kids at late seating

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taymiss2

Guest
My brother and I are taking our families and our parents on a cruise in January. (inspiration). My father, who has never cruised before, had someone tell him that the one thing he has to be sure to do is get late seating for dinner. We requested early seating when we booked because of the four grand kids. (6,7,9,10). Not so much because of bedtimes etc, but thought the later seating was more for adults. My dad just won't let the subject go and asks me everytime we talk if I switched it yet. I really don't care one way or the other and am willing to switch to keep the peace. Questions?

Are kids frowned upon at late seating? Will we miss the family show/ kids talent show etc if we eat later etc?

Thanks for your opinion
 
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GayleR

Guest
We have 3 kids (10, 10, & 12). On our first cruise as a family in April we had early seating for dinner. We all hated it! It's too difficult to get everyone ready for dinner. We have another family cruise booked for next Spring break (March 04) and we requested late seating. If you go into port, you are limited by time if you are going to eat dinner on the ship. Even on sea days, we felt rushed.

As long as your kids are well behaved, late seating should not be a problem. Another suggestion is to request a table for your group. Most ships will accomodate you.

Hope this helps.
 
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CSTEEVER

Guest
we took our 16 month old on our first cruise and we had late seating, loved it. What make a difference with children is where are you coming from, is there a time difference. With us on the cruise we were 4 hours ahead of home and late dining was perfect, she was wide awake and enjoyed herself and it didn't really mess up her schedule. I noticed plenty of kids at the late seating so I would not worry about that. We debated about early seating with our nect cruise in January but decided to do late again and we are bringing our daughter again, now four. I agree with the above post that I do not want to rush to get ready for dinner after getting back on the ship from port, it is nice to relax and be available to see us pulling away from port instead of getting ready for dinner. Thank you. Cynthia
 
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duganstravels

Guest
You can now have your kids go to Camp Carnival while you are eating. It used to be that you had to pick up your kids for dinner but you don't anymore.

There will be two shows. One for the early diners and one for the late diners. You can also go to the buffet instead and catch whatever show works for you. Don't feel restricted on your dining time. You can always request at guest services to be changed if it does seem to be a problem.

Kids are never frowned upon at Carnival. They are the most kid friendly hotel line (Disney is also) so don't worry at all about bringing your kids. Your dining staff will take care of the kids and you will never be made to feel like they shouldn't be there.

One thing that some parents do is take the kids to the buffet to get dinner and then take them to the camp.. then go eat dinner at the dining room without them.

Don't worry.. you will have a great time and the kiddos will too! That ship is beautiful. My clients always come back excited to book a new cruise!
 
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bOB

Guest
Well mannered kids are never frowned upon, change and enjoy if that's what
will calm dad down.
 
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marvholly

Guest
Choice between seatings is as much dependent on the nature of the kids and parents sense of responsibility as anything else. Cruised w/ kids when they were 10/15 back in 1989 & 1990 when kids were more unusual on a cruise. We always took late seating. We are from the Chicago area and eat dinner at home latish-like 7-7:30. Our cruises were E/W carribean. Therefore, for my kids an 8-8:30 seating was no problem. We preferred being able to come back from port or lay by the pool as late as possible and not have to rush to dress (and those were the days of "dressing" EVERY nite). If they were hungry there was always food available for a 4-5-6:00 snack, especially on Carnival with the 24 hour pizzia and soft serve ice cream outside the buffet area. However, the disadvantage of late is you are NOT ready for more food at the midnite buffet/deck party. One other item to consider, will your kids be able to sit thru a 2 hour dinner without major fussing? Many parents choose early because they eat early and the kids get very tired and fussy by 10:00 pm. An afternoon nap can do wonders, I know. I need one too. This is also an advantage for late seating.
 
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taymiss2

Guest
i just called and was able to switch it to late seating. I would rather not feel rushed after a day at the beach etc. Yeah, am glad there was seating available.
 
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emmy_is_yummy

Guest
You will have a great time on the Inspiration! It is a beautiful ship, and the ship I took my first Cruise on. HAVE FUN!!
 
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