Book early for the best seats

Ready to book a cruise on a Celebrity ship, or on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, which in December will take over the title of the largest cruise ship afloat? Then be prepared to start planning ahead.
For not only will you be able to book the cabin of your choice, and the excursions you want to take from each port of call, you can choose which nights you intend to have a special dinner in Celebrity’s premium restaurants, or when you want to see one of the spectacular shows on Oasis.
Celebrity’s announcement about their new restaurant options says: “During the booking process, guests will choose either Select Dining or traditional dining. Guests who choose Celebrity Select Dining also will have the choice to either dine with only their travelling companions or with other guests on the cruise.
“Guests simply go online at to choose their desired dining time -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’. ”
Interesting use of the word “simply” there, but to encourage passengers to get their bookings in early, the announcement continues: “Pre-cruise reservations are strongly encouraged in order to ensure the best possible dining experience.”
On Oasis, which will be 40 per cent bigger than the biggest cruise ship currently sailing, the impressive list of entertainments includes a 90-minute version of the Broadway musical, Hairspray; an ice show featuring characters from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales; Come Fly With Me, an aerial acrobat show; and Oasis of Dreams, a water show in the spectacular open-air Aqua Theatre, featuring Olympic champion divers.
Show schedules will be available on-line, for passengers to book seats for all shows before boarding. Reservations will be recorded to each guest’s Seapass card, which will be scanned on arrival at the venue at show time and will serve as the ticket.
Thankfully, for people like me who find it difficult to plan further ahead than the daily programme, it will still be possible to book seats on board, perhaps using the interactive TV in the cabin.
Or you could just have a casual dinner in the buffet, followed by an evening in the bar – unless you have to start pre-ordering your cocktails.