Any Time Dining vs. Traditional Dining

[Taxguy77]

=X= was the last ship we have been on with fixed dining. Had to change time and tables a couple of times, but ended up withan excellent waiter and an asst. I recommended for promotion to waiter (His smile when I told him was greater than the smile for the cash tip.

Since then we have been on Azamara (all informal, anytime) and HAL where we were unable to get fixed seating and found the anytime loud and slow. I thought I would like anytime, but have had much more enjoyable meals at fixed.

[lvcruiser]

I'm confused. We booked Select Dining on our upcoming Eclipse cruise in December with another couple with whom we are sailing. We were under the impression that we would be able to walk in virtually anytime and be seated, either at a table for four or as part of a larger table with other people. Upon reading some of the posts on the threads regarding Select Dining, I am now getting the impression that reservations are required for specific times. Is this true? I have also read that you can either walk in or make reservations, but the reservation will not necessarily ensure you will be seated at the appropriate time. I am sure that wait times will vary depending upon when you arrive or what time your reservation is for - longer waits at peak times. But can anyone tell me if I'm going to be standing in line for a half hour or longer? And which will provide me with the shortest wait time - walking in or making reservations? If reservations are the way to go, should they be made in advance for every day, and if so, how far in advance?

 

I know that is a lot of questions, and I will thank any and all who can provide me with concrete answers and not suppositions.

 

John

[Feelin' Nauti']

I chuckle at people who don't want to be 'told when to eat' but don't complain that they're told when to go to a show, art auction, demonstration, excursion.... But what I find interesting is that those who complain about their 'tablemates' are usually the first to attack/criticize people who post dissimilar views. Oh well....

Why be forced to eat at a certain time if you're not hungry? :rolleyes:

 

With Select you're given the option to eat when your belly says "feed me". ;)

 

Can you reserve the table size you would like? For instance a group of 4 can reserve a table for 4 - or do they stick you with another group at a larger table? We are right now in the late seating for a med. cruise. We don't want to eat at 6:30 because of the port intensive days and want to max them out. However, to eat at 8:30 and need to go to bed soon after because of another upcoming port day isn't ideal either.

Thinking of changing to select - can you get standing reservations immediately, or do you have to wait closer to the sail date (May, 2011)?

I agree with not eating so close to port departure.

Talk about a mad rush. :cool:

And 8:30 :eek: Wow! All that comes to mind is indigestion.

For some, that's bedtime snack time.

 

Well at least there's Select now and thankfully Celebrity honors reservations.

Princess stopped taking them last year. And started handing out beepers.

[JeffCoud]

I'm confused. We booked Select Dining on our upcoming Eclipse cruise in December with another couple with whom we are sailing. We were under the impression that we would be able to walk in virtually anytime and be seated, either at a table for four or as part of a larger table with other people. Upon reading some of the posts on the threads regarding Select Dining, I am now getting the impression that reservations are required for specific times. Is this true? I have also read that you can either walk in or make reservations, but the reservation will not necessarily ensure you will be seated at the appropriate time. I am sure that wait times will vary depending upon when you arrive or what time your reservation is for - longer waits at peak times. But can anyone tell me if I'm going to be standing in line for a half hour or longer? And which will provide me with the shortest wait time - walking in or making reservations? If reservations are the way to go, should they be made in advance for every day, and if so, how far in advance?

 

I know that is a lot of questions, and I will thank any and all who can provide me with concrete answers and not suppositions.

 

John

 

I understand that there's some benefit to making reservations in advance, which can be done online for some period before the cruise. Now that being said, during peak times that might be less so advantageous? Although, i suppose if they confirm a ressie for 4 at 715 they better come through! Lol.... You're fortunate in that you're flexible and willing to join a table in formation, as it were, and I have not been hearing of long waits in general for Select so it sounds like they might be doing a pretty good job of it.

 

We are doing Select in 2 weeks on the Summit to Bermuda so we'll see how it goes! First time going with open seating for dinner! We are looking at 730 every night which is a bit past prime time, but for the moment we've decided not to make reservations. Some people also opt for reservations so they can be with a particular wait staff as well so that would be one benefit. I have some health issues right now so we're going stick with "play it by ear" method and move our dinner time around as needed.

 

So that's what I know!

 

Jeff

[lvcruiser]

Jeff - Thanks for your response. I've done some more research into the subject and it's now a bit clearer than mud.

[trcori]

We were frequent - twice a year - X cruisers for five years, till starting a business forced us to put vacations on hold. Now we're about to take our first cruise in three years, again X of course, but having missed the rollout and explanation of "select" dining, I'm wondering how this has changed the dining room configuration - sounds like there's a "select" area and "regular" area, is that accurate? Also, is the final-night Baked Alaska Parade still a go - it would seem a little awkward to be doing that without EVERYONE in the dining room on the same stage of the meal ... just curious! Thanks! We are cruising next week and I don't know what we'll wind up doing - booked the cruise too late and are confirmed late dining but 2/3 of our party much prefers early, so while it seems "Select" might solve the dilemma, everyone's trepidational about the concept of nontraditional dining!

[franma]

We (there were 6 of us) tried the Select dining on our cruise on the Summit in June. We pre- reserved a time on line for the first couple of nights, since I had read here about people having to wait for their tables. We really didn't have to wait any significant amount of time, but the first night our service was pretty slow/inefficient. The second night we had a wait staff we really liked, so after that time, we requested them and the time. The hostess said there was no guarantee we would get the same ones, but we did for the rest of the week.

 

There's an area of the second level of the dining room (left side, I believe) that is for the Select Time dining.

 

We (same group of 6) are going back to Traditional, early seating our next cruise. I think if it were just the two of us, I would do Select again.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Fran

[Mr. Luckytoo]

Why be forced to eat at a certain time if you're not hungry? :rolleyes:

 

With Select you're given the option to eat when your belly says "feed me". ;)

 

I don't know about you but when I'm not cruising I usually eat dinner/lunch around the same time (give or take an hour) every day...so in my case my belly says 'feed me' around the same time daily. Unfortunately thattime is usually not around the typical MDR seatings...:(

[trcori]

Thanks, Franma! That makes sense. It's been so long, I even forgot about the double-deck dining room.

[Cruz Doggie Gal]

We would like to try "select" on the Connie in January. Our TA told us that if we selected it, we would have to pay the gratuities at final payment for the cruise. Is this true? I really don't want to give Celebrity all that money prior to getting on the ship. Also, what would be the chances of getting "select" when we go onboard the first day?

[bighairtexan]

Yes, Select diners pay in advance. Prior to boarding rather than having them added to the on board account each day. Of course it could change over time but it seems as if there are more openings in Select than in traditional.