Late or Early Dinner

[Purr8982]

This will be our first cruise and we have a 5-going-on-15 year old. What dinner time would be better? I am leaning towards the later time so we can see the early shows, etc. But am having second thoughts.

 

[princesspiglet]

We have done both and are split on what we prefer. Our first cruise DD was 9 and we did second seating. She loved being able to eat her meal first and then go to the club with the rest of the kids. We loved having a relaxed meal with just adults. The thing we didn't love was the stuffed feeling we had going to bed.

Our second cruise we switched to first seating. We hated having to rush back from our excursions to get ready for dinner, DD (10 at the time) hated having a looong drawn out meal before she could to to the Lab, but we loved being able to "work" off the calories before bed by dancing, walking, etc.

Our 3rd and 4th cruise is coming up in June (B2B on Dream) and we decided to do both seating's this time. Our 4-night we are doing the late seating, so DD can do the Lab again and our 3-night we are doing the first seating. We are not doing any excursions on the 3 night, so we won't have to rush to get ready.

I know I probably didn't help much on your choice, but there are pro's and con's to both options. You have to weigh the factors to see which one would be better for your family. If your daughter can sit still for 2 hours at a time while eating, then the 1st would be good due to bed times, napping, etc. If she can't, then I would choose late seating so she can eat fast and then head to the club. Either way- all the dining rooms are very child friendly. She will find lots of things to keep her busy and entertained and the servers do a wonderful job at catering to the kids.

 

[epfootballcutie04]

what are your reasonings for having second thoughts?

We won't eat anything but late dinner for the following reasons:

- its similar to the time we eat at home
- if we get hungry before dinner there are NUMEROUS places we can grab something to satisfy us before dinner
- generally speaking, less little kids at the late dinner (are there still kids, yes absolutely but I don't notice them as much as the earlier seating)
- we like going from show to dinner... dinner to show not so much
- we aren't as rushed on boarding day going from sail away to room to change and straight to dinner
- i feel like the second seating is a little less of rushed feeling since first seating has to be cleaned and re set for second seating

Just my two cents!

I do know that first seating tends to fill up faster for some reason. And I also have read on here that if you have certain requests of dining rotations or table for just your family, etc that it's more likely to be granted on second seating. How true those statements are, I'm not quite sure.

 

[pillow]

We used to prefer only first seating because we don't like to go to bed full. However, I think on our next cruise we will try second. I LOVE the fruit and cheese tray that you can have delivered to your room. I like the idea of having wine/cheese as an app before the show and then dinner afterwards. And I have to say that on our last cruise, we found the first seating to be LOUD! Funny, we've never noticed this before. Perhaps second seating will be a little quieter with fewer kids. Or perhaps it just had to do with the location of our table??

Jodie

 

[Purr8982]

That does help!! My second thoughts come from having her having to wait a little later to eat, but I do agree with going from show to dinner to other activities. We eat later at home too so I suppose that would stick with the normal routine. And there are options if we get hungry lol which I'm sure wont' be a problem! I certainly don't want to rush getting ready for formal night!

 

[tweis]

As a PP stated there are pros and cons to both. Neither work great for us. We had early on our first cruise and my DSs (9 & 10 at the time) complained about having to stop what they were doing to get ready for dinner. Early is more in line with when we eat at home (6-6:30) but on vacation it was kind of a bummer.

So on our next cruise with just DH and I, late dinner seemed the obvious choice. We were stuffed after dinner and did not want to do anything but go back to our room. We wanted to go do things around the ship and work off some of those calories but it just didn't happen.

We cruise again in April and we have main dining but I am going in with more of a "go with the flow" attitude. If my boys truly do not want to stop what they are doing and if an argument just isn't worth it, I will either let them eat on the pool deck and then go back to Edge while DH and I enjoy the MDR or we will all go to Cabanas. Yes, Cabanas will be sit down service but we wont' have to be there at 5:45. I really wish DCL had another option but since they don't, we will just work it out so that everyone is happy even if it means missing an MDR. I'm trying to learn to pick my battles.

 

[fumipappa]

We always prefer late seating...

Only one condition people have to remember is the time zone difference. If you are from west coast then going to caribbean, 1st seating is 3PM at your time. And if you are from east coast, late seating for west coast cruise is 11PM.

 

[pillow]

Yes, Cabanas will be sit down service but we wont' have to be there at 5:45. I really wish DCL had another option but since they don't, we will just work it out so that everyone is happy even if it means missing an MDR. I'm trying to learn to pick my battles.

Our last cruise was our 6th, and I got tired of being on a "schedule" with the MDR's. The night we went to Cabanas was one of my favorites. It was so quiet up there and relaxed. And although our MDR servers were great, we got a little tired of the "over the top" hectic atmosphere.

So do what works for you.

Jodie

 

[wiigirl]

We always prefer late seating...

Only one condition people have to remember is the time zone difference. If you are from west coast then going to caribbean, 1st seating is 3PM at your time. And if you are from east coast, late seating for west coast cruise is 11PM.

 

[JohnDS]

we chose late so that we wouldn't be rushed getting back from excursions to get cleaned up for dinner.

 

[rentayenta]

We live in Utah and chose late for a few reasons, we'll see how it works out.

• late is closer to the normal time we'd eat considering the time change
• don't want to rush back on our port days. We don't have to be back on the ship until 5:45 on our Cozumel day and 4:45 on our CC day
• It's my understanding the pools clear out about 4:30 when folks with early dinner are getting ready
• later sounds more relaxed in general

 

[tweis]

Our last cruise was our 6th, and I got tired of being on a "schedule" with the MDR's. The night we went to Cabanas was one of my favorites. It was so quiet up there and relaxed. And although our MDR servers were great, we got a little tired of the "over the top" hectic atmosphere.

So do what works for you.

Jodie

I can't wait to try Cabanas. Everyone comments about how the food comes out a lot fresher and hotter than the MDRs. We are going on a 4 night and are planning to try it at least once this time.

 

[LILRERE]

just got back from our cruise and this is the first time I regretted late seating! I thought it would be okay we have a 3 and 6 year old but it was way too late for them. My son would go to the kids club when they picked them up at the restaurants each night but most nights his food had just got to our table at 9:00-9:30 so he was rushing and we ended up walking him up there 1 or 2 nights. We would snack before hand but I think I would do early seating on Disney. They also have a lot of character meets around 9 so I would try to take my daughter to them while we waited for food and I felt like I never really sat and enjoyed dinner. She fell asleep a couple of nights at the table. the table beside us had older children and they fell asleep every night at the table! They brought table clothes to cover them up with and arranged chairs for my daughter to sleep laying down We did not finish before 10:30 but I think that was partly due to our waiter we were always the last ones getting our food

 

[tynkerbell]

On our first cruise we thought late dining would be perfect since we were coming from the West Coast, but we hated it. We had adjusted to the time change right away and by the time dinner came around we were tired and full.

 

[russ0907]

We have done early seating. We are from the west coast but usually spend a few days in FL prior to leaving and therefore eating times are along the standard 6ish. our first cruise with DD(4 at the time), we tried late seating because of the time change. We ended up changing to early. DD would eat with us then half through dinner I would take her to club and enjoy the rest of dinner with DW.

 

[Zandy595]

One thing to remember about dinner at Cabanas, they won't be open the first or last nights of your cruise.

 

[tweis]

Yep! I'm on a 4 night and I know that it will only be open on nights 2 and 3. We haven't made it to Cabanas on any of our other cruises but do plan on getting there this time.

 

[smitty11k]

Our 1st cruise was a 4 night and we had late dining. I gained 7 pounds! We ate and then went to bed. It was terrible. Our last 3 have all been 7 nights with early dining. The most I have gained is 2 pounds. We eat, go to show, and then go do whatever else is going on. So you see why I prefer early!

 

[jana616]

We just booked our first family cruise, and I'm trying to decide this as well. Our kids will be 9, 7, and turning 4 on ours. We typically eat at 6-6:30 at home (EST), and they go to bed at 8ish, but of course we are planning for them to stay up much later on the cruise. I know with the late seating, they can get their food quicker and then the kids club people will come and pick them up. At the first seating, will they bring their food quicker and then one of us could bring them to the club before returning to finish our meal in peace? I am so torn on what to do. We definitely want to see the shows each night...I just don't think they will sit happily for two hours each night for dinner...but I think the late seating is way too late for them since they are normally in bed at that time at home. Help!

 

[MickeyChix]

We always do first only because that's when we eat at home!!! Besides, you never really stop eating on a cruise-------love those chocolate chip cookies poolside!!!