Booking speciality dining on Solstice class ships ...

[bellaj]

We're going on our first cruise with Celebrity later this year on the Eclipse, and just wondered about booking the speciality restaurants.

 

I believe you can do it on line in advance - please correct me if I am wrong - however, we would prefer to go to the MDR on formal nights, but we wont know when these will be until we are on board.

 

Can anyone comment on the availability of the speciality restaurants if we leave booking until we are on? Do they get booked up in advance, or should we be ok if we leave it ?

 

Thanks All !

[Project_gal]

We're going on our first cruise with Celebrity later this year on the Eclipse, and just wondered about booking the speciality restaurants.

 

I believe you can do it on line in advance - please correct me if I am wrong - however, we would prefer to go to the MDR on formal nights, but we wont know when these will be until we are on board.

 

Can anyone comment on the availability of the speciality restaurants if we leave booking until we are on? Do they get booked up in advance, or should we be ok if we leave it ?

 

Thanks All !

 

I would book speciality restaurants in advance and then, as soon as you are on board, visit the restaurants both the check the bookings and change the day if you find you have booked on a formal night.

 

Sue

[Croooser]

We faced the same issue last year on the Equinox. We guessed (correctly) that the formal nights would be sea days so we made the reservations on easy port days when we were likely to not be worn out at the end of the day. Worked well.

 

One thing to consider is that if you reserve prior to your cruise, you must pay with a credit card immediately. If you make reservations onboad you can use any OBC that you may have - but you run the risk of not getting your preferred day and time. On our next cruise we will wait until we are onboard and try our luck.

[bubbie617]

IF your Eclipse cruise is a 7 night cruise, you can be fairly certain that the formal nights will be the second and sixth nights. It can vary, but it rarely does.

[dkjretired]

Don't try and guess using Sea days as a guide, Celebrity very often has formal nights on port days....I did the Specialty restaurant on the first night and it worked out great, not crowded and no conflict with formal nights....

[Gonzo70]

My experience is that they do hold some spots for booking on board, but that often the prime dinner times are booked in advanve. If you head right to ths specialty restaurants after boarding, you likely will get reservations, but may have to eat real early or real late.

 

What might be the best idea is to book in advance and if once you board you find out a night you booked is a formal night, change your reservation once on board. This method gives you a better chance of securing the time of your choice.

[bellaj]

Hi Guys - many thanks for all your replies - I think I will try to book at least one in advance and then attempt to move if there is a conflict with a formal night, and if we can't, then I guess I can always wear a DJ there as well ;)

 

Either way I'm sure we will have a great time on our first Celebrity cruise, in fact we have already booked one for next year!

[TelecasterPlayer]

We just got off the Solstice on 4/25. We did not book any specialty restaurants ahead of time because we didn't want to miss anything special in the MDR. We got on the ship and went straight to Tuscan Grille to find out that the entire week was fully booked except for the first night. We asked to be put on the wait list, and fortunately were able to get a 9pm reservation on Tuesday. Tuscan Grille was AMAZING. Well worth it! Next time I would definitely reserve in advance.