Late dining with two under 5?

[curlimommy]

Is this just a horrible idea? I'm hoping we can switch to main before the cruise in January but I'm just nervous...anyone have any good experiences with young ones in later seating? My son will be one month shy of 6 and daughter 2.5.

[moki'smommy]

First, to switch....ask to be wait listed for main. Then call about once a month to see if it was granted. Dining assignments are made about 2 weeks before cruising, so 6 weeks before, start calling weekly (squeaky wheel theory!). If still not, after boarding go to "dining changes" and ask if you can be moved.

 

BUT....we don't know enough about you to know if this is a good or bad thing. If you are from the west coast and cruising out of Port Canaveral, you may find that late dining is much more on your normal time frame. Also, if you have late dining, do a "healthy snack" about 4. There ARE healthy options on the pool deck (fruit, wraps, etc) as well as "fast food" stuff, and it is also available from room service.

[Scrapnana]

We did late dining with a 2 and 7 year old. Even though it was after the 2 year olds normal bed time, he did great except for one night when he fell asleep at the table. The 7 year old didn't mind at all.

[curlimommy]

Sorry for lack of info...

 

We are in Chicago. My kids typically eat at 6 and sleep by 8 at home. They are fairly adaptable. I just worry about behavior of youngest. Long dinners make her antsy, as I suspect it does for most her age. She's just busy! So I wonder if the action of the dining rooms would keep her sufficiently entertained.

 

I plan to get on wait list as soon as we book. Just trying to mentally prepare for the chance we can't switch.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

From what I understand, some parents prefer late dining with lil ones because they want them to be able to see the shows before hand and a lot of the times, they would fall asleep after 8:30 during the shows. You still have the option to feed them at Flo's or room service etc. before dinner and then take them to the nursery if you don't want to take them to the dinner, but I do believe late seating can be done. In in all honesty, I don't think the normal routine times to eating really apply that much on vacation. (For instance, at home I'm up at 5:50 and go to bed at 10. On our cruise, we were sometimes up to 2am! So they may find with so much to do, that the normal dinner time doesn't matter.)

 

In any case, you can still try to get switched, even when you get on board, if you want to.

 

Bon voyage!

[curlimommy]

What time is the early show start and end? Trying to figure out logistics and timing of naps before making decision. Are the pool deck food options open all evening? Thanks!!

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I would say try try and try again to switch.

 

Kids of that age will not work on late dinner there will be breakdowns.

 

I found when my kids were younger they may hit the fast food places if they eat later.

 

I saw lots of young kids asleep on later dinner.

 

Food needs to 'go down' before bed.

 

Kids will be up with the sun whatever tine zone it is will be high on pools, soda and fun and will be over tired by night time.

 

Kids around 5 maybe able to sit out a show but then bed.

 

Kids below 5 its best there in a kids club.

 

There is dine and play on late dinner they collect at 9.15pm but I like to have a family dinner together.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

The first show (for those who have late dining) is at 6:15 and the late dinner (at least ours) was 8:15. I think the show times and dinners reverse if you are main seating and show.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

The first show (for those who have late dining) is at 6:15 and the late dinner (at least ours) was 8:15. I think the show times and dinners reverse if you are main seating and show.

 

Agree main dinner is 5.45pm and show at 8.30pm bar film night if you have a film it might have different start times depending on running time.

[kstetser]

We had late dinner when our daughter was 5 and it was hard. We ended up feeding her either before dinner or getting her something immediately when we sat down (pre-planed with the servers) and then taking her to the kids club. They have mats they put down and the little kids can lay down and watch a movie. She LOVED it and so did we. She never could have sat through a 2 hour dinner without falling asleep or being really unhappy.

[AreWeHavingFunYet?]

We just got back from a week on the Fantasy (Eastern Carribean) and had the late seating. We actually were scheduled for the 5:45 seating and switched it to the 8:15 when we got on the boat. I have a 5 1/2 year old son and a very busy young 3 year old daughter, so our kids are similar in age.

 

We switched to the late seating in hopes of being able to enjoy some pool time with less of a crowd in the early evening...and that part WAS nice! I worried that the early seating would be a lot of sitting still for the kids if we saw a show at 6:15 and then had dinner to sit through as well. On show days, we ended up going to the 3:00 matinee, then going back to the room for a little nap until 6:30 or 7:00...then getting ready for our dinner at 8:15.

 

Also, we usually ate a really late lunch around 1 or 2 each day (the kids were sleeping until 9:30 each morning...which is unheard of for my kids, but the late night activity took its toll & thankfully there are fabulous blackout curtains on board to keep the room dark). So, we didn't really need a snack or much to make it to the late dinner. However, we did usually get the free soft-serve ice cream when we were at the pool, and snacks are easy & available in several places on the ship if you wanted them.

 

Our kids did really well with a late dinner. We always brought our iPad along for my youngest because she's not much of an eater and that keeps her entertained while the rest of us eat.

 

The servers on the Fantasy are EXCELLENT with kids. It's nothing like a meal at a restaurant. The first meal, the servers make note of what your family likes/needs & each night after that, they're prepared. The kids drinks were ready and waiting for them at the table every night...a booster seat was already in place for my daughter when we arrived...and they always took the kids order first and brought the kids food out as quickly as possible. The kid menus double as coloring pages, and the servers entertained our children with little games, magic tricks, or napkin animals briefly between serving & clearing food. So, in total, the dining part of the meal was not a problem for my children at all.

 

Also, at the late seating, someone from the kids club comes to the dining room and will escort & check in the kids that want to go to the Oceaneer Club at 9:15. So, they can go have fun and you can finish your meal with a more quiet table. If they get antsy before 9:15, it's a quick trip from the restaurants to the kids club floor, so you could do that and come back to finish your meal.

 

The only negative I had about the late dinner is that my kids were usually really tired after dinner...especially days that we had been in port and spent time in the sun out on the beach! So, they only went with the cast member at 9:15 once during the week. I think if we had the earlier seating, they wouldn't have been so tired after dinner and might have gone to the kids club more so that we could have had some more time to ourselves. But, we were able to take them a couple of times after they got a "second wind" - which allowed us to catch one or two of the magic & ventriloquism shows offered in the adult programming.

 

Go ahead and get on the wait list for the earlier seating -- it can't hurt. If you don't get it before you sail, you can request it once you're on the boat. Just make it one of the first things you do when you get on the ship (before 3pm, you can go to the Royal Court dining room to request a switch, and after 3pm you just call guest services). Each seating has its pros & cons. If you do stick with the late seating, you'll have plenty of time for a nap & hopefully that will help! :) You're going to have a blast! Enjoy.

[curlimommy]

Arewehavingfunyet that was so well written and helpful!!!!!! I'm so glad to read if we can't switch that we will be able to make it through. I only worry bc my younger wont be three yet so would have to go to nursery and not with her brother to kids club. But I'm still thinking this is doable! Did you do a full trip report yet? I'd love to read more about your trip!!!

[marlee70]

A lot of kids fall asleep at the dining table on the second seating. What we did after the first night was to order room service for the kids before dinner time, send them to the kids club and hubby and me had a quiet dinner by ourselves. It was better for all of us. Kids don't care about a formal dinner at all.

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I think the last three posts have been very clear and shown the issues.

 

Younger kids on late is very difficult.

 

I go on a holiday to have family time and that's eating together in a main meal not kids having room service and parents eating, if you do that well its Palo!!

 

I have seen so many meltdowns with young kids over doing it at late dinner or parents carrying kids out and to bed.

[marlee70]

 

I go on a holiday to have family time and that's eating together in a main meal not kids having room service and parents eating, if you do that well its Palo!!

 

You can still have breakfast together and lunch together. We dine at home together most nights so not eating together for 3-4 nights is not a big deal. It's better for everybody to have a good time than forcing a meal together. That's only in case dining time can't be changed of course. :)

[DISNEY FANTASY]

You can still have breakfast together and lunch together. We dine at home together most nights so not eating together for 3-4 nights is not a big deal. It's better for everybody to have a good time than forcing a meal together. That's only in case dining time can't be changed of course. :)

 

I wouldn't and hadn't described it as Forcing a meal together, Dinner is the main meal of the day and its family time and its nice to have the family together, ie to enjoy the Animators palate show together.

 

Breakfast, might not have a hope as my kids are teenagers up to 3am watching films so not too much chance they will make it for breakfast. Also we might have Adults in Palo Brunch.

 

-Will younger kids have Breakfast or hit the pools?

 

Lunch yes maybe together but also on port days we are off ship, _when the kids are out of bed.

 

 

-Younger kids more likely to have a burger or pizza on deck.

-Younger kids maybe in kids club and eat there.

 

One meal Dinner, is the main one together.

[curlimommy]

I really prefer eating all together too...if I wanted an alone trip with hubs I wouldn't be taking kids on a disney cruise...that's for sure!!!! I am hoping to avoid all issues and get switched. I also read you can go to the Castaways place at any time regardless of assigned dining time? That may be an option too if mine just cannot handle late and we don't get moved to main. We aren't going until mid-jan so I'm praying we come off that waiting list before that!!!

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I really prefer eating all together too...if I wanted an alone trip with hubs I wouldn't be taking kids on a disney cruise...that's for sure!!!! I am hoping to avoid all issues and get switched. I also read you can go to the Castaways place at any time regardless of assigned dining time? That may be an option too if mine just cannot handle late and we don't get moved to main. We aren't going until mid-jan so I'm praying we come off that waiting list before that!!!

 

Rule 1.

 

Nag DCL, and Nag again, it works just keep asking.... good luck.

[AreWeHavingFunYet?]

Arewehavingfunyet that was so well written and helpful!!!!!! I'm so glad to read if we can't switch that we will be able to make it through. I only worry bc my younger wont be three yet so would have to go to nursery and not with her brother to kids club. But I'm still thinking this is doable! Did you do a full trip report yet? I'd love to read more about your trip!!!

 

I haven't done a full report yet...but we LOVED everything about our week on the Fantasy. It was our first cruise ever, and I was so nervous about a lot of things. My daughter is a climber -- and I was worried about that, but the boat is SO safe and everything that could be is out of reach or covered with plexiglass. The crowds weren't as bad as I thought. Seats were easy to get for movies & shows, kids had so much fun in their programs...and we loved the programs in the D Lounge and all the family dance parties.

 

The kid pools are very overcrowded! That's my only negative. We brought my daughter's puddle-jumper float & I was glad we did. She just wore it everywhere when we were around water (beach & boat). However, there is a lot of fun to have outside of the pools, so a little bit of crowded pool time didn't kill us.

 

We went to all of the shows and the kids loved them. Personally, we'll skip the Wishes show next time. It was the least exciting - more "tween" focused, like a lot of the comedy shows in the afternoon on the Disney Channel. Aladdin and Believe are NOT to be missed. Fabulous! The Farewell show was good too...better than Wishes but not as great as Aladdin/Believe. Skip it if you're not taking the kids.

 

We didn't pre-book any excursions just because we didn't think the kids could handle a whole lot of "touring". We just took a cab in St Maarten to Dawn Beach (that's what the Guest Services desk recommended & it was great). $7/person cab ride, $12 to rent 2 chairs & an umbrella on the beach, and restaurants near by that would call a cab to get you back to the boat. In St Thomas, we did the same thing and took a cab ($8/person) to Magens Bay. Beautiful beach! There was a $4/person entry fee, but it had bathrooms & lifeguards. It was much more crowded than Dawn Beach on the other island, but we still had a great time. We only spent 2-3 hours on each beach & then headed back to the boat for a late lunch on the pool deck. Castaway Cay was outstanding. Next time we'll get up & off the boat a little earlier for that one. There's just a lot of fun to be had there. We didn't get a chair on Castaway Cay (they were all taken before we got there), but it didn't bother us too much. It's safe feeling & we plunked our beach bag close to a lifeguard & didn't fret about it.

 

One tip I read on this board was that you can take pillowcases (or frame mats or anything really) to guest services and the characters will sign it during the week. They deliver it back to your room on the last night. I found cute Mickey/Minnie pillowcases on Etsy and we did that for the kids as a souvenier.

 

If you're up for a splurge, Remy was the BEST meal I've ever experienced! We're kind of foodies...and we enjoy fine dining about once a month at home, so I figured we'd like a nice date night on the boat. It was an incredible experience if you like "foodie food"! There were some interesting dishes I would have never tried -- and our dessert was garnished with edible gold leaf! Incredible.

 

We had so much fun that we rebooked another cruise for the same week next year. If you book on the boat, you get 10% discounts and stateroom credits.

 

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask! I got a lot of tips & advice from this board that helped me know what to expect. It's kind of overwhelming, I felt, trying to figure out how to pack & what to expect. But, once we got on the boat, everything was amazing!

[aanderson5]

It honestly depends on you kids and how they adapt.

 

We do late dining for several reason the first being it is actually closer to our regular eating time. At home we eat at 6:45 at the earliest but is more often between 7-7:30.

 

We are not strict schedule people and our children adapt quite easily to nap/bedtime changes. They also don't seem to need as much sleep as other children, something they have inherited from me.

 

They are also very used to going out to eat at nicer restaurants where it can typically take 1-2 hours to eat. They have eaten out a couple of times a week from birth and behave appropriately. My kids are by no means angels, DS(7) is close, but DD(2) is very active and quite a handful, to put it nicely. Because we are so used to going out we know how to keep her entertained and happy.

 

If my children were used to eating earlier, on a strict schedule, didn't adapt well to change or were not used to eating out with good behavior I would try very hard switch my time or even try some of the other suggestions of utilizing the kids club/nursery.

 

We went on one trip, to an all inclusive, when DS was 18 months, where we did early dinning. It so did not work for us. We weren't hungry at dinner time and felt like we were cutting our day short. It was a struggle to get out of the pool to get ready for dinner. We have done late ever since and it works for our family.

[marlee70]

I was trying to give a well intentioned suggestion for young kids UNDER 5. Each family is different and parents know their own kids best. I'm sure your lovely family will find what's best for all of you. I wish you all a wonderful vacation!!!

[curlimommy]

I was trying to give a well intentioned suggestion for young kids UNDER 5. Each family is different and parents know their own kids best. I'm sure your lovely family will find what's best for all of you. I wish you all a wonderful vacation!!!

 

Oh I appreciate your input too in the event I can't get out if the second seating. I really am trying to think positively about it! Thank you for your input!!!

[curlimommy]

Does anyone think I would be best booking this on my own with disney rather than going with a travel agent who would offer some on board credit? I know I'd nag Disney way more about getting off the wait list for main dining than an agent would on my behalf.

 

Any thoughts there? About to book a cabin this week! So excited!

[WishIWasWaltsDaughter]

We just came back from the Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. I booked everything myself back in December to take advantage of DCL's onboard credit for doing so and only needed half the normal deposit down. I worried for a long time that I may have missed out on some freebie or advantage that a travel agent might have been able to give, but after taking the cruise I think I did okay.

 

Once the cruise is booked online and the fees are paid, you can work with their easy to follow instructions regarding check-ins and when you can book excursions.

 

Being a type A personality I'll probably book it myself again.

[WishIWasWaltsDaughter]

Forgot to add that you can call their cruise line help number anytime you have questions or problems with either booking or what comes after. I called a few times to get state rooms together (we had a party of two rooms), to get information on the items you can buy pre-cruise to have waiting in the room and for information on the wine packages. Also called after attempting to book excursions and having problems with the website. They could not have been more helpful.