Which seating? A confused newbie

[lreinstein]

Hi

 

My wife and I are planning our first cruise...a celebrity Adriatic cruise. We booked a concierge cabin and then I had to answer "which seating" for dinner.

 

We are in our 60's so the late seating is out. But what are the pros and cons of the early vs flexible?

 

And what table size?

 

Thanks to all

 

Larry

[kitty9]

The main con of early seating is that if you have a full day excursion, or even just an afternoon excursion, it can be tough to get ready in time for 6:00 pm. With Select dining, you won't have to rush, and can arrive for dinner anytime from 6 to 9:30.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Hi

 

My wife and I are planning our first cruise...a celebrity Adriatic cruise. We booked a concierge cabin and then I had to answer "which seating" for dinner.

 

We are in our 60's so the late seating is out. But what are the pros and cons of the early vs flexible?

 

And what table size?

 

Thanks to all

 

Larry

 

We did "select dining" for our transatlantic cruise and made reservations for 7pm every evening, worked great as we always had a table for two and were able to make the 9pm shows. On days we were in port later we usually did bistro, buffet, or changed res to 730-8. Those with reservations are given seating priority and we only had to wait once, on the first formal night, for about 10 minutes as there had been a HUGE rush of people at 530 for some odd reason. The great thing with select is you can control your evening much better and dine at a time that suits you.

[KruzPrincess]

Personally, I like select dining better. The advantages are the freedom to get ready and go when you want. You'll probably sit with different people each night. Some people like to sit with the same people and some like to meet different people. Celebrity makes you pre-pay your gratuities if you choose select dining. If you choose traditional dining you will be billed day by day.

[Jane2357]

I loved cruising and was trying to get dh on board :D literally. After his first cruise, he felt it was too structured, due to the dining times. So now we do select and we are much happier. We don't make standing reservations - so we can show up early or spend too much time in the Martini Bar and dine later. We love the freedom! I do at times miss the connection to the wait staff but I don't miss having to sit with the same people every night :cool:

[Karen@Steve]

With select you don't have to pick a table size. Some nights you can chose to 'share' and will be seated with others waiting and other nights you can chose to sit 'alone' and be assigned a table for two. If you like a particular server you can request to be seated with them each time.

 

I did miss the connection with a particular server but I also liked wandering in whenever the mood struck us. The only thing I would do differently on our next sail is be more mindful of the show schedule. We tended to spend a lot of time dining and talking and missed the shows more times than not.

[johnritt]

If you wish to get to know your table mates and develope a relationship with them, then assigned dining is a good option. You will have the same waitstaff, the same passengers, and the same table every night. You will dine at your appointed time, and will need to be on time, as your table will tend to wait for late comers. Your waiters will learn your preferences, and your service may very well be more personal. This would be considered traditional dining on a cruise ship.

 

If you want the freedom to dine when you wish to, then select dining may be your better option. You have more freedom to dine alone or with a group at the time of your choosing. You will not be dining with the same group every night (unless you all choose to), and you may not have the same waiters from night to night.

 

I personally prefer to dine with those I cruise with, be it alone with my wife or alone with my wife and the kids if the kids are with us. I also hate to be told when I have to eat (other than by my wife), so select dining, or anytime dining, or whatever any cruise line calls it, is for me. I won't cruise any other way, but many others love the traditional experience.

[lreinstein]

This was all very helpful. Lots of good points. I think we will go with Select as well.

 

Any other tips, stories, hints are appreciated. We are so new at this, and, the cruise is a year away. So, plenty of time to plan.

 

Larry

[lreinstein]

I know these seems like a silly question, but I find the celebrity website a bit confusing.

 

I understand that the main dining room is "no charge". And same is true for room service I think. Is this true at all times during the day?

 

Is there a charge for eating and drinking everywhere else on board or are there any other "included" places?

 

I know there is an upcharge for the specialty restaurants... Is this true for oceanview cafe?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

[KaththeTaff]

I know these seems like a silly question, but I find the celebrity website a bit confusing.

 

I understand that the main dining room is "no charge". And same is true for room service I think. Is this true at all times during the day?

 

Yes.

 

Is there a charge for eating and drinking everywhere else on board or are there any other "included" places?

 

Most of the other restaurations involve a cover charge. The outdorr burger grill will be free, and pastries and snacks in Cafe al bacio incur no charge, but the Gelato in the Gelateria has to be paid for!

 

I know there is an upcharge for the specialty restaurants... Is this true for oceanview cafe?

 

No, the Oceanview Cafe is the buffet and eating there is included in the fare.

[Faircliff]

Hi

 

My wife and I are planning our first cruise...a celebrity Adriatic cruise. We booked a concierge cabin and then I had to answer "which seating" for dinner.

 

We are in our 60's so the late seating is out. But what are the pros and cons of the early vs flexible?

 

And what table size?

 

Thanks to all

 

Larry

 

Just to add a slightly different opinion… On our first celebrity cruise we had fixed dining. We were at a table of eight & got to know the other people very well. It was interesting at night to compare excursions and activities. It made the whole sailing experienced a little more fun.

 

On our second cruise we could not get fixed dining and had select. We did not like this at all. We were able to get in pretty much anytime we wanted, except on formal night when it is absolutely necessary to make a reservation far in advance. However, despite asking to be sat at a table with other people, we were not and for the entire cruise we only had ourselves to entertain us. We also found the select very slow as far as serving went, and many of time skipped dessert so that we could get to the show on time. In fact a few nights, we decided to skip the main dining room, simply because we knew it would be boring sitting by ourselves, and we ended up going to the buffet. With the fixed dining, we also had the same waiter and server each night, and it was fun how they entertained us with magic tricks and got to know what our preferences were for tea and coffee etc.

 

Of course, one of the things to consider as well is that fixed dining for the early sitting tends to go very quickly so check with your TA.

 

[Miss SeaBee]

We did "select dining" for our transatlantic cruise and made reservations for 7pm every evening, worked great as we always had a table for two and were able to make the 9pm shows. On days we were in port later we usually did bistro, buffet, or changed res to 730-8. Those with reservations are given seating priority and we only had to wait once, on the first formal night, for about 10 minutes as there had been a HUGE rush of people at 530 for some odd reason. The great thing with select is you can control your evening much better and dine at a time that suits you.

 

We have always previously done 6:00 traditional seating, but agree that it is tough to make the early seating time on port days, or even sea days if you are really enjoying the pool in the late afternoon and don't feel like going in early to get ready for dinner. We did our first select seating last cruise on Reflection and, like you, we made 7:00 reservations every evening. Normally, we would do a large table, like maybe 8-12 in traditional, because we like getting to know other table-mates. That would be missed in select, but we had a larger family group cruising together, so we were at a table for 6, just us. We ended up asking for the same waiter every evening, and it was a great experience, very similar in many ways to traditional early seating, with more time in the evening. However, unlike your experience, we found that the 7:00 time made us a little late for every show, and we couldn't find seats several times. With traditional dining, I always went to every show after dinner. Because of the rush to get to the theater on time we only actually went to one show on Reflection. Maybe that was just because we were a pretty large, talkative family group, so maybe our dinners took longer than a couple would. I'm not sure.

 

That being said, I would probably do select dining again. Frankly, being late to shows turned out to be a bit of a non-issue. Maybe I'm just getting hard to please in my old age (:) 46), but I thought the quality of shows on Reflection was not up to previous standards, and unfortunately, the only show we did make in time to see the whole thing was a magician/comedian who we saw already on Millenium last year, and while we enjoyed him on the Millie, his Reflection show was identical, so we did not really enjoy it much the second time around.

[KaththeTaff]

Just to add a slightly different opinion… On our first celebrity cruise we had fixed dining. We were at a table of eight & got to know the other people very well. It was interesting at night to compare excursions and activities. It made the whole sailing experienced a little more fun.

 

On our second cruise we could not get fixed dining and had select. We did not like this at all. We were able to get in pretty much anytime we wanted, except on formal night when it is absolutely necessary to make a reservation far in advance. However, despite asking to be sat at a table with other people, we were not and for the entire cruise we only had ourselves to entertain us. We also found the select very slow as far as serving went, and many of time skipped dessert so that we could get to the show on time. In fact a few nights, we decided to skip the main dining room, simply because we knew it would be boring sitting by ourselves, and we ended up going to the buffet. With the fixed dining, we also had the same waiter and server each night, and it was fun how they entertained us with magic tricks and got to know what our preferences were for tea and coffee etc.

 

Of course, one of the things to consider as well is that fixed dining for the early sitting tends to go very quickly so check with your TA.

 

 

Everyone is different, and every individual has their own likes and dislikes, which is why it is important that the OP considers all of these things and makes their decision based on what they think will suit them best.

 

We prefer the freedom of select dining, and socialise with other people at the various bars. We like to dine as a couple.

 

The Op should bea rin mind that they will be bale to change their dining preferences once on board if they feel they they have made the wrong choice. I am sure that the maitre d' will be very happy to assist.

[Miss SeaBee]

Everyone is different, and every individual has their own likes and dislikes, which is why it is important that the OP considers all of these things and makes their decision based on what they think will suit them best.

 

We prefer the freedom of select dining, and socialise with other people at the various bars. We like to dine as a couple.

 

The Op should bea rin mind that they will be bale to change their dining preferences once on board if they feel they they have made the wrong choice. I am sure that the maitre d' will be very happy to assist.

 

Is it really possible to get into early traditional seating if booked in select, once you get onboard? The only reason we ever went select to begin with is that early traditional got booked up very early on (a year out from the cruise) and it was not available by the time we booked (9 or 10 months from cruise date.) I probably would have asked once onboard, if I had thought it was even remotely possible to switch into early traditional.

[lreinstein]

So what is this Formal Night? Why do I want to go to it?

 

I am a first timer so this is a real question.

 

We are 15 months out from the cruise and picked early dining but are planning to change to Select.

 

Larry

[lynaberdeen]

Is it really possible to get into early traditional seating if booked in select, once you get onboard? The only reason we ever went select to begin with is that early traditional got booked up very early on (a year out from the cruise) and it was not available by the time we booked (9 or 10 months from cruise date.) I probably would have asked once onboard, if I had thought it was even remotely possible to switch into early traditional.

 

You may find early was not really booked up!! We had the same, but turns out they initially book all aqua guests into the mdr on early but then sort it all out. We have managed to get early which suits us much better with a 4 year old !!!! I would keep checking the website - we were on waitlist and no call / email but then spotted early was available. Hope thus helps. L

[Miss SeaBee]

So what is this Formal Night? Why do I want to go to it?

 

I am a first timer so this is a real question.

 

We are 15 months out from the cruise and picked early dining but are planning to change to Select.

 

Larry

 

It's a lovely dress-up night for those of us who enjoy fine dining in formal attire. For those who don't enjoy it, it is a pain in the rear and a source of constant complaint and discussion on Cruise Critic. :)

 

Here is the information on formal night dress code, cut and pasted from the Celebrity website FAQ.

 

Formal

Ladies: Cocktail dress, gown or dressy pantsuit

Gentlemen: Tuxedo, suit or dinner jacket with slacks.

 

Specialty Restaurants (Including Blu for our AquaClass Guests)

The dress code at Celebrity's Specialty Restaurants is 'Smart Casual and Above' for every night of your cruise. Formal attire is only required in the main dining room on your formal evenings.

 

Renting Formalwear

Formal evenings call for formal attire. Men can arrange for tailored, elegant formalwear to be delivered directly to your stateroom. To order, visit Cruiseline Formalwear.

 

Main Dining Room

Cruise length

2 - 6 days= 1 formal night

7 - 11 days= 2 formal nights

12 - 15 days= 3 formal nights

16+ days= 4 formal nights

[lreinstein]

I can do without dressing up... Though I do not mind a sport jacket and neatly pressed chinos. Does this suffice?

 

Is there something different about the food?

[Miss SeaBee]

I can do without dressing up... Though I do not mind a sport jacket and neatly pressed chinos. Does this suffice?

 

Is there something different about the food?

 

I think it would suffice, but you will definitely hear from the dress code arguers soon. I'll let you sort out the variety of feedback you are going to get about that question. I think you are on the low end of acceptable for formal night. I would add a tie. I think you will be allowed in the dining room. Some people will tell you that isn't dressy enough.

 

My husband does not like to dress up, either, and he is going with me on my next Reflection cruise, which will be his first. He made me promise we wouldn't do formal nights before he signed on to go! We are going Aqua class, so there is no formal night in Blu, fortunately for him. I'll miss getting dressed up for formal night. And yes, I think the food in the main dining room is a little better on formal night.

[CruisersTimesThree]

I'll miss getting dressed up for formal night. And yes, I think the food in the main dining room is a little better on formal night.

 

 

You'll find that even though formal wear is not the suggested attire in Blu on formal evenings, (it is smart casual all evenings) many people dining there will still choose to dress up on these nights to enjoy the festivities around the ship.

[gold1953]

Although we enjoy formal night dress up, we decided on one cruise not to participate . The cruise was one part of a multi event trip and bringing formal clothes was not possible. We enjoyed our 3 'lazy' evenings. It is also possible to order from the dining room menu and have it delivered room service.

[Waihekean]

Although we enjoy formal night dress up, we decided on one cruise not to participate . The cruise was one part of a multi event trip and bringing formal clothes was not possible. We enjoyed our 3 'lazy' evenings.

 

It is also possible to order from the dining room menu and have it delivered room service.

 

Can you order from the dining room menu every night or only on the formal nights? And how would you know the menu and how to order?

Thxs for your assistance, as I have never noticed this option before and think it could really work for my DH on one of our intensive port days.

[delily]

I can do without dressing up... Though I do not mind a sport jacket and neatly pressed chinos. Does this suffice?

 

Is there something different about the food?

 

We used to dress up for formal night but as we've gotten older we've decided we no longer want to do it. For one thing, it makes packing difficult because you have to take more clothes and I'm usually approaching the airline's luggage limit as it is. Also, when a cruise is port intensive, we are just too darn tired at the end of the day to deal with dressing to the nines for dinner. I don't consider it to be a problem though, if other people enjoy those nights. On formal nights we simply eat in the buffet (no formal wear requirement) or, what I find even more of a treat, we stay in our room and order room service. Since we started doing that, my husband doesn't even bother to pack a jacket, dress shirt or tie anymore. You can dress up if you want, but don't feel that you have to do it. There are other options for eating dinner on those one or two nights that will keep you out of the way so that you don't spoil the elegant evening for others.

[Shake]

We did Select once and won't be doing that one again. We like the reserved 6pm which allows us to make the most out of every night.

[kands6191]

We are taking our first cruise on Celebrity next January. When we booked a couple of weeks ago, we got prepaid gratuities and were required to take traditional dining. The only seating available was the late one. I don't mind this because we are night owls. After reading this thread I started wondering about missing the shows. We have always had My Time dining, the flexible plan, except our first cruise in '91. On Princess the shows were usually arranged so that you could see them no matter if you had early or late seating. Is this the case on Celebrity? Will we miss most of them if we have the late seating? I really don't want to miss the shows because we always enjoy them.

 

Will we be able to request the flexible dining once we are on board? We are booked in Concierge class and it mentions something about preferred seating for dining. What does that mean?