Hit me with the Pros and Cons of late dinner seating (with Kids)

[scottie]

We are struggling with this question...We are currently booked for a late dinner seating and are now doubting this decision. There will be 3 adults and 2 children (5-1/2 and 1-1/2). I had read some info previous to booking that lead us to decide on the late seating but now we are beginning to second guess ourselves. All you out there, especially those with kids, who have sailed previously please let us know your feelings on late dinner seatings. Our kids are flexible on the time the hit the bed and eat dinner and I know we can always get them something around 6pm at a buffet.

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

I thought late seating would be perfect for us since DH doesn't get home from work until 6:45pm and we usually eat around 7pm. Boy was I wrong. Our kids were too tired to eat and fell asleep several times during dinner. Even though main seating is a little earlier than we usually eat I would rather go then and get them a snack while winding down in their pj's.

[cruisnfamily]

Our family generally eats dinner around 6 pm at home so the early choice was an easy one for us. It worked out perfectly on our last cruise. We all(Us & kids) ate dinner together, saw the show of the evening and dropped the kids at the club leaving us free to explore the adult bars and clubs. We only lasted an hour or so after that and then collected the kids and off to bed.

This year, we may allow the kids to eat with the club once or twice (if they desire) as we didn't do that last time. We may also skip a show or two, don't know yet. Definitely want to check out Mouseketeer & duelling pianos!

Anyway, I can't see stuffing yourself that late in the evening...for us, it would probably amount to an extra meal during the day...at like 4 or 5 to hold us over (extra calories I can assure you we don't need) ...and also, we would probably go to bed very shortly after dinner. No, I'm sure we would not enjoy late seating.

Works for some who say they are too rushed for early seating or eat late regularly but not for us.

I don't think our kids would fall asleep at dinner, I just think they (and we) would be hungry earlier and prefer to eat earlier.

[Gina]

We had late seating in February (DS-just-turned-6) and it worked out perfectly for us. We usually eat sorta late anyway, and I knew that it would bug us way more to cut our afternoons short to get ready for dinner. I loooovved it at about 6pm, when deck 4 cleared out and I had my choice of those wonderful comfy chairs. :)

About half of the time, he was having way too much fun in the Oceaneer Club, and I went to dinner by myself. (I had counted on this happening some, and had requested a large table so I'd have others to talk to. :) ) We had perused the kids' Navigators ahead of time, and had already figured out that for certain events, like Goofy's Giggle Gala, he could stay in the OC. On special nights, like Formal Night, he was coming to dinner with me. If I knew I would be dining without him, I would get him dinner somewhere beforehand, because he preferred that to eating with the club -- they eat really early.

Late seating worked out really, really well for us, but then again, we're both night owls. I think you know your family best! Us, we're booked for late seating again next February. :)

-gina-

[carlamom]

I never cruised before , but I read that with late seating you also get late breakfast on the last day- I would really like that better than getting up and eating early.

[iloverags2]

We found late seating to be better. While at the ports, we would be off on shore excursions, or even exploring on our own. Having late seating gave us some breathing room where we didn't feel we needed to rush back to the ship for dinner. If we did get back early, it gave us time for naps or just winding down. Every family is different though, so you may want to decide what you will be doing while at the ports.

[roliepolieoliefan]

We cruised when or DS was 3 and late seating was a nightmare for us. We usually eat late too but with all the activity he was involved in during the day he was ready for bed way earlier than at home. And that usually meant at dinnertime. He didn't eat well and was cranky at dinner everynight to put it mildly. We are cruising again in Nov. 2003 and its early all the way for us.

[gscott8075]

Also, note that the Oceaneers Club takes the kids to dinner during first seating. We had late the first time and it was tough.

[fixray]

Considering your childrens ages I would go with early seating. With early seating you can get them to bed at a decent time so they are awake early enough to enjoy the next day. If you don't like the early breakfast seating just go to the buffet. We prefered the buffet no matter what time we got up. More choices and you just sit back and relax while getting ready for the days activities. Also with the early seating after you eat you can go to a show, it's a perfect place for the little ones to wind down and get ready for bed. Put thier PJ's on before the show you can just carry them back and drop them in bed.

[prymsu]

Your kids will be so active, that they will be worn out if you go for late seating, and then you won't get to enjoy dining as much, or you might find your self not being able to keep the kids awake to make it to the dining room.

[Cheryl in PA]

We returned from the March 23rd cruise and had late seating. Our children are almost 11 and 7 1/2. I had purposefully chosen late seating cause I didn't want to rush for dinner and felt the kids could snack in the late afternoon and we would be fine. Well, that was not always the case.

Pros of late seating as I see it:
1. Kids are totally awake and enjoying the 6:30 show every night.

2. We didn't have to rush to be at dinner at 6:00 and we didn't have to rush through dinner either since no one was waiting to be fed later.

3. Kids had the opportunity to eat at Topsiders between the show and late seating and go to kids clubs (which the loved) while hubby and I ate alone! :) This occurred twice not counting Palos. The kids totally loved the variety at Topsiders and were happy to do it this way.

Cons of late seating as I see it:

1. Kids totally falling asleep in their food!

2. Kids wanting to leave the dining rooms earlier than we would want to cause they were sooooo tired.

3. Kids having no energy after dinner to do much of anything.

My recommendation is that if you are not 100% sure your kids can hang, do the early seating!

Enjoy!

[Dave_from_Marietta]

If it's a choice between the kids falling asleep at the shows or falling asleep at dinner, I'd go with early seating. Reason: the shows are optional, and except for "Hercules" and "Disney Dreams", not all that interesting for the little kids. They can snuggle in your lap while they sleep.

But it's a bit more difficult if they fall asleep at dinner because dinner is more interactive and you're more distracted. Plus, you're going to have dinner <i>every</i> night.

[Casey's mom]

We were on the 3/23 cruise with our 2 DD's (5-1/2 and 4) and had early seating. No way could they have made it to an 8:30 dinner. Two nights they ate with the kids club (at around 5:30) and one night they had room service (before we ate at Palo). DD4 actually fell asleep the last 2 nights before dessert. The kids were really busy during the day -- swimming and playing -- and were hungry by 6. Many nights they went to the clubs after dinner rather than the shows (their choice) and I think that gave them a second wind in some instances, but they were always asleep 5 minutes after we picked them up (between 9 and 10). On the con side, you have to start getting ready for dinner (bath etc) by 5ish, so it does cut the day a little short. Enjoy your trip! :)

[IrishCowboy]

We've had the early seating and the late seating. The late seating worked much better for us. My DD-11 and DS-5 had no problems staying awake but I can see where some younger children may have problems staying up late.

We really liked the late seating because it worked better with excursions. With the early seating, we always seemed to be rushing back to the room to get ready. This could be a bigger factor on the western cruise. The Magic doesn't arrive in Key West until noon, with early seating you only have about 5 hours to spend ashore. The Magic arrives in Cozumel at 11am, only giving about 6 hours.

Also not too thrilled about the early seating breakfast on the last day, I think it was around 6:45!

[liza]

Something to factor in (that had not occurred to me prior to our cruise) -- think about your children's "body clocks". We live in the Central time zone, so 6 p.m. was "really" 5 p.m. for our children -- and at least on the Magic, for part of the cruise you gain an hour, so then 6 p.m. is "really" 4 p.m. We had early seating, and often my children (3 and 7) weren't all that hungry during dinner.

If we go again, I will probably book the later seating.

[din]

We just got back over Easter, and got the late seating. Based on what I read here we kept the late seating.

Since it was easter week the ship was full of families. Over 900 kids according to our kids counselor. While I was standing in line I heard a lot of comments about the late seating and how they would have to get on board to request changes from other passengers.

We had snacks, fruits, cookies, and fries etc late afternoon and it worked out great. We enjoyed the early show, and even had time before dinner to visit the dueling pianos show and other shows. Dinner was great and we were not rushed. We noticed a lot of empty tables and I asked the head waiter what was going on. He said he had extra tables setup for the early seating to try and accommadate the early seating request. Those that he could not help just did not show up. With that said the waiters seems more relaxed and even spent time playing with the kids. It worked great for us and would do the late seating again.

[BlazerGB]

8:30 is soooo late - wouldn't it be perfect if Disney would do early seating at 5 or 5:30 to accommodate the little kids and late seating at 7:30 or 8??????

[scottie]

din,

May I inquire as to the age of your children. We are trying to gather every little piece of info we can, as you can see ;-)

[Dustin & Shelby's Mom]

Another thing to factor in is how early/late your kids get up. Since my DS (10) and I had traveled through 5 time zones, the late seating was perfect for us. It was hard for us to get up that early. Some days we were getting ready for breakfast as others were starting lunch.

[mom2buzzandwoody]

We had late seating for our 7 day cruise - two boys ages 10 and 4 - they did fine at late seating. However, on the days that the 4 year old ate with us instead of going to his club I made sure he napped/rested in the afternoon. We did the three day last year and had early seating and felt really rushed to get ready to eat at 6. I hadn't thought that they would nap at all but they did and then I had to wake them up to get ready to go eat. We only did two of the shows so it was nice to be able to relax in the late afternoons and enjoy a dueling piano show/family show, etc. before dinner. If you think you will really want to see all of the shows in the Walt Disney Theatre then I don't think it will really matter much what seating you want - you'll still need to be ready by 6 or 6:30 or you'll have to go to your room right after the show and get ready for dinner. We especially enjoyed the fact that on the days in port we didn't have to rush to dress for dinner.

[nigellong]

Like a lot of you we are having a hard time with the late dinner seating we have been given for our June 29 7 day eastern cruise - we have an active, social 6 year old son. But IF we wanted to change, how easy is it to do that: either now, before we leave, or on the Magic?

[MICHELLENDEAN]

I had the late seating with my 2 year old and I am Still unsure about how to advise you on this one:
PROS:
no rushing
being able to take your formal/character pictures early (5ish, I believe) while others are getting ready for the early dinner.
Having the kids awake for the early shows...although the only one my daughter actually sat through was Disney Dreams because of all the characters, costumes...etc...
the others were a bust, she lasted maybe 15 minutes and that was one of the reasons we didn't request an early seating ..I thought she'd love the shows with all the characters but really only one show had them.
CONS:
Tired, kids
hungry kids
kids who couldn't and didn't wait to eat (this could also be a pro) you can order room service or have the kiddos have an early supper at Pluto's to hold them until the big dinner) then they could eat or just have dessert.
My little one would just about be at meltdown level and one of us always took her in the stroller and stolled her until she either fell asleep. or unfortunalty I sent my husband for dinner and I ended up eating late in the room.
Either way it's just PLAIN HARD to travel with little ones and be on anyone elses schedule (dinner/shows) you just have to play it by ear!
GOOD LUCK!

[cumickey]

We have a DS3, and requested late seating as a decision had to be made!!. Whatever the choice we would be second guessing till we are on the cruise. Our plan is to go back to the room about 3pmish and let him nap for a couple of hours, we have a verandah so looking forward to sitting out there and reading a book at this recharging session!!. But with kids you just never know what they will do, always a surprise!.

BUT!!!!!, after reading these posts I am now tempted to change my request!, as the idea of going to a show after eating appeals. Wish they did room babysitting as once he is asleep it would be great to party!. If DS does not nap that sleep could be as early as 7pm after all the activities we will be enjoying and lots of fresh sea air!.....his parents may collapse too!, but what a waste of time sleeping is on a disney cruise LOL!.

Thanks so much for posting this question though as it is great to hear other peoples experiences with this dilema. Keep posting previous cruisers with little ones!

Decisions, decisions!