Late seating...?

[TinkHappy]

How much will my DD's miss in the Lab? I am thinking about switching from early to late, so not to feel rushed. My DD's are 8 and 10 at time of cruise. Do you think late seating (from the east coast) is too late?

 

[Pixie Mom 3]

when is your cruise?

I think you run a chance of missing things with either seating,,,, you could get your children food, take them to the show and then to the club while you eat...

I think late seating is better because your children can see the show and not be tired.

 

[TinkHappy]

Thanks Pixie Mom 3. And, thanks for bumping for me!!

 

[bassoongirl]

We were on the Magic last week and had late seating. It was great! We didn't have to rush to get to dinner after excursions. I have a twelve year-old and a nine year-old, and we sat at a table with several other children. The servers served the children first and when they finished eating, they took off for the Lab. So, I don't think the kids at our table missed much of what was going on in the Lab. It was nice for the parents to relax and enjoy their dinners too! We normally eat dinner at 6:00 pm at home, but waiting until 8:30 was not a problem for my kids. They had a snack around 5:00.

Gayl

 

[Nysie]

TinkHappy- when are you going on your cruise? We are going in July. My dd's are 8 and 11. We booked an early seating.If they had to wait until the 8:30 seating, then the delivery of the food they would be starving! I wouldn't want to give them something before, because then they wouldn't want to eat their nice dinner. We are on east coast time also. I don't think that at their ages they would be tired at the later show.I guess it just depends on their schedule.Have fun!!

 

[TinkHappy]

Thank you for the post everyone!!

We are going November 13th...Can't wait!!

 

[DisneyMom23Boys]

Hi!

We currently have early seating for Wonder cruise 5/5/05. Our children will not want to miss the shows, but dh says that we are to eat dinner together as a family.

If we do early dinner at 6:00 we'll need to go to the show at 8:30 & I noticed on the current Navigator's that that's when the parties are going on for the kids, too!

I was thinking of having the boys eat at the buffet with the oceaneer's for dinner, attend the 6:30 show, and then dh & I will go to dinner alone. Dh doesn't want to have dinner without the boys there.

I know we have a while to decide & it will be easier switching from early to late seating if we keep it this way either a few weeks out or at check-in.

Alot to decide based just on seating preference. Either way they'll miss something.

 

[krhardy]

we have also had second seating with our 3 children. We found it to be great...they were awake for the shows. If you have first seating, they may be too sleepy for the shows. If you have second seating, and they don't want to eat, you can always grab a bite somewhere else on the ship, but at least they get to see the shows.

 

[CheapMom]

I switched from early to late because I will be traveling with a 2 year old and he will sit through a show at 6:30 but probably not at 8:30. He loves food and will be good in the restaurant no matter what time it is as long as he has chow. I am sure all my kids will need a sandwich or snack at about 4:30 to tide them over.

 

[The4OfUs]

Its funny, in considering a cruise again, I thought for sure we'd try early, but you know what...I don't think I would. I don't want to go, get STUFFED, have a drink or two and then sit through a show. I don't want to rush back from whatever port we're in to get to dinner. The late seating didn't feel late because there's a time warp for us on board, we never thought "gee, it's 5pm, we normally eat now, let's go!". Heck, we didn't eat LUNCH even once, because we were so full all the time. I definitely preferred the late seating, and the kids liked the thought (at 10 and 11) of eating and running up to the lab to do what they wanted to do while the "old folks" walked the decks or did some other boring thing. *grin*

 

[scottygirl]

We have confirmed early seating for our cruise and I have also been considering changing to late seating. My kids will be 10, 7, and 7 but the 7 year olds will be within 2 weeks of their 8th b-day and I am sure they will be more interested in the Lab than the Club. Anyhow, my question is whether or not I can change to late seating before we sail or do I have to wait until we get on board to change? My kids NEVER miss an opportunity to stay up late !!!

 

[klStacker]

We were originally confirmed for early seating for our April 17th cruise. We just changed to late a couple of weeks ago. We are using Allseastravel. I just called them and asked them to change it. They told me that it's no problem switching from early to late seating and that you can do it when you get on the ship. I wanted to have it done beforehand and they said they would take care of it. They called me right back to let me know we were confirmed for late seating. I think you can just call your travel agent and they will change it for you.

 

[scottygirl]

klStacker,

Thanks for the reply. We used allseastravel.com also. I would rather take care of switching ahead of time so that there is one less thing to worry about on embarkation day! Maybe someone who has very young children will be happy to get the early seating now.

 

[bbump]

Hi Tracy,
First of all, I wanted to say hello! I remember you posting on the 2001 Halloween Cruise thread, and I still have the bright green "Key to the World" holder you gave me!
We did late seating with our 5 year old daughter, and it worked out perfect for us.
We always ate a snack at about 5 each day, caught the early activies which are well planned, and went to a relaxing dinner. A few nights, our daughter chose to eat with the Kids Club and we had a nice dinner alone. Also...the lines for pictures are much shorter with late seating.
Good luck with whichever option you choose, and I hope you have a great time planning your cruise!

 

[TinkHappy]

bbump

HELLO!!! Hope all is GREAT!!

Thanks for your reply. I am just not sure. It is not so much the late dining that has me worried, it is the activities in the Lab that DDs might miss. that I am confused about.

 

[april riddle]

I have been a little worried about this myself - my DS's will be 9 and 11 and I hope they will be ok with this but I am sure if they get hungry there is always room service right?