Dining options

We are booked on Aqua Class and I know our assigned dining room is Blue, can we also eat in the main dining room if we prefer some night?

Of course you can!

We are booked on Aqua Class and I know our assigned dining room is Blue, can we also eat in the main dining room if we prefer some night?

We asked our TA the same thing its no problem but to check with the Maitre D when we arrive

You probably can but it does depend on what time you want to dine. You can't just show up in the MDR because you don't have a table assignment. Your Blu Maitre D can make arrangements for you to go to the MDR, which will also shuffle the gratuities appropriately. He or she can advise you as to what time there will be space for you, since one or more of the MDR options might be sold out.

Same question we asked once. We never left Blu, never were tempted to go anywhere else except the specialty restaurants. They want you to be happy, and will make substitutions or additions to your meals. Much easier in a venue that serves only a couple hundred vs a couple thousand.

You probably can but it does depend on what time you want to dine. You can't just show up in the MDR because you don't have a table assignment. Your Blu Maitre D can make arrangements for you to go to the MDR, which will also shuffle the gratuities appropriately. He or she can advise you as to what time there will be space for you, since one or more of the MDR options might be sold out.

Not true. You may choose to eat in the main dining room (at the select dining entrance), instead of Blu, anytime you wish. You also do not need to inform or check in with the Maitre D.

If you have noticed recent threads about Select Dining being delayed, you can see why it is not ok for people who have an assigned dining room of Blu to just show up and expect the be seated without making prior arrangements. It isn't like others can go to Blu to balance the numbers. If you want to dine in the Main Room, please have the Maitre D there find out when and where you should dine, it might be that traditional will have space

Not true. You may choose to eat in the main dining room (at the select dining entrance), instead of Blu, anytime you wish. You also do not need to inform or check in with the Maitre D.

I have seen people turned away who try to do this...and no, this is not the right way to do it, so if turned away, don't make a scene (I've seen this also).

On most cruises..and the key word is most...this works, but on some cruises select dining is overbooked or overcrowded so they arrange for early or late seating.

Perhaps I should say you do not need to go through the Maitre D on Summit, since that is my only experience.

We sail every year on Summit, in Aqua, and we have never been turned away from the MDR (select dining entrance), nor have we ever waited. The Maitre D said we did not need to inform him. Which makes sense, since we also didn't need to inform him if we planned on eating at the specialty restaurant.

There's no need to re-assign tips when you dine in a specialty. But tips do need to moved if you go to the MDR. They are two different things.

Even though our next 2 sailings are in AQ, I really have a problem with this.

Blu is your assigned dining room. If I am sailing non-suite, non-AQ, the MDR is MY assigned dining room. So by the "no problem--just go" meme, if an AQ diner arrives at the MDR 5 minutes before me, gets seated, and then I have to wait to be seated, there is "no problem?" Not. Your assigned seat in Blu is going unused while mine in the MDR has your behind seated in it.

Even though our next 2 sailings are in AQ, I really have a problem with this.

 

Blu is your assigned dining room. If I am sailing non-suite, non-AQ, the MDR is MY assigned dining room. So by the "no problem--just go" meme, if an AQ diner arrives at the MDR 5 minutes before me, gets seated, and then I have to wait to be seated, there is "no problem?" Not. Your assigned seat in Blu is going unused while mine in the MDR has your behind seated in it.

Well that's one of the privileges of traveling in another class cabin. By the way, I have never seen a line for select dining or that all tables are filled. So my behind will feel comfortable wherever it is seated.

Privilege? The privilege of cruising Aqua class is that you are assigned Blu.

We tend to dine between the Specialities and Luminae. We 'draft' where we are going to dine early cruise and our butler makes our reservations. If we make modifications we like to let the staff know asap.

If we did want to dine in the MDR or Blu, out of respect for their clientele and staff, I would contact first...

One of the things we love about Celebrity staff is their willingness to please and reluctance to say no when we ask for something.....the least we can do for the dining staff is to give them warning of where and when we want to dine....

Well that's one of the privileges of traveling in another class cabin. By the way, I have never seen a line for select dining or that all tables are filled. So my behind will feel comfortable wherever it is seated.

While may be true on the Summit our experience on the Constellation and Eclipse was different. On both those ships we have had the MDR as our assigned dining room with Select dining and have been given a buzzer and waited for to be seated-even for a shared table. It didn't happen every day but it does happen.

We tend to dine between the Specialities and Luminae. We 'draft' where we are going to dine early cruise and our butler makes our reservations. If we make modifications we like to let the staff know asap.

 

If we did want to dine in the MDR or Blu, out of respect for their clientele and staff, I would contact first...

 

One of the things we love about Celebrity staff is their willingness to please and reluctance to say no when we ask for something.....the least we can do for the dining staff is to give them warning of where and when we want to dine....

Ever posted something and had second thought? I have just reread my post and find it a bit eeeer....Not being critical of anyone I just genuinely believe the more we 'help' the staff by making bookings (especially when visiting our non designated areas) the better the experience for everyone will be....

Ever posted something and had second thought? I have just reread my post and find it a bit eeeer....Not being critical of anyone I just genuinely believe the more we 'help' the staff by making bookings (especially when visiting our non designated areas) the better the experience for everyone will be....

Yup, called courtesy

This is not a courtesy or consideration issue. The Maitre 'D told us, after the first time we informed him of our desire to change for the night, that it was unnecessary to let the Blu staff know and we were free to change even last minute. It makes no difference to the staff in Blu or their preparations. according to him.

It makes sense to me, as part of the whole vacation experience for me (and I assume others) is to be totally flexible and able to change plans.

Further, I am offended at the accusation we are being inconsiderate when that is strictly your assumption...and not based on reality..

This is not a courtesy or consideration issue. The Maitre 'D told us, after the first time we informed him of our desire to change for the night, that it was unnecessary to let the Blu staff know and we were free to change even last minute. It makes no difference to the staff in Blu or their preparations. according to him.

 

It makes sense to me, as part of the whole vacation experience for me (and I assume others) is to be totally flexible and able to change plans.

 

Further, I am offended at the accusation we are being inconsiderate when that is strictly your assumption...and not based on reality..

No intent to offend...hence my double post. The point I was trying to make is one person changing venues in an evening does not result in an issue....but if several do then a queue it can become.

By contacting the MDR and 'asking' to come they will know their busy times and can politely request you visit a little earlier, a little later....There is another post at present indicating that select had been significantly worse than on previous cruises.

Further to your comment above, I agree it doesn't make a difference to Blu if you don't turn up (or it does they have two people less to service) the difference it makes is to select who now have two more guests....as I said, two more not a problem but several more at a peak time will have a knock on.

I too love flexibility on my cruise, we make our plans, sometimes we change but if we do we always personally or via the butler 'ask' if it is possible to change, usually indicating some flexibility in timing. I remember the pre Luminae days and the 'invasion' of suite guests some evenings into Blu and the knock on that had on people's Aqua experiences...technically the suite guests were accommodated on 'a space available basis' but that wonderful 'eager to please' attitude meant suite guests were rarely refused....

As I said initially I just think a little communication can enhance the experience of everyone.

This is not a courtesy or consideration issue. The Maitre 'D told us, after the first time we informed him of our desire to change for the night, that it was unnecessary to let the Blu staff know and we were free to change even last minute. It makes no difference to the staff in Blu or their preparations. according to him.

 

It makes sense to me, as part of the whole vacation experience for me (and I assume others) is to be totally flexible and able to change plans.

 

Further, I am offended at the accusation we are being inconsiderate when that is strictly your assumption...and not based on reality..

You would have a different opinion if you had to wait 20-30 minutes for a table in Blu because suite customers just decided to eat at Blu. In fact, that happened to us when luminae was announced but not implemented and suite passengers were told that they could just dine in Blu or the MDR....forget the "space available" stuff. But they were special, right! That's really not much different than you just going to MDR select when they are busy...unless that's what you were told by the Blu Maitre D' (which seems to have been the case on your cruise).

Remember, just because you were told once by one maitre d' to just go to select whenever you want doesn't mean that applies to every cruise you take....it applies to that cruise. We have asked on some cruises (we are often in Aqua Class) and been told that we could eat in the MDR but at early or late seating only on that cruise.

Even though our next 2 sailings are in AQ, I really have a problem with this.

 

Blu is your assigned dining room. If I am sailing non-suite, non-AQ, the MDR is MY assigned dining room. So by the "no problem--just go" meme, if an AQ diner arrives at the MDR 5 minutes before me, gets seated, and then I have to wait to be seated, there is "no problem?" Not. Your assigned seat in Blu is going unused while mine in the MDR has your behind seated in it.

Agree, same thing can happen in Blu. Would someone be happy if a suite guest came to Blu and you had to wait while they were seated.

I think Blu diners and Luminae diners who wish to dine in the MDR should do so in the traditional dining area at one of the set dining times taking up one of the many empty tables that are frequent each night. There is too much pressure on Select which removes the flexible dining benefit.

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Can you order from the mdr menu in Blu?

In the next few years I wouldn't be surprised to see the fixed dining times phased out and all seating be first come, first served. There could still be a small section for those who can not live with this and demand fixed seating times but the trend is moving away from that.

Can you order from the mdr menu in Blu?

The answer is a big maybe, they used to do that all the time but appear to be getting away from ordering the entrees from the MDR. You can order some basic's every night like onion soup, shrimp cocktail, etc.