Dining Question

[cynbar]

Teresa, I don't know if you've found the roll call for your particular cruise yet, but both you and your Mom might want to check it out. Roll calls are usually a great place to correspond with other cruisers who will be sailing with you, and there are often tips to help you plan. Your Mom may come across other single cruisers, too. The three of you may not want to spend all your time together, especially now that you are planning dinners together. Often cruisers get together to organize private tours in the ports that are better and less expensive than the ship's tours, and your Mom might feel comfortable joining one with or without you and your DH. Just a thought to help make this a great cruise. Roll calls for the various cruise lines can be found over on the home page for these message boards.

[tc2344]

Cynbar: That is so funny you mentioned the dining options, and I right now we are leaning towards Select dining because our travel agent said that at least with select dining, 1. we would be able to adjust our dining time for when we return from excursion with the 2 of the 3 ports departing in the afternoon and 2. in the event we do run into others we wish to dine with as she seems to think the younger cruises (40-50) and some solos tend to enjoy the select vs the traditional. Does that sound about right? She said that we can always change it as it gets closer. Also, I have been keeping an eye on the roll call for our cruise and no one has posted anything yet (its not until 2015) and being so new I am hesitant to start one as I have seem some roll calls where they organize cabin crawls and such and keep a running roster... It intimidates me. :o

 

jkgourmet:I really appreciate directness, and I did not think that anyone's comments were condescending or coming from a bad place. I believe everyone was coming from a place honesty, wisdom and truly wanting to help me make the best decision for my family (especially with this being mom's first cruise). I have read a lot of threads where people take replies not in the intent they were meant, and then the entire thread becomes about defending the various positions, when the intent was coming from a good place. I see this website as a tool to learn from others experiences, especially since I DON'T have the experience...yet. :) It was funny what you said about my mom and me, because I tell her a lot that I am the person I am today because of her guidance and love. I am very fortunate that she is mom, she is a helluva lady! :)

[Lois R]

Hi:)....this is just another tip;).....you can start a roll call without

participating in any "on board events"....some folks enjoy them, while

others don't. There is not a "roll call law":D about doing cabin crawls,

etc.

It can just be a nice way to meet other people on your cruise:)

[cynbar]

Hi Teresa, glad to see you are still here! I'm still impressed with how much trouble you are going to so that your Mom has a great cruise! Your husband must be quite a guy too. Anyway, back to dining. We like Select, feel it has a lot of advantages. We can vary our eating times according to how we feel or our plans for the day. Some people make reservations daily but it's really not necessary, just show up when you're ready and there is seldom any wait. You also have the option of eating alone some nights, joining a bigger table when you feel like chatting, or meeting up with some new friends you may meet on the cruise. And, you're not stuck at a Traditional dining table with a poor waiter, poor location or absent dining companions. Some Traditional tables work out very well and that can be a lovely experience, but not all do, and there are so many dining options on the ship these days that some tables are empty or nearly so for most of the cruise. So, pick which sounds best to the 3 of you. But just be aware that it is sometimes hard to switch when on the ship. Select, 1st and 2nd seating Traditional are all capacity controlled and any of the options can be closed off when full. Better to give it some thought now and have your TA reserve the type of dining you choose. PS-- I should add that if you choose Traditional, you could request a table for just the 3 of you if you want. Requests are not guaranteed but Celebrity does try to honor them. That would avoid the problem of sitting at a half empty table, but give you a chance to try Traditional where the waiters so get to know you. Give it some thought, you'll find cruisers that swear by Traditional and others that will only do Select.

Edited April 11, 2014 by cynbar

[jhans24]

If there weren't a roll call for my upcoming cruise, I wouldn't hesitate to start one. While I actively participate in my roll call, especially discussing ports, my participation ends when we get on the ship. My wife and I both work and we have a three and six year old. Life is tremendously busy and we can't spend as much time together as we'd like. Cruises offer us a time to spend relaxing time together that we normally can't do. Start your roll call or just join in once it begins. There is no pressure to do anything and you might find people with similar interests with you and your mom for activities. It's also very helpful when planning port stops.