Select Dining

[fefe]

We have not sailed Celebrity yet, but are planning to do so. I understand there is an $11.50 per person per day charge for gratuities, paid at the time of final payment. However, they ask for $84 per person, paid upfront for Select Dining. Are you not paying that if you choose a set dining time?

With set dining you still pay $11.50 per day, but nothing more?

I'm just a bit confused on how this system works! Any help is appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[SoBe2010]

If you choose select dining gratuity is paid in advance. So, you will not find the 11,50 a day service charge on board.

[tserface]

They have you pay gratuities (really a fee) up front for Select because you likely will not have the same wait staff each night. I'm not sure why exactly or why they make you pay *all* of the gratuities, but it works out to the same amount in the end so I'm not too bothered by it. I think it is a misnomer to call it gratuities when it's enforced payment, but I would pay the tips anyway so that's kind of moot. I miss the days of handing out the envelopes on the last day of the cruise. That was always a great joy. Giving someone a tip because you want to is way more fun that having it paid 6 months ahead of time.

 

Tom

 

We have not sailed Celebrity yet, but are planning to do so. I understand there is an $11.50 per person per day charge for gratuities, paid at the time of final payment. However, they ask for $84 per person, paid upfront for Select Dining. Are you not paying that if you choose a set dining time?

With set dining you still pay $11.50 per day, but nothing more?

I'm just a bit confused on how this system works! Any help is appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[Retired civil servant]

Having just returned from a cruise around the Caribbean on the Celebrity Constellation we were glad we paid extra to have Select Dining.

 

If you are interested in attending the evening shows they tend to start at 19:00hrs each night and run for sometimes over an hour so if you have fixed dining times you could miss out, that's unless you eat early and see a later show.

 

We do not like to be tied to a fixed eating time and prefer to eat when it suits us and found Select Dining suited us. You can make reservations, but we found that if you just turned up they would find you a table within 5 to 10 minutes or you could share a table and meet some interesting people. The service in the Select Dining area on Connie was superb and highly rated by all we spoke to, its worth the extra in our view.

[Lsimon]

Historically, the cruise lines have used gratuities to provide the vast bulk of their employees wages so for many years they've had a list of "recommended" gratuities. Years ago it was up to the passengers to take care of this in cash at the end of the cruise. Over time they started allowing passengers to add the tips to their on-board accounts.

 

Celebrity, along with several other lines, made a switch a couple years ago to having the gratuities added to on-board accounts automatically every day. But they also allow passengers to adjust the tips, or have them removed entirely if they prefer to pay the tips at the end of the cruise.

 

All the above was in place before Celebrity started their Select dining program.

Now I'm going to start making some presumptions that seem logical to me but which may or may not be entirely accurate: When they did they realized it would be impractical for select dining passengers to track and manually tip their servers so they decided to make the tipping mandatory for select dining. Rather than modify their existing accounting systems to accommodate this they decided to do it by requiring that tips be prepaid, rather than collected on board, as I'm guessing their systems provided that On-board tipping could be adjusted but prepaid tips could not be changed. I'm also guessing that their systems at the time could not split out one type of gratuity (dining) from another type (such as staterooms) so they made the change for all gratuities rather than just the dining.

 

The bottom line remains the same but from time to time there are complaints about the system voiced on these forums by people who don't like being forced to prepay all their gratuities. Unfortunately, it is love it or leave it and no one is forcing anyone to cruise on Celebrity not to take the Select dining option.

 

Personally, it doesn't bother me at all.

 

I consider the basic recommended gratuities more of a "service charge" that covers basic staff compensation and I consider very good service on board a reason to give an extra gratuity on board at the end of the cruise.

[fleckle]

We have not sailed Celebrity yet, but are planning to do so. I understand there is an $11.50 per person per day charge for gratuities, paid at the time of final payment. However, they ask for $84 per person, paid upfront for Select Dining. Are you not paying that if you choose a set dining time?

With set dining you still pay $11.50 per day, but nothing more?

I'm just a bit confused on how this system works! Any help is appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

They will charge you exactly the same total amount either way.

 

The only difference is that you pay it at different times.

 

With select dining they charge the total for the entire cruise up front.

With traditional dining they charge it day by day.

[New Hampshire]

My TA will be giving us Pre-paid gratuities as an amenity for booking with her agency. We have Select Dining. How will that work?

[A Sixth?]

My TA will be giving us Pre-paid gratuities as an amenity for booking with her agency. We have Select Dining. How will that work?

 

You will pay for the cruise, nothing extra for select tips, and your booking will show you in select dining because the TA in fact has paid them.

 

At least that's how it worked last week when I booked and the other times before it when prepaid grats were the carrot to book with our online TA

[FrankinPA]

My TA will be giving us Pre-paid gratuities as an amenity for booking with her agency. We have Select Dining. How will that work?

 

The gratuities provided by the TA will show as a reduction in the total cost of the cruise. When you choose Select Dining, the cruise total cost goes up by the amount of the gratuity but is then offset by the TA contribution. For example, lets say the cruise cost $3000 plus $200 taxes and port fees and $250 for prepaid gratuities. The total normal invoice to you would be $3450.00. But since your TA is paying the $250 for you, your total cost is now $3200.

 

Clear?

[A Sixth?]

The gratuities provided by the TA will show as a reduction in the total cost of the cruise. When you choose Select Dining, the cruise total cost goes up by the amount of the gratuity but is then offset by the TA contribution. For example, lets say the cruise cost $3000 plus $200 taxes and port fees and $250 for prepaid gratuities. The total normal invoice to you would be $3450.00. But since your TA is paying the $250 for you, your total cost is now $3200.

 

Clear?

 

Interesting.

 

That's not how our TA does it. (online advertises here on CC)

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/shipshop/

 

They write a reminder on the cruise confirmation that grats are paid for and like I said, when I check my reservation on the "X" web page it shows me booked with select dining.

[HappyChappy]

If you are interested in attending the evening shows they tend to start at 19:00hrs each night and run for sometimes over an hour so if you have fixed dining times you could miss out, that's unless you eat early and see a later show.

 

 

We have booked the 2030 dining every night of our cruise.

If the shows start around 1900 will there be much on after the meal from 10-midnight or beyond?

 

Sorry if this sounds like a daft question but its our 1st cruise.

[Sloop-JohnB]

We have booked the 2030 dining every night of our cruise.

If the shows start around 1900 will there be much on after the meal from 10-midnight or beyond?

 

Sorry if this sounds like a daft question but its our 1st cruise.

 

Hi HappyChappy,

 

We had Late Traditional Dining at 8:30 PM every evening on our recent cruise.

 

Some Nights the main shows in the Theatre happened BEFORE our Dining Time (ie 7:00 PM Performance)... other nights they happened AFTER (10:00, 10:30, or even 11:00 PM as I recall)

 

Several Nights there were also Late Night Comedy (18+) that was performed in Celebrity Central (we were on the Soltice, an S-Class Ship) starting at 11 PM

 

Some nights there was entertainment elsewhere (musical performances) that happened in a variety of places on the ship after 10 PM... ie the Atrium area on Deck 3, or things up in the Sky Lounge (late night bands, karoke, etc... changed from night-to-night).

 

There was supposed to be a Concert on the Lawn one night under the stars... but it was cancelled because the weather didn't cooperate... it was moved indoors to the Sky Lounge.

 

As well there was the Nightclub... for dancing.

 

And much happening around the various bars... Passport, Martini, Molecular, Ensemble (some with entertainment)

 

And of course the Casino is a big draw well into the early morning hours !!

 

(There was an Officers Poker game that was going on there one evening that I don't think got going to almost midnight)

 

Other interesting things...

 

The Chocolate Buffet took place one night in the Sky Lounge (started after 10 or 11 PM)

 

There were Late Night Movies shown a couple of nights in Celebrity Central... they seemed to begin around Midnight.

 

As others have said, Celebrity seems to get a bad rap for being a Sleepy Ship... but it really isn't true. A lot depends on the Itinerary, and the mood of the Cruisers... we found there were many folks still partying when we'd head off to bed (1 to 2 AM on average)

 

I think one of the issues, that these new S-Class Ships are just so HUGE, that you never feel very crowded on a day-to-day basis... so many venues spread out over a large expanse, that people just tend to be scattered about depending on their interests (from Deck 3 up to Deck 16)

 

So you just don't necessarily see everyone, or have an idea of where folks are hanging out.

 

Another good reason to read "Celebrity Today"... the Dailies will tell you what is going on where late at night.

 

Hope this is helpful,

 

Cheers!

[HappyChappy]

Hi HappyChappy,

 

We had Late Traditional Dining at 8:30 PM every evening on our recent cruise.

 

Some Nights the main shows in the Theatre happened BEFORE our Dining Time (ie 7:00 PM Performance)... other nights they happened AFTER (10:00, 10:30, or even 11:00 PM as I recall)

 

Several Nights there were also Late Night Comedy (18+) that was performed in Celebrity Central (we were on the Soltice, an S-Class Ship) starting at 11 PM

 

Some nights there was entertainment elsewhere (musical performances) that happened in a variety of places on the ship after 10 PM... ie the Atrium area on Deck 3, or things up in the Sky Lounge (late night bands, karoke, etc... changed from night-to-night).

 

There was supposed to be a Concert on the Lawn one night under the stars... but it was cancelled because the weather didn't cooperate... it was moved indoors to the Sky Lounge.

 

As well there was the Nightclub... for dancing.

 

And much happening around the various bars... Passport, Martini, Molecular, Ensemble (some with entertainment)

 

And of course the Casino is a big draw well into the early morning hours !!

 

(There was an Officers Poker game that was going on there one evening that I don't think got going to almost midnight)

 

Other interesting things...

 

The Chocolate Buffet took place one night in the Sky Lounge (started after 10 or 11 PM)

 

There were Late Night Movies shown a couple of nights in Celebrity Central... they seemed to begin around Midnight.

 

As others have said, Celebrity seems to get a bad rap for being a Sleepy Ship... but it really isn't true. A lot depends on the Itinerary, and the mood of the Cruisers... we found there were many folks still partying when we'd head off to bed (1 to 2 AM on average)

 

I think one of the issues, that these new S-Class Ships are just so HUGE, that you never feel very crowded on a day-to-day basis... so many venues spread out over a large expanse, that people just tend to be scattered about depending on their interests (from Deck 3 up to Deck 16)

 

So you just don't necessarily see everyone, or have an idea of where folks are hanging out.

 

Another good reason to read "Celebrity Today"... the Dailies will tell you what is going on where late at night.

 

Hope this is helpful,

 

Cheers!

 

That is really helpful, Thanks very much.

 

Plenty to do after dinner. :D

[packedandready]

Having just returned from a cruise around the Caribbean on the Celebrity Constellation we were glad we paid extra to have Select Dining.

 

If you are interested in attending the evening shows they tend to start at 19:00hrs each night and run for sometimes over an hour so if you have fixed dining times you could miss out, that's unless you eat early and see a later show.

 

We do not like to be tied to a fixed eating time and prefer to eat when it suits us and found Select Dining suited us. You can make reservations, but we found that if you just turned up they would find you a table within 5 to 10 minutes or you could share a table and meet some interesting people. The service in the Select Dining area on Connie was superb and highly rated by all we spoke to, its worth the extra in our view.

 

Why did you have to pay extra for Select Dining?

[suz.e.q]

I don't understand select dining at all........ is this an option for everyone? We booked late and had no choice except the 8:30 seating -which will not work for us at all. Couldn't even get on the wait list, so would we still be able to use the MDR at an early time (6pm) if we use select dining? Thanks

[Sloop-JohnB]

I don't understand select dining at all........ is this an option for everyone? We booked late and had no choice except the 8:30 seating -which will not work for us at all. Couldn't even get on the wait list, so would we still be able to use the MDR at an early time (6pm) if we use select dining? Thanks

 

Hi Suz.e.q.,

 

On Celebrity when it comes to the Main Dining Room there are 3 choices...

 

Traditional Dining Early (a set dining time, and set seating). On most sailings the time is somewhere between 6:00 and 6:30 PM

 

Traditional Dining Late (a set dining time, and set seating). On most sailings the time is somewhere between 8:00 and 8:45 PM

 

In both situations you sit at the same table each night, with the same tablemates, and Wait Staff (Waiter - Asst Waiter - Sommelier)

 

The other alternative is Select Dining. It gives one more flexibility for Dining in the Main Dining Room... with a range of times that you can choose to come to the MDR from to eat (believe it is something like 6 PM to 9 PM, although I could be wrong here... as I haven't done Select)

 

Anyways, Select is more like a Restaurant. You can make a Reservation for each day (different times if you so wish, depending on what you are doing that day)... OR show up and are shown to a table... like a Restaurant sometimes due to demand, there is a wait. You can dine alone, or make arrangements to dine with friends, or those who you meet in line also waiting for a table.

 

As there are over 2000 Passengers on most of Celebrity Cruise Ships, everyone has to be somehow be accommodated to eat in the MDRs* so timing is important.

 

When you book a cruise with Celebrity, you need to indicate your "preferance"... if there is space available when you book in that category you will be assigned there. Otherwise you can be wait listed for the one you "wish"... but ultimately everyone is "assigned" somewhere.

 

As you booked your cruise late, I'm guessing when you did your booking the Early and Select Selections were full for your cruise.

 

You can approach the Maitre D' when you are aboard, and see if he can't accommodate your request (some things generally change by cruise day... either some passengers have cancelled, or others have made changes as well... giving more spaces in the category that you wish to have etc)

 

When it comes to spaces allotted... Select Dining in the MDR is a smaller area... as most Guests still enjoy Celebrity's Traditional Dining Experience. So on some cruises it can be in high demand... others not so much. Your complaint isn't unusual IMO... I've seen several posts by Cruisers who haven't gotten into Select on the website... although, it does seem that many of them get their request accommodated when they are aboard.

 

*NOTE - In addition to the MDR, there is the Blu Dining Room for Aqua Class Guests (their own DR). It runs totally on the select system.

 

Hope this is helpful,

 

Cheers!