Poll: What do you prefer, Main or Late dining and why

[LishaD]

We always go for the late seating.

 

First, there are less children.

 

Second, there is less rushing. You don't have to rush to get to dinner, and they don't rush you through dinner. We had taken the early seating once, and you could really tell that we were on a time limit.

 

Third, if the seating just seems too late one day, you can choose one of the other 12 or so dining options they give you.

[Happy ks]

We have done both and by far enjoy the late seating more. Early seating is just a little too early for all the above reasons. After dinner, within a couple of hours I'm ready to retire. With early seating, we're in bed by 10pm and we always feel like we've missed out on part of the cruise. With late seating, we can relax, take a nap, or spend time up on deck and then get ready at our leisure. We have tried NCL Freestyle and while we loved the concept, the food was not very good. In the future, we look forward to cruising Princess and using the Personal Choice dining.

[aloha16]

Late seating now-no rushing back to get showered,changed for dinner.we have time to unwind and then eat. We stay up late enought to let things digest:)

[Anomaly]

Great thread, with lots of valid points. Going on our 1st cruise on Sunday - Carnival Pride. Wondering what time the shows usually are and whether late dining would keep us from seeing shows?

 

Thanks

 

Russell

[levtas]

Usually shows are catered to both seatings so you won't miss a show. I've only taken RCI cruises so I can't speak for Carnival but I'm pretty sure this is the case for all cruise lines.

[NCTarheelsCruiser]

We select the dining time based on the time of year we are cruising. If it is during daylight savings time, we go with the late dining. This allows us to enjoy the entire day out in the sun, come back to the ship and watch it depart port...in most cases... and still have time to get ready for dinner and a pre-dinner drink;) . If it is during standard time, we go with the early seating as we get up earlier in the morning, come back to the ship a bit early and if we get hungry later at night, there is always the pizza bar, room service etc. to fill us up.

[AACJ]

Usually shows are catered to both seatings so you won't miss a show. I've only taken RCI cruises so I can't speak for Carnival but I'm pretty sure this is the case for all cruise lines.

 

I have heard that some cruisers on the early seating go to both shows leaving little seats left for the second dinner seaters.

Also, how many people in the early seating skip the first show and go to the second show?

Does the first show usually start at the second seating time?

 

thanks

art

[AKathy]

We had main seating on our first cruise and chose main again for the next two. Like Atlmagic, I too have Crohn's disease and eating late causes too many problems for me. Plus we're used to eating early at home.

[CorbinCatFan]

We've done both and have enjoyed both. Our first cruises were in the summer time and we selected Late sitting. Made sense considering the amount of daylight during the summer. The problem we had was getting to the shows.

 

The last two cruises, we selected Main. We were cruising during the winter and thought this would be the perfect choice. We could enjoy the day time and ports until an hour before dinner, enjoy dinner, and then make a show.

 

The problem that I had with the Main seating was the last cruise, this seating was at 5:45. I thought this was just too early and cut a good 15 minutes off my pre-dinner cocktail hour.

 

The next cruise, we are going back to the Late seating. I believe that it is at 8:45. It's just a little later than I would prefer but its closer to what time I would like to eat. I'm hoping that it will make for a more relaxing cocktail hour.

[cruzincurt]

We always pick the late seating. While everyone is getting ready for the first seating, I go down to the Promenade and walk my miles, nice and quiet. Then we take our time getting ready for dinner. Afterwards, we are off to the casino. The craps table usually doesn't get going until after the second seating lets out. Since we are usually in the casino until 1:00 or 2:00, plenty of time to digest.

[margeg]

We like the open seating. On Princess it is anytime between 5:30 and 10:00 pm.

[caribbean girl]

There are pro's and con's for each, in my opinion. The advantage of late seating is that there is no rush after all the daytime activities. If you have excursions during the day, there is always time to take a nap, etc. Since at home we normally eat early (we have children), it feels like a 'treat' to eat later. It makes the night last longer, perhaps. The advantage of eating earlier, which is actually more compelling (for me) is that it is healthier. I find we always pack on more calories when we have late dinners. Alas, whatever our seating assignement is, we make it a point to enjoy every morsel.;)

[ginger123snaps]

We like the early seating....if you eat at the late seating you won't be hungry fot the midnight buffet....part of the cruise experience.....fun and food!

[eastexascruiser]

Guess I'm just getting old, but we need to go to the main seating so we can to the early shows & I can head back to the cabin ;) We tried the late seating on our first cruise & I just found that getting throught the rest of the evening was a challange because I was so worn out.

 

Sometimes I go back to the cabin & my DH will go back to the casino or catch the late show.

 

We sail with our 7 & 9 year olds, so it works out good. By the time the Camp closes, I am ready to go back to the cabin.

 

Even without children though I would stick to the early seating because I am just not a night owl!

[muggo11]

My family all agreed we wanted late seating and then, alas, I found myself eating alone most evenings as my family was exhausted and hungry and couldn't wait for the late dinner! I am the family nightowl so next cruise I will be choosing main so I can see my family.

[arby70]

We like the early seating....if you eat at the late seating you won't be hungry fot the midnight buffet....part of the cruise experience.....fun and food!

 

We chose the late seating on our Celebrity cruise for the main reason of not having to rush back to the ship on port days. That worked out great, and we met two lovely ladies traveling together who shared our table. The only bad thing was we were unable to partake of the Grand Buffet they served late at night. We were just too full from dinner. :( We'll be trying the "Freestyle" dining experience this fall, and I'll see what it's like to not have a scheduled seating time.

[sunworshipper3]

We prefer late seating as it allows for non-rushed excursions, and dressing for dinner. The down side for us is that it's difficult to stay up late after eating such big meals so late. We have early seating for our next cruise, so it will be great to compare.

 

Happy cruising!

Pat :cool:

[Tarkus]

late for reasons already cited - not having to rush excursions (i tend to be first-off and last-on when in port); plus, i'm usually just not hungry at 6 or 615; lastly, i tend to party well past midnight every night, so going to bed full usually isn't an issue.

[johnql]

I prefer NCL's Freestyle dining over traditional fixed seatings, so I abstained. I love being able to dine when I choose, or when I'm actually hungry, or when it fits my schedule. If I had to pick between early and late, I would pick late. I'm generally a late eater at home. In addition, I don't like having to rush to get ready for dinner after returning from a late shore excursion.

[golf43]

We like the main seating, so my dinner will have enough time to digest before we hit the midnight buffet.

[Tess2mommies]

We prefer personal choice (anytime dining) we eat when we want to eat. Greatest flexability of all.

[folashade]

Late seating

I eat late at home and don't get to bed earlier than midnight when at home later when on vacation (plus I don't sleep in past 8am regardless of where I am)

[AACJ]

Just my two cents (since I AM the one that started this poll).

 

We just got off the Horizon Saturday May7th, and had the late seating. I am glad we made that decision for many reasons.

 

First, since we were in Bermuda for roughly 4 days, that gave us plenty of time to shop, go to beaches, sightsee, etc....and return to the ship at our leisure.

 

While getting ready for dinner, we would shower, have a few drinks in our cabin (maybe fool around a litttle) relax and head out about 30 minutes before our seating and have a drink or two in one of the lounges. We tried to have a drink or two in every lounge on the ship, some were more busy than others.

 

We pretty much get to bed early, usually by 10pm when we are not on vacation, but with the late seating (and no kids to wake us up) we were able to stay up to see the midnight buffet, sometimes. In fact, at times we had not finished our dinner until around 10:30pm, we had great table mates too, so the conversation was always good, our waiter was a character as well.

 

Other than that, I hope this thread stays open for a long while, maybe it still will be when we take our next cruise.

 

thanks

 

art

[bayofbiscay]

Late sitting as you get the decks to yourself when most disappear to dress for dinner:)

[LHobbs]

Our first cruise we booked early seating. I was just naive enough to think I wouldn't be able to survive without eating until late. I could never have imagined the amount of food that is available 24 hours a day until I actually took a cruise. Now we always book late. Don't like to rush back from shore on shore days. Also, it's nice to squeeze in a little relaxing nap before dinner. Since, I never make it past 10:00 PM at home so being up til after midnight is a strange thing for me.

 

Linda