Main vs Late Dinner

[MomOTwins]

One idea in response to the OP's post I wanted to mention -- since main seating typically books up far in advance and there are often spots available in the late dining, why not book main dining, and then one night ask guest services if they would let you switch and try the late dining just for that evening? I'm not sure if it would work because you might not be able to have your normal server assignment if they are fully occupied in the later seating, but given late dining is less crowded it might be totally fine with them, and a good way to try it out without losing your spot in main dining the rest of the trip.

 

[llachance]

Typically main but our next cruise is a Dream 3 day and there won't be time to get used to anything. Plus early breakfast gets us to the airport on time with full bellies.

 

[ethanwa]

We've done both. I prefer early dining. Neither of our kids are teenagers yet, and my daughter especially starts to get tired around 9-10pm. I like the idea of "dinner and a show", in that order.

 

[Snowwhyt]

One idea in response to the OP's post I wanted to mention -- since main seating typically books up far in advance and there are often spots available in the late dining, why not book main dining, and then one night ask guest services if they would let you switch and try the late dining just for that evening? I'm not sure if it would work because you might not be able to have your normal server assignment if they are fully occupied in the later seating, but given late dining is less crowded it might be totally fine with them, and a good way to try it out without losing your spot in main dining the rest of the trip.

The waiters that you have from the first part of your trip then will not be getting the tip (and may not be divided to the people with the second part of your trip) who get what money on the wait staff is a pretty gray area.

 

[cruiser21]

Do what you do at home. We eat around 8pm at home. It's always been late dining for us. I'm heading to Spain this Summer where they eat at 10pm. That will be an adjustment I'm usually in bed by then.

 

[lizzyb]

We usually eat around 6pm at home but on our first cruise we got late dining. I actually enjoyed it. Our second cruise we did the main and it was fine... this time around I am not sure which one I prefer... there are pros and cons to both.

 

[ahain]

This is such personal decision really. When we cruised with our 6 year old, late dining was not a problem. But at home, we tend to eat a little on the later side than normal. .....

I think you hit on a key point when you said, "...we tend to eat a little on the later side than normal. " We are the opposite and generally eat quite early due to our work schedules (like 4:30 latest). So it would be very uncomfortable for us to wait until late dining. We leave is less than 2 weeks for our 9th cruise and have always had early (main) seating. Yes, it can certainly be a bit chaotic at times, but we generally ask for our family to be seated by ourselves and are able to tune out a lot of the peripheral "noise" and just enjoy dinner, walk a couple of laps around deck 4 and then to the show. At that point, we can either enjoy some additional late-night entertainment or head to bed if we're pooped out.

 

[Dug720]

The waiters that you have from the first part of your trip then will not be getting the tip (and may not be divided to the people with the second part of your trip) who get what money on the wait staff is a pretty gray area.

Nope. If for whatever reason you change servers during the cruise (change of dining time, move to a different table) the tips are prorated between your servers for the amount of time you had them.

I changed to a private table - which meant a change of servers - on night 3 of a Fantasy cruise. (Night 2 was in Palo, so I did not ask about a change until night 3. And I refuse to stiff my assigned servers for my choice to eat in Palo - or anywhere else.) When I got my tip sheets, it clearly showed that the servers I was assigned the first 2 nights had those tips and the ones from night 3 had those.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We have always done late dinner. DD was 7 on our first cruise, but is a serious dancer so was used to late dinners after classes, ect. She also never required the "normal" amount of sleep all the parenting books suggested, even from an infant. I can see how it would be a problem with young children though. My nephew would be asleep in his dinner.

 

[Lilsia]

It all depends on your eating habits. We are early to bed, early to rise people. I work at 3 am so even on vacation I get too tired to stay up late every night. I don't like eating a big meal right before I go to bed so we always do early seating. Plus lunch is done at 2pm so that is a big gap in time between 2 and 8pm. You could get something quick or room service if you get hungry but it feels like eating dinner before you eat dinner. And in essence adds another meal to your day(we don't need that ). So if at home you eat your dinner that late, then go for it. But if you guys think you will be too hungry to wait that long then I would stick to main dining. We have never felt rushed during main dining, actually the opposite. We have been done and waiting on the server to get us our dessert more often then not.

 

[Lilsia]

I think you hit on a key point when you said, "...we tend to eat a little on the later side than normal. " We are the opposite and generally eat quite early due to our work schedules (like 4:30 latest). So it would be very uncomfortable for us to wait until late dining. We leave is less than 2 weeks for our 9th cruise and have always had early (main) seating. Yes, it can certainly be a bit chaotic at times, but we generally ask for our family to be seated by ourselves and are able to tune out a lot of the peripheral "noise" and just enjoy dinner, walk a couple of laps around deck 4 and then to the show. At that point, we can either enjoy some additional late-night entertainment or head to bed if we're pooped out.

We are the same. We have always had dinner early. The kids are so hungry after school that I rather fill them up with a good meal(they can snack later if they get hungry) then have them eat something not as nutritious and not be as hungry for dinner.

 

[Snowwhyt]

Nope. If for whatever reason you change servers during the cruise (change of dining time, move to a different table) the tips are prorated between your servers for the amount of time you had them.

I changed to a private table - which meant a change of servers - on night 3 of a Fantasy cruise. (Night 2 was in Palo, so I did not ask about a change until night 3. And I refuse to stiff my assigned servers for my choice to eat in Palo - or anywhere else.) When I got my tip sheets, it clearly showed that the servers I was assigned the first 2 nights had those tips and the ones from night 3 had those.

Do they only get dinner tips? I eat with them all day if I can, because they ask me too. I thought that meant they get more tips? Can’t be that they really like me is it? That would be weird(for me anyway).

 

[Dug720]

Do they only get dinner tips? I eat with them all day if I can, because they ask me too. I thought that meant they get more tips? Can’t be that they really like me is it? That would be weird(for me anyway).

No, the tips cover all meals.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Do what you do at home. We eat around 8pm at home. It's always been late dining for us. I'm heading to Spain this Summer where they eat at 10pm. That will be an adjustment I'm usually in bed by then.

To each their own, but I'd like to give the other side of the coin. To me a cruise was so different than my normal routine that my normal dining habits didn't apply.

For instance, at home, I get up early, eat very little breakfast, and opt for early lunch and early dinner times.

But on a cruise, I get up a bit later, enjoy a nice breakfast (either in the MDR or buffet), have a nice sit down lunch, and so waiting later for dinner is much easier than it would normally be for me. Plus, we LOVED the treat of "Free" room service, so much different than any hotel you stay in. So we would often get wings or cheese plate or even a salad delivered to our room while we were dressing for dinner. Plus, the meal portion sized in the MDRs are not nearly as big as in many restaurants. Sure you can get more if you want it, that is fine. My point is, I often found myself eating a lot less for dinner in the MDRs than I would if I went out to a restaurant at home. Thus, many smaller meals, and abundant, no extra charge options, meant it didn't matter so much when dinner was.

To me, the choice of which dinner to have should be based on your Entertainment preferences. If you plan to be in bed by 10, do early dinner. If you want to stay up late, late dinner is great. Keep in mind too that there are a lot of activities that start at various times. This can be true for kids as well as adults, so check out some Navigators to see what works best for you. None of the big events happen during either dinner, but some of the smaller ones do, plus there is just a flow to events before or after dinner.

 

[Snowwhyt]

No, the tips cover all meals.

I realize that covered all meals but who gets them? My MDR servers made it sound like they only got a tip if they waited on me at the MDR.

1) So if I ate at the buffet instead of going to MDR for breakfast and lunch my MDR servers would still get the tip even though I wasn’t there?

2) So when I eat brunch and dinner at Palo this Friday, my MDR guys get the original tip still and I need to leave a cash tip at the table for Palo servers?
Otherwise if I just added it to an envelope it will also go to my MDR servers. Right?

I’m very confused about where the tip money for breakfast and lunch goes now. They made it sound like if I ate at buffet then buffet gets the tip and they lose income. So now that I’ve never tipped at buffet I really feel bad.

 

[Dug720]

I realize that covered all meals but who gets them? My MDR servers made it sound like they only got a tip if they waited on me at the MDR.

1) So if I ate at the buffet instead of going to MDR for breakfast and lunch my MDR servers would still get the tip even though I wasn’t there?

2) So when I eat brunch and dinner at Palo this Friday, my MDR guys get the original tip still and I need to leave a cash tip at the table for Palo servers?
Otherwise if I just added it to an envelope it will also go to my MDR servers. Right?

I’m very confused about where the tip money for breakfast and lunch goes now. They made it sound like if I ate at buffet then buffet gets the tip and they lose income. So now that I’ve never tipped at buffet I really feel bad.

The tips for the servers goes to your servers. They all work shifts in the buffet and the MDR for breakfast and lunch. So even if YOU are not with your servers, someone else is and you are with theirs. There is NO separate tip for breakfast and lunch.

As far as Palo, you may leave an additional tip on your slip if you choose. But your server tips cover your MDR servers for the length of the cruise. There has been much discussion as to if the charge at Palo covers tips or not. Personally I always tip at Palo.

If you want to add EXTRA cash to the envelopes you get with the tip slips, you may do that. But you are not required to.

Edit to add: If they are telling you they HAVE to serve you at breakfast and lunch or they don't get the tips, they are playing you hard. That is NOT true.

 

[ajgardner]

Thank you for all the input! I am still trying to decide... I am curious what time most people tend to finish dinner during the late seating? We typically eat on the later side at home and we stay up late - so that is not an issue. However, my husband and I really like the shows, games and entertainment in the adult clubs at night - those tend to start around 9:45. Would we be able to have a somewhat leisurely dinner and still make it to these? Or would we feel a bit rushed? I've asked my kids to look through old navigators to see if they'd be missing out on anything in the kids clubs. That's our biggest hang up right now, being worried we will miss out on some of the activities that we know we like and know we can make work with main dining.

 

[cruiser21]

Thank you for all the input! I am still trying to decide... I am curious what time most people tend to finish dinner during the late seating? We typically eat on the later side at home and we stay up late - so that is not an issue. However, my husband and I really like the shows, games and entertainment in the adult clubs at night - those tend to start around 9:45. Would we be able to have a somewhat leisurely dinner and still make it to these? Or would we feel a bit rushed? I've asked my kids to look through old navigators to see if they'd be missing out on anything in the kids clubs. That's our biggest hang up right now, being worried we will miss out on some of the activities that we know we like and know we can make work with main dining.

The main event adult shows tend to start around 1030. We always have late dinner and tend to be done around 945. We order a bottle of wine and tend to linger at dinner. We're usually one of the last ones to leave. I usually don't stay up for the shows...I find them boring, but the few show I've been to I've always had to wait for them to start. The waiters will adjust the speed of dinner to however you like it. If your like a fast dinner they can make that happen.

 

[Kate_45]

To the person wondering why their waiting staff were encouraging them to come see them when they were working in the MDR during the day, I can think of a couple of reasons.

a) they liked you
b) it's easier to provide excellent service to people for whom they already know their likes as dislikes
c) they wanted to make you feel special and wanted
d) they thought you'd prefer a sit down meal
e) the buffet gets too busy

Basically they want you to have a generally good experience at lunch, regardless of whether it's them serving you as when you're filling those envelopes at the end of the trip you'll be reflecting on all your meals (possibly subconsciously) not just the evening meals.

 

[mousefan73]

We have kids who will be in Edge... Are there any implications for their activities depending on dinner times? We are tending to late dining but I am not sure if most activities are planned around main/early??? i took a look at some navigators but am still not sure.. My kids will stay up late around midnight.
we are doing dREAM 4 night Bahamas.