Early Seating Dinner

[floridaphilly]

We are 9 adults and 8 children ranging in age from 8 months to 7 years. We have been assigned 2nd seated and are wait listed for first seating. Does anyone have any suggestions on how we might get first seating. There is no way the kids can start dinner at 8:00pm. Would it be better to see if individual families can be moved rather than wait for all of us? Does calling frequently annoy them or spur them to accommodate us? We are on Disney Magic for a 3 night cruise to try it out.

[Ex techie]

We are 9 adults and 8 children ranging in age from 8 months to 7 years. We have been assigned 2nd seated and are wait listed for first seating. Does anyone have any suggestions on how we might get first seating. There is no way the kids can start dinner at 8:00pm. Would it be better to see if individual families can be moved rather than wait for all of us? Does calling frequently annoy them or spur them to accommodate us? We are on Disney Magic for a 3 night cruise to try it out.

 

Yes you have more chance of individual families getting moved before boarding.

Calling every 2 weeks should be fine, every day may become tiresome for the CM's on the phones.

 

Go to this current thread here for more advice:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2280047

 

ex techie

[xlxo]

The moment you step on board.... find out where they are processing dinner changes. Go there immediately to see if they can make changes.

 

Personally I like 2nd seating....

• less rushed
  
• more port time
  
• clothes for the evening show has no food stains
  
• get to sleep in on debarkation day (extra time to pack) as you will be in the later breakfast.
  
• great for night owls
  
• if you are from the West Coast..... it's closer to your home dining time.
  

 

Otherwise, hit the buffet early for some appetizer prior to your evening dining window.

[Ex techie]

The moment you step on board.... find out where they are processing dinner changes. Go there immediately to see if they can make changes.

 

Personally I like 2nd seating....

• less rushed
  
• more port time
  
• clothes for the evening show has no food stains
  
• get to sleep in on debarkation day (extra time to pack) as you will be in the later breakfast.
  
• great for night owls
  
• if you are from the West Coast..... it's closer to your home dining time.
  

 

Otherwise, hit the buffet early for some appetizer prior to your evening dining window.

 

I think thats it xlxo.

Whilst your reasons are great, you are on the west coast and the OP is on the east coast as per their location.

 

ex techie

Edited December 6, 2015 by Ex techie

[Ex techie]

Unfortunately, if you are wanting to dine as a whole party and only some can get the main dining seating, it is up to the group whether to split up or make the necessary changes to their schedule to accommodate the later dining and bed time.

DCL will try to accommodate where they can, but they cannot and will not guarantee this for obvious reasons.

 

ex techie

[packyourpixiedust]

I have been moved 3 times!! Fear not! The first time wasn't until the 2nd day, but that cruise was booked one week before we cruise. I could never do late seating either. Below is a response I wrote for some people in my cruise FB group about the subject! :) Seriously- I have zero stress on the subject any more based on past experience!

 

have had to move my reservation twice. Our January cruise will be my 3rd time scheduled for late and requesting early. I am definitely less concerned than I was in the beginning. I am just confident that I will get moved. It is just a matter of when. So, for the 2 cruises that I needed to be moved I booked REALLY last minute- the week before one trip and 3 or 4 weeks before for the other trip. I put it in my reservation both times. Both cruises were 7 nights on the Fantasy. For the last cruise, which was this past summer, we were moved before we set sail! yay! I was actually able to log into my account and see that I was moved before we left to go there! What a nice feeling! For the previous cruise, booked one week before we sailed, I requested early seating. Upon boarding the ship I had to go to the dining room Royal Court (it is in the Navigator telling you where to go) and request that I be placed in first seating. I was like 15th on the list (we didn’t board until like 2:45 pm). I was told I would be notified that night- they really didn’t notify us. Then we just ordered room service and ate in the room. The whole thing was disappointing. BUT in the future- I will just eat quick service which is open then and eat sandwiches, pizza, salads or whatever outside on the pool deck. They even have high chairs for my little guy. That would have worked out much better which is why I am not longer concerned. On that first cruise, we were moved to first seating by the 2nd day. They notified us around 10 am. Honestly- the other option would not have worked at all. We would have eaten at cabanas each night- but cabanas isn’t available the first or last night… So that is when quick service would come into play. My kiddo is sleeping before 2nd service begins, so that seating is just not an option right now for my family. smile emoticon But like I said, with the other options. I am just not worried at all anymore!

 

We booked this cruise less than 4 weeks before the departure date. As a result we were forced into second seating for dinner which just wouldn’t work with my toddler. [Dinner would have started a half hour after his bedtime.] We were placed on a wait list and I am very happy to report that our request was approved and we were moved into main/early dining before the start of the cruise. [i was able to confirm this by logging into my account and reviewing the cruise details. Under the cruise details it indicated we were in main dining.] I received this information about 3 days before the cruise. This took so much stress away for that first day. Had I not secured main dining before the cruise we would have had to go to the designated area the first day of the cruise to make the request one more time. The one time we experienced this in the past we were moved, but not until the second day of the cruise.

 

On my next cruise, where only late seating was available, I was moved about 2 months before our cruise to early seating. So just put yourself on the wait list for early.

 

You don't need to keep calling- once you are on the list, you are on the list. Disney will take care of it. But if it isn't done before cruise, go to the restaurant where they are taking changes and change your cruise.

[moki'smommy]

Honestly, moving a family of 17 after boarding is going to be tough. I'd try to get this done in advance. Alternatively, you could split into individual cabins and be moved more easily after boarding. If it doesn't work out, you can feed the kids early (fast food, room service, Cabanas on your middle night only) and then send them to programming while the adults enjoy late dinner. We have never had any problem being moved.

 

We really prefer late dining.

Edited December 11, 2015 by moki'smommy

[packyourpixiedust]

Honestly' date=' moving a family of 17 after boarding is going to be tough. I'd try to get this done in advance. Alternatively, you could split into individual cabins and be moved more easily after boarding. If it doesn't work out, you can feed the kids early (fast food, room service, Cabanas on your middle night only) and then send them to programming while the adults enjoy late dinner. We have never had any problem being moved.

 

We really prefer late dining.[/quote']

 

Actually my first cruise they moved a family of 12. So I wouldn't say it is impossible. They did it in order of who showed up to put themselves on the list. That family of 12 was moved before my family of 3 and I had an infant. So get on the list early. But like I said it all eventually work

[moki'smommy]

I didn't say impossible, just tough after boarding. The problem is that 17 people are an entire serving station.

 

We have always had our requests met...but sometimes it is after boarding and we are told to come to the front of the dining room and the head server will have figured out "something" by then...and this is for a party of 2.

 

It is easier to be moved before boarding (which is before the seating assignments are made.)