What are the times for late dining on the Fantasy?

[jlk806]

The cruise we are booking has only second seating currently available, which I will continue to check if early becomes available (the 6PM time was perfect on the Dream) but if it does not im wondering if its too late for our son or not. Does anyone with little kids do late dining successfully?

[moki'smommy]

It is a common misconception that DCL fills main dining first and then only late is available. This is not true. They try to balance the number of guests between seatings. Since main is generally more requested, the default is late (if you don't ask for main, you get late.) Generally,if you make a request you'll get it.

 

SO, what you do is ask to be waitlisted for main. Then call DCL once a month or so till your cruise and ask what the status of your wait list request is. The last 6 weeks or so, call them every week. All it takes is one CM to move you! Finally, if you don't get it, go to "dining changes" after boarding (times and location in Welcome Aboard Navigator....usually right after boarding in Royal) and ask to be moved.

 

Yes, people with young kids do late dining. The trick is a late afternoon "healthy snack" from either the pool deck outlets or room service. Or grab some options from the buffet and pop them into your fridge. And there is a lovely thing called "Dine and Play" where the OC staff will come to the dining room about 9:00 and take your kid(s) to the programming, allowing you to finish an adult dinner in peace.

[chamima]

The title of the thread is "What time is late dining on the Fantasy?"

 

I think early (main) is at 5:45 and late (second) is at 8:15.

LOVE the dine and Play feature!

We have several small children in our group and booked late because of it.

(Their mothers have cruised a lot as teens and young adults and learned the "order a sandwich from room service while you dress" trick a long time ago.)

Edited July 14, 2014 by chamima

[DISNEY FANTASY]

The title of the thread is "What time is late dining on the Fantasy?"

 

I think early (main) is at 5:45 and late (second) is at 8:15.

LOVE the dine and Play feature!

We have several small children in our group and booked late because of it.

(Their mothers have cruised a lot as teens and young adults and learned the "order a sandwich from room service while you dress" trick a long time ago.)

 

 

Agree your answer is correct I was on the Fantasy we had 5.45 pm.

 

My own view any child below teenager must be on main dinner, seen too many meltdowns of young kids

 

 

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Edited July 14, 2014 by DISNEY FANTASY

[Host Mick]

Agree your answer is correct I was on the Fantasy we had 5.45 pm.

 

My own view any child below teenager must be on main dinner, seen too many meltdowns of young kids

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

If you're coming from the West coast, late dining would roughly correspond to your internal hunger clock.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

If you're coming from the West coast, late dining would roughly correspond to your internal hunger clock.

 

 

I tend to disagree on that.

 

First evidence I put forward is coming from the UK by that logic I would be eating to my internal body clock at Breakfast 2am, Lunch, 7am, and Dinner, 1pm, that's just from Port Canaveral, LA and Alaska up to eleven hours out.

 

Second evidence, you and your kids will get up with the sun in the cruise so eat Breakfast local time 7.30 > 10 am, Then hit the pools, lunch 12 noon to 2pm, local time, then " go back" to West Coast time for dinner, it doesn't make any sense

 

If at home, any home, any time zone, you eat at 8pm fine then do it, if you can cope from 2pm to 8pm.

 

.

Kids adapt to time zone changes quickly, kids clubs run from 9am they will be hitting them and the pools from breakfast time, port times are local times and often your back on ship by 6 pm.

 

I have seen too many meltdowns and over tired children being carried out by Dads and Mums which can ruin a vacation.

 

Dine and play tries to make the best of a very bad situation kids will hit the snack places more at 5 pm and have burgers and pizza rather than a good dinner.

 

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Edited July 14, 2014 by DISNEY FANTASY

[jlk806]

It is a common misconception that DCL fills main dining first and then only late is available. This is not true. They try to balance the number of guests between seatings. Since main is generally more requested' date=' the default is late (if you don't ask for main, you get late.) Generally,if you make a request you'll get it.

 

SO, what you do is ask to be waitlisted for main. Then call DCL once a month or so till your cruise and ask what the status of your wait list request is. The last 6 weeks or so, call them every week. All it takes is one CM to move you! Finally, if you don't get it, go to "dining changes" after boarding (times and location in Welcome Aboard Navigator....usually right after boarding in Royal) and ask to be moved.

 

Yes, people with young kids do late dining. The trick is a late afternoon "healthy snack" from either the pool deck outlets or room service. Or grab some options from the buffet and pop them into your fridge. And there is a lovely thing called "Dine and Play" where the OC staff will come to the dining room about 9:00 and take your kid(s) to the programming, allowing you to finish an adult dinner in peace.[/quote']

 

Thank you for this. It does say "the alternative selection is unavailable" so I don't know if full or they are just trying to balance it. I plan to call.

[jlk806]

Thanks for the advice, Ive been watching this cruise everyday this morning when I checked Main Dining WAS available so I hurried up and booked it with the 4-day hold on the room before I put the deposit down (which I will do as soon as my husbands boss approves his time off request which shouldn't be a problem). The last 2 summers I cruised Carnival with a group of girlfriends and we LOVED late dining, but on Disney with our son, early worked great for us so Im glad we got it!

[DahliaRW]

Being from the West Coast, I can say my kids adapted to Florida time amazingly fast. We didn't cruise right away, did Universal our first day, but got them up and in the parks. By the 2nd day no jetlag.