Family Time Dining on RCCL?

[2910car]

Has anyone done family time dining on RCCL where they serve the children quickly and take them to the camp?

 

How well does this work? Do the adults have to eat quickly too?

 

What if one child wants to go to camp and another doesn't? Will the second child just have to sit there while the parents finish eating?

 

Do you have to arrange this in advance or can you chose to do it at the table in the dining room? We may want to do it for just a day or two of our cruise. Would that work?

 

Thanks for your help!

[gi_pam]

My experience is almost 3 years old, but we did it.

 

The Adventure Ocean staff pick up the kids outside the dining room at a certain time. You do have to get the waiter to put a rush on their food, and then you have to walk them just outside of the dining room to meet the AO staff. We missed the AO staff probably half of the nights, just couldn't get the kids through dinner fast enough. Then one of us walked the kids to AO and returned for our dinner.

 

Most nights it seemed our appetizers came at the same time as the kids' entrees. Then our entrees came after the kids were gone. If the kids want dessert, it sort of slows down the process. If you can order the kids' meals as soon as you sit down, when they take drink orders, it would probably worked. Our problem was sometimes the kids wanted stuff off the kids' menu, sometimes they wanted stuff off the regular menu. So we couldn't just sit down and say "chicken fingers, please."

 

It works, but you do need to be efficient at dinner.

[Geldhart]

For the family time dining, in order for the kids to make it to AO, do they have to order from the kids menu, or can they order off the regular menu.

 

My DD took a look at the sample kids menu she saw and basically went "ick" as she is NOT into fried anything - not even french fries. However, she is drooling over the types of food available on the regular menu. If the food is served quickly, she can eat as quickly as she needs to. Not a problem.

 

My DS is the opposite, but our biggest concern with him is that he gets so distracted by everything, he forgets to eat, then has a temper fit when we remind him to eat. He's the one looking most forward to AO but will likely not be able to go in the evenings. DD will be more pick and choose based on the daily schedule of events.

[B_Mc]

How well does this work?

 

It worked out beautifully for my cousin and her 3 year old. The wait staff had her app out and waiting for her, she ordered off the kid's menu and ate her main course while we had apps and then she left for camp without dessert allowing her mom and dad to have their main course/dessert with only her younger brother to juggle!

 

Do the adults have to eat quickly too?

Nope, we ate as usual.

 

What if one child wants to go to camp and another doesn't? Will the second child just have to sit there while the parents finish eating?

 

I guess so!

 

Do you have to arrange this in advance or can you chose to do it at the table in the dining room? We may want to do it for just a day or two of our cruise. Would that work?

 

I think you either book it or don't, but you don't have to use it everyday.

[gi_pam]

I didn't really answer the booking question. It sort of gives the impression you have to book it, but once we were on board and tried to make arrangements, it was just "meet the AO staff outside the dining room at x time". No booking or arrangements. You do have to be clear with the server. Ours didn't seem too clear on the concept of the AO staff picking the kids up. He was good about getting the meals quickly, but I don't think he was up on the reason why.

 

I think you have to stick with the kids' menu to be done fast enough to meet the staff. But like I said, we just took our kids themselves the days we missed the staff person, and got the waiter to hold our entrees for a few more minutes. No big deal.

 

But, one other thing - you have to be at the early fixed sitting, not in "My Time." The AO staff only picks up from that DR. At least in 09, on the Freedom.

[boulders]

My experience was in 2009 on the Radiance, the first week or so that they rolled it out. The first night, I mentioned to the waiter that we wanted to do "My Family Time" dining. He got very snotty and said we'd have to see the head waiter about a table change. Ooookaay. We changed tables.

 

The next waiter was clued in about what "My Family Time" dining was. In fact, we got great service from him, the head waiter and the assistant head waiter the rest of the cruise.

 

They had ds' dinner arrive a few minutes after being seated each night. Pick up time for AO seemed always to coincide with delivery of everyone else's entrees. Once, a waiter with a full tray almost backed up into me. He wasn't expecting anyone to be walking through the MDR! Since my entree got there at the same time I had to walk ds out, it was generally cold and my companions, my other two children, had generally finished their meals by the time I made it back.

 

I was supposed to sign up for the pickup each morning in AO, but that wasn't really made clear.

 

I didn't like the concept. I much preferred to run ds up to AO myself after finishing my dinner. It did not make for a relaxing dinner when I had to keep watching the clock and then get up before I'd had my entree. YMMV.