Early vs. Late Seating and Onboard activity question

[sharlon]

Note: I asked this question in a thread, but thought I'd get more answers as a thread on its own.

We sail 2/13 on the Monarch for my DH's 40th birthday. He has no idea we are going. It will be the two of us and our 3 kids in connecting cabins. This will be our first RCCL cruise. I do have a question: right now we have requested late seating, which won't really be a problem with our kids(ages 11, 10, and 3). That said, I'm worried with late seating we will miss some activities and shows. Can anyone give me any input on this? I'm thinking of shows and activities for the kids in the kids program. I'd rather switch now if we will miss alot.

 

Also, I just found out here on Cruise Critic that our cruise is some kind of Jazz cruise. News to me. Does anyone know how much this type of thing will affect the onboard entertainment, if any?

[It'sRC4ME]

The ship staff plan the shows to suit the seating times. With late seating, your "showtime" may be BEFORE dinner in some cases, but you will have the opportunity to see each show.

 

Usually, things like Quest and the Love and Marriage show start at 10:00 or 10:30 or later, so you should be able to make it to them. If you are at your own table, you can let your waiter know that you are trying to be done by a certain time, and they will do their best to make it happen.

[crusinmama06]

I have the Adventure Ocean cruise compasses at the link in my signature. You can feel free to go through them and see what the kids may be missing if they are at dinner at 8pm.

 

Off the top of my head, the pirate parade goes THROUGH late seating dinner. So your 3 year old would need to go to Adventure Ocean early to get ready for the pirate parade.

 

This doesn't mean that you would have to give up Late seating if that time does work for you. But it does mean that you may be feeding the kids early and allowing them to go to Adventure Ocean while you go off to dinner.

 

My kids are 4 and 8, so at this point, we still do Early seating so they don't miss AO activities.

[IBookHePays]

I don't know about the kids programs, but the shows you will not miss, they have them for both seatings. But are you sure the late seating will be okay for your 3 year old? I'm not telling you what to do, but there must be some reason you don't see that many young children at the late seating. Perhaps someone has some Adventure Ocean compasses and can tell you what is available at that time.

[crusinmama06]

Perhaps someone has some Adventure Ocean compasses and can tell you what is available at that time.

 

Yep, I do...here is the link to the whole collection...

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb196/cruisinmama06/Royal%20Caribean%20AO%20Compass/?start=all

 

I honestly think it's because for some 3 year olds, they would be asleep in their soup if they waited until 8pm to eat. My kids go to bed at 8pm. ;) But on a cruise, they are wide awake in AO.

 

But every child is different. :)

[honeywell]

My kids are 8 and 9 and we also do early seating, mainly because it is closer to the time we normally eat at home and more comfortable for us. My kids LOVE eating WITH the other kids in the kids club, and that leaves the grown ups free to do as they wish.

 

I have had late seating before, and I was constantly feeding my kids early with room service or a trip to the cafeteria. They couldn't stay awake through the late meal service, often ending at 10:00 or 10:30.

 

The show schedule won't be an issue - they duplicate performances. As Michelle suggested, however, your children might miss some activities in Adventure Ocean if they enjoy going at night.

[cb at sea]

Families with kids in the AO generally do the main seating, so that dinner doesn't conflict with the kid's activities. If you want to keep late seating, the kids can eat in the buffet, and go along to their fun!

None of the shows conflict with any of the evening entertainment--it's just the kid's club that you may have a problem with.

[hazeleyez3]

Like everyone has said, the production shows won't be a problem.

 

Late seating (at least on the Mariner in September) did interfere with some of the nightly activities (karaoke, trivia contests, etc) and music sets (piano bar, and Salsa are the 2 that come to mind).

 

Our waiters were sometimes slow so we had to rush in order to actually watch the beginning of the Love and Marriage show, and it would have been a rush to make it to the Quest show (we had no desire to go so it didn't bother us)

[sharlon]

Thanks to everyone for the responses! And a special thank you to Michelle. I had actually checked out your link before I booked the cruise, but had forgotten about it, so thanks for the reminder.

I think I will call TA tomorrow and switch, primarily because of the AO activities. I had not chosen the early seating initially because that is actually early for us. (Plus I had to make a split second decision and blurted out an answer) With our schedule, we are lucky if we have even thought about eating at 7pm. That said, I don't want the kids to miss dining in the dining room, so if I can switch I definitely will.

 

Thanks again for all of the great responses!

 

BTW, anyone have any info on speciality cruises like this jazz thing we are on?