Dinner Seating Time Change??

[2kidsrgreat]

I booked on the 2/5/05 Magic alomst a year ago and was assigned the later dinner seating time (even though I requested the early seating). I am currently on the waiting list for the early seating. I have called Disney and my TA to try and have it changed but so far no luck.

I have a DS-5 and a DD-8 who will be asleep or at best cranky! by the time the late seating starts. I have heard that it won;t be a problem to change the seating time once on board. Does anyone know if this is true or has any advice for me?

Thanks!

Katy

 

[staylor]

Katy, I know a number of people go meet the dining room conceirge right after they board to get on the early seating list. I also know that a few $ helps. We live in TX so eating at 8:30 is really like 7:30 to us. Also, we are on the Eastern cruise and the time goes ahead an hour on the way to St. Marteen so it will really be like 6:30 to us. We will get a snack for our DS5 and DS8 so they won't be cranky. That's just us though.
Staci

 

[becobscot]

My TA waitlisted us also for the early seating. She suggested ordering for our son from room service and then having him join us for appetizers at the late seating or go to the kids club while we are having dinner. Hope this helps!

 

[crisi]

Some people have been able to switch onboard. Others have not been so lucky. Give it a shot when you board, but it probably isn't a bad idea to have a plan for late dining, just in case you can't switch.

Some people choose to feed their kids at the buffet or fast food windows, then let them zone through movies in the kids club until they get out of dinner. Others try to move bedtime a few hours later before they cruise, or take naps mid day (the nap thing wouldn't work for us - but it does for others).

 

[tvguy]

It's possible, but judging from I have read here, be prepared for late seating. But you have a ton of options to feed the kids.
For some reason Early Seating is by far the most popular. How do you folks manage to eat so early at home? It's usually 6 or 6:30 before we all get home from work, school, little league, soccer etc, so dinner around here isn't until about 7 or 7:30, and we're West Coasters, so late seating is 2 hours before our body clocks are used to eating anyway.
We even had late seating on our Alaska cruise, it really is a more relaxed dining option.

 

[mickeyfanmom]

We had our cruise booked 9 months ahead and also got late seating after requesting early. We waitlisted for early and were also linked with our friends who had early so our TA said it was likely we would be moved up.

However, after talking to many people who had cruised and reading these boards, our friends decided to switch to late and we took ourselves off of the waitlist. Our friends' children are 3 and 7 and ours are 9 and 5, but we decided that we would much have them better behaved and rested through the shows than at dinner. We felt that room service or eating in the kid's clubs were always options for them to eat, but if they acted up or were too tired to enjoy the shows, that would be more of a bummer.

I guess dinner isn't the highlight of our trip for us though. Except for Palo and then they wont be with us anyway. We also wanted to avoid having to rush back from being in port to catch the early dinner seating. But that's just us.

So I guess I'm saying that it works for people both ways and don't worry too much if you don't get switched to early.

 

[shel985]

Hey...wonder if we could just switch? (wink wink) We are booked on the same cruise date. Actually we have early seating and would much rather the later one. Wish it was that simple just to switch out...hu?

 

[mickeyfanmom]

From all that I had heard on here, it seemed like getting the late seating would be no problem. Am I wrong? Did you already try to switch? That's really interesting- it sounded to me like everyone wanted early!!

 

[the4nitz's]

On our last cruise we were wait listed for the early seating. Our 2DD's were 4 & 23mo. When we got on board I went & had it switched to early, no problems.

 

[Stimpy]

On our last cruise we were wait listed for the early seating. Our 2DD's were 4 & 23mo. When we got on board I went & had it switched to early, no problems.

What time of year did you cruise?
We're having the same problem. DS is 5 and DD will just turn 1 and we are stressed that we won't get early DS won't take naps and we can't just put DD in the "club" every night since she's too young.
BTW, we always eat dinner together at 5:30 and kids are usually in bed at 7:30. They have been on vacations with us before and the bed time is usually later but by 8PM they sometimes turn in to little monsters I would not want to subject any other passengers to that!

 

[2kidsrgreat]

Thanks to all for your input! I am feeling a little less stressed about that whole thing now. If we can;t get it moved - I'll be ready for the late meal. I am not going to let it get in the way of us having a great first cruise!

Thanks again!

Katy

 

[tvguy]

Perfect attitude Katy. You WILL have a great cruise.

Stimpy, you're lucky, even as infants my kids were never asleep before 10 pm. DS is 17 now, and I got up at 3:30 this morning and he was still up!!!!

Of course, since I have worked graveyard for 24 years, our house is a little upside down anyway!!! Plus DW and I both have jobs that do not take holidays off (unless you take your vacation time then)