Opinions on Dinner Seating times

[2VV]

Thought I would get some opinions on the dinner setting times. We are traveling with myself 37, wife 36, five kids, 20,19,16,15 and 11. Our Carnival agent set us up with the 8:15 or late dining, he said that this would be best. I dont like being rushed so maybe it is.

 

My question is kinda geared towards those who have travelled with kids before, did you find either sitting time more favorable than the other?

 

And what time do the shows usually start in the evenings? I know we can pop into one of the bars at anytime so that does not bother me at all.

[Yazoo cruiser]

We like the early seating, but it just depends on your personal preference. If you are going on a late excursion, it might put you in a rush to get ready for early seating, that is no problem with just me and the wife. As far as the entertainment, they ussualy have a show around 7:00 before the late seating and around 8;30 after the early seating.

[falkcor]

your older kids will probably prefer the later dining time, especially if they plan on doing other things after. the older teens / 20 will probably stay up later than the younger kids, and the 11 yr old might be tired after dinner... keep in mind - dinner can easily take 1-2 hrs, at least per my experience...

 

the show times are staggered, so that both the early and late dinner seatings both have a chance to catch them. but the shows after the late seating start at 10.30, or midnight for the late night comedy, etc. you can check the capers for my 9/27 destiny cruise posted in my review (with link in my signature) to see exactly how the show times work out.

 

most shows are 8.45pm for early seating, 10.30pm for late seating.

 

i suppose part of it comes down to how late your family tends to stay up. personally, i'm a night owl and would be out until 2 or, oh... 4AM or so, so the late seating worked for me. but if you all are accustomed to turning in early, this might not be ideal.

 

while me and my bro (20's) loved the time, and would be out all night, but older members of the party (latter 40's) came to realize they would have preferred the earlier seating, so as to not have to stay out so late to catch the entertainment - and sometimes the younger member of the party (8) would be ready for sleep afterward. so pretty much, it's all about your preference

[nol4am]

I prefer the late, while hubby prefers the early. Eating early allows him time to recooperatefor the midnight gala. :)

[cuyahoga11]

I prefer the late, while hubby prefers the early. Eating early allows him time to recooperatefor the midnight gala. :)

 

There is no midnight gala anymore

[jev2002]

We thought we would prefer the early seating also, but was not available. Glad we didn't get it, because we would have been rushed after excursions to get back and showered before dinner. We had time to get back to the room and everyone shower and relax, take pictures if wanted before hand. My son is 13 and he enjoyed the late seating also.

[kujobie]

You don't mention where you're sailing from, but we often sail from Tampa and one of the reasons we like late seating is so we can be on deck while the ship sails under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which is during the early seating dinner. I don't like missing the dinner on the first night and this way we can do both. And late seating allows you to maximize your time in port, so you don't have to rush back early to make it to dinner. Also, late dinner seems to have more adults, fewer small children and therefore a little quieter and more relaxed.

[dclark]

Most families go for early. My family has been cruising for the last ten years and we used to always get late so "we wouldn't feel rushed". My daughters, at ages 5/6 didn't mind. Now, we all prefer early seating. Here's why:

1) Most port stops are over at 5:00pm. We usually make it back to the ship within an hour, so that still gives plenty of time to get ready for dinner.

2) Dinner isn't as fancy as it used to be. My wife and girls used to get dolled up, primmed hair nice dresses for each dinner. Now, with "casual", getting ready for dinner means a shower and throwing on a pair of shorts (except for formal night!).

3) Late dinner is really too late! After getting on board in port, we are starved and don't want to wait three hours to eat, nor do we want to spoil our appetite with pizza or sandwiches as "snacks". Plus, if you are visiting a port the next morning at 7:00am and want to be first off, the last thing you want is late seating, going to bed late and trying to herd the family out of bed 7 hours later.

[cascole]

I prefer late dining if it's just me &/or myself & my oldest (teen) son... if my little one (4) comes along, we opt for early seating. I find the early seating seems to be preferred by families who have younger kids & much older people.

[2VV]

We are leaving Tampa on 5 night cruise, so the Skyline Bridge thing would be nice. I guess I was mainly concerned about the 11 yoa mising night time activities, we arent a early to bed type of family so I think we will stick with this.

 

Our last cruise, just W and I had early setting, seemed we were rushed at times and after dinner had alot of time on our hands waiting.

 

Thanks for the advise everyone.

 

looking forward to cruise, just 30 days.

[Crewmates]

We are going on the Spirit in December and this is our first cruise on CCL. We asked for the Late seating for dinner. Just what are the early and late seating times?

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

[travelntreats]

To the OP..... also remember that your dining time is ONLY A REQUEST and cannot be confirmed until you board the ship. Most the time dining time requests happen, but there is no guarantee. If the dining time is not what you want, the restauarant manager will be available to discuss with him the chances of getting your dining changed (usually after the first night if they can do it for you) to your preferred dining time.

[cascole]

We are going on the Spirit in December and this is our first cruise on CCL. We asked for the Late seating for dinner. Just what are the early and late seating times?

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

 

Usually 6(ish) and 8(ish)... they could vary by 15-30 min. I'm sure someone recently off of the Spirit can give you exact times.

[Perfect Stranger]

When we come back from ports at 4:00 we're famished and can hardly wait for the 6:00 dinner, let alone 8:00, and don't want to ruin our appetites with burgers! The formal nights are on sea days so I don't understand why people would feel rushed when coming back from ports. How long does it take to shower and throw on an outfit?

[Host Sharon]

I like to watch every sailaway from the ports so I always choose late sitting. Sometimes semi-formal nights are on port days too, so it is less rushed. I try and have a reasonable lunch which will last me till 8.30 and it is also an opportunity to eat local food ashore then.

[luckycruzer]

or something from room service, can stave off your hunger til your late dining time. If you dont make it back b4 the buffet closes. I do it most often, and the 815 dinner is most welcome to the tummy!

[Perfect Stranger]

Sometimes semi-formal nights are on port days too, so it is less rushed.

 

Maybe on the ships you sail on. Carnival has 'formal' and 'casual'.

[jsglow]

It is personal preference. Our's is early. We have never had trouble getting "cleaned up" in time after a day in port and we are usually very hungry upon returning to the ship. I'll frequently be dressed for dinner and up on Lido for the sail away. After dinner, the kids then have the entire evening (16 and 14) to go enjoy themselves.

[tripplanner77]

we found that it had more to do with the time you eat at home being from Denver the early time was almost like eating at 3 pm back home now that it is mostly my DW and me we are just use to going to the late one.

[m-of-connor]

We have all ways had early seating. We have had no trouble going to the late seating on a port day, it is no a guarantee that you will get a seat but we just ask the Maitre'D if he can seat us and we have never been turned away. We wouldn't do this every port of call, as most of them you need to be back on the ship before dinner. Keep in mind it is just 2 of us. We eat at home about 6 so that is what we do on the ship.

[dprg644]

We thought we would prefer the early seating also, but was not available. Glad we didn't get it, because we would have been rushed after excursions to get back and showered before dinner. We had time to get back to the room and everyone shower and relax, take pictures if wanted before hand. My son is 13 and he enjoyed the late seating also.

 

I agree. We have always had the early seating and asked for it this time however we were assigned with the 8:15 late seating. We keep it and I will not go back to early seating again. It just seemed that you finished lunch when it was dinner time and we liked to watch us sail from the ports of call and could not do it with early seating.

[punkidoodle]

The late seating has always worked for me whether it's traveling with my then teens, just my husband and I or with girlfriends. Having late seating makes for a more relaxing afternoon, IMO, and the chance for a possible nap. Also, if you like cocktails before dinner you'll have time.

[dan40]

Generally, early seating has the bulk of the kids on board, while late is mostly adults. Your kids aren't exactly little, so its a toss up.

 

Dan

[CFD130]

Or if its been a busy day or a long shore excursion the buffet always comes in handy

[Junebug1]

We always request late seating when it's just the two of us. When we took our 2 daughters, ages 15 and 12 we requested early. Never again. There was no time to just relax & watch the ship leave port. It does take time to get ready when you have more than 2 people showering & dressing....teen girls!!!! We could have just had a lite snack to hold us over until dinner if needed. The family all agrees, it's late seating from now on.