Select Dining Time

[traveline]

I'm new to Celebrity, I normally cruise on RCCL. I cruised on Allure of the seas and selected my time to dine in advance 45 days before cruise. I'm booking on Silhouette and I have Select dining. Will I be able to pick my dining time approx 45 days before cruising.Thank you for any info you can provide.

[az_tchr]

The set up is different. You do not have a fixed time - the point of select dining. When you get on board you can make a reservation for one or all the nights. The reservation does NOT guarantee you a table at that time as other might not have left yet. If simply puts you ahead of those that have not booked anything. Busy time is about 6:30- 7:00 or so. Later no problem. You can also book a different time each night.

 

You can request a fixed seating while on board. FYI - If in a sutie or Aqua you will show as select, but do not eat there. Suite in Luminae and Aqua in Blu.

Edited March 15, 2016 by az_tchr

[neverbeenhere]

yes you can select in advance. I go through the arduous process when I book a cruise or shortly there after.

[monicajay]

We have never made reservations in advance on Celebrity or RCL. We arrive at the time that suits us and get seated relatively quickly.

 

I love not having a fixed dinning time.

 

Anne, at the door on the Reflection, preferred to come and find us at the Martini bar rather than giving us a pager.

[traveline]

The set up is different. You do not have a fixed time - the point of select dining. When you get on board you can make a reservation for one or all the nights. The reservation does NOT guarantee you a table at that time as other might not have left yet. If simply puts you ahead of those that have not booked anything. Busy time is about 6:30- 7:00 or so. Later no problem. You can also book a different time each night.

 

You can request a fixed seating while on board. FYI - If in a sutie or Aqua you will show as select, but do not eat there. Suite in Luminae and Aqua in Blu.

 

Thank all of you for the helpful info. I greatly appreciate the info, and I'm looking forward for my cruise on celebrity Silhouette.

[Celebrity Cruises]

I'm new to Celebrity, I normally cruise on RCCL. I cruised on Allure of the seas and selected my time to dine in advance 45 days before cruise. I'm booking on Silhouette and I have Select dining. Will I be able to pick my dining time approx 45 days before cruising.Thank you for any info you can provide.

 

Celebrity Select is the Celebrity Cruises flexible dining option. With Celebrity Select Dining, guests can arrive to be seated for dinner in the main dining room at any time between 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm, or can make reservations to dine at any time that they choose within that timeframe.

 

We strongly encourage reservations to ensure the best service and to avoid any potential wait times.

[monicajay]

 

We strongly encourage reservations to ensure the best service and to avoid any potential wait times.

 

It may be strongly encouraged but I'm happy we don't have to. I would be very disappointed and likely stop picking Celebrity if I had to have a reservation with Select dinning.

 

From our experience (only 3 cruises on Celebrity) we were seated just as quickly without reservations as those that had made them.

[Suzy Smith]

It may be strongly encouraged but I'm happy we don't have to. I would be very disappointed and likely stop picking Celebrity if I had to have a reservation with Select dinning.

 

From our experience (only 3 cruises on Celebrity) we were seated just as quickly without reservations as those that had made them.

I am also surprised to see that we are strongly encouraged to book - I thought the whole point of select dining is that you don't have a set time and can just go the dining room whenever you are ready. We are always happy to take the next available table and, in the four two-week cruises where we have chosen select dining, we had just one night when there was a slight delay. We did notice that on our European cruises, the dining room starts to get busier after around 7 to 7.15 (but different timing on cruises with a majority of US citizens who tend to eat earlier), so I guess making a reservation is a good idea if you like to dine at the busiest time of night. We like the freedom of turning up when it suits us, but if X is encouraging all pax to book, we will probably not be able to continue to do this.

[SheriffJoe]

I am also surprised to see that we are strongly encouraged to book - I thought the whole point of select dining is that you don't have a set time and can just go the dining room whenever you are ready. We are always happy to take the next available table and, in the four two-week cruises where we have chosen select dining, we had just one night when there was a slight delay. We did notice that on our European cruises, the dining room starts to get busier after around 7 to 7.15 (but different timing on cruises with a majority of US citizens who tend to eat earlier), so I guess making a reservation is a good idea if you like to dine at the busiest time of night. We like the freedom of turning up when it suits us, but if X is encouraging all pax to book, we will probably not be able to continue to do this.

 

ALL cruise lines "suggest" things but does not mandate them....

[RCCLxpurser]

Doing our first Celebrity cruise in February on Silhouette. We have a group of 8 and selected late dining but we're discussing the option of the more flexible Select dining. Our only concern is Show Times. On Royal, the early diners see the late shows and the late diners see the early shows. Are show times on Celebrity structured the same way? So being an odd dining time we could miss the shows?

[karena1]

We rarely, if ever, make reservations, the whole point of Select Dining is flexibility! We like to go eat when we feel like it. Never have to wait much, maybe 10 minutes tops. Only time we make reservations is if we are will a larger group. But for just the 2 of us, never make them

[Fish Lover]

yes you can select in advance. I go through the arduous process when I book a cruise or shortly there after.

 

This is true. I have done it a number of times. You can do it online or call customer service. You choose what night to eat when. When you get on board, you can also change the time on any reservation you have made.

 

Select dining allows you to choose the time to be seated rather than the fixed early dining (too early for us) and fixed late dining (too late for us). It also allows the flexibility of choosing your preferred dining on specific days. If we are in port we may choose to dine later on that day versus a sea day. But that doesn't mean you can not make reservations in advance. Also, if you don't make reservations, understand that if you go at a popular time you will probably have to wait a bit.

 

As for the shows.... you can still plan your dining so that you can go to either show time (or different show times depending upon your preference from day to day).

Edited November 21, 2016 by Fish Lover

[Compass Rose Monica]

Celebrity Select is the Celebrity Cruises flexible dining option. With Celebrity Select Dining, guests can arrive to be seated for dinner in the main dining room at any time between 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm, or can make reservations to dine at any time that they choose within that timeframe.

 

We strongly encourage reservations to ensure the best service and to avoid any potential wait times.

 

I made advanced dining reservations online for a past Celebrity cruise (and one time on the RCL Serenade) and still had to wait 12-25 minutes for a table.

 

Trying to get a table with reservations between 7-8pm is a not fun.

 

I'm booked on the Reflection for October 2017. Will give it a try again, as I hope the services improves with these advanced reservations.

 

Monica

Edited November 22, 2016 by Compass Rose Monica

[fninsn]

Doing our first Celebrity cruise in February on Silhouette. We have a group of 8 and selected late dining but we're discussing the option of the more flexible Select dining. Our only concern is Show Times. On Royal, the early diners see the late shows and the late diners see the early shows. Are show times on Celebrity structured the same way? So being an odd dining time we could miss the shows?

 

 

Hi RCCLxpurser,

 

Show times on Celebrity are generally at 7pm and 9pm although that might change on the first formal night for the Captains Welcome. Shows that night are generally a bit later.

 

So just as you have experienced on Royal, the early show will work for the late diners and the late show for the early diners.

 

I was just on a cruise with a group of 10 and we had no trouble getting a table together each evening with a minimal wait. We ate between 8 and 8:15 each evening which allowed us to go to the early show at 7pm and then we were done dinner by the time the evening festivities began at about 10:30.

 

Enjoy your cruise,

Linda

[Formerly known as Seabee]

We found on our recent Eclipse cruise, that the best thing to do was to show up 20-30 minutes before the time we desired to be seated, then have a cocktail in the closest saloon. There were several nights when our buzzer went off before we could even get drinks. In that case, we simply told the hostess that we weren't ready and she told us to just come to front of line when we were. Worked great.

[upwarduk]

We choose Select dining on our last Celebrity cruise, as fixed dining is either too early or too late for us.

Early sitting is too early, if we have been out on an excursion and late sitting is too late for me as I find my food is not sufficiently digested before bed time.

 

About 2 weeks before we sailed I went on line and pre booked all evenings for either 7.00 or 7.15 ( some 7.15 slots were already unavailable)

The lady at the desk got to know us and seated us in the same area of the MDR, which was useful as we had the same wait staff. I am Lactose Intolerant and pre order the previous evening so that my food can be specially cooked.

 

We never waited to be seated and always attended the second show in the theatre.

Edited November 23, 2016 by upwarduk

[2theship]

Doing our first Celebrity cruise in February on Silhouette. We have a group of 8 and selected late dining but we're discussing the option of the more flexible Select dining. Our only concern is Show Times. On Royal, the early diners see the late shows and the late diners see the early shows. Are show times on Celebrity structured the same way? So being an odd dining time we could miss the shows?

 

If the shows are important to you, you have made the best choice. You'll always be able to see the early show and make it to your late seating dinner. You'll have the added advantage of the same table every night and wait staff who will know you and get your dinner rolling quickly.

 

I'm in the category of early traditional is too early and late traditional is too late. I prefer a 7:00 p.m. dinner which makes it hard to see many shows. When we've traveled in a group, I've made a reservation ahead of time. When it's the two of us, we just say we're willing to share a table and we usually get seated quickly.

[mom02]

We choose Select dining on our last Celebrity cruise, as fixed dining is either too early or too late for us.

Early sitting is too early, if we have been out on an excursion and late sitting is too late for me as I find my food is not sufficiently digested before bed time.

 

About 2 weeks before we sailed I went on line and pre booked all evenings for either 7.00 or 7.15 ( some 7.15 slots were already unavailable)

The lady at the desk got to know us and seated us in the same area of the MDR, which was useful as we had the same wait staff. I am Lactose Intolerant and pre order the previous evening so that my food can be specially cooked.

 

We never waited to be seated and always attended the second show in the theatre.

 

We have select dining and I'd like to pre-book our dining times because we have a large party. Where do I go to do that on the cruise planner? TIA!

[davekathy]

We have select dining and I'd like to pre-book our dining times because we have a large party. Where do I go to do that on the cruise planner? TIA!

 

Log in to Celebrity's website. Find your Cruise. Click on Explore Cruise Planner. Scroll down to Explore the Possibilities. Click on dining. Scroll down to Celebrity Select Dining. Click on add to cart. Highlight the guests, click next and follow the prompts from there. Keep in mind that you can only do one night at a time. You have to "check out" after completing your reservation and then start again with the next night. At least that's how I did it and had no issues or problems. Once you are done you will receive a confirmation email from Celebrity showing dates and times you've selected.