REALLY want first seating... any tips?

[quidam]

Here is the deal. When we booked our cruise we asked for first seating but it wasn't available so we ended up with second seating. But we really want first seating, whatever the dining rotation will be. My plan is to go see the dining manager as soon as we board the ship and ask for his help. We are a party of 4.

Do you have any tips to share?

Thanks in advance!

 

[outahere]

Make sure that DCL has you on the wait list for first seating, either by having your TA call, or if you booked direct, call them yourself. A fair number of people cancel at the 60 day mark, so if you contact DCL at that point you may have better luck (if you haven't hit it yet). If all that doesn't work, go to the dining room meeting at embarkation (check the Navigator for time and place).

Hope that helps........ good luck!

 

[my3kids]

I REALLY wanted first seating too. Thought the second would not work at all. We booked early enough that we got the first seating, but you know what.....we rebooked and asked for second instead. The first was fine, but we really did have to leave the fun stuff to go get cleaned up for dinner. Later in the days, the pools were much less crowded, but we couldn't stay b/c of dinner. We wanted to watch us sail away from St. Thomas, but we had to go on in to get ready for dinner. The first was fun, and we enjoyed meals very much, but I think it will allow a lot more time to do other things with the second seating.

If you want first, go to the dining changes place immediately...be first in line and hope for the best. If you are travelling in the off season, hopefully there will be a place available.


(There are such good foods all around the decks that we never really ate because after lunch, dinner was right around the corner. If the kids eat a hot dog at 4 pm next time, they will likely still enjoy dinner and not get hungry waiting for 8:30)

 

[ike]

I also got the late seating. I have 3 boys under the age of 8 & was very upset about it. When I booked my TA said if you have kids they move you to the top of the wait list. Or as soon as you board request a change & Disney is great about it. If they can't change it every night, they will change it for a couple of times. I called every month to see if I got moved up & so far I haven't. I was told by Disney last time I called I probably won't get the early seating because we are going 2/16(all the kids have off that week). I plan on trying to switch it once I'm on board but I'm not expecting it to happen. I just figure we'll order some room service while we are getting ready to tie us over till dinner. After reading this board, so many people liked the late seating because they can see the shows first & have more time to get ready. So I feel a little bit better. Good luck Also I read on the board you can get dressed & show up & sometimes they will seat you. However, I wouldn't want to take the chance.

 

[TinkHappy]

This is what I did. When we booked our cruise first seating was not available. I was very upset as we are from the east coast (if we were from the west coast, I wouldn't mind, due to the time change). My kids were young and because this was a FAMILY vacation, I wanted my kids to have dinner with us...OK...
I called our TA and asked to be put on the waiting list...THEN, I called DCL myself and asked if we were on the waiting list and explained my situation. I got a very nice CM and he switched us from first to second seating. He said he really wasn't suppose to do this, but he would. My suggestion would be, if you try this and it doesn't work the first time, keep trying. You may get a CM willing to help you!! After all, this is YOUR vacation!!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

Whenever I want something changed and am placed on the waiting list, I call every few days to ask if there are any openings. This has always worked for me. Apparently, they do not check the waitlist as soon as something opens, they only check it once per day. So if you call and something has opened since the last time they checked the waitlist, you'll get it. Call every day during the week before the 60-day cancellation period. This is when most things open up. If all else fails, you can try to change once on board. I've never had it go that far, though.

If you do use the call-in method, have your reservation # handy. It makes things much quicker. The whole process only takes a few minutes.

 

[Leslierx]

We too have late seating and don't mind because don't want to be rushed to get ready for dinner, but.... if the show is before dinner, don't you have to go back to your room and get ready just as early as if you had early seating? Maybe I am missing something.

 

[>>^..^<<]

We had late seating and my 7 year old DD was miserable, she literally kept falling asleep at dinner with her head on her plate - then when I tried to wake her up she was confused and snarly.

She just wanted her bed... I saw other kids asleep around the dining room too.... I don't think she had one full meal the whole week at dinner.

However, like someone else said... there is lots of food to be had earlier on, pizza, hot dogs etc.. so she didn't starve.

You know your kids... I learned my lesson - we have the early seating this time.

>>^..^<<

 

[sandygirl]

We have had late seating on all three of our past cruises. This year was the hardest for my DD5. She literally fell asleep at dinner every night and missed quite a bit. We did feed her ahead of time, so at least she wasn't starving, she isn't a big eater anyway. But she did miss enjoying the servers' entertainment and I wasn't very comfortable with her laying on me while I tried to eat.

We booked early enough for our next cruise and got early seating. I understand that there are trade-offs, like maybe she will be asleep for the shows or needing to get ready early, but I hope this works out better for us. Seating at 8:30 is really too late for a little one who normally goes to bed at 8.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Originally posted by sandygirl
I understand that there are trade-offs, like maybe she will be asleep for the shows

But at least if she falls asleep in the show she will be in her own seat in the dark and you can enjoy yourself,relax and still watch the show.... chances are the walk to the show after dinner and the excitiment of seeing a show will keep her awake!

>>^..^<<

 

[Señor Ferrari]

Originally posted by Leslierx
if the show is before dinner, don't you have to go back to your room and get ready just as early as if you had early seating? Maybe I am missing something.

Almost. The early show is at 6:30, so you do have to go get ready for the show, but not quite as early as for 6:00 dinner. Still, I don't think you save that much time.

I always like early, so I can do dinner, get a drink at Sessions or ESPN, and then hit the show. For some reason, I just want dinner before the show, it seems right to me. Yes, I realize that this doesn't really make sense.

We usually book within two or three months of sailing, and the main dining seating is usually full, but we've always been able to change to main seating by calling and checking for openings.

By the way, that method will work for other things, such as changing stateroom category, or the side of the ship you're on.

 

[my3kids]

leslierx:

The shows are only 1 hour, so you could get cleaned up for dinner after the show....you'll have an hour. You might not hit all the shows either. We skipped some the first time and likely will skip most next time. We'll spend the time playing pingpong or shuffleboard, swimming, maybe having a drink before dinner, staying longer in the ports(at least the ones that don't leave until later in the evening!!) Who knows, I might come back from that one convinced I like first better, but cutting the fun short to go in to get a shower for the 6:00 dinner always saddened us!

 

[Leslierx]

That clears things up a bit. Early seating is full for my cruise, so I just plan on playing it by ear!

 

[Bobski5150]

Ok, I admit, you have confused me.

How do you know what seating you have for your cruise prior to the cruise? I thought you could request a seating time and table size, but that neither were guaranteed. Don't you find out both when you board?

 

[Leslierx]

When we booked, our travel agent asked us which seating (early or late) we would like. She then found out that the early was full and only late was available. When we got our travel documents, is says "confirmed dining: second" . If you check prices at expedia or travelocity etc... it will ask you which dining preference you have (or if only one is available, it will tell you that too). You don't find out until you get to the ship where you will be dining each night.

 

[mmouse37]

bobski5150.......your TA or DCL will be able to tell you what dining time you have before you actually sail. This is something you can request, based on availability. It is the table #/size and ROTATION such as PLAPALP, LAPLAPL, APLAPLA that you would not know until you boarded. The letters stand for which restaurant onboard you would start off in....PLAPLAP would mean you have Parrot Cay, Lumiere's, Animator Palate, Parrot Cay, Lumiere's Animator's Palate, Parrot Cay. Same with the other rotations. The above info is for the 7 day Magic, not the Wonder.

Here is a link to dining charts that I put together to give you an idea of the different dining rotations and Theme menus

http://community.webshots.com/photo/52061656/61958826VUCRXm

http://community.webshots.com/photo/52061656/61958854UutNks

MJ

 

[quidam]

Thanks to each and everyone of you for the tips!

We are sailing in a month and have been on the wait list for the main seating ever since we booked the cruise. I did call DCL, but they said main seating was full. I will keep on calling...

We had second seating when we cruised in August and did not particularly enjoy it (and it was at 7:45 pm at the time).

Of course, we won't let it ruin our vacation, but I'll do everything possible to get the first seating this time around.

As Ike mentioned, one can always dress up and show to the main seating but I wouldn't dare do that... simply not me.

And I don't think that ordering in would be quite the same. So we will just be happy and have a great time whatever our seating is, but I'll certainly keep on trying to get the main one!

 

[LAMPSKIES]

I had the early seating on our Feb 2000, Wonder cruise my girls were 7 and 9, and do become quite bearish when they want to eat. Not to mention their Mom. We did find that we were rushing a bit to get to the seating on time.
We were one of the cancelled Magic cruisers Nov. 2002, and booked the Dec. 1 Wonder the Wed before sailing, we had no choice but to take the late seating. I was disapointed but my girls would have been more disapointed to stay home. We prefered the late seating. No rushing around, curling hair taking showers etc.... If you are late for the 6:30 show that's o.k. If you are late for dinner you don't get to take pics. before the dining (we always bought those) and your waiter wasn't there to seat you with I thought was neat. We requested the late seating for our Nov 29 2003 Eastern cruise. Maybe someone on these boards will switch with you? Find another party of your size and try.

 

[Bobski5150]

Ok, I get it.

Thanks for clearing this up.

I'll check with our TA to see if they can confirm our early seating.

Thanks again!

 

[geffric]

For our first cruis we got book into the second seating, I called DCL and explained that due to the ages of my children that , the Discney would not want crabby kidsa and they were very nice and moved us.

So keep trying to call DCl and keep asking for early.,... be squeaking and you'll get the right seating.