Best time for Dining when you have kids?

[brenderlou]

There are also nights where the kids will have the option of eating with the kids club kids. Dropping them off at camp prior to dinner.

Dinners can get long and boring (our 11 yr old thinks so) and she jumps at the chance to eat with the other kids. She's happy, we have a nice dinner. It's a win-win!

[spazzyjanet]

We went ahead and made all of our dining reservations (specialty and my time) for all 6. If the kids decide to eat with the kids club and we show up to our reservations with a party of 3 is it a big deal? If we prepaid an adult rate do we get a credit back if they don't eat there?

[m*u*g*]

You also don't have to eat at the dining room every meal.

 

Early dinner, late snacks are always available.

 

We would personally choose to eat together regardless of time (usually early). There's plenty to do on board without feeling left out.

[Jenjer]

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough. My question is not about our circadian rhythm and how or when we normally feel comfortable eating. Though, why I would want to deconstruct that in a public forum escapes me.

My question is more related to the relative merits of how better our kids will be better catered for with the early sitting and the loss of benefit of using the Concierge Lounge. We have not sailed with RCCL before.

 

 

Ok just WOW. That was a pretty rude post.

 

Just a FYI you circadian rhythms will very much play into what time dinner you will enjoy yourself more. Doesn't matter how free the drinks or dinner is if your kids are hungry and tired no one will feel catered to.

 

Do you enjoy seeing the shows? for late dinner you will see it before dinner for early dinner you go to the show after dinner. That feel more like life to me.

 

In my experience dinning early allows more flexibility in the evening. You can eat with your children and then allow them to go to AO and then go enjoy the show without them.

 

The dinning staff works very hard to cater to children, If you have a early dinning seating you can request a fruit plate or snack and for the kids and it will be waiting for them. That is not available with My time dinning since they don't know when you are coming. Not sure if they do that with late since they are most likely clearing the table minutes before you come in.

 

For my DS after discovering he loved escargot they had it waiting for him 2 other nights.

 

I will discuss my families circadian rhythms. We like to go to bed early and get up early, so early dinner is best for us. The CL would never hold the same value as watching the sun rise at sea with my children. But that's my family. Yours may prefer watching the stars shine at night.

[sjb317]

We do My Time Dining when we take the grandchildren which gives us a little flexibility to see what is going to work. On our last family cruise, we found we usually ate dinner around 730 as the 16 month old took a long nap in the afternoon, probably one of the benefits of having him in an interior cabin!:D

 

I think you do need to take your children's daily routines (circadian rhythms:D) at home into consideration and tweak them to find what works for your family's cruise.

 

Sherri

[Cruise a holic]

we were on the Quantum and I was of the impression kids weren't allowed in the lounge in the evening. Perhaps no kids were around. Anybody have experience with kids being allowed in suite lounge in the evening?

[Clarea]

we were on the Quantum and I was of the impression kids weren't allowed in the lounge in the evening. Perhaps no kids were around. Anybody have experience with kids being allowed in suite lounge in the evening?

Kids are allowed in the Concierge Lounge in the evening.

[Havingfun2010]

We have been given the early sitting for Dinner as we were encouraged to do so as they 'do stuff with the the kids' on the early sitting. We have Concierge Lounge access and have realised that having the early sitting sort of restricts our use of the lounge and er...the complimentary drinks.

Our kids will be 9, 10 and 11 when we cruise. Has anyone an opinion?

Should we consider moving the dining to later?

 

Is this a question about what's good for the kid's or good for you? Sounds like you want more lounge time than anything else. Personally with kids, the early dinner is better and better timed and would most likely be more enjoyable for the kids and once dinner is over, you can take the kids to their destination, and have adult time after dinner.

[ckfred]

Adventure Ocean is free until 10pm. Then, they start charging by the hour, until kids are checked out. It's rather inexpensive, but a lot of parents do pick up their kids by 10, and the activities after 10 are less energetic.