Second seating was GREAT

[decoy86]

We had the second seating on the Wonder this week and it was great. We were not in a hurry to finish our meal and was probably the last table to leave every night. We got a chance to talk to our servers and learn about the life of an employee on the ship (wow 6 months every day strait, then 2 months off).

The bonus for eating on the second seating is that on the last morning you are the last to leave. You have breakfast at 8 am and then leave the ship. The first seating has to be at breakfast I beleive at 6:45.

Also, coming from the southwest timezone, the 2 hour time change kept us in line with with dinner at 8:30. Never heard a complaint from the kids.

 

[lalaclut]

Thanks for your insight! We (family of 6) have second seating and I was a little concerned, but I have been reading it works for seeing the shows early. Didn't even consider being able to leave the ship later. We are also looking at a 2 hour time zone difference.

Thanks again!

 

[decoy86]

You can also see the show at 6:30 (they last 45 -60 minutes) then you can run and get the kids or see another skit or some other form of entertainment before you eat at 8:30. It took us a awhile to figure that one out. There are several lougnes that have something going on all the time at night. I beleive all the shows are kid friendly until after 10pm or so.

 

[alexandrew]

we had main seating on our first DCL cruise only....Since then, since we tend to book our cruises late, we've gotten only late seating....we've been delightfully surprised at how less hurried and quiet late seating is...also, there is no pressure to cease our daily activities to make a 6pm dinner time....we have the extra 1/2 hour to get ready for 630 show...late just works out better for us

 

[Verandah Man]

We've been on three DCL cruisies so far, even though at home we are usually eating dinner around 4pm, we have selected late dining on each cruise. We like the no hurried feeling of having to get ready for dinner, and being able to watch the shows before dinner. We too, are usually some the last to leave the dining room each evening, and we are in no hurry to get off the ship Saturday morning!!!

 

[macbasset]

We're about to do our 7th DCL cruise and have always had late seating; we had older kids (teens) and preferred not to be with all the younger children at the earlier seating, but there were many other advantages to late dining. We see the show early, then go immediately to the nightclub/ family club show at 7:30 and see that and then go to dinner at 8:30 in plenty of time. Also, with the amount of food you are eating on the cruise, we are not hungry at 5-6 pm, but by 8:30 we are.

 

[glindamood]

We enjoy the late seating as well. Our youngest was probably 12 the first time he cruised and he didn't have any issue and if he got hungry mid afternoon he could always get something from Pluto's. We did try the early once - and will stick with the late from now on, we didn't like that rushing around feeling of having to get ready for dinner. Just something my family likes!

 

[decoy86]

For those with second dinner seating. Here is another hint. Get dressed up before you go to the show at 6:30. Then you will have time to go to another form of entertainment before you have dinner at 8:30.

 

[UGAFan0829]

We too, selected the late dinner seating on our recent cruise and enjoyed it for the same reasons. I know that when we do cruise again, it will be the late seating for us!

 

[Gutto]

Late seating for us too....!!

 

[AUDREY BELCHER]

on our last cruise we had late seating and with a 4 year old it is not good

 

[jazstar87]

We had a late seating also, we loved it. We weren't rush to finish our dinner and had also more time to do things. But i do wish that there was more family with us.

 

[Jilliebean]

We got "stuck" with late seating on our second DCL cruise and now we'll never go back to the earlier seating. We love the second seating's relaxed pace and have gotten to really know some of our servers.

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

We also loved the late seating. Our DD 5 and DS 8 didn't mind either. If they got hungry we just went to Pluto's for a quick bite. The second seating felt very relaxed. We loved our servers Oka and William too!

 

[cruisenewbie2004]

You have breakfast at 8 am and then leave the ship. The first seating has to be at breakfast I beleive at 6:45.

Well, technically no. You can go get your own breakfast anytime you want from topsiders and eat in your room or there as long as you are out of your room by 8:30am. You don't need to be there at 6:45 unless you want a sit down, served breakfast.

 

[*Fantasia*]

We liked the late seating! There was no rush at all to get there. It gave us enough time to change to our dinner clothes. And there was no rush at the dinner table. There was no rush to leave CC or Nassau to make it to the 8:30 dinner. I would do late seating again. We're not morning people anyways, so this worked out for us.

 

[macphrsn]

We booked our cruise and could only get the late seating, this was a major concern for me. We are currently on a wait list to get the early seating and I'm not sure how easy it will be to get the early seating.

I guess my real question would be are we able to get my daughter something to eat elsewhere on the ship. I think if I got her dinner or at least a snack a 5:00 - 5:30 PM that when we went to dinner at 8:30 we would just choose a dessert for her at that time.

Any suggestions or ideas?

 

[lalaclut]

From what I have read (I am not an expert by any stretch) there are several locations for a quick snack on board.

I think I'm happy with our late seating assignment after reading this thread! Thanks everyone!

 

[LUVTHEMAGIC]

You can always go to Pluto's Doghouse to get hamburgers and fries or Pinocchios for Pizza. My kids did this and loved just walking up to the counter and asking for what they wanted. Don't worry about finding snacks. They can be found.

 

[CM_Mom]

On "finding snacks"...I think the problem isn't finding something to eat..the real problem is NOT eating everything you find!