Early or Late Seating for Dinner

[Duckasaurus2001]

We are thinking that it would be best to have the late seating -- we have a 6mos old and 3yr old -- feed kids at buffet, go to show, put toddler in kids program -- take infant to dinner with us. Any thoughts?

Duck

[ebaynutkaren]

We did the early seating in November and I felt too rushed to do my excursions and such. We are going in August and we are doing the late dinner. This way, we can spend most of our day doing whatever we want and leisurely get ready for dinner.

[Bmwdsny]

It really depends on the kids!! 8 PM for dinner may be late for some kids. I always had the 6 pm seating and then relax for the evening. Went to show, etc. It is easier to change from early to late then vice versa once you get on the ship, if you feel you want to switch seating. graemlins/mickey.gif

[JRabbit]

We've been on the 4 night and 7 night cruises and both times had early seating. Our child was 9 on the first and 11 on the second. We had the early seating both times. We also participated in shore excursions at every stop. You do kinda feel rushed with the early seating. Next time we are going to try the late seating so that if we are doing something on an island we don't have to hurry and worry about dinner (just make sure to be on the ship before it leaves - I think we were minutes from leaving a couple of families on St. Thomas earlier this year!) Our son almost always had dinner with us. It's a great learning experience for children - manners an all. And this year one night we had an officer eat dinner at our table - what an incredable experience!! graemlins/thumbsup.gif

With the late dinner you are scheduled in the early show, and there usually is an interesting "cabaret" show for the entire family or other activities at 7:45 and last for about 1/2 hour. So you can go the the show, go to the activity and then go to your RESERVED table assignment for dinner.

[Jennib]

I agree that the late seating might be too late for the children. We had late seating on both of our cruises and we did not see too many children in the late seating. BUT we did have my godson in the late seating with us and he was fine and we did not have to rush back from the shore excursions.
You will really Love this cruise. The cabins, service, food and ship is wonderful!!
Have a great time!!

[kansasteen13]

we didnt feel rushed at all at early seating.I mean on Castaway Cay you must be on the ship by 4 anyway so it didnt bother us.

[Bmwdsny]

Originally posted by JRabbit:

With the late dinner you are scheduled in the early show, and there usually is an interesting "cabaret" show for the entire family or other activities at 7:45 and last for about 1/2 hour. So you can go the the show, go to the activity and then go to your RESERVED table assignment for dinner.I just took a look at my Navigators from my last cruise and dinner is 6 Pm or 8:30Pm. Yes, you might not feel rushed to go to dinner, BUT if you want to see those good shows, Late seaters goes to the early show seating which starts at 6:30 PM, and you really have to be there by 6 or 6:15 Pm anyway to get good seats. My family just don't want to eat THAT late for dinner. My preference is to eat first and then relax and enjoy the show. By the time you finshed eating, it is 9:30 PM already!!! graemlins/sick.gif I never did felt rushed to dinner whether i went on the islands or not. I start out early in the morning and am back by mid afternoon. Of course, this is just one view of how we cruise, every guest does things different. graemlins/mickey.gif

[Mulan]

It really depends on the person. We just got back from the 7 night cruise and had the early seating. It was too early for us. We live in a different time zone so 6:30 was really 5:30 to us. We were never hungery then. We also felt rushed. Not just with the shore days. For three of us to take showers, get ready (two females ;) ) and get dressed, we had to start around 4:30. We booked the Western cruise while we were on the cruise and we asked for late seating. Our DD5 was in the Oceaneer's Club every night until at least 10:30. So we will not have a problem with her falling a sleep at dinner. Just look at your families life style and how you are at home. This will help you make your decision.

Have a great time!

[stitchfan]

We just did a 4/3 on the Wonder, and had the late seating. Our 10-year-old did just fine at the late seating. I don't remember seeing any really young children at our seating, but our table was in an alcove, and we weren't looking for them either. We eat kind of late at home (usually 7pm) so it was easier for us to be ready and hungry by 8:30. Also, since the early seating seemed more popular on our cruise, it was easier to get good seats at the before-dinner shows and entertainment. (Whenever you eat, make SURE you and your kids see Disney Dreams!!!) :D

Remember that the Oceaneers Club (Deck 5) will take your kids to dinner if you want them to. They go to one of the buffets, and do a good job of taking care of them for you so you can enjoy an evening off. There are age limits for the Club, so check it out before you go. The information is posted on the Disney Cruise Line Site under things to do onboard. They also have a nursery for younger cruisers (Flounders Reef, I think), but we don't know much about it since we didn't have the occasion to use it.

All that said, as the car ads say, Your Mileage May Vary. graemlins/crazy.gif If you find that the mealtime you select doesn't work, just stop at Guest Services (Deck 3) and ask to be changed. We found everyone on board to be extremely friendly and accommodating, and they'll do everything possible to oblige. Just remember that the dining rooms have fixed seating capacities, so you might get shut out if a particular seating you want is completely full.

Just a thought, if you spend the early mealtime in the buffet and then go to the late dinner seating, you risk missing a lot of the evening entertainment and shows, since the best ones are designed to run twice an evening during mealtimes so both seatings can get to see them. If all of you go to the early seating, there are still family and kid oriented things to do after early dinner.

Whatever you do, don't stress! It's all fun, and you can't possibly do everything anyway.

Stitchfan graemlins/thumbsup.gif