How does MDR early and late seating work on Edge class?

[hcat]

On 7/20/2023 at 3:11 PM, Boatharbour said:

We’re on Apex at the moment and your wait for a seat could be a long one. 
Tonight we witnessed long lines at Cyprus

(with some poor behaviour directed at the maître’d)  and Cosmopolitan from 7.45 onwards. We had pre-booked all our dining times before the cruise so our table was waiting for us.
As an aside, we walked though the buffet later and found plenty of options and a much calmer atmosphere than we saw in the restaurants below. 

 

when did you pre book dining times? We thought that was the best and most orderly system on E class.  Those with res went to one side..drop ins lined up..

 

For our next cruise we are in BLU so no worries,  but cruise after that we are on the  4 mdr plan. where we prefer Tuscan and Cyprus for  dinner. Hoping things become better org by then..

[Boatharbour]

We made all our dinner reservations online several months ago. Each night on board we have been taken to our table as soon as we checked in with the maitre d. We dine around 7-7.30. 
I think the problem the other night may have been with the drop ins. We saw two incidents where guests behaved badly because they were told to come back later (an hour later). The maître d was polite but held firm to her credit. 

[espmass]

Just now, Boatharbour said:

We made all our dinner reservations online several months ago. Each night on board we have been taken to our table as soon as we checked in with the maitre d. We dine around 7-7.30. 
I think the problem the other night may have been with the drop ins. We saw two incidents where guests behaved badly because they were told to come back later (an hour later). The maître d was polite but held firm to her credit. 

 

How far ahead were the dining reservations available?  I booked The Ascent for October 2024 with Anytime Dining.  The Specialty Dining reservations are already available but the Anytime reservations are not yet available.

[Boatharbour]

6 minutes ago, espmass said:

 

How far ahead were the dining reservations available?  I booked The Ascent for October 2024 with Anytime Dining.  The Specialty Dining reservations are already available but the Anytime reservations are not yet available.

i checked my order confirmation emails for the MDR’s and the bookings were made on 27 December 2022 for 19 July 2023 sailing. 

[chocolabmom]

I booked Beyond in February 2023 for an April 2024 cruise.  I was able to select all the times for our dining in whichever dining room we preferred at that time.

[espmass]

1 hour ago, Boatharbour said:

i checked my order confirmation emails for the MDR’s and the bookings were made on 27 December 2022 for 19 July 2023 sailing. 

 

Thanks so much for checking that.  Guess I have a long wait since it's over a year off.

[rvlandandsea]

On Apex in March we had booked 6 pm dining and always show up early to get a window table. We found out on the 1st night that seating starts at 5:15. We were told to show up at that time from that time on. I did find some nights the guests without reservations line was shorter. 

[Pennstatedj]

As to the original question, on our last Apex cruise we were assigned fixed dining in Tuscan for 6pm, not select dining. We went to same table each evening and by passed all lines. I did not know it existed but we were assigned it. It turned out to be great. 

[Stem to Stern]

On 7/24/2023 at 10:51 PM, georgiaguy said:

we are weird and like the opportunity to meet others at dinner. 

Us too.

[sunshinegirl89]

On 7/25/2023 at 10:03 AM, Richmond said:

This is a very interesting read.  We booked on Beyond last night for March and the app says "Celebrity Select Dining Early 6:00PM" - please refer to the dining reservation card found in your stateroom for location and time. 

Our says the same for our December Apex sailing.  So does this mean we don't really have a 6 pm dining reservation?  I'm so confused.  

[publicpersona]

Was asking about this in another thread, but since it was a little off-topic, will continue here.

 

It appears the situation remains the same as previously discussed in this thread. The issue is that we are assigned 6 PM seating and therefore are not given the opportunity to select restaurants, much less time, pre-cruise. I would ask Celebrity about this but 1) whoever I talk to won't know, and 2) I used a TA for this booking (rarely do, and now remembering why) who insists that E class ships have fixed dining in addition to Anytime.

 

Is it still the consensus of recent E class cruisers that they don't have fixed dining at all? And if so, if your reservation says you do, there's no getting around it pre-cruise?

 

Note that I'm well aware that I can speak to someone once onboard, or just show up at any restaurant at any time and get in eventually.

 

-------

For what it's worth, Celebrity has a blog post outlining all the dining options (last updated Feb 6, 2024) that does say there is fixed dining on E class:

 

The Complete Guide to Dining Options on Celebrity Cruises | Celebrity Cruises

 

Celebrity Select Dining on Edge Series

Celebrity Edge® Series offers not one but four complimentary main restaurants—Normandie, Tuscan, Cosmopolitan, and Cyprus. Every restaurant features the same mouthwatering menu that changes nightly, plus each one offers its own ambience, along with a selection of exclusive, regionally inspired dishes and drinks.

We may have reinvented the main restaurant experience, but we haven’t changed the way you plan your dining in our main restaurants. You can choose Celebrity Select Early or Late seating for your dining times, which allows you to enjoy dinner at the same table with the same waiter every evening. You’ll be assigned one of the four main dining restaurants, while having the option to dine in the other three upon request.

On Celebrity Edge Series, we offer Celebrity Select Dining Anytime. Select your dining time in any of the four restaurants and enjoy a change of scenery. There’s nothing traditional about Celebrity. And with Celebrity Select Dining, the choice of how you plan your evening meals is up to you.

Edited February 16 by publicpersona

[georgiaguy]

That seems to be the consensus. We have the same challenge. 

[IDL]

On 7/19/2023 at 5:43 PM, jelayne said:

@Dreamer68 has a good description of the menu.  

Ill add a few points about dining and reservations on the E class ships.  Making reservations pre cruse is possible but not necessary.   As@ Dreamer68 found  sometimes the only reservation times available pre cruise are late.  The dining rooms only release about 50% of the reservation times for pre booking the remaining are for those who want the flexibility to decide each evening when and where they want to dine.

 

The 4 restaurants all have their Exclusive items but it is not necessary to dine in Cyprus to order on their Exclusive items,  Any of the Exclusive item can be ordered in any of the 4 MDRs.  

Your last paragraph is the key which is the reason we stuck with one restaurant on the Beyond for consistency of having the same waiter.  Unfortunately for newbies the fact that you can order the speciality items from the  other restaurants is not in any Celebrity literature I have ever seen (like the desserts are included at the coffee bar though they charge for the coffee).