Why hasn't Disney solved the main/late dining debacle already?

[Glenn3484]

We cruised last year with a 3 and 6 year old, we booked late so we got late/2nd seating for dinner. We had nothing to compare it to, and really had no other choice. While us adults didn't really have a problem with it, my kids were falling asleep typically every night at dinner. We are looking to book another cruise in 2020, and called disney, all the feb/march/april cruises we were looking at are all sold out of first dining, I was pretty shocked by that, there appears to be openings in may, but didn't want to wait that long, lol. We wait listed for 1st dining last time, and never got the switch, so I don't have much confidence in the waitlist, althought we booked pretty late last time.

 

[lklgoodman]

We cruised last year with a 3 and 6 year old, we booked late so we got late/2nd seating for dinner. We had nothing to compare it to, and really had no other choice. While us adults didn't really have a problem with it, my kids were falling asleep typically every night at dinner. We are looking to book another cruise in 2020, and called disney, all the feb/march/april cruises we were looking at are all sold out of first dining, I was pretty shocked by that, there appears to be openings in may, but didn't want to wait that long, lol. We wait listed for 1st dining last time, and never got the switch, so I don't have much confidence in the waitlist, althought we booked pretty late last time.

The early 2020 cruises were released Oct 2018, that's when we booked our Jan. 2020 cruise. If you want first seating, you have to book within the first few months of the release. Booking over a year after the dates have been released will pretty much always have you at second seating. You could take a chance once you get onboard of switching it, but like your previous cruise, you may not get it switched.

 

[Glenn3484]

The early 2020 cruises were released Oct 2018, that's when we booked our Jan. 2020 cruise. If you want first seating, you have to book within the first few months of the release. Booking over a year after the dates have been released will pretty much always have you at second seating. You could take a chance once you get onboard of switching it, but like your previous cruise, you may not get it switched.

Good tip and insight into how far out you have to book these to get that first dining

 

[lklgoodman]

Good tip and insight into how far out you have to book these to get that first dining

One more tip. If you book the trip yourself on the DCL website it will automatically put you in second seating. Right after you book you can then change it to first seating. We booked our Jan2021 cruise last month and I think the website still did this. They really need to change it. A lot of people don't realize the site does this or that they can change it.

 

[SL6827]

I always preferred first dining but if I am going to book the last minute cruises I will just have to adjust to the second dining time. I won't stress over that. But suggesting the option to pay for your preferred time is exactly something I could see Disney doing. Good grief, that could happen.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

We cruised last year with a 3 and 6 year old, we booked late so we got late/2nd seating for dinner. We had nothing to compare it to, and really had no other choice. While us adults didn't really have a problem with it, my kids were falling asleep typically every night at dinner. We are looking to book another cruise in 2020, and called disney, all the feb/march/april cruises we were looking at are all sold out of first dining, I was pretty shocked by that, there appears to be openings in may, but didn't want to wait that long, lol. We wait listed for 1st dining last time, and never got the switch, so I don't have much confidence in the waitlist, althought we booked pretty late last time.

Did you also try to get moved once you embarked on the boat? On our last cruise we booked it only a month out and we were to first dining a few days before the cruise.

 

[DisneYE]

I always preferred first dining but if I am going to book the last minute cruises I will just have to adjust to the second dining time. I won't stress over that. But suggesting the option to pay for your preferred time is exactly something I could see Disney doing. Good grief, that could happen.

Don't give them ideas. But it's a great one tbh.
If I'm a DCL executive and I'm reading this board I'll go, oh baby what a great idea. And tbh it is. Another huge revenue source: charge for changes to the dinner rotation, earlier PAT's, preferred seating at the theatre, etc... So many missed opportunities to milk the cruisers even more.

 

[DCSWO]

Here’s another tip. If you are looking at cruises a year after they open for booking, you will also pay more. In general, DCL best prices are when they first go on sale and prices increase as they fill up. There are always cruises that don’t sell well, but those are the exception.

 

[auntlynne]

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[kelliekrueger]

Great reply... I'm with you on most of what you say.
I have a DD who is 13 now and have sailed DCL since she was 4. Our first cruise we were assigned late dining, our second 1st, and since, all late. why? because we sometimes booked late. So yeah, first come first serve. I'm a rules are rules guy. I follow them and expect everyone else to follow them as well, otherwise society would be chaos.
I've put requests to be moved on every cruise and most have been granted either by email or onboard.

I would much rather get early dining bc I HATE eating late... 7 PM is the latest I would eat anything bc I can't sleep with a full stomach and sleep is my only recreational drug of choice. It has an effect on me akin to real drugs to those who consume them. Yes, its that important to me. The times where we couldn't be moved to ED, I barely touch the food. But I wouldn't stop cruising if assigned late dining. I just live with it.

To the OP:
I suggest you take a page from Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption: you know, that scene where he mails politicians every day to get funds for his prison library?
Don't do it every day, but do what I do:
Email DCL every week asking about your request to be moved to main dining right after you PIF.
I do this every cruise.
I was just moved a week ago. It took me 10 weeks, so 10 emails hounding them, plus a few phone calls.
Be persistent and you will eventually get moved.
If you don't get moved, go to the dining desk (usually in one of the lounges) right after you embark.... we've been moved there the 3 times our request wasn't granted by email.
Back to Andy Dufresne again: "Remember, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies"

Happy cruisin'

When you email them, do you just use the contact form on their website or is there a specific email address you use? I’m currently trying to do this but have just been calling in and so far I’m getting nowhere.

 

[Marc D]

When you email them, do you just use the contact form on their website or is there a specific email address you use? I’m currently trying to do this but have just been calling in and so far I’m getting nowhere.

There is no point in doing this. They do not go through the waitlist every day, only once or twice before the cruise, usually a few weeks before. And the DCL CMs on the phone are not the one managing the list. Calling/emailing multiple times will not bump you up on the list. If it doesn’t happen before boarding, go meet the head servers when you board and you will probably be switched unless your group is abnormally large or the cruise is extremely full.

 

[ember1205]

We cruised last year with a 3 and 6 year old, we booked late so we got late/2nd seating for dinner. We had nothing to compare it to, and really had no other choice. While us adults didn't really have a problem with it, my kids were falling asleep typically every night at dinner. We are looking to book another cruise in 2020, and called disney, all the feb/march/april cruises we were looking at are all sold out of first dining, I was pretty shocked by that, there appears to be openings in may, but didn't want to wait that long, lol. We wait listed for 1st dining last time, and never got the switch, so I don't have much confidence in the waitlist, althought we booked pretty late last time.

When booking, you make a choice. The number of seatings that DCL has available does not represent 100% of the seats in the restaurant - they specifically hold a number of them back during the time leading up to the cruise. Waitlisting is not generally going to result in a change as it requires someone booked during first dining to either cancel their cruise or request second dining, freeing up those seats.

If you want early dining, and you didn't get it when booking, your best chances of being able to switch to it are by getting yourself to the port as early as possible (choose the earliest PAT that you can when you check in, and do your check in as early as is actually possible). This will get you the best chances of boarding the ship on the early side and you can then get in line at the area where dining changes are being taken. Ask them there, on the ship, if you can change. If there is availability still, they will swap you. We have done this for our last two cruises as both were booked closer to sailing.

The smaller your party size, the better the chances of being able to switch, too. Although things like "Private Table" options may not be available.

 

[DisneYE]

When you email them, do you just use the contact form on their website or is there a specific email address you use? I’m currently trying to do this but have just been calling in and so far I’m getting nowhere.

yes, use the contact form on their website

 

[DisneYE]

There is no point in doing this. They do not go through the waitlist every day, only once or twice before the cruise, usually a few weeks before. And the DCL CMs on the phone are not the one managing the list. Calling/emailing multiple times will not bump you up on the list. If it doesn’t happen before boarding, go meet the head servers when you board and you will probably be switched unless your group is abnormally large or the cruise is extremely full.

there certainly is a point.
I've almost always been granted a change thru emails.
I email them once a month and in the last month once a week. That way I've gotten the change 7/9 times.
Only once we were not granted the change beforehand and had the request it onboard and we got it, because we booked too late, about 3 weeks before sailing.
the only late dining we had was our first cruise ever so I didn't even know we could be moved.
I've yet to hear about someone that was flatly rejected the change.
So the lesson is, keep asking.

 

[Marc D]

there certainly is a point.
I've almost always been granted a change thru emails.
I email them once a month and in the last month once a week. That way I've gotten the change 7/9 times.
Only once we were not granted the change beforehand and had the request it onboard and we got it, because we booked too late, about 3 weeks before sailing.
the only late dining we had was our first cruise ever so I didn't even know we could be moved.
I've yet to hear about someone that was flatly rejected the change.
So the lesson is, keep asking.

Most people who request the change, only once, also get it. My point is there is no reason to write every week or even more than once. They do not continuously work on every cruise. They only go over the waitlist once or twice.

 

[Glenn3484]

I think we asked guest services about switching, but were told it couldn't happen or something. I don't really remember, but I know we didn't pursue it after that. Looks like we didn't ask the right people once on board. Good to know going forward.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

When booking, you make a choice. The number of seatings that DCL has available does not represent 100% of the seats in the restaurant - they specifically hold a number of them back during the time leading up to the cruise. Waitlisting is not generally going to result in a change as it requires someone booked during first dining to either cancel their cruise or request second dining, freeing up those seats.

If you want early dining, and you didn't get it when booking, your best chances of being able to switch to it are by getting yourself to the port as early as possible (choose the earliest PAT that you can when you check in, and do your check in as early as is actually possible). This will get you the best chances of boarding the ship on the early side and you can then get in line at the area where dining changes are being taken. Ask them there, on the ship, if you can change. If there is availability still, they will swap you. We have done this for our last two cruises as both were booked closer to sailing.

The smaller your party size, the better the chances of being able to switch, too. Although things like "Private Table" options may not be available.

My experience has been different. I've been moved from second to first seating off the waitlist ahead of my cruise. One time it was about 5 months before and another time it was about a month before. So I'd say your best possible chance is getting on the waitlist as soon as you book and try onboard only as a last resort in case the waitlist doesn't come through.

 

[Marc D]

I think we asked guest services about switching, but were told it couldn't happen or something. I don't really remember, but I know we didn't pursue it after that. Looks like we didn't ask the right people once on board. Good to know going forward.

There is a specific location for those requests. On Dream/Fanstasy, it is in front of Enchanted Garden (deck 2). On Magic/Wonder, it is in a lounge. The details are noted in the Navigator distributed at the terminal. They open at 12:30PM. There is a line for Palo/Remy and a line to check table/seating assignments.