Children in the Specialty Resturants

[Squire5000]

We just went through the latest iteration of the Princess Circle magazine.  There was an article regarding the speciality restaurants and the suggestion that they would be an ideal setting to teach children the benefits of a gourmet meal.  To encourage parents to consider this option, reduced prices for participating families is being offered.  
 

We look forward to the specialty restaurants not because the food is outstanding, which it is mediocre at best when compared to the specialty restaurants of times past.  We go for these restaurants to take a break from the hustle and bustle that occurs in the main dining room, the buffet, etc.  Introducing young children to the mix will surely impact the dining atmosphere that we seek.  As an aside, we have an 11 year old grandson.  He’s well behaved but he is too young for “fine dining”.

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[startedwithamouse]

21 minutes ago, Squire5000 said:

We just went through the latest iteration of the Princess Circle magazine.  There was an article regarding the speciality restaurants and the suggestion that they would be an ideal setting to teach children the benefits of a gourmet meal.  To encourage parents to consider this option, reduced prices for participating families is being offered.  
 

We look forward to the specialty restaurants not because the food is outstanding, which it is mediocre at best when compared to the specialty restaurants of times past.  We go for these restaurants to take a break from the hustle and bustle that occurs in the main dining room, the buffet, etc.  Introducing young children to the mix will surely impact the dining atmosphere that we seek.  As an aside, we have an 11 year old grandson.  He’s well behaved but he is too young for “fine dining”.

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've been taking our children to specialty dining since they were very young. They've never ordered from a kids menu on the ships.  Ever.  We receive better service and a more pleasant meal in specialty dining. We often dine on land at restaurants which do not offer kids junk food type fare, so they have very advanced palates. Nobu has been their favorite for years, followed by Patina, which was a victim of the pandemic, sadly. 

Edited July 1, 2022 by startedwithamouse

[JennAngel9]

My children have been eating at fine dining restaurants (on land but also on Princess, Regent, and Celebrity) since they were a few years old.  They are much better behaved than many of the older passengers we encounter in specialty restaurants.  When they were younger than 5, they would occasionally get antsy and one of us would remove them from the restaurant to go for a walk or to bed early, but that has not happened since they were school aged.  FWIW, the discount cover charge for children has been in place for many years across most of the lines we sail on, including Princess and Celebrity.

 

If I could count all the annoying individuals I've witnessed in dining rooms, less than 1% of them would be children (and more than 90% of them would be large groups of drunk people).  I know that there are irresponsible parents and bratty children that give everyone a bad name...many cruisers come and remark how delightful and well behaved our kids are.  I also would be annoyed if loud and unruly children were seated near us (whether in specialty dining or the MDR), but I don't think you should assume that children aren't capable of behaving just as well as the median adult.

[startedwithamouse]

1 minute ago, JennAngel9 said:

My children have been eating at fine dining restaurants (on land but also on Princess, Regent, and Celebrity) since they were a few years old.  They are much better behaved than many of the older passengers we encounter in specialty restaurants.  When they were younger than 5, they would occasionally get antsy and one of us would remove them from the restaurant to go for a walk or to bed early, but that has not happened since they were school aged.  FWIW, the discount cover charge for children has been in place for many years across most of the lines we sail on, including Princess and Celebrity.

 

If I could count all the annoying individuals I've witnessed in dining rooms, less than 1% of them would be children (and more than 90% of them would be large groups of drunk people).  I know that there are irresponsible parents and bratty children that give everyone a bad name...many cruisers come and remark how delightful and well behaved our kids are.  I also would be annoyed if loud and unruly children were seated near us (whether in specialty dining or the MDR), but I don't think you should assume that children aren't capable of behaving just as well as the median adult.

Amen!  Wholeheartedly agree!  Same with adults talking throughout a production show performance as if they were in front of a television. One of our sons commented afterwards sadly they wouldn't survive at a Broadway theater performance. 

[JimmyVWine]

47 minutes ago, Squire5000 said:

Any thoughts?

Plenty. We started taking our daughter to high end, Michelin starred restaurants since the time she could eat solid food. The result was a kid who never insisted on chicken nuggets or hot dogs. She was enjoying sweetbreads and foie gras by the age of 5 and now she is a world travelled gourmand who recently introduced me to her new favorite, haggis. Once when she was six the server asked if she wanted to see the children’s menu. I glanced at her and asked her if she wanted to see that and she looked at me and said: “Dad! Do you even know me?”  The secret? When she was young we always made reservations for dinner as close to 5:30 as possible. Often we were the only diners in the restaurant. In certain European cities we had to adjust to a slightly later time, but always booked the earliest available table. When she ordered a duck breast in Paris at age seven, the server seemed surprised and warned that it was freshly hunted and would be gamey. She said she liked it gamey. And when she ate it she laughed as she pulled a piece of buckshot out of her mouth!

 

If we were dining in a fine dining establishment at 5:30 and you were offended or annoyed, shame on you. If we were dining at a fine dining establishment at 7:30 and interfering with your quiet, romantic dinner, shame on me. But that never happened. Children should be welcomed warmly everywhere early in the evening before they get tired and cranky. Parents who push the limit and expect their kids to be alert, patient and cute at 9:00 are fooling themselves. 

Edited July 1, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[pris993]

Today young families eat out more than ever with their kids.  Kids learn early.  I have an 18 year old grandson, he has been eating out all his life, his mother does not cook. 

 

Even so I rarely see families with young kids on the Princess ships I cruise on in the Crown Grill.  Really depends on the cruise we go on.

 

Doing a Christmas and New Year holiday cruise this year for the first time, may see more on that cruise.  

[memoak]

I have never seen small children causing problems in specialty restaurants. They are more likely to be an issue on land at Child Friendly restaurants 

[arizonaperson]

Squire5000,

i don’t believe Princess has ever restricted children in the specialty restaurants onboard. Lots of “ stuff” in the current Captains Circle magazine that don’t mean squat. Example: the wonderful medallion. To quite a few passengers it is not great. The magazine says feel like a vip no matter what stateroom you have. Not when your drink that you order never makes it to you.

 I think Princess is trying to make it known  that they are  family friendly to compete obviously with the cruise lines that have a lot more activities for children .

 I think for anyone responding or reading if children are going to bother you on a cruise probably need to do an adult only cruise line which I don’t think there’s very many of them out there. 

 Agree like anything else yes children can be restless and cause a scene and yes their parents can also be oblivious to it. Of course yes adults can do the same thing so I don’t think there’s gonna be an overwhelming amount of people in a specialty dining with children, probably a few here and there .

 Few days ago I was with an acquaintance at the movie theater and they made comments all throughout the movie but I didn’t shush them but I felt like it ,they were sitting right next to me. And they’re old enough to know better- 80+  Years old.  So it just goes to show you, you  can’t have control of every situation. People are going to be people and do what they want .

[cr8tiv1]

I have seen children/young adults during suite breakfasts and first night/cc dining.  I have always stopped by their table to share my observations.  Parents are surprised that I had taken notice, but not surprised since they all knew how to behave in public.  

 

Maybe more passengers should share their compliments with others who are showing their children what is expected in the real world.  We need more parents like this.

[peachykiehn]

Totally agree with many posters that children introduced early to nice dining with certain expectations for behavior are often better behaved than some adults. We received many compliments on our children’s  behavior. Our children rarely ate off the “kids” menu and had refined palates at a young age. Now they are introducing their children to a variety of foods. Our youngest at four when given a kids menu asked why eggs Benedict (she could read) was not included. The waiter was very surprised. 

[Potstech]

How else are children ever going to learn how to behave if they do not go?  As someone else observed I have seen more adults misbehaving then children.  This is in any restaurant.  Bing them in.

[PhotoGal07]

29 minutes ago, JennAngel9 said:

My children have been eating at fine dining restaurants (on land but also on Princess, Regent, and Celebrity) since they were a few years old.  They are much better behaved than many of the older passengers we encounter in specialty restaurants.  When they were younger than 5, they would occasionally get antsy and one of us would remove them from the restaurant to go for a walk or to bed early, but that has not happened since they were school aged.  FWIW, the discount cover charge for children has been in place for many years across most of the lines we sail on, including Princess and Celebrity.

 

If I could count all the annoying individuals I've witnessed in dining rooms, less than 1% of them would be children (and more than 90% of them would be large groups of drunk people).  I know that there are irresponsible parents and bratty children that give everyone a bad name...many cruisers come and remark how delightful and well behaved our kids are.  I also would be annoyed if loud and unruly children were seated near us (whether in specialty dining or the MDR), but I don't think you should assume that children aren't capable of behaving just as well as the median adult.

This is what we've done as well.  At this point our children are 9 and 11 and know the rules.  We started when they were little with places like McDonald's, then upgraded the usual chain restaurants, and have moved up from there.  They know to use "restaurant manners", that napkins go in laps, quiet voices are required, and how to order politely from and thank the waitstaff.  When they were little, sometimes they would start to fuss, and one of us would occasionally have to excuse ourselves early and escort them back to the room while the other had things boxed up, but that was a long time ago.  They know that they will not be allowed in the specialty dining restaurants if they are ill-behaved.

One of the things we DO still do with them is dine early so that we are in the specialty dining room right when it opens.  We do this for a few reasons:  First off, our children are better behaved earlier in the evening.  I know that bringing them to a restaurant for a meal starting at at 7:30pm, will likely mean they are going to get tired earlier into dinner service and tired kiddos are not nearly as well behaved. Second, dinner service is usually a bit faster right when the kitchen opens, which means we are able to get in and out before they get impatient.  Third, I assume that diners who are more likely to be put out by seeing children will eat later in the evening, so I do my best to make sure that we are eating at a time when one would naturally expect to see kids.  Kind of like taking them to a matinee instead of an evening show.  

We literally just got back from our cruise, and we found that if they were starting to get a little antsy towards the end of the meal we would either send them to the buffet or the soft serve ice cream for dessert, or just let them go back to the room while we finished our entree and ordered dessert.  It worked great, gave them them a small amount of independence, and allowed my husband and I to linger over our meals or a glass of wine.  

We will of course always respect restaurants with age minimums (DCL has one of those), but as long as we are not breaking rules and the kids are able to comport themselves well we'll continue to dine in specialty restaurants.  

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, JennAngel9 said:

My children have been eating at fine dining restaurants (on land but also on Princess, Regent, and Celebrity) since they were a few years old.  They are much better behaved than many of the older passengers we encounter in specialty restaurants.  When they were younger than 5, they would occasionally get antsy and one of us would remove them from the restaurant to go for a walk or to bed early, but that has not happened since they were school aged.  FWIW, the discount cover charge for children has been in place for many years across most of the lines we sail on, including Princess and Celebrity.

 

If I could count all the annoying individuals I've witnessed in dining rooms, less than 1% of them would be children (and more than 90% of them would be large groups of drunk people).  I know that there are irresponsible parents and bratty children that give everyone a bad name...many cruisers come and remark how delightful and well behaved our kids are.  I also would be annoyed if loud and unruly children were seated near us (whether in specialty dining or the MDR), but I don't think you should assume that children aren't capable of behaving just as well as the median adult.

THIS!  I have no issues with kids in the SD or MDR if they are well-mannered.  It takes about 30 seconds to tell.  

 

ETA:  You too, @PhotoGal07.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Steelers36

[DCThunder]

From what I've seen, the 5:30 pm dinner arrival time in the MDRs is PRIME TIME for a certain age  demographic on the other end of the spectrum from children as well.  😄

[JimmyVWine]

54 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

From what I've seen, the 5:30 pm dinner arrival time in the MDRs is PRIME TIME for a certain age  demographic on the other end of the spectrum from children as well.  😄

True.  But some on both ends of the spectrum have similar issues with solid food! It's fine for ANYONE to eat early.  Just understand that if one chooses to do so, one should not give side-eyed glances to families with young children at that time.  

[DCThunder]

22 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

True.  But some on both ends of the spectrum have similar issues with solid food! It's fine for ANYONE to eat early.  Just understand that if one chooses to do so, one should not give side-eyed glances to families with young children at that time.  

Well said.  Bravo!

[voljeep]

14 hours ago, Squire5000 said:

We just went through the latest iteration of the Princess Circle magazine.  There was an article regarding the speciality restaurants and the suggestion that they would be an ideal setting to teach children the benefits of a gourmet meal.  To encourage parents to consider this option, reduced prices for participating families is being offered.  
 

We look forward to the specialty restaurants not because the food is outstanding, which it is mediocre at best when compared to the specialty restaurants of times past.  We go for these restaurants to take a break from the hustle and bustle that occurs in the main dining room, the buffet, etc.  Introducing young children to the mix will surely impact the dining atmosphere that we seek.  As an aside, we have an 11 year old grandson.  He’s well behaved but he is too young for “fine dining”.

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

deleted

[dog]

To: OP

suggest you try Club Class dining & also order from Specialty Restaurants to deliver to your room.

 

solves your problem- you should be able to stay away from kids & poorly obnoxious adults.

[voljeep]

@dog thanks for the 'like' - many of my best postings are written out ... then 'deleted' before posting

[dog]

3 minutes ago, voljeep said:

@dog thanks for the 'like' - many of my best postings are written out ... then 'deleted' before posting

Same

[Dar & Bob]

13 hours ago, pris993 said:

 

Doing a Christmas and New Year holiday cruise this year for the first time, may see more on that cruise.  

Our last New Year's cruise was quite bad due to the number of unsupervised children.  It was a 10 day cruise on the Regal with many Europeans.  Many of the young children, toddlers to about 8 years old were up late into the evenings.  Most nights kids playing tag in the middle of the Piazza running between the people dancing.  Children crying in Crooners while the piano player was performing. One staff member did finally stop the kids running through the Piazza one evening.  We vowed no more holiday cruises since many evenings in our favorite places were disturbed by the lack of parental control  

 

We had  done one cruise a couple of years prior on NYE and it was a blast but it was only 7 days and hardly any children or hardly any that were noticable 🙂  Children should be allowed but the parents also need to know when to remove them from the adult venues. 

[XBGuy]

16 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I have seen children/young adults during suite breakfasts and first night/cc dining.  I have always stopped by their table to share my observations.  Parents are surprised that I had taken notice, but not surprised since they all knew how to behave in public.  

 

Maybe more passengers should share their compliments with others who are showing their children what is expected in the real world.  We need more parents like this.

 

Sadly, I have had the exact opposite suite breakfast experience.  I suppose I should assign responsibility to the parents, but the children were annoying to other patrons in the room.  After three days, I had breakfasts in the buffet for the rest of the cruise.

 

We usually dine fairly late in the specialty restaurants.  The only other time I recall seeing a child in a specialty restaurant was a toddler in a high chair.  He/she did not make it through the meal.  Dad carried him/her out while the rest of the party (five or six adults) finished their meal.  My suspicion is that the fussing was not allowing Mom to enjoy her "grown up" evening.  Great move, Dad.

[dog]

We really have no choice who books the cruise.  Maybe there are some adult only cruise lines out there.

i wouldn’t want to discriminate.

[adeyoung]

We are taking our daughter (9 and turning 10 during the cruise) to both Sabatini's and Crown Grill on the Royal Princess in August.  I won't promise that she has an upscale palate but she is very capable of acting appropriately in an upscale dining venue., and I have no doubt she will find dishes to enjoy on both menus.

 

Virgin Voyages has an interesting dining concept for those who want many restaurant options, all with no kids.  

[Senga]

We had no issues with children on the Grand Princess but the “adults” in the Crown Grill were another story.  Family of 6; parents, adult brothers with their wives.  All “looked” normal.  One brother LICKS his wife’s arms/shoulder throughout dinner.  😱Didn’t want to look but you couldn’t help yourself.  Truly creepy!