Early Seating/ Help me out here

[kwajgirl]

My husband and I are going on the fascination with another couple. They are absolutely stuck on having the early seating for dinner. With out kids I can not think of one good reason to eat early. It seems like we will be rushed to get to dinner. I can't for the life of me imagine eating breakfast lunch and dinner all before six o'clock. We are both couples that would tend to stay up late and sleep in........ Please help me out here. What am I missing???

[Randy & Carmen]

Explain to them that a lot of us eat early at home.....but the rules change at sea......I tried early one time a long time ago but switched after the first night......WAAAAY too much pressure to get ready early as my group likes to hang on the lido deck late, come in from ports late and have a little break before dinner....but then we stay out till wee hours of the morning too....lol:D

[smurfm69]

We have done both and wife prefers the later dinner time. I'm easy so either one doesn't matter much to me, but if you tend to stay up late then the later time may be your best option. The early dinner does make you feel rushed sometimes. Too bad they don't have a 7pm dinner in the main dining room. I think that would be perfect. Have a great cruise.

[Will&Hel]

My husband and I are going on the fascination with another couple. They are absolutely stuck on having the early seating for dinner. With out kids I can not think of one good reason to eat early. It seems like we will be rushed to get to dinner. I can't for the life of me imagine eating breakfast lunch and dinner all before six o'clock. We are both couples that would tend to stay up late and sleep in........ Please help me out here. What am I missing???

 

We cruised on Freedom earlier this year with another couple. Luckily we both wanted Late Sitting and it certainly was the best choice if you have no kids. Try the argument on shore excursions - if you are early sitting it can be a bit rushed to get showered and change for dinner at the early sitting. Also if your friend get peckish they can always get room service before dinner:D

[islandcroozers]

It's all just a matter of personal preference....we prefer the early dining because then we can take in the evening shows at leisure and still have time to check out all the clubs, have some photos taken, etc., and also work off some of that rich, delicious food! We tend to eat breakfast on the late side, and lunch is very light and "snacky." (or of the liquid variety by the pool in a monkeyhead :D) By 6:15 pm we are more than ready for dinner.

[Elaine515]

What is your itiernary and what time do you have to be back on the ship??? Maybe if you can point out that you can stay on the Island until lets say 5:00 then say to them "do you really want to rush back, shower, get dressed and rush to 6:00 dinner? Point out to them that you're on a cruise, want to relax and not rush, and maybe that will work.

 

Another good point to put in front of them... early dinner WILL ALWAYS have the families with KIDS... If you're cruising two adult couples, maybe they don't want to be around kids while on their vacation.

 

Good Luck..

[firefly333]

We like early, and if you are hungry later, you can go have some dessert in the buffet later. I am used to eating early at home and if I do late on the cruise, then I go and snack too much before dinner and not hungry for a dinner at 8 pm

 

sorry, Im with your friends. Great way to gain more weight for me is to have late seating.

[chasinraynbowz]

I really think its personal preference. We like early seating too. We usually get back to the ship early from shore excursions, so we are not rushed. And if by chance we are, we will eat at the buffet that evening. If we get hungry later, we either go to the late buffet or order room service.

[travelntreats]

What is your itiernary and what time do you have to be back on the ship??? Maybe if you can point out that you can stay on the Island until lets say 5:00 then say to them "do you really want to rush back, shower, get dressed and rush to 6:00 dinner? Point out to them that you're on a cruise, want to relax and not rush, and maybe that will work.

 

Another good point to put in front of them... early dinner WILL ALWAYS have the families with KIDS... If you're cruising two adult couples, maybe they don't want to be around kids while on their vacation.

 

Good Luck..

This is a great point regarding the RUSH to get back onboard and go to dinner, but in all of my many sailings....there WILL BE CHILDREN at either time you dine.

I have eaten early or late and there have been children in thie dining room at either time. The key is where you are sitting and under either dining choice. You may get the late seating and sit next to a family w/ children that are good or bad just as if you were at the early dinner......Whatever you choose, if you are not happy with the seating, just speak to the restaurant manager to be re seated at another location !

 

OP....Push the point of not being rushed for dinner if wanting to stay in port as long as possible and remind them that if they get hungry before the late dinner, there is always room service or the 24hr. pizza area ! ;):cool:

[redskin80]

When DH and I cruise we do prefer the late seating. we also do not like to be rushed after a shore day. When we are on the East coast it also works because we are from Colorado and the dinner time pretty much stays with our normal schedule.

[SATXLady]

My husband and I are going on the fascination with another couple. They are absolutely stuck on having the early seating for dinner. With out kids I can not think of one good reason to eat early. It seems like we will be rushed to get to dinner. I can't for the life of me imagine eating breakfast lunch and dinner all before six o'clock. We are both couples that would tend to stay up late and sleep in........ Please help me out here. What am I missing???

 

Even though you are going with the other couple, I would imagine that you could still have different dining times if that's what you want. I don't think going together means you have to be joined at the hip the entire time unless being with them is the main reason for the cruise. If it's just friends and both couples decided to go at the same time "together", then exercise your freedom to do what you want. When it matches up great, when it doesn't, just compare notes later.

[pjsugg]

On our last cruise there were four couples. Three of them wanted to eat early and we wanted late.

 

They ate early and we ate late. We met some other wonderful people. What we like is to go with our friends and we understand that there is to be NO and I mean NO set schedule. We are on a vacation away from work, kids and everyone can do as they please. It works out every time we have gone with them. ENJOY!

 

Patti

[Mack704]

DW and I, having been on 8 cruises in the last 6 years, have eaten both early and late. We've chosen late just for that reason - to not be rushed. But there are 2 main reasons we now prefer early:

 

1) For both of us, unless we have a really late lunch, we're hungry by 6. And once, we missed early and got the maitre 'd to seat us late. (That was lobster night. Didn't want to miss that. Had 2 tails myself.)

 

2) For me, I love to snack late. Too full if dinner was at 8:30.

 

Just food for thought. ;)

 

Harvey

[mdvlprof]

who feels rushed? dress code is fairly relaxed. the only time it isn't is "elegants", which are on sea days.

 

we eat early. if peckish later, head for the lido deck.

[KULPN]

We (adults in our 50's) like early dining. DH is a diabetic and I have GERD. If I ate dinner at 8:30pm, I'd never get over the indigestion. We have not felt rushed. After a port day, we usually get back in time to shower & rest up before dinner. I guess we have been lucky because we have never had kids ruin our dining experience. Actually, I think the younger folks who get drunk in port are the ones who do the late dining. Also on sea days, it seems to be quiet in the DR for us. Well behaved children have been seen.

[firefly333]

who feels rushed? dress code is fairly relaxed. the only time it isn't is "elegants", which are on sea days.

 

we eat early. if peckish later, head for the lido deck.

 

I agree, why put pressure on your friends, if they WANT to eat early, let them. You can eat by yourselves if late is your preference. I wouldnt want friends to pressure me to do what THEY WANTED.

 

PS there is a good reason why early fills up and late bookers get stuck with late dining even if they dont want it .... it is less preferred, and not just because folks have kids.

[Nunu]

Another good reason why we don't cruise with other couples. There's plenty of people on board the ship to meet if we choose to.

[misguidedangel]

I, and many others, are early birds. zI am up by 7am and prefer to eat early. if they had a 5pm sitting I would be there!!!!!! I can manage to stay up late, but midnight is about the time I turn into a pumpkin cuz I know bright an early between 6 and 7 I WILL (not maybe, I WILL) be awake. I'd rather get sleep.

 

I choose early so I can eat, change, and get down to the lounge with plenty of time to spare to find a nice seat for the production show. I also have plenty of time to take in the casino, piano bar, movie on seaside theater, and my usual wandering about the ship here, there and everywhere.....

 

I'd be so hungry if I ate late I'd be grabbing pizza, burger, salad, anything to keep me going!!! As for ports, well, I am back anywhere from 1-3 hours before the ship leaves. Plenty of time to flake out after a long day in the sun, unpack my items I bought and grab a drink before resting my feet while sitting on the balcony as people rush back to the ship in the last hour!

[KMA0455]

We prefer early seating and we have never felt rushed but what it allows us to do is have space later for cocktails:cool:.

And if we get hunger pains there's always the 24 hour pizza.

[TahoeBob]

Please help me out here. What am I missing???

What you are missing is the fact that they want to eat early. many people, myself included don't like to eat dinner late. Most of the time I like to eat dinner around 5:30 P.M.

 

I am not saying anyone is wrong for wanting late seating on a cruise, but there is also nothing wrong with a early dinner either.

 

I can see your friends post on this subject now.

 

we are taking our first cruise and they want to eat late, by doing this they are cutting into night entertainment. we like to stay up late but for the life of me I can't think of one good reason to eat so late. What Am I missing!

 

I would guess from there point of view there argument is just as valid as yours.

 

What to do, if it were me I would just not eat together. There is no right or wrong in this

[ChefSusan]

We're doing early dining this time around, as we found on our last cruise that we were eating dinner around 6:30pm/7:00pm. On our first cruise (MOTS), we elected to do late seating, and found that we had to fiddle our thumbs and try to come up with things to do inbetween getting back to the boat and our seating.

 

We figure that on our next cruise (Freedom 10/10), we'll be able to hit the sushi bar for appetizers, then head over to the dining room for dinner with our friends that we met on Legend.

 

If your friends want to do early dining and you don't, then don't. There's no rule that says that you and your travelmates have to be joined at the hip!

[Cha Cha]

My wife and I just finished our third cruise on Carnival Valor. We have traditionally always done the early seating (1 with kids, 1 without). We chose the late option (again with no kids) this time for two reasons: 1. We would have had to really rush our port days to get it all in prior to racing back to the ship for dinner. 2. Why not eat later, sandwiches from the deli or pizza are an easy quick snack.

 

Depending on which of the two Fascination itineraries you are doing makes a difference. On the one, the early seating will really jack your Key West visit (if scheduled). The other would throw a curve into both stops. And while, the dress code for the dining room has softened in the last few years, preparation for dinner should at least include a visit to the pathetically small shower :D

 

My opinion (and I know compared to others, three cruises ain't much), you pay good money to make port calls, the dinner experience shouldn't handicap your fun. Most of the stage shows have two curtain times and most of the Fun Ship activities restart just before the late seating.

 

Don't stress to much and have an awesome kid-free cruise!

[rednose83]

Are either of them picky eaters?

 

If I can't have any time dining, I pick the early seating because I am a very picky eater and I don't usually eat throughout the day. So I eat breakfast in the MDR, maybe pick a little at lunch time from a local rest or the lido buffet, and by 6pm, I am starving. I'd never make it to the late seating!

 

I've traveled with my Mom too who likes the early seating because if she eats late, she feels sick when sleeping.

[kwajgirl]

What you are missing is the fact that they want to eat early. many people, myself included don't like to eat dinner late. Most of the time I like to eat dinner around 5:30 P.M.

 

 

I would understand this if they were early eaters. They eat late every night. I don't want to eat at different times, we really do want to be together. The time I have dinner will not make or break my cruise by any means... I was just thinking that (since I have only been on one other cruise) someone could help me see the benefits of early dinner.

 

I am thinking the day we are in Nassau (we get in at noon) that my husband and I will skip the dining room so we don't have to rush back. The other couple has already said they will not skip the dining room and will have to be back to the ship by 4:00 at the latest.

[chasinraynbowz]

What you are missing is the fact that they want to eat early. many people, myself included don't like to eat dinner late. Most of the time I like to eat dinner around 5:30 P.M.

 

 

I would understand this if they were early eaters. They eat late every night. I don't want to eat at different times, we really do want to be together. The time I have dinner will not make or break my cruise by any means... I was just thinking that (since I have only been on one other cruise) someone could help me see the benefits of early dinner.

 

I am thinking the day we are in Nassau (we get in at noon) that my husband and I will skip the dining room so we don't have to rush back. The other couple has already said they will not skip the dining room and will have to be back to the ship by 4:00 at the latest.

 

Then let them go while you and your DH enjoy the rest of your visit in Nassau.

 

We cruised with 4 others on our last cruise. One evening, even though we got back in time, we were just too exhausted to go to dinner. So we told everyone have fun and we enjoyed room service in our room.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!! :D