Celebrity Select Dining is Here

Celebrity has joined the rest of the cruise industry and introduced "Celebrity Select Dining". According to the Celebrity website:

Celebrity Select Dining

Following a day of exploration, or a day spent lounging with a novel, Celebrity Select Dining offers a flexible approach to dining. Allowing you to be seated any time the Main Dining Room is open, this option means there's no schedule to follow, leaving only your heart and appetite to satisfy.

 

Due to the open nature of Celebrity Select Dining, a prepaid gratuity is required when choosing this option and will be included in your reservation. With Celebrity Select Dining, expect the same level of exceptional service, regardless of your dining time.

:D:D:D

I think it is time that Celebrity is doing this. We always eat late but if they want to compete with all the rest they must do this. It won't make most of this board happy though.

Pat

I agree on both counts. :)

Makes us happy though....both personally and as stockholders.

Marlee

I am a bit confused as to the pre paid gratuity. Do you think this is referring to the pre paid gratuities that the wait staff already get? If not, do you pre pay the wait staff and add on a pre paid gratuity for "select Dining"?

I have been waiting a month for X customer service to reply to my e-mail asking just when/if this was being introduced.

Prior to that my TA had been told by customer service that Celebrity did not and were not considering doing an anytime type dining. Make of that what you will.

However on checking the website(s), I note that while the US site does state that Celebrity Select Dining now exists, there is no mention of this facility on the UK website.

I do hope this is not another case of discrimination against UK customers.

I am a bit confused as to the pre paid gratuity. Do you think this is referring to the pre paid gratuities that the wait staff already get? If not, do you pre pay the wait staff and add on a pre paid gratuity for "select Dining"?

If this is run the same way as RCCL, then everything is prepaid beforehand...nothing extra

When does this start? We are crusing on Celebrity next month.

Very confusing & what a silly name for My Time Dining or whatever other lines call it....

On Solstice all pax must pre-pay gratuities anyhow so not sure how this is different--at least on that ship.

Hope this is in an area away from regular set dining & not on the upper level--we always enjoy our top table by the rail with a set dining time and would hope to be able to continue thia plan.......

I also hope it does not affect general dining room service for those who prefer traditional cruising meal times... we knew it was only a matter of time so we'll have to live with it now!

I was just on the phone with reservations in Germany ( am from Switzerland) .They did not know about. But in the reservation summary it says now "Traditional Dining"?? maybe they will try first just on one ship like RCCL did? We are booked on Solstice in Sep09 and Eclipse May10 and on both its not possible to chose select dining. Time will tell, but we love open seating!

Very confusing & what a silly name for My Time Dining or whatever other lines call it....

 

On Solstice all pax must pre-pay gratuities anyhow so not sure how this is different--at least on that ship.

 

Hope this is in an area away from regular set dining & not on the upper level--we always enjoy our top table by the rail with a set dining time and would hope to be able to continue thia plan.......

 

I also hope it does not affect general dining room service for those who prefer traditional cruising meal times... we knew it was only a matter of time so we'll have to live with it now!

I think they are giving it a different name to give the impression that they will do "any time dining" better than other mass market cruise lines do, but it would be difficult to do it any better than Royal Caribbean does.

Might as well go on the good ship lollipop....su--s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad: now in the same league as rccl and carnival imo. More dumbling down in america as far as class goes.

I am a bit confused as to the pre paid gratuity. Do you think this is referring to the pre paid gratuities that the wait staff already get? If not, do you pre pay the wait staff and add on a pre paid gratuity for "select Dining"?

Since Celebrity has gone to having the gratuities automatically added to your account, I was wondering why they specified that gratuities must be prepaid wth this new dining option.

But after further thought, I think that if you choose Select Dining, you must prepay your gratuities before the cruise (an option for payment of gratuties at least for US cruisers)- instead of having them auto added to your account which is Celebrity's default. From previous threads about gratuities, I understand that you can remove the tips that are added to your account and distribute your own, but if you prepay your tips before the cruise they cannot be removed.

As far as the name goes, I think "Celebrity Select Dining" has a nice ring -- they get alliteration on the first two syllables! It also sets it apart from the others, which sound mundane, and makes it seem like a premium service -- which to me, it is!

I've already emailed my travel agent to change my dining arrangements to Select Dining so I can be sure to get it before the rush. Now, we can relax and enjoy our late-sailing Alaskan ports without worrying about a precise time for dinner, which means we may get to enjoy the main dining room, after all. We're going to be skipping the MDR on formal nights, and were concerned that we would have to skip it on late port nights, as well.

Please note that I never asked for Celebrity to change; I was perfectly aware of the dining terms when I signed up, and I was prepared to use my alternatives. However, I am delighted that they made the change.

Might as well go on the good ship lollipop....su--s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad: now in the same league as rccl and carnival imo. More dumbling down in america as far as class goes.

I couldn't have said it better!!! I think Celebrity needs to lower their prices a lot to be more in line with Carnival or NCL after this more. I see no reason to pay for elegent dining after this move!

I have been waiting a month for X customer service to reply to my e-mail asking just when/if this was being introduced.

Prior to that my TA had been told by customer service that Celebrity did not and were not considering doing an anytime type dining. Make of that what you will.

However on checking the website(s), I note that while the US site does state that Celebrity Select Dining now exists, there is no mention of this facility on the UK website.

I do hope this is not another case of discrimination against UK customers.

You're hopeful if you are expecting the UK website to reflect these changes - I've just checked and there's no mention of the Select Dining as there is on the US site - daft to expect there to be really - I mean they are STILL showing the 3 different dress codes :eek::rolleyes:. However I did speak to Celebrity UK and my own TA today. TA said after a phone call to Celebrity UK that they were considering Select, but at the moment it was just RCCL - then spoke to Celebrity UK telling them what TA told me and they said ... Oh No, it is being introduced on selected Celebrity Ships and selected sailings. Wasnt able to find out about my particular sailing though as I have to go through my TA.... so round we go again.... when the music stops I can sit down :D

Thanks for letting us know! This is good news! I would love to know the roll-out schedule.

Best,

Michelle

Might as well go on the good ship lollipop....su--s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad: now in the same league as rccl and carnival imo. More dumbling down in america as far as class goes.

Are Regent, Seaborne, Silversea, SeaDream, Oceania and Azamara, which all have open dining, other examples of "dumbing down in America as far as class goes?" I've never considered banquet dining with 1000 others in an incredibly noisy room with waiters constantly dashing back and forth to be particularly elegant.

Dave

Very confusing & what a silly name for My Time Dining or whatever other lines call it....

 

On Solstice all pax must pre-pay gratuities anyhow so not sure how this is different--at least on that ship.

 

Hope this is in an area away from regular set dining & not on the upper level--we always enjoy our top table by the rail with a set dining time and would hope to be able to continue thia plan.......On Royal MTD is in a portion of the upper dining room.

 

I also hope it does not affect general dining room service for those who prefer traditional cruising meal times... we knew it was only a matter of time so we'll have to live with it now! Again on Royal it is set up so that it doesn't effect Traditional Dining.

Hope this helps!!

I have been waiting a month for X customer service to reply to my e-mail asking just when/if this was being introduced.

Prior to that my TA had been told by customer service that Celebrity did not and were not considering doing an anytime type dining. Make of that what you will.

However on checking the website(s), I note that while the US site does state that Celebrity Select Dining now exists, there is no mention of this facility on the UK website.

I do hope this is not another case of discrimination against UK customers.

Just checked my cruise - it still only says Traditional dining, with no option for any other.

However my cruise price is now £0 and it says I have paid £0.......so I think it is a computer glitch whilst they roll it out!!!!:rolleyes:

I am directed to the US website when I go to do the online check in so I have faith...!

Celebrity will still have "traditional dining", so hopefully it will be good for everyone. I have cruised with both open seating and fixed seating and each has it own advantages. It looks like Celebrity might be "fixing" one of the problems that I have seen with mixed dining options. Since you will need to prepay on the Select dining, perhaps that means that Celebrity will not allow people on fixed dining to take advantage of the Select Dining whenever they chose. (resulting in people on Select Dining needing to wait for a table and the fixed dining room being under used) IMHO mixed dining options has the potential of resulting in one not having the choice of traditional dining because it is not available forcing one to use the Select Dining. I know that it is hard to believe, but on Princess it appears that sometimes people sign up for fixed, just in case, but actually do not use it often. If Celebrity can find a way to solve the issue of cruisers not being able to get fixed dining when desired then I think Celebrity will have a competitive advantage. The bottom line is that eveyone should be able to get their choice. In my example if late seating was not available, I would prefer Select Dining over early seating.

Is the comment under "Dress before 6" new? I did not previously notice it, but it certainly clarifies the official dress policy.

Are Regent, Seaborne, Silversea, SeaDream, Oceania and Azamara, which all have open dining, other examples of "dumbing down in America as far as class goes?" I've never considered banquet dining with 1000 others in an incredibly noisy room with waiters constantly dashing back and forth to be particularly elegant.

 

Dave

Well said, the part we like the most about MTD on Royal is that it isn't "an incredibly noisy room with waiters constantly dashing back and forth."

jagoffee, assuming they are using the same model as Royal Caribbean, you have traditional or you have My Time, there is no switching back and forth.

Are Regent, Seaborne, Silversea, SeaDream, Oceania and Azamara, which all have open dining, other examples of "dumbing down in America as far as class goes?" I've never considered banquet dining with 1000 others in an incredibly noisy room with waiters constantly dashing back and forth to be particularly elegant.

 

Dave

I agree with Dave - this is not "dumbing down", but "upgrading" to the luxury lines!

We enjoyed open seating on Azamara: Flexible dining time, faster service (not all guests arriving at the same time), always a nice table for two.

And as far as class goes - with fixed dining times we were sometimes standing (or sitting on the stairs!) on formal evenings for nearly half an hour with 100+ guests in front of the still closed dining room doors, because the early dining service was delayed.

Peter

Select Dining has not been implemented yet and it was a mistake that it is posted on the website now. It will probably be removed.

They are going to do a pilot program on selected ships in the future, but it is not available now.

My incredibly competent travel agent has been on the phone with Celebrity -- twice! -- in the last few minute, and has reported back to me.

First of all, while the web site has announced it, it is not yet available for booking, and no specific date is available.

Second, the prepaid gratuity is exactly the same as the gratuity for whioch you are already being charged, but with an important difference. Your normal gratuity is added to your account at the end of the cruise. The gratuity for Select Dining will be added to your invoice at the time of booking, and will be paid at the time of full payment if you booked before that date. There is no extra charge for the Select Dining, but "...that charge will be added to your booking right away for the purpose of Celebrity having an accurate count of the number of guests using Celebrity Select dining so that they have an idea of how much dining room space needs to be allocated," according to my travel agent.

I'm a little confused by the comments comparing the open dining to Carnival -- the last time I was on Carnival (June, 2008), all of the dining was tradtional, fixed seating except one night when they offered open seating to everyone due to a late port. Carnival still sticks to 2 formal nights in a 7 night cruise, as well, making Carnival and Celebrity closer to each other than to any of the other cruise lines.