Just booked, early or late dining

[dorakk]

Just booked our first alaska cruise on X Millenium next May :D:D:D

 

Now we are debating whether to do early or late dining.

We've done late dining on a Med. cruise, we loved it.

We've also done late dining on Carribean cruise, which we regretted.

I guess it all depends on how port intensive the itinerary is.

The daylight hours also makes a difference.

How's the daylight in May? Does it get dark early? Or sunlight will last until 9/10pm.

 

It seems that there are lots tooffer for ports in Alaska, I'm leaning towards late dining. What do you think?

 

 

FYI - here is our itinerary:

Day 1 Vancouver, British Columbia / 4:30 PM

Day 2 Inside Passage (Cruising) / Cruising

Day 3 Juneau, Alaska / Docked 10:00 AM 8:00 PM

Day 4 Skagway, Alaska / Docked 7:00 AM 8:30 PM

Day 5 Hubbard Glacier (Cruising) / Cruising 12:00 PM 4:00 PM

Day 6 Ketchikan, Alaska / Docked 2:00 PM 8:30 PM

Day 7 Inside Passage (Cruising) / Cruising

Day 8 Vancouver, British Columbia / 7:00 AM

[Assateague Island Princes]

Does Celebrity offer an Anytime Dining option? And if so, would you be open to it? Alaska is very port intensive, and not having a pre-set dining time seems to go hand-in-hand for that type of itinerary. Of course some folks are creatures of habit, preferring to eat at a specific time, while others are more fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants when it comes to dinner time (count us in group #2;)), so whatever you are most comfortable with, that is what I would book.

 

Or do what we do - and eat all your meals in the Lido or from room service. Love that option because we don't have to pack dressy clothes, and we don't need to worry about what time to be back on the ship to allow sufficient time to shower and dress for dinner in the MDR. Works for us everytime - however YMMV:D. Enjoy your trip to the Great Land - it is truly spectacular!

[Sandi3667]

We went in late May, and it was still light out at 9 at night. We chose late dining, so we wouldn't have to feel rushed to get back to the ship & prepare for dinner.

[bearbait]

Just go to the buffet and eat whenever you want. That's what most of us Alaskan's do in the summer. We eat when we get hungry. I'd hate to be tied to a schedule.

[CowPrincess]

As AIP suggested (waving "hi" to AIP :) ) the Anytime option may be better for you. For us, though, one of the things we like about cruising is having the same dinner companions, so we choose the Late fixed time, as we find that the later time gives us more shore time, get-ready-for-dinner time, etc. If we have a late departure from a port, and want to stay ashore until All-Aboard, we'll order room service or hit the Lido.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

As AIP suggested (waving "hi" to AIP :) ) the Anytime option may be better for you. For us, though, one of the things we like about cruising is having the same dinner companions, so we choose the Late fixed time, as we find that the later time gives us more shore time, get-ready-for-dinner time, etc.

We had late dinner seating for our AK cruise and loved it. We were too busy to eat earlier.:)

[frugaltravel]

Does Celebrity offer an Anytime Dining option? And if so, would you be open to it? Alaska is very port intensive, and not having a pre-set dining time seems to go hand-in-hand for that type of itinerary. Of course some folks are creatures of habit, preferring to eat at a specific time, while others are more fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants when it comes to dinner time (count us in group #2;)), so whatever you are most comfortable with, that is what I would book.

 

Or do what we do - and eat all your meals in the Lido or from room service. Love that option because we don't have to pack dressy clothes, and we don't need to worry about what time to be back on the ship to allow sufficient time to shower and dress for dinner in the MDR. Works for us everytime - however YMMV:D. Enjoy your trip to the Great Land - it is truly spectacular!

 

I can't agree more with this advice. I was on X a couple of years ago. Had "late" seating but ended up eating either at the buffet or in the "anytime" dining area 3 of the 7 nights of the cruise. The ports are the attraction in Alaska, not the food on the cruise ship (at least for those who love Alaska!).

[Keith1010]

I would go late on this one given the ports and how late you'll be in port.

 

That way you won't be rushed to bet back.

 

Keith

[vbmom87]

If my only choices were early and late, I would choose late. Take a look at your port times and see how long you are in port. We never headed back to the ship to catch dinner if there was something we wanted to do in port. So, for me, the later time would be best, so I could maximize my time in ports.

 

As others have mentioned, if Celebrity has an Anytime Dining Option, that is something to consider. That is what we did on our HAL cruises and it was perfect for us. All depends on what you like though.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Seeing as you are staying in some ports until late in the evening, I would choose late dining.

 

You may want to consider open seating where you can go any time you are ready to dine.

 

[chewap]

I would go late dinning. You don't have get back to the ship early to go to early dinning. You are missing 2-3 hrs in Port.

[dorakk]

Thanks everyone for the response! Guess I'll pick late dining option.

 

I would love to do the select dining, however i've read some reviews about X Millenium that's it could be difficult to make reservation for select dining. I'm going to travel with my parents (seniors), so I don't want to be standing and starving while waiting for a table.

 

Thanks again for the valuable contributions.

[B Russo]

We only do late dining . Bill