Kids at specialty restaurants

[Koali]

With the free at sea promo, we will get 3 meals for our next cruise, is there a charge for kids ? My kids are 5 and 2. Or would they charge ala carte or is it possible to order from a free kids menu? They do like steak, so if we go to Cagneys I’m okay with buying 1 extra steak for them to share. 
 

we are traveling alone and the youngest can’t go to kids club so the kids will have to come with us. 

[ColeThornton]

Kids can order from a free menu.   Usual kid stuff:  hot dogs, chicken strips, PB&J, etc.  If they order from the regular menu there will be a charge.

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by ColeThornton

[mjkacmom]

Free to order off of the ship wide kids menu, or they can order a la carte, I believe they’d be charged full price at a restaurant with a cover charge.

[kitkat343]

Kids are allowed to order off the kids menu.  It is possible - but not guaranteed - that a specialty restaurant might offer to let your child order an appetizer for free instead of a main menu.  That happened at one of the specialty restaurants we visited (La Cucina).  But you absolutely cannot depend on that, and they do have the right to charge you in full if your child orders off the main menu.  Please note though that the specialty meals on our January Getaway cruise were extremely long and all of the steaks in Cagney's were cold in the specialty restaurants, so it's not ideal for families.  Another possibility is feeding your child at the buffet early and then leaving them at the kids club while you go to the specialty restaurant.  The waiters were kind and welcoming, but I must assume the restaurants were understaffed because they were not able to comply with our request to have faster meals and some of the food was cold.

Edited July 8, 2023 by kitkat343

[GORDONCHICK]

When my son was little, he ate off my plate plus a kid's meal.  That kid loves steak and seafood.  He's 22 now and has loved trying all kinds of food - and a lot of that was on cruises.  He found he loved crab legs, escargot and mussels on cruises.  Sadly, you won't see crab legs anymore unless you're on a top tier line.  I can't remember if he first had lobster on a cruise or not.

[mjkacmom]

6 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

Kids are allowed to order off the kids menu.  It is possible - but not guaranteed - that a specialty restaurant might offer to let your child order an appetizer for free instead of a main menu.  That happened at one of the specialty restaurants we visited (La Cucina).  But you absolutely cannot depend on that, and they do have the right to charge you in full if your child orders off the main menu.  Please note though that the specialty meals on our January Getaway cruise were extremely long and all of the steaks in Cagney's were cold in the specialty restaurants, so it's not ideal for families.  Another possibility is feeding your child at the buffet early and then leaving them at the kids club while you go to the specialty restaurant.  The waiters were kind and welcoming, but I must assume the restaurants were understaffed because they were not able to comply with our request to have faster meals and some of the food was cold.

The OP mentioned having a 2 year old, there aren’t clubs for that age, or babysitting.

[kitkat343]

2 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

The OP mentioned having a 2 year old, there aren’t clubs for that age, or babysitting.

Thanks - I missed that.  That could be tough because those were not quick meals.  My 4 year old needed to wander around with me during the meals (she didn't like the kids club as much as RC, since she said they played too many video games but most kids love video games so it shouldn't be a problem for most children)

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by kitkat343

[MacGuffin3]

Do the kid's menu have anything to do with the restaurant in question? Perhaps a small portion of bbq for example, Or just chicken strips everywhere?

[Pitzel]

Just now, MacGuffin3 said:

Do the kid's menu have anything to do with the restaurant in question? Perhaps a small portion of bbq for example, Or just chicken strips everywhere?

Same kids menu everywhere.

[GORDONCHICK]

1 minute ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Do the kid's menu have anything to do with the restaurant in question? Perhaps a small portion of bbq for example, Or just chicken strips everywhere?

It's the same kid's menu for the entire ship.  That's why I suggest giving the kids some off your (the parents' plates) along with a kids' meal.

[MacGuffin3]

Just now, Pitzel said:

Same kids menu everywhere.

Bummer, can kids order off the "proper" menu in the regular dining room?

[GORDONCHICK]

Just now, MacGuffin3 said:

Bummer, can kids order off the "proper" menu in the regular dining room?

Absolutely.  They can also do it in a specialty but you will be charged for it.  Or at least be prepared to be charged for it.

[Pitzel]

Just now, MacGuffin3 said:

Bummer, can kids order off the "proper" menu in the regular dining room?

Yes, absolutely! Kids can order off of any of the menus, but they will be charged the same as an adult for any items with a charge.

[MacGuffin3]

5 minutes ago, GORDONCHICK said:

Absolutely.  They can also do it in a specialty but you will be charged for it. 

Thanks for the info, Sounds like in practice then the main dining room will be the "specialty dining" for our kids, and then they will begrudgingly go to our specialty places with us since they will have to order grilled cheese.

[kitkat343]

27 minutes ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Do the kid's menu have anything to do with the restaurant in question? Perhaps a small portion of bbq for example, Or just chicken strips everywhere?

Just chicken strips.  We were told there's one kitchen that makes all the kids meals, so it's a pain for the restaurants to fetch the food and that's why they offered an appetizer at La Cucina.      The good news for people feeding their kids off their plates is it takes awhile for the kids meals to arrive so you have a. chance of getting better food in your kids before the chicken strips come.

Edited July 8, 2023 by kitkat343

[Koali]

38 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

Kids are allowed to order off the kids menu.  It is possible - but not guaranteed - that a specialty restaurant might offer to let your child order an appetizer for free instead of a main menu.  That happened at one of the specialty restaurants we visited (La Cucina).  But you absolutely cannot depend on that, and they do have the right to charge you in full if your child orders off the main menu.  Please note though that the specialty meals on our January Getaway cruise were extremely long and all of the steaks in Cagney's were cold in the specialty restaurants, so it's not ideal for families.  Another possibility is feeding your child at the buffet early and then leaving them at the kids club while you go to the specialty restaurant.  The waiters were kind and welcoming, but I must assume the restaurants were understaffed because they were not able to comply with our request to have faster meals and some of the food was cold.

I will keep this in mind, but we’ll probably have to break out the tablets and screentime. Do you know if we could take any food “Togo” like the dessert if things take too long. I mean I guess I could wait until the server brings to our table and then we take the whole dish. 

[Pitzel]

5 minutes ago, Koali said:

I will keep this in mind, but we’ll probably have to break out the tablets and screentime. Do you know if we could take any food “Togo” like the dessert if things take too long. I mean I guess I could wait until the server brings to our table and then we take the whole dish. 

Most of the restaurants frown on taking things to-go, but you can always ask ahead of time. It is usually best to tell your waiter at the start of the meal that your kids have short attention spans and would greatly appreciate if the meal was sped up a bit. You can also put in the order for their food as soon as you sit down and request that it is brought out with the appetizers.

[GORDONCHICK]

42 minutes ago, Koali said:

I will keep this in mind, but we’ll probably have to break out the tablets and screentime. Do you know if we could take any food “Togo” like the dessert if things take too long. I mean I guess I could wait until the server brings to our table and then we take the whole dish. 

I've taken dessert to go from both specialty and MDR - though never ice cream.  Sometimes I'm just too full at that time and will eat it later in the evening.  I will warn - creme brulee isn't even close to as good later so by gosh, I will force most of that puppy down!

 

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

The waiters were kind and welcoming, but I must assume the restaurants were understaffed because they were not able to comply with our request to have faster meals and some of the food was cold.

Cold food immediately gets returned to the Galley and a request to talk to the executive sous chef in charge of the restaurant. On our last cruise, that was followed up with a visit from the ship's executive chef and the ship's manager in charge of all restaurants, and the ship's general manager. 

[kitkat343]

2 hours ago, Koali said:

I will keep this in mind, but we’ll probably have to break out the tablets and screentime. Do you know if we could take any food “Togo” like the dessert if things take too long. I mean I guess I could wait until the server brings to our table and then we take the whole dish. 

On my cruise last summer, they were really good about this for families on RC.  They'd actually ask me in the MDR what I wanted to eat and bring me everything quickly because they knew my 3 year old would never make it through a three course meal, and they packed everything up without me even asking.    We didn't have as much luck on NCL but you can always ask politely and hopefully they will be more helpful.  

[jemz1949]

If dining at Teppanaki with children, be sure to clarify when seated if you want your children to eat off of the child's menu.  Otherwise, they will likely assume that the child will be eating off of the regular menu and will charge accordingly.  

 

[GORDONCHICK]

20 minutes ago, jemz1949 said:

If dining at Teppanaki with children, be sure to clarify when seated if you want your children to eat off of the child's menu.  Otherwise, they will likely assume that the child will be eating off of the regular menu and will charge accordingly.  

 

This is true with any specialty restaurant.

[MacGuffin3]

1 hour ago, jemz1949 said:

If dining at Teppanaki with children, be sure to clarify when seated if you want your children to eat off of the child's menu.

Will they still make the onion ring volcano for them?

[GORDONCHICK]

43 minutes ago, MacGuffin3 said:

Will they still make the onion ring volcano for them?

I thought they did that for everyone?

[cajun-crazy]

We had to pay full price (49.00 I think) for our 9 yr old to go to Teppanaki. We were told it was for the experience. There was so much food wasted on her plate!