We have early dinner also, John. We tried late seating on our last cruise and didn't care for being so full that close to bedtime. We like time to walk off our dinners. Also, we requested to be seated at a table with just the 4 of us. On 2 of our previous cruises, we had a large group of extended family with us, so we knew everyone eating with us. Last January, Rob and I cruised alone(without kids or family) and were seated with another couple. We just don't care for trying to make small talk with strangers. We were to be seated at a table with just the 2 of us (it was our 15th anniversary) and the other couple requested to be moved from the table they were seated at. They put them with us. The irony of that is the couple was originally seated with their own son, dil and grandchildren. They decided they didn't want to eat with them, so we got stuck with them instead. The first night we had eaten at Palo for our anniversary and when we showed up the second night they were surprised because they thought they had a table to themselves.
Lori