Screaming babies in specialty restaurants, should anything be done about that?

[Stockjock]

Got this message from a Viking cruiser, who is currently doing Celebrity (Edge) for the first time...
 

"Went to a specialty restaurant tonight and paid $72.00+ and had a screaming baby who screamed the whole time and the parent did nothing. Totally ruined my and everyone’s meal. I will stick with Viking, which doesn’t allow kids."

What is your response to this?

A. Perhaps young children shouldn't be allowed in the specialty restaurants.

B. Families have the right to bring their family to a specialty restaurant, even if their kids scream or otherwise are disruptive.

Edited January 16 by Stockjock

[Tyler414]

There is a cruise line (Virgin Voyages) that has taken care of this issue.

[PTC DAWG]

This is a parenting fail, plain and simple..I say yes, something should have been said by staff…or the head waiter, etc..

 

Fairly easy to take your crying  baby back to your room. 

[Mimiya11]

Babies and children are not common on any of the Celebrity cruises we have been on over the years.  

 

Agree though, that is a parenting fail and they should have left with the baby.  

 

[alexandria]

7 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Got this message from a Viking cruiser, who is currently doing Celebrity (Edge) for the first time...
 

"Went to a specialty restaurant tonight and paid $72.00+ and had a screaming baby who screamed the whole time and the parent did nothing. Totally ruined my and everyone’s meal. I will stick with Viking, which doesn’t allow kids."

What is your response to this?

A. Perhaps young children shouldn't be allowed in the specialty restaurants.

B. Families have the right to bring their family to a specialty restaurant, even if their kids scream or otherwise are disruptive.

 

Or option C as mentioned by this person who contacted you...choose an adult-only cruise line (or a cruise line where children are less likely to be onboard and where, perhaps, parents are more considerate of the comfort of their fellow traveler).

[doghog]

9 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Got this message from a Viking cruiser, who is currently doing Celebrity (Edge) for the first time...
 

"Went to a specialty restaurant tonight and paid $72.00+ and had a screaming baby who screamed the whole time and the parent did nothing. Totally ruined my and everyone’s meal. I will stick with Viking, which doesn’t allow kids."

What is your response to this?

A. Perhaps young children shouldn't be allowed in the specialty restaurants.

B. Families have the right to bring their family to a specialty restaurant, even if their kids scream or otherwise are disruptive.

I don't care what dining venue it is. The correct answer is one of the parents need to remove the kid from the dining venue or whatever venue they are at! 🤬

[DingoMom]

At the risk of sounding anti-kid, I agree with @PTC DAWG. Parenting failure. I would appreciate a scream-free specialty dinner, but am probably not willing to ban all young kids. Some kids are well-behaved, and some parents would immediately remove a shrieker. How thoughtless of parents who think of nothing but themselves. (They could book an in-cabin babysitter for 2 hours if they want to go out to dinner.) C’mon, people! Specialty dining is not freakin’ McDonald’s!! If you were rude enough to do it at McDonald’s, at least I could get up and get away from you!

[Notagoose]

I was on Beyond for the holiday sailing, and there were a lot of children and families. We were seated next to a baby that cried quite a bit one night, while the mother tried to soothe him/her. It was annoying, yes, but babies cry and the parents were at least trying to rectify the situation. She eventually took the baby out of the dining room when it became clear the crying wasn't going to stop. 

 

We were WAY more annoyed by a large table in Fine Cut (comprised of 2 familes), where all the kids were over the age of 8ish, as one of the kids was super loud and obnoxious, and instead of telling him to keep his voice down, all the adults spoke louder so that they could hear each other above the kid. So there were 4 different discussions happening at that table simultaneously, each louder than the next. One table asked to be moved mid-dinner because they were so disruptive. We stuck it out but skipped dessert because it was extremely unpleasant. 

 

In my view, this is a situation where the person in charge of that restaurant should deal with the situation for the comfort of the other guests. I could tell the serving staff were not happy either, but these were retreat guests, so maybe more is overlooked for the high rollers. (I know this because the kid was VERY LOUDLY talking about the dimensions of the various suites, when he wasn't sassing the waiter).  

 

Most of the kids we saw were very well-behaved in the restaurants.

[Stockjock]

I think that is their game plan going forward (i.e. Cruise line that does not allow children, or limits them).  They don’t seem to be having a wonderful time on Celebrity. They also complained about the food quality, which is something that I agree with because I think it’s gone downhill quite a lot. I’m referring to the food in the main dining room.

Edited January 16 by Stockjock

[LabMom57]

Add me to the parenting fail votes. When our kids were little, my husband and I took turns eating/taking the child outside. There is no excuse for poor adult behavior. There should not be a need to restrict who comes to the dining room. I've seen plenty of well behaved children on cruise ships. Babies can't be in control. It's the parents' job.

 

I also agree that the person who said they will stick to Viking should probably do so. Celebrity is NOT the same as Viking in any aspect. They are not in the same class and it isn't fair to compare. That's like expecting a Carnival cruise to be on par with Regent Seven Seas.

[Oceangoer2]

Am I wrong, but wasn't there an age requirement (12 yrs?) in Specialty dining at one time?  Probably several years ago I think.

[thebutlerdidit]

1 minute ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Am I wrong, but wasn't there an age requirement (12 yrs?) in Specialty dining at one time?  Probably several years ago I think.

I thought the same!

[doghog]

Screaming, bawling, yelling kids and don't forget loud mouth adults, drunk or sober need to take it somewhere else. Now get the he🏒🏒 off my lawn.

[hcat]

There used to be an age req ..maybe 12 or 13, for most Specialty dining on X ..but that was changed along the way.

 

A big mistake! Most lIttle ones are not suited for fancy dining venues...The meals are  too long to expect they won't climb chairs,  go under tables or run around... fine for  specialty  lunch and the cartoon show...

 

. Maitre D should ask parents to remove crying babies, unruly kiddos and  ask drunk adults to leave.  We would have asked for a credit back if it was not resolved after the appetizer course!

 

we would not sit  by and suffer!

Edited January 16 by hcat

[QuestionEverything]

I vote B - child should have been removed from the dining room.

I believe a comment noted the parents could have hired a sitter for the little one in the stateroom. 

It is not about age.

It is about any human, or group of humans as noted above, that makes considerable noise/disruption in a public space.

NOT and stop it.

Very similar concept to municipal noise by-laws - designed to keep an even keel! 

[At Sea At Peace]

31 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Got this message from a Viking cruiser, who is currently doing Celebrity (Edge) for the first time...
 

"Went to a specialty restaurant tonight and paid $72.00+ and had a screaming baby who screamed the whole time and the parent did nothing. Totally ruined my and everyone’s meal. I will stick with Viking, which doesn’t allow kids."

What is your response to this?

A. Perhaps young children shouldn't be allowed in the specialty restaurants.

B. Families have the right to bring their family to a specialty restaurant, even if their kids scream or otherwise are disruptive.

 

More options maybe?

 

C. Ask, kindly, if they would move to a more remote area of dining.

 

D. If not, ask M'D if they could possibly move them to a more remote area of dining.

 

E. If not, ask if 'you' could move to another area of dining.

 

F. If not, or inform that you would be leaving and to please credit your account.

 

 

Edited January 16 by At Sea At Peace

[patty1955]

I vote for staff failure. The maître d should have let the family know that he would keep their food warm while they took the baby out to help him calm down.

[prmssk]

If you don't want to be around children, you need to pick a line that doesn't allow them.  So I don't agree with banning them from dining venues on Celebrity.  We have been taking my niece and nephew on cruises (on a variety of lines) since they were infants, eating in the MDR and specialty dining restaurants.  They were always expected to behave and were removed on the rare occasions they did not.

 

That said, we all have a responsibility to not be disruptive to everyone around us.  That means removing a screaming child that can't be soothed.  It also means as an adult not getting so drunk you are making a loud scene.  Although it doesn't happen all that often, in my experience, it has more often been adults that are disruptive on cruises.

[doghog]

13 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

I vote for staff failure. The maître d should have let the family know that he would keep their food warm while they took the baby out to help him calm down.

The dining staff aren't hired baby sitters. Nearby guests shouldn't have to complain to the staff either. That's all on the parents. 

Edited January 16 by doghog

[At Sea At Peace]

57 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Got this message from a Viking cruiser, who is currently doing Celebrity (Edge) for the first time...
.

 

Forgot to ask before my original reply (for more options).  What does the above mean?  Are you not on the ship (Edge)?  However, the cruiser is a "Viking cruiser" that is currently on the Celebrity Edge and their communication was intended to be posted in a new thread on the CruiseCritic Celebrity forum via you?  Just wondering.  Appears unusual I guess, not about you, rather them; can't they post for themselves?

 

Also, thread is "screaming babies" and yet there was a "had a screaming baby?" 

Edited January 16 by At Sea At Peace

[jennmaybe]

We have been much more irritated by grown adults than we ever have a crying baby.  Just saying….🤪

[TeaBag]

37 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Am I wrong, but wasn't there an age requirement (12 yrs?) in Specialty dining at one time?  Probably several years ago I think.

I thought there was too.  This obviously has gone by the wayside too.

[alexandria]

12 minutes ago, LabMom57 said:

Add me to the parenting fail votes. When our kids were little, my husband and I took turns eating/taking the child outside. There is no excuse for poor adult behavior. There should not be a need to restrict who comes to the dining room. I've seen plenty of well behaved children on cruise ships. Babies can't be in control. It's the parents' job.

 

It sounds like you and your husband are very considerate travelers.  Kudos to you and others like you who are mindful of the travel enjoyment of others.  😃

 

But permit me to digress a bit...I'm not sure when the trend of taking your infants and toddlers on cruises and international travel began.  Maybe it was around the time when the senior HS trip evolved from being a few days at the beach or other locale within a few hours drive to tours of Europe and other similar far-flung places.  When I was growing up (in one of the wealthiest counties in the US at the time), none of my contemporaries did that kind of traveling with their families.  And when we did travel, woe be unto me or my siblings if we were not well-behaved when dining out...it wasn't mom and dad taking turns taking the the offending child outside.  It was dad taking us outside (usually in search of a woodshed)!  😧  

 

Our own (now adult) children were raised to be well-behaved and respectful (even addressing other adults by "sir", "ma'am" and only by their last names "Mr...." and/or "Mrs....") and they were regularly complemented by other adults, including when we took them on cruises and other trips.  But times change and not always for the good.  Courtesy and manners appear to be completely unimportant to some who have a very self-centered "me first" approach to life.  It really isn't much different from those who engage in loud conversations on their cell phone in public settings where such is just not respectful of others who are nearby.  Some even insist on putting their phone on the loudest speakerphone setting so that all around can hear both sides of the conversation!  We encountered several instances of such boorish behavior in the Solarium on our recent Summit sailing.  Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do about such rude persons other than to strive to avoid them and the places they frequent.  🙂

[LabMom57]

2 minutes ago, alexandria said:

Our own (now adult) children were raised to be well-behaved and respectful (even addressing other adults by "sir", "ma'am" and only by their last names "Mr...." and/or "Mrs....") and they were regularly complemented by other adults

Sounds like you and I are from the same generation and probably region.

[mahasamatman]

Epic fail on the part of the maitre d'.