Kids in Pinnacle Grill

[world~citizen]

[quote name='pipedreams62']Wow I didn't even know kids were allowed in the PG till I read these threads. I've only eaten in there once,and didn't see any kids.

Let me get this straight,they're not allowed to sing Happy Birthday in the PG but kids are allowed?

Wow expensive cruises,ordering $30 dinners off the menu.

We've really come a long way from sitting in the back of dads station wagon,with his cigarette ashes blowing in our face.

touring the national parks and looking for the largest ball of twine.

[IMG]http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/pictures/1970_Ford_Country_Squire.jpg[/IMG][/quote]

Looks like a 1970 Ford wagon?

See what happens when you miss staff meetings. :eek: :)

[pipedreams62]

[quote name='world~citizen']Looks like a 1970 Ford wagon?

See what happens when you miss staff meetings. :eek: :)[/quote]


You Know your cars;)

[scottjeanne]

Just a point of infromation. Disney Cruise lines-the most child friendly-has an adults only restaurant- Palos. If they can do it????

[world~citizen]

[quote name='scottjeanne']Just a point of infromation. Disney Cruise lines-the most child friendly-has an adults only restaurant- Palos. If they can do it????[/quote]

True, and you don't get much more "family" oriented than Disney.

[iceman93]

How many people here have actually had a meal in the PG ruined by the presence of children? Are we arguing about a hypothetical situation or is there some basis in fact for the negativity towards kids?

I find it interesting that the "compromise" solutions offered by some and wholeheartedly supported by some others invariably involve restricting, one way or another, childrens' presence in the PG. Imagine the uproar if I suggested that PG be adults-only at lunch, but only families with children under 12 be allowed at night? Isn't that a great "compromise"?

The bottom line is that all our opinions are interesting, but the policy remains that anyone may dine in the PG. Luckily for me, that matches my opinion of what the policy should be. And no matter how much other posters may think children neither appreciate nor are part of "the finer things" in life, I disagree and am glad my daughter is able to continue enjoying such things both on land and aboard HAL ships.

[caviargal]

Hopefully HAL has considered the preferences of their adult clients who prefer a kid free dining experience and will offer this on the Eurodam and future ships, such as Celebrity does on their ships. We would certainly book often.

[dakrewser]

[quote name='pipedreams62']We've really come a long way from sitting in the back of dads station wagon,with his cigarette ashes blowing in our face. touring the national parks and looking for the largest ball of twine.

[IMG]http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/pictures/1970_Ford_Country_Squire.jpg[/IMG][/quote]

Oh my! That's my car from 25 years ago! Except mine was green, but - yes - my wife & I and 4 kids would head off either to visit the grandparents, or head to the White mountains (or the Poconos), all pile into a room in the Howard Johnson's motel - and eat hot dogs and chicken nuggets for supper!

:)

[Rebecca33]

[quote name='cruisecrasy']approx 5 nites out of every 7, I definately agree with u re: 'adults only' dining...

Perhaps HAL shld, like RCL, have 2 alternative dining rooms so they cld then have one open and 1 restricted to adults only.

Otherwise, a good suggestion that has already been put forth, try an 'adults only' at nite and open the specialty restaurant to all at lunch..

Of course, one way to partially solve the problem wld be to charge all who dine the same amt. - that wld discourage a lot of parents..

Plse consider this all parents, when u get older and look forward to dining on your cruise do u want children dining closeby? Yah right, of course u will - NOT..well thats how a lot of us older parents & singles feel now!!
Happy cruisin' all![/quote]

I have a 4 year old son. He is coming with us on our cruise and yes he will dine with us at some point. He is one of those perfectly behaved children that were talked about earlier (tongue planted firmly in cheek)...

He has his moments but he knows how to act in certain situations and what is expected of him, just as my parents did with me.

However he is 4. So he really doesnt want to sit for 3 hours while we eat and drink wine, though he can and will when it is necessary.... We always take advantage of kids clubs and room service... He loves to have his food delivered to the room then go to play while we eat.

When we are out for dinner to celebrate our Anniversary on the cruise and if there are kids running around or misbehaving, I would have no problem bringing it to the attention of the manager until it is corrected. As I would expect someone to do to me if I ever let mine misbehave. And I would do the same if it was another adult causing a scene...

It really doesnt matter if you are 4 or 104.... If you cant behave in an appropriate manner no matter where you are, you shouldnt be there.

This is more of a behaviour subject rather than a child subject... If the kids are really that bad, how great are the parents acting....

[Zesty Italian]

Wow! I haven't read this thread in awhile. We have some strong opinions. I will say what few have apparently heard, "My kids have misbehaved". I am strict with them and have taught them manners, but they still have their moments. Fortunately, as someone else said, they know how to act in public. Still, as I said early on in the thread, I prefer to go to a fine dining venue with adults only. I do NOT hate kids, but social norms these days seem to be that kids and adults think anything goes. I agree with almost everything that has been said. Some kids behave well, some like fancy foods... The problem is when they don't and the parents don't do anything. As I also said earlier, club Hal isn't open during most dining times. That would be my first suggestion. My next is that if kids are allowed in the PG, the staff should ask them to leave if they don't behave.(adults, too;) ) I think the root of everyone's displeasure is that noone does anything about rude behavior.

[jerseygirl3]

Okay, here's an update. We had dinner at PG last pm. Although we were specifically told the kids could order off the main dining menu, they could not. Their only options were hamburger, hotdog, mac and cheese or chicken nuggets. I'm not quite sure why you can order off the regular main dining room menu and have it sent via room service, but this could not be accomplished to the PG. Anyway, at this point my sister was ready to shell out the $60 to pay so the kids could order off the regular menu, but I told her I thought, given their size and small appetite, that that was ridiculous. So the kids ordered a hamburger and mac and cheese. The kids were so quiet there were times I forgot they were even there. Now do I think they benefited from the dining experience? No. And I'll tell you why. The service stunk. Our waiter never even came back once and asked how everything was. We got more attention from the wine sommolier. The food was outstanding, but the service was terribly lacking. I thought the kids would enjoy how attentive the servers generally are, but that was not the case. It had nothing to do with the kids being there, because as I said, the kids are very quiet and unless you specifically looked at our table, you'd never know they were there. There was a table next to us with a young boy (probably about 9 years of age) who was also extremely well behaved. Truth be told, there was a table of 4 or 5 women (mid-50's to 60's) who were quite loud and obnoxious.

So there you have it. It wasn't the dining experience we had hoped, but it all had to do with lack of service and a rowdy table of women. Actually, the service was so lacking that we decided to cancel our second reservation we made for Saturday night.

Now the service in the main dining room (which, btw, we have AYWD) was fantastic. And the food was very good as well (not as good as PG, but certainly very good).

[world~citizen]

Glad you liked AYWD. I suppose we will have to drive off that bridge when we get there.

While you have been busy enjoying your cruise, we have been busy thrashing the notion of dining in the PG and kids ad nauseam. :eek:

Surprised to hear about the PG service, but am sympathetic to HAL with respect to the fee to order off the PG menu.

I hope this does nothing to interfere with the enjoyment of your cruise. You are on a "HAL" of a ship, and that can never be bad.

Smooth sailing always...


[B][/B]

[caviargal]

We are booked in the PG on the WES in 11 days so I will be hoping for a better experience than jerseygirl3 reports.

As for kids ordering off the dining room or any special menu, since there are separate kitchens this can only have a negative impact on service levels overall for everyone at that waiter's station. For this reason and others, IMO it should not be an option to allow kids to order off the main dining room menu.

[bplazo]

I agree that it has to be an impostion to order off the main dining room menus. Everyone who goes to the specialty restraunts should order from what is on their menu and pay the fee.

[momofmeg]

[quote name='wdw1972']No need to duck - I agree with you. The best specialty restaurant at sea is Palo on Disney Cruise Line, and they don't permit anyone under age 18. It fills up every night, too!

I doubt it's ever been a problem on HAL before the Vista Class ships started marketing to families with kids. I took my son in there on the Amsterdam, but he was 15, wearing a suit, and towered over me. He also grew up socializing with adults, so I knew he wouldn't act like a kid in there. However, if there had been an age limit I would have gladly skipped it that cruise.

Sue/WDW1972
Veendam 4/06/08[/QUOTE]

Disney does have the kid's club which is open to midnight_ I think that helps as Mom and Dad have a babysitter.

Disney also has lounges that were adult's only like the piano bar etc. and they SHOULD BE adult's only is my feeling! I saw people turned away who wanted to bring their children into the piano bar.

The adult's only pool was also monitored and if people brought their children they were quickly asked to leave.

[momofmeg]

[quote name='AerynSun_JohnCrighton']ignoring a screaming child is NOT the answer...

what would've happened to me if I'd done that? And mom will tell you it did..

I was spanked and taken out and 'to go' containers ordered.[/QUOTE]

Yep, you were one of those "devil kids" for sure. We loved you and put up with you because that is what parents are supposed to do-but we did not expect others to- and it did not matter the restuarant-if you acted up in a Mac Donalds we left and did not subject others to your tantrums.


Ofcourse when you were little we would not have dreamed of trying to take you to an upscale restuarant. It was places like Cracker Barrel and Shoneys back then.

[dakrewser]

[quote name='jerseygirl3']Now do I think they benefited from the dining experience? No. And I'll tell you why. The service stunk. Our waiter never even came back once and asked how everything was. [/quote]

Unlike your local Applebee's, a well-trained waiter never interrupts the diner to ask "is everything OK?" But, if there is a problem, a slightly raised finger - even an elevated eye-brow - should bring him to your side immediately.

Of course, if your water glass or wine glass should become empty, that's a sign of poor service.

[NoNoNanette]

[quote name='dakrewser']Unlike your local Applebee's, a well-trained waiter never interrupts the diner to ask "is everything OK?" But, if there is a problem, a slightly raised finger - even an elevated eye-brow - should bring him to your side immediately.

Of course, if your water glass or wine glass should become empty, that's a sign of poor service.[/quote]

Dave, you're knocking me out, here.

Are you saying that "fine restaurants" do not "interrupt" to ask a patron how their meal is.

If so, you need to get around, dude. Come down to New Orleans, and I'll show you how it's (SERVICE) done at fine dining establishments. :)

*shaking my head in disbelief* :confused:

[dakrewser]

[quote name='NoNoNanette']Dave, you're knocking me out, here.

Are you saying that "fine restaurants" do not "interrupt" to ask a patron how their meal is.

If so, you need to get around, dude. Come down to New Orleans, and I'll show you how it's (SERVICE) done at fine dining establishments. :)

*shaking my head in disbelief* :confused:[/quote]

That's exactly what i'm saying, dear. A well-trained waiter knows the food is good when he sets it in front of you - because if it wasn't, he never would have let it get out of the galley. He knows you have the correct silverware, because he checked it before serving the course. He quietly took care of any beverage issues you might have without the need to address you.

But if it's now the norm in NOLA to interrupt diners' conversations, then it's simply one more reason not to visit.

Still, I wouldn't expect that - if something were not quite right - that you would wait patiently for someone to ask if you had a problem, would you?

[pipedreams62]

Kreskin has changed professions and is now a waiter:confused:


[IMG]http://www.kwmagic.com/images/kreskin.jpg[/IMG]

[NoNoNanette]

Dave-Honey.... I'm afraid that we're not on the same wavelength. Big surprise, huh? ;)

I'm accustomed to my servers being RIGHT THERE. Checking on food, drinks, presentation. And, honestly..... they're not "interrupting" my dining experience... they're trying to enhance it.

First NY, now New Orleans.... Dave, Dave, Dave. :(

[Sprocket]

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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3]Now [I]that[/I] is funny:D ]rotflmho
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[gatorbaby1]

I hate obtrusive waiters, waiters should not be seen nor heard from unless there is a problem. I hate when I 'm in the middle of my conversation, and I look over and see the waiter breathing over my shoulder waiting to ask if everything is ok.

[NoNoNanette]

[quote name='gatorbaby1']I hate obtrusive waiters, waiters should not be seen nor heard from unless there is a problem. I hate when I 'm in the middle of my conversation, and I look over and see the waiter breathing over my shoulder waiting to ask if everything is ok.[/quote]

Agreed to a point. However, I'm dismayed if a server doesn't bother to check on my table.

I don't want him "breathing over my shoulder", but I like to be acknowledged.

[CocoKai]

the bad service issue was exactly my one and only problem with all 3 times I have been to the PG. Why does HAL use the "Eastern/Former Russian" waiters in this restaurant? Hands down, the Indonesian and Phillipino dining room stewards could jump circles around these guys. They know service!!!!!

Why do they staff the PG with an entirely different nationality? The whole thing is quite strange to me but there must be a reason that I'm failing to understand

[iceman93]

This thread is taking another interesting turn, but not a surprising one. While some people rave about the Pinnacle Grill, I've never had better than a decent meal there. The food has really been no better than in the main dining room, and (as others have noticed) the service has actually been a notch below. And that was my experience on the Rotterdam, Maasdam, and Ryndam, so it's not a one-ship issue.

To be honest, this is one reason I've chuckled at all the people claiming kids can't enjoy this "first-class experience". It's not all [i]that[/i] elegant, to be honest.