Pinnacle Grill with a 5 year old

[edmusic]

I'll be the first to go down in flames: I'm sure you truly believe your granddaughter has impeccable manners and never would cause a scene in a restaurant. But if you're asking, you already have an inkling that the PG is inappropriate for a 5 year old.

 

I would suggest you look into the HAL program for kids in the evening where she could go and be entertained, and all the adults in your party can enjoy a pleasant dinner. Not to mention all the other diners in the PG.

I'm not gonna flame you, but would like to reply. We raised our children in a manner so that we could take them out to dinner with us no matter how upscale it was. We never had any problems but it was due to the hard work my wife and I established from the get go while dining in standard, casual references. At the first sign of disruption, one of us would take him/her outside the restaurant so as not to disturb anyone else's dinner and give them a stern talking to. After just a few trips out to the parking lot, they got the message loud and clear and behaved from then on out.

 

My biggest concern for a young child in the PG is that it takes approximately 2.5 hours to conclude the dinner meal. That's asking a LOT for a child of 5, no matter how well behaved they are. JMHO

[Swelldame]

I'll be the first to go down in flames: I'm sure you truly believe your granddaughter has impeccable manners and never would cause a scene in a restaurant. But if you're asking, you already have an inkling that the PG is inappropriate for a 5 year old.

<snip>quote]

 

I disagree with this..Many Grandparents truly know when their Grandchildren misbehave, do not have good manners, & should not be taken to a fine restaurant.. There are quite a few well behaved young children as there are young children who don't behave during a long dinner..

 

I would be the first to know if my Great Grand Children would be able to go with us to the Pinnacle..

 

We had them all here last weekend & I would take our 4 year old Great Grand daughter with us in a minute..She is exactly like her Mom (our oldest Granddaughter) was at that age.. Calm with wonderful manners & a delight to be with:):)..

 

However, we never would take our 3 year old Great Grandson with us, as he's a terror, only because his Mom (our younger Granddaughter) lets him get away with it! :eek: We love him to bits, as he's cute, but had to ask our Granddaughter more than once to keep him out of the kitchen while I was cooking & taking hot things out of the oven & off the stove..:eek::eek:

 

To the OP, If your Granddaughter is as well behaved as you say & has wonderful manners, we would not be in the least bit offended by having her with us in the Pinnacle..

 

However, I think that since the meal service is quite long, perhaps you might want to think about having an early reservation for your family only because a child of that age may become fidgety before the end of the meal.. And a good backup plan might be either lunch in the Pinnacle with her or even the HAL Children's program..

Hope you enjoy your cruise with them..They grow up fast enough!

 

Cheers...:)Betty

 

Good suggestion Betty. And if she becomes fussy, do like our parents did: warn her that it's not allowed at this nice place because she's bothering other people, and that she'll be taken back to the room if she doesn't behave. Then, follow through. That's how kids learn! I'm a child-free, low patience person, but I understand kids will be kids and they're too young or they get bored easily. It's not the child causing the ruckus that is the heart of the problem, it's the parent's lack of handling it.

 

There have been (unfortunately few) times when a melt-down has started during dinner resulting in the immediate removal of the melter by mom or dad, and everyone's reaction has gone from "Oh, God no.....", to "Wow! There's a terrific, considerate parent, and that kid is going to turn out great."

[Typhoon1]

Children are more than welcome in the PG.

 

However, it is largely an adult crowd.

[PeaceLoveCruise]

like others have said here, we've been more annoyed by ill-behaved adults in the specialty restaurants than by children. Enjoy!

 

amen!!!

[SwissMyst]

Nothing cuter than seeing kids dressed up for formal night. You can see the anticipation for the evening in their wide saucer-shaped eyes, as they check out each other's fairy tale clothes.

 

But also lots of sympathy to the parents who we see running back and forth in and out of the dining room with one child or another, all through the typically longer ship's dinner service than when dining at home. Length of the meal is an issue in ships sit-down restaurants - but some good suggestions here.

 

I remember shrimp cocktails and paper "panties put on the lamb chops at our favorite dress up restaurant called Villa de la Paix back in the 1950's when Paris was an unapproachable dream. B those restaurant meals with its tuxedoes waiters and all the little dining flourishes made for magical memories and for me and my sister so I am glad our parents took the risk of taking us out.. As well as getting to dress up for those special Sunday afternoon meals.

[elsie60]

I really appreciate everyone's response. We have never cruised with a child before and have never noticed them in the PG. It has been a great help to me to read everyone's opinions. This is the thing I love about CC. We probably won't decide until we are on board and see how she is doing before we make our reservations but it is nice to know that we have the option of taking her. Thank you so much CC'ers!

[andyandsue]

I would welcome sitting next to a well-behaved child in a fine restaurant, far more than an ill-mannered adult. I have to wonder, with those who object so fiercely, how they learned to behave when out to dinner? Or did they?

 

Amen to THAT! :)

[igraf]

It will probably be just fine, but if it goes bad you will be ruining other people's (at other tables) one-time special night in the Pinnacle. Like others said, even happy chatter might be annoying to others.

 

Just make sure that the child has no issues with the long MDR dinners first.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

We are experienced HAL Cruisers and will be cruising to Alaska for the first time this summer. We always enjoy the Pinnacle Grill but I don't remember ever seeing any children. My son, his wife and 5 year old daughter are joining us this cruise for the first time. We have taken her to many nice restaurants and she eats a wide variety of food and has excellent table manners. Does anyone have any experience with this? We are so happy to have them with us and want them to enjoy the PG with us for at least one dinner.

Thank you in advance for your input!

Lori