Moving from Traditional to Select dining

[jbuch02]

I'm a traditionalist in both the literal, as it applies to dining options offered by Celebrity and in the figurative sense.

 

So, you know my bias. On a recent B2B in Asia on Millenium, we tried Select dining on the first two week cruise and changed to Traditional/late on the second.

 

Did not care for Select for the same reasons as the previous poster. I know this can be a contentious issue with strong opinions on both sides. There's no intention to start a kerfuffle.

 

It's "each to his own" and there are positives and negatives on both sides. I'd bet you'd be split 50/50 in like or dislike Select dining if polled over a sufficient sample size.

 

I always though it was penny pinching and corporate efforts to create another revenue stream that drove a decision to ask cruisers to pre-pay to what amounts to a questionable benefit in Select dining. I'd say that the idea of doing that was not well received and cruises complained about it and/or were not willing to pay up front for the right to stand in line even if had booked a specific time to dine! That's why it's been eliminated.

Edited February 11, 2016 by jbuch02

[pbrady]

I just booked a few cruises for 2017. I specifically asked about the pre-paying of gratuities since I read somewhere they were no longer going to require that when choosing Select Dining. She told me that was correct - there would no longer be pre-paid gratuities with Select Dining. I asked why & she said there were too many complaints that people wanted to use their OBC for gratuities.

I can't guarantee this - it is just what I was told.

[Hlitner]

There are a few different topics in this thread. Regarding the elimination of the pre paid gratuities, that is fine for most folks...although it will cost you about the same dollars (unless you are cheap and try to avoid paying the gratuities). On Select you cannot tip your waiters directly since tables/waiters may change from night to night. We agree that it is nice to be able to use OBCs to pay (or help pay) the gratuities.

 

As to Select vs a Fixed table we have done both (with about forty years extensive cruising experience) and have also experienced the pros and cons of both options. For us, we tend to prefer Select for multiple reasons. That being said, if you do Fixed dining and get a great table and waiters that is the best of all. But most of the time this is not what happens. With Select we can choose to dine when we want and usually request to share a large table. If we happen to find other couples whose company we enjoy (and its mutual) we can easily arrange to dine with them other nights. But if we get a lousy table in Fixed, it can become a real hassle trying to fix the problem. When we do Select (of similar schemes on other lines) on linger cruises we often end up forming our own dining group after the first few days. These are folks that we meet at dinner, find a mutual attraction, and agree to dine in the future. Sometimes we will even make a standing reservation to dine with these same folks every night (similar to Fixed dining....expect we have mutually chosen our own tablemates).

 

Hank

Edited February 12, 2016 by Hlitner

[jono mono]

Just off Reflection,we had select dining and found it a complete waste of time ! First night could'nt book the time we wanted only two slots offered 6.45 or 8.15.Second night just turned up and had to wait 25 mins as they were "busy".So we changed to the 6.15 time and therefore knew were we were !! Won't do select again...to hit and miss for us !!

[phoenix_dream]

Can anyone report back on experience pre-booking times for Select? Does that really get you seated at the time you request or close to it, or do you end up waiting just as long as anyone else anyway?

[ghstudio]

Can anyone report back on experience pre-booking times for Select? Does that really get you seated at the time you request or close to it, or do you end up waiting just as long as anyone else anyway?

 

Our experience is that they form two lines at the entrance to select....one with reservations, the other without. They then alternate between the lines to seat people. There are times when there are more in the reservation line than the other, but we always make reservations and have never had much of a problem being seated within 10 minutes or so.

 

Note: Unlike restaurants at home, select dining reservations do not reserve specific tables...they only get you into the reservation line. If you don't show up for your reservation, no one really cares....just show up when you want.

[up and coming cruiser]

I think it`s much to do about nothing. Gratuities have to be paid regardless of what method of dining you chose. Personally, when chosing select, it was one less thing we had to worry about paying at the end of the cruise.

[jbuch02]

Can anyone report back on experience pre-booking times for Select? Does that really get you seated at the time you request or close to it, or do you end up waiting just as long as anyone else anyway?

 

Select dining bookings seem to be hit or miss and not consistent. Sometimes it works nicely, others, e.g., right after the 7pm show or from 7-8p, it's crowded and despite a booking, you may wait. When it's busy like that at peak times, service can be spotty as staff are overworked.

 

I like Hitner's post above. Makes me think I haven't used the Select Dining option well and if I did use it as he/she suggests, I'd be happier with it. So, there is that. Besides, I've only tried Select once and it was a disaster so, I'm probably not the best judge of this. I do think it really depends on when you book and avoiding peak times as above may work best.

[villauk]

I think it`s much to do about nothing. Gratuities have to be paid regardless of what method of dining you chose. Personally, when chosing select, it was one less thing we had to worry about paying at the end of the cruise.

 

It's more about the way in which the gratuities are paid under the new system - one can now book Select prior to sailing and use their OBC to pay their grats (something that has not been possible prior to the change). Many pax use their OBC to pay their grats, so it's not the case that they are not paying, more probable that they have lots of OBC and want to use it for that purpose ;).

 

 

 

Remember when you prebook a time, it doesn't guarantee you the same wait staff or table in Select.

[illiniwahoo]

Can anyone report back on experience pre-booking times for Select? Does that really get you seated at the time you request or close to it, or do you end up waiting just as long as anyone else anyway?

I have done select on three different cruises. We almost always have a reservation. First you wait in line to check in with the hostess. This can take anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 minutes if you happen to hit a busy time like when the early show just got out. I'd say average wait was under five minutes. Then the hostess tells the person who is seating you what table to take you to. Sometimes this happens instantly, and sometime you have to wait a few minutes for someone to return to take you to your seat, or for a table to be reset. I don't think the whole process has ever taken longer than 10-15 minutes max. I'd say 5 minutes average.

 

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[up and coming cruiser]

We have had the same experience. Never any problem. Mind you we are Up and Coming Cruisers!:) And Villauk, thanks for shedding more light on how the gratuities can be paid, although it seems like a confusing system to me. But then again, I tend to be confused by a lot of things!

[mvaughan]

It was actually cheaper for me to pre pay my grats whe I booked back in December. I'm Canadian and the rate to pay the grats in CDN funds at that time was better than to pay it is US. (Celebrity wasn't using current exchange). Win for me. I would rather pay grats up front rather than individual envelopes. I'm not wasting my time dividing up cash and stuffing it into envelopes. I got other things to do. I'm on vacation. I consider grats to be part of the cost of the cruise.

 

 

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[Hocus]

First cruise with celebrity. We chose for select dining. Will we be seated with others cruises at our table ?

[az_tchr]

Maybe. There are tables for two and larger tables. Request a table for two and you get it. If you are a party of two and want to eat with other then simply ask. can do it differently each night. Just let them know when you check in for dinner.