Main Dining Room and Blowup Pool with 18mo

[ISTJ]

Hi All

 

We will be going on Mariner of the Seas later this year (out of Singapore) and had two main questions about the trip with our 18month old.

 

Main Dining Room - Is this like restaurant service? i.e. you order then wait for your food, or is it buffet? How do other cruisers go with their toddlers 'waiting' for dinner.

 

Swimming Pools - We found out after our trip was booked that our LO can't use the pools :( Can we bring a blowup kiddie pool and put in on the pool deck? Our toddler has two much older brother who will be at the pool a lot and it would be good if our LO could at least be near by, even if not in the actual pool.,..

 

Thanks

[Kroozen]

1. The Main Dining Room is restaurant style. You order from the menu, and then wait for your food. I was on the Mariner a few years ago, and dinners took about 1 1/2 hours. If you want a more casual option, the buffet is available, as is Johnny Rockets, room service, and a few other places.

 

2. I think there is a kids pool that your 18 month old should be able to use, but you should call the cruise line ahead of time to ask. There may be restrictions regarding diapers in the water. I don't think they'd permit a blowup pool, and I don't think you'd really have a way to fill it anyway.

[Clarea]

Maybe things have changed since the dry dock, but I don't believe there's a kiddie pool on Mariner. They had one on the first gen Voyager ships (Voyager, Adventure, Explorer), but removed it for Navigator and Mariner.

[cb at sea]

What most folks will use is a blow-up TUB...not an entire swimming pool! (think of the duck tub....useful for bathing, too!!!)..There won't be room for a swimming pool...but the tub will fit right beside your lounger. It will provide enough water for splashing....empty into a floor or shower drain.....don't empty into the swimming pool!

[DonnaK]

I wouldn't be too concerned about taking your little one to the MDR even though it is restaurant service. The staff is very good with the kids. They provide crayons and paper, and you can bring a small (and quiet) toy or electronic device to keep your child occupied in between courses. There are a lot of kids in the MDR, and it all works out ok. You can set the pace with your wait team so it doesn't have to last over an hour, especially if you are at the early seating or My Time Dining.

[boulders]

The MDR is much easier to eat at with kids than the buffet. They have people bring food to you. In the buffet, you have to find a table, get the food , get the drinks, rinse, lather, repeat, for each person. There are no trays. It is not an enjoyable experience, imo. It's possible to be in and out of the MDR in as little as 45 minutes, if you have a table for just your family.

 

Also, in the pool, neither diapers nor non-toilet-trained children are allowed. There are passengers who think because the sign says no diapers, that they can just take the diaper off the baby and that makes it OK. The pools on ships are not filtered.

 

Royal Caribbean ships do have facilities for little ones, just not a pool. They will have in cabin babysitting. They will have playgroups. The Mariner also has a nursery where you can drop your little one off for babysitting.

Edited December 11, 2013 by boulders

[Robinola]

The last cruise I was on was Carnival Dream. A young couple had a blow up pool for their toddler on deck at the foot of their lounge chairs. Perfect spot. Little pool. That kid was our Best Entertainment of The Day! Just loving splashing around in that pool. So cute! We all loved her! She was so cool! Yes, bring your pool. It was small, but fantastic. For her and us. Very fun. Very acceptable.

[ISTJ]

Its a paddling pool we have for him at home. Its round and ~ 36 inches across. Would this be too big?

Thanks!

[danyelle]

We brought the ducky tub pool but never used it.

 

I just wanted to say not to worry about the MDR meals. The servers are excellent and will bring your little one some noodles or fruit or whatever before your appetizer even comes out so he'll be occupied.

For us it was a lot easier and more relaxed to eat in the MDR than the buffet.

The buffet was like a tag team sporting event for my husband and I, and I never got to eat a warm meal there lol.

However, the windjammer staff were SUPER helpful and made our lives a lot easier. Everyone was all over our son so they'd find us tables, bring plates of random sliced fruits for him or whatever. It was very sweet.

I'm sure they'll be as helpful for you and your lil one....but I still vote for MDR for meals, even breakfast and lunch.

[spookwife]

Hi All

 

We will be going on Mariner of the Seas later this year (out of Singapore) and had two main questions about the trip with our 18month old.

 

Main Dining Room - Is this like restaurant service? i.e. you order then wait for your food, or is it buffet? How do other cruisers go with their toddlers 'waiting' for dinner.

 

Swimming Pools - We found out after our trip was booked that our LO can't use the pools :( Can we bring a blowup kiddie pool and put in on the pool deck? Our toddler has two much older brother who will be at the pool a lot and it would be good if our LO could at least be near by, even if not in the actual pool.,..

 

Thanks

 

 

there is a buffet but there is aslo table service( MDR). Most wait teams will provide meals for the little ones faster or at the very least give them something to gnaw on before the main meals arrive served course by course. for the school aged set they even have a program where the kids get served faster and then are taken back to the kids clubs so Mum and Dad can enjoy the rest of their meal in peace.

 

 

many people do bring the inflatable pools( if the ship has a splash zone for the diapered set that's even easier) but right by the pool is not smart.. tuck it in out of traffic areas.

[CntPAcruiser]

I have to say I LOVED the title of this thread:

 

"Main Dining Room and Blowup Pool with 18mo"

 

When I first saw it, I was picturing a toddler in a splash pool in the MDR :D

 

Made my day! (And thanks to all providing helpful advice to the OP.)

Edited December 12, 2013 by CntPAcruiser

[bouhunter]

As noted above, there is both table service in the Main Dining Room, and a buffet at Windjammer. You know your toddler, family, and preferences, the choice is up to you:)

 

FYI: You can also get sandwiches, pizza, etc at the Promenade Café all day and night.

Edited December 12, 2013 by bouhunter

[bouhunter]

I just wanted to say not to worry about the MDR meals. .

 

She didn't say she was "worried" about anything, simply asked whether the dining was table service or buffet (obviously both are available). I think you got side-tracked by the usual subsequent posts that started offering unsolicited advice instead of just answering the OP's question.

[BecciBoo]

Alright, show us your badge!:D

[Robinola]

Its a paddling pool we have for him at home. Its round and ~ 36 inches across. Would this be too big?

Thanks!

 

ABSOLUTELY NOT too big! Go for it...you'll have plenty of areas to put it.

Fun!!

[OCruisers]

I have to say I LOVED the title of this thread:

 

"Main Dining Room and Blowup Pool with 18mo"

 

When I first saw it, I was picturing a toddler in a splash pool in the MDR :D

 

Made my day! (And thanks to all providing helpful advice to the OP.)

 

:D Glad I'm not the only one who first thought the OP was considering taking a blow up pool to the MDR. :D

 

Seriously, OP, you should be very comfortable in the MDR. Lots easier to be served and waiters are normally great with the young ones.

 

Have a great cruise! :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

[joyride21]

Its a paddling pool we have for him at home. Its round and ~ 36 inches across. Would this be too big?

Thanks!

 

ABSOLUTELY NOT too big! Go for it...you'll have plenty of areas to put it.

Fun!!

 

Actually, I would argue that 36 inches in diameter is way too big. I can't imagine where you would put it and not be in someones way. The duck tub others have mentioned is a much better idea. Inflated it measures about 31x19.

[skis2]

We used this pool http://www.onestepahead.com/Soft-Seat-Baby-Pool.pro?omSource=SLI& when we sailed with my 15mo nephew on the Mariner a few years ago. We borrowed a bucket from the bar and used the shower to fill the pool with fresh water. We'd find lounge chairs back from the pool in a corner so we weren't in the way and we could block him in.

My sister would feed my nephew in the Windjammer before we went to dinner in the MDR. She would take a stroller to dinner. Again we were able to get a table that was out of the way in a corner and it was only our family. The waiter had Jello and a fruit plate at the table for my nephew when we arrived each night. Some nights she ordered him something from the kids menu but most nights he was sleeping in the stroller by the time our entrées arrived.

Have fun!

[joyride21]

We used this pool http://www.onestepahead.com/Soft-Seat-Baby-Pool.pro?omSource=SLI& when we sailed with my 15mo nephew on the Mariner a few years ago. We borrowed a bucket from the bar and used the shower to fill the pool with fresh water. We'd find lounge chairs back from the pool in a corner so we weren't in the way and we could block him in.

 

Tucked away in a corner something that large could work I suppose, but OP stated she wanted to be near the pool because the child in question has an older sibling...

[chengkp75]

Also, in the pool, neither diapers nor non-toilet-trained children are allowed. There are passengers who think because the sign says no diapers, that they can just take the diaper off the baby and that makes it OK. The pools on ships are not filtered.

 

Not quite correct. The main pools on ships can be either fresh water or sea water (and to the OP, your LO probably would prefer a fresh water splash tub to a salt water pool anyway). Fresh water pools are recirculated, and so are required to be both chemically treated and filtered. Sea water pools can be either "flow through" or recirculation, depending on where you are. At sea, salt water pools may be flow through, which means they are constantly pumping new salt water from the sea into the pool, and the excess overflows into the gutters and falls back to the sea. These pools do not require chemicals or filtering (though there is a strainer to keep aquatic life out of the pools). Once within 20 miles of shore, a flow through pool must either be drained or switched to recirculation, where chemical treatment and filtering must be done.

 

Splash and wading pools, as well as hot tubs and Jacuzzis tend to be fresh water. These are chemically treated and filtered.

 

Some newer ships have splash areas for children in swim diapers, but these require even more stringent chemical treatment and filtering, a dedicated attendant, and a supply of fresh swim diapers at hand.

[ISTJ]

Thanks all for the information. I promise not to drag his paddling pool into the MDR! :)

[mdjohn5]

I would just add my 2 cents that we find the MDR much easier than the buffet with young kids....but then again we have never tied it with a blow up kiddie pool....:)

 

At that age, the hard dinner rolls about the size of a tennis ball were awsome for our son. He grabbed it like a ball and would spend the first 10-15 minutes of the meal knawing on it.

[JetsFanCruiser]

Its a paddling pool we have for him at home. Its round and ~ 36 inches across. Would this be too big?

Thanks!

 

I had almost the same sized pool 4 years ago on Freedom and it worked great....It takes up no more room than a half of a lounge chair....

[CntPAcruiser]

Thanks all for the information. I promise not to drag his paddling pool into the MDR! :)

 

LOL! Yes, it is really more appropriate for the Windjammer, but only in the evening and if he's wearing a kilt. :D

[timtam2]

Its a bit of a free-for-all on Mariner out of Singapore. Pool rules? "Doesn't apply to ME or MY family". The pool will be full of kids - with or without the necessary diapers. Kudos to you for respecting the rules and planning ahead - watch out or they'll all think your blow up pool is fair game too! :p