Any time dinning

[Cruiseoholic000]

I have not been on a Celebrity cruise in many years and looking into booking one for late 2020. I see there is a option for any time dinning.  I was wondering can you opt Any time dinning but request to have the same table?  This way you can have the same waiter.   Do you make your reservations the day before on your TV? 

 

What time are the shows?

[billslowsky]

5 minutes ago, Cruiseoholic000 said:

I have not been on a Celebrity cruise in many years and looking into booking one for late 2020. I see there is a option for any time dinning.  I was wondering can you opt Any time dinning but request to have the same table?  This way you can have the same waiter.   Do you make your reservations the day before on your TV? 

 

What time are the shows?

We booked with Anytime dining and reserved 6:15 most nights plus 7:15 on another.  Always got the same waiters, one table most nights.  Shows were at 7 and 9.

[davekathy]

22 minutes ago, Cruiseoholic000 said:

I have not been on a Celebrity cruise in many years and looking into booking one for late 2020. I see there is a option for any time dinning.  I was wondering can you opt Any time dinning but request to have the same table?  This way you can have the same waiter.   Do you make your reservations the day before on your TV? 

 

What time are the shows?

You can also book your Select Dining time in your cruise planner. Not a specific table (size or location). Once we are onboard we check out the table locations in the MDR for SD and a table for two. We request the same table each evening. No problem. The same wait staff is assigned to that table the entire cruise. You can't make reservations for SD thru the interactive TV on Celebrity.  You will need to go to the SD podium  to do that. 

Edited November 15, 2019 by davekathy

[Cruiseoholic000]

I find this a little confusing.  So you have 6PM, 8:30PM or any time dinning options or eat at another place.  Shows are at 7 and 9.  However depending on the day (S. Caribbean itinerary)  you have to be back at the ship by 4 or 6. On the days I am back by 4 I could make it to the dinning room at 6 but on the others night no.  There is no time to change etc for 6PM for the first seating. I don't like to eat late and enjoy a drink before dinner.  How long does dinner take a hour and half?

[davekathy]

31 minutes ago, Cruiseoholic000 said:

I find this a little confusing.  So you have 6PM, 8:30PM or any time dinning options or eat at another place.  Shows are at 7 and 9.  However depending on the day (S. Caribbean itinerary)  you have to be back at the ship by 4 or 6. On the days I am back by 4 I could make it to the dinning room at 6 but on the others night no.  There is no time to change etc for 6PM for the first seating. I don't like to eat late and enjoy a drink before dinner.  How long does dinner take a hour and half?

If you aren't going to be in the MDR the same time each night, don't make reservations for SD or pick TD. There are two lines for SD. One for those with reservations and one line for those without reservations.  If you aren't done eating by the 7:00 PM show, you go to the 9:00 PM show.  If you aren't going to be done eating before the 9:00 PM show you go to the 7:00 PM show. This is how it works for SD and TD.  If you are at a shared table, I'd say an hour to an hour and a half is about right. Maybe even a little longer. Depends on the group you're dining with.  If you are at a table for two, you can set your own pace. Just let your wait staff know when you first sit down. And then there's always the Oceanview Cafe (buffet). 

Edited November 15, 2019 by davekathy

[upwarduk]

I pre book my dining time for 7 pm on the cruise planner.

Early is too early if you have been out for the day on an excursion.

Late seating is too late for me and as I am Dairy Intolerant I am seated at the same table each evening. The waiters get to know my needs and bring me the following days menu, so that I can pre order for the following evening.

Edited November 15, 2019 by upwarduk

[ShawninFL]

We always take Select Dining and never make reservations.  We base our dinner time and venue based on what we will be doing on the ship each evening.  We probably eat dinner in equal amounts between the dining room, specialty dining rooms and Oceanview each voyage.

[mom says]

2 hours ago, Cruiseoholic000 said:

I find this a little confusing.  So you have 6PM, 8:30PM or any time dinning options or eat at another place.  Shows are at 7 and 9.  However depending on the day (S. Caribbean itinerary)  you have to be back at the ship by 4 or 6. On the days I am back by 4 I could make it to the dinning room at 6 but on the others night no.  There is no time to change etc for 6PM for the first seating. I don't like to eat late and enjoy a drink before dinner.  How long does dinner take a hour and half?

It sounds like traditional dining will not suit you, so you are better off opting for select dining. This way you can dine at whatever time works best for you each day. We always opt for Select, ask for a table for 2 and eat between 7:00 and 7:30. On some cruises, where we know what excursions we'll be doing each day, I reserve our dinners well before boarding. We usually have the same table each night. Other cruises, where we are more spontaneous with our port days, we just show up when we're ready to eat. If we have found a server that we particularly like, we ask to be seated in their section.

 

We tend to order a full 3 courses and linger a bit over coffee and dessert, dinner lasts a good hour and a half. But we still make it to the late show in the theatre.

[Marelaine]

We always book Select Dining. We show up between 6 and 7 as a party of 2. Each night we were asked if we'd like the same waiters. For 2 people, eating 3 courses, dinner lasts about an hour. If you like a leisurely place, it could be and hour and a half. We easily make the 9 pm show. On the first night, the MDR is hectic and there could be a wait. We were given a buzzer and told we could go wait at the martini bar. After the first night, no waits. 

[thon]

We take Select Dining each cruise.  We pre-book a table for 2 every night for 7 p.m. which gives us plenty of time to eat leisurely and make the 9 p.m. show.  We don’t always get the same table but after the first or second night they have always sat us in the same section so we get the same wait staff.  I call Captain’s Club a few months before the cruise to make the 7 p.m. reservations.  We’ll do this same thing for our upcoming March 2020 Silhouette cruise.

[micheleata]

We take Select Dining always.   We show up anywhere between 5:30 and 7:30 and never have to wait, for 2 or 4 people.   We always get the same wait staff.    Usually for 2 it takes an hour and 1/2, and for 4 a bit longer.