The dining pitfalls of booking a cruise last minute

We just booked our first cruise with Holland America. We are quite excited but at the same time, there is a certain amount of trepidation. While they do not have open style dining, they do have a limited number of openings on their early dining and they are all filled. We have four options. 

1. We can take late dining which is not acceptable for a medical reason. 

2. We can dine freestyle which means that we can reserve a spot by 4:30 on any given day for the early dining and we will get a table if one is available. Baring that, we can just come to the dining room and wait in line for a table like you would at a  restaurant. 

3. We can book a table for an extra charge at one of the specialty restaurant for each night. But dining is included in our cruise fare so we shouldn't have to pay extra for it. 

4. We can dine at the casual buffet-style restaurant. 

No, we are not going to go hungry but in my case, part of the whole cruising experience is getting to know your wait staff and more importantly their getting to know you. It has always meant getting stellar service since you have the same staff for every dinner. The one time we were not able to get it on Princess, was the worst cruise we ever took. 

What can you take out of this post, book early and reserve your preferred dining time it is that simple. This was a spur of the moment booking and we are paying the price for waiting last minute. Hopefully, it will turn out well, I certainly will be writing about it when we get back!!