How to change assigned time on Edge to select dining

[finny2]

We just booked a cruise on Edge and our TA said she was not able to book it with Select Dining and had to accept an assigned time of 8:30. I know I will want to change this to Select Dining 1) I want to try several of the MDRs, and 2) there is no way I can wait until 8:30 to eat, I would be miserable. TA said we could change it once we are on board, but I sure would like to have it changed before that. Anyone else made this change? How did you do it?

[Bo1953]

Call, whom you booked through, for wait list if not already on, then see the Maitre d' upon boarding to find out if space is available...

 

bon appetite and bon voyage

[Oville]

We recently started to book an Edge cruise and got the same answer.  Because of this, the booking wasn’t completed as there is no guarantee a slot will be available in Select Dining.  We ended up booking a Silhouette cruise and are quite happy.

 

Good luck.

[jelayne]

As Bo 1953 said have your TA put you on the waitlist for Select dining.  If your cruise is not very soon, there is a good chance you will clear the waitlist.

[Toftwood]

Yes, there is a good chance the waitlist will clear but of course no absolute guarantee and your TA should perhaps have said “You can try to change it on board”. The Maitre D normally stations himself/herself outside one of the MDRs on departure day for the sole purpose of trying to accommodate requests for assignment changes. We used Select Dining for the first time on our last cruise and enjoyed it although to be fair we still went to dinner at about 8.30 each evening out of habit!

[tce40]

I only had the early seating option on the Edge (6:00 pm - 11/1/19 sailing) but I asked Celebrity to wait list me for Select.  I just got my most recent invoice in voila...it said Select!

[gold1953]

I called and told them that I only eat early as I am up at 6am and go to bed at 9. It was either early  or select or buffet . It did not take long to get a spot.   

[hcat]

Also some who have certain health issues are able to advance,  may need a drs note...

[finny2]

My TA said she would call them and try to work something out. All I can say is if Celebrity is making Select Dining a big selling feature, they need to be able to offer it to everyone who wants it. 

[gold1953]

48 minutes ago, finny2 said:

My TA said she would call them and try to work something out. All I can say is if Celebrity is making Select Dining a big selling feature, they need to be able to offer it to everyone who wants it. 

 They can't as they still need the dining room for all those who want set early or set late. There is not space. They have one floor for set and one for select. Also with select peoples choice of times varies with the cruisers each time so many won't get the time they want especially on a port day. I like to stay with early and use the buffet when I can't make it

[cruisestitch]

That is the problem on M and S class.  Edge has its own constraints.

 

i am not sure that Celebrity wants Select to be a big “selling feature.  “. They succumbed to pressure from passengers who objected to the fixed, traditional dining times but never intended that it would take over.  It has a limited capacity and will never be able to accommodate everyone whi wants it.

[Bo1953]

3 hours ago, finny2 said:

My TA said she would call them and try to work something out. All I can say is if Celebrity is making Select Dining a big selling feature, they need to be able to offer it to everyone who wants it. 

I, like many others here on the board, do agree with you, yet when there are just so many seats to be had during any one sitting, how can one expect upwards of 2,700 passengers to exercise great care and not descend on the MDR during the same time frame without further havoc and upset?

 

Not sure when your sailing was booked, yet when we and others here book (usually upwards of two (2) years in advance) we have our choice of dining times which is always Select Dining and make reservations accordingly for the times we think we want to eat and do change them as time gets closer.

 

SD is quite popular as you have found out.

 

The first thing your TA needs to consider doing is wait listing you for SD and then monitor it regularly and upon your boarding going to see the Maitre d' to find out if SD is available for you and your party.

 

Also, you can approach it with some of the novel tactics which has been posted here, as well.

 

bon appetite and bon voyage

[finny2]

1 minute ago, Bo1953 said:

I, like many others here on the board, do agree with you, yet when there are just so many seats to be had during any one sitting, how can one expect upwards of 2,700 passengers to exercise great care and not descend on the MDR during the same time frame without further havoc and upset?

And yet NCL does it with no problems on every cruise. Granted, if you did not reserve ahead of time, you might have to wait to be seated but I've never had to wait more than 5 minutes or heard from anyone who did, and seldom had to wait at all. Restaurants all over the world handle it, so can Celebrity if they want to. All they have to do is require/encourage reserving your dining space/time ahead (even before you get on board). Here is the reality of cruising, more cruise lines are offering it and more customers expect it.

[RICCruisers]

23 minutes ago, finny2 said:

And yet NCL does it with no problems on every cruise. Granted, if you did not reserve ahead of time, you might have to wait to be seated but I've never had to wait more than 5 minutes or heard from anyone who did, and seldom had to wait at all. Restaurants all over the world handle it, so can Celebrity if they want to. All they have to do is require/encourage reserving your dining space/time ahead (even before you get on board). Here is the reality of cruising, more cruise lines are offering it and more customers expect it.

 

Your comment that “Restaurants all over the world handle it” has me puzzled. If those restaurants are full on a night that you want to eat there, they tell you sorry, we are full. That is basically the same thing the ship is saying. All of the available slots for Select Dining are full at the present time. You can be put on the Wait List and we might be able to accommodate you later if a slot opens up. 

 

A comparison to a land based restaurant is you would need to find a different restaurant if they are full. On the ship you have the choice of the buffet. 

 

I certainly understand your your disappointment and concern about being assigned Late Dining, but when you booked the cruise the available Dining Times were known to your TA or you could have done a Mock Booking to check if Select was an available option at that time. I wish good luck in getting your preferred time. 

[Bo1953]

49 minutes ago, finny2 said:

And yet NCL does it with no problems on every cruise. Granted, if you did not reserve ahead of time, you might have to wait to be seated but I've never had to wait more than 5 minutes or heard from anyone who did, and seldom had to wait at all. Restaurants all over the world handle it, so can Celebrity if they want to. All they have to do is require/encourage reserving your dining space/time ahead (even before you get on board). Here is the reality of cruising, more cruise lines are offering it and more customers expect it.

You are absolutely correct in your version of the same situation.

 

We have had wait times of up to 25 minutes at times, if we wanted to eat when we wanted to eat and the MDR could not accommodate us, we knew there were options i.e. OVC or Room Service etc... yet we understand that there are limits and capacity controlled factors involved in dining. That is a reason passengers come on to ask 'how can we get our preferred dining time'? It is called capacity controlled and get on the wait list.

 

If I recollect correctly, your currently assigned dining time is 8.30p, you could avail yourself of the OVC for appetizers to hold you over until 8.30p? Then there is Specialty Dining, if they have times available at your desired time. We do have options, for sure to accommodate eating times.

 

The purpose of SD is to allow passengers to eat at a time which is 'convenient' for them without reservation or reservations in the MDR and most of us realize that between 6.15p - 7p many Americans have our evening meal.

 

Please point out a few restaurants 'all over the world' that handle being overwhelmed with diners arriving at the same time and expect to be seated within ten (10) minutes with say only 50 tables available?

 

Yes, many of us expect to have the option for 'Select Dining' with a few take it to mean when they show up they get to be seated right away without exception.

 

We only make reservations to secure a place at a time near to when we 'think' we want to eat.

 

If we did not go with groups of friends, then most likely no reservations would be made at all, that is one (1) of the beauties of Select Dining.... Just like at home and not going out to eat, where most often we need to make reservations...

 

bon appetite and bon voyage

[finny2]

14 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Please point out a few restaurants 'all over the world' that handle being overwhelmed with diners arriving at the same time and expect to be seated within ten (10) minutes with say only 50 tables available?

Unlike a land based restaurant, the ship has enough dining space to seat everyone every night. Not all at the same time, and not all in the same dining room, but that is why it's a good idea to reserve ahead, just like you would at a restaurant. If more people want select seating than assigned, then they need to change tables from assigned to select and they will be able to accomodate all those who want select.

I appreciate the suggestion of getting apps ahead in the OVC. Thank you. That might help, but I simply do best if I eat at pretty much the same time every day and at dinner, that time for me is 6-6:30. By 8:30 I would be shaking, probably crying, maybe yelling and making everyone around me as miserable as I would be. I don't want that and I'm sure Celebrity doesn't want that. 

My TA told me that it would be easy to change my dining choice, or I would not have booked.  I realize some people think I'm making a big fuss over nothing, but it's not nothing to me, it's crucial to my enjoyment of the cruise, not to mention my physical and emotional health. 

I'm already paying more for this cruise than I would for a comparable cruise with NCL and one of the selling points for me was the four main dining rooms each with exclusive offerings and the ability to easily book reservations in a variety of them. I don't want to eat in one of the "Specialty" restaurants, none of which appeal to me enough to pay extra. And eating in the buffet when you are in a wheelchair is not a pleasant experience. I have done this for lunch on port days and I do my best to avoid it otherwise.

[Bo1953]

At this juncture, I can only agree to the fact that we disagree about this specific topic, in which case you win on your terms and desires.

 

bon appetite and bon voyage

[barbette165]

As well as getting your TA to wait list you for Select Dining, it is probably worth also getting them to wait list you for the early set dining as well. If that option comes up first, then you can move to that but get them to keep you on the select wait list.

 

Considering capacity, if you have a 1,000 seat dining room and tell 1,000 people to turn up at 6pm and another 1,000 to turn up at 8:30pm, then you can get 2,000 people seated and fed with no issue. With the same 1,000 seat dining room, if you tell 2,000 people to turn up when they feel like it, then you may not get them all through without horrible delays.

 

[zanderblue]

Finny2, I get where you are coming from, but ultimately there are constraints about how many people can be accommodated at any time period. It’s less likely to be tables and more likely to be kitchen capacity or waiters. Just like any other restaurant.

 

If they opened up more SD spaces, then they are going to have to spread that load out over a longer time period and hence the popular eating times are pre booked way early and the late bookers will be left with very early or very late times. They do hold back some times walk ups for popular times, but the same problem is still there, too many diners and not enough capacity.

 

We look at SD, pretty much the same as cabin selection.... Book early and you have plenty choice, not only of SD, but also of specific popular times. Leave booking til later then there are likely to be less options. 

 

I hope you are able to get this resolved to your satisfaction. 

[mcolem2v]

We went on the Edge back in March.  We were select dining and our friends were given a set time.  We went to Cyprus when we got on board, and they were able to add them to our reservations.  I would assume you would be able to go to Cyprus, and change where you are eating.

[finny2]

1 minute ago, mcolem2v said:

We went on the Edge back in March.  We were select dining and our friends were given a set time.  We went to Cyprus when we got on board, and they were able to add them to our reservations.  I would assume you would be able to go to Cyprus, and change where you are eating.

Thanks, my TA has me on the waitlist and has suggested that I will probably be able to get a different dining room/time for many evening even if I don't get it. I asked her to also get me on the 6:30 waitlist, but she says we can only be on one waitlist. I think I'm going to ask here to change it to the 6:30 waitlist. It would likely be shorter and might be more likely to get an opening.

[mcolem2v]

The 6:30 and 8:30 times only go to one restaurant on the edge.  You would go to the same venue for every meal.  If you are wanting to try all 4 of the different MDR restaurants, you would need to have select.

[Bo1953]

2 minutes ago, mcolem2v said:

The 6:30 and 8:30 times only go to one restaurant on the edge.  You would go to the same venue for every meal.  If you are wanting to try all 4 of the different MDR restaurants, you would need to have select.

Not entirely true, one goes to the Maitre d' to make request for another dining venue for the following night.

 

On Traditional Dining, passengers are assigned to one (1) dining room, that is correct.

 

bon appetite and bon voyage

[G.M.T.]

1 hour ago, mcolem2v said:

We went on the Edge back in March.  We were select dining and our friends were given a set time.  We went to Cyprus when we got on board, and they were able to add them to our reservations.  I would assume you would be able to go to Cyprus, and change where you are eating.

Why would you go to Cyprus to change a dining reservation, especially if you are cruising in the Caribbean.🍹

[G.M.T.]

There is a very simple solution, cancel Celebrity and book your favourite NCL.

 

So easy.