On our first two cruises we had early seating which is close to our normal dinner time. On this past cruise we got stuck with second seating. We have three children (6 year-old twins and a 10 year-old) and we had some concerns. 8:15 just seemed crazy late to eat dinner. I’ve seen others here with similar concerns, so figured I’d share the good and bad of getting Second Seating, with children.
The good:
- The day on the ship felt longer and less rushed
- We got to see most of the shows and our kids actually stayed awake for them (in the past they either fell asleep or were too sleepy to want to go to the late shows to begin with)
- The pools and Aquaduck are nearly empty during First Seating dinner time. The Aquaduck frequently had no line during this time and we could ride as many times as we wanted
The bad:
- The first day was rough. The first day on the ship is a long day (get up early, go from Orlando to the port, board, etc.). By 8:15 our kids were wiped and cranky, and one fell asleep at the table (the head waiter kindly offered to push two chairs together – I am sure they are used to having kids fall asleep there).
- We basically ate 4 meals a day because we were still hungry at our normal dinner time and ate by the pool then
- My wife and kids often only picked at their meals because they were full from having eaten earlier (I did not have this issue as much myself… though that seems like a different problem)
- Overall dinner was less enjoyable. It was just off for us to finish dinner after 9 PM.
Overall: The negatives were what I expected, but there were also more advantages than I expected. Not sure if we will go back to First Seating on our next cruise or stick with Second (I booked us a First Seating since it fills up quickly, but possible we may switch over to Second), but I am more open to doing Second Seating again than I would have thought before trying it.
The good:
- The day on the ship felt longer and less rushed
- We got to see most of the shows and our kids actually stayed awake for them (in the past they either fell asleep or were too sleepy to want to go to the late shows to begin with)
- The pools and Aquaduck are nearly empty during First Seating dinner time. The Aquaduck frequently had no line during this time and we could ride as many times as we wanted
The bad:
- The first day was rough. The first day on the ship is a long day (get up early, go from Orlando to the port, board, etc.). By 8:15 our kids were wiped and cranky, and one fell asleep at the table (the head waiter kindly offered to push two chairs together – I am sure they are used to having kids fall asleep there).
- We basically ate 4 meals a day because we were still hungry at our normal dinner time and ate by the pool then
- My wife and kids often only picked at their meals because they were full from having eaten earlier (I did not have this issue as much myself… though that seems like a different problem)
- Overall dinner was less enjoyable. It was just off for us to finish dinner after 9 PM.
Overall: The negatives were what I expected, but there were also more advantages than I expected. Not sure if we will go back to First Seating on our next cruise or stick with Second (I booked us a First Seating since it fills up quickly, but possible we may switch over to Second), but I am more open to doing Second Seating again than I would have thought before trying it.