Dinner Seating w/ Kids - Early or Late

[dthogue]

We will be cruising for the 1st time with our girls ages 13, 10 and 4 in January. I had originally thought we would get the early dinner seating becasue of the kids. In thinking this through I thought it might be better to get the later seating so we could enjoy late afternoon snacks and enjoy the shows before dinner. I don't want my 4yo to fall asleep during the shows.

Anyone have any suggestions? I would love to hear the pros or cons to doing this? Has anyone done this with their family? How did it work out for you? Would you do it again?

Thanks,
Tammy

 

[peg2001]

Tammy,

I haven't even cruised yet so I hope some others with experience reply to your question. However, I've decided to do early seating with my young DDs (6 and 3 at time of Jan cruise) because I would rather them be awake at dinner. They may fall asleep during the show but then it is easy enough to cart them back to the cabin for the night after the show.

I'm sure we'll snack in the middle of the afternoon as well. . .or if they stay awake long enough we can have a bedtime snack!

You'll need to decide what is best for your family but I know my girls would not be good company at the dinner table at 9 PM!

 

[DisneyKids]

We have cruised twice with our kids (2 and 5 the first time and 5 and 9 the second). Had late seating on both and we wouldn't want anything different. We have it again in October. It leaves a little more flexibility during the day (for what we like to do). Our kids seem to be able to handle the meals at that hour. It's a vacation...regular routines, etc. seem to go out the window. Keep in mind that if you plan to go to the shows, it's either show then dinner or the reverse. So, either way, the kids will be out at about the same hours.

 

[candleonwater]

The last thing I need at the dinner table is a cranky child (5 yo on last cruise)... so we had the early seating last cruise, and will have it again this time. Couldn't imagine having to make her wait so long before dinner!

 

[OurDogCisco]

I think, it depends on where you live. We cruised with our dd when she was on 1 on the Norwiegn (spelling?). We had late seating and it was perfect for us. First, we live in CA so, it allowed us to keep our time zone for dinner. Even though we never eat dinner at 5:30 pm. We eat more around 7 pm at night. Second, we usually went to the buffet on deck and fed our dd there before dinner or ordered room service. Then, during dinner she wasn't cranky waiting for the food. I am pretty sure Disney is a little more accomdating in feeding the kids quickly. OUr last cruise the wait staff was very unaccomadating. For example, if there was mashed potatoes offered as a side they wouldn't let her eat it until the main dinner was ready. So, she had to sit through appetizers, soup, salad before she got her meal. I have never been on a Disney cruise so, I am hoping for better service. Anyways, we'll be on the boat in August and we picked late seating again (our girls will be 4 1/2 and 1 this time around). Hopefully it will work out.

Good Luck on your decision!

 

[bennett]

We just came back from the Magic cruise-we had early seating and we ere so thankful we decided that-it worked out perfect-dinner then the shows-I myself hate to eat late-by the time you are done with dinner its 9:30-we have a 4 and 5 year old-wanted to enjoy dinner-they tend to be tired by the time 8:00 comes around-you definately are going to get all types of opinions on this subject-

 

[Spud]

We are currently waitlisted for the first seating. My kids are older (7 and 11) so I'm not too worried about the time. My concern is with the activities in the Lab conflicting with dinner. I'd like the kids to eat with us, but also would like them to go do the activities if they're interested.

 

[tkd lisa]

Our kids are 8 and 10, and we did the late seating. It worked out well for us. As far as them being hungry waiting so long, trust me, there's no reason to wait for food on the ship! We usually swam in the late afternoon and got pizza for DS and a hot dog for DD before we went down and changed for the evening. We got ready for dinner, then went to the shows.

After the shows, we wandered a bit or did the cabaret family shows (which are usually between the two dinner seatings), then headed to dinner (the kids were ready to eat again by then).

About the activities in the kid's clubs, there was one night (I think it was Monday, our day at sea) where the kids were doing a karaoke followed by an indoor camp out. DD wanted to do that and it was during dinner time. We just put her in the club before they went to dinner, and she ate with them (they go up to topsiders around 6 or so). If you don't plan far enough ahead to get them in the club for dinner, there's always room service, and the pizza place is open a whole lot of the time.

With all that being said, just because it worked well for us, doesn't mean it will for you. We liked having the time around 5-6:30 to use the pools when most of the kids were getting ready for dinner and eating. The only thing I didn't like was feeling so full when we went to bed.

 

[Twinave]

My kids will be 5 and 12 when we cruise. Since hubby and i both work, we are used to a late dinner at home. (7-8 pm) Then moving from Central Time where we live, to Eastern Time, the late dinner seems to suit us best. Hope you have a Great Trip!

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

I've been on 3 DCL with my twins who were 3 for two of them and 4 for one. We tried early the 1st cruise, late the 2nd cruise and chose early for our 3rd. With late seating our kids were tired, cranky and fell asleep during dinner. It was hard to keep them entertained between courses. Also, the main activity in the kids club is usually during late dinner. With late dinner, we found ourselves not getting done with dinner until 10:30pm sometimes. The first two nights we immediately went to bed after dinner and I had such horrible indigestion I was sick in the bathroom half the night. I wouldn't consider late dinner until my kids were at least 10 years old.

 

[PiperG]

Originally posted by OurDogCisco
[Second, we usually went to the buffet on deck and fed our dd there before dinner or ordered room service. Then, during dinner she wasn't cranky waiting for the food. I am pretty sure Disney is a little more accomdating in feeding the kids quickly. [/B]

On our December cruise, the kids were fed right away at dinner. As a matter of fact, our DS 5 would eat his Mac and Cheese and then ask to go to the club (we had the early seating). DH or myself would take him over between courses, and then enjoy the remainder of our dinner at our leisure. Our dinner companions also took their son over one night, so on that occasion we enjoyed a nice adult only meal.

 

[dthogue]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Still not sure what to do - it seems like there are good and bad with either decision. I like the idea of not being rushed to dinner. I know my older two DD will be fine - it is the 4 yo DD I'm not too sure about. I'm thinking with down time in the afternoon she would be ok for the late seating.

Maybe I'll flip a coin.

Tammy