Early or Late Dining and why?

[Mikeb1892]

We are currently wait-listed for early dining. If we don't get moved to early prior to departure, how likely would it be for us to switch once were onboard?

 

[ilovebassets]

We are currently wait-listed for early dining. If we don't get moved to early prior to departure, how likely would it be for us to switch once were onboard?

I think it depends how far away your cruise is and how many are in your party. If it's still a while until departure (a few months at least) and you're a smaller party (2-6), you'll probably be ok. We are sailing to Alaska the first week of July as a party of 8 and just found out this week we got switched to early dining.

You've really got to know your family to know what will work for you with regards to dining times. My kids do not adjust well to time changes at all, and since we will be doing Alaska and we live on the east coast, late dining time would mean eating after midnight to their body clocks. That just isn't going to happen. The real problem is they will still wake up at their normal hour (this is the part I'm dreading about this trip), so getting up at 4am when you don't go to sleep until after 10pm will just be a disaster for us. Obviously many kids adjust better to time changes and sleep late regularly at home, and those families will be fine with late dining. But not ours!

 

[Mikeb1892]

I think it depends how far away your cruise is and how many are in your party. If it's still a while until departure (a few months at least) and you're a smaller party (2-6), you'll probably be ok. We are sailing to Alaska the first week of July as a party of 8 and just found out this week we got switched to early dining.

You've really got to know your family to know what will work for you with regards to dining times. My kids do not adjust well to time changes at all, and since we will be doing Alaska and we live on the east coast, late dining time would mean eating after midnight to their body clocks. That just isn't going to happen. The real problem is they will still wake up at their normal hour (this is the part I'm dreading about this trip), so getting up at 4am when you don't go to sleep until after 10pm will just be a disaster for us. Obviously many kids adjust better to time changes and sleep late regularly at home, and those families will be fine with late dining. But not ours!

Good to know, thanks for the info. We're a group of 4 sailing in late October so hopefully we'll have no issues getting switched.

 

[cyclenut]

We prefer late dining on cruises but on DCL we are thinking about making a change.

First of all, consider the time zone. If you are on the west coast and usually eat at 6, then you may prefer late seating. It will align better with your normal eating time.

However, if you are interested in the shows, remember that Disney does the show for late dining first, before the meal. That means you are still having to get back and get ready for dinner. Plus, if it is a real popular show, those who have early dining but decide to skip the dining room that night will come to the early show, making seating a bit more crowded. We noticed that for the Frozen show on the Wonder on January.

Remember that your dining time does not mean you have to eat then if you are OK with skipping the main dining room. You can still eat at the buffet.

I recommend early dining unless, like us, we are in the habit of dining late.

 

[Dug720]

We prefer late dining on cruises but on DCL we are thinking about making a change.

First of all, consider the time zone. If you are on the west coast and usually eat at 6, then you may prefer late seating. It will align better with your normal eating time.

However, if you are interested in the shows, remember that Disney does the show for late dining first, before the meal. That means you are still having to get back and get ready for dinner. Plus, if it is a real popular show, those who have early dining but decide to skip the dining room that night will come to the early show, making seating a bit more crowded. We noticed that for the Frozen show on the Wonder on January.

Remember that your dining time does not mean you have to eat then if you are OK with skipping the main dining room. You can still eat at the buffet.

I recommend early dining unless, like us, we are in the habit of dining late.

BUT there is time between the show and second seating (no clue why some insist on saying "feeding" - we are not pets) that you can get ready.

 

[cyclenut]

BUT there is time between the show and second seating (no clue why some insist on saying "feeding" - we are not pets) that you can get ready.

There is some time in between but if you've just been out on a shore excursion it is likely you are hot and sweaty or have sand in places you didn't know you had and you most certainly will at least need to change clothes before you go to the show. Especially on formal night.

 

[lizzyb]

We have tried both and there are positives and negatives to them both.

 

[Dug720]

There is some time in between but if you've just been out on a shore excursion it is likely you are hot and sweaty or have sand in places you didn't know you had and you most certainly will at least need to change clothes before you go to the show. Especially on formal night.

IF you do formal night.

And not everyone takes hours getting ready - even females.

Also not all excursions are all day.

 

[cyclenut]

IF you do formal night.

And not everyone takes hours getting ready - even females.

Also not all excursions are all day.

True, but my point was, that if your reason for choosing late dining is so that you can do those long/late shore excursions and not worry about being back on the ship early, don't count on it. Other lines that offer late seating offer a later show so you really can come back late and still have time to relax, take a shower and get ready for the evening.

With Disney having so many younger children on board, this would not work well. Can you imagine taking your 5 year old to a show that didn't even start until 9:30 or 10:00 pm?

It is an important factor for those who have cruised other lines and may not realize that Disney does their show BEFORE dinner for late seating.

 

[Dug720]

True, but my point was, that if your reason for choosing late dining is so that you can do those long/late shore excursions and not worry about being back on the ship early, don't count on it. Other lines that offer late seating offer a later show so you really can come back late and still have time to relax, take a shower and get ready for the evening.

With Disney having so many younger children on board, this would not work well. Can you imagine taking your 5 year old to a show that didn't even start until 9:30 or 10:00 pm?

It is an important factor for those who have cruised other lines and may not realize that Disney does their show BEFORE dinner for late seating.

It's all about choices.
If you want to do the long shore excursions you might have to sacrifice a show.
If you choose to go independent and be a pier runner you might have to miss the show -or the ship.
If you want early dining over anything, you are locking yourself into excursions that return earlier.
You can also select excursions that don't get you all that dirty and hot and sweaty so you may not even need a shower before the evening.

Each choice will affect others that you have to make. So it is about prioritizing what is most important to you - excursion, show, or food.

 

[MELSMICE]

We just returned from our first cruise (loved it and rebooked our next one already!) We did the 2nd dining. We booked the 1st dining for the next cruise, but are going to change back to the 2nd dining. It was only my husband and I and on the next cruise one of our daughter's may come along. My thoughts.....

Pros or late dining:
You could go back to your room after the day, shower, relax go the show or have a drink at a lounge before dinner
You could just grab a light snack if you got hungry
No rushing to get to dinner after an excursion
Could sit out on the verandah and have a drink or read a book before dinner while the day was winding down
Could go to one of the adult night clubs right after dinner

Cons of late dining:
Not used to eating a big meal so late every night and still felt full when we went to bed!

We are switching since there were more pros than cons for us for late dining.

 

[DogMom]

First timers here and we're torn between early and late dining. We're doing a 7 night out of NYC with 4 sea days, and our CC day all aboard is 4:30 (I think). There will only be one day we might be off the ship late (Port Canaveral day). Not so worried about DW and I, but our two boys are the concern (11 and 5). At home we typically eat between 5:30 and 6:15, and the boys are in bed no later than 8:30 pm weeknight, 9:30-10 weekend. I know I've read that people's "routine schedule" changes when on-board, but I'd like your opinion on early vs late dining. I realize we can get snacks so I'm not as concerned about the boys being hungry as I am about them being irritable due to the sleep change.

Thanks.

I like the late seating. I find myself eating less when it's later in the evening (although, drinking more). My sweetie & I are usually dinner at 7 cause of our work schedules, so the later seating isn't too far off. Plus, if your kiddos need a snack, it's ALWAYS available.

 

[Dug720]

True, but my point was, that if your reason for choosing late dining is so that you can do those long/late shore excursions and not worry about being back on the ship early, don't count on it. Other lines that offer late seating offer a later show so you really can come back late and still have time to relax, take a shower and get ready for the evening.

With Disney having so many younger children on board, this would not work well. Can you imagine taking your 5 year old to a show that didn't even start until 9:30 or 10:00 pm?

It is an important factor for those who have cruised other lines and may not realize that Disney does their show BEFORE dinner for late seating.

It's all about choices.
If you want to do the long shore excursions you might have to sacrifice a show.
If you choose to go independent and be a pier runner you might have to miss the show -or the ship.
If you want early dining over anything, you are locking yourself into excursions that return earlier.
You can also select excursions that don't get you all that dirty and hot and sweaty so you may not even need a shower before the evening.

Each choice will affect others that you have to make. So it is about prioritizing what is most important to you - excursion, show, or food.

 

[mathgeek]

First timers here and we're torn between early and late dining. We're doing a 7 night out of NYC with 4 sea days, and our CC day all aboard is 4:30 (I think). There will only be one day we might be off the ship late (Port Canaveral day). Not so worried about DW and I, but our two boys are the concern (11 and 5). At home we typically eat between 5:30 and 6:15, and the boys are in bed no later than 8:30 pm weeknight, 9:30-10 weekend. I know I've read that people's "routine schedule" changes when on-board, but I'd like your opinion on early vs late dining. I realize we can get snacks so I'm not as concerned about the boys being hungry as I am about them being irritable due to the sleep change.

Thanks.

I did a similar cruise, an 8-night out of NYC with the WDW day. I have always done early dining and did so for this cruise since I eat dinner early at home. There are a lot of sea days on this cruise, so you won't have many port days to worry about getting back on the ship in time. I had planned on eating dinner at WDW on that port day but ended up back on board much sooner since the heat kind of got to me since CC and WDW were back to back days (the cruise was in July, and the temp was in the 90's). For my cruise the WDW day had a more relaxed dining schedule and did the seating more like they do breakfast or lunch in the MDRs, but I think this has changed since my cruise in 2012 and it might be a MDR rotation night. I'd go with early seating if you're able to get it to not mess up routines. I was able to successfully change last summer to early dining once on board the ship.

 

[Mikeb1892]

I did a similar cruise, an 8-night out of NYC with the WDW day. I have always done early dining and did so for this cruise since I eat dinner early at home. There are a lot of sea days on this cruise, so you won't have many port days to worry about getting back on the ship in time. I had planned on eating dinner at WDW on that port day but ended up back on board much sooner since the heat kind of got to me since CC and WDW were back to back days (the cruise was in July, and the temp was in the 90's). For my cruise the WDW day had a more relaxed dining schedule and did the seating more like they do breakfast or lunch in the MDRs, but I think this has changed since my cruise in 2012 and it might be a MDR rotation night. I'd go with early seating if you're able to get it to not mess up routines. I was able to successfully change last summer to early dining once on board the ship.

Thanks for your suggestion and summary. It was very helpful.

 

[LocustPoint]

We enjoy late dining. We have no kids so it let's us enjoy the adult area later.

 

[SuperDry]

Another benefit of late dining is that most families with small kids will choose early dining, for many of the reasons already covered here. I don't think it matters much in the dining room how many small kids there are, but there is a noticeable difference at the shows. The early show (i.e. while early dining is going on) has noticeably less chaos going on in the audience and is more amenable to enjoying the show without distraction. Another issue is that because so many people prefer early dining, it's always at capacity, so to the extent that the ship is not at capacity, the empty tables (and seats during the show) will be in the late dining rotation.