Kids Meals in the dining room

[cherishrwil]

I assume that they bring out the kids meals first so they don't have to wait until the adult's main course is served right? I don't think my son could wait that long for his food if we have to go through appetizers, salad/soup then the main course.

[mcfam5]

I assume that they bring out the kids meals first so they don't have to wait until the adult's main course is served right? I don't think my son could wait that long for his food if we have to go through appetizers, salad/soup then the main course.

 

The wait staff brings out bread, drinks, fruit plates, etc. while the child (and everyone else) waits for dinner. It really isn't a horrible wait until the main course.:)

[genngee]

Ours was brought in courses jsut like the adult meals

[Kerry's Girls]

In my experience (on Princess and Carnival), I'm always a course behind my twins, so that they're eating dessert while I finish my meal, which works out perfect for us. If there's an appetizer to order for my girls, I do and we share two appetizers among the three of us, but if there isn't, they've always brought out their meal while I eat my appetizer.

 

Also, if you know something that your child wants to eat each night, I've found that they'll have it ready to go - at the table or ready to be served immediately each night of your cruise. Just speak to your waiter about your preference on the first night. This is a huge plus about eating with assigned seating in the dining room for me - they know how to best take care of us after the first night rather than starting off fresh every evening with new wait staff.

 

Best,

Mia

[cherishrwil]

Oh, that might be a problem then. My son has autism and has trouble waiting for anything especially if he's hungry so I guess I'll just have to bring lot's of snacks and stuff to keep him busy until dinner is served.

[JCSM-Mom]

Oh, that might be a problem then. My son has autism and has trouble waiting for anything especially if he's hungry so I guess I'll just have to bring lot's of snacks and stuff to keep him busy until dinner is served.

 

There is food there (rolls) pretty much right away. Don't know what kind of food your son eats, but my kids will order from the main menu, not the kids menu, so they have each course also. They like that. Usually the portions are small enough they can eat it.

 

Have a great time.

[Cruisin' Chick]

When my girl was very young (toddler), the waiter would bring out saltines for her.

[Julienatul]

On our last two cruises they brought out my daughters kids meal first when they brought us appetizers. You can always ask your waitstaff to do this and Im sure they would do it for you. Also you might try bringing a few snacks to tide them over just in case.

[crusinmama06]

Which cruiseline?

 

On RCCL my kids got there meals almost immediatly...lol. They ordered the same thing every day so it was pretty easy to anticipate what they wanted.

 

On Carnival, you could ask for a rush on that meal. I am sure they could do something.

[As You Wish]

On my last Carnival cruise with my daughter, we were seated at a table of 12, my DD and I were actually the last to be served each course. Her meal did not come out early. Go figure. It wasn't a big deal to me, as DD had rolls she could munch on while we waited, but be sure to ask your waiters to bring the kids' meals first if that's what you'd like.

[PattyW]

All the waitstaff I have encountered have been very accomodating to kids.

 

On lines like RCCL where we have a set dining time and waiter - from the second night on, there has always been an appetizer for the children on their plate when we arrive at the table (generally a little bowl of cut up fruit).

 

ON NCL, where we had a variety of waitstaff and dining times, they were still very prompt with some kind of food for the children (rolls, etc).

 

Generally, DH and I only get one course before our main course, not two, so we can control the length of the meal. We've been lucky enough to have our own table when cruising with the kids.

[mandyq]

My 4 and 1 yo didn't have a problem waiting which I thought was going to be a big ordeal. There were times that we brought crayons and a coloring book so you could always bring a quiet activity to pass the time.

[boulders]

On our last cruise on RCCL, I was traveling with my ds, age 2, dd, age 9 and ds age 12. We usually had to wait an hour for the children's dinner to be served. Appetizers often took over half an hour to make an appearance. I wasn't impressed. When I finally complained on the 4th or 5th night, the waiter seemed shocked. The service picked up a little after that, but not much.

[Nekochan]

My son has ADD and some autistic characteristics - sitting quietly is definitely not a strong point. He's now 13 - I'm planning on the late seating for our cruise. He will probably never go to the dining room - he'll eat dinner at the buffet or an alternate (room service etc.), then he'll be off to his activities and I'll have dinner by myself.

 

Depending on the age of your child and how much they like the kids program, you might want to get the late seating for yourself and plan on feeding him at the buffet or room service, then check him in at the kids program and then eat a quiet dinner in the dining room.

 

If they don't like the kids program, I would plan on most nights eating in the buffet and then doing something fun with him - go to the show or whatever. For me, personally, making my son sit through a long dinner is about as much fun as sticking an ice pick in your ear - but that's my situation.

[cherishrwil]

We will be on RCCL and are assigned main seating. He is a very picky eater with some feeding issues so probably won't be eating anything but what he knows which is pasta like macaroni and cheese and spagetti. If they can't serve his meal before our entree arrives I will do my best to keep him occupied with snacks and his dvd player. Thanks to everyone for your replies!

[crusinmama06]

Honestly, my kids have NEVER waited an hour...on any ship. :eek:

 

I would have had a heart attack on Day 1...lol. ;)

 

I do request a table for just my family. SO I never have to wait for the other 12 to decide on what they are going to have.

 

As soon as the waiter comes to the table we put the order in for the entire meal. We don't just say our drinks. It's the whole meal ordered right away with a request to bring out the kids meals asap. :D

 

And here is the kids menu for RCCL. Commit this to memory...lol. If they don't offer you THIS menu, remember you CAN order anything that is on this one.

 

[PaganView]

Obviously RCCL will be different, but when we took our then 2 yo on Carnival our server and assistant were fantastic. We ordered the fruit cup for our son's appetizer the first night and he didn't really eat anything but the watermelon. The server asked about it and my son told him he only wanted watermelon. So the next night and every night after there was a bowl of watermelon chunks waiting at the high chair as we arrived for dinner.

 

Our assistant had a child at home she hadn't seen in a while and she spoiled our son rotten for the whole week. I think the extra attention she gave him really helped his behavior in the dining room.

[cherishrwil]

Thanks Cruisinmama! Luckily we are a family of 6 and will have our own table so we won't have to wait for other's. I'm sure my son will be able to eat at least a few things off the kids menu, thanks for posting it!

[Amok]

On our recent cruise on RCCL our waiter was great. He had a fruit cocktail waiting on the table every night for the kids, we had 4 at our table aged 9, 7, 4 & 3. As soon as we orded the kids meals it came out very fast. The 9 yr old often ordered from the adult menu and she waited with the rest of us, but anything from the kids menu was quick. Right after he served our meals he would bring a few plates of Chocalate Chip cookies for them to eat as dessert.

 

We had a great table for kids. We were in a corner that had a window, so when the kids were done eating they sat in the window and watched the ocean go by. It was great that they could move around with out bothering anybody else. The dinners would have been more stressful if we were in the middle of the dining rooom. Perhaps you could try and get a table like that.

[Nebr.cruiser]

When we took grandkids 5,5,4,3 & 13, the first night we asked that their meals (well, not the 13-year-olds) be brought out as soon as possible. After that they always had fruit bowls first, then their meal came very quickly and they generally were ready to go to Camp Carnival by 7.