1st or 2nd dining on Explorer?

[Travel luv]

Hi everyone..I hoping you all can help me decided which dining to choose...1st or 2nd on the Eastern Caribbean itenary? I am traveling with my DH, my father, and my stepmother. I initially chose the 2nd dining thinking that we wouldn't have to rush back from excursions. Now I'm concerned about being awake for the evening shows. I'm not sure if the shows are before or after the 2nd seating. My husband has a tendency to be an early bird at times, although we are used to eating late. I'm also wondering if on formal night if they run out of lobster tails early from the first seating (I'm being greedy, I know). Which do you all prefer and why?

 

Thanks

[Isaac]

I'm pretty sure this one's been covered just a few times... In my experience, they're more than generous with the lobster at 2nd seating as they don't have to save any for the next group.

[sgttami]

I have done late seating twice on cruises and at the time it was OK..I was younger and was a night owl.

 

Now when my husband and I travel we are early birds...we're up by 7 and are now "day party people"...

 

Six hours on the beach, 6 hours drinking and 12 hours sleeping!!!! We do early dining but whatever you decide, the shows are all geared towards both seatings. Only you know who will be able to stay awake...

[bobbie0253]

I'm pretty sure this one's been covered just a few times... In my experience, they're more than generous with the lobster at 2nd seating as they don't have to save any for the next group.

 

 

I agree with that 100%. We once had someone at our table eat 8 lobster tails.

 

Shows are usually before dinner for late seating. I actually like them better before dinner. There is nothing worse than overeating and having to sit through a show when you are uncomfortable. Plus it's relaxing to have a pre dinner drink during the show.

[1stcruiser1]

We did early seating and loved it. My husband had 3 lobster tails and they asked if he wanted more so no shortage that nite anyway.We enjoyed having dinner then a show. By the time the midnight buffet came around we weren't stuffed from eating a late dinner. Probably whatever you choose will be fine. On a day when we left port close to dinner time they did delay it 1/2 hour. If it takes you a long time to get ready for dinner you may be rushed but we had plenty of time to get ready

[kbt2]

Never heard of them "running out of Lobster tails", so I don't think that would be my deciding factor for choosing 1st or 2nd seating.

We are late nighters and like to nap about 4 in the afternoon to gear up for the night, so we always choose 2nd seating. This is what works for us.

[rfoust]

We had 2nd seating and we were always too full to eat the midnight buffets. Also, when we got back from our excursions, we were starving so we had to go get a snack from Johnny Rockets because we had to wait several hours before dinner. Next time, we're picking 1st seating. :-)

[lovemylab]

We chose second seating because we were told there would be less children at that one. We also liked that we had some downtime before dinner. It gave us lots of time to shower, take a nap, etc. after being in port all day.

 

On our cruise, most of the shows were after dinner (regardless of the seating) so either way you were doing dinner than a show.

 

The only drawback that I found with the second seating was that I was usually hungry as soon as I got back on the ship. A quick stop at the Cafe Promenade would fix this though ;) Also, I was too full for the midnight buffets.

 

I still plan on going with the second seating next time, I will just eat less on days where there is a midnight buffet.

[cb at sea]

We always do 2nd seating--closer to our normal dinner time! We've also had shows scheduled both before and after dinner. We're usually not extremely late people, but knowing we can sleep in (it is a vacation, after all!) makes staying up later a bit easier! Also, there's so much fun to be had, that your normal "I wanna go to bed" reflex is a bit stifled!

[Travel luv]

Thanks for the feedback. I am strongly considering changing from 2nd to 1st only because I have noticed that the later we eat, the sleepier we can get, especially my husband. I sometimes battle with him about doing things like shows after dinner. Wish I knew how to get more life in him sometimes...we are still young (I'm 28 he's 31). Mayby by then I'll come up with a way to put more life and energy into him so that we can stay up later and I don't feel like I'm missing out.

[Kathie44]

Our first two cruises were on Explorer--a wonderful ship. We always do the early seating because it's when we usually eat. Plus, we are diabetic and can't go that long without food and if we eat to tide us over, we won't be hungry for dinner. There's no way either of us could sleep on a full stomach. When we eat first, we have the whole evening to look forward to. We went to Alaska and are going to Europe this summer with friends who usually eat late, but graciously change to early seating so we can eat together.

 

1/02 Explorer E. Carib.

1/03 Explorer W. Carib.

8/03 Summit Alaska cruise/tour

2/04 Adventure S. Carib.

2/05 Galaxy Panama Canal

6/06 Jewel Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords + 3 days in London

[dougp26364]

We've done both and from now on, we'll just book early seating and if we get back to late to make it to the dining room, then we'll eat at one of the alternative venues depending on the ship.

 

At one time, I hated to miss a meal in the dining room. As time has gone on that's changed. Dinner in the Windjammer can be pretty good and getting what you want when you want it works well. Portifino's and Chops are wonderful choices if you don't mind spending an extra $20/per person. I really fell in love with the Seaview Cafe on Brilliance. Even the Cafe Promanade with it's little sandwhich's works well for me. About the only place I don't care to eat is Johnny Rockets but, if the mood for a burger and onion rings were to hit us then it would be an option as well.