Second Seating with Children

[DoubleDown7]

Hi everybody.

So we are thinking about cruising with the kids (12 and 10) on the Fantasy in April. We are locked into one cruise that corresponds with the kids school vacation.

All that is left is the second seating for dinner. Have any of you eaten that late on DCL with kids around this age? Are there very few kids during this time? What time do the servers actually start your meals and about when do you finish? Would I be better off just booking something in April 2019 instead so I can get the earlier dinner?

I really want to go in April 2018 but I'm scared that the second seating may be a deal breaker for us. Any personal experiences would certainly help us out.

Thanks!

 

[KristiMc]

We have always had 2nd seating for dinner and have cruised with our kids since they were 10 & 7. While there are less kids in late dining than the main dining, there are still many kids. I would not wait till 2019 just to get earlier dinner. At their age, I think your kids will be fine. There are many places to get something quick to eat in the afternoon if you are hungry.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

You can still request early dining via email or travel agent, and on embarkation day go to the dining changes area as shown on the Navigator to request the change. That being said, we have done late dining all 6 of our cruises with kids and prefer it. We get snacks or nuggets while getting ready for the early show and then the kids go to the club/lab/edge with the Dine and Play by 9:00. You just tell your server and they expedite the kids food, the KidsClub CM's gather at the front of each MDR around ten to 9:00 and you take the kids over and sign them in. Then you enjoy your dinner. Our kids prefer it this way - plus you are not rushed to leave the pool or get back early from excursions, and our kids stay up late on the cruise anyhow. We have done this since the kids were 4 and 8 (now 10 and 14).

 

[RedStars]

We prefer second seating. Our boys are 6 and 9 and we'll be doing second seating next month.

 

[mischief32]

We have always had 2nd Seating and my daughter(11) prefers it so we can get things done during the day and go to the show first. We do not feel rushed.

 

[party-of-five]

Hi everybody.

So we are thinking about cruising with the kids (12 and 10) on the Fantasy in April. We are locked into one cruise that corresponds with the kids school vacation.

All that is left is the second seating for dinner. Have any of you eaten that late on DCL with kids around this age? Are there very few kids during this time? What time do the servers actually start your meals and about when do you finish? Would I be better off just booking something in April 2019 instead so I can get the earlier dinner?

I really want to go in April 2018 but I'm scared that the second seating may be a deal breaker for us. Any personal experiences would certainly help us out.

Thanks!

I wouldn't postpone a cruise over second seating. As others mentioned, you can call DCL or your TA and ask to be placed on a waiting list for 1st seating. You can also inquire onboard. If you do end up with second seating, it's not that bad. Our first cruise we had second seating with a 14, 12, 9, and 3 year olds. It was fine.. we prefer first, but wouldn't hesitate to do second again. I never felt like we were waiting long for food/service. And your kids won't be the only kids in the dining room. Mine ran off to the kids clubs after eating. I believe Cabanas has dinner as well and there's always the quick bites and room service.

 

[jetskigrl]

We have always done second seating. We started cruising when our kids were 12 and 7 and they never had a problem with it. DS loved it the most since he was able to do Dine and Play. They would bring his food out quickly and then when the Kids Club CM's came around, he would head out with them (usually around 9 or 9:15). DD usually opted to hang out with us since she never really cared for the clubs.

We have always appreciated not having to hurry back from excursions or activities to get ready for dinner.

 

[Momee]

We've always preferred second seating with our kids (now 10 and 11) and have cruised with them since they were 7 and 8 years old. It's a little later than we would normally eat, but totally gives you more time to enjoy activities and then get ready. You can always snack after lunch if you get hungry.
It's vacation, so we don't mind getting in bed late and try to make the most of our cruises and enjoy every minute!
We can always catch up on sleep when we get back home!

 

[gilsan]

We have always eaten at the second seating. My daughter is 12. It seems to work better for us we don't have to rush back after an excursion and get ready for dinner, and if your kids like swimming they can get a nearly empty pool when everyone leaves to get ready for first seating.

 

[Quellman]

We had a discussion on it this week with kids younger. The link is HERE. I hope it is beneficial for you as well.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We just finished a cruise today where we ate second seating (kids are 13, 11 & 11). Our first cruise also ate second seating, but we didn't know what we were doing so didn't ensure that the kids ate during the day. Admittedly, we flailed our way through that cruise. That tells you how awesome it was!!

Anyway, for this cruise, we made sure that we had a full b-fast, lunch, afternoon meal (daisy's de-lites sandwich, Pete's fast food and the like) before our late dinner. It really helped stretch the day out for us. We found ourselves doing more on the ship and off than we have on cruises 2-5 where we ate first seating. I just changed cruises 7-9 to second seating to accommodate our new nourishment plan !

Go for it!

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

Forgot to address the second part of your question. We ate promptly at 8:15 we usually finished up around 9:30. Sometimes the kids cut out early to head to the Edge, sometimes they finished with us. Are there a lot of kids? We didn't really notice either way. At the table to our left was a family with kids around 5 & 3 and they were fine every night. At the table to our right was two older couples who seemed to be traveling together.

 

[aliceinvunderland]

At home, my kids go to bed fairly early. (Before 8:00 for my 6 and 8 year olds, and before 9:00 for my teenagers.) But on a cruise, we prefer second seating because it gives us more time during our day without feeling rushed in the late afternoon. We get something to eat around 5:00 (from the pool deck or room service) so no one is “hangry,” and by the time dinner rolls around we are hungry again. Definitely don’t put off a cruise because of your dinner time!

 

[CamColt]

We always have had late dining by choice and we have been cruising since our kids were 8 months and 3 1/2 (now 17 and 20). We eat very early at home and when the kids were young they had an early bed time too. On vacation none of that ever mattered. All schedules went out the window.

In our early days of cruising dinners seemed to take longer than they do now. We have had some fast paced servers on recent cruises (which we like) and have been out of dinner by 9:30 or a little after most nights.

 

[GPaLarry]

After eight DCL cruises, three without grandkids, we have always had early seating. It probably is a habit thing, but early seating, then show, then ready for bed seemed to work best for five grandkids now 8-18. One prompt for us is when we have early excursions or activities the next day. Other than that, whatever suites your family...it's your vacation...the mouse never sleeps.

 

[SteveMP]

Here's my pros and cons of second dining:

Pros: better seats at the show, don't need to line up as early to get front seats.

Cons: kids usually tired/cranky,(other kids you will notice cranky/crying, people leaving early) too late for some to get dessert and relax and have a cup of coffee. The ambiance isn't quite the same, kind of like the feel of being in a restaurant right before closing.

My kids were about your's age and they were ok but it was pretty much scarf down dessert and go, not as relaxed and more rushed, but fine.

 

[tvguy]

I think a lot of east coasters with kids are surprised at how well late seating works for them.
We are west coasters, and we never really get out bodies on east coast time, so late seating is like eating early for our bodies.
I guess another factor to consider is what is your normal routine at home? When my kids were that age they played Little League Baseball and Soccer, and by the time we got home from practice or games it was 7 pm in the Fall and Winter and 8 to 830 pm in Spring and Summer, so dinner often was at 730 or later anyway (as well as homework, showers, etc)

 

[elvispursley]

We have always done 2nd seating with our kids (they were 10 and 8 when they first cruised). Because we're from the west-coast, it's more inline with when their dinner time generally is. Also, now that they're 13 and 11, they like being in the pool in the late afternoon when everyone heads off to get ready for 1st dinner. If we plan to go to the show, we get a little snack to have during the show. By the time dinner is done (we were generally done by 9:4ish at the latest) they either wanted to head back to the cabin and watch a movie before bed or do some other activity. They were nicely full and I didn't have to worry about them needing anything more before bed. We personally liked that there were fewer young kids during late seating, which made it a little less loud and definitely wasn't rushed. I don't think I'd put off booking a cruise just for a specific dining time, life's too short! And there are other options if your really want 1st seating, as others have mentioned.

 

[mmouse37]

We have always done late dining (except for our first cruise). Our kids were fine at late dinner. So with late dining you have your show first which I prefer. Next week we are taking our 2 year granddaughter and I debated whether I should try for first seating but said nope...I'd rather have her more alert for the show...I really don't care if she falls asleep at dinner. We will see how it goes!!!

MJ

 

[bumbershoot]

We've done late dining and have never noticed any crying or sleeping children etc etc. it's all been fine in the dining room. And with those ages they'll be fine. This isn't something to worry about IMO.