TD - Early or Late Seating Pros & Cons

[bozemanman]

My DW and I (no kids coming) are going to Hawaii on the Golden in March. That is 14 days, 8 of which are at sea.....LOVE those sea days. We are just having a hard time deciding and go back and forth as to early or late seating. I know some of you will tell us anytime dining then,,,but we just don't like anytime dining, we feel the service is inferior...and we have tried it twice. So...please people give us your pros and cons for early or late seating. Thanks!:D

[flamomo]

I am inclined toward the late seating, because on port days (except the Honolulu day since the ship is in port till 11PM) it would not be necessary to rush back onboard to get ready for dinner.

We chose late seating, which allowed us to gather with friends onboard for pre-dinner drinks every night.

[paul929207]

We always get late seating. We eat about 8pm at home, so that works great for us. We like having the evening to relax on our balcony, have a drink, talk, read, etc.

[Floflegs]

We always have early seating. We eat early at home so it suits us and means we can go to the early show and still have the evening ahead to do other things

[1 HappyCruiser]

I suppose if you live a lifestyle where you go to sleep at 1 or 2 in the morning then finishing dinner at 9:45 PM in the evening would be OK. Eating our dinner at around 6 PM is more suited to our normal dining time than anything else so we could never consider a late seating even on a cruise.

[bozemanman]

Thank you for the responses. The other thing I'm thinking is if we want to go to the shows in the theater... early seating has the show after dinner and late seating has it before dinner...right? So if cocktail hour is a must ( I think it is!);) the show would invade on that if we choose late seating...correct?

[paul929207]

I suppose if you live a lifestyle where you go to sleep at 1 or 2 in the morning then finishing dinner at 9:45 PM in the evening would be OK. Eating our dinner at around 6 PM is more suited to our normal dining time than anything else so we could never consider a late seating even on a cruise.

We do not stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning, but still enjoy second seating.

[paul929207]

Thank you for the responses. The other thing I'm thinking is if we want to go to the shows in the theater... early seating has the show after dinner and late seating has it before dinner...right? So if cocktail hour is a must ( I think it is!);) the show would invade on that if we choose late seating...correct?

Some of the shows for second seating are at 7pm, others are after dinner.

 

As to cocktail hour, it depends on when that is. :)

[Whoo]

We like to eat dinner earlier, and then go to a show. If you have late seating, you either have to go to the show before dinner, or risk feeling too full and tired to make it to a late show. I have missed a few shows that I wanted to see, because I was worn out from all the activity all day and a late meal made me sleepy. We're also early risers - typically getting up at 5:30 or 6:00 am. So I guess it all depends on your lifestyle!:)

[PatriciaF]

DH and I do late dining as it gives us time to come back from a tour, take a nap, clean up, have a leisurely cocktail before eating.

 

When I sailed with my dad and kids we would always have early dining and it was a rush to get four people ready some evenings for early dining.

[Layla]

We like late seating because we enjoy getting ready for dinner at a leisurely pace and enjoying a glass of wine before heading to dinner. We don't do the shows so that's not an issue for us. Years ago we had early seating due to traveling with family and children and we always felt rushed to finish up and get out of the dining room.

[Whimsy]

I would go with late seating. I would rather come back from port and linger over a sunset at sailaway than to have to rush getting ready for dinner. It's vacation, throw out the rigid schedule. Take a nap, have a cocktail, watch a show, have the cocktail with the show.......late seating gives you more flexibility in the evening than early seating.

[Coral]

I would go with late seating. I would rather come back from port and linger over a sunset at sailaway than to have to rush getting ready for dinner. It's vacation, throw out the rigid schedule. Take a nap, have a cocktail, watch a show, have the cocktail with the show.......late seating gives you more flexibility in the evening than early seating.

 

I feel the opposite. I feel like I have more options with early seating.

[Pam in CA]

Thank you for the responses. The other thing I'm thinking is if we want to go to the shows in the theater... early seating has the show after dinner and late seating has it before dinner...right? So if cocktail hour is a must ( I think it is!);) the show would invade on that if we choose late seating...correct?

I prefer late seating for a couple of reasons. One is that we like to relax for a while together before dinner with a drink -- a cocktail hour; rushing from an afternoon activity or tour means we should start getting dressed for dinner well before 5pm in order to have an hour or so before dinner to have a drink, chat, meet friends, etc. I'm on a cruise and don't like to be rushed going to dinner. Yes, it's later than my normal eating time but I just adjust my meal times during the day accordingly. In reality, the ship's time is going to change several times during your cruise anyway so does it really matter? :)

 

Another reason is that there's no time limit on your dinner; if you want to get to a show, that's fine but if you want to relax and enjoy your meal, you know you don't have to be out of the dining room at a certain time.

 

I rarely go to shows after dinner so that timing doesn't bother me. The CD varies the timing of the shows so that one night they might be before dinner, the next, after dinner. They may have one show at 8pm one night and repeat it at 7pm the next. That way, everyone has a chance to get to a show no matter what your dining time is.

[Cancun01]

We book late TD mainly because of the port rationale. I also find that if we have the "pub" lunch or afternoon tea we're not really ready to eat again at 6pm. Also if we eat late we are less inclined to eat anything else that day.

[pamesacruisin]

We like (and are reserved for) the early seating at 6 pm on our upcoming cruise on the Sun. Now the only problem is I am really looking forward to afternoon tea! We Americans don't get to participate in that custom very often, so it is a real treat:D How will I be hungry by 6? Awwwww, the problems we must endure in order to cruise:rolleyes::p;)

[DrivesLikeMario]

My DW and I (no kids coming) are going to Hawaii on the Golden in March. That is 14 days, 8 of which are at sea.....LOVE those sea days. We are just having a hard time deciding and go back and forth as to early or late seating. I know some of you will tell us anytime dining then,,,but we just don't like anytime dining, we feel the service is inferior...and we have tried it twice. So...please people give us your pros and cons for early or late seating. Thanks!:D

 

I totally agree with that. I don't have any advice that hasn't already been mentioned, just a comment. I wish they had a 7pm traditional dining - that would be perfect! The only good thing about AD is that you can chose the time you eat and you get to meet new people.

[wrecks]

...late traditional because that allows time for us to have a pizza and/or hamburger and/or International Cafe goodies and/or ice cream and (no or here!) a cocktail before dinner and wine :D!

[Colo Cruiser]

i suppose if you live a lifestyle where you go to sleep at 1 or 2 in the morning then finishing dinner at 9:45 pm in the evening would be ok.

 

 

 

huh???

[cb at sea]

We like to have drinks before dinner, so we do late seating....once we've eaten, it's rare that we continue to drink or party.

We like traditional dining, too....we LOVE having tablemates and getting to know them throughout the week!

[TracieABD]

We have always done early TD. It work well for our schedule.

[bozemanman]

Great replies...thanks everyone! I must say this is exactly the turmoil we have gone through, but the majority of the time we are one THIS cruise we will not be in port...so not much rushing unless it is an event on board. The late meal/snack/tea is very valid. As pamesacruisin accurately states "the problems we must endure in order to cruise"....decisions....decisions:rolleyes::confused::D

[paul929207]

The bottom line is that neither time is right for all nor is either one wrong for all. Only you can pick the one that is right for you.

[Tak8]

I like early. If there is a night or 2 that early doesn't work especially with port times, go to a specialty restaraunt. I agree we you though. I like the service in Traditional Dining. Look luck deciding.

[sabookkeeper]

My DW and I (no kids coming) are going to Hawaii on the Golden in March. That is 14 days, 8 of which are at sea.....LOVE those sea days. We are just having a hard time deciding and go back and forth as to early or late seating. I know some of you will tell us anytime dining then,,,but we just don't like anytime dining, we feel the service is inferior...and we have tried it twice. So...please people give us your pros and cons for early or late seating. Thanks!:D

We prefer the late dining. On our last cruise we decided to try the early dining and didn't like it. We like to watch when we are leaving a port, and we couldn't do this and be at dinner on time. Also, when we are in port we have lots of time to get ready for dinner with the late dining option.

 

Darlene