Is it insane to miss your "main" dinner on a DCL cruise?

[Tulip2796]

I woudn't lose hope about being switched. We booked our 1st DCL only 2.5 weeks before sailing and it was for 7 nights. With a 6 and 2 year old, I was very worried about the dining since we got 2nd seating. We were switched to main dining 4 days before sailing. We sailed in July when ships are full and have lots of kids on board. Our 2nd 7 night sailing we booked about 2 (or maybe it was 3) months prior to sailing and same thing, moved from the waitlist to main dining.

 

[BruinEd03]

We booked out first Disney Cruise ever at a late window of 7 months out. We have young kids and we were only able to get second seating for dinner. There's no way my kids can make it that late for dinner. We are on the waitlist but I assume that will be a slim chance of coming through. With the extreme cost of DCL compared to other cruises is it in insane to miss main dinning? We have theorized skipping it and eating QS, or just one adult dining alone, or cancelling the cruise out right.

If there is a day that you will be skipping main dining, please let your servers know ahead of time. Otherwise, if you are paired with another family, they may be waiting to start service until you arrive.

 

[cruisehopeful]

As everyone has already posted, go to the dining changes area when you board the ship. Tell them that if you can't get early seating, you won't be able to do Main Dining at all and ask them what alternatives they will suggest. You have a high chance of getting early dining, but there are times when people don't get it.

It also isn't crazy at all to skip the Main Dining altogether. We have done that several times when we really just want to do everything on our own time and not spend 90+ minutes in the dining room. We will eat at the various places on the pool deck or order some room service.

 

[javander0524]

It may also depend on the size of your group as a whole. We went on a 7 night on the Fantasy over Thanksgiving and were on the wait list for early dining. However, there were 12 people in our party. They continued to try to get us into early dining for the first couple days of the cruise and our dining host JC would check in with us to let us know the progress. They weren’t able to accommodate a move due to our large group size, but after the 2nd night we decided we kind of liked late dining anyway

 

[tvguy]

Not insane, but our MDR experience is a big part of our cruise, so we wouldn't do it.
As others have said you may be successful in switching.
And as someone who has been on this forum for 17 years, a LOT of folks who thought late seating would be a problem, learn it actually works better than early seating.

 

[Dug720]

Have they changed Cabanas not being available the first and last nights? I have seen several mentions of Cabanas as an option (not for me - they picked my least favorite entrees and slapped them on the menu - yuck) but none nothing the “not the first and last night” caveat.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Have they changed Cabanas not being available the first and last nights? I have seen several mentions of Cabanas as an option (not for me - they picked my least favorite entrees and slapped them on the menu - yuck) but none nothing the “not the first and last night” caveat.

As far as I know, Cabanas is still not an option on the first and last nights.

 

[Dug720]

As far as I know, Cabanas is still not an option on the first and last nights.

Thanks! I have not been on these boards as much not having had a DCL cruise booked until today (2/15/2021 Magic!!) and was not sure if I missed something.

 

[esmiles]

I wouldn’t cancel. We are about to go on our 3rd cruise. All 3 we have booked less than 90 days in advance and all 3 we have been switched to main dining (off waitlist) before we board. Last cruise we had an almost 1 year old and planned to feed him on the deck and send him to the nursery if we couldn’t get it switched. I have heard the wait list prioritizes young children (but of course no one can confirm that).

 

[cedricandsophie]

I’m guessing you can switch to first dining when you get onboard. We are second dining advocates but understand your concerns although we have taken younger kids to late dinner. Get them a nap earlier and a light dinner around 5. Go to the early show at 630 and to one of the family venues before dinner. The kids will love it. Also remember though that with first dining, the show you would see is at 815 or 830 so the kids will still be up late. Unlike some others, I would never miss the dining room. We have been on 20 plus Disney cruises and part of the magic of Disney is the dining. Not necessarily for the food but for getting to know your servers and the ambiance of the dining rooms. Also second dining is so much more relaxed and quiet than first seating,