Opinions needed...Early or late dinner

[Rala]

I second what Serene56 said. We have always had early seating and in 12 cruises have NEVER felt rushed or hurried through dinner. Also, have never had many children at early seating, but I am sure that varies depending on time of year you sail and itinerary. To the OP, I wish you a wonderful cruise whichever option you choose.

[KatherineRot]

I am a teen, and have been on cruises with both seatings. Myself, and my extended family have all enjoyed the late seating. You have time to relax in each port, and my parents could have cocktails before dinner. You do not need to worry about being hungry, as there are snack buffets set up all of the time. Ask your kids/teens if they will want to do the organized programs too, because I know myself, and my 4 other teen cousins never went to the activities. There was plenty of stuff to do just around the ship.

 

~Katherine~

Voyager of the Seas 3/05

Adventure of the Seas 4/03

Celebriy Millenium 2/02

Celebrity Zenith 4/00

 

[morey]

Early seating has always worked for us. We have a 14 year old and a 20 year old. My 14 year old made a few friends on the last cruise and a couple of them had late seating and missed some of the teen activities. I tend to agree that if you have kids/teens, early seating might be better.

 

Morey

 

Voyager

[GatorWop]

I dont know what ship all of you have sailed on but on the Voyager last month there were only two shows that were before dinner for late seating: The second comedian for the week and the farewell show. Other than those two I had to fight to keep my eyes open at 10:45 especially when wathcing Dreamscape, the name says it all. Go for the early seating, allows you to enjoy the bars and lounges after dinner. Just my opinion though.

 

Norwegian Sea 8/94

Ecstasy 8/96

Nordic Empress 6/97

Imagination 8/98

Carnival Destiny 8/00

Carnival Triumph 7/01

Voyager of the Seas 3/04

Navigator of the Seas 08/07/2004....

Seconds Please on the Voyager of the Seas!!!! 02/26/2005

[ajbumpers]

I'm a strong advocate of late seating. Most of the reasons have been mentioned, but I'll give a couple more. If you have early seating in the carribean, you will never get to watch the sunset. I've sat on deck enjoying a drink and thinking how unnatural and uncomfortable people look going to dinner dressed up and sunburned just an hour after rushing back to wash the sand off from the beach. That 3 hour period between 5 and 8 is the most relaxing, unhurried, and uncrowded of the whole cruise. The hot tubs, casino, gym and bars are yours to command. Hot tip! If you need a late afternoon snack the french fries on my last RCCL cruise were great. Perfest to get you through to dinner. I will admit that the evening activities on RCCL seem a little skewed toward the early diners, but not so on NCL or Celebrity. Andy

7 ncl cruises, 2 Celebrity, 1 Princess, 1 Premier, 1 rccl, grandeur in Nov.

[Tess4]

Don't know if it was the right decision but we chose late seating for our June Mariner cruise with our two children (15 and 12). Never fear if you're atthe same table with us--they won't be rowdy in the dining room. Promise! We've taken them to enough nice restaurants during their lives that they know what's appropriate behavior--they haven't disappointed us yet. What I AM worried about is if they miss teen activities...guess if they find that happening they can hit the Windjammer early and their dad and I can eat later. Our family has always been late eaters on vacation and would rather graze late in the afternoon then eat dinner at 8 or so. At the all-inclusives, etc. that we've been to in the past they seem to skip teen stuff and would rather hang with us (not that I'm complaining--it just surprises me!). Any success stories with late seatings and your teens?