Early vs Late Seating for Alaska advice.......

[cpizzull]

Hi All!

Taking our first cruise to Alaska (next June), and first on Princess (after 10 others).  Going with 3 other couples. We are late 50s, early 60s, active folk, ha.

With excursions usually being so early in the morning, and daylight til 11pm, have you found it more beneficial to do one seating over another? The only true 'late' port is Skagway, til 8:30pm, so doing early seating would not lose much I guess. Hmmm, maybe I just answered my own question, ha. (Note that Princess comes out with new dining options/times on July 1st, which may make this easier to answer......for example, if 'early' is defined as being after 6pm, then we may just go with that).  The other side note is I'm celiac so would probably stay away from a my-time dining option.

Would love to hear experiences on this, even if you believe doing Alaska shouldn't really change the choice.

 

Thanks!

Chet

[NWA395]

I think it really depends on how late you want to stay up.  We tend to have dinner earlier and take in the 1st show in the theatre or some trivia and then call it a night.  

 

[royal3]

Factors would be what time the ship leaves the ports (ie would you have to rush back to the ship to make dinner), do you like to watch the sail away as you leave port, and how the dinner time compares to the time zone where you live (unless you are spending time before the cruise to adjust to the time change)? We prefer the late dinner (totally opposite then at home) since it is less rushed (no "hurry up, got to make the show"), less crowded, easier to get a good table in the size we like, less kids, and we can always grab a snack before dinner if needed. We also find we eat a smaller dinner this way. 

[cpizzull]

Quick follow-up...........on Princess (Sapphire to Alaska to be exact), are the showtimes ALWAYS after your assigned dinner time (notwithstanding the new July 1st news coming).  If I remember correctly, cruising 10 years ago, the late seating usually went to the early show.  Is that not the case on Princess Alaska cruises?
.
Also, when coming from a land tour, we won't even board the ship until after 6pm. I wonder if we lose our 1st dinner then if we have early seating and they move it up before 6pm.  Hmmmmm.

[Cruzaholic41]

Neither. Personally , I think anytime dining is best on Alaska cruises. 

[sherryf]

1 hour ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

Neither. Personally , I think anytime dining is best on Alaska cruises. 

I very much agree!  Although the OP mentions dietary reasons to avoid anytime dining, I know that Princess does an excellent job of accommodating dietary needs regardless of when and where you dine.

[LeeW]

On 6/27/2024 at 2:54 PM, cpizzull said:

Quick follow-up...........on Princess (Sapphire to Alaska to be exact), are the showtimes ALWAYS after your assigned dinner time (notwithstanding the new July 1st news coming).  If I remember correctly, cruising 10 years ago, the late seating usually went to the early show.  Is that not the case on Princess Alaska cruises?
.
Also, when coming from a land tour, we won't even board the ship until after 6pm. I wonder if we lose our 1st dinner then if we have early seating and they move it up before 6pm.  Hmmmmm.

 

First night in Whittier always has open seating, because lots of folks are not there yet for early seating.  They just send people to tables as they arrive.  Assume Reserve/Suite dining area will still be there, separate line.