Input on Select Dining experiences

[tc2344]

We are booked to cruise in May 2011 on Infinity and have opted for the select dining option because we didn't want to eat at 8:30 pm. I am confused about making our reservations even after reading Celebrities website on it. Anyone out there have any suggestions, comments, tips? I keep checking "my celebrity", but it won't let me book anything yet (however, we still have 10 months...I'm a planner...and excited). :)

 

Thank you, Teresa

[buba1944]

I was just where you are. Booked early for New Year's Eve. It was just last week that I was finally able to start making my reservations, including Select Dining. I'm about five months out, so keep reading and checking.:D

[tc2344]

okay good, I figured I was just being impatient. Have a wonderful trip and I hope the select dining goes smoothly.

[seafun]

I know, I know, another volatile can of worms to open... :rolleyes:

But I've had good experiences with select dining and wanted to pass that along.

Mind you, I'm a traditionalist, and really enjoy the predictable joys of the same group of folks sharing their experiences over dinner night after night. (And I thought I would hate select dining, but I didn't, at all.)

The freedom to select if this was an "I'm hungy NOW, so let's eat early" night, or "let's eat later tonight" worked out really well for me. (And I enjoy going to most of the shows, so having the flexibility to work around them was great.)

I met more people this way, and was free to meet up with people I hit it off with again for meals or drinks or activities if things really clicked, yet was free to keep moving around and meeting more people.

Yes, it's different than the old traditional dining -- which I still enjoy. But I have grown to like it more and more, and enjoy the freedom that it gives you in planning your events for the day and evening.

Give it a try; I think you'll like it! :)

[hapicruisin]

I know, I know, another volatile can of worms to open... :rolleyes:

 

But I've had good experiences with select dining and wanted to pass that along.

 

Mind you, I'm a traditionalist, and really enjoy the predictable joys of the same group of folks sharing their experiences over dinner night after night. (And I thought I would hate select dining, but I didn't, at all.)

 

The freedom to select if this was an "I'm hungy NOW, so let's eat early" night, or "let's eat later tonight" worked out really well for me. (And I enjoy going to most of the shows, so having the flexibility to work around them was great.)

 

I met more people this way, and was free to meet up with people I hit it off with again for meals or drinks or activities if things really clicked, yet was free to keep moving around and meeting more people.

 

Yes, it's different than the old traditional dining -- which I still enjoy. But I have grown to like it more and more, and enjoy the freedom that it gives you in planning your events for the day and evening.

 

Give it a try; I think you'll like it! :)

 

Absolutely agree, Seafun, we were not less than happy when Celebrity started to change from traditional dining, because I thought they were going over to open dining only. They seem to have pleased everyone by having both choices in the MDR. Was recently on Azamara which has open dining only and loved it. Soon will be on a Celebrity cruise and have selected open dining. Not sure how it will be as Azamara is a very much smaller ship and there was really no waiting to get seated. Will see how it pans out on a larger ship.:):):)

on a larger ship.

[Faircliff]

I know, I know, another volatile can of worms to open... :rolleyes:

 

But I've had good experiences with select dining and wanted to pass that along.

 

Mind you, I'm a traditionalist, and really enjoy the predictable joys of the same group of folks sharing their experiences over dinner night after night. (And I thought I would hate select dining, but I didn't, at all.)

 

The freedom to select if this was an "I'm hungy NOW, so let's eat early" night, or "let's eat later tonight" worked out really well for me. (And I enjoy going to most of the shows, so having the flexibility to work around them was great.)

 

I met more people this way, and was free to meet up with people I hit it off with again for meals or drinks or activities if things really clicked, yet was free to keep moving around and meeting more people.

 

Yes, it's different than the old traditional dining -- which I still enjoy. But I have grown to like it more and more, and enjoy the freedom that it gives you in planning your events for the day and evening.

 

Give it a try; I think you'll like it! :)

 

Thanks, Seafun for your comments. I've booked Select Dining on Century for September for just the reasons you've said. Plus, I hate eating late and going to bed with a full stomach (and we'd be rushing back to the ship to get the 'early' seating).

 

I am curious to know, however, how it worked with the shows. I understand they are geared to the set dining times and I'm hopeful that say we ate at 7 pm, we'd still be able to get to the late show without having to rush dinner.

 

I guess the beauty of it is that we can tweak our times once we're onboard.

[tc2344]

Thank you Seafun and Hapicruisin, your comments were very helpful at putting my uncertainty at rest. Did you pre-reserve times in the MDR prior to your cruise and then adjust the times once on the ship or wing it the entire time? Did you notice a lot of people waiting to be seated due to lack of a reservation or complaining about wait times?

[fleckle]

We were very pleased with Select Dining on the Millennium. We liked the scheduling flexibility, being able to eat at different times on different nights. We also liked having the choice each day of dining with others or getting a table to ourselves.

 

You can make a reservation in advance or just show up. If you show up without a reservation, you may be seated immediately or you may have to wait a while, depending on how busy they happen to be at that time, just as when you show up without a reservation at a land restaurant.

[tc2344]

Thank you Fleckle, It sounds as though I should do exactly what a vacation implies...go with the flow and relax! :) When something is new to me, I tend to over think things and it sounds by the posts that it is not necessary. Thank you for your post.

[ConnMom]

After many very good experiences with fixed dining (and a couple not so good ones), we opted for Select on a recent Baltic cruise, mostly to avoid dining late every evening. We loved Select and will most likely choose it in the future. While we reserved our times a month or two before sailing, we were able to change our reservations on the ship whenever we wished. We never waited to be seated, and always had the option of a large private table.

Our Select service was just as good as with fixed dining, although it was not as personal as it can be when a good waiter becomes attuned to the preferences and personalities of his/her diners as the cruise progresses. We missed the best of our past fixed dining experiences, but met many people whom we enjoyed and continued to see throughout the cruise.

Have a great cruise. You will not find it difficult to work in your reservations around the evening's entertainment or late days in port.

Cheryl

[dzcruisers]

On our Summit cruise the only people we saw waiting were people who wanted a table for two. If you were willing to sit with others you were seated immediately.

[Islebcnu]

Thank you Seafun and Hapicruisin, your comments were very helpful at putting my uncertainty at rest. Did you pre-reserve times in the MDR prior to your cruise and then adjust the times once on the ship or wing it the entire time? Did you notice a lot of people waiting to be seated due to lack of a reservation or complaining about wait times?

 

This choice was great and we just showed up at the time best for us. Never had to wait more than one or two minutes at most.....usually had a table for two but dined with several friends who also had select dining twice. Still no waiting! Six of the seven nights, we had the same excellent waiter and assistant ...Savio and Imade. Great cruise, wonderful stateroom, 7199, super stewards, Newton and Peter, and absolutely no complaints.

 

This trip was to New England/Canada and the only thing I would have done differently would have been to take the afternoon Bar Harbor tour of Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain rather than the morning one. The fog did not clear in the higher elevations until midday. Glad to answer any questions.

[tc2344]

Thank you ConnMom, dzcruisers and Islebcnu for your responses, I feel even better now and the anxiety about dinner is gone. We are cruising with 4 other couples and out of the six of us, I am the only one who has cruised before (only two 4 day cruises, so I'm not that experienced either) when it was the traditional dining and was a little fearful of the unknown. :)

[Wendylet]

I am sailing the Carribbean on 04/11/11 and I am wondering how you book a reservation for Select Dining? Do you do this through your TA or when you are onboard? Why do you book a time if you have opted for no assigned time? My husband and I generally prefer to dine alone so would be looking for a table for 2 so is there generally a wait and what might be the best time to go to avoid it?

[grandmama7/15]

Just did Select Dining on the Summit (Canada/New England). In my opinion it did not work. I did make 3 reservations ahead of time which worked. When I called on Monday for the rest of the week only 8 to 8:30 times were available. I was told by Celebrity that they had a lot of people requesting Select Dining on this cruise. I feel that it was too overbooked, they only used half of the top floor for tables (they squeezed tables in) and when you went late - several tables were still dirty. I definitely would not do Select dining again