Main or Late Seating with an 18 month old?

[ct7878]

We will be doing the EBTA cruise in May of 2022 with our baby who will be 18 months at the time of sailing. I would be curious to get others perspective on the best dining time for a little one. We are later people by nature and have also preferred 2nd seating- we don't normally eat until 7:30 at home on a regular basis and at this point our little on is traditionally up until 9 pm or so. Given this, I am naturally inclined to go to 2nd seating. While this would be our preference trying to think what might be best for the little one- eat earlier or better to have an earlier showtime with our little guy. Since I am a first time mom, this is new to me, so trying to get some insight from others who have sailed with littles. We do plan to use the Small World Nursery a little bit- although not every night. Given that this is a 13 night cruise, I don't want to make the wrong decision!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We will be doing the EBTA cruise in May of 2022 with our baby who will be 18 months at the time of sailing. I would be curious to get others perspective on the best dining time for a little one. We are later people by nature and have also preferred 2nd seating- we don't normally eat until 7:30 at home on a regular basis and at this point our little on is traditionally up until 9 pm or so. Given this, I am naturally inclined to go to 2nd seating. While this would be our preference trying to think what might be best for the little one- eat earlier or better to have an earlier showtime with our little guy. Since I am a first time mom, this is new to me, so trying to get some insight from others who have sailed with littles. We do plan to use the Small World Nursery a little bit- although not every night. Given that this is a 13 night cruise, I don't want to make the wrong decision!

It really depends on what sort of schedule your little one is on. When he usually eats at home vs what time it is in the time zone you are going to, and for how long. Since it's a trans Atlantic cruise all that figuring is out the window, due to the major time changes involved.

That said, some children are VERY adaptable and will just go with how life hands things to them.

 

[ssgtravel]

We haven't traveled with a baby, but be aware that there will be 5 nights of time changes during the trip where you "lose" an hour of sleep, in case this makes a difference. There are also several alternatives to the main dining rotation, including Cabana's and room service, in case you find the late seating too late on any particular night. If you think your son will enjoy the shows, then I think you might want to preference the early showtime. I think some folks in your situation might be inclined to feed the child early, attend the show with him, then put him in the nursery while you enjoy the late dining yourselves.

 

[Geomom]

You'll be losing 5 hrs on the cruise, kids that age generally stick to their time zone for a bit. (We took our first child west 3 time zones when she was 20 months...first day she was wide awake at 3 am wanting breakfast!) Since you're travelling East through time zones, I think late will actually work for you. Say night 1 is 8pm dinner, the next night it would feel like dinner is at 7pm for your child. Your child will adjust a bit, but they're not like adults who go by the clock time.

 

[DisneyConvert]

We took our son (who was 8 at the time) on an EBTA, and found the late seating worked fine. We had the benefit of cruising with another couple with a same-aged son and we all became friendly. We are oriented towards the late seating for many reasons.

Back then, the Kids Club Staff would come by the tables approx. 9:15pm'ish and "round up the kids" and take them back to the Lab/Club so the parents could enjoy their desserts and linger afterwards. I am not sure how that translates to an 18-month old and "It's a Small World"

 

[remlap]

We will be doing the EBTA cruise in May of 2022 with our baby who will be 18 months at the time of sailing. I would be curious to get others perspective on the best dining time for a little one.

On behalf of the other late diners, please go early. That said, whatever works best for your kid is what you should pick.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I really think it depends on your child’s schedule. Ours was asleep for the night (most days) by 7:30-8:00 when he was under 4. He would sometimes be awake for start of second seating but usually would be sleeping in the stroller. The staff allowed us to have it by our table but out of the way. We could eat in peace while our kid slept. But to me it all depends on your child, their usual bedtime, their ability to sleep with noise around them etc.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

On behalf of the other late diners, please go early. That said, whatever works best for your kid is what you should pick.

Haha. Ours was quiet at second dinner (usually slept) and honestly there will always be noisy kids at either sitting on a Disney cruise

 

[MomOTwins]

I would book early because:
(1) Babies change so much month to month in that first 2 years. You won't know if your now 4/5 month old (an age where sleep patterns are VERY different from once they are mobile and get themselves tired out during the day) will transform into an 18 month old who physically can't make it one minute past their usual bedtime without having a screaming, thrashing, pounding on the table, inconsolable meltdown, and who won't sleep in later in the morning to compensate for a late night and will instead just be getting you at 6am each day, crabby because they didn't get enough sleep.
(2) In the event your kiddo ends up being the world's most easygoing toddler, you can always switch later from early to late. Less easy to switch from late to early. At least, that is how it has been on every cruise I've been on, but maybe EBTA is different because it draws an older crowd (others with experience may be able to answer better).

 

[nancipants]

The generally suggested bedtime for that age is between 7-8 pm. My son is 15 months and has been going to bed between 7-8 pm since he was 4 months old. It was a lot easier to take him out when he was still a potato (pre-covid obviously). Honestly I could not imagine trying to get an 18 month old through 2nd seating unless they’re the rare toddler who prefers a later bedtime. And their schedule will probably have them eating dinner way earlier; my son eats at 5.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

The generally suggested bedtime for that age is between 7-8 pm. My son is 15 months and has been going to bed between 7-8 pm since he was 4 months old. It was a lot easier to take him out when he was still a potato (pre-covid obviously). Honestly I could not imagine trying to get an 18 month old through 2nd seating unless they’re the rare toddler who prefers a later bedtime. And their schedule will probably have them eating dinner way earlier; my son eats at 5.

Unless you feed your child early and they sleep at the late dinner, that’s what worked for us. Our kid was in bed around 7:30 but we loved 2nd dinner because keeping a toddler entertained throughout an hour and half dinner (min on DCL) was harder for us, we fed him early, then by the time we were eating he was asleep
Last time we went with our friends who had a baby with them and they booked the nursery during dinner time.
Just depends what works for the family I guess.

 

[nancipants]

Yeah, my kid will fall asleep in his stroller/carseat but he doesn't transition. So if he slept in his stroller for dinner, getting him to bed for good would be a nightmare, LOL.

 

[taaren]

I think some folks in your situation might be inclined to feed the child early, attend the show with him, then put him in the nursery while you enjoy the late dining yourselves.

This really does sound like a great solution for your situation.

That being said, every kid is different and will be different at different ages. My DS traveled great at any age, had no problem going to kids club once dinner got boring (first sailed with him shortly after potty training between 2 and 3), we tended to do late seating with him because it was when we liked to eat and also due to the time change making late dinner still feel early to us. My DD is coming up on 3, as a baby we did late seating and she was fine (she tends to snack all day anyways, which is not dissimilar to how the older family members eat on vacation), but as she moved into toddler hood she did not want to go to the nursery and in general didn't do well at a prolonged dinner (we tried early and late). Also the cruises we have done with her mostly haven't had time change issues, which should have made those cruises easier but somehow didn't.

Given that lottery I'd book the early dinner, because you can almost always switch from early to late, but rarely have openings to switch from late to early. Unless you go with ssgtravel's plan.

 

[MomOTwins]

This really does sound like a great solution for your situation.

That being said, every kid is different and will be different at different ages. My DS traveled great at any age, had no problem going to kids club once dinner got boring (first sailed with him shortly after potty training between 2 and 3), we tended to do late seating with him because it was when we liked to eat and also due to the time change making late dinner still feel early to us. My DD is coming up on 3, as a baby we did late seating and she was fine (she tends to snack all day anyways, which is not dissimilar to how the older family members eat on vacation), but as she moved into toddler hood she did not want to go to the nursery and in general didn't do well at a prolonged dinner (we tried early and late). Also the cruises we have done with her mostly haven't had time change issues, which should have made those cruises easier but somehow didn't.

Given that lottery I'd book the early dinner, because you can almost always switch from early to late, but rarely have openings to switch from late to early. Unless you go with ssgtravel's plan.

I never recommend planning to rely on the nursery for a first time cruise with a baby. Some babies/toddlers do well. Ours never stayed more than 20-30 mins before they called and told us he needed to be picked up early because he was not happy. And this was a kid who was used to day care. The new setting really threw him for a loop and he got a ton of separation anxiety. And that was just a 3-night cruise—would be much worse counting on the nursery for a longer cruise like OPs and it not working out.

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

We will be doing the EBTA cruise in May of 2022 with our baby who will be 18 months at the time of sailing. I would be curious to get others perspective on the best dining time for a little one. We are later people by nature and have also preferred 2nd seating- we don't normally eat until 7:30 at home on a regular basis and at this point our little on is traditionally up until 9 pm or so. Given this, I am naturally inclined to go to 2nd seating. While this would be our preference trying to think what might be best for the little one- eat earlier or better to have an earlier showtime with our little guy. Since I am a first time mom, this is new to me, so trying to get some insight from others who have sailed with littles. We do plan to use the Small World Nursery a little bit- although not every night. Given that this is a 13 night cruise, I don't want to make the wrong decision!

Whatever is closest to your home routine! Don’t overthink what the best “order” of anything is. Just make mealtimes and bedtimes somewhat consistent with home!