Question about early dining with a toddler

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

We have always done anytime dining and this time around we really want to try early seating since we've heard great things about it, but we don't really feel comfortable sitting with strangers since we will have our DS who will be just over 2 when we cruise. Given his age and that there will only be 3 of us, what are the chances that they will automatically seat us at a table for 4 and we will be by ourselves?

I know that most people don't want to sit at a table with a toddler during any meal so I wasn't sure if they take that into consideration when they do the table assignments. I can remember some of the looks that we got in the MDR when we took him on the Fascination at 14 months and people were sat at a table near us during breakfast or dinner. I just don't want to feel uncomfortable during our meal because we are seated at a large table with others who may not like being around younger children.

[CENTEX CRUISER]

Wife and I cruise mostly by ourselves , and almost always are able to get a table for 2..

[JinxyB]

Just back from the Dream with my 2 y/o and we were seated by ourselves kind of in an isolated corner of the dining room. We had early dining but only went a few times as my child was not into sitting still for a long dinner. The staff was great about bringing his food quickly, but we left early most nights. We had better luck with the buffet, room service, and he even ate with Camp Carnival a few nights.

[golfadj]

If not happy with table assignment see MD first day.

 

Wouldnt be surprised if they sat you at a table with young couple with their own kids.

[mondello]

We were on Valor/Glory B2B in Dec. with our son, age 4. The first week we were seated with another couple and their 4yo son. The second week, we were seated in the middle of the MDR at what was basically a 2 top with a third chair added for our son. It was the first time we'd been seated in the prime real estate with the beautiful people in the center of the MDR.

[yoursurfer]

We have cruised since our kids were very young. I do believe Carnival has thus down to a science! We have always been seated with other families with small children which actually turned out great because the kids occupied each other.

[indygirl76]

If you're worried about your table assignment, you don't even have to wait until after the first - possibly uncomfortable* - dinner. As soon as you board the ship, head for the MDR - the Maitre D and his assistant(s) will be there to answer questions and make last minute changes if you feel like they're necessary.

 

* IMO, it all depends on the toddler in question. If he can sit still ish and be quiet ish during a 90 minute meal, you should be fine seated with anyone, and if you get The Looks, that person is just a jerk. If he's more apt to shriek and throw food at fellow diners... maybe not. You know your son, and I'm sure you'll make the right decision for him, yourself, and other guests.

[marshhawk]

On our last cruise I noticed two very important things-one that familes with kids were seated with families with kids or by themselves, (except at open seating at breakfast and lunch in the MDR )and two-the staff interacted with the little ones wonderfully! The staff is far from family, and having the little ones around make their life happier. We saw the dining staff pick up one of the little ones to dance with them-so cute!

[golfadj]

On our last cruise I noticed two very important things-one that familes with kids were seated with families with kids or by themselves, (except at open seating at breakfast and lunch in the MDR )and two-the staff interacted with the little ones wonderfully! The staff is far from family, and having the little ones around make their life happier. We saw the dining staff pick up one of the little ones to dance with them-so cute!

 

We also noticed that when we cruised with our than 1 year old grandson the staff loved to be around him.

[MrPete]

We have always done anytime dining and this time around we really want to try early seating since we've heard great things about it, but we don't really feel comfortable sitting with strangers since we will have our DS who will be just over 2 when we cruise. Given his age and that there will only be 3 of us, what are the chances that they will automatically seat us at a table for 4 and we will be by ourselves?

I know that most people don't want to sit at a table with a toddler during any meal so I wasn't sure if they take that into consideration when they do the table assignments. I can remember some of the looks that we got in the MDR when we took him on the Fascination at 14 months and people were sat at a table near us during breakfast or dinner. I just don't want to feel uncomfortable during our meal because we are seated at a large table with others who may not like being around younger children.

 

We have had two different arrangements.

 

Placed at a table with another family with a child the same age.

 

Placed at a 4 top.

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

Thank you everyone! He did great in the MDR on the Fascination in the fall. We always had a crew member at our table bringing him little gifts, drawing, playing or just talking to him so I'm not worried about his behavior, but we still have 11 months to go so I'm sure he will change a lot before we sail.

How early do they open the dining room on embarkation day so you can take a look and see where your table is?

[gelo7]

We cruise with our kids, and we are always seated alone.

[092306]

We chose anytime dining with our 2 year old specifically so we could sit as a family and not worry about others who may not be keen on sharing a table w/a toddler. You can go the same time as early seating and not have to worry about who you will be seated with. We ended up keeping the same waiter team each night so there was no lack of personalized service and they loved our son.

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

We have always had anytime dining, including the one cruise we took our son on last year. Until we went on the Legend, we had good luck at always getting a great wait team, but the Legend is what soured us on anytime dining. We had three different sets of waitstaff and only one of them were amazing while the other two sets were extremely rude, slamming plates down on the table and not coming back to check on us or give refills on water at all.

BTW, if you sail on the Legend and do anytime dining this year ask for Fritz! He's the best head waiter we have ever had! He said he's going to be on the ship while she's doing the Med. cruises.

I've heard that having a set dining time, the waitstaff will try and have things for your toddler when you sit down like milk, fruit or something to nibble on while they are getting everything going with the dinner service. I hope that happens for us because that would keep him busy for the first half of dinner and knowing he's getting ice cream or cake will definitely keep him going after the main course. :D

[CruiserBren]

My 4 1/2 year old granddaughter is just back from her third cruise. Her first cruise was at age 2 years and 2 days and we had anytime dining. It was okay, but just okay. Someone usually had to run her up to Camp Carnival when she got tired of waiting on dinner. Her 2nd cruise, we had early dining. It was the difference in night and day. We didn't have to wait in line each night to be assigned a table. The staff were ready for us each night with her milk and crackers. Actually, we were seated in an area with younger children all around us. It was actually funny to see the number of parents who had iPads with them to keep their children from disturbing others. This last cruise, we had 15 family members for my daughter's wedding cruise. Most of us had early dining and the wait staff were again ready for her each night. We've tried anytime dining without her and it seems to have a wait either in line waiting for a table or if it's really busy sometimes 30-45 minutes.

[Almost Packed]

If not happy with table assignment see MD first day.

 

Wouldnt be surprised if they sat you at a table with young couple with their own kids.

 

exactly what i was going to say....

:p