Children and Select Dining cover charge?

Hi, does anyone know whether the cover charge in the select dining restaurants on Azura is a flat rate or is there a reduction for children? Thanks in advance...

Just had a look on the. Help section of the p and o website. Ref select dining.

It said there was no children's menu available in them. It also did not state that there were reduced charges for children.

I guess it would be your choice to pay to eat there. What you will have to decide is if its worth it to pay full price for your children, if they do not like the menu in there.

Thanks, I'll have a look at the menu, like you say, best not to pay and then find out that they don't like anything on the menus. Slightly different with the cover charge in the Beach House as it's not as much and the menu seems more like it will have something to their liking...

Controversially how do they keep out disfunctional families. Image the horror of screaming kids running all over or throwing tantrums :eek:;)

Controversially how do they keep out disfunctional families. Image the horror of screaming kids running all over or throwing tantrums :eek:;)

I am sure if I had paid extra to eat in there, along with probably most people I would have had a word in the waiters ear, then worked upwards.

Maybe that is why there is no reduction for children, and no childrens menu, so as to not encourage families (dysfunctional or not) with young children eating in there.

...ooh, not sure I agree with that, especially having paid very near full adult price for my two...rather than keep the price the same perhaps they should up their sometimes relaxed attitude when it comes to those passengers that don't behave or follow simple rules (young and most certainly - old), and the quite rightly reduce the cover charge for children, after all, they have to pay the same gratuity (12 year old), yet they are not allowed in certain pools and the spa etc. I realise that these comments could be like "lighting the blue touch paper" for some, but P&O need to be realistic.

Controversially how do they keep out disfunctional families. Image the horror of screaming kids running all over or throwing tantrums :eek:;)

What about keeping out disfunctional pensioners.......throwing more often than not, worse tantrums than young children could ever do...

I think the menu in Seventeen - or The Epicurean as I believe the name is being changed to - would not suit a lot of children. I certainly wouldn't have taken our girls there when they were young. I think you would be spending a lot of money for a meal that your children might not like. There is certainly no children's menu. The ambiance in Seventeen is, I would say, very grown up - dim lighting. I'm not speaking about the rights or wrongs of taking children to a Select Dining Restaurant, just looking at it from your and your children's points of view.

Talking about naughty pensioners, I was on a HAL ship lift with my 10 year old daughter when an elderly couple came in. They giggled and then proceeded to press every floor button as they exited. My daughter looked at me in shock!

Talking about naughty pensioners, I was on a HAL ship lift with my 10 year old daughter when an elderly couple came in. They giggled and then proceeded to press every floor button as they exited. My daughter looked at me in shock!

I was going to agree about the pensioners..they can be very naughty.

Will also agree that the ambiance of the select dining venues does not encourage young children to be taken in there.

It also depends on the children in question. Some quite young children are very well behaved in all places, and could easily be taken in, but again would they like the food.

Parents know how their children will behave, and also what food they would/wouldn't eat. If they will eat the food and know how to behave, then they can bring them in.

As always it depends entirely on the kids and in this respect their parents know best as to whether the restaurant will suit them or not and will generally act accordingly. If you would not take your kids to a high quality restaurant on land because either they would not like the food or would not have the patience to sit through the meal without requiring secondary entertainment beyond the food and the conversation then do not take them to epicurean or sindhu. If they will be comfortable with the food (example menus are published on the web site) and the surroundings then go for it, why should they and you miss out on the quality of what is on offer if you want to eat as a family. I don't think you can define food as ' unsuitable for children' unless perhaps it is heavily laden with booze. Kids like lobster, pensioners like fish fingers there are and should be no hard and fast rules. You will have to pay full price for them however and there is no kids menu.( though they may tweak dishes a little for them just as they would for picky adults).

.....I was going to agree about the pensioners..they can be very naughty.

Why single out pensioners, people of any age can be very naughty?

If they are 'naughty' as old people they were most likely 'naughty' all through their lives.

As always it depends entirely on the kids and in this respect their parents know best as to whether the restaurant will suit them or not and will generally act accordingly. If you would not take your kids to a high quality restaurant on land because either they would not like the food or would not have the patience to sit through the meal without requiring secondary entertainment beyond the food and the conversation then do not take them to epicurean or sindhu. If they will be comfortable with the food (example menus are published on the web site) and the surroundings then go for it, why should they and you miss out on the quality of what is on offer if you want to eat as a family. I don't think you can define food as ' unsuitable for children' unless perhaps it is heavily laden with booze. Kids like lobster, pensioners like fish fingers there are and should be no hard and fast rules. You will have to pay full price for them however and there is no kids menu.( though they may tweak dishes a little for them just as they would for picky adults).

Sensible words and I fully agree, it's just a shame they don't take a leaf out of P&O's book and charge half the adult price for 12 and understand...

I think it's good to introduce children to this type of dining early as it helps in their education and their understanding of how to behave in public - sometimes I feel that some parents are too eager to palm their kids off into the clubs ( as good as they might be) for sometimes most of the day - I don't see the point in taking your kids on holiday and not spending valuable time with them, after all, before we look around, they've left home or no longer want to go on holiday with you.....

Sensible words and I fully agree, it's just a shame they don't take a leaf out of P&O's book and charge half the adult price for 12 and understand...

 

I think it's good to introduce children to this type of dining early as it helps in their education and their understanding of how to behave in public - sometimes I feel that some parents are too eager to palm their kids off into the clubs ( as good as they might be) for sometimes most of the day - I don't see the point in taking your kids on holiday and not spending valuable time with them, after all, before we look around, they've left home or no longer want to go on holiday with you.....

SORRY - I meant, take a leaf out of Princess' book, as it is they that charge half the adult price for the cover charge restaurants - lucky enough to be sailing with the as well as P&O this year...

Reading some of the opinions above in regards to children dining in "select" restaurants and those against it, I'm now picturing a scene from out of Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut! Haha! ;)

However, although I'm taking my rowdy kids aboard with me, I understand other independent travellers wishing for a 'child free' environment (we ourselves wish for this at least once a day ha) and this is why there should be either more options for adults only dining or perhaps somebody should even make an adults only ship identical to your favourite Azura as we booked this ship on the basis that its a "family" ship?

well the ships all have kids only zones so I don't think having some of the select dining places as adults only is a bad thing (Or alternativly, only allow bookings 6.30-7 for people with kids, so you know if you book at 8,30-9 it will be kids free)

Yes set times would be a good idea, maybe,especially for children under 10? Most over tens are manageable (why am I grinning writing that) as to be honest we are aiming to have our youngest asleep at the regular time of 8 and if he's not then I certainly wouldn't be feeding him haha.

If we were excluded from the best restaurants on P&O because we could not eat as a family then we would stop sailing with them. We have made sure that our son knows how to behave in such surroundings and we all enjoy the experience of good food in good surroundings. We also do not wish to eat before 7pm thanks very much!!

P&O already have adults only ships and there are a number of lines that are adults only or have no facilities for children and therefore do not attract many. Might I suggest that those with a desire to be segregated from kids make use of those rather than try to deny the existence of kids on ships that are clearly marketed as 'family friendly'

If we were excluded from the best restaurants on P&O because we could not eat as a family then we would stop sailing with them. We have made sure that our son knows how to behave in such surroundings and we all enjoy the experience of good food in good surroundings. We also do not wish to eat before 7pm thanks very much!!

P&O already have adults only ships and there are a number of lines that are adults only or have no facilities for children and therefore do not attract many. Might I suggest that those with a desire to be segregated from kids make use of those rather than try to deny the existence of kids on ships that are clearly marketed as 'family friendly'

This was my point exactly! However my agreement with the possibility of a set dining time was in reference to maybe an idea of a theme maybe? I know it's not Disney but how good would it be to make the "posh" dinner (which is what we are discussing here I think) more child orientated? Fun! Maybe they'd all have to dress a certain way :-) I think it would be charming :-)

This was my point exactly! However my agreement with the possibility of a set dining time was in reference to maybe an idea of a theme maybe? I know it's not Disney but how good would it be to make the "posh" dinner (which is what we are discussing here I think) more child orientated? Fun! Maybe they'd all have to dress a certain way :-) I think it would be charming :-)

I am not against children in the select dining areas. Only that I would request that those children know how to behave correctly. I have dined out with some quite young children ,who were brought up to not run around screaming and shouting in restaurants. If they got bored they got out their colouring books and crayons etc.

That is all acceptable to me. I just tried to point out to the original poster that there is no reduction in the cover charge for children and no special menu. So unless their child would eat what was being offered, it may not be worth it for the parents to take there children in there.