Celebrity specialty restaurants

[macpiper]

Lately, has Celebrity been offering discounts at the specialty restaurants on the first night of a cruise?

 

Thanks

[hrhdhd]

Yes, for a certain number of tables, available in the Cruise Planner.

[keesar]

53 minutes ago, macpiper said:

Lately, has Celebrity been offering discounts at the specialty restaurants on the first night of a cruise?

 

Thanks

 

It depends on the particular cruise.  There were no discounts on the first night on Apex but we were able to get a discount on the Beyond.   Visit the Planner.    Be aware that a gratuity ( around 18%) will be added to the cost of the meal when checking out.  

[jwlane]

We have used a 1st night specialty discount that was offered on 5 of our 6 cruises since the restart.

[CaribbeanBound]

On almost every cruise we are offered a 25%-50% discount in a specialty restaurant on Night 1.  The trick is to try to get a really good discount on any other night --- which can sometimes be entertained if you ask at the restaurant reservations desk daily or with the folks often standing around trying to solicit diners as they enter the MDR at breakfast or lunchtime.  They are most inclined to offer a discount if bookings for that night are low.

[lx200gps]

When do the reservation slots for the 1st night discount usually open up for booking on line? I am trying to book the Tuscan Grill on night 1 for our May trip on the Equinox but am met with a message saying: "We’re stuffed! Reservations are currently not available."  I assume that means I've waited too long, and 4 months out they are already booked?  Or do reservations for the first night only open up later?  Thanks....

[keesar]

45 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

When do the reservation slots for the 1st night discount usually open up for booking on line? I am trying to book the Tuscan Grill on night 1 for our May trip on the Equinox but am met with a message saying: "We’re stuffed! Reservations are currently not available."  I assume that means I've waited too long, and 4 months out they are already booked?  Or do reservations for the first night only open up later?  Thanks....

 

No, reservations for the first night on our cruises opened up around 6 months beforehand.  They were gone in a couple of months.

[lx200gps]

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. 4 months out and I'm finding very poor availability of dining times for TG and Murano, forget the first night special. We'll have to hope that we have better luck getting decent times when we board. Eating at 8 or 9PM doesn't work for us and that's all I'm seeing right now. Pity the poor folks who book a last-minute cruise, there would be no availability of anything.

 

[jelayne]

Specialty dining reservations can fill up quickly, particularly for the popular restaurants.  The ships have been sailing with less crew than normal and the specialty restaurants are not booking to capacity due to the lack of staff.  
Our last 3 sailing the specialty restaurants were only booking to 40-50%. 

 

[lx200gps]

18 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Specialty dining reservations can fill up quickly, particularly for the popular restaurants.  The ships have been sailing with less crew than normal and the specialty restaurants are not booking to capacity due to the lack of staff.  
Our last 3 sailing the specialty restaurants were only booking to 40-50%. 

 

Sad to hear, but thanks for the confirmation. Do Celebrity keep a certain % of SD booking slots off the on-line booking system, or are ALL available slots put out there for pre-booking?  Our first stop after boarding will be to head for the restaurants, do we have any hope at all of being able to get seats for early dining?

[NMTraveller]

2 hours ago, lx200gps said:

Sad to hear, but thanks for the confirmation. Do Celebrity keep a certain % of SD booking slots off the on-line booking system, or are ALL available slots put out there for pre-booking?  Our first stop after boarding will be to head for the restaurants, do we have any hope at all of being able to get seats for early dining?

Following.  My plan to escape the cuts is to book some specialty restaurants.

[zestyzorra]

2 hours ago, lx200gps said:

Sad to hear, but thanks for the confirmation. Do Celebrity keep a certain % of SD booking slots off the on-line booking system, or are ALL available slots put out there for pre-booking?  Our first stop after boarding will be to head for the restaurants, do we have any hope at all of being able to get seats for early dining?

There are some reservations available on board because those with dining packages cannot make reservations until they are on board. I would say you do have hope, as long as you are flexible. 

Edited January 14, 2023 by zestyzorra

[hubofhockey]

Do they still offer a package of a few specialties for a lower total price?  Haven’t been on Celebrity since 2018. 

[lx200gps]

2 hours ago, zestyzorra said:

There are some reservations available on board because those with dining packages cannot make reservations until they are on board. I would say you do have hope, as long as you are flexible. 

Thanks. We just did order the 4-night package today, and I noticed  that, as you say, there's no way to book the times. We always prefer to eat as early as possible, as soon as the SD restaurants open, so hopefully we will get the times we want. BTW, do the SD restaurants open at 6PM? When I tried to make mock bookings at Murano and Tuscan Grill, the earliest times I could see were 6PM. Worryingly, Murano was rarely available before 8 or 9PM, far too late for us. Hopefully as Dining Package customers we will find earlier slots.

[zestyzorra]

4 hours ago, lx200gps said:

Thanks. We just did order the 4-night package today, and I noticed  that, as you say, there's no way to book the times. We always prefer to eat as early as possible, as soon as the SD restaurants open, so hopefully we will get the times we want. BTW, do the SD restaurants open at 6PM? When I tried to make mock bookings at Murano and Tuscan Grill, the earliest times I could see were 6PM. Worryingly, Murano was rarely available before 8 or 9PM, far too late for us. Hopefully as Dining Package customers we will find earlier slots.

I seem to recall some dining times as early as 5:30pm, but I'm sure it depends on staffing and demand.  I recommend heading directly to the specialty dining table near guest services or to Tuscan Grill or Murano (my preference) first thing, and book reservations for the week. 

[eas2225]

We were on the Beyond this past October, and since it was a last minute cruise booked through the Casino(Blue Chip Club), there were no specialty dining dates/times available.

 

Immediately after boarding, we went to the Guest Services area and there was a dedicated table set up with two crew members who were booking specialty restaurant reservations.

 

We were able to get the Rooftop grill on two different days and the times we preferred.

 

Since we were in Aqua, this was the only specialty restaurant we were interested in visiting.

[LMHSRN]

On 1/14/2023 at 10:41 AM, lx200gps said:

When do the reservation slots for the 1st night discount usually open up for booking on line? I am trying to book the Tuscan Grill on night 1 for our May trip on the Equinox but am met with a message saying: "We’re stuffed! Reservations are currently not available."  I assume that means I've waited too long, and 4 months out they are already booked?  Or do reservations for the first night only open up later?  Thanks....

We are on that cruise also and I booked the last two seats for Tuscan 1st night on Saturday morning.  Only 8:30 pm was available then. Took it hoping someone cx for an earlier time.

[TeeRick]

On 1/14/2023 at 11:37 AM, lx200gps said:

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. 4 months out and I'm finding very poor availability of dining times for TG and Murano, forget the first night special. We'll have to hope that we have better luck getting decent times when we board. Eating at 8 or 9PM doesn't work for us and that's all I'm seeing right now. Pity the poor folks who book a last-minute cruise, there would be no availability of anything.

 

We were trying to get a reservation at Murano for our upcoming Equinox cruise.  The only availability on any night (9 nights) was 9:30 PM.  We will try once we board.

[NutsAboutGolf]

There can be pre-cruise discounts in the cruise planner

There can be discounts once on board

There are package discounts