Please Help - Late Dining & Young Baby

[Saiya]

Hello! I am hoping to get some advice or suggestions; this problem has been keeping me up late at night and I can't sleep because I'm so worried about how this will turn out.

My husband and I have been saving for years for this Disney Cruise (Wonder, August to Alaska) and we have a baby who will be around 10 months old when we set sail. His bedtime is currently 6pm; 7:30pm if we really, really push it. However, we bought the cruise too late and got put into late dining which I think doesn't start until 8pm! My baby is a really good baby if he gets enough sleep but a really fussy one if he doesn't :-(

I put myself on the wait list for earlier dining. Is there anything else we can do??? For example, if we save extra money, we are willing to purchase dinner every night from the specialty restaurant (Palo?) but I think that's adult only and I don't know how hard it is to get a reservation.

I was really looking forward to the rotating restaurants - would it be possible to purchase dinner there for an earlier time?

Would the nursery help my baby sleep at 6pm and then I can go and pick him up?

Has anyone else dealt with this issue before? I am so worried about this, maybe I was foolish to try to take a vacation with a baby. I should have registered sooner and next time I will - but is there anything we can do for this cruise that you would recommend?

We are willing to pay extra to pay for dinner every night, to switch with other people, to pay for nursery care, etc. I just want my baby to be able to sleep at 6pm... are we relegated to eating room service every night? If that's the case I understand but it seems a shame to miss all the restaurant dinners.

Thank you!

 

[mousefan73]

Go on board first thing and ask to switch.
But as a tip: Shift the baby‘s schedule. We traveled alot with our kids as infants and they simply had to adjust. But we never were strict on bedtimes. 6 pm bedtime. That is super early. Try. Napping later and they usually stay up longer. Maybe we were lucky our kids would stay up late and sleep in.

 

[tankin]

We had this once... We were able to move once on the ship. When you get on board, ask where the meeting point is. With two, I would think they could move you if the ship isn't full.

Also keep in mind any time differences between home and AK. That will throw off your schedule too!

Also, here's the nursery link https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/onboard-activities/its-a-small-world-childrens-nursery/ note that you need to make a reservation!

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Ask first thing when you board the ship. People do get moved and as a party of 2 (or 3 including baby) your chances are better than you might think.

If you don't get moved to early dining, all is not lost. Is there any chance at all that baby would sleep through dinner? It may not be ideal, but in a carrier/ seat (and to be honest I have seen older toddlers sleep right there in the booth- again, not ideal, but we all crash when we crash).

Is there any way to shift baby's schedule a little? I know for my son this would not have worked (he is 2.5 and we are still planning trips around when he naps/ goes to bed because bedtime is 6:30 or we pay dearly).

The nursery can help. They will do what they can to get baby to sleep on time. Make a reservation for nursery time.

Just note that if you decide to go to Palo, baby would have to go to the nursery for that.

Dinner at Cabana's is an option, I believe dinner service starts at 6:30 PM. There are food counters by the pool as well, and you could grab something from there.

 

[quickcat]

I am not a fan of eating that late and I don’t have young kids
The waitlist will probably come through. We have been waitlisted a few times and always got switched before we sailed.
If you don’t get switched, then right when you board it will tell you in the navigator where to go to switch your dining. Go there and I’m sure they will do their best to accommodate you.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Just to chime in, I want to say that babies change rapidly.... August is still quite a few months away and you may find that he is quite different by the time the cruise rolls around. I recall how anxious I personally was as a first time mom and as a result I didn't travel much with my oldest son, but by the time the second one came along we were much more relaxed enough that we did a cruise with him at 6mo. Yes, he certainly did have fussy moments, but by and large it was still a very relaxing vacation. Everyone here has posted great options for you. As much as possible I would encourage you to not worry as it will all work out and you won't be stuck eating room service every night. Also if you are not on the west coast remember that 6pm west coast time won't be the same time for you.

 

[lklgoodman]

Just to let you know, they only let you book a certain number of hours in the nursery before your cruise. Once you get on the ship you can book more time there.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Definitely ask to be waitlisted for early dining and go to the location for dining changes when you board if you don't get moved to early dining. But even if you get early dining, that's at 5:45pm and dinner can last 90 minutes or more. So you still won't be able to put your baby to bed and go to the MDRs. I'd recommend booking nursery time for dinner. As mentioned, you are limited to a certain number of hours booked prior to boarding, but can book more onboard.

 

[Geomom]

You will NOT need to purchase dinner (unless you get a reservation for adult only Palo--and that would be impossible to get every night.) If your MDR waitlist doesn't come through ahead of time, upon boarding go to the spot to change your dining time and explain 'why' you NEED early dining--they should be sympathetic and find you a spot. A lot of people actually prefer late dining for Alaska due to the later port times, so I do think you'll be able to get the early dining...which as others said is 5:45PM. Please note that in addition to starting in the pacific time zone, you will go back an hour to Alaska time...and then back forward to Pacific time by the end of your cruise. As others have said, you do have other options for dinner--Cabanas is open for a sit down meal on all but the first/last nights, all the pool deck foods will be open--pizza, burgers, salads, etc; and Room Service is free (but you should tip them upon delivery.) I do think you'll be able to get your early MDR. And if you need to leave early from your main dining, from what I've heard, the waitstaff would be happy to send you back to your room with dessert, etc, if needed.

I also agree with another PP that who knows what your baby will be sleeping like in 4 mths...there is a big difference between a 6 mth old and a 10 mth old! Try not to stress too much--it will work out!

 

[lanejudy]

I hear ya! My DD had a 6:30pm bedtime as an infant -- probably would have gone down at 6pm but we just couldn't get home from work, dinner, bedtime any sooner than 6:30pm. It can make for many quiet evenings when your little goes to bed so early, but when you have a kid who needs that sleep you really do what you can to make it happen or life is miserable.

For the cruise... there are options, don't stress about it now! If you don't get switched to early dining before embarkation, go to the dining changes location and ask again. Most people find they do get switched, but there is no guarantee. If that doesn't work you still have options -- Cabanas is open most evenings (not the first or last night), room service is available every night, the quick service locations near the pool serve during dinner time -- these are all "free" options. You could also try having your child go to the nursery while you do late MDR dinner, though there is a charge for the nursery; or adult dining would also require nursery time regardless of the hour.

You still have plenty of time, baby may or may not adjust between now and then. But it's not worth stressing about now. There are options.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[darnheather]

Take a stroller and let the baby sleep there while you dine. Also you might be surprised that baby has a whole different clock on board just because things are all so amazing!

 

[Van Houten]

We have experienced a little bit of all of the above. We were once assigned to late dining for Alaska (booked very close to sailing) - however, we are a party of 5, so switching to early dining did not pan out. On some nights, our 8 month old would be fine, on others we opted to shuffle or split duties - I would stay on in the dining room with two older kids, and then hand-deliver food from MDR to the cabin. The dining team was very willing to work with us and accommodate us as needed. Considering you are a party of 3 (essentially 2), switching to main dining is likely the easiest thing to do, but keep in mind that even sitting through a full dinner during main dining might require a bit more patience than a child can handle - so just ask the dining team to speed up the service. Bottom line - your dining team will do anything to make your dining experience enjoyable, just let them work with you, and follow their suggestions, they have more experience with unusual situations than you might expect, and their advice might work better than your own ideas.

 

[BeckyPhD]

Relax! you've got lots of options. As others have said, babies make huge changes before that age. We have always had good luck getting switched to early dining. The nursery is amazing and will do their best to stick to your schedule. There's always lots of littles asleep at the tables at dinner. We took mine at 14 months and even with the early dining he was so worn out by dinner. He would lay his head on my lap, or sit directly on me and sleep right through the meal. Have a great trip!!!

 

[GPaLarry]

We had a party of 12 and were waitlisted for early dining because we booked the 5-day Mexico cruise late. I called about once a month and hit the "chat" tab a couple of times to explain our need to move to the earlier time. Bingo, about a month and a half before the cruise I got an email from DCL that reviewed our reservation...looked normal, but, but the dinner time was moved to "main." Worked out great for us. However, those folks who have responded above have mentioned other alternatives to make your change happen...take note and I hope you get a little pixie dust magic before you board. Good luck!

 

[Saiya]

Wow, I'm so touched and overwhelmed by how incredibly helpful everyone is here! When I made the account to ask the question, I was hoping for maybe one or two replies from people with experience hoping no one would judge me for being so worried about my baby's bedtime -- I didn't expect so many super kind and thoughtful answers and tips. I feel like crying, everyone is so nice. Thank you everyone so much! I'm writing down all of your advice and opinions, including but not limited to not worrying too much at this point <3

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Wow, I'm so touched and overwhelmed by how incredibly helpful everyone is here! When I made the account to ask the question, I was hoping for maybe one or two replies from people with experience hoping no one would judge me for being so worried about my baby's bedtime -- I didn't expect so many super kind and thoughtful answers and tips. I feel like crying, everyone is so nice. Thank you everyone so much! I'm writing down all of your advice and opinions, including but not limited to not worrying too much at this point <3

It seems like many of us have been in your shoes! DCL is very accommodating and many other people you dine with in the main dining rooms will have children/ babies who are way off the normal schedules. Even if it means skipping main dining in favor of eating at Cabanas/ pool quick service/ room service (and maybe some nursery time for your little here or there), it will be a great trip.

My DS2.5 has clung to his bedtime. It makes planning trips difficult sometimes but by far the easiest to plan are any that involve Disney.

 

[gotomu212]

We cruise with our baby and I’ll make a plug for booking the nursery. Long dinners can be hard at that age, and that way you and your husband also have time in the evening to enjoy time around the ship and aren’t tied to your stateroom come 6 each night. Also, just as a mom who just went through this, your little one is probably going to have a different sleep pattern in 4 months so this might not be the same issue (don’t let it keep you up worrying now you need al the sleep you can get!) the nursery is AMAZING and ours napped and slept well there. There are cribs and a darkened quiet room for them and lots of cuddles to help them fall asleep. Traveling with a baby does have some bumps, but we travel a lot and have always found cruises to be the easiest trip to manage with babies!
Good luck!

 

[Yokelridesagain]

OP, one thing I haven't seen is where you live. If you are on the west coast of North America the Alaska times will be reasonably close to your home routine--on the other hand, if you're coming from the east coast you should consider that your kid's schedule is already going to be way off, and at that point you might want to consider it just like a trip to Europe or Asia and switch up their whole clock.

Our first DCL cruise was also to Alaska, with a 2 year old and a 16 month old. We got put in late dining because we didn't book until a few months before the cruise, and dinner was 10:30 PM "our" time. The first night was...interesting. My poor older son literally fell asleep with bread in his mouth, but by the next day, they adapted. Many kids are more malleable than you think they are.

We have been solidly Team Late Dining ever since--I really like that they are fully awake and engaged for the show, which is more "special" to them than the dinner anyway.

But regardless, if main dining is what you want I would just waitlist as others have suggested and then go to the designated place for dining swaps upon boarding if they don't come through. I suspect that they will make extra efforts to accommodate a child under 2.

 

[ForMyBoys]

Everyone gave great replies. Definitely don't worry too much. We were unable to switch to early dining one cruise when our kids were much younger and our head server could tell it just wasn't working for us. He then found seats for us most nights during early dining. I think we took the spots of people that booked Palo. We had a few different servers so it was quite unique but it worked out ok in the end. One night we ate pool side. It all works out

 

[doublesided]

We were on the early dining waitlist for months until we just got cleared on our PIF date. We absolutely couldn't do late dining and would have wound up like you at Cabanas, poolside or otherwise. Don't worry, keep calling and ask as soon as you get on the ship to change. That's what everyone was telling me to do!