Anytime dining private table

HAL newbie here. I'm on the Zaandam for 14 days with my elderly mom and my son. We have anytime dining and I'm a little stressed about trying to manage my 5 year old at a table with folks who are interested in adult conversation and not poop jokes. Any chance we can request a private table for 3 so my son doesn't bother anyone? How does that all work? We've sailed NCL and Carnival with him in the past and have never had trouble getting a private table. Hoping for the same on HAL (and our fellow cruisers are probably hoping for that too!).

Any other dining tips for those who have traveled with young children most welcome!

Thanks!

Yes you can request a table for 3 in the Open Seating area. They will set you at a table for 4.

You can make reservations for 3 days at a time -- even same table. Times for reservations are 5:15 - 6:15 and 7:30 - 9 PM.

Thank you, Krazy! How does one go about making a reservation? Thank you for humoring all my lame newbie questions!

Yes you can request a table for 3 in the Open Seating area. They will set you at a table for 4.

You can make reservations for 3 days at a time -- even same table. Times for reservations are 5:15 - 6:15 and 7:30 - 9 PM.

You can talk to the maitre 'd when you get on board. There is also a reservation line..I believe the number is 88. Or, if you have access to the Neptune Lounge, the concierge can arrange it for the entire cruise.

You can talk to the maitre 'd when you get on board. There is also a reservation line..I believe the number is 88. Or, if you have access to the Neptune Lounge, the concierge can arrange it for the entire cruise.

CruiserBruce: We are on a cruise next Spring and had to choose a guarantee cabin (only way available-tailend of a B2B2B cruise) and were assigned open dining also. We prefer main assigned dining. I know we can talk to the maitre 'd, but do you think this is something the Neptune Lounge can assist us with?

Penny

CruiserBruce: We are on a cruise next Spring and had to choose a guarantee cabin (only way available-tailend of a B2B2B cruise) and were assigned open dining also. We prefer main assigned dining. I know we can talk to the maitre 'd, but do you think this is something the Neptune Lounge can assist us with?

 

Penny

Yes, absolutely. If you have access to the Neptune Lounge, the extremely helpful concierges will happily fix it for you.

Yes, absolutely. If you have access to the Neptune Lounge, the extremely helpful concierges will happily fix it for you.

Great, thanks! I will ask when we go to introduce ourselves. By the way, that sure was a quick response by you...you were marked as offline when I wrote my question!

HAL newbie here. I'm on the Zaandam for 14 days with my elderly mom and my son. We have anytime dining and I'm a little stressed about trying to manage my 5 year old at a table with folks who are interested in adult conversation and not poop jokes. Any chance we can request a private table for 3 so my son doesn't bother anyone? How does that all work? We've sailed NCL and Carnival with him in the past and have never had trouble getting a private table. Hoping for the same on HAL (and our fellow cruisers are probably hoping for that too!).

 

 

 

Any other dining tips for those who have traveled with young children most welcome!

 

 

Thanks!

We traveled internationally with our son from the time he was two and a half. At dinner, we engaged him in conversation -- no coloring books, no video games, etc. He quickly learned how to conduct himself when out with us and was a pleasure to be with!

Hope you had a great cruise. Loved your prior reviews - did you (or H) write one for this cruise?

HAL newbie here. I'm on the Zaandam for 14 days with my elderly mom and my son. We have anytime dining and I'm a little stressed about trying to manage my 5 year old at a table with folks who are interested in adult conversation and not poop jokes. Any chance we can request a private table for 3 so my son doesn't bother anyone? How does that all work? We've sailed NCL and Carnival with him in the past and have never had trouble getting a private table. Hoping for the same on HAL (and our fellow cruisers are probably hoping for that too!).

 

 

Any other dining tips for those who have traveled with young children most welcome!

 

Thanks!

Here is the HAL KId's Menu so you can tell your 5-year old what is for dinner:

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/HAL-Kids-Menu.pdf

I agree that children should learn to behave in a restaurant/public setting. But..... 5 is very young to sit thru a main dining room dinner. A tablet with some favourite shows, or a game, can be a lifesaver. Get a set of headphones, and he won't disturb others. And you should not feel bad about using it. That way everyone can enjoy their dinner. Grandma of 3 little boys.

We usually select fixed dining, late seating. Months before the cruise we send an e-mail to the Ship's Coordinator for the specific ship we will be sailing in. We check a website HAL Facts dot com that has the table number layout for the MDR's for all HAL ships. We put together a list of at least 10 tables that we think we want. We send that table list to the Ship's coordinator 4 or 5 months out, and they will always confirm one of our selected tables for us. We print that confirmation and take it on the cruise, but our keycard is always pre-printed with one of our selected tables. Naturally, if you wait too long, you will be waitlisted.

Our son started cruising at around that age. He did fine when dinner wasn't too long (like in restaurants at home) but a 1.5 to 2 hour dinner was too much for him. We decided for all our sakes that we would take him to the Lido at around 6pm, he would eat, we would get a small snack. We would drop him off at the kid's club at 7pm and then have a before dinner drink and then dinner at 7:30 or so. Worked out well and we often were able to get a table for 2 at that time. Ds really seemed to like this arrangement to as he loved the kid's club. Just a thought in case your son really enjoys the kid's club and/or longer dinners prove difficult. :)

You don’t have to eat in the buffet, get your money’s worth at dinner in the dining room.

We take our little ones to nice dinner restaurants all the time. They do very well as long as they can watch a video or a movie via I phone. Sometimes they scroll photos or play online games.

Cruise ship Internet probably won’t support streaming video but you can have hand held devices, etch a sketch, crayons, connect the dot activities for them to do.

Choose open dining, place your order quickly and tell your waiter to serve at a quick pace. You can be in and out in 45 minutes. If your little one is restless, have dessert in the buffet.

Yes you can request a table for 3 in the Open Seating area. They will set you at a table for 4.

You can make reservations for 3 days at a time -- even same table. Times for reservations are 5:15 - 6:15 and 7:30 - 9 PM.

Does anyone know if the Open Dining/Seating reservation can be made BEFORE you get on board? eg. if you email/call shipboard services ahead of time, could they help arrange for it?

HAL newbie here. I'm on the Zaandam for 14 days with my elderly mom and my son. We have anytime dining and I'm a little stressed about trying to manage my 5 year old at a table with folks who are interested in adult conversation and not poop jokes. Any chance we can request a private table for 3 so my son doesn't bother anyone? How does that all work? We've sailed NCL and Carnival with him in the past and have never had trouble getting a private table. Hoping for the same on HAL (and our fellow cruisers are probably hoping for that too!).e

 

 

 

Any other dining tips for those who have traveled with young children most welcome!

 

 

Thanks!

If you prefer early dining and you agree to arrive at the dining room by 5:30 p.m. you should be able to arrange with the maitre’d to have the same table for four each evening. This way you will have the same table and the same servers each evening and you will not have to wait to be taken to your assigned table. You will just say “hello” to the maitr’d and go directly to your table. Your waitstaff will get to know your son and dining will be a special event each evening.

Talk to the maitre’d on the first evening of the cruise before the dining room gets busy. I would be there with my family at 5:15 to make my request. There should be no problem as I’m sure he/she will understand the reason for your request.

Does anyone know if the Open Dining/Seating reservation can be made BEFORE you get on board? eg. if you email/call shipboard services ahead of time, could they help arrange for it?

No, you can't. You have to wait until onboard.

You don’t need to talk to the MDR if you’re in a Neptune Suite. The concierge in the Neptune Lounge can take care of almost any request you have. We go as soon as we’ve dropped our bags in our room to arrange dining and tours. We provide a tip for their service...which has always been just phenomenal. They’ve helped me carry a tray to my room. They’ve broken down larger bills so we can tip in cash to others. They’ve assisted with Luggage Direct. And more. No need to deal with anyone else or stand in a line.

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Does anyone know if the Open Dining/Seating reservation can be made BEFORE you get on board? eg. if you email/call shipboard services ahead of time, could they help arrange for it?

I think that option is only limited to Royal Caribbean brands. I've never seen that option on any Carnival Corp brand.

If you want the same table, at the same time, with the same waiters, then you are describing fixed dining. You can reserve, ahead of the cruise, a table in early fixed dining (usually 5:30) and you will get everything you are asking for and you can reserve in advance. However, if 5:30 doesn't work for you, then you will have to deal with Open Seating, and negotiate with the Maitre'd for a fixed table withing the 5:15 to 6:30 window that you can make reservations in open seating.