Dining Times

[mommag3boys]

We are sailing in July on the Paradise for our 10 year anniversary - WITH NO KIDS:D:D:D. We currently are signed up for the late dinning option as my thought was we don't have to worry about getting back from the islands and rushing to get ready for dinner; if we get hungry before than just get a snack. However, after reviewing some information I'm more concerned about missing shows & not getting good seats so I'm thinking of switching it. Few Questions for experienced cruisers:

 

1. If we do the early dinning will we miss watching the sun set?

2. What exactly does this waitlist thing mean? Could we end up with a horrible time or is it still generally around 6:30ish?

3. How horrible is the wait for the YTD? We do not want to be waiting 45 minutes on a cruise, on our anniversary.

4. Since it's our anniversary and we have no kids we'd love to avoid having the dinner times that most families go to (just because we never get that). Is early, YTD or late better for that?

5. Will we really put ourselves at risk of missing shows with decent seats with late?

 

Not sure if this makes a difference or not but we do have the FTTF passes.

Edited April 6, 2017 by mommag3boys

[jsglow]

Personally, I'd do ATD in your situation and ask for a table for 2. Happy anniversary.

[stargate fan]

We are sailing in July on the Paradise for our 10 year anniversary - WITH NO KIDS:D:D:D. We currently are signed up for the late dinning option as my thought was we don't have to worry about getting back from the islands and rushing to get ready for dinner; if we get hungry before than just get a snack. However, after reviewing some information I'm more concerned about missing shows & not getting good seats so I'm thinking of switching it. Few Questions for experienced cruisers:

 

1. If we do the early dinning will we miss watching the sun set?

2. What exactly does this waitlist thing mean? Could we end up with a horrible time or is it still generally around 6:30ish?

3. How horrible is the wait for the YTD? We do not want to be waiting 45 minutes on a cruise, on our anniversary.

4. Since it's our anniversary and we have no kids we'd love to avoid having the dinner times that most families go to (just because we never get that). Is early, YTD or late better for that?

5. Will we really put ourselves at risk of missing shows with decent seats with late?

 

Not sure if this makes a difference or not but we do have the FTTF passes.

We used to choose late dining. Then we discovered that we were missing a lot of shows, comedians, trivia, etc. A few times we chose early dining but we found ourselves rushing after a day in port. We switched to YTD, which was the best of both worlds. With two people, it should not be a long wait. The busiest times always seemed to be between 7:00 and 8:00. Perhaps planning around those times might help.

Have a great cruise.

[Smithkids5521]

We are sailing in July on the Paradise for our 10 year anniversary - WITH NO KIDS:D:D:D. We currently are signed up for the late dinning option as my thought was we don't have to worry about getting back from the islands and rushing to get ready for dinner; if we get hungry before than just get a snack. However, after reviewing some information I'm more concerned about missing shows & not getting good seats so I'm thinking of switching it. Few Questions for experienced cruisers:

 

1. If we do the early dinning will we miss watching the sun set?

2. What exactly does this waitlist thing mean? Could we end up with a horrible time or is it still generally around 6:30ish?

3. How horrible is the wait for the YTD? We do not want to be waiting 45 minutes on a cruise, on our anniversary.

4. Since it's our anniversary and we have no kids we'd love to avoid having the dinner times that most families go to (just because we never get that). Is early, YTD or late better for that?

5. Will we really put ourselves at risk of missing shows with decent seats with late?

 

Not sure if this makes a difference or not but we do have the FTTF passes.

 

Well let me start by saying Happy Anniversary! :)

 

Families with young children choose early dining time- not many 5 year olds are going to be ok with eating dinner after 8pm. Some will of course, but for the most part families with young kids will try to eat earlier. So- if you are looking for a romantic kid free meal- early dining may not be your best bet. ;)

 

We have always chosen YTD and I think the only time we had a wait was formal/elegant night (even then, it was only 30-45 minutes or so. We just grabbed a drink- or 2- from the bar and sat by the window to hang out and wait). Table for 2 will be easier to get- if you were trying to get a table for 10 then I would imagine there would be longer of a wait.

 

I think the best thing for you to do is to find recent Fun Times from someone who recently sailed on Paradise and look at the nightly entertainment schedule. If you see that many of the shows and activities that you would be interested in will occur during the late dining time then you may want to consider changing.

 

Enjoy your kid free cruise!

[wemjam]

We too used to always do late dinning, but switched to your time as it gives us the flexibility. We only usually have to wait a couple minutes to be seated, and the worst case, once we were given a pager (it was formal night and place was packed!) and had a drink at the bar. Didn't even finish first drink all the way before we were paged.

 

YTD allows you the flexibility to go when you want so you can schedule around shows you might want to see, or coming back on to the ship late, etc.

 

IMHO much better than set dinning times.

 

PS: as another poster mentioned also allows you to ask for a table for 2.

[skrufy]

We are sailing in July on the Paradise for our 10 year anniversary - WITy are signed up for the late dinning option as my thought was we don't have to worry about getting back from the islands and rushinsee how. g to get ready for dinner; if we get hungry before than just get a snack. However, after reviewing some information I'm more concerned about mi. ing shows & not getting good seats so I'm thinking of switcit. ing it. Few Questions for experienced cruisers:

 

1. If we do the early dinning will we miss watching the sun set?

2. What exactly does this waitlist thing mean? Could we end up with a horrible time or is it still generally around 6:30ish?

3. How horrible is the wait for the YTD? We do not want to be waiting 45 minutes on a cruise, on our anniversary.

4. Since it's our anniversary and we have no kids we'd love to avoid having the dinner times that most families go to (just because we never get that). Is early, YTD or late better for that?

5. Will we really put ourselves at risk of missing shows with decent seats with late?

 

Not sure if this makes a difference or not but we do have the FTTF passes.

 

1. With early dining you should see the sunset.

2. When you choose a dining time and its not available you are put on a list and wait for an opening to come up. If you are assigned a time you dont want go to the restaurant you are assigned right after boarding and ask to be switched to the time you desire. Early is around 615pm-630pm.

3. To avoid a delay dont be first to the restaurant, wait a little bit. Each night you will have to request a table for two and if you like the wait staff you can request them each night. (This might cause a small delay to be seated). Then you will have a few minutes wait at most to be seated. The later you go the less chance you will see the sunset.

4. With early there will be more kids than late. If you go to early or late you can again go to the retaurant upon boarding and ask for a table for two.

5. The shows are set up for early dining late show and late dining early show. You can go to either? You can make the late show with late dining as long as you leave as soon as you finish dinner. You will miss the g-rated comedy show. You always have to go early to most shows for good seats.

6. FTTF does not help with dining preference unless you are platinum or diamond.

 

We used to do late dining all the time but tried YTD on our last cruise and really liked It. One thing is, you cannot do everything you want with any of the dining choices. choices.

[estillcrew]

1. If we do the early dinning will we miss watching the sun set?

As long as you get dressed and ready around 5:30, you shouldn't miss the sunset.

 

2. What exactly does this waitlist thing mean? Could we end up with a horrible time or is it still generally around 6:30ish?

You are waitlisted for either the 6:00 time or YTD (whichever you select)

 

3. How horrible is the wait for the YTD? We do not want to be waiting 45 minutes on a cruise, on our anniversary.

I just got back from a spring break cruise on the Magic. Of the 7 nights, we only had to wait twice. We always ate between 6:00-7:15 each night. One night, we were given a pager at 6:50 and had to wait 20 minutes. Another night (the last elegant night), we arrived at 6:30 and were told that the wait would be 30-40 minutes. Both times we had to wait was no big deal. The kids would go one floor up and try to find our pictures taken by the photographers and my husband and I would order a drink from the bar. Each night, we were able to sit in the same section with the same wait staff per our request. We always chose early time dining before, but would never go back. We will choose YTD from here on out. We never missed any of the shows and service was quick. Loved it.

 

4. Since it's our anniversary and we have no kids we'd love to avoid having the dinner times that most families go to (just because we never get that). Is early, YTD or late better for that?

Most all families eat early.

 

5. Will we really put ourselves at risk of missing shows with decent seats with late?

Possibly. There are two shows in the showtime theatre every night, so you could most likely make one of them if you got dressed early enough. You would most likely miss the adult comedy shows though.