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

[MikeT718]

DW and myself prefer the main seating we are early risers so we try to plan early shore excursions which gives us plenty of time to get back to the ship to relax and dress for dinner...What this also does for us is leaves the Casino empty so we can enjoy it after dinner and before the show..for us there is another point to main seating and that is if we eat late we would not be able to sleep..So you see there is opinions on both sides of this so it is just how each person feels about it and that is what makes the world go around..If we all like one seating it would make that seating very crowed..LOL :)

[MikeT718]

DW and myself prefer the main seating we are early risers so we try to plan early shore excursions which gives us plenty of time to get back to the ship to relax and dress for dinner...What this also does for us is leaves the Casino empty so we can enjoy it after dinner and before the show..for us there is another point to main seating and that is if we eat late we would not be able to sleep..So you see there is opinions on both sides of this so it is just how each person feels about it and that is what makes the world go around..If we all like one seating it would make that seating very crowed..LOL :)

[AACJ]

Something I found strange though, the poll seems to lean by 60% towards late seating, with 40% going with early seating. When we first booked our trip, we were ASSIGNED early seating. We then requested late seating and they said there were plenty of open spots, BUT, they said that there would be a waiting list if we wanted to get back on the early seating.

 

I don't understand how 60% can choose late seating and there be plenty of open seats, while 40% can choose early and there be a waiting list. Am I missing something? Are they seating the same number of people at both seatings?

 

Thanks

[AACJ]

Something I found strange though, the poll seems to lean by 60% towards late seating, with 40% going with early seating. When we first booked our trip, we were ASSIGNED early seating. We then requested late seating and they said there were plenty of open spots, BUT, they said that there would be a waiting list if we wanted to get back on the early seating.

 

I don't understand how 60% can choose late seating and there be plenty of open seats, while 40% can choose early and there be a waiting list. Am I missing something? Are they seating the same number of people at both seatings?

 

Thanks

[bianca5047]

Carnival Glory has 3 seatings...the early one then there are 2 late ones...the 2 late seatings are scheduled 15 mins apart....we picked the seating 15 mins earlier than the other because..............

we were told that we would be able to get a better seat for the main show...we would have a 15 min jump on them...;)

[amarahsmom]

We are cruising at the end of the month, we chose early seating because our 3 yr couldn't possibly wait until the late sitting to eat. Plus if we eat early we'll have room for a late snack :)

[cruizinrican]

Definately Late seating for dinner! I love to nap before dinner and after a long day on the islands and in the sun! Besides, how else are you suppose to stay awake to party in the disco until 4am?:D

 

Cruizinrican:)

[bayofbiscay]

I like it,agreed every day is Happy Hour ALL DAY:D

[sessa]

We have only been on one cruise and 3 coming up this December but we chose late seating the first time and for the next ones also. By the time we had breakfast then ate lunch by 2:30pm or 3:pm, we never were hungry by early seating. I even found by the end of the 11 night cruise we were on, I had lost my appetite from just seeing so much food all the time. Now my hubby had a different idea and was always hungry right up to the end. Plus it is more relaxing like all the other people said.

[AACJ]

 

snip........ (I wonder if Cruisecritic would reward me with a free cruise!!)

 

 

Well, I haven't heard from Cruisecritic yet, so I guess I won't be getting a free cruise!!

[Leslie K]

Late seating is just so much more relaxing! I don't have to race back to ship from Port to be ready in time. I can enjoy a relaxing swim and drink at the pool around 5 PM when everyone else has gone off to ready themselves for dinner, and still have time to shower and rest in my cabin before dinner! We were able to sit and shmooze at the table as long as we wanted, with the crew even joining in! And we still got to see the shows, enjoy the casino and other evening activities!

 

All that said, I'm on main seating now because it works better with kids. My daughter likes eating late but most of the kids (she's a teen) do the main seating and by the time late dinner ends, she had difficulty catching up with their whereabouts. So be it until I no longer have to cruise with a kid!

[AACJ]

What happened to my counter, it all of a sudden doesn't work.

[joelmarj]

We've done both, and have determined we definitely like late better. We felt rushed and like the day was shortened by having early. We found we had to stop whatever we were doing by 4:30 the latest. And after dinner we were still full and tired and didn't have much energy to do anything. Now we take late seating. The best part is on Celebrity they have a sushi bar at 6PM so that is our appetizers! Nothing better than sitting outside, aft with some sushi and saki. Very relaxing! No more rushing for dinner. Plenty of time to get ready and have a cocktail or snack beforehand. Some days we even take a nap before dinner. Then after dinner, usually just a visit to the casino and then off to sleep or if we napped we'll go to the lounge. We don't care about the shows and have only seen one (which we walked out of after 15 min). It's just not our thing.

[beaming90]

We asked for early and were assigned late seating on our first cruise. 8:15 was just too late for us to eat, and then try to see the shows and then get up early for breakfast before the excursions. This next cruise I really hope we get an early seating.

[greyblueseas]

Definitely late. I don't like eating a large meal so early, and for me dinner and conversation with tablemates are the highlight of the evening. I'm not bothered about shows, and find that as families with small children tend to eat early, late seating is a better atmosphere for me. Also, there are plenty of options if you find you need a little something to keep you going in the late afternoon :)

[Mocorobabe]

We have gone on a great many cruises and dislike both meal times. Realize this can never happen, but would love to have a 7:00p.m. seating. When it's a Caribbean cruise we always take early seating. Have vacationed on the islands that RCCL visits and we are not shoppers so there is not much incentive to get off the ship...Cococay we love since we can come and go as we please.

 

In Alaska and the Mediterranean we made arrangements for private tours, so we were always back in time to get ready for the early seating. (Took no chance of arriving after the ship departed port)

 

Agree with one poster who said the the late seating was too late. Fortunately, we have sailed enough with RCCL that we have to choice to eat at either time.

 

Mocorobabe

[2ndsailing]

We're trying late dinner on our upcoming cruise for the same reasons already mentioned. Thought it would give us more time after being on an excursion, more time by the pool...or whatever we happen to be doing that day. We had first seating on our Alaskan cruise and that worked well for us then too.

[loveglory]

It really depends what you want to do. If you want to go to the midnight buffet (if there is one) you don't want to go to it full. But late seating good because you have more time to get ready for dinner after you get back from the port.

[L0204]

are we night owls. We usually eat early at home 6-7ish, but we love the late seating on our cruises. For all the reasons stated above plus with working a full time job, I'm an early to bed person, so late seating and staying up late (like real adults do) makes my vacation even more special because I'm out of my routine!:)

[Alleykat3]

I've been on one cruise before and did early seating then. I'm going on the Mariner at the end of January and chose early seating again. I'm afraid if we didn't eat until 8:30, my BF (and probably me too) would be too tired and full afterwards to go dancing! We usually eat around 6:00 or so anyway, and I found on the last cruise that I would always make sure to get back from shore excursions earlier than the time required to be back - afraid of missing the boat, I guess. There's a chance I might not bother with lunch anyway and just have a snack somewhere on shore. And if I snacked around 5:00 or 6:00, I don't know if I would be hungry enough to eat a full meal at 8:30. I do like the idea of a more leisurely meal at the later seating though.

[ladycaveat]

I've always had late seating . . . and am booked for late seating on my next cruise in April. However, now I'm wondering if maybe early seating might be better for this next cruise. First time I've ever been to the Eastern Caribbean and don't really plan on doing any shore excursions (so no problem with feeling rushed getting back to the ship in time for dinner). Hum? Interesting? I love kids but don't really want to be surrounded by them for dinner. I just got so tired on my last cruise . . . I was falling asleep during the late shows. :confused:

[Jahosacat]

We like late seating. We usually don't have lunch 'til 2, so, main dinner would be too early. Coffee bothers me, so, I have decaf with dessert.

[dawnth]

We like to get diner out of the way early, so we can get to having evening fun. It makes more sense with kids, and we typically eat dinner at 5:30-6:00 pm anyway.

[momesu]

We like early seating as it leaves more time to party after dinner. Also I like going to shows after dinner not before.

[springtxbill]

Main as for someone used to eating at about 5:30 the late is just too late.