Late dining and the entertainment schedule

[furf_n_slo]

One of our favorite things about cruising is having the same staff at dinner that get to know you,  anticipate what you like and always remember our names.  And we've always done late dining.  It's closer to the time we eat at home,  we have 2 teenage boys so we all end up staying up late on vacation and our traditional cruising schedule has been comedy club and dinner together,  then the boys go to their club and we go to the big show.

 

But the last 2 cruises, the schedule has made it almost impossible to make the late show. We just got off the Panorama and the shows were starting at 9:15, some even started at 9. Even if we rushed through eating (which is not the point of eating in the mdr) the earliest we ever got done with dinner was 9:30 and that was on the night we were in Puerto vallarta and our wait staff only had 2 tables.  Most of the 7:30 comedy shows were also 18+ only shows so we weren't able to go to any but 1 pre dinner comedy show. 

 

Also our room steward was off work at 8. (Rightfully so,  I'm not faulting that the stewards need to be off the clock) We've always chosen evening cleaning and our room was straightened up during dinner.  But since he was done at 8 we had to be out of our rooms by 6:45 ish when we'd normally be getting spiffy for dinner.  It was awkward to have to rush getting ready, especially on port days,  and our steward standing outside our door waiting for us to leave.  We usually just ended up sitting around the ship somewhere because we don't really drink and weren't able to attend any of the entertainment. 

 

If you prefer late dining how have you been able to work in other activities in the evening? I don't remember this being an issue at all prior to our last 2 cruises. They were both on vista class ships. I'm afraid we may have to make the switch to any time dining.  😞

[Schoifmom]

FWIW, YTD is not that bad!  With the new seating system through the HUB app, I have always been seated in the same section (often at the same table) without requesting it.  You will likely always have the same servers and have the same personalized experience that you expect in the MDR.  

[luv2kroooz]

Same experience as Schoifmom.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

I thought the early show was timed for late dinner and late show for early dinner.  We usually opt for early dinner and if we can catch the early show catch that, if not we still have late show.  Usually in between all that we can catch a comedy show.  With YTD you still have to time dinner similar to early or late seating otherwise you miss shows.  

[CruiserLucas]

Your time dining if you get it is the way to go on Carnival. We do it since we plan our dinner around when we want to do shows or other stuff. And the way Carnival does your seating through the app when you're ready is the best. We pretty much always get the same section and wait team. Once in a while another section if they're busy.

[skrufy]

Try YTD, you can request the same wait staff each night. We eat around 7pm and make all the shows.

[furf_n_slo]

3 hours ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

I thought the early show was timed for late dinner and late show for early dinner.  We usually opt for early dinner and if we can catch the early show catch that, if not we still have late show.  Usually in between all that we can catch a comedy show.  With YTD you still have to time dinner similar to early or late seating otherwise you miss shows.  

In theory they are supposed to be.  But with the shows all starting at 9 or 9:15 I don't see how they expect guests that sit down to dinner at 8:15 to be able to make it to those show times. Especially when the wait staff has to stop service to sing and dance every night.  😉

[staceyglow]

3 hours ago, furf_n_slo said:

In theory they are supposed to be.  But with the shows all starting at 9 or 9:15 I don't see how they expect guests that sit down to dinner at 8:15 to be able to make it to those show times. Especially when the wait staff has to stop service to sing and dance every night.  😉

Most of the shows in the main theater have a 7:30 show and a 9:00 show and last 35-40 minutes.  I think what Colorado Beach Bum was saying is that you could go to the 7:30 show and still be on time for the 8:15 seating.

[CruizinSusan70]

58 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

Most of the shows in the main theater have a 7:30 show and a 9:00 show and last 35-40 minutes.  I think what Colorado Beach Bum was saying is that you could go to the 7:30 show and still be on time for the 8:15 seating.

This is how things are these days.  If you have late seating, you go to the early show and vice versa.  If you have YTD, you have more flexibility on a daily basis depending upon the entertainment schedule.

[MistyRo76]

We were on the Valor a month ago and had late dining. We didn't have any issues seeing the shows. The comedy shows we saw were usually around 10:00-10:30. If we wanted to see the shows in the main theater, we would usually go to the 7:30 show, which would end right at the same time our dinner was starting. It worked out well for us! 

[serene56]

13 hours ago, staceyglow said:

Most of the shows in the main theater have a 7:30 show and a 9:00 show and last 35-40 minutes.  I think what Colorado Beach Bum was saying is that you could go to the 7:30 show and still be on time for the 8:15 seating.

   family friendly show is at 7:30    the main show in the theater is 8:15    and the later show is 9:30    i have never seen a main show at 7:30 

 

[MistyRo76]

11 minutes ago, serene56 said:

   family friendly show is at 7:30    the main show in the theater is 8:15    and the later show is 9:30    i have never seen a main show at 7:30 

 

We were just on the Valor last month and the main stage shows in the large theater had 7:30 shows several nights. We went to two of them. Seating would open at 7:00 and the show would start at 7:30. We had the 8:15 dinner seating in the Aft dining room. Typically, the show would end around 8:10-8:15 and we would have to sprint (not really...more of a fast walk) down the entire length of the ship to get to dinner. But we were never more than 5 minutes late due to going to the show. 

[CruizinSusan70]

2 hours ago, MistyRo76 said:

We were just on the Valor last month and the main stage shows in the large theater had 7:30 shows several nights. We went to two of them. Seating would open at 7:00 and the show would start at 7:30. We had the 8:15 dinner seating in the Aft dining room. Typically, the show would end around 8:10-8:15 and we would have to sprint (not really...more of a fast walk) down the entire length of the ship to get to dinner. But we were never more than 5 minutes late due to going to the show. 

Doesn't the Valor have the secret Platinum/Diamond elevator that whisks you from the front of the ship at the theater to the aft dining room?  😉

[BlerkOne]

On 11/21/2022 at 4:09 PM, Colorado Beach Bum said:

I thought the early show was timed for late dinner and late show for early dinner. 

They are. All the scheduling is already done for those passengers. Easy peasy.

[Joebucks]

Given the choice of the 3, I'm with you on early dining. Late is too late for me to eat dinner, and it definitely impacts my nightlife. YTD is nice for its flexibility, but I still find it to chaotic and impersonable.  Not to mention having to wait for tables. Considering the vast majority of ports we are back on the ship by 4:30 and that is around the time I've had enough lounging on sea days, I don't believe 6pm is "rushing". While the lax schedule is nice about cruising, there is a level of haste to fit in the nightly activities. It is awesome to just walk to my table at 6, the team greets us promptly, and we get going. I will be sad once early, fixed dining eventually leaves us. It's the best.

[CruizinSusan70]

8 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

Given the choice of the 3, I'm with you on early dining. Late is too late for me to eat dinner, and it definitely impacts my nightlife. YTD is nice for its flexibility, but I still find it to chaotic and impersonable.  Not to mention having to wait for tables. Considering the vast majority of ports we are back on the ship by 4:30 and that is around the time I've had enough lounging on sea days, I don't believe 6pm is "rushing". While the lax schedule is nice about cruising, there is a level of haste to fit in the nightly activities. It is awesome to just walk to my table at 6, the team greets us promptly, and we get going. I will be sad once early, fixed dining eventually leaves us. It's the best.

Things evolve.  Back in the day, balconies were rare on Carnival and specialty dining was non-existent.  Early dining at a large table means you have to rely on your table mates which could lead to a 90-120 minute long meal.  If you choose a table for two, you can determine how long the meal takes, but you're locked into the set time.  With YTD if you want the same time each night it's entirely up to you and you can also request the same waiters if you're satisfied with them.  If you're not, then you get a different set usually on night two.  You also have the flexibility if you wish to shift dinner by 15-30 minutes.  You don't have that option if you eat at 600 each night. YTD is a step forward, not a step backwards.

[BlerkOne]

Some don't realize Renaissance was a flex dining pioneer and went bankrupt for their efforts. Now that's a game changer 

[BlerkOne]

YTD doesn't mean you can stroll into the dining room anytime and be served immediately. It means you can request a table and then wait a random period of time you don't control until a table is available.

[CruizinSusan70]

7 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

YTD doesn't mean you can stroll into the dining room anytime and be served immediately. It means you can request a table and then wait a random period of time you don't control until a table is available.

Or you can go to the set time dining room and be stuck eating early with all of the families or stuck eating late when you don't get done till 915 or later.  No thank you, give me YTD with the option of the MDR, Cucina del Capitano, Chibang or the Pig n Anchor, all on my schedule as soon as we check in on the app.  And if by chance it's a 20 minute wait, that is why there are multiple bars for a pre-dinner drink.

[BlerkOne]

4 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Or you can go to the set time dining room and be stuck eating early with all of the families or stuck eating late when you don't get done till 915 or later.  No thank you, give me YTD with the option of the MDR, Cucina del Capitano, Chibang or the Pig n Anchor, all on my schedule as soon as we check in on the app.  And if by chance it's a 20 minute wait, that is why there are multiple bars for a pre-dinner drink.

Nonsense. There are a variety of table sizes available and you don't always share a table with anyone. If there are any issues with table mates, the maitre d' can quickly sort things out. Nobody is stuck unless they choose to be.

 

The YTD option you prefer limits you to 2 Carnival ships, with reduced menus. 20 minute or longer waits are common, and hardly your schedule.

[CruizinSusan70]

5 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Nonsense. There are a variety of table sizes available and you don't always share a table with anyone. If there are any issues with table mates, the maitre d' can quickly sort things out. Nobody is stuck unless they choose to be.

 

The YTD option you prefer limits you to 2 Carnival ships, with reduced menus. 20 minute or longer waits are common, and hardly your schedule.

I wasn't talking about being stuck at a table with families during early set dining, I was talking about being stuck in a dining room with families.  Even if we're at a table for two, adjacent tables with unruly kids can ruin the experience.  For this reason we have never had early seating on Carnival, was always late back in the day before YTD was an option.  And I am fully aware that the YTD option we prefer limits us to 2 ships, since at this point the rest of the fleet is currently in our rear view mirror and all five of our upcoming Carnival sailings over the next 14 months will be on the Celebration.

[BlerkOne]

1 minute ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

I wasn't talking about being stuck at a table with families during early set dining, I was talking about being stuck in a dining room with families.  Even if we're at a table for two, adjacent tables with unruly kids can ruin the experience.  For this reason we have never had early seating on Carnival, was always late back in the day before YTD was an option.  And I am fully aware that the YTD option we prefer limits us to 2 ships, since at this point the rest of the fleet is currently in our rear view mirror and all five of our upcoming Carnival sailings over the next 14 months will be on the Celebration.

Families are not excluded from YTD, or from MG/Celebration. or the Steakhouse or any other food venue or dining option.

[CruizinSusan70]

9 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Families are not excluded from YTD, or from MG/Celebration. or the Steakhouse or any other food venue or dining option.

Fully aware of that, but the overwhelming majority of families that would have unruly kids go to early set time dining so their precious little darlings can eat early.

Over our 28 days on the MG this year did not have any problems regarding this situation since we had YTD.  Maybe we were just lucky and hopefully we'll avoid any unruly kids over our future 33 nights on the Celebration.

[Badfinger]

Our first cruise or two we tried to do everything.  After those two, we just decided to relax and what happens, happens.  Worst case, we head to our balcony and just watch the sunset.   Rushing from this show to that club to that MDR and back to that show....not really relaxing always checking the time, hurrying, etc.  Just the opposite of what we wanted our vacations to be.  

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by Badfinger

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Fully aware of that, but the overwhelming majority of families that would have unruly kids go to early set time dining so their precious little darlings can eat early.

 

It only takes one, you know there are families at all venues and dining times.