Do you prefer early or late seating?

[Gixer]

What are the pro's & con's of early/late dinners times? which do you prefer and why? :)

[cb at sea]

We prefer late, because we like to have a few drinks before dinner, get a good buzz on, eat, and then, we're done! Don't want to be "done" at 8pm! So, we go for the late dinner seating.

The downside is you can never eat any of the late night muchies! Too full!

[Laurie12820]

We choose early/late dinner depending on our itinerary. If we are scheduled to be in port through the main seating, then we will choose the late seating, it gives us more time to enjoy the ports. We can also get a snack on the ship if we are hungry before hand. The only time we have done main seating is during our Bermuda cruise because we were docked in port over night so it didn't really limit us.

[mckinna]

We prefer late seating, so we aren't rushed on port days. It is not has handy on sea days, but we usually get an afternoon snack to tide us over til dinner.

 

Late seating doesn't seem as frenzied and rushed as early, seems more relaxed and not as crowded.

[Dr_DNA]

We pick early dining because one, I can't imagine eating dinner at from 8-10 and two, we sail with our son (who is currently 4). Even if we weren't sailing with him, we'd still pick early though. I agree with those that say you might be rushed while in port, so our solution is to just not show up for dinner in the dinning room. We either eat in port, Windjammer, or alternative. I think that it is nice to have a sit down, "fancy pants" meal but not at the expense of what we're doing. So, if the mealtime fits our schedule, we show up. If not, we miss it. If RCCL institutes some sort of My Time dining like Princess, that would be perfect for us.

[isujim]

We prefer Early Seating. Then by 7:30 we are done and have the whole evening to do whatever we want to do.

[mamabear79]

I have found that I prefer the late seating. Along with what others have said about not being rushed on port days, I also have found it handy for taking naps late in the afternoons after a long day. When I wake up, I get dressed and am ready to head out for dinner and all the fun and partying that comes afterward. It really allows me to fully enjoy the cruising experience.

[Carnival Game]

Early, so I have room for the late night buffet. :p

[kicker]

So far you've got 3 for early, 3 for late. That's pretty much what you'll find on these boards - it comes down to personal preference, and also what fits your schedule or lifestyle best. Our family prefers early seating. Last year on Sovereign OTS we booked late and had to settle for late seating - this was a problem on the Sovereign because it interfered with some of the evening activities. The larger ships are usually more accommodating (dual shows), so add the ship you're cruising on into the equation. One definite thought: if you miss a dinner you certainly won't go hungry - plenty of other choices onboard.

[jobowl]

Ok I will break the tie, I agree with the ones on late seating. You are just not rushed as much. We always liked early seating until we went on a last minute cruise and got stuck with late seating. It has been late seating ever since.

Joe & Jackie

[1bigsexy]

Late works best for us. We usually book tours on the port days and find that after a day of fun in the sun, you don't want to have to rush back to get ready for dinner. Sea days we use the time before dinner to catch the early shows.

[veryhotred]

I prefer late...this allows me to get up later, lay out by the pool, relax and not have to hurry to an early dinner. I can nap if I want too, just relax! Then early evening I can get ready for dinner, kind if like a second wind, and then head out for the evening! :) (I am more a night person than a morning person)

[ssantow]

I am the minority. I prefer anytime dining, and soon I will be able to enjoy it on Royal Caribbean. Anytime dining takes the best of both Early and Late seating and puts them together without any of the drawbacks of them. It's the best of both worlds.

[Sky616]

The DW and I prefer late but when we travel with DS who is 6 it definitely is the early seating.

[Sequim88]

Since we became empty nesters we have gradually shifted to late eating at home. Too much stuff to do after work. So we usualy eat at 8pm or so anyway and late seating seems pretty normal.

 

We also like not having to rush back from excursions or else do Windjammer for dinner. Staying up late is also not a problem as long as we can sleep in a bit in the morning and still be able to get breakfast. Another factor is that while the early seating is going on the lounges are much less crowded so, on sea days in particular, we can just relax a bit before heading to the dining room. And if we are too full for a late night meal...the other side of the coin is there or us and we can have an appetizer from room service. So we are certainly not missing out on any calories. :eek:

[CruizinCupcake]

Another vote for late. When we are on vacation we don't want to have to rush. On port days we have been on excursions in the late afternoon and the people with early dining times could not enjoy the excursion because they were so concerned about being late for dinner. With late dining we can take our time and enjoy.

[cruisinisforme]

I used to do early too because I didnt like eating that late, but honestly I now prefer it. It is so much easier to not have to rush to get ready for 600 or come back in from an island and have time to relax before getting ready for dinner. or just having time to go down and sit at the wine bar for a little while before dinner

[Jsme]

The time I prefer to eat on a cruise is not an options. lol So we normally go with late. Early just makes you rush too much.;)

[alphakitty]

We prefer late too...for many of the reasons others do....time to get back from shore, shower, nap, have a drink, etc. I've found the dining rooms are quieter at the late seating also.

[Jungle Jane]

13y/o DD and I enjoyed the late seating. We didn't feel rushed on port days, we got back on the ship and were able to get a spot near the pool because by 4-5pm it had cleared out quite a bit due to the early seating folks leaving to get ready for dinner. Maybe a drink or 2 and dip/relax by the pool, then stop at Sorrento's to get a snack to take up to our room, leisurely get ready for dinner. One sea day we did end up eating at the WJ earlier b'c we were just too tired to try to make it another few hours. If I had little ones I certainly would choose early or WJ instead.

[negc]

At home we usually eat dinner around 6pm, but when we cruise we have no problem adjusting to late seating, which we prefer for all of the reasons others have mentioned. :) If we were sailing on a ship that had 'freestyle dining' or on one that required us to accept "anytime dining", I suspect that we would try to select times that pretty much replicate traditional late dining anyway, so, assuming we could get the time we requested, we would most likely end up dining around 8:30 regardless.:rolleyes:

[Jeffski]

I'm told the kids activities shut down during early seating and resume around 8pm, so if you have kids there might be an advantage to eating early. We choose early seating for our cruise next week for that reason... but I think if it were just the wife and I we would've gone later.

[tmoret]

The wife and I always take the late seating. The main reason is we live in colorado and with the time change eating at 8:30pm on the ship is only 6:30 here and that is the time that we normaly eat at. Also like said before I dont like to feel rushed to get back to the ship on port days. Plus after dinner then we go enjoy the night life...

[waterbugohio]

OK, we are first timers. We will be on the Serenade in November. All the port days are back on the ship by 4 or 5. I picked the early dinner.

 

Can anyone tell me how the show schedules work?? I thought that there was a early and late show, so you did the opposite show of your dinner seating. Is this correct?? If so and we are rushed to get to the show by 6 anyway, I would much rather do the dinner first and then the show.

 

Someone please let me know if this is correct.

[negc]

OK, we are first timers. We will be on the Serenade in November. All the port days are back on the ship by 4 or 5. I picked the early dinner.

 

Can anyone tell me how the show schedules work?? I thought that there was a early and late show, so you did the opposite show of your dinner seating. Is this correct?? If so and we are rushed to get to the show by 6 anyway, I would much rather do the dinner first and then the show.

 

Someone please let me know if this is correct.

 

There will be shows specifically scheduled for your seating and they will be noted in your daily Cruise compass. Shows for early diners are almost always scheduled for after dinner. Late diners may have their shows scheduled before dinner or after, depending on what else is scheduled for later in the evening. You will not miss any shows due to your dinner schedule.