Why hasn't Disney solved the main/late dining debacle already?

[matthew517]

Most people complain and yet their kids are up and very active well past dinner. I would just go to cabanas for dinner except for the night at Animators. I would still go to cabanas yet would go down to animators to see the show and have dessert.

 

[matthew517]

It is a frustrating situation. We've done 2 Disney cruises and have done both early and late dining. We hated the late dining because neither of us can sleep on full stomachs, I have a large paraesophageal hernia where I cannot be supine within 2 hours of eating, and after a huge meal ending at 10pm....there really wasn't much going on around the ship. It also caused us to miss the Pirate party and other night time events.

We are currently scheduled for late dining in October for our twins' first DCL experience. We will make the best of the situation for sure as we have no flexibility on dates and booked as early as we were able. However, we love other cruise lines and if late dining is our end result, we will likely make this our last Disney cruise. I can't see paying double what we pay on other lines to find myself constantly saying, "We will just have to make the best of it!" Nor did we spend this amount of money to eat in Cabanas nightly.

In full disclosure, I understand the situation is a tough one and in the end.....we can't all get what we want. Disney will always get our land business, so no loss if we don't return to cruise. Such is life!

Cabanas is an option. You can get a table by the window and eat earlier and order from a menu from the three restaurants.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

That’s 2 and 4:30 for my family, until at least a week into an east coast vacation.

Not everyone is from the east coast.


(Their normal dining times are hard enough)

It works the opposite way as well. We are from the Eastern time zone and the only time we have had issues with late dining was on the Alaska cruise in 2014. It made for VERY late dining. DS was 9 at the time and could barely stay awake thru dinner.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Yes, the moment we booked.

Just as a further suggestion. It may not be a bad idea to periodically check with DCL and "confirm" that you are on the wait list. Failing that, you can ask once you board about switching.

As the final fall back option - you can talk to you head server and ask if you can be seated at early seating, if there are available tables. Of course, that means you won't be getting the same table/servers every night, but if that's not an issue, maybe that would work for you.

 

[serenitynow]

Cabanas is an option. You can get a table by the window and eat earlier and order from a menu from the three restaurants.

Just a note, Cabanas is not open the first night and the last night of your cruise.

 

[smmco]

Most people complain and yet their kids are up and very active well past dinner. I would just go to cabanas for dinner except for the night at Animators. I would still go to cabanas yet would go down to animators to see the show and have dessert.

So true. The Oceaneers club is usually packed with kids well into the night. The teens are out and about until 2am or later. We started cruising when our kids were 5 and 6 and I can't remember a cruise where they were ready for bed before I was. Do the kids really care that much or is it the parents? We never traveled when our kids were under 5. Traveling with babies and toddlers sound stressful regardless of dinner time. I would just try to make the best of it and eat at Cabanas. Cabanas is a lot quieter and you can probably get in and out a lot quicker.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We never traveled when our kids were under 5.

We took a road trip with a 2 year old and a 6 month old from southern CA to North Dakota and back......

Don't recall that we had any issues because we were traveling with little ones.

If you travel with your kids, and you act like whatever happens is supposed to be that way, they really are pretty flexible. It's just the "norm" for them.

 

[MonaMN]

We took a road trip with a 2 year old and a 6 month old from southern CA to North Dakota and back......

Don't recall that we had any issues because we were traveling with little ones.

If you travel with your kids, and you act like whatever happens is supposed to be that way, they really are pretty flexible. It's just the "norm" for them.

Not necessarily. We tried the whole “just travel with a baby because they’ll sleep anywhere” thing. Our kid would scream in the car, not sleep. Our kid would wake up over and over and over, all night long, not sleep... so we learned quickly that travel wasn’t in the cards when she was little. Once she got a little older, say 3.5 or 4, it was doable... but she was very sleep sensitive and it was miserable for all of us if she was not well rested.

Not all kids are as flexible as you’d think!

 

[diznymom]

It is a frustrating situation. We've done 2 Disney cruises and have done both early and late dining. We hated the late dining because neither of us can sleep on full stomachs, I have a large paraesophageal hernia where I cannot be supine within 2 hours of eating, and after a huge meal ending at 10pm....there really wasn't much going on around the ship. It also caused us to miss the Pirate party and other night time events.

Have you contacted DCL Special Services and explained that you need early dining due to your medical condition?

 

[lds0191]

We have requested onboard to be switched to early dining a couple of times and were always able to switch. Personally, I prefer late as it does not seem to be such a rush to get to dinner especially after a day in port. I have never missed any nighttime activities like the Pirate Party but we are usually finished pretty quickly. One thing I have noticed since the app is an option, is dinner seems to take less time as a lot of people have picked their choices from the menus on the app before they even get to the dining room. I love that. Order, eat, on to the next activity

 

[MomOTwins]

Not necessarily. We tried the whole “just travel with a baby because they’ll sleep anywhere” thing. Our kid would scream in the car, not sleep. Our kid would wake up over and over and over, all night long, not sleep... so we learned quickly that travel wasn’t in the cards when she was little. Once she got a little older, say 3.5 or 4, it was doable... but she was very sleep sensitive and it was miserable for all of us if she was not well rested.

Not all kids are as flexible as you’d think!

Absolutely. And for those who say it is the parents driving it: every kid is different. My twins would always go down for a nap when they were babies/toddlers, and my third never does. And each kid is different at night. One of them sleeps like a log on exactly the same schedule each day (and he will literally fall asleep anywhere if you don't get him to bed on time--in the stroller, on the floor, in a car, even sitting upright at a table, and on one memorable location, he just plopped down on the curb in Epcot at 8:30pm and fell instantly asleep and I had to carry him back), another is flexible and can adjust to staying up/sleeping in, and my third and youngest DS is the one that is really trouble if you don't get him to bed on schedule--no matter where he is--will just cry and cry and cry. He also gets up at 6am eastern sharp each day no matter what time he goes to bed which is probably why he gets so tired.

 

[hnthomps]

Absolutely. And for those who say it is the parents driving it: every kid is different. My twins would always go down for a nap when they were babies/toddlers, and my third never does. And each kid is different at night. One of them sleeps like a log on exactly the same schedule each day (and he will literally fall asleep anywhere if you don't get him to bed on time--in the stroller, on the floor, in a car, even sitting upright at a table, and on one memorable location, he just plopped down on the curb in Epcot at 8:30pm and fell instantly asleep and I had to carry him back), another is flexible and can adjust to staying up/sleeping in, and my third and youngest DS is the one that is really trouble if you don't get him to bed on schedule--no matter where he is--will just cry and cry and cry. He also gets up at 6am eastern sharp each day no matter what time he goes to bed which is probably why he gets so tired.

Agreed. Thank you to everyone posting this. My kids will wake up between 5:45 and 6:15am no matter when they go to bed. This has been true their whole lives. I can count on one hand the number of times either of them has slept past 6:30 since they were babies (excepting when they are sick). So we are strict about bedtime, including (with reasonable exceptions!) on weekends and vacations. We travel a lot. Our kids are very flexible about almost everything...except when they aren't well slept, when they become monsters. (and to clarify - of course we let them stay up from time to time! but then they are underslept monsters for at least the next day, usually for two days).

I think it's really unfair to make assumptions about other people's parenting decisions.

Anyway, as I posted above, we've had main dining with no problems.

 

[lucyddr]

Have you requested to be placed on the wait list?

Yep! The moment we booked.

 

[lucyddr]

I'll agree with others that you (or your TA) should call DCL and have this noted as a medical issue. This should help you get priority for early dining.

I’m a physician. While it’s uncomfortable/inconvenient, I don’t want to abuse the system. I’m sure others in line have good reasons for their requests as well. I respect the process and understand that they can only handle so many families at the first seating. Worst case, husband and I wander the ship until midnight!

On our last Disney cruise, most activities ended around 11. If they run later now, that’s great!

We have checked in weekly about the waiting list and I am aware of Cabanas as an option for several nights. We will likely do this if not moved, but one of the reasons we came back to Disney was the restaurant rotation and quality of waitstaff.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I’m a physician. While it’s uncomfortable/inconvenient, I don’t want to abuse the system. I’m sure others in line have good reasons for their requests as well. I respect the process and understand that they can only handle so many families at the first seating. Worst case, husband and I wander the ship until midnight!

On our last Disney cruise, most activities ended around 11. If they run later now, that’s great!

It's not abusing the system, if you have legitimate reasons to make the request.

It's abusing the system, if you say "I can only eat before 7:00 (for no reason)"

 

[truck1]

Is it a debacle or are people overreacting? How many people report asking to switch dining times on board and not being able to? I think it's more an issue of people not wanting to accept a small degree of uncertainty. Seems like a silly reason to cancel a cruise tbh.

I was just thinking something along those lines.

I can see some people's general arguments about specific dining times due to say a medical condition. Theres probably a few more reasons for specific dining times.

But just looking at things in general there seems to be 2 camps.

1 is it's my vacation and it is what it is. Any day at sea is better then a day at work. If I can get it great. if not lesson learned.

2. the entitled camp where the world stops spinning because they cant get what they want. I'll use a different scenario. A cruise line recently canceled a cruise due to mechanical issues 2 days before the cruise was scheduled to sail. Theres refunds promised, future sail date credits, line bent over backwards. Theres people crying its not enough. Really? Go ahead. get on the ship. It's not leaving the pier.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Go ahead. get on the ship. It's not leaving the pier.

And, I believe, many cruise contracts specify that they don't guarantee the ship will even leave port. So there's that.

 

[Dug720]

I was just thinking something along those lines.

I can see some people's general arguments about specific dining times due to say a medical condition. Theres probably a few more reasons for specific dining times.

But just looking at things in general there seems to be 2 camps.

1 is it's my vacation and it is what it is. Any day at sea is better then a day at work. If I can get it great. if not lesson learned.

2. the entitled camp where the world stops spinning because they cant get what they want. I'll use a different scenario. A cruise line recently canceled a cruise due to mechanical issues 2 days before the cruise was scheduled to sail. Theres refunds promised, future sail date credits, line bent over backwards. Theres people crying its not enough. Really? Go ahead. get on the ship. It's not leaving the pier.

If you are referring to the NCL ship that cancelled the cruise out of Civitivecchia, yes they are refunding - which they are required to do - and offering a future cruise as well. BUT many people have already flown into Rome - or were in process when they got the news - and are only being given up to $300 for air ticket changes assuming there are even any available during the heavy summer tourist season. Not to mention the people who were on the ship and had flights out of Rome and NOT Barcelona.

So yes, they are doing something. But it is still not an ideal situation.

 

[TestingH2O]

I know this might sound mean, but I've been thinking while reading a lot of these comments, why some people take their young children on trips like this if they know there are going to be so many issues with eating, sleeping, etc. It's an awfully expensive vacation to deal with all of that. When my sister was little, she was HORRIBLE at meal and bed times. My family never even went out to eat until she was older, let alone go on an expensive vacation that would have just been torture for everyone.
If I knew ahead of time that I'd have to worry about meal times, nap times, bed times, etc. I wouldn't be taking an expensive Disney cruise. It just wouldn't be enjoyable. Oh--that's probably why I waited until my daughter was 8 before we went on a cruise. We did other vacations when she was younger.

Actually we found that cruising is great for keeping schedules. We don't have to go place to place for a quick afternoon down time, because the hotel travels with us, we don't have to reaquaint DD with a new room, with multiple adults, it's easy to divide and conquer supervision and exploring, included child care for adult time... I could probably go on.

Now, I have a child who has no big food issues and while she does better on something that resembles her regular schedule, she doesn't go to pieces if there are small changes. I'm glad we started cruising when she was young as they helped her learn to be a good traveler. Now we can talk about other types of vacations as she gets older.

 

[truck1]

If you are referring to the NCL ship that cancelled the cruise out of Civitivecchia, yes they are refunding - which they are required to do - and offering a future cruise as well. BUT many people have already flown into Rome - or were in process when they got the news - and are only being given up to $300 for air ticket changes assuming there are even any available during the heavy summer tourist season. Not to mention the people who were on the ship and had flights out of Rome and NOT Barcelona.

So yes, they are doing something. But it is still not an ideal situation.

That's the one.
No it's not ideal. But I look at it as, you cant predict when something will break to the point of not being able to use it. I could make a lot of money from my recliner if I could.

Some of the comments that are posted are what I'm referring to. Theres a few unacceptable, a wth you cancel a cruise 2 days before sailing...... you cancel 2 stops on the cruise, that's not what I paid for....your customer service doesnt pick up for hours(gee I wonder why).....those are the ones I'm referring to the world stops spinning. I'm pretty sure DCL has them too. Oh wait I've seen them onboard. Make that confirmed.

Your right its not ideal but NCL is doing what it can. I'm pretty sure canceling a cruise just to make 3500 people mad is relatively low on their priority list. It is what it is. If it was made by humans, it will fail at somepoint. And if Murphy or Boyles involved, all bets are off.