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Some tips from a Mama who has done a lot of restaurant meals w toddler!

 

 

 

Go to an early dinner time.

 

 

 

Visit ahead, during the day and let them know you are bringing a baby/toddler. Ask them to put you in a corner booth/table or near an exit, OR at a table with a little more space around it. That way they know ahead and you can be closer to the exit if you need to take the little one for a walk between courses. (We would take turns walking our kiddo between courses)

 

 

 

When you order a main course, also order desert at the same time. That way if you get to the end of your meal and your little one needs to leave your exit will be quicker and you can take the desert back to your room to enjoy later.

 

 

 

Bring toys. If you can bring a new one (or put a favorite toy away now and "rediscover" it that night at dinner).

 

 

 

Lastly. Our DD hated seats. She was happy to behave but only on the floor. As we had visited in advance and we were able to request a spot with some extra room, she had space to sit on the floor beside us and play. Maybe you are lucky and your kiddo will sit in a chair, but if not, go with the flow.

 

 

 

Have fun!

Great advice thanks!

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Excellent. Thanks for taking the time to offer this advice. Much appreciated

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We have taken our son to several NCL specialty restaurants at age 10 months and 27 months. We did choose the earliest reservation times, mostly because he was hungry by then and we wanted him in bed at a reasonable time :) If he got fussy, one of us took him out immediately, but that didn't happen often and he was always great as soon as there was food available!

 

You don't need a package for the 1 year old -- either feed from kid's menu or give a small amount from your plate. But I would reserve for 3 so they give you a table with plenty of room for a high chair. It is no fun to be crowded at a too-small table with a toddler who is trying to grab your food :)

 

If you call the dining reservations number they can make the reservation over the phone without charging you for the child. Or you can just pay and get it refunded onboard.

Thanks! Did they have high chairs at all the restaurants on board? Wondering if we should bring a portable chair that sits on top of a regular chair.

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I was also planning on booking the earliest time possible. I figure earlier seatings will likely see more families.

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And, on some lines, if you don't have a package, they will charge you for the child when you make a reservation, however the charge will be credited back to you, since a baby is free.

 

Unless there is a restriction about kids under a certain age, you are MORE than welcome to bring your family to any dining room! No worries!

That's why I was asking, it was charging me online when I went to book. Thanks for the help. I agree on the second point. Choose a less family friendly line if you are looking to distance yourself from kids.

Cheers

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Thanks 1025cruise!

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It was more of a how than an if question... which is why I asked in the family cruising board.

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Cruising with NCL. Looking to buy 3 restaurant dining packages for our cruise.

1) Do I need to book a package for the 1 yo.

2) When making reservations for a restaurant do I reserve 2 or 3 ppl?

Thanks

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Thanks for the suggestions. She loves animals so I'll be sure to head to at least one of the two! Have to do a bit more research on getting there though

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Hi all,

While DW and I have travelled to Europe several times and sailed twice on our own (Celeb and NCL - both caribbean), we will be travelling with our 11 Month old DD. She is an excellent traveller, but this will inevitably a very different type of trip.

We are travelling the Spirit out of Barcelona on Feb 23rd, 11 nights. Ports of Call are Casablanca, Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Funchal Tenerife, Granada (Malaga) & Alicante.

We are opting for a cruise so that we can relax (no meals, no packing/unpacking, etc.). Ports of Call are a bonus and we will most likely only get off to walk around, then return to ship to enjoy less busy amenities. However, we are looking for a few ports where we could do an activity which is baby friendly. I believe there is a zoo in the Canaries, any others?

Any tips specific to the Spirit?

PS I'm posting to the NCL board, since I am looking for cruisers with experience at ports in question and the NCL Spirit specifically.

Thanks!

We booked a sailing last night for end of February. I asked specifically about guppies as we will be travelling with an 11mo old. Agent told me that it was considered a success on Escape and she has heard internally that it will expand, but didn't have any firm details/timeline.

Thanks everyone! Lots of good info! I think we will forgo and just stick to finding a great deal in the Caribbean!

Cheers

Matt

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Hi all,

Will be a daddy soon and while we are disappointed to not have been able to cruise this winter, we are looking forward to the added flexibility that maternity leave will offer my wife in choosing dates and length of cruise for next year.

We have tried many cruise lines, but definitely prefer Celebrity. My questions are the following:

1) In the past, has Celebrity offered a "kids sail free" promotion? If so, has it been a yearly thing? And had anyone seen it coupled with a promotion where perks such as beverage package included?

2) Given our flexible schedule, we will be looking to book the best deal we can find and potentially consider a cruise across the pond. Has anyone done a Med cruise in November-December? While Celebrity doesn't seem to cruise the Mediterranean in January-February, we might consider a new line, but how has the weather been for those having cruised this time of year?

Thanks for the help!

Cheers

Matt

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I have just booked our first cruise for a group of 7. While its my first time cruising, I am definitely not new at travelling. I have tried booking with TA's (for my french polynesian honeymoon, it was nice since we had other things to worry about at the time) but like to do it myself when possible. In this case, it allowed to really take the time to get to know the itineraries and cruise ships I was interested in, look at available offers 5-6 favourite websites. I approached our TA to compare deals and found nothing better. When we finally booked, one of the websites promoted 150 extra OBC (on top of the 50 we were seeing accross all websites). So we contacted CCL, asked them to match the offer we found (they did) and booked directly through the cruise line. Given this first experience went so smooth, we will most likely do this again.