Which dining time do you recommend on RC Navigator of the Seas? We have 8:30.?

Question

I heard that by the time you finished eating at the 8:30 seating, it was almost 10:30.

Answer 1

I think it depends on what your plans are, do you want to see the shows or dance all night. Our family took a cruise, there were 14 of us. We took the 6:00 dining time because my sister had children with us ( 1 under the age of 6). That also allowed the rest of us plenty of time to see the shows after dinner.

If it were just me and my husband, we'd go for the 8:30 dining becuase we found that trying to get ready for the earlier dinner was hectic after being on excursion all day.

Answer 2

Yes, dinners in the dining room on cruise ships can easily take two hours.  The point is to enjoy the meal and your tablemates, not to fill your tummy!  You can always go to the casual eatery if you're in a hurry.

Later seatings give you more time to relax and get ready after returning to the ship on port days and to enjoy some of the facilities [the pools, e.g.] while half the ship is eating.  They will also tend to have fewer children and their disruptions.  Ships usually have shows for late dinner seatings [usually while the early dinner is going on].

Early seatings give you more time after dinner for the night life and to let your dinner settle before bedtime.

Which one is "best" depends on what you want.

Answer 3

Early Dinner advantages:

You have the rest of your evening free

You are eating at a more "normal" time

Late Dinner advantages:

No rushing to get off the island, shower, dress and get to dinner (sitting on the deck with a drink in your hand as you watch the ship sail away from an island at sunset is one of the best pleasures of a cruise - don't miss it)

You can eat dinner at your leisure without feeling like you are being rushed out for the next service

Keep in mind you have other dinner options as well, like Chops and Portofino as well as the Windjammer.  A good compromise is to take the early seating and make a late reservation at Chops or Portofino on the nights you don't want to have to rush to dinner (or vice versa if you have a night you want to eat early)

Answer 4

Since they feed you like 11 times a day, dinner seating isn't really that big a deal. You just want the seating that has interseting people around you.