Overthinking again...

[Amy Paperlady]

My family's going to be sailing on Glory this October. When I booked last September, I chose late dining because 1) the youngest going is 14 and 2} those of us still at home (older daughter will be 20) are used to eating late, due to my work schedule. Plus, I figured that if anyone got hungry earlier, it's not like there's no way to get a substantial snack mid/late afternoon. I didn't choose YTD because we'll likely all be mostly doing our own things, and having a set dinner time seems less complicated. Anyway, are we going to end up losing the ability to see shows, if we want to? We've got FTTF, so theoretically, I should be able to have my TA change our dining time if needed.

[ninjacat123]

We always sign up for Late Dining and I have found we can find shows (theatre, comedian, piano bar) before dinner or after dinner.  Yes, we may have to hustle to get seats if "Showtime" in the MDR is running late.😄 I think you'll be okay but if you do decide to change, I would do it sooner than later.

Have a great cruise!!

[firefly333]

Carnival for me I like anytime but next time might try early. 

 

I guarantee if I had late I'd be up in the buffet snitching and then would lose most of my appetite. 

 

I couldnt not eat if I had late. .. I guess I'm bad. No resistance. And guys burgers is open until 6 pm if I want to eat something late. Ruins my dinner. 

 

For that many in your group I agree set a time and try and gr together to talk at dinner once a day. 

[Amy Paperlady]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

Carnival for me I like anytime but next time might try early. 

 

I guarantee if I had late I'd be up in the buffet snitching and then would lose most of my appetite. 

 

I couldnt not eat if I had late. .. I guess I'm bad. No resistance. And guys burgers is open until 6 pm if I want to eat something late. Ruins my dinner. 

 

For that many in your group I agree set a time and try and gr together to talk at dinner once a day. 

 

Yep, Guy's may or may not've been another reason for choosing late--this is my husband's and my second cruise, and more opportunities for Guy's would've been welcome 😉 (This'll be the first cruise for the girls, and the younger doesn't like burgers.)

[TravelE]

I am a long time anytime dining fan but after my last cruise, I want to try late dining again. The services at ATD seem so rushed and disconnected. I think you can easily see the early shows/comics and then eat dinner.

 

 

[FastShip24]

You will always find food.  Why worry

[Juncti]

1 hour ago, Amy Paperlady said:

My family's going to be sailing on Glory this October. When I booked last September, I chose late dining because 1) the youngest going is 14 and 2} those of us still at home (older daughter will be 20) are used to eating late, due to my work schedule. Plus, I figured that if anyone got hungry earlier, it's not like there's no way to get a substantial snack mid/late afternoon. I didn't choose YTD because we'll likely all be mostly doing our own things, and having a set dinner time seems less complicated. Anyway, are we going to end up losing the ability to see shows, if we want to? We've got FTTF, so theoretically, I should be able to have my TA change our dining time if needed.

We were on Glory in September of last year and did late dining. It worked out pretty good and we made a lot of shows. I will say though if you're planning on catching a comedy show right after dinner, you might need to talk to the waiter when you arrive and mention that you need to do dinner a bit faster. 

 

There was a lot of down time during the dinner service, we didn't mind much but if we had somewhere to be at a certain time I could see that getting away from us. So you might be able to cut down on time between courses to help get you back out in time for the shows. 

 

I feel like there was at least one if not two days where we were able to catch a show before diner as well but I could be mixing that up with another cruise. I think we did though.

 

Also, we found the late dining time provided a good break to the day. We'd be out and about, head to the room about an hour or so ahead of dinner to get a shower and recharge, then head to dinner, shows, and nighttime drinks to finish out the day.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

Productions shows are scheduled to accommodate both early and late seating.  You may miss some of the adult comedy shows however.  

[ChuckF]

We always do Late Dining. On our last cruise we started going to the early Production Show. Just grab seats near an exit on Deck 4 and leave as soon as the show is over. It's better to be a little late to dinner, than a little late to the show.  We don't typically do the comedy shows, so can't speak to that. 

[LibertyBella]

We used to always do late dining, but then we would be in the nightclubs until the wee hours of the morning. 

 

Recently (over the past few years) we have switched to early seating. Sometimes it is a rush returning from an excursion and hurrying down to dinner, but otherwise it is nice to eat right away when the tables are newly set up, the waiters are fresh, and afterwards we have the rest of the evening open. 

 

I will say that dining time may depend on the itinerary of your cruise--if you have nonstop port calls with busy full-day excursions, it works out well to allow for ample sleep, but if you have many sea days late dining would be fine.

 

Have a great time!

[serene56]

Late dinner will interfere with teen activity. Activities are closed from 5-7    Buffet is closed from 3-5:30     

[deelightfull]

I can't speak to every ship, every night. In my experience teen clubs are closed from about 4 to 8 (sea days, when they open earlier) or from 6 to 8. (Port days).  But when they open at 8 they're open all the way to 1am.

 

If your kiddo(s) will join you for the shows anyway, it shouldn't matter much. They'd be with you either way.

 

As for afternoon snacks, buffet may be closed from 3 to 5:30, but there's always Guys or the Deli or Blue Iguana or about a million ice cream cones. 😉