Clarification on dining times on Beyond

[Justafigment27]

I've never sailed on Celebrity. I'm looking at a sailing on the Beyond, but the only dining available this late in the game is at 8:30pm. But I'm reading that dining times don't really matter on Beyond? Is this true? Can I really just walk up and get a table for two at, say 5:30pm, in one of the main dining rooms? 

 

Thanks.

 

[cbfb]

40 minutes ago, Justafigment27 said:

I've never sailed on Celebrity. I'm looking at a sailing on the Beyond, but the only dining available this late in the game is at 8:30pm. But I'm reading that dining times don't really matter on Beyond? Is this true? Can I really just walk up and get a table for two at, say 5:30pm, in one of the main dining rooms? 

 

Thanks.

 

Beyond dining is anytime so you can walk up but there may be a short wait. We were on in January and did have reservations but the only time we saw anyone wait was the first night. We didn’t dine that early, ours was 7:30 but I don’t think it will be any issue for 2 people. 

[cruisestitch]

50 minutes ago, Justafigment27 said:

I've never sailed on Celebrity. I'm looking at a sailing on the Beyond, but the only dining available this late in the game is at 8:30pm. But I'm reading that dining times don't really matter on Beyond? Is this true? Can I really just walk up and get a table for two at, say 5:30pm, in one of the main dining rooms? 

 

Thanks.

 

You can on Beyond.  This would not be true on an M or S class ship, but Beyond is an E class ship.

[Justafigment27]

Thank you!

[chrismch]

Just got off Beyond. Dining in the MDR's starts at 5:30 and I know there were many walk-ins as a few of the tables near us had changing occupants daily. Since there are 4 options for the MDRs you could just check on all 4. And remember you can have the daily specialty options from any of the 4 options regardless of which one you are dining in.

[skatie]

It’s odd as i recently booked for Beyond in November and I only had the choice of 6pm or 8:30pm dining.  The Anytime Dining option said “Not Available”. You would think if they only had anytime dining in Beyond that they would disable the set times.  I suspect that on day one there will be a ton of people lining up for their 6pm dining slot to be told that no reservations exist.  

[cruisestitch]

Yes that is an oddity of the Celebrity booking system. It doesn’t seem to be able to handle the fact that the E class ships operate differently than the M and S class ships.

 

This is one of the questions that was asked of the CEO and her recent question and answer session and she chose not to answer it.

[zitsky]

Do people want the same tables of people around them every night?  I know we’re talking about the MDR but a frequent complaint about Blu is having to sit too close to others and having other diners talk to you.

[chrismch]

From where I sat, I saw no cross talking between tables. I've experienced the dining cross chat on other cruises and made long time friends with some as a result of that experience.

[zitsky]

6 hours ago, chrismch said:

From where I sat, I saw no cross talking between tables. I've experienced the dining cross chat on other cruises and made long time friends with some as a result of that experience.

That’s why shared tables exist.

[jgmorgan]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

That’s why shared tables exist.

And, room service.😂

[dacsmom]

On 8/12/2024 at 2:32 AM, skatie said:

It’s odd as i recently booked for Beyond in November and I only had the choice of 6pm or 8:30pm dining.  The Anytime Dining option said “Not Available”. You would think if they only had anytime dining in Beyond that they would disable the set times.  I suspect that on day one there will be a ton of people lining up for their 6pm dining slot to be told that no reservations exist.  

You suspect incorrectly. IT cannot handle the E class ships. There is no set dining time, Visit any one of the four main dining rooms whenever you want to eat. 

[lewiej]

I have booked a 6pm dining time but based on the comments here, I don;t need to worry about being there on time and can just show up whenever I want. Is that correct?

[PTC DAWG]

15 minutes ago, lewiej said:

I have booked a 6pm dining time but based on the comments here, I don;t need to worry about being there on time and can just show up whenever I want. Is that correct?

If on E Class, correct..

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, lewiej said:

I have booked a 6pm dining time but based on the comments here, I don;t need to worry about being there on time and can just show up whenever I want. Is that correct?

If you only read the comments in this particular thread, then you will feel correct but could be wrong. There are plenty of other comments in other threads that would indicate that the "E-class is only anytime dining" narrative is outdated information. YMMV. You will find out when you board.

[publicpersona]

39 minutes ago, RichYak said:

 YMMV. You will find out when you board.

 

THIS is the only answer you can trust in this thread. The Edge class dining times seem to vary ship to ship and possibly cruise to cruise. I was on Apex recently and had one "maitre d'" say they do not have fixed dining times, and another tell me that they actually do for some guests.

 

I don't think it is possible to reserve time during the prime hours of 6 PM-8 PM in advance. The modus operandi for most is that you show up and get a pager. I understand this isn't everyone's experience, but on this one on Apex, we had to wait more than an hour more than once.

 

 YMMV. You will find out when you board.

[lewiej]

Yes I am booked on Beyond in Jan and the website allowed me to book a 6 pm slot (late dining was not available). I’ll check in with the Maitre’D after we board. Thanks all for the replies.

[lewiej]

Makes me almost wish we could go back to assigned tables/seatings like back-in-the-day😵‍💫😵‍💫

[ngrund]

5 hours ago, publicpersona said:

 

THIS is the only answer you can trust in this thread. The Edge class dining times seem to vary ship to ship and possibly cruise to cruise. I was on Apex recently and had one "maitre d'" say they do not have fixed dining times, and another tell me that they actually do for some guests.

 

I don't think it is possible to reserve time during the prime hours of 6 PM-8 PM in advance. The modus operandi for most is that you show up and get a pager. I understand this isn't everyone's experience, but on this one on Apex, we had to wait more than an hour more than once.

 

 YMMV. You will find out when you board.

I have the my time dining and was able to make reservations on the website for each night of my March '25 cruise on Beyond.

[publicpersona]

1 minute ago, ngrund said:

I have the my time dining and was able to make reservations on the website for each night of my March '25 cruise on Beyond.

At 7 pm? If so, I’m so happy for you. Proves my point about YMMV. 

[ngrund]

5 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

At 7 pm? If so, I’m so happy for you. Proves my point about YMMV. 

no, slightly different times each night-some 6, some 6:30 for one port day we wanted a little later so 7 PM and mixing up the various venues. My main point was that I could make reservations now. For most of the nights there were several times available.

[cruisetonowhere10]

On 8/12/2024 at 8:32 AM, zitsky said:

Do people want the same tables of people around them every night?  I know we’re talking about the MDR but a frequent complaint about Blu is having to sit too close to others and having other diners talk to you.

We enjoy it.  We chatted with the tables next to us (by choice on all accounts I believe) and liked having the same time and crew.  We did note early dining (Edge) and when we checked on day one upon embarkation we had an assigned early dining time/table as requested so I’m not sure it’s a total flaw of the IT system or if we just got lucky.  But, bottom line @zitskysome people like having the same people at the same tables at the same time each night. 😂

[keesar]

1 hour ago, ngrund said:

I have the my time dining and was able to make reservations on the website for each night of my March '25 cruise on Beyond.

I spent a good deal of time booking reservations for the MDRs on the Beyond.  When we showed up  the first night, we were told there were no reservations as it was Anytime Dining for all.  Told just show up where we wanted to eat when we wanted to eat. What was even more confusing is that we had an assigned time to eat on the website as well.  Food and service was excellent.

[rbelshaw]

I was on Beyond about two weeks  ago.First night, I liked my table, the wait staff, and the sommelier. I asked the Maitre d' if I could have the same table, time and staff for the duration.My request was granted; the table was reserved for me every night. One nice benefit is that the pax in the adjacent tables rotated through the voyage, so I was able to meet new folks every evening.

[hcat]

10 hours ago, publicpersona said:

 

THIS is the only answer you can trust in this thread. The Edge class dining times seem to vary ship to ship and possibly cruise to cruise. I was on Apex recently and had one "maitre d'" say they do not have fixed dining times, and another tell me that they actually do for some guests.

 

I don't think it is possible to reserve time during the prime hours of 6 PM-8 PM in advance. The modus operandi for most is that you show up and get a pager. I understand this isn't everyone's experience, but on this one on Apex, we had to wait more than an hour more than once.

 

 YMMV. You will find out when you board.

an hour wait is too long..esp for a diabetic like me! We will go early and if we cant be accomodated, then head to the buffet!