Med Dining - Warning !

[troywest]

If you want late seating on a MED cruise, DO NOT leave home expecting to resolve this issue on the ship.

 

BE CERTAIN that you have "late seating" confirmed in writing before leaving for your cruise.

 

For some reason -unknown to the onboard staff- Celebrity refuses to adjust the dining times on European cruises, so as to equalize the demand for both seatings. This sometimes results in extreme difficulty in getting late seating.

 

The problem is further compounded -according to one restaurant manager- by a policy that encourages U.S. and Canadian passengers to be "pushed" to early seating because "Americans will put up with it......Europeans won't..."

 

Again.... the solution is very simple. Adjust the times to equalize the demand.

[rjg41]

The other answer is that on European cruises late seating sells out very early because Europeans far prefer it. The is usually a wait list so they cannot "balance". No other sinister reason or preferential treatment for Europeans as you suggest.

[halos]

For some reason -unknown to the onboard staff- Celebrity refuses to adjust the dining times on European cruises, so as to equalize the demand for both seatings. This sometimes results in extreme difficulty in getting late seating.

 

The problem is further compounded -according to one restaurant manager- by a policy that encourages U.S. and Canadian passengers to be "pushed" to early seating because "Americans will put up with it......Europeans won't..."

 

Again.... the solution is very simple. Adjust the times to equalize the demand.

 

 

a little bitter, I gather??? :rolleyes:

[ocngypz]

Judging by the port times.. many departing at 7pm, Late seating is a no brainer.

[Susan-M]

For those who are unhappy with being wait-listed for late dinner.... early dinner is not the curse you think it might be.

 

We were on a wait-list for late seating, which we didn't get and ended up being happy with early seating. We were up at the 'crack of dawn' and spent hours walking each day. Often by 10 p.m. we were ready to 'crash' and were glad that we didn't have to go to bed on a full stomach.

 

Late seating on the Millennium was 8:45 p.m. and we heard from some people who said they were too tired to stay past the main course... whereas we enjoyed lingering for 2 hours through dinner (without needing toothpicks to keep our eyes open.)

 

Out of 12 dinners, we missed 2 in the dining room when we wanted to stay in port late. Another night we switched to late seating.

[WeBeCruisin']

We were on the 12-day Brilliance of the Seas to the Med last July-August and had requested late seating when we booked the previous November. It was confirmed, but when when we got our docs, it listed early seating. I called my agent, who called RCCL, and was told that since it was a block reservation through the agency, the entire block had been given early seating. That what I thought was a confirmation, was a "confirmation" of our request. I was told I would have to take care of it on the ship.

 

At embarkation, there was a very long line for people who had seating "issues". When we finally got to the head of the line and talked to the maitre d', we were told we would be put on a waiting list for late seating and would be notified on the ship if we were successful.

 

When we boarded, I went to the dining room, where another crew member was stationed, and he put us on another list. When I told him we were Crown and Anchor members, he said he could guarantee nothing, but that we should be assured we would be "taken care" of.

 

We chose to not attend the dining room the first night, going to the Seaview Cafe instead, which on the European itineraries served great paninis, pizza and pasta. I was told the burgers and 0nion rings were on the Caribbean itineraries.

 

The next night, we got a note in our cabin saying that we had been switched to late seating. When we got to our table that night, a couple who had been next to us in line waiting to see the maitre d' at embarkation was also at the same table. I had run into them onboard while we were waiting for our room to be ready and making spa reservations, specialty restaurant reservations, and I suggested to them that they go to the dining room and sign up on the second list also.

 

We'll never know if the second list was the factor, or the mentioning of Crown and Anchor, but it seems to have worked for us and our tablemates. The fact that we and our linemates were at the same table makes me think they have a certain number of "empty" tables they use to resolve such difficulties.

 

Allen

[wcyellin]

Of course it's possible to "balance" the demand.

 

The original poster correctly suggests that with the lines' experience history as to demand, dining times can be shifted so that the demand equalizes.

 

If 6:30 and 8:30 result in an imbalance; try 7:30 and 9:30. If demand still does not balance, go to 8:15 and 10:15.

 

Sooner or later , demand will balance with supply, and everyone can be made happy.

[wrp96]

Of course it's possible to "balance" the demand.

 

The original poster correctly suggests that with the lines' experience history as to demand, dining times can be shifted so that the demand equalizes.

 

If 6:30 and 8:30 result in an imbalance; try 7:30 and 9:30. If demand still does not balance, go to 8:15 and 10:15.

 

Sooner or later , demand will balance with supply, and everyone can be made happy.

 

The problem though is there would still be people that for them 7:30 is way too late to eat.

 

I like how the Brilliance does it in Europe. They actually have 4 seating times to try and accommodate people's preferences.

[scorpiojem]

This thread is very distressing to me. When I booked our 10-day August Med cruise in February, I was automatically put on 1st seating, and put on "wait" for 2nd seating (2nd is my choice). I was hoping it would be a simple matter to check with the Dining Room when we first got on board to see if we could change our seating arrangement, but from what I'm reading, it looks like we might be out of luck. Several of the excursions we're taking may mean getting back to the ship with barely enough time to shower and change in time for dinner. We've always been lucky enough to get 2nd seating on our previous cruises, so I was hoping this time would work out as well. One can only hope...

[troywest]

I guess I’ll have to try the “old standby;” A € 50.00 note handed to the Maitre D’.

 

I’ll report back on the results.

[ray77]

Don't count on the 50 Euros doing any good.

 

Last year, I tried $100.00 U.S., but got nowhere. I was told that over 200 were on the waiting list for second seating; and there was nothing that could be done.

 

Until the cruise lines fix the problem, (and the answer is simple; time shifting as previously mentioned - to equalize demand) my advice:

 

Tell your travel agent at the time of booking that you want written confirmation of second seating or you won't go.

 

TA's have more clout than you do; and cruise lines don't want to loose bookings. Once you're booked and they have your money, they don't care.

[scorpiojem]

Woo Hoo! I'm so excited! I was just doing an on-line check on my reservation and I noticed that our seating has now been changed to "Second Seating". This is definitely good news. Hopefully there won't be a problem when we get on board and we'll still have this second seating reservation. At least now we'll be able to do the longer shore excursions and not have to worry about getting back early enough to freshen up and change for dinner. I'm so happy!

[Dick in Falls Church]

We were second seating (at our request) on an Eastern Med cruise last year.

Interestingly, the folks at first seating generally seemed to arrive late--to the point that the ship adjusted the time to later. Even then, some were wandering in up to 1/2 hour late---- made late seating later than ever.

Fortunately, the martini bar was not far from the entrance!\\

[doublemm16]

Woo Hoo!! I am excited too...it looks like we got late seating also. This means no rushing!! :)

[scorpiojem]

Hi doublemm16: I recognized your name from our Galaxy 8/25/06 Roll Call. Glad you got the late seating as well. That definitely makes touring a little easier.

 

June

[tom_uk]

Interestingly, the folks at first seating generally seemed to arrive late--to the point that the ship adjusted the time to later. Even then, some were wandering in up to 1/2 hour late---- made late seating later than ever.

 

Do they not 'shut the door' after 15 minutes? That's what they did on MSC Sinfonia; if you were more than 15 minutes late for the sitting, you'd missed it because you couldn't get into the dining room!

 

There were exceptions if, as happened one day, an excursion was very late back.

[Artemis]

We, too, were unable to transform a waitlisted late seating to an actual late seating assignment during our 2004 Millie cruise in the Med. As some point out, most nights, it actually turned out better for us to eat early, see a show or otherwise relax, and then crash. I might've missed a few late seatings from fatigue. However, there were a couple of times we missed our early seating, and yes, they do close those doors!, and on those occasions, I really wished for a buffet or similar "easy" dining option as a backup. Celebrity offered a "casual" restaurant-style fixed menu seating in the buffet area at night--for an extra fee, which is ludicrous IMO, and with limited seating, which didn't help us when we were hungry at 7:30 and didn't want to wait until the first opening at 8:45. By the time we had traipsed around the ship to figure all of this out, our last hope, the Aqua Spa, had closed. We were down to room service or the rather meager pizza/pasta cafeteria line--not the "dinner out" we wanted to enjoy. I was most unhappy with this scenario in Livorno because (a) Celebrity had poorly planned embarkation such that there was only one gangway to handle the majority of pax (+ lots of crew) who had spent the long day in port, so by the time we queued in the hot sun for 40 min. to board, we had no time to bathe and dress for formal night, yet (b) we later observed they allowed pax to dine in their port touring clothes, i.e., didn't enforce formal night dress code. I'm one of those who believe it should be enforced without exception, so my complaint is not that they should have told everyone "oh, come anyway," it's failure to enforce dress code + the bigger issue of failing to provide sufficient dining alternatives on a late-in-port intensive itinerary such as the Med.

 

I will never sail X again on such an itinerary unless I am confirmed in late seating from the git-go or Celebrity changes their dining service to be more accommodating to their clientele.

 

With that said, we had a fabulous Millie cruise in the Med, and I do wish everyone headed that way this 2006 season a wonderful trip.

[snowmouse]

Seeing so many prefer late seating in the Med, on the occasion that you might want an early night instead, is it ever possible to 'drop in', or with short notice sit in on early seating?

[Bruin Steve]

When we were on the Millennium in August of 2003, we had early seating, as we usually do...and were extremely glad we did...

 

All we heard from folks in late seating were tales of woe and regret...

 

The late seating was a total zoo...

There were a large number of French and Spanish people on the ship...and since their custom is a VERY late dinner (I know this from spending time in Spain--normal dinner hour is AFTER 10 pm), they were all in late seating...

 

Here were the problems (at least on MY sailing):

1) The French people were extremely rude and refused to abide by cruising formalities...First night, they all made themselves at home at whichever tables the wanted, completely ignoring the assigned tables...and REFUSED to leave!

2) They generally travel as families...and a large majority of the kids on the cruise were French or Spanish and ALL were in second seating...and many of those kids were completely unruly (though surpassed in their obnoxiousness by their parents)

 

Manwhile, Early seating, with a largely English-speaking, largely adult crowd, was a complete delight...

 

Early seating time was 6:30 and RARELY got in the way of any port hours...We only found ourselves rushing to dinner in Naples where our Capri, Srrento and Pompei tour ran a little long...but we still made it to dinner...

 

After long days of sightseeing in each port, we were very happy to have dinner at 6:30-8:30, not waiting until aroud 10 to be served our entrees...

 

Be careful what you wish for...

[Desertbelle]

In June of 2005 we were on the Millennium and we didn't see any such thing as what Steve described. In fact we didn't see all that many non-Americans. Maybe June is better for that than August.

 

We enjoyed late dinner, and I can see why people would prefer it on this cruise. The ports are very intensive and there are very few sea days to "recover". It was so nice to come back to the ship each day around 5'ish and go to the room, take a shower, maybe a nap, and then head down to a nice plate of sushi and a drink and sit on the aft, listening to the music and watching the sail-away.

 

I always joke that the only reason I could stay up until 11 every night on this cruise was because we didn't get done eating until 10:30!! :D The port days are very long and involve a great deal of walking, so if we had had early dinner we would have been rushing back, shower and dress for dinner, eat dinner and then crash by 9! Late dinner helped to relax us and to let us prepared for dinner in a very non-rushed way. One formal night we were boarding the ship from a very long day at port and we noticed some of the early dinner folks already walking around in their lovely clothes and we were hot and sweaty and exhausted.....so happy I didn't have to try to pull myself together to make early dinner.