Dinning With Children / Reserving Pool Chairs

[D-Roc]

A couple we know has gone on two cruises so I decided to pick his brain. His first was on RC FOS and that is the ship we are seriously considering.

 

When I asked about dinning (non formal) he mentioned that kids usually eat when they are in the the kids club area and are given Johnny Rockets while the adults eat in the main dinning room(s). He also said dinning usually lasts about 2 hours. Now we want our daughter with us when we eat most of the time (dinner time). I do not want her to feel left out or feel she is being in the way. It just seems wrong not to dine with her. Do they serve items that are kid friendly?

 

 

ABout pool lounges. I have seen posted here that it is hard to get lounges together or even get one at all. It was also mentioned that people see other reserving (with towels and personal items I assume). How does the crew deal with this and what are the rules around this? It just does not seem fair that your are reserving lounges and go off for hours else where. Now if you are in the water/pool I understand and it makes sense.

Oh and one other question. Do they supply you with towels for the pool or do you have to bring your own?

 

 

Oh one more question. In the kids club, when you drop off your kids, do they give you a pager like Disney does or is there a wrist band policy for when you pick up your kid(s)? I would want to make sure my daughter is safe and does not get lost.

Our daughter will be 8 when we cruise.

[cb at sea]

Kids are quite welcome in the dining room. Dinner can last about 2 hours, but there's so much going on that kids are entertained. AO will take the kids to dinner (usually on formal nights) and the kids do enjoy it...they don't feel that you've "gotten rid of them".

 

It is NOT hard to get a lounger...you just might not get one right near the pool....there are plenty on the upper decks, overlooking the pool. You are not supposed to "hog" chairs, but some will....if you see an unattended chair that you'd like, ask the pool attendant to move the towel...

You will get pool/beach towels either in your cabin or on the pool deck. No need to bring your own!

 

Pagers are given for very young kids....8 years old won't get them. Your daughter will be safe and have a great time. No worries! they are very careful with the children in their charge!

[DonnaK]

Our children have always eaten dinner with us in the main dining room. It's never been a problem, and it's never lasted 2 hours unless we chose to linger over the meal, talking to our tablemates. Usually, dinner is 1 hour 15 minutes, and you can set the pace with your waiter. The cruiseline has always done a great job of seating us with another family that had children the same ages as our children, so it became a social event that the kids looked forward to each night too. There is a children's menu, complete with coloring and puzzle pages and the usual kid-friendly foods, however the children can order off the adult menu too. (And, the adults can order off the children's menu - the dessert is particularly delicious).

 

Early dining works best with the children...there will be plenty of other children at that seating too.

[GORDONCHICK]

Our DS always eats with us - MDR or specialties. And not just for dinner. Dinner time is when he gets to try foods he wouldn't normally. That's how he found out he loves crablegs and escargot....... Don't get me wrong - he normally order pizza or something from the kids' menu but tries foods from our plates. Heck, cruising is how I got to try escargot! I agree that early dining works best with kids.

[jamers22]

I don't know about RC, I've only sailed on Carnival, but the dining room was full of kids. My 2 young nephews were with us and they always looked forward to going. Our waiters would always make a big deal of them and have fun little things planned for them.;)

 

We cruise in the summer, so the chairs are usually taken early. But we've never had a problem getting some together by the pool (we get up fairly early too). Mostly us women get the loungers by the pool and the men get the tables in the shade right behind us. We don't try to have chairs for everyone in our group, theres always someone coming and going so we just swap up. Never had a problem.

 

I hope you and your family has a great cruise!:)

[kitty9]

Kids always are in the main dining room. And yes, the meal can last two hours, but generally speaking, it's usually about 90 minutes. On some nights they will have a pizza party for the kids, but mostly the kids dine with their families.

 

There are no pagers for the Kids Club, but you will have to sign your daughter in and out of the program because of her age. She will only be released to you, and no one else, and she cannot come and go as she pleases. They do have wristbands for the kids, with their name and lifeboat number on it.

[griffy116]

My grandson is now 16, and his first cruise, he was 3 yrs old. He has always eaten in the MDR on RCCL cruises. They have a kids menu and around age 6-7, he started ordering some of his meal off the kids menu and some of his meal off the adult menu. He always enjoyed the special attention he got from the waiters and staff. My nephew was 8 on his 1st cruise with RCCL also and has very specific likes and dislikes. They are always accomodating and we are always apologetic for the sometimes strange requests (hamburger plain with no condiments, etc). Our cruises have helped both of them develp wonderful manners, and to have acquired a much broader taste for different foods. They will now take the waiter's suggestion for their food choices and are willing to try all kinds of different dishes because they know if they don't like it, they can ask for a different dish. You'll see many children in the MDR and it's lots of fun. Enjoy.

[nicolen1101]

Another dining option is the My Time Dining which is quicker in the MDR than the traditional seating times. Or the windjammer too. If you don't see something on the buffet they would like you can always ask if there are any other options. But as for an actual kids menu you would want the MDR.

[nicolen1101]

Oh and RCL has a policy that only allows chair holding for 30 minutes. So if you are out of your chair for more than 30 minutes a staff member will move your things to a designated area where you can collect them later. I just got off a RCL cruise and did see this being enforced. Now if you are in the chair you can sit there all day of course. They just don't want people saving chairs at 8 am with no intention on using them until noon.

[wdblake]

One thing to note. Many people rush to get chairs right beside the pool. But my wife and I have found that the less popular upper deck actually gets the better breezes. The pool area doesn't get those breezes since it is down inside the ship. Trust me, when it is 90+ degrees outside you will want all the breezes you can get.

[Marie51]

Take your child to the dining room and enjoy dinner as a family. I have been on 3 cruises with my grandchildren and they always eat with us in the dining room. They can even order off the regular menu if they want to. In fact I have ordered macaroni & cheese off the kids menu for myself. There are plenty of kids in the dining room. Your friend was incorrect with what he/she told you.

[sabandmom]

Also, the loungers away from the pool usually had less foot traffic (quieter). I had heard alot about this before our last cruise and didn't really have a problem.

 

Also, I agree with the other posters that commented on kids joining you in the dining room. Give them a chance to join you in some "special grown up time". It really is some of the best time on the cruise. At least it was for us.

[johneeo]

You will find that having the children eat with you at the main dinner will be a highlight of your trip.

 

Every evening, our waiter and his assistants would present the children with a "brainteaser, puzzle, or just something of a challenge" for the kids. In actuality, it challenged all of the adults as well. Our experience was that the wait staff was as good as any entertainment offered on the ship!

 

The kids loved ordering from the main menu, trying different things, and associating with others.

[Cruisin' Chick]

A couple we know has gone on two cruises so I decided to pick his brain. His first was on RC FOS and that is the ship we are seriously considering.

 

When I asked about dinning (non formal) he mentioned that kids usually eat when they are in the the kids club area and are given Johnny Rockets while the adults eat in the main dinning room(s). He also said dinning usually lasts about 2 hours. Now we want our daughter with us when we eat most of the time (dinner time). I do not want her to feel left out or feel she is being in the way. It just seems wrong not to dine with her. Do they serve items that are kid friendly?

 

 

ABout pool lounges. I have seen posted here that it is hard to get lounges together or even get one at all. It was also mentioned that people see other reserving (with towels and personal items I assume). How does the crew deal with this and what are the rules around this? It just does not seem fair that your are reserving lounges and go off for hours else where. Now if you are in the water/pool I understand and it makes sense.

Oh and one other question. Do they supply you with towels for the pool or do you have to bring your own?

 

 

Oh one more question. In the kids club, when you drop off your kids, do they give you a pager like Disney does or is there a wrist band policy for when you pick up your kid(s)? I would want to make sure my daughter is safe and does not get lost.

Our daughter will be 8 when we cruise.

 

 

I think some of the answers to your questions will vary from cruiseline to cruiseline. I know on Carnival, we were able to check out a pager for the whole cruise so that while our girl was in the kids' room, the staff could contact us.

 

As for food in the kids area, it wasn't allowed on Carnival or Princess. When my girl was having a birthday during a Princess cruise, she was given a cake. We asked the kids' counselors if she can share it with the other kids and were told no -- no food allowed in there and because of the potential of allergies, we couldn't even bring the cake to the kids' dinner for sharing. More for us.:D

 

On Carnival and Princess, speaking of the kids' dinner, there is usually one or two dinners in the buffet that are private parties for the kids'. You drop them off at 7pm, and after the meal, they are taken to the kids' area.

 

But the kids are allowed in the MDR. If you have a toddler, the waiter will bring a high chair and fill any sippy cup with milk.

 

As for lounge chairs, I don't know of any cruiseline that condones passengers dropping their towels on the chairs to reserve for hours at a time. If you are looking for a chair up on deck, and see one with towels or books, and it's obvious no one is in the pool, ask people around there if they've seen the so-called occupant around. If they've said that they themselves have been there for 30 minutes or more, and haven't seen the person, feel free to take over the chair. Often you won't see the person, or if the person does come back after a long while and demand the chair, just sweetly say, oh, this chair was empty when I got here. (don't mention the towel or book that you placed under the table nearby)

[FINTUCKYFARMS]

A couple we know has gone on two cruises so I decided to pick his brain. His first was on RC FOS and that is the ship we are seriously considering.

 

When I asked about dinning (non formal) he mentioned that kids usually eat when they are in the the kids club area and are given Johnny Rockets while the adults eat in the main dinning room(s). He also said dinning usually lasts about 2 hours. Now we want our daughter with us when we eat most of the time (dinner time). I do not want her to feel left out or feel she is being in the way. It just seems wrong not to dine with her. Do they serve items that are kid friendly?

 

 

ABout pool lounges. I have seen posted here that it is hard to get lounges together or even get one at all. It was also mentioned that people see other reserving (with towels and personal items I assume). How does the crew deal with this and what are the rules around this? It just does not seem fair that your are reserving lounges and go off for hours else where. Now if you are in the water/pool I understand and it makes sense.

Oh and one other question. Do they supply you with towels for the pool or do you have to bring your own?

 

 

Oh one more question. In the kids club, when you drop off your kids, do they give you a pager like Disney does or is there a wrist band policy for when you pick up your kid(s)? I would want to make sure my daughter is safe and does not get lost.

Our daughter will be 8 when we cruise.

 

Our family was on the FOS in Sept, but our youngest in the group was 16. The kids ate most nights with us in the mdr, but also had several "teen" dinners and dances. The dining staff was great with the kids explaining everying on the menu and letting them know if they tried something and didn't like it, they would bring them something they did like. On several occasions, our head waiter ever showed the kids "how" to eat the new foods. It was a reall education! I don't remember the meal ever taking 2 hrs, maybe just a little over one on occasions and we were a party of 19.

 

The kids club was a great experience for the kids with all the activities and friends they made. We never really had much trouble getting a deck chair, but we did find that the employees did not really enforce the smoking rules ie smoking in the elevators and hallways.

 

They provide big beach towels that you "check out" with your room pass and you can return it or exchange it as often as you want. If you forget to check one back in at the end of the cruise, you will be charged.

 

The FOS is a great choice for families as there is so much to do. Don't forget to do some of the smaller stuff that is listed in your daily cruise paper that is delivered to your room each night. The kids will love to see how the vegi decorations and towel creatures are made. The FOS also offers mini golf, a rock wall, ice skating and the wave runner. While you daughter maybe too young, it is a source of great entertainment and is also on one of the channels on tv. Hope you have an awesome time!