Dining on Celebrity Ships

How does regular dining work on Celebrity ships?

Is there traditional (assigned time and table), as well as flexible dining (show up and be escorted to a table, but you don't eat with the same people every night)?

Is there more than one seating each evening?

If so, when do you choose which seating and how large a table you would like to be assigned to?

Do all Celebrity ships work the same way, when it comes to dining arrangements?

Thanks.

Don't know what changes there are for Solstice, but for the past few years on all other Celebrity ships you have about 5 choices:

1) Main dining room - assigned seating at one of two dinner seatings, generally 6PM (early or main) and 8:30PM (second or late). On some European cruises the sittings are a little later. There is no "flexible" dining in the main dining room on a regular basis. You sign up for early or late seating when you book your cruise. You can also specify a preferred table size at that time. Changes can be made on a space available basis by talking to the Maitre d' or Assistant once on board. They will have a desk open outside the dining room on embarkation day for this, or, later on, you can talk to the staff at any meal time. They are normally pretty accommodating for both permanent table/time changes as well as temporary changes where, for example, you want to join another couple for dinner just one night.

2) You can eat by reservation only at the specialty restaurants (Mercury and Galaxy don't have these). Cost is $30/pp for an extraordinary meal. Count on this taking much longer than your usual dinner. Dress up and enjoy it for a special evening.

3) Casual dining - one area of what is the cafe area (buffet area for breakfast and lunch) is converted to table service casual dining, served by waiters and ordered off a menu, with a smaller menu than the main dining room. Reservations are requested but not always necessary. There is a small charge of something like $2/pp. Formal dress on formal nights is not required here.

4) Room service is available from a short room service menu, or you can order from the regular dining room menu if you have it served during normal dining room hours.

5) While the normal buffet is closed for dinner there are a few smaller areas that open, or remain open, in the buffet area for buffet style dining including the pizza, pasta and salad stations. There has also been a sushi station which is open only in the evening and to which there has been a stir fry station added to as well. On our last cruise they had a different concept for this as they expanded the area a little and alternated nightly between one of three concepts: Sushi, Stir-Fry or Curry (Indian).

Traditional/assigned dining. Two seatings. Room service available.

We've been on M class ships where there is also specialty dining ($$ +), pasta, pizza and salad bar, casual sit-down dining ($ +).

Solstice is another story altogether. There are about 100 threads here about Solstice and you could check those for details on that ship.

If the ship overnights in a port, the dinner in the main dining room on that night is usually open seating.

Breakfast and lunch in the main dining room are always open seating. You just show up and you'll be shown to a table, usually a alrge one you will share with several other parties who showed up about when you did. You can try to request a table for just your group (i.e. table for two or four) and they will do their best, but it is hit or miss on whether they can accomodate you.