Early or Late dining better with kids?

[C. Anne]

We went ahead and signed up for late dining so that we would not have to hurry to dinner on port days, but now I'm wondering if that was a mistake since we would then have to go to the 10:00 shows, right? Has anyone experienced this with kids and how did it go?

 

Thanks,

 

C. Anne

[pmcue]

We prefer late with our kids, in order to maximize port time. That said it depends on how old the kids are. If under 10 or so, I would probably do early.

[shipty2]

In my experience kids are better behaved earlier on . It also would depend on what time the child eats dinner at home.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

I prefer early with kids, because choose late. Just kidding. Don't flame me. I think it depends on your kids. If they are used to being up at that hour then by all means, go with late. If they aren't and you are just looking to maximize port time, then they maybe a little cranky and may not allow you or others enjoy the dinner.

[MrPete]

If they're used to eating around 6, you should keep them on that schedule, or you're gonna have some cranky kids. Always eat early with nine cruises under her belt. We put her down at 11.

[najnelle]

On our last cruise, we had early dining. The table next to us has 3 or 4 excellently behaved children, between 6 and 10 years old. They were so cute, but on more than one night, they actually fell asleep at the table and mom or dad had to take them back to the room. A long day out in the sun and fun, can make for a sleepy kid. The wait staff tried really hard to get them their food as quickly as possible. It was actually kind of cute.

[halos]

We went ahead and signed up for late dining so that we would not have to hurry to dinner on port days, but now I'm wondering if that was a mistake since we would then have to go to the 10:00 shows, right? Has anyone experienced this with kids and how did it go?

 

Thanks,

 

C. Anne

 

How old are your kids and what is their energy level, normal bed time???

Only you know what's best for your kids. What anyone else's kids does really won't help you here. :confused::confused:

[momoftwins2]

I am taking my Twins that will have just turned 13 on a cruise Oct 8. I have always done late seating and this time is no exception (even though this is my twins 1st cruise).

 

Same here I don't want to have to rush off the island to be back in time for dinner.

 

My thought is the kids can snack all day, so it isn't like they are waiting a long time until they eat again. So eating late will be fine, at least for us.:cool:

[ameliaw]

this is coming from a mom-grandma. i've cruised with my 3 kids and now my grandkids. from my experience (over a 20 + year timespan),kids over 11-12 late, kids under early. this is mainly because of camp carnival and their activities. my g- daughter, whose is now 7 and has been on 3 cruises with me would have it no other way!

[jayesouthworth]

We always choose late because the majority of people with children stay on an early schedule and eat early. Most children in the dining room that I have seen, have been well behaved, but rarely do I see children in late dining.

[lorilea]

I'd say it depends on the ages of the kids. Mine were 11 and 14 in July and we chose late seating as we have for all cruises - like to maximize port time. They are used to dining late at home as well. We would have chosen late seating when they were younger too.

We did not see too many kids in the dining room for late seating but this was Alaska and there weren't many kids on the ship anyways.

[aggieastrosfan]

We've done both with our child. At 3 we had late, when he was 3 1/2 we had early.

 

Both worked great for various reasons. DS still naps, but while he normally goes down around noon at home, he can make it later if needed without getting cranky (as long as he stays busy). The first time, with late seating, we stayed out a little later and let him take a late nap. Wake him up by 7, let him wake up and get ready, and he was ready to go for the night (for dinner and camp!). Downside to this is he missed out on a lot of fun activities at camp that are catered to kids eating early.

 

His 2nd and 3rd cruise, we had early. The upside is he was able to make those activities at camp, and we had more free (as in no money) adult time. Downside is knowing our son still needed that nap, and having to plan accordingly. He'd have to be up by 5, which means down for a nap by 2 (those days out in the heat wear him out!), which means leaving wherever we are in port pretty early.

 

We still haven't decided what to do for our currently booked cruises. The only two things we're sure of is, 1) He will still need a nap before dinner, so we will have to plan our day accordingly, and 2) We want him used to the fact that dinner time is family time, so we don't want to make a regular habit of letting him eat dinner with camp while we attend late dinner.

 

This is our experience with a young child, if yours is older, obviously it doesn't apply, but hope it helps someone! :)

[Ehpride]

We had late seating last time and a couple with a toddler was seated near us. He was very well behaved and the hit of the dining room. He seemed to do pretty well at late seating but only you know your kids and how late they are gong to be able to stay up.

 

I wouldn't worry about them being too hungry to wait that long because I usually grab a late afternoon snack or get snacks with a drink before dinner to tide me over anyway. I don't know of anyone who can go from noonish until 8:30 p.m. to eat, kid or adult!

[nybumpkin]

We opt for early seating, not only because we have kids but also because the early seating is closest to our usual dining time. 8:00 dining is just too darn late for us - and our kids. One consideration in cruising with kids is the Camp Carnival/Circle C/Club O2 schedules, as aggieastrosfan mentioned. They all seem to be geared toward early dining in that evening activities tend to start up around 7:00-7:30.

 

Our kids love the dining room - while we have one son who wants the kids' menu (even though he's really too old:rolleyes:), his younger brother lives for shrimp cocktail and caesar salad.:D

[BlueJacketsFan1]

Our TA told us that most people with younger kids tend to go with the early dinning. Because sometimes kids have a harder time waiting till 8:00 for diner.

[katiel53]

A consideration in cruising with kids is the Camp Carnival/Circle C/Club O2 schedules, as aggieastrosfan mentioned. They all seem to be geared toward early dining in that evening activities tend to start up around 7:00-7:30.

 

I was just going to post what you did. We sailed with my sister's family and that included grands from 8 months to 14 years old. We did early dinner because we knew the kids would want to go to the things that Carnival has for kids.

 

The 4 year old couldn't wait to get to the club The 10,12 and 14 year olds had a great time and would have missed a lot had they had late dining. I think you know your kids best and know if you think they would be interested in going to the kids clubs. If so, I think a change to early dining, which could mean getting back to the ship earlier, which may not be a bad idea for the kids, but they would have their time and you and your spouse could enjoy some time alone. JMO.

[serene56]

Taking late dinner with kids cuts iinto the camp programs.

 

Camps close between 5-7 (which is time for early dinner-by the time dinner is over camp is already going.

 

Kids who eat late dinner have a lot of down time-- figuring camp is closed from 5-7 -most kids are back getting ready for dinner-

then when the camp is finally opened-- the late diners are getting ready for dinner.

 

Camps charge after 10pm--

If you are cruising on a port intensive cruise with hardly any sea days this will work. if say you have 4 sea days-- I would think kids would get bored half way through because there isnt nothing to do

[LynneL]

I would think early dinner is better. Most port days aren't so long that you'd have to cut your time at that port short to get back for dinner. The late show seems too late for me & I'm an adult! I would think the kids would be tired by the time the late dinner finished.

[ivycruise]

1st Glory cruise we had late seating and the teen girls were not happy as it cut into their club time. Next Glory cruise we did early and we were able to get all the girls ready in time for early dinner after the ports. They were much happier as it gave them much more time with all their new found friends in c02, that's our plan going forward to always do early.

[Gizzy02]

On our first cruise with Disney our kids were 5 and 6 years old and we did the early dining and after the first night we know that next time we cruised we would do the late dining. Then we sailed w/Carnival this last Jan (boys were 7 and 8 yrs old) and did the late seating and it worked out just great! By the time we would get back on the ship and for 4 of us to all get ready and not be rushed, it's all worth it to me. I figure if their starving they can just grab a quick snack of something but that was never the case. Yes, 8PM does sound late but the time just flys and then we have some relaxing time in our cabin when were getting ready.

 

I know if really depends what time your usually used to eating at home. We always seem to eat around 7PM anyways so it's not a huge difference for us.

[chiarigirl]

On our fantasy cruise, we were on a group cruise so couldnt pick dining times. We had late, and we sat with a family of 4 with a 13 and 7 year old. The 13 yr old did fine. The 7 yr old had a harder time. They brought crayolas and stuff but he was just bored. They would bring his food early but the parents didnt like that because then he would just be bored when everyone else was eating. He wasnt acting too horrible, but the parents were not going to tolerate his misbehavior so they took him out for an adjustment so to speak a few times before it got out of hand. After that they took him to the buffet around 5 or 6 then took him to kids club til after dinner that way he still got to eat and have fun too, he was just too energetic for a two hour setting. They brought him again the last night and he did okay, it was halloween so there was a little more entertainment. For that child i think it was too early.

 

Like other posters have said it all depends on the child. If its a matter of them being hungry that late and not tired, take him to the buffet around 5 and get him a little something to help tie him over until dinner.

[ACSoCarCruiser]

I prefer early when cruising with my 4 yo DD.

[trvlqueen]

I have 3 kids ... 8, 12, and 14 ... and we ALWAYS do late dinner. We prefer it because it gives us extra time to get ready after being in port, allows time for naps in the afternoon, and more pool and slide time.

 

The buffet on the Lido deck is open if they need a snack early ... we often hit the pizzeria or the sushi bar in late afternoon for a quick bite ... and they pick and choose which shows to go to ... if they are too tired, they don't go.

 

The one downside to late dining with the kids is that Camp Carnival tends to do all the best activities during our dinner time ... but, again, if there's something they really want to do, they can always eat at the buffet and go to the activity ... usually isn't a big deal as we really enjoy those meals together (one of the big reasons we cruise ... nice to sit down together as a family for dinner every night and enjoy a great meal without any of the hassles of cooking, cleaning, worrying about whether they'll eat what they order (in a restaurant we tend to be a little more picky about what they order because we hate paying for stuff they won't eat) or paying for dinner (already paid for!).

 

In truth, you know your kids better than anyone else. Mine tend to be a rarity at late dining ... we don't often see other kids ... but if you know your kids can handle it, go for it. When they were way younger, we opted for the early time ... now that they're older and "experienced" cruisers who know what behavior is expected at dinner, we flex later.

 

Have a great cruise.