Celebrity has launched Celebrity Select Dining, an option enabling passengers to choose when they eat in the main dining room for each day of their cruise.
Passengers will be asked to choose traditional dining or Celebrity Select Dining. Those choosing the latter option can visit Celebrity’s website up to four days before departure and make dinner reservations any time between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. for each cruise day.
Celebrity said it would strive to accommodate diners’ requests to eat with their own traveling companions only. Only parties of 20 or less can be seated at one time.
If space is available, passengers can switch to Celebrity Select Dining after boarding by making arrangements with the maitre’d within the first 24 hours of their cruise. However, Celebrity is encouraging passengers to make online reservations before departure to "ensure the best possible dining experience."
Passengers selecting dining times must pay gratuities before departure. They will pay Celebrity’s "recommended gratuity amounts" for their waiter, assistant waiter, dining room management and stateroom attendants, the cruise line said.
Celebrity will launch the new dining option with the Sept. 26 sailing of the Celebrity Equinox. The cruise line plans to roll out the option to the rest of the fleet, except the Celebrity Xpedition, in the first two months of 2010.
The following are rollout dates: Solstice, Jan. 10; Constellation, Jan. 17; Century, Jan. 23; Millennium, Feb. 1; Summit, Feb. 13; Mercury, Feb. 15; and Infinity, Feb. 28. Customers will be able to make day-by-day reservations on these ships starting Oct. 15.
The Solstice, due to enter service in April, will adopt the new dining policy at a date to be determined, Celebrity said.