A different dining question

[emckeeve]

We are new to Celebrity and have a question about traditional vs select dining on this cruise line. Most people want a table for two. We prefer to dine with others occasionally. If we choose traditional dining will they automatically give us a table for 2 or seat us with others, which is risky as personalities can be different. On the other hand, if we pick select dining and just "show up," would we have the option for being seated with others who are in line at the same time? We do like to socialize but may, at times, want to dine alone (like after a port intensive day.) This is an Arabian Peninsula cruise where we are really using the ship as a floating hotel and have several ports where we overnight and might not show up for dinner at all.

[Grandmaanne7]

I'm not positive about traditional dining on Celebrity as we've never done it but with select dining, you can get a table for two or be seated with others. It is your choice.

 

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[LzyCruiser_NWA]

Last time in select dining, we were offered the choice of our own table or a shared table of 10 if none for 2 were available.

 

Although with though with the shared table you are most likely have to wait for the table to fill up before you're offered menus etc

[jelayne]

We have done shared tables in Select dining most were table of six and were filled quickly. In traditional dining you are assigned a table and would have the same dining partners every night, assuming they show up for dinner.

[dkjretired]

Couple other points to be brought up. With traditional we have seen some complaints from diners that they were seated with a group of people and only saw them once or twice because they did Specialties and so did their dining partners but different nights.

 

Also, with Select dining as others have said you can sit at a table with others and most of the time it will fill up quickly. We did have an occasion where it did not fill up quickly and the waiter waited until the table was full before he began serving. It was a bit inconvienent.

[fninsn]

With traditional dining, you can request in advance via Celebrity or your TA to be seated at a table with others or by yourselves. If you are travelling with others, you should have your dining reservations linked. Once done, this will be your table for the entire cruise. If for some reason, you are not happy with your table, you can ask to be moved and they do their best to accommodate. As someone already mentioned, there may be some evenings when your tablemates eat elsewhere so it may vary from night to night. Just as a FYI, it's always polite to tell your tablemates and your server if you know you will be missing a dinner, so they don't wait for you to arrive before starting service.

 

With Select dining, you also have the option to eat with others or by yourself although you won't necessarily eat with the same people every night. If you want to eat with the same people, it's a good idea to make a reservation. This is even more important if you want to sit with the same wait staff each evening.

 

On our last cruise, 4 of us travelled together and had Select Dining. We enjoyed our wait staff on the first evening so we made a reservation for the same section each evening. We did have to wait a few minutes on a couple of occasions, but we were seated where we wanted each evening and our dining experience was excellent. On two nights, they asked if we minded another couple joining us and we were fine with that as well.

 

Happy Sailing :)

Linda

[cookiersmom]

Agree with what has been stated. For traditional, you can (before the cruise thru your TA or maybe directly if you book direct at dining@celebrity.com) identify your preferred table size.

 

We always ask for 8 or 10, as we like

a. having others to talk with, hear about their day onshore, etch

b. if one or two couples go to specialty, you still have a group

c. we like having the same table staff every night. They get to know us and our preferences (ice tea when we sit down, who likes wine, etc)

 

Also, if you don't get it arranged prior to boarding, on the first day there is always someone from the dining staff in a specified location to go and check your dining (after you go to your stateroom, where there will be a note with your assigned dining). We always go see this person to verify where our table is and make sure it meets what we expect (i.e. table size).

 

For instance, one time when we were traveling with our teen kids, they put the 4 of us at our own table. We weren't happy with that because we LIKE meeting new people so they moved us to a table for 8 with another similar family.

[emckeeve]

Thanks everyone. We decided to go with the Select Dining as sometimes we might want a quick dinner alone and other times to sit with new people and enjoy a leisurely meal.

[lovemygiants]

Are we allowed to change seating preference after boarding? I'm currently set up for late dining and would like to give that a try but if not happy with it, can I change to select dining?

[b7440]

We were on the Silhouette 2 weeks ago, and had Select Dinning, as others have stated you can dine by yourself or with others. We did both and enjoyed it. We also found since the tables for 2 are very close, you might end up talking with the other couple. On a 9 day cruise we ended up next to the same couple for 3 different nights. We even were next to the same couple in Tuscan Grill one night. We enjoyed Select Dinner a lot.

[BBsails]

On our last cruise, 4 of us travelled together and had Select Dining. We enjoyed our wait staff on the first evening so we made a reservation for the same section each evening. We did have to wait a few minutes on a couple of occasions, but we were seated where we wanted each evening and our dining experience was excellent. On two nights, they asked if we minded another couple joining us and we were fine with that as well.

 

This is similar to our experience with Select Dining over several cruises. We've always found servers that we like, so we request to be seated in their section each night. Occasionally we've had to wait for a few minutes if the section is full. Sometimes we were at a table for two, sometimes the hostess asked if being seated at a table for four was OK. There was a table for two by the window in our preferred section that our servers called the "honeymoon" table. Funny.

 

Betsy

[Jerzy Traveler]

On the Reflection last year we had late seating as a preference. It was an 11 night cruise and on 5 we went to specialty restaurants. The first time we actually went to the MDR at our assigned time we were going to be seated at a large table and weren't in the mood to socialize with 10 people that night. We asked for a table for two. No problem. Other nights we wanted to dine with people we befriended on the ship, we just went to the Select dining line. Never waited more than a few minutes.

You are on vacation. Enjoy. They want to make you happy and get you to come back.