Assigned dining times and possible changes?

[Hydro ergo]

Hello!

 

Looking at booking a somewhat last minute cruise on equinox at the end of march. As of right now the only dining time available is 8:30 p.m. in all of my years of cruising I have never done assigned dining times as I don't like sharing a table. That's just my personal preference, and no disrespect or judgment to anybody who enjoys that, but it's not for me. Do you know if it's possible to request a table for two if you have an assigned dining time? I did request waitlist for anytime dining, but not sure how likely it is that will become available. I don't want to get stuck at the buffet every night.

 

Thank you for any insight! I'm new to celebrity.

[jelayne]

What ship are you on?  If it is the Edge, Apex, Beyond or Ascent  with 4 MDRs then there is no early or late fixed seating.  All dining is anytime, go when you want.  Unfortunately the booked system was set up for the S & M Class which only have 1 MDR and have the option of set early/late and anhytime.

 

If you are not on one of the E class ships and do not clear the waitlist for anytime then on boarding go to the MDR and speak to the MD or hostess and they will do their best to get you a 2 top.

[cruisestitch]

OP said Equinox

[Team Stag]

I never had an issue getting a table for 2 with a set dining time.  So if you are at 8:30 and request a table for 2; I would say the Maitre'D would most likely honor that request.  We do check in with the Maitre'D when we board just to make sure they know that we prefer to sit alone. 

 

The one time we are assigned 8;30 due to nothing else available (waitlisted on anytime) we learned we had been moved to Anytime during that check in.  We feel that the 8:30 seating is less crowded and flows pretty well.

One last comment, since this is your first time on Celebrity, don't go to sleep on the dinner at the Ocean View Cafe.  When we eat late, we sometimes go get "appetizers" around 5 or 6 at the OCV and end up eating an entire meals and missing the dinner reservation.  😂 

[Hydro ergo]

Thank you @Team Stag! This is really helpful.  I hate to be that person, but I'm just not into the group dinners.  It's mostly because some nights I might just want an appetizer and dessert and I don't want to be beholden to someone else's schedule.  There's also a chance I may end up sailing solo and sometimes I prefer to bring a book and read during dinner. But hearing they may be able to accommodate a smaller table, that's great.  

And I certainly won't overlook the Ocean View! I have a habit of doing the appetizer thing myself! 🤣  I definitely don't mind doing the buffet, and some nights it's a better option for many reasons.  But I would hate to feel stuck.  I like options, and I like to try as much as I can, especially on a new ship and cruise line!

 

thank you!

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

OP said Equinox

Missed that.

[robbinsca]

We were on Eclipse a couple months ago. Asked my TA to arrange a large table for 4 of us to meet new people. The first night we arrived and it was a table that only seated 4.

 

We went to the Maitre D’ and he arranged for the change for the 2nd night. He acted as if it was an imposition. Long story short, our new table for 10 never had more than 6 people at it, and one table of 10 had two people every night for 5 nights.