Leaving in two weeks on the Glory with husband and two children (11 and 15).. booked the earlier dinner time (6:15??) when I made my reservations months ago but many people are suggesting the later seating -- I think it is 8:00.
What are your thoughts on the dinner seating times??
I prefer the later seating. After a day on shore we can come back and nap and get dressed for the evening and not feel rushed. Then we can stay up for the late shows. Since you have children you will probably be better off dining and seeing shows and such at the earlier time. Plus if you are used to eating dinner at that time anyway you can stick to your regular routine.
We were on the Glory back in late April early May. I like late seating as it doesn't rush us when we are off the ship. Snacks are available in the mid to late afternoon to off set the time. My choice is always late.
Leaving in two weeks on the Glory with husband and two children (11 and 15).. booked the earlier dinner time (6:15??) when I made my reservations months ago but many people are suggesting the later seating
Unfortunately you can't book a dinner time, you can only request it. The early seating is the most requested, so many folks don't get what they want. If you get early and prefer late, not a problem changing it, just see the maitre' d. If you get late and want early, OH WELL!!!
We do the 6:15, because it is the closest to our normal time at home. We have at times, not felt like going after an excursion, but just ate on the Lido that night.
I notice people with children tend to like the earlier time. That gives them plenty of time to get ready and then go see the early show. It also keeps kids from getting hungry. I know I couldnt wait until 8 p.m. when I was a kid
We've done both and all agree that we like the earlier seating better.
It gives us time to have a nice dinner, get into comfortable clothes and have the whole evening ahead of us to enjoy the shows, dancing, etc.
When we had the late dinner, we found that most of the shows started before we ate so we missed mostly everything. After a full day's activities, we seemed to be more tired after finishing dinner at 10pm. I'm a night person and I had a harder time with the later dinner.
But...it's up to each and every person to do what feels most comfortable for them...
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We've done both and all agree that we like the earlier seating better.
It gives us time to have a nice dinner, get into comfortable clothes and have the whole evening ahead of us to enjoy the shows, dancing, etc.
When we had the late dinner, we found that most of the shows started before we ate so we missed mostly everything. After a full day's activities, we seemed to be more tired after finishing dinner at 10pm. I'm a night person and I had a harder time with the later dinner.
But...it's up to each and every person to do what feels most comfortable for them...
You took the words right out of my mouth, and said exactly what I was going to say. We have only tried the late seating twice and did not like it either time. We too, felt like we missed a lot of things in the evening by eating late. On our Med cruise, they would move the dinner times back another quarter hour on port days to accomodate guests getting back to the ship. On those nights, our 8:30 dinner moved to 8:45. On the night of the Grand Gala Buffet (I am not kidding), we got up from our dinner table and went straight to the Gala buffet to take pictures. This is just too late for us.
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We've done both and all agree that we like the earlier seating better.
It gives us time to have a nice dinner, get into comfortable clothes and have the whole evening ahead of us to enjoy the shows, dancing, etc.
When we had the late dinner, we found that most of the shows started before we ate so we missed mostly everything. After a full day's activities, we seemed to be more tired after finishing dinner at 10pm. I'm a night person and I had a harder time with the later dinner.
But...it's up to each and every person to do what feels most comfortable for them...
You took the words right out of my mouth, and said exactly what I was going to say. We have only tried the late seating twice and did not like it either time. We too, felt like we missed a lot of things in the evening by eating late. On our Med cruise, they would move the dinner times back another quarter hour on port days to accomodate guests getting back to the ship. On those nights, our 8:30 dinner moved to 8:45. On the night of the Grand Gala Buffet (I am not kidding), we got up from our dinner table and went straight to the Gala buffet to take pictures. This is just too late for us.
I've done both late and early seatings.
If you are doing morning shore excursions, then early works better. Plus if you wish to do the midnight buffet, then late seating can spoil your appetite for that.
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Leaving in two weeks on the Glory with husband and two children (11 and 15).. booked the earlier dinner time (6:15??) when I made my reservations months ago but many people are suggesting the later seating
Unfortunately you can't book a dinner time, you can only request it. The early seating is the most requested, so many folks don't get what they want. If you get early and prefer late, not a problem changing it, just see the maitre' d. If you get late and want early, OH WELL!!!
My daughter originally made arrangements for a late seating but 2 weeks before our cruise decided that an early seating would work out better for the kids. She just called our Carnival rep and he changed it right then....no problemo.
If I decide to switch to the later seating, should I wait until we get on the ship or attempt to do it now? I already got my documents in the mail, cannot remember if it said anything about dinner seating there.
I think I would prefer the early seating, so we can eat, and then change into more relaxed clothing and then enjoy then night...my husband is leaning towards the later seating based on what his co workers have said. From what I am reading on these boards, it seems like it would be easier to switch from early seating to late... maybe we will try the early seating the first night or two and then decide.
You're right! It's much easier to switch from early to late, as the greater demand is for early. You're doing the exact correct thing,,,,go to dinner the first night with your early seating,,,,see how you like it, and the table, and the wait staff, and the people you're dining with (if any), then make the decision. If you want to switch, just stop by the maitre d' on the way out of the dining room and make the request. (I'll bet you stay on early!)
I already got my documents in the mail, cannot remember if it said anything about dinner seating there.
You won't know which seating you're assigned until you receive your sail-n-sign card. The dining room, time, and table number will be on your card. We prefer earlier seating because, like you said, it allows us to change back into casual cloths for the rest of the evening. Changing from early to late is no problem. You can try the other way around, but as I said, there'll be another couple hundred people tryin to do the same thing and they can't accommodate everyone. There's actually 4 dinner times. The galley sits in the middle of 2 dining rooms and pushes food out one direction and thirty minutes later in the other direction. Same thing occurs during the late seating. This allows two dining rooms to be serviced with one wait staff.
I like the early seating. Getting back from the excursion does not bother me. I usually come back early enough to get dressed for dinner. Also with the early seating you can eat and get the early jump on the night life. 8)
this is my first cruise, but i hope to get the 8pm seating, i work nights, and hubby doesnt get home till 7:30 or later at night from work so this is more normal for us.
We are not dancers (i wish we are, but hubby isnt at all...course if some woman will let me borrow her hubby a few times for a dance i'll oblige lol) anyway i felt like the 6:30 or earlier dinner times felt rushed when thinking of the activities. We will want to see shows.
I told hubby the night of the chocolate buffet, were eating on deck early so have an appetite for later .
There is always so much food that i'm sure even with small kids you could feed them something earlier and let them hang in the "camp" while adults enjoyed some free time at dinner. There just seems to be endless options for food!
im glad our formal night is right away because i'm betting i gain atleast 15lbs on this ship (i can gain wt by smelling cookies i swear)
I hope we get the late seating we requested! I didn't know it wasn't a reservation!
Nurseypoo, you can borrow my husband for a dance or two. We love to dance! I am not planning on doing any of the shows except for comedy shows, and we are doing excursions on every port, so late seating was better for us. I don't normally eat past 6:30 at home, but I'm sure I won't be hurting for food.
I am wondering if most people change out of their dinner clothes before they do the evening stuff. I planned on keeping my dresses on (except maybe not formal nights) unless we are going to head out to the hot tub or something.
I liked the late. I would have felt rushed getting back from the island.
I ate so much all week that I wasn't hungry waiting until 8:00 PM.
Brian
My feelings exactly.
My wife and I have always had late seating and it has always worked well for us, however this time we are traveling with our 4 kids and have decided to try early seating.
I always like the late seating because there tends to be lull in activity while the first group eats. This allows me to unwind have a drink or maybe take a nap before the evening activities and if I am hungry I can order a snack from room service.
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Another vote for early dining....especially with children...my grandson would never make it until 8:00 p.m., he'd be asleep at the table and very cranky. A lot of people have stomach problems if they eat late. I've also found that I missed an awful lot during the evening when I have eaten late. There is plenty of time after going ashore to get ready for an early dinner...we're always back on the ship an hour or two prior to departure (love hanging out in a bar for pre-dinner cocktails)....return to our room after dinner to change clothes and get ready to enjoy the numerous activities planned for that evening (show, casino, karaoke, piano bar).
I really liked the early last year. I'm going on the Glory this Saturday and we did request early again. It looks like the ship departs at 5 or 4pm on all days except the day in Cozumel. Does anyone know what time they do ask you to be back on the ship- is it like an hour or 30 minutes before the listed departure time? I don't remember!
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which dinner seating??
lol) anyway i felt like the 6:30 or earlier dinner times felt rushed when thinking of the activities. We will want to see shows.
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