Reasons you like second dining

[AuntieKels]

We've only been on one cruise and had early dining. We have little kids and will be coming from the Pacific Time Zone. We felt the early dining was a little too early last time. On the other hand the later dining seems sooo late to me. We've been waffling back and fourth for weeks now.

Thoughts?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We've only been on one cruise and had early dining. We have little kids and will be coming from the Pacific Time Zone. We felt the early dining was a little too early last time. On the other hand the later dining seems sooo late to me. We've been waffling back and fourth for weeks now.

Thoughts?

I know you're asking about late seating, but - we're from the west coast and do prefer the early seating. Not so much for how it meshes with west coast time (you adjust in a couple of days to the local time), but because eating a big meal that late (late seating) just doesn't do my tummy any favors.

That said, we've done late dining on a couple of cruises. Med cruise because most port excursions were just getting back to the ship when early seating was starting. And a Baja cruise, because we traveled with family that likes the later seating time (we just had to stay up a little later than usual to give the digestive system a little more time to work).

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We did 1st dining on our first few cruises, but it was *so* hectic getting through the day and cleaned up for dinner on time. 2nd dining is great for stretching out the day for us to enjoy more of the port/ship. With so many quick serve options on deck, we encourage the kids to snack after lunch (to get to the later dinner) and when they were little, a quick nap and they were rarin' to go. Now that they're older, the tiredness isn't a problem, we just avoid the 'hangries' by having something around 4 or so to get us through to dinner. DW & I even reserve Palo & Remy at 8 or later.

We love 2nd dining.

 

[elbarto007]

We have always done late dining but our son was 12 at the youngest. We prefer it because you have time to get ready for the shows and dinner after port days. We usually eat a late lunch with so much on the ship so the later dinner is better for us. A lot of people say that they don’t like to eat late and then go to bed but we don’t do that. We always find something to do after, son goes to kids club and we go to adult club. My family would never be able to make it through the show if we ate a big meal first, then went into a dark cool theater. We would sleep through the entire show. LOL. Especially after a full day of activities and sun.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

because you have time to get ready for the shows and dinner after port days.

I don't really understand this statement. I know others have said pretty much the same thing. But the first show is basically at the same time as the first dinner seating. So, whether you're getting cleaned up for the show first (dinner second) or dinner first (and show second), you really have the same amount of time.

 

[ScooterScott44]

We found out very early that we prefer the late seating. I’ll list a few reasons why we prefer it but that list would really not be comprehensive as to all of the reasons. I’ll also include a few reasons why we don’t like early.

- There are so many food options you really can’t get hungry on a cruise (see the next couple points below) so spreading out the main meal times helps
- free ice cream, quick service counters, snacks in the Cove Cafe, “free” room service
- at breakfast and lunch there are way more options to choose from than at home and that leads to having a bigger meal than normal at those times
- late seating always seems less rushed
- if cruise is more port intensive, early dining can cut into your port time and cause you to have to rush back to the ship
- also some ports have cuisine or snacks that are very interesting so that means you may not be up for eating right after returning to the ship
- Afternoon Naps!
- OK, I’ll clarify that one more - our son did well with late dining even when young, since late dining makes an afternoon nap possible, the adults also occasionally partake of the afternoon nap while cruising, especially on sea days (hey, we are on vacation, right)
- in that spirit, we are on vacation so we get out of our regular schedule and do things a little different, including having a late dinner.
- if we do the shows we prefer to go before dinner
- if we don’t go to the shows, the aqua duck/dunk lines tend to be shorter during the early seating/early show time
- we don’t stay up too long but there are usually some thing to do after late seating, even a walk on the decks helps digestion, typically at minimum we will also spend a little time before bed reviewing the navigator and planning the next day

 

[soccermom1422]

We have always had the second dinner. One nice thing is that during the second seating the counselors from the Oceaneer Club/Lab will come into the dining rooms about halfway through dinner to pick up any kids who want to go. We just let our servers know if our child will be leaving early so they can make sure he has had his meal and dessert. Another thing we like is having our main dining room final morning breakfast later. If you have the first dinner seating, your breakfast on debarkation day is super early, and we are not early risers. If you have the second seating your final breakfast is at a more reasonable time. I know you do not have to go to breakfast or you can eat at Cabanas, but we like to see our servers one last time, so we like to go to one of the main dining rooms on our last morning.

 

[ScooterScott44]

I don't really understand this statement. I know others have said pretty much the same thing. But the first show is basically at the same time as the first dinner seating. So, whether you're getting cleaned up for the show first (dinner second) or dinner first (and show second), you really have the same amount of time.

Typically the show gives you an extra 15 minutes. (Show 6pm and dinner 5:45) While that is not enough time for my wife to get ready, it is good for me. If you do the show.

The reason I do not feel as rushed is most nights I don’t “get ready” for the show the same as dinner. I do not mind going to the show in my shorts and t. Since the show usually only lasts an hour it gives me between 7 and 8:15 to get ready. Even DW can work with that!

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

We love second seating but our family tends to wake up late/stay up late and also nap (or at least take an afternoon rest) while on vacation.

Our first cruise, even though I wanted late dining I was a little concerned because we always ate dinner at home at 6 pm. But our breakfasts and lunches ended up being later and bigger than meals at home so with an afternoon snack, waiting for 2nd seating was no problem.

Also, at this point I’m fine missing some of the shows so I love having plenty of time to get ready, relax, have a cocktail, etc before dinner.

I know some kids do not do well when their schedules change, but if that isn’t the case you can probably find a way to adjust. It might be worth it to try it once just to see if you like it.

ETA: we also come from the pacific time zone!

 

[Capt_BJ]

1. It used to be called MAIN seating and EARLY seating in the cruise world .... folks complained when they got pushed to EARLY

2. We seldom eat before 7:30 PM at home ... when kids were small they would be fed and put to bed b4 we ate .... we'd sit with them but didn't typically eat at their time

3. When we traveled from west coast to FL with kids to cruise, 'late' kept their time schedule close to normal.

 

[CamColt]

I eat early at home but on the cruise I want late dining. As others have said it's not as rushed. Even though we aren't usually at the ports until late, I do like to enjoy the late afternoon relaxing by the adult pool/pool bar. After 21 cruises I rarely go to the shows (maybe 1 per cruise), so taking the show out of the equation, that gives me plenty of extra relaxing time. After dinner we enjoy a "night out" of entertainment at the clubs so its not like we eat and go right to bed.

If I had dinner at 5:45 with the time it takes me to get ready and having 3 more after me I would probably have to leave the deck area by 4:15/4:30 the latest.

 

[Dug720]

I WAAAAAAY prefer late dining because...

1 - No rushing to get ready after an excursion or day on Castaway Cay
2 - Much more relaxed since the servers do not have to turn the room in a limited time for another set of diners
3 - Fewer children and many of those eat quickly and scoot to the clubs
4 - Also fewer children at the show before dinner

There are always places to get small bites to tide you over if you simply cannot wait to eat (never really a problem for me - I struggle to feel hungry on a cruise because there is so much food around).

 

[MomOTwins]

We have always had the second dinner. One nice thing is that during the second seating the counselors from the Oceaneer Club/Lab will come into the dining rooms about halfway through dinner to pick up any kids who want to go. We just let our servers know if our child will be leaving early so they can make sure he has had his meal and dessert.

Just one note: if you are on the Fantasy, the club pickup service is offered at both the early and the late dining seatings. But yes, on the other other ships it is late dining only.

 

[ChicosWife]

For us, at home, we eat around the early dining time, but on the cruise, we aren't on our normal schedules and the late dining works better. When we reboard after at the end of a port day, we have time to relax for a little bit, shower and get ready for dinner, with no rush. DCL has free room service, and options for snacks on the pool deck, if you need something to tide you over until dinner.

 

[Karin1984]

I would read this thread, it brought up a lot of discussion about what there is to like about late dining and how to enjoy it (even when you prefer main dining)
https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...the-main-late-dining-debacle-already.3755823/

 

[tvguy]

I know you're asking about late seating, but - we're from the west coast and do prefer the early seating. Not so much for how it meshes with west coast time (you adjust in a couple of days to the local time), but because eating a big meal that late (late seating) just doesn't do my tummy any favors.

That said, we've done late dining on a couple of cruises. Med cruise because most port excursions were just getting back to the ship when early seating was starting. And a Baja cruise, because we traveled with family that likes the later seating time (we just had to stay up a little later than usual to give the digestive system a little more time to work).

West Coaster here too. Our bodies never seem to adjust East Coast time for early seating is almost lunch time for us. Before we cruised Disney, we went with our kids on HAL when they still did a Midnight buffet. A trip through the carving station at 1 am was one of their favorite activities. But we also tend to schedule only afternoon excursions.

We even had late seating on our two Alaskan cruises, and on our Hawaiian cruise. Fortunately on the Hawaiian cruise, NCL's Pride of America had a 24 hour Denny's type restaurant. Our kids LOVED getting a cheese burger, fries and shake at 1 am Hawaiian time.

 

[BarlowFamily]

It's been really interesting to read everyone's thoughts! On our first cruise we had second dining. We did feel it was a tad too late for us at that point in life. DS doesn't sleep in and wasn't napping well. We have first dining booked for our next cruise. We plan on cruising with DCL regularly, so I'm sure we'll keep switching for whichever seating fits well for our current needs...or until we find a favorite. On our previous cruise, there were less children at second dining, but people lined up for the shows so early. 90 minutes before showtime there was already a line of folks ready to go in and save seats for their large groups. I'm hoping folks are too busy eating 90 minutes prior to shows on our next cruise. I can definitely see how shows are taken out of the equation the more cruises we go on though.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I don't really understand this statement. I know others have said pretty much the same thing. But the first show is basically at the same time as the first dinner seating. So, whether you're getting cleaned up for the show first (dinner second) or dinner first (and show second), you really have the same amount of time.

I don’t view it that way. Show starts at 615 or 630. Dinner starts at anywhere from 515 to 545. That’s a big difference. We are platinum and I’ve sern all the shows and could care less. And we have been to most ports and often don’t get off anymore. My husband and kids still like the shows. They get reAdy first for shows. I get ready leisurely, often have s cocktail and meet them after show. Then we do family show and go to dinner. And go out after dinner. Works well for us.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I don’t view it that way. Show starts at 615 or 630. Dinner starts at anywhere from 515 to 545. That’s a big difference. We are platinum and I’ve sern all the shows and could care less. And we have been to most ports and often don’t get off anymore. My husband and kids still like the shows. They get reAdy first for shows. I get ready leisurely, often have s cocktail and meet them after show. Then we do family show and go to dinner. And go out after dinner. Works well for us.

My experience on the shows are that they are at 6:15 & 8:30, with dinner seatings at 5:45 & 8:15. If you have early seating, and are seated promptly at 5:45, chances are you aren't getting your food until 6:00, and, if you do the show first (and are picky about where you sit), you have to be there pretty much by 5:50-6:00. So the difference is really only about 15 minutes.

Now, early dinner/late show works for me, I still like going to the shows. And I can't eat late at night.

But, everyone makes their own choice, and no answer is the "right" one for everybody.,

 

[gruffudd242]

For us it that 2nd seating is closer to when we eat dinner anyway. I also feel more relaxed and less rushed than when we had main dining.