Formal dinner and kids a ?

[St.Love]

Do you have to take your kids with your to the formal dinner? My husband and I are bringing our 8-6-3-1 year old with us on the cruise and the older three want to go to the club instead, is that ok? I know the baby will have to be with us and that's ok :) . I really want all the kids to go with us so we will see.

[Darcy03231]

That's fine, if its ok with you. My kids love formal night. I was really surprised, but they like to dress up, get their pictures taken and have formal dinner.

[63galaxie]

My kids, 7, 8, 8, 10, ate all the evening meals (except one) with us in the dining room. They really liked dressing up, being entertained by the waiters, and trying the different foods. We loved having them too! Enjoy:D

[seashell36]

That is a point I have already made to my kids. Dinner will be a must with Mom and Dad. I will give them each one night that they don't have to eat with us, but it can't be formal night. Our oldest doesn't want to miss formal night - she loves lobster!:D

[mom2cruise]

You say 1 year old.... I had my daughter who was 21 months at ours. Whooo, that was fun (sarcasm). lol, I was very lucky to have her Gramps to save her during dinner. Almost every dinner was interrupted by her yelling, "POOP" right as our food arrived. lmao. ok, it was funny the first time but then when she realized that she is escorted out after saying that... well, she did it again and again.

 

As for my 7 y/o. well, he wasnt much better but he did enjoy getting all fancied up for the formals! the girls (cousins 6 and 10) had a great time at the dinners.

 

It is all up to the kid! And if you get stared at leaving with the unruley 1 year old.... that is ok too.:p I really enjoyed dinner except that part!

[kcscrapper]

The wait staff really seems to dote on the kids -- and, as a mom, it is fun to see your child interact with another adult (in safe circumstances!!). I viewed cruise dinners as an opportunity to let my DS practice his manners and experience "other" food -- I mean, how many opportunites do non cruising 13 year olds get to "just try" escargot?

My wish, however, would be that the cruise lines offer a "kids" menu that is more than spaghetti, cheeseburger or hot dog. I'd like to see them have "real" food but done simply.

[mrdood]

Do you have to take your kids with your to the formal dinner? I really want all the kids to go with us so we will see.

 

You don't "HAVE" to go either -- who is the in charge? If I am paying, I get to tell my kids what the rules are, if they don't like it, they can stay home.

[sammie70]

On our first two cruises the kids had their own formal night but they stayed with us on the first one then on the next one they did it through CC but they did not like it and have gone with us since then. They complain a little but they really do enjoy getting dressed up and going to dinner. We always tell them they have to eat dinner with us at least 5 nights out of 7 and they get to pick (except for formal) and every time they end up eating with us. But I thought it was cute that they had their own formal night.

[St.Love]

Thanks :) . We had a talk with the kids and they all will go with us for the dinner. Our 1 year old will actually be 14 months and he is a very easy going baby, happy!

[txracefan]

I work at a Primary School with 500 kids .They can yell POOP all they want to ,will just keep on eating.Not much I haven't seen or heard.

[bikinibottom]

We just got off the Destiny and my ds (age 6) and neice (age 6) both loved going to eat dinner in the dining room. We were at the late seating too - they love to get dressed up and our waiter totally spoiled them all week.

My ds went to camp carnival a bunch but always wanted to come to dinner and not miss out.

On the Destiny they had a kids party at the Disco before formal night and then a special dinner - then all the kids went to see the big show. My ds did this once and then decided he'd rather be with us at dinner. So there are alternatives if your kids (or you) decide to not got to dinner in the dining room. As for my family it was one of the highlights of our cruise. My son led the conga line through the dining room one night wearing a napkin hat our server made him - it was soooo cute!

 

Have a fun trip! :)

[born2crooz]

For their first 2 cruises, we made our children (now 8 and 10) dress up for formal night. We dragged them around to all the photo stations and then to the dining room. After dinner, they changed and went to Camp Carnival.

 

When the 3rd cruise rolled around, we realized that they were MISERABLE dressing up like that. We made them a deal: dress up for a photo opportunity only and they can change and eat with their friends at Camp Carnival. Wow, what a difference!! They had a BLAST. So, they ate with us for 5 nights and the 2 formal nights were romantic nights for my wife and I while the kids had a blast eating with their friends.

 

Remember, it's their vacation too! My kids eat dinner with us EVERY night at home, so 2 nights out of 7 certainly isn't cutting into our "family" time. No matter what you may think, the kids would RATHER eat with their friends and counselors than their parents, period.

 

Don't stress yourself out. Let your KIDS choose! That way, everyone is happy. They can still have pictures taken earlier in the night. The kids were so excited that the first photo turned out to be the best one.

[Chucksta63]

My son loves getting dressed up in a tux for formal nights!:)

On A 7 night cruise I make him have 4 of the dinners with us & 3 of them he can go play with his new friends for dinner. One night he & his buddy did a room service party in the cabin for dinner. They loved it!...lol