select dining

[smileon]

For the first time we have opted for select dining and I believe that reservations can be made 4 days before sailing. Is it best to do this or can we be flexible and just turn up when we are ready - if we do this are we more likely to have to wait? We will be wanting a table for 4.

 

Also, if we decide to reserve - what time are the evening shows so that we can plan round this?

 

Thank you for any advice and thoughts on how others have worked with this.

[neverbeenhere]

You should go for "just showing up". Wait times are short. Caribbean busy hours are 6:30-7:30. Other cruise busy hours are generally later.

 

To plan for making a different show time, people also need to know how fast everyone in your party likes to eat, how fast the server will be, do you eat dessert, drink wine?, etc.

[jelayne]

You can make reservations on-line anytime UP TO 4 days before sailing. I have made reservations for the Firrst night, just because I find that to be a hectic night.

 

Show times vary by day-in my experience. First night show is around 8-8:30. On Eving Chic nights the shows are 8 & 10 or 10:30. Most other nights the shows are 7 & 9:30.

[smileon]

Thank you-looks like we are too late now as sailing on Saturday

[4774Papa]

For the first time we have opted for select dining and I believe that reservations can be made 4 days before sailing. Is it best to do this or can we be flexible and just turn up when we are ready - if we do this are we more likely to have to wait? We will be wanting a table for 4.

 

Also, if we decide to reserve - what time are the evening shows so that we can plan round this?

 

Thank you for any advice and thoughts on how others have worked with this.

 

We have been doing Select Dining for our last three X cruises. We never make reservations and never have to wait more than a few minutes. If you are willing to sit with others, it will probably speed up your seating.

[karena1]

For the first time we have opted for select dining and I believe that reservations can be made 4 days before sailing. Is it best to do this or can we be flexible and just turn up when we are ready - if we do this are we more likely to have to wait? We will be wanting a table for 4.

 

Also, if we decide to reserve - what time are the evening shows so that we can plan round this?

 

Thank you for any advice and thoughts on how others have worked with this.

 

We rarely if ever make reservations, that is why we love Select Dining. We like to go eat when we feel like it. Every day I check the paper for show times and then we decide about what time we will go eat if we are going to make the show. But we don't make reservations. i don't think we have every waited more than 5-10 minutes for a table.

[BC Eddie]

From some older posts I saw that with Select dining you must prepay gratuities due to having multiple servers over the course of the cruise. Is this still true?

 

Celebrity has a promotion on where you can opt for certain included "freebies", one of them being "prepaid tips". Can anyone tell me if this will cover the prepaid Select gratuities?

 

I understand that, for exceptional service, additional tipping is appreciated.

 

TIA

[cruisestitch]

Celebrity dropped the requirement to pay the tips I had of time with select dining a while ago so your question is really moot. Your gratuities will be taken care of no matter which dining option you choose

[BC Eddie]

Celebrity dropped the requirement to pay the tips I had of time with select dining a while ago so your question is really moot. Your gratuities will be taken care of no matter which dining option you choose

 

Thanks so much!

[kevinyork]

We didn't book times for Select dining on our first couple of cruises however have done so on the last few. Sailings from the UK tend to be busy in Select dining 7.30-8.30 and we've talked to couples who were only given the option to share a table if they turned up at those times as they hadn't reserved.

 

We've found that although we reserve 7.30, we have turned up at say 7.00 or 8.00 (due to show times) and never had an issue. They don't physically hold a table for those with reservations they just give those people priority over those without reservations. We had the same table (without asking) 13 out of 14 nights in May.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Pickleberry]

From some older posts I saw that with Select dining you must prepay gratuities due to having multiple servers over the course of the cruise. Is this still true?

 

Celebrity has a promotion on where you can opt for certain included "freebies", one of them being "prepaid tips". Can anyone tell me if this will cover the prepaid Select gratuities?

 

I understand that, for exceptional service, additional tipping is appreciated.

 

TIA

 

We had to prepay for anytime dining :)

[WestLakeGirl]

When did you book? Perhaps the prepay system was still in place then.

 

Also we have read that some British travel agencies build prepaid gratuities into their package prices

[Pickleberry]

When did you book? Perhaps the prepay system was still in place then.

 

Also we have read that some British travel agencies build prepaid gratuities into their package prices

 

September last year.

We did book through an agent and got a small discount to the Celebrity price :)

[dkjretired]

September last year.

We did book through an agent and got a small discount to the Celebrity price :)

 

Celebrity changed the requirement to prepay for gratuities in Select dining about 6 months ago.

[Swampduck]

For the first time we have opted for select dining and I believe that reservations can be made 4 days before sailing. Is it best to do this or can we be flexible and just turn up when we are ready - if we do this are we more likely to have to wait? We will be wanting a table for 4.

 

Also, if we decide to reserve - what time are the evening shows so that we can plan round this?

 

Thank you for any advice and thoughts on how others have worked with this.

 

We have always done Select with Celebrity, to me, it the only way. You can lie at the pool that little bit later, or if you fall into company at the sunset bar, you don't need to be rushing off to get ready. Or if you decide you want to dine with your new friends, assuming they also are Select, then you can do this too. You don't have to wait long, in fact I don't think we ever have. I would never dream of pre booking before the cruise, as how will you know what you have on that day.

[karena1]

We have always done Select with Celebrity, to me, it the only way. You can lie at the pool that little bit later, or if you fall into company at the sunset bar, you don't need to be rushing off to get ready. Or if you decide you want to dine with your new friends, assuming they also are Select, then you can do this too. You don't have to wait long, in fact I don't think we ever have. I would never dream of pre booking before the cruise, as how will you know what you have on that day.

 

Same here, that is what I love about flex dining. We have done it on Royal/Celebrity/Princess since it first came out. Absolutely love it. Love going to eat when I feel like it, not when someone tells me I have too. Also love not having 3 hour dinners when you have a big table of people. We talk to so many people on a cruise we love going to dinner alone, 1.5 hours max and we are done. We talk about our day and what we are going to do the next day. Fantastic.

Edited August 5, 2016 by karena1