New to cruise: 8 pm dinner???!!!!

[McQueenMaterMom]

Hi, I've never been on a cruise before and we're going to go on the Dream 4 day cruise to Bahamas Feb 12, 2018. I suspect we'll get the 8 pm dinner slot as I haven't booked the cruise yet. My kids normally go to bed at 7:30 and are asleep by 8:00. How do people handle this super late eating time with kids? My boys will be 5 and 6. We normally eat at 5:00. Also, on a cruise ship geared towards kids, is there a reason the dining times are so late? Is the 8:00 dinner filled with cranky, tired kids? If my kids were in the room is it possible for one of us to watch the kids while the others eat and then have someone who ate quickly come relieve the person who stayed with the kids so that that person could go eat in the dining room? I hate the thought of anyone missing dining in the restaurants.

Also, unrelated, what time do you actually end up getting off the ship at the end. It says 7:30 am. Would I be okay booking a 1:00 pm flight out of Orlando airport?

Thanks for any help!

 

[hanscarlet]

We always book noon flights out of MCO and we find we have plenty of time. We haven't done the 8pm dinner yet and always request the 5:45 slot. However we missed it for an upcoming cruise so we requested it via the wait list and crossing our fingers for it. However if we don't get it we are prepared to feed the kids in the stateroom at their normal dinner time then go to the show and then take them to dinner with us and then once at dinner, the kids club staff will grab them during second seating so you can eat in peace.

 

[TrishaK]

There's a couple options for moving from late dinner to early dinner. 1 - Call DCL and ask to be put on the waitlist for early dinner. 2 - Look at the first day's Navigator when you receive it and find the time/location for dinner changes. Get there before it starts, if you can, and ask to be moved to early dining.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

1) How do people handle this super late eating time with kids? My boys will be 5 and 6. We normally eat at 5:00.
2) Also, on a cruise ship geared towards kids, is there a reason the dining times are so late?
3) Is the 8:00 dinner filled with cranky, tired kids?
4) If my kids were in the room is it possible for one of us to watch the kids while the others eat and then have someone who ate quickly come relieve the person who stayed with the kids so that that person could go eat in the dining room? I hate the thought of anyone missing dining in the restaurants.
5) Also, unrelated, what time do you actually end up getting off the ship at the end. It says 7:30 am. Would I be okay booking a 1:00 pm flight out of Orlando airport?

Thanks for any help!

1) You can ask to be wait listed for the early dinner time. I'm 50/50 getting early dining off the wait list. Time just seems to be different on the cruises. We stay up much later. And there are tons of kids in the kids clubs well past 10:00.
2) There are two dining times. The first one really can't be much earlier than 5:45 because of people being off the ship in port. With the 5:45 early dining set, 8:15 is the earliest they can turn over the dining room and start seating the late dining people.
3) I've never noticed lots of cranky, tired kids at late dining, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. I'm just so focused on my table, I'm tuning out everything around me.
4) This really wouldn't work. The courses are paced out and one person wouldn't be able to get through the dinner and send the other person back in time that they could be served. You could ask for a plate to be made up to take back to the room. A server did that once for my DD when she was having a tough time handling dinner. (My DD has autism.) Or the person staying back could order room service. Or you could eat at Cabanas, which is sit down at dinner but you can go at any time. Cabanas is closed for dinner the first and last night of the cruise. Or feed your kids from the pool deck and send them to the kids clubs while you and your spouse eat your dinner.
5) Express walk off begins around 7:30. You can easily make a 1:00pm flight even if you don't do express walk off.

 

[eva]

Be sure to follow the advice above about getting on the wait list. The sooner you put your name on the list the more likely it will come through. Ours just did for our December 2 cruise. Another option is to eat at Cabana's. They turn Cabana's into a sit down restaurant in the evening. It is a very limited menu. But it is an option. You can dine there from about 6 to 8, no set time. You also can have the kids eat early at either Cabana's, a quick meal on deck, or room service and then take them to the clubs during late dinner seating. I am sure there are a lot of sleepy kids takng naps there. You might also be surprised that they are still up having a blast when you come get them around 10. Don't forget that some of the fun, like the Pirate Party, don't even start till 9/9:30.

 

[bbel]

Just a thought but have you considered maybe siesta time? Even with the early seating, so much happens in the evening. Like pp said the pirate party, the shows, family dance parties/karaoke, character meet and greets, and if you're going to use the kids clubs your kids a perfect ages for things like Plutos pyjama party, super sloppy science, and toy story boot camp, and most of those don't start till nearer 7.
If your kids do fall asleep at dinner, it's very common to see kids 'napping' at dinner, The servers just get an extra chair you can lay them across and get extra napkins as blankets.

 

[moremouse]

As people have said, call now and add "wait list" to your reservation.

We had late seating on our last cruise for the very first time. It was miserable, and I'm a 47 year old woman! I was so tired and cranky.

We ate quite a few dinners in Cabanas during that cruise.

 

[mevelandry]

1 PM flight should be fine...

Not gonna lie... I've seen a lot of kids sleeping on the table at 8:00 PM. I think you can ask to be on a waiting list for first seating though.

 

[KashasMom]

We got "stuck" with the late seating one cruise and really like it. (For us 5:45 is just too early.) We like going to the show before dinner - that helps keep my daughter awake. Of course being out in the sun and pool can make kids very tired. If you go back to your room around 3 and let them take an hour nap that may work as well. We have not seen cranky kids in the dining room but we have seen little kids (2-4) fall asleep. Do call about being wait listed. They're pretty good about accommodating everyone. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[quickcat]

I tried late seating once and hated it. Too late for us to eat that much food then go to bed. Definitely get put on the waiting list and if you do not get switched before you board, just ask in the dining room once on board, there will be a note in the navigator that says where to go or who to call to switch your dining assignment. Have fun!!

 

[cheermom2four]

I must be the only one who likes the late dining and requested it on every cruise so far. Yes, our dd5 fell asleep the first night as well, she was tired and there is a 2 hrs difference from where we live to florida time. She actually adjusted quite quickly though and we had her take a nap around 3pm and then fed her a snack and after the 2nd night she was just fine with late dining. I find it less noisy, less chaos and yes, the wait staff are awesome and will be so kind to cover the kids with a napkin or small table cloth. Now our upcoming Med cruise I'm a little worried about because late dining is at 8:45pm but we will also be out for long days at port and hoping for a quick nap before dinner. If you are really wanting early dining, just be put on the waitlist and here's hoping you get some pixie dust.

 

[barbarossa_hoosier]

If you end up with the late seating, you might want to look into the Dine and Play option, where the kids are fed first thing, and then the kids club counselors come to pick up the kids from dinner around 9:15, and take them to the kids clubs. That way, they don't have to sit through the entire seating.

 

[lklgoodman]

If you book the cruise yourself, you will automatically be given the later seating (even if early seating is still available). You can easily changue it to early right after you book the cruise, if early is available. You just go to the "my disney cruise" and where it shows your cruise info it will have "change dining". Just thought I'd mention this in case you/or others weren't aware. Your kids might surprise you. We also eat at 5 and my dd is asleep between 730-8pm at home. When we cruise she will go to the kids club after dinner and we often have to drag her out at midnight because she's having so much fun.

 

[FigmentSpark]

You don't say when your cruise is, but even if it says late seating, you can call. There may be early seating still available or you may have to be waitlisted. But the sooner you book and call, the better. Also, since you haven't booked yet, you could call and see if there is still early seating available. If not, can you be flexible in which cruise date you go? If so, ask about a couple of different sailings and book on the phone instead of on line.

 

[cmph]

Not sure where you live, but just wanted to note that for west coast folks - late seating is closer to our regular dinner time. Early would feel like a late lunch! Of course if this cruise is after a week in the parks and everyone has adjusted to the time change, that doesn't help you.

 

[kiford]

Also, on a cruise ship geared towards kids, is there a reason the dining times are so late?

There are a lot of people who cruise without kids on DCL (we have no kids and have done 10 cruises and counting) - it's not just for kids so they have a lot of activities for varied age groups both with and without children.

The later dining time tends to have fewer children especially younger ones, more adults and more families with older/teen children. As others have said, you can go onto the waitlist, check it when you get on board, or try the dine and play if you can't get the earlier dining. Depending on how early you book the cruise, you may have a greater chance of getting early dining.

Flight at 1 pm is what I consider to be the sweet spot for flights. We have the later dining so that means we have the later breakfast on embarkation day, we take our time, use DCL transfers and get to the airport with lots of time to go through security (which can be slow), time for a snack in the airport and still make the flight without rushing. Our flights are typically between 1-2 pm

 

[KdKyA]

We have done early seating three times now. Every single time it just feels too early. By the time we have lunch and then have a midday snack, we aren't really hungry for dinner. So this time we are going to try the late seating. Worst case scenario, we just eat at Cabana's. We have done all of the restaurants, so we won't feel like we are missing anything there. We fully plan on giving the dine and play a go this time, since even with the early dining, we would end up leaving half way through to take the kiddos to the clubs, this time, we don't even have to get up, the counselors will take them. You will hear a lot of people say they don't like being so full close to bed, just go for a walk on deck 4 and do some evening laps. It's so peaceful and the ocean sounds are so relaxing. After a few laps, you will feel better and be ready for bed

 

[Capt_BJ]

when I first cruised .... dinner at 8 was 'main seating'

the folks who missed main were sent to early seating ......

curious how the terms have changed over time .....

 

[Amandine]

If you end up with the late seating, you might want to look into the Dine and Play option, where the kids are fed first thing, and then the kids club counselors come to pick up the kids from dinner around 9:15, and take them to the kids clubs. That way, they don't have to sit through the entire seating.

I was looking at that just yesterday, thinking it might be a good option for our 3 and 5 year olds. I'm a bit concerned they might be anxious about leaving with the counselors, but we'll just see how it goes.

 

[longboard55]

we prefer late seating, so there are a few of us.