kasjas Posted January 18, 2011 #1 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Hi all This is our very first cruise and am finding these forums really helpful. We are on the eclipse 30th July sailing from Southampton on an Italian cruise with friends. As we have children with us (one 12 and the other 15) we chose the early dining option, but am now wondering if we are going to be rushing to get back to the ship on days we are in port? I dont know if you can move the time on the odd day or if we can eat elsewhere? I really dont want to turn up at the MDR all hot and glowing and looking like something the cats dragged in!! Many thanks from a very excited first time cruiser.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellybutton530 Posted January 18, 2011 #2 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I personally prefer late seating. That way I don't have to rush to make it to the MDR. I can enjoy the sailaways in the comfort of either my cabin or in a public area, and then get ready for dinner. Of course you could opt for Select dining.... but I just don't like the idea of possibly having a different waiter every night. Your kids are old enough to be able to sit through a late seating meal. My brother brought his teenage kids on a Century cruise, and they ate late with no problem. Good luck with your decision.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare hcat Posted January 18, 2011 #3 Share Posted January 18, 2011 we prefer early seating.. & stuck to it for two medit cruises..for the few ports that were affected by a late return we chose an alt venue..usually very tired anyhow on those nights! on one night when a port delay caused everyone to get back on bd late--they were very flexible in the MDR.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyap Posted January 18, 2011 #4 Share Posted January 18, 2011 First, you should find and post on the roll call board for your exact cruise ship and date. You'll be able to see what plans fellow CC members on your cruise are making for each port. Med cruises requires planning for each port you visit.....start reading the ports of call board as well........There are ship's excursions, private excursions and some ports you can easily do on your own but you need to read and plan each one individually. In my opinion that's more important than dining times. Med cruises are very port intensive and require lots of planning so you can hone in on what your party wants to do/see in each city. As for dining times, early is often too early and late too late. Select dining is a possibility and you still might be able to get the same waiter several nights. Downside is you have to prepay gratuities for Select/Anytime dining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasjas Posted January 18, 2011 Author #5 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Thanks so much for your help. Martyap I will take your advice (dont know about these things unless someone can point you in the right direction). Our family are really keen on doing as much as possible whilst in port, our friends are more keen on relaxing and enjoying the ship. Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyap Posted January 18, 2011 #6 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Thanks so much for your help.Martyap I will take your advice (dont know about these things unless someone can point you in the right direction). Our family are really keen on doing as much as possible whilst in port, our friends are more keen on relaxing and enjoying the ship. Thanks for the advice. Many European ports require a "ride" to get to the sites you want to see. Rome is an hour+ from the port; Florence is an hour from the port in Livorno; Venice you can do on your own; Naples many head to the Amalfi Coast which requires a tour..........Med cruises are much different from Caribbean cruises in terms of "relaxing"...........start reading......great info on Cruise Critic.......Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tink3 Posted January 18, 2011 #7 Share Posted January 18, 2011 We have the 8:30 seating on the Summit for a Feb 12th cruise and I was was thinking we will probably miss the sailaway since the ship is leaving dock at 8:30. It seems there will always be something so I guess we just have to work around things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehschief Posted January 18, 2011 #8 Share Posted January 18, 2011 If your children want to participate in the activities in the evenings, early dining is better because the activities start early. The problem with late dining is that if you are tired you go to bed right after dinner which I find to be uncomfortable. We have done both, in the Carribean late dining is best so that you can take advantage of the sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkjretired Posted January 18, 2011 #9 Share Posted January 18, 2011 If your children want to participate in the activities in the evenings, early dining is better because the activities start early. The problem with late dining is that if you are tired you go to bed right after dinner which I find to be uncomfortable. We have done both, in the Carribean late dining is best so that you can take advantage of the sun. The above post is correct about the children and participation in the programs. I have traveled with my children and always did the early seating, mostly for them. Funny thing is now they are grown up and we usually do early seating anyway. Below is a link to the best explanation I have ever seen on early vs. late seating. Just look for Bruen Steves lenghty post. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=21001156&posted=1#post21001156 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffi001 Posted January 18, 2011 #10 Share Posted January 18, 2011 If it were me, I would absolutely take the first seating. After a day in port, you and your kids will be bushed, and it would be very difficult to make it til the later seating. Another option is select dining at 5:30.which is what we selected on our last cruise. Since we were usually back on ship at least 30 minutes before sailing, we didn't feel rushed at all. We ate, caught the early show at 7, and by 8:00 PM we had the choice of going back to our cabin, or to the casino, or shopping at the onboard shops etc... worked perfectly for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ma Bell Posted January 18, 2011 #11 Share Posted January 18, 2011 The dining room isn't open at 5:30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEcruzr Posted January 18, 2011 #12 Share Posted January 18, 2011 If your teens will be participating in any of the teen activities early seating might be your best choice. When I cruised with my teens we had late seating. They often left dinner early or just grabbed a pizza with other kids because their evening activities started at 9PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare vickykay Posted January 18, 2011 #13 Share Posted January 18, 2011 For a European cruise I would suggest early seating - We did the Baltics a summer before last and were very tired and in need of a meal after touring all day. In the Caribbean, later is fine as one usually takes a shower after the beach, rests, etc. but we did not feel rushed with early seating in Europe. We also found in Europe that late seating was really late, often at 8:45 (mostly Europeans who prefer to eat very late) and people were not leaving the dining room until 11:00. Sounds like a great cruise - enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruzgal Posted January 18, 2011 #14 Share Posted January 18, 2011 We have 2 sons (now 13 and 17) and we have always done early, although this summer for the first time we have opted to try late. Generally late is more popular so we thought if we wanted to swap to early there is a strong chance we could. We are also Elite this year and want to use the 'Happy Hour' before going to get ready for dinner. Sometimes it can feel a bit rushed dining early and seems to shorten the day a bit - on sea days we have had to head in to get ready when everyone else is outside still enjoying the sun. However, it does mean you get to see the shows without staying up too late, important if you want to have plenty of energy for tours the next day. I think for your first cruise early will be fine. If you are late back and can't face the rush you could always opt for casual dining for a change. I would echo the earlier comments regarding research. I buy a thin plastic A4 folder with dividers for each port and start researching now for the summer, mostly using the ports of call section on this forum. We always try and go it alone and over the years not only have we saved a fortune but we have also had some brilliant trips. It feels like such a sense of achievement and we always seem to see more than the ships tours. We have also had success booking private tours in areas where it doesn't work so well to go it alone. Using the search button in the top right hand corner is useful as I tend to target one port at a time and this helps you to narrow down what you are looking for. Happy planning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smtcan Posted January 18, 2011 #15 Share Posted January 18, 2011 The dining room isn't open at 5:30. We just came back from a Mercury cruise, and Select dining began at 5:30 - I just double checked on the daily sheets! I have never noticed this before, so it may be new. Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffi001 Posted January 18, 2011 #16 Share Posted January 18, 2011 The dining room isn't open at 5:30. SELECT DINING BEGINS AT 5:30 PM Please check your facts before correcting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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