Edge Select Dining-Prebook necessary? Favorite?

[like2cruise]

We are sailing on the Celebrity Edge for the first time March 15, 2020.  We have Select Dining and look forward to trying all 4 restaurants.  I made reservations for 1 X at each of the restaurants.  We then planned to go back to our favorite for one additional night and was planning to book onboard or just go to that restaurant on the night we wanted to eat there again, but I have read that people have been turned away from the restaurant and there would not be availability that evening.  Trying to decide if I should go ahead and make an additional reservation!  For those of you that have had Select Dining, did you find it hard to get in to all 4 of them without reservations or is there a particular one that is a favorite and tends to get full?  The one that I was reading about was Normandie.  Is there a cancellation policy for Select Dining reservation if we decided to cancel while onbord?  Which one of the 4 restaurants was your favorite and why?  Any information is appreciated!

[ecslady]

I would make reservations for the other  evenings as well. They can always be changed once on board. That's what we did.  Tried all 4 and repeated 3 of them. THere is no cancellation penalty if you decide not to go one night.

Edited November 4, 2019 by ecslady

[slei15]

We made reservations in advance for all 7 nights.  Chose to double up on the 3 that the sample menus looked most appealing (the main rotating menu is the same in all 4, the only difference is the special items).  We tried to change times/restaurants on board a couple times, both day of and in advance, and were told there was no availability.  You always have the option to walk in, but you may be waiting a while unless someone doesn't show for their reservation.

[hcat]

We booked each mdr for 2 nights..same time...On the other night, we have a late port excursion that includes food.

 

I'd book the extra nite in advance in the  one that appeals most by looking at sample menus and visuals..you can always cancel and try another or a specialty,...if available

 

We are saiing soon but have only been in two of the mdrs for lunch and elite breakfast on a prior cruise..so no fav yet!

Edited November 4, 2019 by hcat

[vtcruising]

We have all of ours booked for 8:30 on the Apex (we prefer to go to the 7:00 show). We are doing 3 specialty restaurants and the Chef's Market Tour (which has a special dinner). Since I am most interested in dining in Normandie, I booked that twice, once on a non-Chic night so that I can order the Beef Tenderloin En Croute and not miss prime rib or lobster, and the other one I booked when we will be in Le Havre, France since it seemed appropriate (Normandy region 🙂). I booked once each in Cosmo and Tuscan and since we have eaten in Cyprus on the Edge, I booked that the same night as The Chef's Market dinner, in case it is canceled.

 

Normandie won the poll that I did for favorite MDR and it is the most beautiful, IMO, so I thought it would be safe to book there twice. The others each had their fans, but looked like Cosmo came in second. 

 

I agree with those above that you should make reservations and change onboard, as desired. I would review the menus and go with your gut on which ones to repeat. 🙂

 

 

[IBookHePays]

We are just booking our dinner reservations now, and thank you for the information! Can you tell me how to find out the show times and the chic nights?

 

 

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, IBookHePays said:

We are just booking our dinner reservations now, and thank you for the information! Can you tell me how to find out the show times and the chic nights?

 

 

Are you on a 7 night cruise? Western or Eastern?  Or a longer cruise? It may vary on some cruises but could make an educated guess. 🙂

 

The main show in the theater is usually at 7 and 9 (same show so early and late diners can attend one or the other).

[like2cruise]

Great information.  Thank you everyone with a special thank you to vtcruising.  The amount of information your provide in this forum is priceless and always presented so expertly.  Your commitment is awesome and much appreciated!  

[IBookHePays]

19 hours ago, vtcruising said:

Are you on a 7 night cruise? Western or Eastern?  Or a longer cruise? It may vary on some cruises but could make an educated guess. 🙂

 

The main show in the theater is usually at 7 and 9 (same show so early and late diners can attend one or the other).

We are on a 7 day Eastern. Thanks for the reply, that will help us to choose our dining time! Would you happen to know the chic nights?

Edited November 5, 2019 by IBookHePays

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, IBookHePays said:

We are on a 7 day Eastern. Thanks for the reply, that will help us to choose our dining time! Would you happen to know the chic nights?

My guess is that they are nights 2 and 6, if they go with the usual pattern. 🙂

[GeorgiaPeach51]

We are on Edge right now. Every single night when we go to whichever restaurant we booked people are being turned away. One couple commented that they didn’t know they should book ahead and I felt so sorry for them because it adds stress to your vacation, which is what we all hope to avoid. Absolutely book now. Take your best shot. We have eaten in three of the four and like them all. Cyprus is tomorrow night. Because you can order across their menus it comes down to visual appeal. 

[hcat]

We have pre booked all 4. 

Do they provide menus for  the other  venues or do you have to ask, or  have something  from  another menu in mind?  

(  9 days til we cruise..)

Edited November 6, 2019 by hcat

[GeorgiaPeach51]

8 minutes ago, hcat said:

We have pre booked all 4. 

Do they provide menus for  the other  venues or do you have to ask, or  have something  from  another menu in mind?  

(  9 days til we cruise..)

If you use the app you can see the menus for the day in every restaurant. Keep in mind that all four serve the exact same evening menu that changes every day, just as it does with the one big dining room on the S and M class ships. It is the three unique appetizers and entrees for each restaurant that is offered every night....along with the old Celebrity classics—French onion soup, shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, etc. 

[hcat]

Thanks....I understand the concept and guess I will print out  each one's special menu choices  b/c  we won't be using the app...Devices too old and we keep our phones  off and in the safe,.use the tablet fir internet and reading,,  looks like so many good choices!

[like2cruise]

15 hours ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

We are on Edge right now. Every single night when we go to whichever restaurant we booked people are being turned away. One couple commented that they didn’t know they should book ahead and I felt so sorry for them because it adds stress to your vacation, which is what we all hope to avoid. Absolutely book now. Take your best shot. We have eaten in three of the four and like them all. Cyprus is tomorrow night. Because you can order across their menus it comes down to visual appeal. 

Wow GeorgiaPeach51.  Thank you for taking the time to let me know.  I have gone a head and made reservations for each night.  Thanks!!

[lemonrinds]

I totally agree with that sentiment of reserving ahead with what you will be happy for each night for the peace of mind. Also, if you know you'd definitely want to revisit a place, you'll at least know you have a fallback if it's booked solid that night.

 

If you're also aiming to try each restaurants' unique signature dishes, I'd suggest booking the evening chic nights (or your favourite dished night) as a repeat venue. That way you don't feel as guilty grabbing off the unified portion of the menu.

[finalglidepath]

We must have been lucky. Party of 6 rotated through the 4 MDR on Edge 10/21/19 Med cruise. No reservations and never a problem. We never use specialty dining and if we feel like not doing a MDR the Ocean View Cafe was to our liking. IMO the meals in all venues were great. I just jumped ship from Royal to X after our Antarctica Trip on Eclipse 01/19. This was our 2nd on X and it will be my go to line now. Been on many lines since 72 but I really think that X knocks it out of the park.

[nucroozer]

On 11/4/2019 at 3:10 PM, slei15 said:

We made reservations in advance for all 7 nights.  Chose to double up on the 3 that the sample menus looked most appealing (the main rotating menu is the same in all 4, the only difference is the special items).  We tried to change times/restaurants on board a couple times, both day of and in advance, and were told there was no availability.  You always have the option to walk in, but you may be waiting a while unless someone doesn't show for their reservation.

 

I have reserved for four nights on each of the four MDRs but somehow, i can't double up for the other three nights.  Will only give me an option to either "cancel" or "modify" the ones that i have booked.  Am I missing something or am I doing it wrong?  Have been on hold with Celebrity for almost an hour now. Plus I just booked Sunday for my daughter (family of four) and was put on an IV guarantee (We're on the Dec 15th sailing).  Would like to add them to our dining reservations.  Any help is appreciated.

Thank you!!!

[slei15]

5 minutes ago, nucroozer said:

 

I have reserved for four nights on each of the four MDRs but somehow, i can't double up for the other three nights.  Will only give me an option to either "cancel" or "modify" the ones that i have booked.  Am I missing something or am I doing it wrong?  Have been on hold with Celebrity for almost an hour now. Plus I just booked Sunday for my daughter (family of four) and was put on an IV guarantee (We're on the Dec 15th sailing).  Would like to add them to our dining reservations.  Any help is appreciated.

Thank you!!!

Make sure you are selecting the nights you don't yet have booked when you are making the second reservation. It seems to think you are trying to book a reservation for a night you have already selected.  As for adding others, you need to add them via their reservation number and last name when you make the booking. You may still be able to modify your existing ones and add them in, or you might have to cancel them and start over to add them.  Once you click Add to Cart, there is line that says Add  Guests from another Reservation. Click that and add the reservation number, select the guests, and click Add.

 

[PTC DAWG]

On 11/6/2019 at 6:28 AM, hcat said:

Thanks....I understand the concept and guess I will print out  each one's special menu choices  b/c  we won't be using the app...Devices too old and we keep our phones  off and in the safe,.use the tablet fir internet and reading,,  looks like so many good choices!

The app may work on your tablet...it is handy...

[nucroozer]

6 minutes ago, slei15 said:

Make sure you are selecting the nights you don't yet have booked when you are making the second reservation. It seems to think you are trying to book a reservation for a night you have already selected.  As for adding others, you need to add them via their reservation number and last name when you make the booking. You may still be able to modify your existing ones and add them in, or you might have to cancel them and start over to add them.  Once you click Add to Cart, there is line that says Add  Guests from another Reservation. Click that and add the reservation number, select the guests, and click Add.

 

Thank you so much for that quick response. 

 

I actually did what you outlined here, made sure that the dates are correct and for some reason, it still won't go thru.  I was getting a little frustrated with their website so I resorted to the call but then was on hold for the longest time too!  I will try later this evening.

 

Appreciate your time and help!!!!!!!!!

[fragilek]

11 minutes ago, nucroozer said:

Thank you so much for that quick response. 

 

I actually did what you outlined here, made sure that the dates are correct and for some reason, it still won't go thru.  I was getting a little frustrated with their website so I resorted to the call but then was on hold for the longest time too!  I will try later this evening.

 

Appreciate your time and help!!!!!!!!!

The same thing happens to me I have to do the first nights then log out and log back in to add on the last 3.  That works for me so may be try that

[hcat]

That may be a good approach..When dh booked ours  he said it was a tedious process He.had to do each res separately...

Edited November 12, 2019 by hcat

[nucroozer]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

That may be a good approach..When dh booked ours  he said it was a tedious process He.had to do each res separately...

 

 

slei15. fragilek and hcat-----

 

after several attempts of toggling from one screen to another, got to where it displayed all cruise nights open for reservations (woohoo! and dont ask me how as i dont know what i did, sorry) and was able to reserve all nights. Just as I was about to do a happy dance, only six of the seven nights showed up!  aargh. I'm giving up now, at least i have six nights confirmed. I couldn't even add my daughter and family as it tells me they have to be booked separately (what is the point of asking for added guests on another booking number if it is not possible?)

 

this was way more exhausting than purchasing the trip.

 

but thank you all for your input and thoughts---y'all are awesome!

 

 

[golubika]

HI, please can you point me out how to book MDRs? i only see the booking option for Specialty restaurants. thank you!