Cruise Dining Times

[ucfjennifer]

Hi Ladies! 

 

I'm having a hard time deciding on which dining time to choose for our wedding cruise.  We are on a 4-day cruise on Carnival and we can do Early (6:15pm), Late (8:00pm) or Your Time (anytime between 5:45 and 9:30pm).  We usually choose Your Time since my fiancé is not a huge fan of eating in the Main Dining Room.  We generally only go once on Elegant night. 

 

With our friends and family being on this cruise with us, I think it would be nice if we had a set dining time to get the group together each night since we will be doing our own thing each day (except for the day we are getting married in Cozumel).  Then it comes down to choosing Early or Late.  With a wide range of ages, I don't know which one would work best for the majority. 

 

For any past brides, which did you use and how did it turn out?  For future brides, which did you choose? 

[CAKnight]

Hi UCFJennifer 

First of all, GO KNIGHTS! Woohoo! (sorry couldn't help myself...I'm a proud UCF alumna! What can I say? lol) 

 

 Which Carnival cruise are you taking? I would think the time that you leave each port could affect which option you pick. 

Do you have people coming from different states/time zones? Does your group consist of a decent proportion of children?

 

With a little more info, I think it would be easier to offer some constructive advice. 

[Mufin1785]

Originally Posted by ucfjennifer 

 

Hi Ladies! 

 

I'm having a hard time deciding on which dining time to choose for our wedding cruise.  We are on a 4-day cruise on Carnival and we can do Early (6:15pm), Late (8:00pm) or Your Time (anytime between 5:45 and 9:30pm).  We usually choose Your Time since my fiancé is not a huge fan of eating in the Main Dining Room.  We generally only go once on Elegant night. 

 

With our friends and family being on this cruise with us, I think it would be nice if we had a set dining time to get the group together each night since we will be doing our own thing each day (except for the day we are getting married in Cozumel).  Then it comes down to choosing Early or Late.  With a wide range of ages, I don't know which one would work best for the majority. 

 

For any past brides, which did you use and how did it turn out?  For future brides, which did you choose? 

I did not get married on a crusie, but we had a family reunion and told everyone to book my time dinning it worked out pretty good as if you pick a certain time you are assigned a table and usually with a couple you do not know. 

[ucfjennifer]

CAKnight - I just saw your post! my notifications definitely aren't working! Go UCF! We decided to book late dining and all of the bookings will be linked so they will seat us together at nearby tables. We are going to have the ceremony and cocktail/hors doeuvres reception while in Cozumel, then get everyone back to the ship in time for dinner. Or they can choose to skip dinner and continue the party, which we may do!

[CAKnight]

Such a small world! It is awesome to have a fellow DW UCF April Carnival cruise bride! LOL 

 

I'm thinking the second dinner service might work well. I think it would be the best balance since the guests are going to be from CA and FL. I can't imagine my family eating a heavy dinner at 2 PM because of the time difference! lol

Originally Posted by ucfjennifer 

CAKnight - I just saw your post! my notifications definitely aren't working! Go UCF!

We decided to book late dining and all of the bookings will be linked so they will seat us together at nearby tables. We are going to have the ceremony and cocktail/hors doeuvres reception while in Cozumel, then get everyone back to the ship in time for dinner. Or they can choose to skip dinner and continue the party, which we may do!

[Tinkerbell82]

We struggled with this too, but ended up picking late dining because we are in Cozumel from 11am-8pm and have a big group beach day planned.  I didn't want to have to end the day early so we could go back for dinner.  I know the older folks probably won't be too keen on having such a late dinner, so I told everyone we won't be upset if they choose the earlier dining.

[shanandcal]

We chose early seating. This will be my first time EVER with early seating. We will see how the early seating works. My grandma eats early so I chose early seating for her. There is nothing worse than a grumpy granny!
 

[traylynn]

I would suggest late, gives you time to get activities done