Dining: Early, Late or Your Time

Which do you prefer? I normally choose early, but on my last cruise we were always dining at Sunset (October Cruise). We have a September cruise this year and in effort to not be eating during sunset, we chose late dining. I know they also have the "Your Time" dining, but I personally like the set times and I've noticed some long lines for those who choose this option. I was just curious what everyone else prefers.

i prefer 'your time' dining... i'll select that in most instances, but NOT with a large group (10+) ever again... there are very limited accommodations for large groups, which results in a long wait time in most cases...

I'm a late MDR diner. I'm out and about on excursions during the day, then I can return to the ship just before sailaway and enjoy that from the outside upper decks, maybe catch a sunset, then shower and change, visit the Taste Bar or the casino and then join my dinner mates.

Last night of the cruise I may eat a bit earlier at 7:45 or so in the Steakhouse.

Which do you prefer? I normally choose early, but on my last cruise we were always dining at Sunset (October Cruise). We have a September cruise this year and in effort to not be eating during sunset, we chose late dining. I know they also have the "Your Time" dining, but I personally like the set times and I've noticed some long lines for those who choose this option. I was just curious what everyone else prefers.

DW and I like early dining time. We are early to bed type people and have dinner by 6pm back home. We have not experienced either of the other dining options so I cannot say "it is better because" other then it is what we prefer. I have heard good arguments for each and think it is much more of a personal preference.

early, always and only, even before kid.

We used to do early, but went with Your Time when it started.

Late seating is too late for us.

Early worked well except on port days. I really disliked having to hurry to shower and dress to make it to early seating.

Your Time works perfectly for us now.

There always seems to be a line on the first Elegant Night. But we've only had to wait once.

We love your time dining. We have never waited in a super long line and we've always gotten a table for 2.

I like early, as I am usually ready to sleep around 10.

Late dining here. We like to come back from a long day in port and unwind with a snack and a drink or two. And not have to worry about rushing to get ready for dinner.

We like your time. We like not being tied down to a time for one...and for two we usually only got once or twice on a 7 day cruise so we don't like to tie up a table to not show up.

We prefer Your Time Dining.

I don't want to be told what time to eat dinner while on vacation.

Some of the ports are later stops, so you might miss an early dinner.

We like to go when we want to go.

Never waited more than 10 minutes for a table. No worries.

I have done all 3. They all have their pros and cons. Early is good if you have kids, but it kind makes you have to end your day outside early so you can get ready. Late is ok but by the time you are done with dinner all you feel like doing is going to bed. Your time is the "happy medium". You can eat at whatever time you want. But you don't get to sit down immediately, you have to wait for availability.

Late. Not rushed at the end of a port day, fewer children and love having the same tablemates (we always request a large table). Works for us.

We always cruise with a group (family and friends) so we choose Early Seating. We honestly have never had problems getting back from our excursions and getting ready for dinner. Seems like our ports have always had us leaving around 5 pm. The one time this was not the case was when we ported at 3 pm in Curacao....3-11. We ate lunch then headed out. For dinner, we ate at a fabulous bar and grill on the fort over looking the water. It was awesome. A couple of our friends did go back to eat and then met us for drinks at the bar.

odd. I've never felt rushed on port days to shower and dress for dinner. We've always had plently of time to chill out in our room or whatever before getting ready for dinner. If we're short on time, dh gets ready, goes down and orders, then kid and I join him. Typically, he goes down first to order anyway, so less waiting for me and dd. (I hate waiting, I do not enjoy the long dinners.)

Early when traveling with a group. Anytime when just the family. Many times we just end up in the buffet.

We always do late dining. Wouldn't accept anything else. We do not want to be rushed doing early seating(which we experienced on our first cruise).

We've always done late seating and prefer that. We normally try to choose port heavy itineraries (4 or more) and spend as much time as we can in the ports. DH is a little conservative with the $$$ spending, so food is never purchased in ports unless it's included in an excursion we do. We usually go up to lido to get a drink and something to eat if we haven't. Then it's up to the upper outside decks to watch as we sail away and sunset from the islands. That is one of my favorite things to do on a cruise. After spending time up there, we have time to head down and get cleaned up and ready for dinner without rushing.

I like late or my time for restuaraunt said. But itinerary sets the time for me. Well my DW is the real time scheduler! Lol. We have been doing My Time for a while. I do like same waitstaff night after night if they are good. The flexibility of my time is what my DW likes so she doesn't feel rushed.

Usually we do YTD ............works out better for us.

We love your time dining. We have never waited in a super long line and we've always gotten a table for 2.

Same for us. Have done YTD since it was available on Carnival. Never wait too long, usually on elegant night, but not for too long. We usually find a server we like early on and request their section for the rest of the cruise and it's just like having set time dining, but we can go when we're ready!:D

We prefer late dining. Early dining is to early for us, plus it interfers with time in port sometimes. I dislike anytime because we always had to wait, and I like set time because you actually get to know you wait staff.

I like the simplicity of fixed dining. It's nice to just show up and be seated at "our" table, and not have to schedule, wait in line, etc. We have done both early and late. We found late to be too late. So we do early now. It's closer to the time we eat at home, and it gives us more options for the evening - we can enjoy a show and the other evening entertainment or turn in early if we wish. DHand I do not take very long getting ready, so we do not find time an issue on port days.