Dining Times

[stryder]

I am cruising in March on the Navigator and am trying to decide which dinner time to request. I have heard if you take the 2nd sitting you miss alot of the shows?? I am traveling with an almost 17 year old who wants to see shows and do the teen hangout thing. Any advice would be welcome!

[KatinkaClementsmith]

I like the later dining time for several reasons. It feels more like an event. Dressing up too early in the evening just doesn' feel right to me. Second, on shore days I can usually make it back on time to eat in the dining room. 3rd you never feel rushed in the dining room.

For the most popular shows they hold two a night. You may have to rush to catch the show on some nights but its better than being rushed every night. Just let the waiter know when you sit down and they will make sure you are taken care of.

Worse case senario, you skip dessert and have to wait till the midnight buffet to eat it.

I am taking my 16 year old girl in January and chose the late seating especially because of her. Not sure how my son, who is usually in bed by 8:30 is going to handle it though.

[shockin]

We actually switched from late to early. We been told that the advantages are more for the early. I think it depends on how much of an event dinner is to you. We've decided that get the meal done and then get on with the evening events. Which March cruise are you going on Stryder?

[Dave]

Our thinking has also changed. We used to prefer late seating but we are not nightowls, and we found that while we weren't rushed to get ready for dinner, we were really just walking around in anticipation of dinner, eating it, and then heading back to the cabin and crashing.

Early works better for us. We are never late back to the ship anyway, and now we can get dinner out of the way, have the whole evening to do stuff, and by then have made some room in our gullets for a midnight snack. For us early is a much better plan.

[joarc]

We were on the Navigator just two weeks ago for the second time. You will love it! The dining time is a personal choice. You won’t miss any of shows with either seating, and we’ve never had a problem making it back to the ship after an excursion to have dinner early. We only need more time when it’s dress-up night, and on those days, the ship is not stopping at any of the ports. If you and your family like being up late; then try the late seating, but if not, I would go with the early. My husband and I are up by 6 a.m., so early dining is our only option. Have fun!!

[shockin]

And as my father in-law says"Eat early and then have room for a snack later"

[Ry64]

I prefer early so you can then eat some of the food at the midnight buffets and it makes the evening more enjoyable in my opinion