Is reservation required for Blue?

[atabs12]

First Celebrity Cruise is coming up. We will be in Aqua Class. Do I need to make Dining reservation for Blue ahead of time in the cruise planner or just show up? Thanks 

[bdrcole]

Just show up.

[markeb]

Just show up. Unless something’s changed, they don’t take reservations. 

[bdrcole]

In the past there has been a card in our stateroom on the first night of the cruise with a time they suggest you show up at the Blu.  Apparently they do that to try avoid everyone showing up when they open.  They have always given us a very late dining time like 8:30 PM and we like early dining.  We just ignore the time they have suggested and go to the Blu when we want to dine.  

The reason I mention this is the event you have a card in your stateroom on the first night.  You do not have to go at their suggested time if it does not fit your schedule. When you check in at the Blu the staff has no idea of what time was suggested and they will seat you in the dining room with no questions asked.

Have a great cruise and enjoy the Blu.

[keesar]

16 minutes ago, atabs12 said:

First Celebrity Cruise is coming up. We will be in Aqua Class. Do I need to make Dining reservation for Blue ahead of time in the cruise planner or just show up? Thanks 

In Blu, there are no reservations.  On the first night, they will suggest a time to come to dinner in an attempt to prevent overcrowding.  We have felt it is more of a suggestion and you can just show up.  

 

It can be very chaotic the first night there...Then it settles down.

Edited August 23, 2021 by keesar

[atabs12]

17 minutes ago, bdrcole said:

In the past there has been a card in our stateroom on the first night of the cruise with a time they suggest you show up at the Blu.  Apparently they do that to try avoid everyone showing up when they open.  They have always given us a very late dining time like 8:30 PM and we like early dining.  We just ignore the time they have suggested and go to the Blu when we want to dine.  

The reason I mention this is the event you have a card in your stateroom on the first night.  You do not have to go at their suggested time if it does not fit your schedule. When you check in at the Blu the staff has no idea of what time was suggested and they will seat you in the dining room with no questions asked.

Have a great cruise and enjoy the Blu.

 

17 minutes ago, keesar said:

In Blu, there are no reservations.  On the first night, they will suggest a time to come to dinner in an attempt to prevent overcrowding.  We have felt it is more of a suggestion and you can just show up.  

 

It can be very chaotic the first night there...Then it settles down.

Thank you all so very much for this information. This is truly helpful for us Newbies.

[TeaBag]

They often leave a 30% discount card in the cabin for the first night dining only.  This takes the heat off Blu when people accept this and dine at a discount in a specialty restaurant.

[DaKahuna]

The last time we sailed in Aqua we told the maitre'd in Blue that we would like to eat at 6:30 pm each evening.  We showed up at 6:25- 6:40 pm each evening and were seated at one of three tables that were next to each other.  

 

We never had to wait more than 5 minutes to be seated either.  They might not take reservations but they will do their best to honor request.

 

[2theship]

When it's just the two of us, we simply go when we're ready and it may vary from one night to the next. On our last family cruise in 2019, we had eight people so I checked with the Maitre D' on the first day. Our plan was to go to the early show then dinner. He had a table for eight waiting for us every night when we arrived.

[dkjretired]

13 hours ago, TeaBag said:

They often leave a 30% discount card in the cabin for the first night dining only.  This takes the heat off Blu when people accept this and dine at a discount in a specialty restaurant.

Yes, there is usually a discount for one of the specialties, the percentage may vary cruise to cruise. Be careful, on my cruises that slip was small and easily missed in the envelope. Check the menus though, for awhile they were doing filet mignon on first day in Blu.

[cruzzzinma]

1 hour ago, 2theship said:

When it's just the two of us, we simply go when we're ready and it may vary from one night to the next. On our last family cruise in 2019, we had eight people so I checked with the Maitre D' on the first day. Our plan was to go to the early show then dinner. He had a table for eight waiting for us every night when we arrived.

This was our experience with a party of 8 on the Solstice. The Maitre’D asked us to choose the same time each night and he’d made sure a table was ready for us. If our plans changed, he asked us to stop by and let them know. If plans changed, one of us stopped by when they opened to let them know whether we were coming, when we’d like to come and how many were coming. 

[Jim_Iain]

It may depend on the cruise.   We were on a cruise and are late diners so not a problem.

 

The first night the maitre d' was an absolute mess.    He said then when he opened there was a huge line and 90% of the Blu guest arrived at opening.    He was upset because he had to turn people away and have them come back later.   He was forced to implement a reservation requirement for our cruise only.      He said that had never happened to for and he was overwhelmed   

[keesar]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

It may depend on the cruise.   We were on a cruise and are late diners so not a problem.

 

The first night the maitre d' was an absolute mess.    He said then when he opened there was a huge line and 90% of the Blu guest arrived at opening.    He was upset because he had to turn people away and have them come back later.   He was forced to implement a reservation requirement for our cruise only.      He said that had never happened to for and he was overwhelmed   

 

Must have been the early birds group who had to be home before it got dark.    😀