Dinner Seating and Kids

[smg669]

We typically request early seating, and we have again this time. However, we've never cruised with our kids before (they're 3 and 6, both girls). Is this the "wrong" seating if you have kids? Anyone have any recommendations on this? I was under the (false) impression that Camp Carnival offered supervised group dining for the kids, but that appears to only happen one night (the last formal night). I'm a little unsure of how our 3 year old will handle the dining room experience and we don't want to miss out on it ourselves for the whole cruise. I know Camp Carnival closes from 6 to 7, but is open from 7 until 10. If we had late seating I guess we could feed the kids ourselves at the buffet (or wherever) and then drop them off at camp while we hit the dining room. We also plan on doing one night at Scarlett's. Any thoughts?

 

S

[serene56]

What ship are you sailing? I am seeing camp is opened on both formal nights for kids. and on other nights it opens at 7- 8pm

[Rowan555]

Camp Carnival offers dinner at 5:45 or 6 PM each night except for the first and last nights. We just got back from the Sensation with our 3 and 5 year old kids, and we had the 5:45 seating. They went to the Camp Carnival dinner once, but the rest of the time they ate in the dining room with us. They really enjoyed having a nice dinner with us, even when all they ate was pizza or nuggets - and it was not a problem at all. Camp Carnival was opening up just as we finished our meal, so we would take them to Camp Carnival right after dinner, then we had 3 hours to ourselves.

 

If your kids can handle going out to eat while at home, they should have no problem with the dining room.

[smg669]

What ship are you sailing? I am seeing camp is opened on both formal nights for kids. and on other nights it opens at 7- 8pm

 

I'm sailing on Valor (Western) and I seem to recall someone posting a Camp Carnival Capers that indicated that they only had that one dinner (the "gala" dinner).

 

S

[smg669]

Camp Carnival offers dinner at 5:45 or 6 PM each night except for the first and last nights. We just got back from the Sensation with our 3 and 5 year old kids, and we had the 5:45 seating. They went to the Camp Carnival dinner once, but the rest of the time they ate in the dining room with us. They really enjoyed having a nice dinner with us, even when all they ate was pizza or nuggets - and it was not a problem at all. Camp Carnival was opening up just as we finished our meal, so we would take them to Camp Carnival right after dinner, then we had 3 hours to ourselves.

 

If your kids can handle going out to eat while at home, they should have no problem with the dining room.

 

That's good to know. I hope it's the same on Valor. My youngest is pretty well behaved, and we do dine out with her a bit, but nothing as structured as a multi-course dinner in a cruise ship dining room. She may get restless.

 

That's not to say that they would even enjoy eating at Camp Carnival, but if they like it and and we can have dinner alone? Sounds good to me.

[paulam]

I know this is just my opinion and everyone parents differently, but for

the life of me I can't see the point in bringing your kids on a cruise and

then having them eat dinner by themselves with Camp Carnival while the

parents dine with each other. My daughter has been on 4 cruises with

us, starting when she was 5 years old. We would always bring her to dinner

with us and she would sit there and eat, just as happy as can be to be

catered to by the many waiters around serving her every need. We've

always done early seating, the waiters would be sure to have her food

brought out just as soon as it was ready. Once she was finished I would

then run her up to camp and return to finish my own dinner. For our

upcoming cruise in March we have opted for late seating since we hate

to rush back from port, or be pulled away from the pool to get dressed for

dinner. I'm leary about her missing out on too many camp activities, but it

is she who reassured me "if there's something I want to do at camp I'll either

eat dinner at the buffet or leave the dining room when it's time, mom, don't worry about it". Spoken by a true 10 year old cruise veteran!

[Rowan555]

I wouldn't worry too much about the kids getting bored - we were in and out of the dining room in under an hour, and each night they bring the kids a special menu with things to color, dot-to-dots, etc, which kept my kids amused for a little while. Once the bread was served, they were too busy eating the yummy rolls to be bored :)

[cali-croozer]

Sometimes there can be a wait between the main dish and dessert. I've seen some parents of young children post that they would bring their kids to Camp Carnival during the lull and then sit down to a leisurely dessert and coffee. If Camp Carnival is open, and your kids start to get bored, this might be an option for you.

[Rowan555]

Definitely. On the Conquest we had 6:15 seating, and we never stayed for dessert, so that we could get the kids up to Camp Carnival at 7. I wish I had thought of ordering dessert, then coming back to eat it without the kids!!! Now that's a great plan!

[smg669]

I know this is just my opinion and everyone parents differently, but for

the life of me I can't see the point in bringing your kids on a cruise and

then having them eat dinner by themselves with Camp Carnival while the

parents dine with each other. My daughter has been on 4 cruises with

us, starting when she was 5 years old. We would always bring her to dinner

with us and she would sit there and eat, just as happy as can be to be

catered to by the many waiters around serving her every need. We've

always done early seating, the waiters would be sure to have her food

brought out just as soon as it was ready. Once she was finished I would

then run her up to camp and return to finish my own dinner.

 

To be fair, your response was a bit hyperbolic, wasn't it? You can't see the point in bringing them? How about taking them to the beach on port days, going on excursions, just hanging out, taking our 6 year old to see the shows, and, yes, the fun they will have at Camp Carnival. Dinner is just dinner - and if they're miserable in the dining room and there is a place to eat that is more fun (for both of us) then why not take advantage? As I understand it, they wouldn't be eating dinner "by themselves" - they'd be eating with all the other kids (and the counselors).

 

I have no doubt that my 6 year old would have no problem sitting through dinner in the dining room. My query mentioned my concern about my 3 year old (actually, her 3rd birthday will be on board). You started cruising with your daughter when she was 5. Those two years are a big difference.

 

S

[Kpstill]

The kid menu is "cute", but our kids enjoyed the steak and lobster almost as much as we did.

[Momto5boys]

As far as dining with your kids go...to each his/her own! Sometimes parents enjoy dining together as a family and some couples enjoy a night to themselves! That's the beauty of Camp Carnival...you can utilize it as much or as little as you want!

 

I'll admit we have an ulterior motive in dining with our kids (in addition to the fact that our kids enjoy the experience). Dining together means we can sample up to seven different appetizers, dinners, and desserts! :D

[Rowan555]

My daughter was 2 for her first two cruises - and I admit, she had a difficult time getting through dinner. My son had just turned 4, and he did okay, but was a bit squirmy. I didn't even attempt the Camp Carnival dinners on those two cruises, though, because I knew how picky they were with eating, and I hated to hand them over to the Camp Carnival staff for fear they might be too "high maintenance." I really thought they would take advantage of all three Camp Carnival dinners on the Sensation a week or so ago, but they for some reason prefered to eat with us.

 

I certainly think people can have plenty enough family time on a cruise without worrying over where the kids eat dinner. It's just not THAT big a deal. Let them eat where they (and you) will be happier - or try the dining room a few times, and let them do dinner with the camp a few times. Either way, everyone will have a ball.

[rhecker]

we went on conquest in december. They offered dinner with Camp Carnival every night except the first and the last. My son went every night . He couldn't wait to go and did not want to eat in the dining room with us. Ifeel that it is his cruise also and he wanted to eat with new friends he made instead of being the only kid at a table with 9 adults. We did plenty of things together. (Bingo, horse racing(he was a jockey), swimming ,more bingo, shows, and all three days in port.) He was 10 and could sign himself in and out. Every morning he would compare the two schedules and pick out when he wanted to be with us and when he wanted to go to camp carnival.

[Intrudr]

we were on Miracle in September. There was a dining option for the children to eat with the camp that started simultaneously with the first sitting. Sometimes the children wanted to eat at Camp, sometimes with us - depended on the menu and attire.

 

You will have enough options that support your family's needs. Plus, if you decide to eat at the Supper Club (The Point?) the children can not attend - so you can feed them prior yourself or let the Camp feed them. Caution - the supper club dinner will last about 2-3 hours...

[odis]

We have taken our daugther since she was 6 on several cruises and always had late seating. We found that better because it gave us time to do everything we wanted during the day, get her to take a nap from 5 to 7, and then be rested and in a pleasant mood to enjoy dinner at 8. Would not do it any other way.

 

It also helps to have servers who pay special attention to them. While they all give good service, some go above and beyond for kids and it makes a difference to them. She still talks about some of them.

[Rowan555]

I think my kids would do better with some downtime from 5 to 7, BUT they wouldn't miss the 7 PM to 10 PM session of Camp Carnival for the world! That seems to be their favorite part of the day, and I don't think they missed a minute of it on any cruise. Because of that, we try to do the 5:45 dinner so that they can eat and get to Camp Carnival when it opens.

[Intrudr]

Odis - Doesn't Brody say "You're gonna need a bigger boat."?

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/quotes

[I&MsMom]

We were on the Glory in January with my 25 month old and 5 year old (1st cruise). I requested a booth, and it was a life-saver. It was on the second floor overlooking the first floor. Kept my kids very entertained watching the action below. (I just had to be very vigilant nothing went over the side!) Also, my daughter wasn't napping, and on two occasions, she ended up dozing off next to me on the bench. The booth also let them move around a little without having to be glued to a chair - I'm always very worried they are going to get in the way of someone carrying a heavy tray or hot drinks.

 

We had the 5:45 seating, and it was very rushed getting everyone dressed and presentable. But I also think (at least for my kids) that that is the only viable option.

 

After the first night there was always a glass of milk on the table for each of them (although I transferred the 2 year olds to a sippy cup). Also, the waiter would bring their entree with our appetizer. By the time our entree arrived, they would have moved on to dessrt. Sometimes rushed our dessert because they were getting antsy. Love the idea of taking them to camp and returning for a leisurely finish to the meal. (One of the main lessons we learned was that we should have made more use of the camp as the kids loved it so much!)

 

Also our assistant waiter was amazing with the kids. On several nights, she took the 2 year old in her arms and danced with her, once even taking her away for several minutes - I later learned they went to see the "bird lady". My daughter absolutely loved her!

 

Happy cruising, and enjoy those meals!

[Rowan555]

I have to second the advice to get a booth for 4 - this was a lifesaver for us on the Conquest and the Sensation, and next time around I will check as soon as we board to make sure we have a booth, and if we don't I will ask for one.

[Mrsdeedee]

I agree it's what ever you feel comfortable with. I had early seating on my last cruise when it was just the hubby and I. I wanted to switch to late seating this cruise but since I am taking my trolls I mean children(smile) I decided to stick with the early seating since that's when the camp is closed. I hear it closes from 5-7 each night. I figure I can have dinner with my childen who will by 9 and 5 and then drop them back off if we decide to see shows or hang out at the club. I look foward to taking them along. I think it will be a nice experience and I plan on letting my 9 year old order off the adult menu. I don't see why not when i'm almost paying as much for him as it is for me. I suggest taking at est drive the first night since Camp Carnival is closed any way and then you'll know how to proceed going foward if you should let her eat at Camp Carnival or with you. Since the camp is closed duing early seating maybe go ahead and pick late seating therefore you know you always have the Camp as a back up.

[workinmomof3]

I have 3 kids, 11, 8 and 3. We pick the first late seating because we usually all take a quick nap in the late afternoon, then I get the younger 2 ready and take them to eat dinner with the C.C. staff while we get ready and hit the sushi bar (DH and older DD and I became sushi freaks on the last cruise!)

 

Our dinners ended up taking 1.5 hours on average and the younger 2 just act up so much and frankly enjoy being with other kids at the CC dinner.

 

The older DD did eat with CC staff once I think, because of some activity she wanted to do. The younger 2 did eat at the dining room with us also once or twice.

 

I agree it's up to each family to decide, that's why I like the freedom to choose on Carnival. We did our first cruise with an early dinner, and it was stressful getting everyone ready at once and rushing to dinner, then having the kids acting up after eating and wanting to leave. Our friends suggested the way we do it now and it works great!

[mikeymars]

I we can take a six month old infant into the dining room with us on Celebrity (which we did, along with his three year old sister), no one here should worry at all about bringing four or five year olds into to dinner seatings!!!

[smg669]

I we can take a six month old infant into the dining room with us on Celebrity (which we did, along with his three year old sister), no one here should worry at all about bringing four or five year olds into to dinner seatings!!!

 

I agree with being able to take a six month old. They tend to be more manageable (unless they get cranky and start wailing). A 2-3 year old is a different animal. They're old enough to be mobile and vocalize and wander, but they're not old enough to control themselves at all times.

 

I appreciate all of the input I've gotten in this thread. I like the idea of a 4-seater booth. You can block the munchkins in and they have some room to move. Is that something that can be requested by my TA or is it more of a see the maitre'd once on board kind of thing?

 

I also like the idea of one of us dropping the kids off at Camp mid-meal (at 7:00). They always finish before us anyhow.

 

I'm, still confused as to whether dinner at Camp Carnival is a nightly thing and if it happens concurrently with the early seatings in the dining room. It seems there are conflicting reports on this.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

S

[cdm]

We have taken our children (now 12 & 16) to a late dinner on all our winter vacation's (however, we have never cruised before). When they were little I used to bring a few crayons and a small activity book - you just have to make sure it's a new one.

 

No one seemed to mind...