New to Celebrity and need information about specialty restaurants

[JCMass.]

This will be our first cruise on Celebrity, but we are Diamond on Royal Caribbean.  I know on RCI you cannot use OBC till you are on board, yet there are some great prices for packages for the specialty restaurants.  I could not find anything that showed if I could use some OBC we were given and order the package, and then I also could not find a way to make reservations for the restaurants now before we are on board.  Am I missing something ?

 

We also received 90 minutes of internet as an Elite cruiser, but we wanted to buy more and have the same question should we wait till we are on board.  The prices all seem better now. 

 

Thanks for any help with this. 

[prmssk]

OBC from Celebrity can be used ahead of time and sometimes (but not always) OBC from other sources can be used ahead of time.  When you check out on the cruise planner (for a shore excursion, speciality dining package/reservation, etc.), it will give you the option to use OBC.  When you log into your cruise planner at the top right, it should show any OBC available to use pre-cruise.

 

Online, in the cruise planner, there should be a tab for specialty dining.  If your cruise is a long ways out, it may not show any options yet.  By 6-9 months (maybe earlier), it should show the packages and different restaurants.  FYI - If you buy a dining package, you can't make specific reservations until you board.  You can only make specific reservations, if you pay individual for each specialty dining meal.

 

Internet packages are usually cheaper ahead of time unless you don't think you will need it until mid-cruise.  You have to call to get the loyalty discount on internet packages (although they sometimes won't let you stack discounts and right now there is a very good cruise planner sale for a lot of sailings).

[keesar]

15 minutes ago, JCMass. said:

This will be our first cruise on Celebrity, but we are Diamond on Royal Caribbean.  I know on RCI you cannot use OBC till you are on board, yet there are some great prices for packages for the specialty restaurants.  I could not find anything that showed if I could use some OBC we were given and order the package, and then I also could not find a way to make reservations for the restaurants now before we are on board.  Am I missing something ?

 

We also received 90 minutes of internet as an Elite cruiser, but we wanted to buy more and have the same question should we wait till we are on board.  The prices all seem better now. 

 

Thanks for any help with this. 

I would wait until you get on board to buy an Internet package.  First use your Elite minutes and then you can buy a package if you are satisfied with the quality.  It will be pro-rated for the cruise. 

 

As for Specialty Restaurants, if you have particular days and times you want to dine, then book now.  If you have a package, you will have to wait until you are on the ship and the times and days you want may not be available.  You definitely can use OBC if issued by Celebrity.  Go to Manage My Reservation and upon check-out, make sure you use you OBC as an option.  

[neverlaysup]

If you have OBC in the cruise planner, you can use it now. If the OBC is coming from your TA, you cannot use it until you have boarded the ship. 

[Treasure Hunter]

Remember that if you are using Elite minutes they go quickly and you have to log on and log off, a real pain. Celebrity will couple the current sale and a loyalty discount 30%? I think , if you call . I would definitely do it in advance. You have to call to get the deal. We just did it for the constellation ( Elite+) and it was a substantial savings.