Early Dinner vs. Later Dinner

[CruisingDivag]

Good Morning All,

 

I am not new to CruiseCritic but had to create a new profile as old email no longer worked. Anyhoo ... My partner and I are late 40's and love cruising but have not been on a Carnival ship in quite some time (we'll be on Fascination in October). Can someone let me know the pros and cons of early vs. late dinner seating. We are accustomed to eating whenever we want on other cruise lines so this will be an interesting adventure - having a pre-set time to dine. :) :) Will we miss the shows if we choose late seating?? Thanks much for your help.

 

Divag

[hftmrock]

if you are accustomed to eating whenever you want, why not do that for Carnival with YTD?

[LabRat33470]

We found that we did miss some of the shows due to late assigned dining, but we preferred the food quality in the MDR over the buffet, so we accepted missing the shows. The one time we did miss the MDR dinner in order to see the family friendly comedy show, we regretted it as the comedian (if that is what he wanted to call himself) was terrible and he was a disaster. Had we pushed for the early dinning, the show schedules would have not conflicted with dining.

 

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[riffatsea]

Hi,

You can still eat anytime you want if you choose Anytime(or Your time) dining.

You will not miss shows as there is usually an early one and a late one so if you eat late you'd go to the earlier show. There are also comedians scheduled and you might miss one show but then there are always several more at different times. It is really up to you to decide if you prefer eating at 6 ish or at 9ish. We eat early at home so late dining would never work for us.

We prefer YTD(or ATD) I never know which is the correct name so we can go as we please and sit by ourselves unless we choose to ask others to join us.

[mommacruiser07]

We eat earlier when the kids are with us, but are eating later this September when it's just my husband and I. There is the Anytime Dining, but that wasn't available when we booked, so we opted for late.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We found that we did miss some of the shows due to late assigned dining, but we preferred the food quality in the MDR over the buffet, so we accepted missing the shows. The one time we did miss the MDR dinner in order to see the family friendly comedy show, we regretted it as the comedian (if that is what he wanted to call himself) was terrible and he was a disaster. Had we pushed for the early dinning, the show schedules would have not conflicted with dining.

 

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

 

didn't they have 2 shows on the nights they had entertainment? They used to always do that so whichever dining you had you had a chance to see the shows.

 

Bill

[jwjax]

Good Morning All,

 

I am not new to CruiseCritic but had to create a new profile as old email no longer worked. Anyhoo ... My partner and I are late 40's and love cruising but have not been on a Carnival ship in quite some time (we'll be on Fascination in October). Can someone let me know the pros and cons of early vs. late dinner seating. We are accustomed to eating whenever we want on other cruise lines so this will be an interesting adventure - having a pre-set time to dine. :) :) Will we miss the shows if we choose late seating?? Thanks much for your help.

 

Divag

 

We have done both early and late dining on several different ships.

 

Our preference lately has been late dining. The wait staff are not rushed as much. You can enjoy a short or a lengthy dinner, depending on your schedule. Just inform the staff if you want a quick dinner to get to a show between 9-9:30pm. Or take your time, and enjoy a slow relaxed meal.

 

 

We never miss a show we want to attend, they have early shows for the main theater, and the comedians. Also, if you like the Casino....it is a lot less crowded from 5:30 until 8pm. ( and less smoke)

 

Now, with the Taste Bar, Red Frog Pub etc...there are plenty of snacks available between 5-7pm, or later.

 

One thing to note, not exactly on topic, if you want to watch a comedy show, try to get there at least 15-20mins before the scheduled time if you want a good seat. (grab a drink before going in, as the wait for drinks in the comedy lounges can be lengthy.......):)

[grest]

It's about personal preference...we just like to take our time and have late dinner. There are always other venues if we choose otherwise.

[frayedend]

didn't they have 2 shows on the nights they had entertainment? They used to always do that so whichever dining you had you had a chance to see the shows.

 

Bill

 

I thought there were 2 shows also. But looking at Fun Times for Fascination recently I only saw one show. It was usually a late start, like 9:30, so maybe a rushed late dining could make it? I may be wrong though. It was a while ago I looked.

[gottaluvcruises12]

I enjoy early dining because after I wake up from my nap from port days or come back on the ship from port days. I am hungry anyway. I don't like eating late on sea days. I like to have my nights free to do what I want.

[TheTravelista]

YTD always. Late is better than early.

 

The one time I had early dining I was miserable. Rushing back from ports, zero relaxation after ports because you have to get ready, rushed through the dining experience because they're getting ready for late seating...there are literally no pros to eating early IMO. I never understood the show excuse because there are always two shows.

[CruisingDivag]

if you are accustomed to eating whenever you want, why not do that for Carnival with YTD?

 

Didn't know we had that option. I'll check it out. Thank you.

[CruisingDivag]

We found that we did miss some of the shows due to late assigned dining, but we preferred the food quality in the MDR over the buffet, so we accepted missing the shows. The one time we did miss the MDR dinner in order to see the family friendly comedy show, we regretted it as the comedian (if that is what he wanted to call himself) was terrible and he was a disaster. Had we pushed for the early dinning, the show schedules would have not conflicted with dining.

 

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

 

OK. We are traveling with some other folks so we'll coordinate with them and maybe change our dining choice. Thank you so much.

 

Divag

[CruisingDivag]

Hi,

You can still eat anytime you want if you choose Anytime(or Your time) dining.

You will not miss shows as there is usually an early one and a late one so if you eat late you'd go to the earlier show. There are also comedians scheduled and you might miss one show but then there are always several more at different times. It is really up to you to decide if you prefer eating at 6 ish or at 9ish. We eat early at home so late dining would never work for us.

We prefer YTD(or ATD) I never know which is the correct name so we can go as we please and sit by ourselves unless we choose to ask others to join us.

 

I'll have to recheck the options. Thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it.

[CruisingDivag]

We eat earlier when the kids are with us, but are eating later this September when it's just my husband and I. There is the Anytime Dining, but that wasn't available when we booked, so we opted for late.

 

 

Just checked and it's not available. We're used to eater later so maybe we'll just keep it. LOL Choices and more choices - I love it.

 

 

Divag

[CruisingDivag]

We have done both early and late dining on several different ships.

 

Our preference lately has been late dining. The wait staff are not rushed as much. You can enjoy a short or a lengthy dinner, depending on your schedule. Just inform the staff if you want a quick dinner to get to a show between 9-9:30pm. Or take your time, and enjoy a slow relaxed meal.

 

 

We never miss a show we want to attend, they have early shows for the main theater, and the comedians. Also, if you like the Casino....it is a lot less crowded from 5:30 until 8pm. ( and less smoke)

 

Now, with the Taste Bar, Red Frog Pub etc...there are plenty of snacks available between 5-7pm, or later.

 

One thing to note, not exactly on topic, if you want to watch a comedy show, try to get there at least 15-20mins before the scheduled time if you want a good seat. (grab a drink before going in, as the wait for drinks in the comedy lounges can be lengthy.......):)

 

 

Sounds just like what we'd enjoy doing ... not being rushed to leave the room for the next crowd. And thanks for the drink tip.

 

 

Divag

[CruisingDivag]

It's about personal preference...we just like to take our time and have late dinner. There are always other venues if we choose otherwise.

 

 

Got it. I'm feeling better about our late dining choice. Thank you.

[attran99]

I'm a huge fan of the late dining. After a day out at port, we like to come back on board and get clean and maybe hit the buffet or room service for a late snack. A pre-dinner nap is great, too! Then we take our time to get ready for a nice dinner with our dining team.

[CruisingDivag]

I enjoy early dining because after I wake up from my nap from port days or come back on the ship from port days. I am hungry anyway. I don't like eating late on sea days. I like to have my nights free to do what I want.

 

We have a lot of port days on our cruise so if we return early, I guess we'll hit the buffet :) Thanks much.

 

Divag

[CruisingDivag]

I thought there were 2 shows also. But looking at Fun Times for Fascination recently I only saw one show. It was usually a late start, like 9:30, so maybe a rushed late dining could make it? I may be wrong though. It was a while ago I looked.

 

 

Ahhhh OK, I'll see if I can find any recent dailies. Thanks much.

[CruisingDivag]

YTD always. Late is better than early.

 

The one time I had early dining I was miserable. Rushing back from ports, zero relaxation after ports because you have to get ready, rushed through the dining experience because they're getting ready for late seating...there are literally no pros to eating early IMO. I never understood the show excuse because there are always two shows.

 

 

LOL I'm totally with you!!! I went with family on a cruise many years ago and we had early seating - OMG ... one cousin was always late and we had to wait for her every night and then rush through dinner. So not for me!!! Thanks much for your input.

 

 

Divag

[Fern Crest]

We've always had early dining, and it's never felt rushed at all. Lets us enjoy the evening however we want, and there's time for a late pizza or lasagna run without feeling stuffed!

 

Whatever you choose, enjoy your cruise!

[CruisingDivag]

I'm a huge fan of the late dining. After a day out at port, we like to come back on board and get clean and maybe hit the buffet or room service for a late snack. A pre-dinner nap is great, too! Then we take our time to get ready for a nice dinner with our dining team.

 

Yesss!! That's exactly what we were thinking. This way we can enjoy the ports without racing back to shower and change. Thank you.

 

 

Divag

[CruisingDivag]

We've always had early dining, and it's never felt rushed at all. Lets us enjoy the evening however we want, and there's time for a late pizza or lasagna run without feeling stuffed!

 

Whatever you choose, enjoy your cruise!

 

Thank goodness we have some time to think about this. :D Thanks much.

[MistyRo76]

16 cruises and only had Early Dining one time and I hated it! During sea days, we like to enjoy the Lido as late as possible and not feel rushed getting ready for dinner. And many days you are in port until 4, 5 or 6PM. So having late dining allows us to enjoy more time in port if desired. Many times we cruise with a larger group, so we've not tried Your Time dining yet. We may not hang out with our entire group all day, so dinners in the evening are our time to catch up and chat about days. Don't want to have to deal with potential longer wait times or not getting a wait staff we enjoy with having a larger group trying to do YTD.

 

For us, Late Dining works best...even with the kiddos! We'll have our three year old with us this November on the Vista.