Gidget424 Posted August 19, 2016 #1 Share Posted August 19, 2016 My husband and I are going on a 14 night eastern Mediterranean cruise with Celebrity Silhouette in Sept. 2016. We've already booked for early dining at 6:15 but now are rethinking of switching to Flex dining to give us more leeway given that we have tours booked. Can we expect to have to line up for seating if we switch to Flex dining? Is it worth doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Sixth? Posted August 19, 2016 #2 Share Posted August 19, 2016 My husband and I are going on a 14 night eastern Mediterranean cruise with Celebrity Silhouette in Sept. 2016. We've already booked for early dining at 6:15 but now are rethinking of switching to Flex dining to give us more leeway given that we have tours booked. Can we expect to have to line up for seating if we switch to Flex dining? Is it worth doing? Personally I won't book a cruise without anytime/select/flex dining. I don't mind a short wait and have never made reservations for the dining room on a cruise ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanb41 Posted August 19, 2016 #3 Share Posted August 19, 2016 if you are thinking of changing do it now as there is likely to be a waiting list and you may miss out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin5353 Posted August 19, 2016 #4 Share Posted August 19, 2016 My husband and I are going on a 14 night eastern Mediterranean cruise with Celebrity Silhouette in Sept. 2016. We've already booked for early dining at 6:15 but now are rethinking of switching to Flex dining to give us more leeway given that we have tours booked. Can we expect to have to line up for seating if we switch to Flex dining? Is it worth doing? Generally, at 7pm there may be a 5 minute wait, but usually no wait. We've used Select dining on the last 6 cruises and will have it set for the next 5. Yes, call immediately to switch to Select. There will probably be a wait list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gidget424 Posted August 20, 2016 Author #5 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Someone else just told me that the Flex dining is not the same food offered in the main dining room? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverbeenhere Posted August 20, 2016 #6 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Someone doesn't know what they are talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted August 20, 2016 #7 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Someone else just told me that the Flex dining is not the same food offered in the main dining room? Hi Gidget424, Welcome to Cruise Critic ! Whomever told you that, absolutely gave you incorrect information. The menus at Assigned seating, and Select dining in the Main Dining Room, is 100% the same. Perhaps they were thinking about the Buffet for dinner - which is different. Getting back to your original question, I know this isnt exactly what you hope to hear - but the answer is.... it depends. If you go at peak hours, you may experience lines and waiting time. If you go to dinner very early or late in the evening, you should fare much better. Of course, every sailing has a different mix of guests with different needs, so anything is possible. Overall, I believe that Celebrity does a very good job of managing their Guests dining wishes. Hope this helps, and enjoy your cruise ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkjretired Posted August 20, 2016 #8 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Someone doesn't know what they are talking about. Exactly the same. Menu in both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted August 20, 2016 #9 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Someone else just told me that the Flex dining is not the same food offered in the main dining room? Do you believe everything that "someone" says. Your "someone" is woefully misinformed. It is the same food. Re the wait, you can make reservations for the flex dining and if you do have to wait for a bit, just relax until you are called or go to the bar and have a drink. What's your rush. DON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ReneeFLL Posted August 20, 2016 #10 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Definitely try to book flex dining asap. Hopefully you can get in. I don't think we will ever go back to traditional dining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spursgirl Posted August 20, 2016 #11 Share Posted August 20, 2016 If you have several tours booked you may find that anytime dining suits you better. There is nothing worse than getting back to the ship hot and tired and then having to rush to make your assigned seating time. Even at peak times have never had to wait too long and I opt for flexible dining on every cruise now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinyork Posted August 20, 2016 #12 Share Posted August 20, 2016 We love Select dining but our friends prefer traditional dining as they find it more leisurely whereas they find Select rushed. You can ask your select waiters to slow things down but may have to do this every evening as you may have different wait staff. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAL7 Posted August 23, 2016 #13 Share Posted August 23, 2016 We just came off the Millennium as a group of three and had only slight delays being seated for Anytime. But, my question: We will be on the Silhouette in October, but now a group of six. Will Anytime be convenient for that many? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinyork Posted August 23, 2016 #14 Share Posted August 23, 2016 We just came off the Millennium as a group of three and had only slight delays being seated for Anytime. But, my question: We will be on the Silhouette in October, but now a group of six. Will Anytime be convenient for that many? Select dining should work fine for you as the demand for tables of 6 will be minimal. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karena1 Posted August 23, 2016 #15 Share Posted August 23, 2016 We have used Flex dining since it first came out on all cruise lines. Will never go back to traditional. We love eating when we feel like it. And other than one Ruby Princess cruise, we never have waited more than maybe 5 - 10 minutes for a table. Also, unless we are with a bunch of people we never make reservations Now, one year there were 8 of us on Summit. So I would look at the paper each night and see what time the show was the next day and I would call and make reservations for the 8 of us so we could make the show times But if we cruise alone, we go when we feel like it and never have an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandgeezer Posted August 23, 2016 #16 Share Posted August 23, 2016 Someone else just told me that the Flex dining is not the same food offered in the main dining room? It's exactly the same menu. Hopefully the same ingredients, only served by different waiters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4774Papa Posted August 23, 2016 #17 Share Posted August 23, 2016 My husband and I are going on a 14 night eastern Mediterranean cruise with Celebrity Silhouette in Sept. 2016. We've already booked for early dining at 6:15 but now are rethinking of switching to Flex dining to give us more leeway given that we have tours booked. Can we expect to have to line up for seating if we switch to Flex dining? Is it worth doing? We started out on Celebrity with early fixed dining and that worked pretty well until on cruise #7 and 8 most of those assigned to our table either didn't show up at all, or 45 minutes late, or we wished they hadn't showed up. We switched to select dining and now only do that. We usually go to the elite happy hour and meet folks there and then migrate to the restaurant. Most of the time, we don't have to wait for a table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunpsyche Posted August 23, 2016 #18 Share Posted August 23, 2016 If you find a serving team you love you can also request their section every evening and have the best of both worlds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemylab Posted August 23, 2016 #19 Share Posted August 23, 2016 We prefer Select Dining over Traditional. With Select Dining you can make a reservation if you want. Without reservations, we've rarely had to wait more than 5 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted August 23, 2016 #20 Share Posted August 23, 2016 (edited) Someone else just told me that the Flex dining is not the same food offered in the main dining room? You have been given bad information (as others have said). But lets explain. Celebrity ships have a single main dining room (often called the MDR here on Cruise Critic) and that dining room is generally 2 stories. At dinner time they seat both the fixed sitting folks (early and late dining) as well as the flexible or select diners. On most cruises they will simply put one group on a specific level and the others on the other level (although we have seen exceptions). The menus in the MDR are exactly the same,,,no matter which dining scheme you utilize. There are also passengers who dine in different dining venues where they do get different menus from the MDR. For example, those who book Aqua Class cabins will dine in Blu..and have unique menus. Those in suites will dine in Luminae where they have access to a unique menu as well as MDR items. Another dining option is to simply have your dinner in the Lido (that is the buffet venue) where they do have many of the same items (in a buffet setting) that are in the MDR. But the Lido is not the same exact menu...and certain MDR items might not be available. Hank Edited August 23, 2016 by Hlitner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemylab Posted August 23, 2016 #21 Share Posted August 23, 2016 Another dining option is to simply have your dinner in the Lido (that is the buffet venue) where they do have many of the same items (in a buffet setting) that are in the MDR. But the Lido is not the same exact menu...and certain MDR items might not be available. Hank On Celebrity the buffet venue is called the Oceanview Café, not the Lido. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travel Pat Posted August 23, 2016 #22 Share Posted August 23, 2016 How easy/difficult is it to get a table for 2 with flex dining? The last 2 times that my husband and I cruised with Princess, we were consistently given a hard time trying to get a table for just the 2 of us. They tried very hard to push us into sharing a table with others. On the nights we just wanted a quiet dinner alone, they gave us a beeper and we waited 20-30 plus minutes. It wasn't a great experience. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunpsyche Posted August 24, 2016 #23 Share Posted August 24, 2016 (edited) How easy/difficult is it to get a table for 2 with flex dining? The last 2 times that my husband and I cruised with Princess, we were consistently given a hard time trying to get a table for just the 2 of us. They tried very hard to push us into sharing a table with others. On the nights we just wanted a quiet dinner alone, they gave us a beeper and we waited 20-30 plus minutes. It wasn't a great experience. Sent from my iPhone using Forums We have had no difficulty obtaining a table for two and we would request and receive our preferred servers also. On our last cruise this past Xmas on the Eclipse, the longest wait we had was about 20 minutes. They gave us a beeper and we had a leisurely drink in Cellar Masters. Other than that, we were usually seated within a few minutes of our reservation, which we usually made the previous evening. They would ask if you were " Happy to share" but we never felt the slightest bit of pressure. Reservations are not necessary, but we make them as often as we can. We also tend to dine late, after 8. If you're an early diner, your experience may be entirely different. Edited August 24, 2016 by sunpsyche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanb41 Posted August 24, 2016 #24 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Many of the tables set up are for two people. That said they are very close together which can make 3 tables for two into tables of 6 if everyone gets involved in cross talk which is often the case. It is sometimes easier and quicker to get a table for two than participate in a larger table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karena1 Posted August 24, 2016 #25 Share Posted August 24, 2016 How easy/difficult is it to get a table for 2 with flex dining? The last 2 times that my husband and I cruised with Princess, we were consistently given a hard time trying to get a table for just the 2 of us. They tried very hard to push us into sharing a table with others. On the nights we just wanted a quiet dinner alone, they gave us a beeper and we waited 20-30 plus minutes. It wasn't a great experience. Sent from my iPhone using Forums We always get tables for 2 and never have any issues. Rarely do we wait more than 5-10 minutes. Same on Princess, no issues at all with getting a 2 top. Yes, they are close to others but still a 2 top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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