Early or Late Dinner Seating?
 

We are going on February 21st - need to know which seeting to have. We have a group of 9 couples and some want early and some late. When we booked the only seeting for dinner was early - so we took that and put our name on the waiting list for late - we now have the opportunity to have late seetubg - and even though this gives you more time to relax before dinner - I'm wondering if this is too late to eat and still do things after dinner. Or with early dinner - are you rushed to get back to the ship to get ready for dinner - I NEED HELP!

There are several things to consider: At what time do you eat dinner when you are at home? If you eat late at night, does it interfere with your getting a good night's sleep? Are you an early riser, or doe you want to party into the wee small hours of the morning? We usually do late sitting in the Caribbean so that we can be on deck for sunset -- the most gorgeous time of day, especially at sea. And in the wintertime, sunset will be at about 6:00pm. If that's not important to you, I can say that second sitting is usually more relaxed. But it's har do stay awake for the show! Hope I've helped. Good luck!

We always take the late seating, altho we usually eat early and go to bed early at home. Children are discouraged from the late seating, and it tends to be more relaxed and elegant. I highly recommend the late seating. It is filled up first because more people enjoy it.

Dot: <BR>We usually go for the early sittings, so we're not rushed in the a.m., when we wish to take the a.m. land tours. Too, we see the early shows, giving us time for ourselves, a stroll on deck, the casino, whatever. Then there's the midnight buffet, which is difficult to enjoy, if you have just finished dinner. The thing that bugs me, is the shortage of table for 2 seating! Why no getting to know each other, after a hectic year of work? Why, always the 6 or 8 people, at the round tables? <BR>Bob K.

My husband and I tend to prefer the early seating. We're used to eating at that time at home, get to see the early show if we want to. Then there's plenty of time to go to the casino, sit on the deck and talk, or (actually..) take a nap before the midnite buffet! <BR> <BR>We've enjoyed sitting at a table for 8...this gives you the opportunity to have others at your table, and you'll probably click with at least a few others at the table. <BR> <BR>Anyway....know you'll have a ball! We're going on a Celebrity cruise to the so. carib. in just 4 weeks... <BR>

My friend and I are going on the Celebrity 11-night ultimate cruise over New Year's and it's the first cruise for both of us. We've been talking about the dinner seating times too. We haven't gotten our packages yet from the cruise lines (and we don't know what to expect in them). What time are the dinner seatings? How do reserve seats for a particular seating? Would it be through our travel agent? How long do the dinners last? THANKS!!

Had I answered this question in June, I probably would have stated late seating. But after our sixth cruise in June and doing late seating at each one, going to bed on an overly full stomach every night, I suggested to my husband that we try early seating for a different change over our last cruise in October. And to our surprise, we rather enjoyed the early seating this time and probably would choose it again. <BR> <BR>There are good points and bad points <BR>to each one. Late seating gives you time to get back from shore excursions, relax, stroll the deck, take a nap, have a pre-dinner cocktail and even work out before going to dinner. You will have time to catch any special captain's galas because you'll have time to get ready. However, we usually found that by the late seating time (8:00 p.m.) we were ravenous. If you eat lunch about 12:00 or 1:00 p.m., unless you grab a bite mid-afternoon (which on a cruise is always a possibility), we found that we usually overate at dinner because of being overly hungry from waiting. And on days when you are at sea, waiting for late seating time to come around can find you bored--actually lurking for activities or counting the minutes til dinner time. Then, as I stated, we were usually going to bed on a full stomach and even if there was a midnight buffet or snack offered, we'd peruse by, but were always still too stuffed to partake. Too, you may want to adjust your other meal times (breakfast and lunch) to go along with your dinner time to avoid the hungrys. We usually didn't eat too much later in the afternoon because, after all, we "wanted" to be somewhat hungry for dinner--it's the main meal of the cruise. <BR> <BR>Now, the early seating advantage is you can eat your other meals at regular times and not be ravenous at supper time. You come out of the dining room by 8:00 p.m., can go to a movie or show and your food has time to digest before retiring. There is also time for strolling, a post-dinner drink, returning to your cabin to freshen up or view the paper for the next days activities, etc., "after" the first seating. Sure, a few times we were rushed getting to dinner when returning from shore, particularly when one of those nights was formal, but the dining room doors remain open 15-20 minutes past the specified time. And, on those nights when we were rushed, my husband didn't have trouble getting ready in time, I had a little more difficulty. But, on those nights, I didn't fuss. I showered, put on a nice outfit, maybe just put up my hair in a clip and made the best of it. Heck, we're on vacation!! <BR> <BR>So, you'll have to think about the pros and cons. It'd probably be best for those who are not nightowls to eat at the early seating. The partyers will want to be at second. We're a younger couple, but we've already decided for future cruises we'll probably stay at late seating just for the comfort.

Correction: We're staying at the "early" seating for comfort! <BR>

Well, we took a vote among the seven couples and the majority voted for late seating on the RCCL in February. I don't know how it's going to be. This is the group's first cruise. And they wanted to be relaxed and not rushed from the day's excursion when returning to the ship - two of the couples wanted early - because of the time they would be finished their meal and it would be late...the majority ruled and we will be doing late dinner - I hope that it works out for everyone. Thanks to all who replied to my first message...