Celebrity Cruises Introduces “Celebrity Select” Flexible Dining Option

For many loyal past passengers, the food has always been a good enough reason to book a Celebrity cruise. Celebrity Cruises has long been an industry leader when it comes to putting guests at the center of attention and they also listen to what their guests want. As a result, Celebrity Cruises has introduced Celebrity Select Dining, a new flexible dining option that allows guests to choose when they dine in the main dining room onboard, on a day-by-day basis, which includes the industry’s first pre-cruise day-by-day flexible dining reservation system.

“Celebrity Select Dining gives our guests the flexibility to spend their days any way they like,” said Jacques Van Staden, Vice President of Culinary Operations, Celebrity Cruises. “Whether they wish to enjoy more time in a specific port of call one day and dine later that evening than another, or whether they wish to keep a traditional set dining time, they will receive the same amazing service and enjoy the same menu. It’s all about our guests, and it’s all about choice.”

No other cruise line that offers a flexible dining option also offers pre-cruise day-by-day reservations. Through this industry-leading technology, Celebrity’s guests can go online to choose their desired dining time–anytime between 6 and 9:30 pm–for each day of their cruise, up to four days prior to boarding. Reservations also can be made onboard with the main dining room’s Maitre d’. Pre-cruise reservations are strongly encouraged in order to ensure the best possible dining experience. Guests can pre-book their dining times online at CelebrityCruises.com. All dining times are subject to availability, and guests who elect Celebrity Select Dining must pay gratuities.

During the booking process, guests will choose either Celebrity Select Dining or traditional dining. Guests will be accommodated on a first-come/first-served basis. Guests who choose to customize their onboard dining times through Celebrity Select Dining also will have the choice to either dine with only their own traveling companions or with other guests on the cruise, and Celebrity will work to accommodate this choice. Guests sailing on Celebrity’s newest ship, the 2,850-guest Celebrity Equinox, beginning with the Sept 26, 2009 sailing, will be the first to experience Celebrity Select Dining. Online booking for pre-cruise day-by-day dining reservations for this sailing has opened. Guests who are already booked on Celebrity Equinox’s sailings taking place on or after Sept 26 can choose to switch to Celebrity Select Dining.

With the exception of sailings on Celebrity Xpedition, the 92-guest mega-yacht sailing year-round in the Galapagos Islands, the option to choose Celebrity Select Dining is now available for all other participating ships beginning with the sailing dates noted below and continuing through all cruises currently open for sale. Celebrity Select Dining’s online day-by-day dining reservations will be available for all participating ships as of Oct 15, for sailings beginning with those noted below and continuing for at least two months from those sailing dates. For sailings not available for booking day-by-day online reservations as of Oct 15, guests will be able to place their day-by-day reservations no less than 30 days prior to their sail date.

• Celebrity Solstice – Jan 10, 2010 sailing
• Celebrity Constellation – Jan 17, 2010 sailing
• Celebrity Century – Jan 23, 2010 sailing
• Celebrity Millennium – Feb 1, 2010 sailing
• Celebrity Summit – Feb 13, 2010 sailing
• Celebrity Mercury – Feb 15, 2010 sailing
• Celebrity Infinity – Feb 28, 2010 sailing

Guests planning to experience Celebrity Eclipse, the third ship in Celebrity’s new Solstice Class, which will enter service in April 2010, will be able to elect Celebrity Select Dining on a date that will be announced later. Guests can visit CelebrityCruises.com/celebrityselectdining to see a more comprehensive list of sailings for which Celebrity Select Dining’s day-by-day reservations will be available for booking, and what the booking dates are.

Individuals who elect to take advantage of Celebrity Select Dining before cruising will be required to pre-pay (before the cruise) Celebrity’s recommended gratuity amounts for their waiter, assistant waiter, dining room management and stateroom attendants. If guests wish to choose to change from traditional dining to Celebrity Select Dining after they have boarded, they can do so within the first 24 hours of their cruise, on a space-available basis. Guests who choose Celebrity Select Dining while onboard or who are otherwise not eligible to be charged prior to sailing will automatically have gratuities added to their onboard portfolio account.

Celebrity Select Dining is subject to availability. Only groups of 20 or less can be seated at one time. Celebrity ships that offer specialty restaurants in addition to the main dining room already offer online pre-cruise reservations that can be made up to four days prior to boarding. Guests who dine in Celebrity’s specialty restaurants are charged a per-person reservation fee. For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1-800-437-3111 or visit CelebrityCruises.com.