jodi

Interesting that you say Celebrity does not offer optional choice dining (or maybe I misunderstood your meaning) because my husband and I have booked a Celebrity cruise in Jan 02 and we were asked by the travel agent which we preferred, early or late dining.We will be cruising on the Century to the Western Carribean. Does anyone have an opinion they would like to give me on this particular ship? Thanks

Andy

I think what you are getting confused is OPEN seating dining-where you can arrive at dining room at anywhere from 7-9pm,,,and personal choice dining ,which allows you to go to the optional dining rooms that charge a service fee...and regular dining -which gives you a choice of early or late seating dining....the last type dining is the norm for the past 20 years on the larger cruise lines... Personal choice is something new that Princess introduced about 1 1/2 age and open seating dining is usually on the smaller,more upscale ships.

Beth

<BR>One more: Optional dinning room or restaurant which DOES NOT charge you just need to make a reservation.

Jodi

Great!! Thanks for he prompt replies. I have learned a lot from reading on this site.

Deb

Jodi, <BR>Sorry if I confused you. <BR>There are always early and late seatings on cruises. <BR>Princess has started the option of what they call Personal Choice Dining, which means you call down to the dining room and make a reservation for that same evening, time and table size, rather than have a set time and table to eat at every night. For those that prefer the Traditional dining, you can still choose between early and late seating and size of table but you would have to stick with whatever option you choose for the entire cruise. Hope this helps. <BR>I do believe that Princess is the only cruise line offereing this now. Whatever you choose, Enjoy !!!

deb

Thank you again. We just gave our deposit today for a Jan cruise on Celebritys Century. I have heard a few negative remarks about there being no snacks, buffet etc.. after returning from shore excursions. Do you have any knowledge of this?

cruzinca

We sailed Celebrity (Mercury) and they have "Alternative Dining" which is great for those of us that didn't want to dress for dinner. You could make a reservation or stand in line and wait for a table. I suggest making a reservation because as the word gets out, it's more difficult to be seated at Alternative Dining because it gets very popular and very busy. Unlike Princess' Personal Choice, Celebrity's Alternative Dining does NOT have the same menu as the traditonal dining room. Alternative Dining had one soup, one salad, fresh fruit cup, one desert and 5-6 entrees. The food was excellent. We ate at Alternative Dining every night except formal nights when it was closed.