1st or 2nd seating? what about if it's a med cruise?

[disneyholic family]

We are sailing next August so not the same one, however I know they'll have a blast
Heather

i'm sure they'll have fun....they just booked a week ago....kind of hard booking after final payment as rather than paying a deposit, you have to pay the whole thing at once....very shocking to the system!!!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I was quoting from the DCL website and I realize it might change, but lately they seem pretty consistent. I know the Spanish like to eat late, as do the Italians and many other European countries as I lived in Europe for almost 13 years, including Italy For our Norway/Iceland/Scotland last year, we also ate at 6:00pm but agreed, 15 min either way isn't a huge deal but going another 30 minutes might make a later dinner, even later!

"On the Disney Magic, the main seating is at 6:00 p.m. and the second seating is at 8:30 p.m. for European cruises. For Caribbean and Bahamian cruises, dining times are staggered. Main seatings are at 5:30 p.m., 5:45 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Second seatings are at 8:00 p.m., 8:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m."

We are sailing next August so not the same one, however I know they'll have a blast
Heather

Yes, well we will see this summer.

What we agree on it is even more later than other cruises.

Normally, post the EBTA they drop back, then on the first Barcelona cruise, in the Med they drop back further. My two DCL Med cruises were as quoted.

So we agree they will be later in the Med, and we know those on LATE expecting it to be at 8.15 Will be waiting even more.

They move back the Med ones to 1/ accommodate all tours, and 2/ to satisfy Spanish who typically like to eat at 9 pm, but have a siesta in the hot afternoons.

Cruisers who book LATE in the Med should be aware that it can be very late!

 

[disneyholic family]

Yes, well we will see this summer.

What we agree on it is even more later than other cruises.

Normally, post the EBTA they drop back, then on the first Barcelona cruise, in the Med thry drop back further. My two DCL Med cruises were as quoted.

i just found the navigators for the may 29, 2016 cruise from dover to the fjords - on that one the seatings were at 6 and 8:30

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

i just found the navigators for the may 29, 2016 cruise from dover to the fjords - on that one the seatings were at 6 and 8:30

Last time I looked that Cruise didn't touch the Mediterranean Sea!

As quoted before.- You clearly are not reading my posts!

They drop back post the EBTA, the Northern European ones are at those times, then from the first cruise from Barcelona they drop back again normally.

The May 29th cruise from Dover UK to the Fjords, sails in the North Sea, and is a Northern European cruise. It never touches the Mediterranean Sea at all.

This thread asked about the Med.

My upcoming Copenhagen to Dover cruise is planned to be 6 and 8.30 pm, but that also is a Northern European cruise and is not in the Med.

Again.....

What we " agree" on is the cruises in Europe and the Med will be later, either 15 or 30 minutes later then other cruises, and this will be a deal breaker for many considering Late dinner.

 

[richmo]

I can't answer for the Med, but for both Bahamas and Alaska, we chose the later seating and were quite happy with it. We enjoyed going to the first of the stage shows (Golden Mickey's, etc.), then head off to dinner. Another nice thing about the later seating is we could be much more leisurely getting back from off-ship excursions. That was especially nice with Castaway Cay...I remember several people leaving so they could get back for their earlier seating.

 

[disneyholic family]

Last time I looked that Cruise didn't touch the Mediterranean Sea!

As quoted before.- You clearly are not reading my posts!

They drop back post the EBTA, the Northern European ones are at those times, then from the first cruise from Barcelona they drop back again normally.

The May 29th cruise from Dover UK to the Fjords, sails in the North Sea, and is a Northern European cruise. It never touches the Mediterranean Sea at all.

This thread asked about the Med.

i know that ....i live 10 minutes from the med.....in fact, i spent this morning swimming in the Mediterranean with the grand kidlet (not allowed to post pictures of him on the internet, but if i could, you'd see the gorgeous blue water/blue sky.....sun/sand/water...beach paradise)..
we won't get the barcelona navigators until august i guess....but she's made her choice for early dining...
she has all her excursions picked out - i think she said she'll be back on the ship no later than 4:30....so early dining won't be a trial in that sense..
she was most worried about the show...if taking early dining would mean being stuck with lots of kiddies in the show...
but i'm not sure how many kids will be on that cruise......i guess time will tell...

 

[JEJ]

We travel as a group of 3 families, with kids ranging from ages 6-14, and have done both Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises. We go late seating every time, and have never had any problems, particularly on the Med cruises. Our younger kids peel off to the kids club when the counselors stop in (usually about 45 minutes in).

 

[JEJ]

Oh, and for anyone wondering, on our last Med cruise (which went out of Venice) the seating times were 6:15 and 8:45.

 

[Sir William]

Caveat: We've only cruised with adults only, so don't have to worry about tired and hungry kids any more.

We've always had the second/late seating. At home we usually eat between 6.30 & 7, depending on when DW gets home, however when we travel we often eat later, especially in Europe where the eating times in some countries tend to be a bit later than we are used to. We find we adapt quickly to the change, plus we typically have a snack about 4pm to tide us over until the later dining hour.

I also don't eat large portions. I tend to have an entree with either an appetizer or soup, and seldom dessert. Consequently, I don't feel overly full after eating. Plus we often adjourn to a lounge or to our cabin for a drink, so get to bed a bit later than usual as well.

 

[RedSox68]

We always get 2nd seating -- we find it much more relaxing both before dinner and during dinner since we are last seating. I also like seeing the show first and then changing for dinner. It gives us more time in port or gives us more ready time when we have a later excursion. To us it doesn't matter the itinerary -- we like 2nd seating.

Seeing a PP saying that in the Med the late seating was at 8:45 p.m. is late to start. Wonder if it will be that late on the WBTA? We have see them split the times too, with seating at 8 p.m., 8:15 and 8:30.

 

[closetmickey]

Late worked out perfect for us last summer in the Baltic with DD's 10, 13, 14. The agent onboard with whom we booked said that unlike all other cruises, that in Europe, the second seating sells out first, due to late returns from excursions.

 

[tink1970]

I struggled with question myself, wondering if I'd want to stay off the ship when we scheduled our Dover to Barcelona in '17.

Then I remembered the one time we had late dining---I would get hungry at 4:30-5:00 every evening, have a "snack' to tide me over...then was too tired and full to eat. Once, I took a wee bit of a catnap during the meal So for me, late dining just doesn't make sense.

I figure we'll just make sure we're back on board within a reasonable time and IF it looks like we'll be late from the excursion/port description, let the servers know we plan on making alternative plans the night prio(late is bad per the military upbringing). One night or two missing main dining won't be a tragedy; I miss every pirate night on a Bahamian/Caribbean trip!

There are lots of night owls who enjoy late dining and I understand and appreciate that works for them.

 

[Plaid Princess]

We've always been Second Seating people. We tend to sleep in on vacation, which usually puts our lunch at 2:00 or 3:00, so a 6:00 dinner is just too early. Plus there's always the bonus of fewer kids at the late seating (which means fewer kids at the shows), as well as fewer full tables which means better service. It works for us, and we're sticking with it!

 

[gotomu212]

We have cruised 3 times in Europe with our son (when he was 3, 5, and then 7). We've done late dining every time and been very happy. He's always adjusted just fine to the time change, and was often off to the clubs mid-dinner.

We prefer it because we often got back to the ship later in the day from excursions and this gave us time to shower and relax for a little before dinner. We also ate lunch later than usual on our excursions. We found we were eating lunch at 2 and 3 on the DCL excursions so we wouldn't have been hungry by 6.

 

[xlxo]

I like the 2nd feeding.

• more time in port, have a local snack before reboarding and let it settle.
• less crowded and rushed, it feels more relaxing
• clothes are cleaner for shows and photos as you eat after the show
• kids are taken to the evening program right after the meal
• if you have a cabin near a busy elevator, being a night owl and sleeping after midnight means the corridor is quieter
• you get to sleep in an extra hour on debarkation morning for the 2nd breakfast.
  • more time to pack
  • get to relax and wait in the dining room for your assigned debarkation time
  • for the Alaskan cruise.... you adjust your clock forward and lose an hour of sleep on debarkation day.

 

[MeeskaMooskaMickey]

Some useful info on this thread! We are doing the Med this summer and have chosen early dining. Assuming late dining is not full, can you request late dining on just one day? Ie. on the day we go to Rome could I move us to late dining in advance just for that night? Thanks

 

[ctnurse]

We are on the 12 Night Med this summer and have late dining. We have no desire to utilize the main seating, since it works for us, and we travel with our 2 children ages 12 and 3. We also eat later at home, between 7 and 8. It is nice to enjoy a few glasses of champagne or see the show, prior to dinner on the ship. If we do get hungry we order room service, or DH runs upstairs with DD for ice cream or something from poolside.

 

[aggiedog]

I haven't read all the replies, but my vote would be late dining, which is what we did on our Baltic cruise. Not because I love to eat that late, but so that we didn't feel rushed to get back to the ship to eat and could maximize our time in these wonderful cities. If you are doing a port intensive cruise, in places you may not get to again, I think priority should be given to the port you're in, not the dining room of a ship. We would have a heavy snack mid afternoon, which easily held us over until dinner. Often the snack was out in port, trying some of the local cuisine, which just added to our overall experience. Our kids were 9, 12, 15 at the time. It would have been much harder with kids that still need naps, etc.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I like the 2nd feeding.

• more time in port, have a local snack before reboarding and let it settle.
• less crowded and rushed, it feels more relaxing
• clothes are cleaner for shows and photos as you eat after the show
• kids are taken to the evening program right after the meal
• if you have a cabin near a busy elevator, being a night owl and sleeping after midnight means the corridor is quieter
• you get to sleep in an extra hour on debarkation morning for the 2nd breakfast.
  • more time to pack
  • get to relax and wait in the dining room for your assigned debarkation time
  • for the Alaskan cruise.... you adjust your clock forward and lose an hour of sleep on debarkation day.

Oooh yes I totally forgot the late debarkation breakfast for one of my reasons, I can't even imagine getting up to go to breakfast at 6 (ish). I think I'd do Cabanas if I had to have first dinner seating.

 

[RedSox68]

Some useful info on this thread! We are doing the Med this summer and have chosen early dining. Assuming late dining is not full, can you request late dining on just one day? Ie. on the day we go to Rome could I move us to late dining in advance just for that night? Thanks

They cannot change your dining time for one day as they are pre-appointed. However, I don't think it would hurt to ask your head server if you could go to late dining on the next night. He should be able to look and see how full they are. Otherwise, do as we have done, go to Cabanas when you get back onboard. We did Rome -- a 14-hour excursion -- and we were in no mood to prep for dinner LOL. We may have even ordered room service.