How to change your dining time on a Disney cruise, and which seating to ask for

What are the dining times on a Disney cruise?

Two, on every ship: main seating at 5:45 PM and second seating at 8:15 PM, according to Disney Cruise Line's FAQ, which adds that the times can vary by up to 15 minutes. Diservations reports 6:00 and 8:30 PM on European sailings, which fits within that window.

Your seating holds for the whole cruise. Rotational dining moves you between the ship's three main restaurants, and your servers move with you. On sailings longer than three nights you visit at least one restaurant twice.

Your restaurant schedule and table number appear in the Navigator app when you board.

How do you change your dining time before a Disney cruise?

In My Reservations. Disney's instructions: open the Dining section, select Change Seating, and pick the other time. If it is full, choose Join the Waitlist Now, and Disney emails you if the change goes through.

A travel agent can do the same on your behalf.

Check this early. Disney says the 8:15 PM seating is assigned automatically to online bookings, so anyone who wants 5:45 has to ask. Diservations and the Disney Cruise Line Community both describe the main seating as the one that fills first, because it suits families with young children.

The Community's travel agent adds that main seats tend to open up closer to the sail date, and that Disney works down the waitlist automatically.

Can you change your dining time on board?

Yes, if there is space. Disney says to request it through the Navigator app or at Guest Services once you are on board, and a planDisney panellist gives the same route when the online change fails.

Go on embarkation day, before the first dinner. Diservations describes the process on the Disney Wish: Guest Services in the terminal gave a time and place, a lounge on board at 1 PM, and the main seating was full by the time the writer reached the front of the queue. Added to the waitlist, the family had the earlier seating by 3 PM.

Their advice is to ask Guest Services in the terminal where and when dining changes are handled on your ship, and to be early.

Which dining seating should you choose on a Disney cruise?

Main seating, 5:45 PM, for young children and early risers; Diservations calls it the one parents of small children want, which is why it fills. Second seating, 8:15 PM, for families who eat late at home, for long port days, and for anyone travelling from the west coast to a Florida port, as the Disney Cruise Line Community suggests.

You do not miss the show either way. Disney says every seating leaves time for the early or late performance of that night's stage show. In practice, main seating watches after dinner and second seating before it, as the Disney Cruise Line Community describes.

Who do you sit with at dinner on a Disney cruise?

Everyone in your stateroom sits at the same table, which is Disney's policy. You can name other guests on the same sailing to sit with when you book. Otherwise Disney fills tables, and says it matches groups: adults without children with other adults, and families with families.

The dress code is cruise casual most nights: khakis or nice jeans with a collared shirt, dresses or stylish tops, and even shorts or T-shirts are allowed, though swimwear and tank tops are not. Longer sailings add an optional formal and semi-formal night, and every cruise has a themed night, usually Pirate Night.