Early seating dining over booked?

Just got a call from our travel agent, early dining is over booked for our cruise which leaves in 12 days. They are looking for people to switch to the late seating and they are offering $50 per cabin, obc. Good luck with that. Not getting early seating or anytime dining is a deal breaker for us. We booked this cruise eight months ago just for this. Besides, with prepaid gratuities, we'll have a hard time spending the $300 obc we got when we booked. 12 days before sailing and they just found this out? You got to love their computer system.

Perhaps this is better than being notified the the cruise is overbooked and they want someone to switch to a different sailing. And that has happened so I am not surprised that early seating is overbooked.:eek:

Funny thing is I book in advance and prefer late dining :D

But I always go to the buffet around 4pm lolll

Just got a call from our travel agent, early dining is over booked for our cruise which leaves in 12 days. They are looking for people to switch to the late seating and they are offering $50 per cabin, obc. Good luck with that. Not getting early seating or anytime dining is a deal breaker for us. We booked this cruise eight months ago just for this. Besides, with prepaid gratuities, we'll have a hard time spending the $300 obc we got when we booked. 12 days before sailing and they just found this out? You got to love their computer system.

Well I don't blame you for being mad but I kind of doubt the only reason you booked was because you had early seating. You didn't say what ship this was and I'm guessing it's the Summit since the last sailing said they had over 1300 that wanted early seating and I guess it was a real problem. $50 OBC wouldn't be enough for me either though to switch to late seating. I feel bad for you and hope that they find enough to take care of the overbooking issue BEFORE you get on the ship, if not I would most likely be at the MDR door as soon as I boarded to confirm my seating...before the stampede that night!!!! Good luck!!!:)

Just got a call from our travel agent, early dining is over booked for our cruise which leaves in 12 days. They are looking for people to switch to the late seating and they are offering $50 per cabin, obc. Good luck with that. Not getting early seating or anytime dining is a deal breaker for us. We booked this cruise eight months ago just for this. Besides, with prepaid gratuities, we'll have a hard time spending the $300 obc we got when we booked. 12 days before sailing and they just found this out? You got to love their computer system.

At least they are calling and asking for volunteers (with compensation), instead just changing people. You might not be able to spend all your OBC, bu I'm sure others would enjoy additional OBC.

Well I don't blame you for being mad...

I didn't read it as the OP being mad, just that they weren't about to accept that offer. I can't see how it hurt them to have the option of either keeping what they had or going to late dining with a $50 credit, so I don't know why they would have been mad.

As NLH Arizona points out, $50 isn't enough to change the minds of someone who feels strongly about it. But for someone who was on the fence as to whether they wanted to dine early or late before choosing early, $50 might well be enough to say they'll switch. It's good to have the option offered and ask for volunteers rather than just switching people unilaterally, as they have the right to do since your seating request time isn't guaranteed.

Used to do late seating, but being type 2 diabetic, it realy threw things off and we ended up doing a mini meal around 5..,,, after we started booking early seating it was much better.,,..

Now with BLU/AQ things are even better..,,

Hope no one gets bumped, esp if they have a good reason to prefer early dining! Hopefully, the incentive will draw enough volunteers!

I didn't read it as the OP being mad, just that they weren't about to accept that offer. I can't see how it hurt them to have the option of either keeping what they had or going to late dining with a $50 credit, so I don't know why they would have been mad.

 

As NLH Arizona points out, $50 isn't enough to change the minds of someone who feels strongly about it. But for someone who was on the fence as to whether they wanted to dine early or late before choosing early, $50 might well be enough to say they'll switch. It's good to have the option offered and ask for volunteers rather than just switching people unilaterally, as they have the right to do since your seating request time isn't guaranteed.

I'm not mad, just surprised. I would be irate if they changed my dining time. I booked this cruise in January. It should be, if anyone gets bumped, it should be the latest ones to book the cruise. I, with this B2B completed, I will have 15 cruises with Celebrity and 197 days at sea. I also have four cruises with RCL with36 days at sea. Loyalty should mean something.

I'm not mad, just surprised. I would be irate if they changed my dining time. I booked this cruise in January. It should be, if anyone gets bumped, it should be the latest ones to book the cruise. I, with this B2B completed, I will have 15 cruises with Celebrity and 197 days at sea. I also have four cruises with RCL with36 days at sea. Loyalty should mean something.

I agree with you that if for some reason X needs to switch people involuntarily, they should work back from the most recent bookings. (Indeed, it looks like X should never have accepted the recent requests for early dining reservations, as they were oversubscribed.)

But I totally disagree with you as to the relevance of the number of your cruises with X or days at sea. Should someone who booked last week who has 25 cruises with Celebrity (versus your 15) be able to bump you out of early dining? Last time I checked, it was not a perq of Captain's Club status to get your dining choice even when that selection was full.

I hope you get your dining selection and have a great cruise.

Funny thing is I book in advance and prefer late dining :D

But I always go to the buffet around 4pm lolll

Us too, see you around the buffet and late seating! Lol :D

I'm not mad, just surprised. I would be irate if they changed my dining time. I booked this cruise in January. It should be, if anyone gets bumped, it should be the latest ones to book the cruise. I, with this B2B completed, I will have 15 cruises with Celebrity and 197 days at sea. I also have four cruises with RCL with36 days at sea. Loyalty should mean something.

So, if someone booked late and they have, let's say 25 cruises and 300 days at sea with Celebrity, should they get first seating because of their loyalty? I do agree, it should be first come first served and, I do not think loyalty should factor into the decision.

I'm not mad, just surprised. I would be irate if they changed my dining time. I booked this cruise in January. It should be, if anyone gets bumped, it should be the latest ones to book the cruise. I, with this B2B completed, I will have 15 cruises with Celebrity and 197 days at sea. I also have four cruises with RCL with36 days at sea. Loyalty should mean something.

The original post sounded at least frustrated if not mad...sorry if I misinterpreted.

As I said though I KNOW they had a huge problem with this very thing on the Summit sailing that just ended...what ship are you on? There were 1300 people with confirmed early dining on that sailing, over 300 unhappy people, they had to take part of Select Dining area to accommodate SOME of them but others were stuck with late dining.

I don't think how many cruises you've had on X should have ANY bearing on this....it should be whoever booked first gets taken care of first....period....but as I said if you opt not to take the OBC(and I wouldn't either) I would be at the MDR at my FIRST opportunity on sailaway day to make sure you have a table.....hope you have a good cruise no matter when/where you wind up eating!!!:)

Just got a call from our travel agent, early dining is over booked for our cruise which leaves in 12 days. They are looking for people to switch to the late seating and they are offering $50 per cabin, obc. Good luck with that. Not getting early seating or anytime dining is a deal breaker for us. We booked this cruise eight months ago just for this. Besides, with prepaid gratuities, we'll have a hard time spending the $300 obc we got when we booked. 12 days before sailing and they just found this out? You got to love their computer system.

So what are you going to do if it is a deal breaker?

What I meant to say is if people have to be switched to late seating, it SHOULD be the people who booked it the latest. IF that isn't the way they do it, should they pick names out of the hat or use some other criteria such as loyalty. If you think I'm off base, how should they handle free upgrades? What they currently use for criteria is anybody's guess. Why would dining time changes be any different?

Maybe I'm just a bit skeptical but doesn't Celebrity know how many spots for early, late and select they have? Then, once they hit that number they would stop booking that dining time.

Maybe there was a late booking of a group that all wanted to be together and eat early.

Otherwise, I don't see how they could just 'overbook' so easily.

So what are you going to do if it is a deal breaker?

Hi Wallie:)...I was thinking the same thing......:eek:

Hi Wallie:)...I was thinking the same thing......:eek:

Evening Lois:)

grandgeezer, I know you booked thru a TA and most time X wont talk to us when we do that, but:D call the Capt Club desk, remain mellow and simply say HELP! They will chuckle, and ask how. Let them know you are booked thru a TA but here is what is happening, and what do they suggest. Heck, it is worth a shot to not cancell at 12 days, which is what 'A deal breaker" means, right?

This is unreal in the age of computers. We use anytime, but on our cruises with Princess folks are informed early on if fixed time dining is full, and they are on a waiting list.

I may be wrong, but it sounds as if the OP wasn't bumped from his early seating. It sounds like what the airlines sometimes do, start offering incentives and see how many they can get to voluntarily accept a change. Seems fair to me --- although I agree, I don't know how it got to this point, Celebrity should have stopped guaranteeing easily seating when it filled up.

I may be wrong, but it sounds as if the OP wasn't bumped from his early seating. It sounds like what the airlines sometimes do, start offering incentives and see how many they can get to voluntarily accept a change. Seems fair to me --- although I agree, I don't know how it got to this point, Celebrity should have stopped guaranteeing easily seating when it filled up.

I think it should be those that requested it first, should have the seating time they asked for and the rest at the other time in addition to being put on a waiting list. I just find it interesting, that some have to bring up how many cruises they have cruised, saying that loyalty should trump others.

Wonder if the OBC will be increased, like the airlines do, if few take them up on the offer.

While I wouldn't switch to late dining for $50, I would be tempted for $150. For $300, I would almost certainly switch.

All a matter of priorities.

With the OBC, I could book a couple of meals in specialty restaurants, and on days when I just couldn't stand to wait, I could, just go to the buffet.

I may be wrong, but it sounds as if the OP wasn't bumped from his early seating. It sounds like what the airlines sometimes do, start offering incentives and see how many they can get to voluntarily accept a change. Seems fair to me --- although I agree, I don't know how it got to this point, Celebrity should have stopped guaranteeing easily seating when it filled up.

That was the impression I got too.

I have to wonder if any of this is fallout from those weeks (month+) this summer where people were complaining they couldn't book / or access their booking on line.

Stuff that has just been fixed in the last week to 10 days

I have always been under the impression that the computer default with Dining was Traditional Early

Hence why people not in the know how things work are disappointed when they figure out what Select is, and find out they cannot switch to it because it is full up

So this could very well be the reason... Computer Glitch

And hence why Celebrity is offering an incentive now to some pax (past Customers perhaps) to switch for a nice bit of OBC

Cheers!

What I meant to say is if people have to be switched to late seating, it SHOULD be the people who booked it the latest. IF that isn't the way they do it, should they pick names out of the hat or use some other criteria such as loyalty. If you think I'm off base, how should they handle free upgrades? What they currently use for criteria is anybody's guess. Why would dining time changes be any different?

You are right, that is how it should be done...people who book latest get switched....BUT why would they be confirmed in the first place unless there is some kind of glitch in the system(oh yeah I know about the website stuff...but this is something new)

You still haven't said what ship you are on.....I am only curious because of the known problems on Summit the last two sailings....is it a problem with that ship or is this a Celebrity wide issue with all ships that we may have to start dealing with?????

Wow. You got offered $50? I was recently on Solstice, where they also overbooked the early seating. We went to see the maitre d' prior to sailaway to request late seating instead of early. I wasn't expecting OBC but I had expected to get yelled at either. He didn't want to talk to anyone that day. What a difference a ship makes, eh?

25% of peo] least don't go to dr.