Group Dining Reservations on Eclipse

[RonWL]

We are booked on the Eclipse (September 8 sailing) along with six friends.  We have decided where and when we wish to eat, sometimes together and other times in different groups of 4 (and then at different restaurants).

My wife and I have booked concierge class; the others are in veranda staterooms.  What is the best, quickest, least hassle way for us to manage all of these reservations?  Can the concierge help?

[bigbenboys]

Do you have Celebrity Select Dining or Traditional Dining.

[RonWL]

20 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

Do you have Celebrity Select Dining or Traditional Dining.

 

Anytime dining.

[lovecruzin]

We had a group of 8 on Eclipse (Dec 2022) upon boarding we all went to the MDR to be sure our reservations were linked. Each evening we would meet up at Cellar Masters or Martini bar and one from the group would check us in with the hostess and get a pager.

The check in person needed the names and cabin number of those dining. After about 3 nights (11 night cruise) we had the same table and servers but also dined later. Since you already know times and who will be dining where and when you’re a step ahead 😆 perhaps can make a reservation when you board.

[RonWL]

2 hours ago, lovecruzin said:

We had a group of 8 on Eclipse (Dec 2022) upon boarding we all went to the MDR to be sure our reservations were linked.

Would this "linking" apply to every dining venue?  We all booked Murano on the first night.  I paid for it with my shipboard credits (and everyone else paid me back).  Did this "link" our reservations? 

 

I don't think there's a way to reserve any other meals before boarding.  Am I right?  I'll likely be having lunch in the MDR (as one of the benefits of having a Concierge Room).  Think I'll be able to handle all these reservations for everyone?  Or will I need to drag the others around to the specialty dining restaurants with me to be sure we are all seated together at the same times and dates?  Is there a way to pay more (other than moving to a suite with a butler) and not have all this hassle?

[Mr. Click]

As long as your reservations are linked you should see all of the names show up when you are booking dining reservations.  Even on an unlinked reservation I still need to select the two names on our reservation.  They do have it set up so you can select some of the people or all of the people once you are linked.  If you are in CC and thy are in a veranda they cannot join you on embarkation day.  There are no reservations for lunch of sea days, just dinner.

[RonWL]

Are we talking about just the MDR, or all venues?  Might we already be "linked" since we are all sitting together at Murano on the first night?

[lovecruzin]

If you have a reservation for 6,8 or whatever in specialty you’ll all be seated together. MDR is the only place where you’ll need to check in each night and give cabin numbers and names. Again, much easier for one person to do this than drag the whole group. Each time my husband went to check in for the group, he couldn't just give a number of people, he was asked who was dining.

 

 

[RonWL]

So I should be able to go to the Concierge and tell him I want to be seated at a table for 4 or 8 at Toscana, or Le Petit Chef, or Murano?  Then my guests just show up and we're all seated?

[jelayne]

4 minutes ago, RonWL said:

So I should be able to go to the Concierge and tell him I want to be seated at a table for 4 or 8 at Toscana, or Le Petit Chef, or Murano?  Then my guests just show up and we're all seated?

Have they all purchased a specialty dining package?  
if so then it is a matter have making the reservations with names & cabin numbers of everyone.  If not then it might be a bit more complicated as each party would be charged for the reservation, but I’m sure the concierge can help.

[RonWL]

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Have they all purchased a specialty dining package?  

I have urged them to do so.  I have.  

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, RonWL said:

I have urged them to do so.  I have.  

Just a tip, have your preferred dates and times written down along with alternative dates and times.  As often prime times or dates are not available.  So having a backup option makes the process easier

[RonWL]

Thank everyone for your help here.  Much appreciated.

[kathynorth]

You are not automatically linked for MDR dinner because you have a common specialty dining reservation. 
 

We are traveling as a party of 7 booked into 3 cabins on the eclipse this June. We all have select dining. The other day I linked our dining reservations and were able to book us as a group of 7 on some nights and 4 on others. You can book your MDR reservations now. You don’t need to wait. Go into your cruise planner, click specialty restaurants, and scroll toward the bottom of the page. You’ll see a link to reserve times for select dining. There will be a tab to link dining. You'll need the reservation numbers for your friend's reservation to do the link up. Plug in their numbers and you’ll be linked. Then you can choose which dates you plan to eat in MDR and who you want to be seated with. 
 

Edited May 2 by kathynorth

[RonWL]

22 minutes ago, kathynorth said:

You'll need the reservation numbers for your friend's reservation to do the link up.

Great advice.  I'll definitely give that a try.  Now the issue is whether we'll be able to get reservations on the dates we want in the specialty dining venues....  Guess we just wait and see.

[pisces223]

On 5/1/2024 at 9:13 PM, kathynorth said:

You'll need the reservation numbers for your friend's reservation to do the link up. Plug in their numbers and you’ll be linked. Then you can choose which dates you plan to eat in MDR and who you want to be seated with. 
 

You also need each person date of birth. I just did this for our party of 18.

[RonWL]

2 hours ago, pisces223 said:

You also need each person date of birth.

I found that out.  With some help from the lady on the chat line (Maria, who is excellent I must say), we got us all linked and reservations were made - with one exception.  Le Petit Chef was completely sold out!  At least that's what the website said for parties of 8.  Maybe we need to try parties of 4?

Anyway, all is working out quite well, thanks to everyone's help here.

[Northern Aurora]

17 minutes ago, RonWL said:

I found that out.  With some help from the lady on the chat line (Maria, who is excellent I must say), we got us all linked and reservations were made - with one exception.  Le Petit Chef was completely sold out!  At least that's what the website said for parties of 8.  Maybe we need to try parties of 4?

Anyway, all is working out quite well, thanks to everyone's help here.

 

Two parties of 4 would work well at Le Petit Chef as the "cadence" of this venue is so different than a more traditional dining experience.  People are seated, the lights dim and the animated show begins.  So conversation ceases as folks follow the animation. The course is served, and then the process is repeated for the next course (dimmed lights to show the animation segment followed by normal lumination as the course is served).

[Liao]

1 hour ago, RonWL said:

I found that out.  With some help from the lady on the chat line (Maria, who is excellent I must say), we got us all linked and reservations were made - with one exception.  Le Petit Chef was completely sold out!  At least that's what the website said for parties of 8.  Maybe we need to try parties of 4?

Anyway, all is working out quite well, thanks to everyone's help here.

At that venue, party of four does make more sense actually.