Should I book dining ahead on Silhouette?

[Carol28]

We are cruising March 20 and I believe the ship is full. I read a thread about the restaurants being pushed while on board. Are the prices less expensive once on board? Do they make the costs more attractive?

 

And, on a 7 day cruise, what nights should we not miss in the main dining room? Thanks for the info.

[jsf]

If your planning on using your OBC you can't book ahead. Always seem to be deals while on board, just can't get prime times if that matters. There used to be special dinners on what used to be called Formal Nights, I think they now call it Chic Night or wear what you want nights.

J.

[Banjo]

I wouldn't worry about it unless you have some absolute special event on a particular day you want to celebrate with a nice dinner.

 

On board you can usually score a discount and as mentioned, use your OBC.

[micmacmissy]

Wait and book onboard- they'll be offering 20% to 30% off certain nights (like the first night, which I think is a great time to avoid the MDR- it's a madhouse!)

 

Don't miss Lawn Club Grill, Murano, and Qsine if you have more than 2 people.

[az_tchr]

Last night on board usually lobster and other things more upscale. Other correct - wait to book.

[crusingnut]

Wait and book onboard- they'll be offering 20% to 30% off certain nights (like the first night, which I think is a great time to avoid the MDR- it's a madhouse!)

 

Don't miss Lawn Club Grill, Murano, and Qsine if you have more than 2 people.

 

That was our experience. We went twice to specialty restaurants with very good discounts. They had tables set up near elevators & the pool doorways. They seem to enjoy bargaining with you.

[Lineaway]

Just got off the Silhouette last Sunday. We had select Dinning. They seemed to push the pay restaurants in a subtle way. It was almost impossible to get MDR reservations before 8P even if I called right at 9AM that day. I had to call our rm conciere each day after trying to book on my own. Then our requested 530 - 6P seating was no problem. Point being it seemed they tried to get you to book the pay restaurants by not having early dinner times avail. Pay restaurants seemed always avail. but we didn't check each night. We did walk past a few times and there were no lines and what I could see tables avail. too. Your cruise may be different though.

 

You can ask for a discount on the first day and I was told you could on other days too but I really thought the food in the MDR and the Buffet was fine.

 

We did try the Bistro on 5 one night. 10 bucks a person. Total waste of money. Food was limited and it still took 90 min for dinner. There was one other person eating at 6P when we were in there then a party of 2 came in just when we left. Really it was mostly empty at a busy time. I had room service one afternoon and the sandwich I had was better than in the Bistro. Took a lot less time too.

 

Both "Chic" nights or otherwise known as the old Formal nights had good meals in the MDR. First night (Monday) they had amazing Beef Medalions. Awesome would best describe them. Then of course Lobster was the other Chic night (thurs). Beef Wellington was also offered and was really good. The other nights were ok. I am a foodie and rather opinionated so to say it was ok would probably be considered very good by others. We only had one really bad entree. It was a fillet of fish on the third or fourth night. Started with a C or a K. Never heard of it. Anyway, it was way overcooked and totally tasteless. They also had Salmon every night but it was a bit overdone.

 

BTW MDR meals took 2 hours which was why we skipped a couple nights. St. Kitts and St Martin days we went to the Buffet and Bistro.

[janetz]

Do you need reservations with select dining or can you just show up? :)

[micmacmissy]

Do you need reservations with select dining or can you just show up? :)

 

You CAN just show up...problem is, our experience on Silhouette with select dining is that we wound up waiting and waiting...when we sailed on RCCL we were seated within minutes each night, often at the same table with same waitstaff. But the select dining on Silhouette was an absolute mess.

 

Maybe it's improved by now? We were a party of 4 and had to wait...first few nights were so bad that we wound up eating in the specialty restaurants rather than face the MDR. Too bad. We usually enjoy the MDR experience but this was NOT the case on our last cruise.

[janetz]

You CAN just show up...problem is, our experience on Silhouette with select dining is that we wound up waiting and waiting...when we sailed on RCCL we were seated within minutes each night, often at the same table with same waitstaff. But the select dining on Silhouette was an absolute mess.

 

Maybe it's improved by now? We were a party of 4 and had to wait...first few nights were so bad that we wound up eating in the specialty restaurants rather than face the MDR. Too bad. We usually enjoy the MDR experience but this was NOT the case on our last cruise.

 

Ugh, not good.

[keesar]

We are cruising March 20 and I believe the ship is full. I read a thread about the restaurants being pushed while on board. Are the prices less expensive once on board? Do they make the costs more attractive?

 

And, on a 7 day cruise, what nights should we not miss in the main dining room? Thanks for the info.

 

If there are particular days and times you would definitely want to dine, then book now. However, you often can get a discount on the first night. When you get your complimentary drink when you board, there will be staff from the specialty restaurants. You should talk to them. Discounts are often related to the laws of supply and demand.

 

The better evening meals in my opinion occur on the "evening chic" nights. We had lobster on the last "evening chic" night.

[nojoke]

We generally eat early: 6-6:30. Never had a problem getting a table with Select Dining. I think the 7-8 pm times are more crowded. And we never make a reservation, but we are willing to take any size table. We just show up and are seated in a short time.

[Aunt Tina]

Just got off the Silhouette last Sunday. Select dining was a disaster. No matter when we showed up there was a major wait. We tried at 6 - we tried at 8:30. Twice when we asked to join others at a table we waited for over 40 minutes, then, when I went to ask how much longer- we were told they were suddenly ready for us, but sharing was not a possibility. When we looked down to 2nd seating, there were tons of empty tables and larger tables that only had two people at them. I'd prefer to go back to 2nd seating than deal with select dining again. We spent two weeks on the Summit in fall, and had a great time with select dining. I think the Silhouette has an operational/managment problem with their select dining. We saw the host being inappropriately blasted by a passenger one night when she too waited over 40 minutes. One person handled it on the Summit quite well, two people on the Silhouette could not get it right!

 

We tried to get a discount in the specialty diining restaurants - could not get one. We enjoyed the Lawn Grill at lunch, the Tuscan restaurant on the last night, and Quisine. We booked them on Wednesday and made changes on Friday without a problem.

 

We ate at the Bistro on 5 for lunch when embarking the first day. Although there were only a few people there, the wait for food was over 30 minutes. Agree that the menu was more limited than when we ate on the Summit last fall.

 

For those who remember Marie from Mauritius from the Tuscan Restaurant - she has been promoted to Hostess in Blu. We were very pleased for her.

[ghstudio]

Do you need reservations with select dining or can you just show up? :)

 

A reservation on Celebrity is different than your local restaurant. Celebrity does not actually reserve a specific table for you. What a reservation does is get you in a separate line from those that just show up....and then the hostess pretty much alternates between reservations and "just showed up". The theory is that the reservation line will be shorter so you will be seated sooner.

[benny salami]

You cannot just show up at a specialty restaurant. Recommend prebooking a couple of your favorite specialty restaurants to save time on board. Make sure to book the Lawn Club Grill. They will have specialty restaurant tastings and packages on board.

[upwarduk]

A reservation on Celebrity is different than your local restaurant. Celebrity does not actually reserve a specific table for you. What a reservation does is get you in a separate line from those that just show up....and then the hostess pretty much alternates between reservations and "just showed up". The theory is that the reservation line will be shorter so you will be seated sooner.

I find first sitting too early and 2 nd sitting too late.

I pre booked Select dining times on Eclipse last July, one week before our cruise. We had the same table every night at 7-7.15, except for the first night.

The reason I pre booked was because I am Lactose intolerant and have to pre order my meals the previous night. We had the same wait staff, who knew my needs.

[janetz]

A reservation on Celebrity is different than your local restaurant. Celebrity does not actually reserve a specific table for you. What a reservation does is get you in a separate line from those that just show up....and then the hostess pretty much alternates between reservations and "just showed up". The theory is that the reservation line will be shorter so you will be seated sooner.

 

Yes, they did the same on RC. We found the just showed up line moved faster then the reserved line. Go figure. :)

[janetz]

You cannot just show up at a specialty restaurant. Recommend prebooking a couple of your favorite specialty restaurants to save time on board. Make sure to book the Lawn Club Grill. They will have specialty restaurant tastings and packages on board.

 

I do see I can book the lawn club under our reservation. This looks interesting. Can you tell me a bit about it. ;)

Edited March 13, 2016 by janetz

[benny salami]

For us the Lawn Club Grill is the finest specialty restaurant on the seas. You can flip pizza, grill your dinner or just pick out steaks/seafood and relax. Very interactive and great place to meet other cruisers. The salad bar is excellent and some nights there will be live music on the nearby green. The staff is fantastic and the show goes on every night. The Porch is also excellent but a much more limited menu and can be breezy. Highly recommend pre booking to avoid disappointment.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[mom02]

Wait and book onboard- they'll be offering 20% to 30% off certain nights (like the first night, which I think is a great time to avoid the MDR- it's a madhouse!)

 

Don't miss Lawn Club Grill, Murano, and Qsine if you have more than 2 people.

 

Forgive me if this is dumb question, it's our first time cruising...

 

How do you find out about the 20%-30% off once you're on board?

[Bodhi]

I do not book before the cruise. I approach the specialty guys at their tables after I've boarded and ask what their best offer is. They often counter with 20% off, usually I can get them to 30% without much haggling...and one time on the first sea day they set up tables by the pool entrance and I got 40% off! (I wish I had kept going (in hindsight I could have gotten 50% off as they weren't selling many dinners it turns out) It doesn't matter how little you pay really, they are still making money on the deal.

[MLS716]

Do they give you a pager when waiting for Select Dining in the MDR or do you have to stand in line? We'll be on Silhouette in a copy of weeks. I wouldn't mind waiting if we could relax with a drink nearby.

[upwarduk]

Do they give you a pager when waiting for Select Dining in the MDR or do you have to stand in line? We'll be on Silhouette in a copy of weeks. I wouldn't mind waiting if we could relax with a drink nearby.

 

Not that it has ever happened to us, but I have heard people report they have been given a pager and it be suggested that they go for a drink.

Edited March 15, 2016 by upwarduk

[Cruise Junky]

Not that it has ever happened to us, but I have heard people report they have been given a pager and it be suggested that they go for a drink.

 

We received a pager on Solstice one night. We had quite a lengthy wait in the martini bar :)

[PatfromPa]

We did select dining and every time we got a pager with a 20 to 30 minute wait. We didn't mind because we had drinks at the Martini bar. We usually came to the dining room about 6:30 and was seated by 7. We liked this time because we were able to make the 9 o'clock show.