in around noon to 1pm. Since our room wasn't ready yet, we went straight to the buffet. We saw the staff selling the dinner packages and stopped by. We had wanted reservations between 7pm and 8pm but were okay with times we were able to get. I didn't check the available timeslots ahead of time though. I had taken a photo of the reservation times with my phone for easy retrieval during the cruise. Here are the times we had booked.

 

Lawn Club Grill - Sunday at 7:30pm

Qsine - Tuesday at 8:30pm

Murano - Thursday at 6pm

Tuscan Grille - Friday at 6:30pm

 

Josiane

Edited November 1, 2015 by jfong

[Host Anne]

Josiane ~ thank you so very much for sharing your info with me. That is exactly what I was looking for! The 6:00 and 6:30 times would be a challenge for us as we normally eat later at home. I'm going to give it a try and hopefully we can secure something between 7:00 and 8:45 most nights.

 

Thanks again for sharing. I sincerely appreciate it.

[bitob]

Is the price of the package the same if you book on board?

Edited November 16, 2015 by bitob

[Carol28]

This will be our first Celebrity in many years. We are sailing on the Silhouette. I have several questions:

1. How many specialty restaurants are there?

2. What is the individual cost of each restaurant?

3. How much is a 5 dinner package per person?

[snh01]

The restaurant that a guest must dine in on the first evening of the cruise is pre-selected by Celebrity, however the guest can choose the time during which they would like to dine. All other dining times for the package beyond the first night will be made once onboard. Guests can speak to the Hostess at the Specialty Restaurant desk that is set up during the Embarkation process, or they can speak to the Maitre' d after completion of their 1st dinner. All dates/times are based on availability.

 

 

Note the last few words.

 

We booked the ultimate (all nights) package as we were boarding Equinox recently. On going to the desk at Murano to book our dining we were told that one night was completely sold - nothing available and one night only available in one restaurant at 6pm. The reality was after begging a Maitre D we got a slot for the "full" night and as the cruise progressed it seemed easier to move things around (I guess as people cancel and reschedule). However please be aware nothing was held back for us to book on some nights.

 

Great deal though at $29 pp pn...... But not for the waistline[emoji3]

[purpletequila]

Note the last few words.

 

We booked the ultimate (all nights) package as we were boarding Equinox recently. On going to the desk at Murano to book our dining we were told that one night was completely sold - nothing available and one night only available in one restaurant at 6pm. The reality was after begging a Maitre D we got a slot for the "full" night and as the cruise progressed it seemed easier to move things around (I guess as people cancel and reschedule). However please be aware nothing was held back for us to book on some nights.

 

Great deal though at $29 pp pn...... But not for the waistline[emoji3]

 

Surprised they were selling the UDP if the specialities were that booked. It's good in one way cause I'm planning on buying it next week but at the same time, if nothing is available, it's kind of silly to sell it. I'd have an issue with that. lol

[purpletequila]

Was it just Murano? That's the one I plan on eating at the most but was there decent availability in the others?