We're torn! Early or YTD?!?

[alydinva]

We have booked Early Dining for our upcoming cruise on the Horizon in July. We know that we don't want Late (which we had on our most recent cruise on the Pride in December - it was just too late for us), but we are wondering if we should switch to YTD. I know that this has been hashed out many times on CC and I guess I just wanted to get our indecision in writing. :D

 

We do enjoy having the same servers every night and we realize that we can request specific servers for YTD. We are also concerned about wait times with YTD, because of course we will probably end up there around 7:00 every night. Our concern about Early is that we won't be hungry at 6:00; we usually eat lunch around 1:00 on Sea Days. Ugh! Early is already on a waitlist on our sailing, but YTD and Late are still open. I'm guessing that YTD will be the next to go on a waitlist?

[breckbird]

do what feels best for you and your family

[teknoge3k]

We like YTD because we don't eat at the same time each night at home. One night we may eat dinner at 5 the next night we may eat dinner at 8. Plus if we are at a port until say, 5pm, we don't have to rush back to get ready for a certain dining time. We also can schedule our dinner around any shows we may want to see or activities we want to do. If we like the same server then we request him or her each night. If we don't like them, then we're not stuck with them each night.

[SeeJennyCruise]

We like YTD because we don't eat at the same time each night at home. One night we may eat dinner at 5 the next night we may eat dinner at 8. Plus if we are at a port until say, 5pm, we don't have to rush back to get ready for a certain dining time. We also can schedule our dinner around any shows we may want to see or activities we want to do. If we like the same server then we request him or her each night. If we don't like them, then we're not stuck with them each night.

What teknoge3k said.. ditto X 2 when dining with two or four. In the past we went with early seating when we were part of a larger group. Next October will be our first time trying YTD with a group of 6.

 

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[summersigh]

There's another active thread with 20+ opinions "Silly Question About Dining" so you might want to read it too

[alydinva]

Thank you, everyone! I really appreciate your input. I will definitely take a look at that other thread!

[Computer Nerd]

For me, it's Early. Always Early (that's how we roll). If I wanted YTD I could just sail NCL.

[lasnev]

We did YTD last October on the Splendor and really enjoyed it. We pretty much had dinner at the same time plus or minus 20 minutes, but it was so relaxing not to feel the pressure to have to be ready by a particular time. After all, we cruise to forget about our schedule.

On the second night we had an amazing team of servers, so we requested them every night after that. We were in the same area every night and pretty much the same people around us.

We were still able to strike conversations if we chose to, but from the privacy of our own table.

Keep in mind that some of the tables for two are pretty close to each other, but you could ask for a more private one.

Never had to wait....but it was low season I guess. We would go between 6:15 to 6:45.

Never had to wait long for our dinners either.

Hope this helps.

[ray98]

YTD. You can eat early if you want but if you have a day that ends up in a late lunch you can adjust and go eat dinner when you are actually hungry.

[naxer]

Do early this time, and then YTD next time.

[JerseyGirlJen]

YTD is my first choice. Late cuts into too many evening activities I enjoy, and sometimes the early is too early.

 

 

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[HaPPyboy55]

I'm in the same boat (no pun intended). I've got early seating for a cruise next month. I'm traveling with two kids who are fairly picky eaters. My logic is that if they aren't happy with the MDR, we can head to the lido deck after supper to get them something else.

[dmdiver]

I prefer YTD for the same reasons others have stated - not having to rush back from port, possibly not being hungry after a late lunch. Our family cruise right now is set for early dining because I'm concerned about long wait times for a table for 7 or 8 people. I'm still on the fence about it, though. I will probably go review our port times & see if that makes a difference. If we leave every port by 4 or 5pm, I may stick with set dining.

[summersigh]

I'm in the same boat (no pun intended). I've got early seating for a cruise next month. I'm traveling with two kids who are fairly picky eaters. My logic is that if they aren't happy with the MDR, we can head to the lido deck after supper to get them something else.

There is a kids menu in the MDR that I understand can be used by anyone and has items your picky eaters might prefer. Ask your wait staff to see one

[Ocean Spirit]

We do enjoy the traditional dining but switched to MTD. We like it because of the freedom it offers. If we are tired from an excursion we don't have to rush. We never experience a very long wait time. They give you a buzzer and you can sit and enjoy the entertainment in the atrium.

 

The still have the singing and dancing as in the main dining room. You don't get to know your waiters as well but still very enjoyable meeting people. The only thing we really miss is the views. The main dining room has those big windows looking out over the ocean.

 

The only other problem we had was getting our family to decide what time everyone wanted to eat at!

[Drose716]

Always YTD for us. We don't go to the MDR every night and we don't want to impact table mates. Mostly, we love the freedom of allows.

 

If we are in port until 5pm, we don't want to rush on board to ready for dinner. If we have a show to attend, we don't want to miss it for dinner. We like that we can eat when we're hungry and don't have to choose between dinner in the MDR & other activities.