We don't expect...

[davyjones]

Reading a recent review of the QV cruise to Iceland I came across this comment:

 

'... a baby in a push chair at a black tie dinner and event. Not what we pay Grills prices for.'

 

As they didn't mention any noise or aroma emanating from said baby I can only assume they were upset at being reminded of their own mortality.

 

Anything else people in PG/QG don't expect to suffer?

 

DJ

[English Voyager]

I assume that the point being made is why did the parents of the young child not utilise the on-board baby sitting service which I gather is available until midnight.

[brigittetom]

No offense to the baby........but a baby does change the ambiance of a formal gathering.

[Jim Avery]

No offense to the baby........but a baby does change the ambiance of a formal gathering.

 

And a great many people never seem to grasp that. Or just don't give a hang:

[deck chair]

Hello

 

I really don't see a problem with the baby being in the dining room assuming the baby was not being loud and disruptive.

 

Thanks.

 

deck chair

[wripro]

Was the baby wearing a tuxedo?

[newjoisey]

was i the only one waiting for the tux question ?:D

[sarafinadh]

Nope ; -)

 

But I thought it over and decided that a christening gown would be suitably formal!

[DWhit]

Perhaps the baby was German, and had paid a very low price for its suite?! :)

[brigittetom]

I would admire any baby who paid for it's own suite....regardless where it came from. :)

[English Voyager]

Could be a Dot.com millionaire ,who invariably look younger and younger.:)

[cunardaddict]

No offense to the baby........but a baby does change the ambiance of a formal gathering.

 

No.

[cunardaddict]

Perhaps the baby was German, and had paid a very low price for its suite?! :)

 

Must have been. I attended a banquet given for the visit of the Shah of Persia on his request when I was a baby. And no, I was not part of the menu (giving newjoisy the answer before beeing asked:p)

 

Not all elderly people do avoid meeting the youth...

[pepperrn]

No.

Yes.

[Brightwaters]

Yes, on QM2 westbound in QG this year, a few tables away one guest suffered an attack. And then he died. At table. Really.

[cunardaddict]

Yes, on QM2 westbound in QG this year, a few tables away one guest suffered an attack. And then he died. At table. Really.

 

That is sad. Imagine you start a TA happily as a couple and then finishing with a coffin.

 

But then I met a nice couple from Bristol. He,over 80, wasn't to well but happy and said he wouldn't mind passing away on such a trip. He is still happy 82 now...

[capnpugwash]

Yes, on QM2 westbound in QG this year, a few tables away one guest suffered an attack. And then he died. At table. Really.

 

He was attacked by a baby?? Really? Or was it the parents of this intrusive object who attacked him? I'm very confused by all this back and forth.

[cunardaddict]

He was attacked by a baby?? Really? Or was it the parents of this intrusive object who attacked him? I'm very confused by all this back and forth.

 

He had one of the cocktails made for the baby before dinner.

[PunkiC]

I like children well enough, but I don't want to eat with them on a cruise. The whole idea of being stuck with the same people at dinner for an entire cruise makes me a little nervous. If one of them turned out to be a child, I would change tables. I might end up changing tables anyway.

 

The fact that Cunard does not offer any dining option except a fixed table, is the one thing I don't like about the line.

[maina]

For those who do not want fixed tables/dining companions for every meal, you can always book in Britannia so you're only "stuck" with companions at dinner. We so much enjoyed meeting different people in Britannia for breakfast and lunch that we'd hesitate to book in grills cabins, even if we wanted to spend that kind of money. We never asked to be seated alone, as we generally liked meeting all the different people (exception being a couple from Texas with whom we very much disagreed about gun carrying, though in the interests of peace at the table we didn't say much about it). We really liked our "fixed" dinner companions too; we joked that the "colonials" had been put together, as we were American (us) plus a couple from Canada and one from Australia.

 

As to babies, I personally see no problem with them in the dining room, so long as they are quiet and well-behaved and someone immediately takes them out if they become at all fussy or disruptive. Older children could actually be more disruptive to fine dining than a quiet baby. On the other hand, if people in the dining room are paying a lot of attention to the baby, maybe that could be disturbing to others who are not so enamored of babies, or at least not babies in that location. My stereotype (from novels and movies) of upper class British dining at home is that children don't eat with their parents but are fed in the nursery by nanny, perhaps being ceremoniously brought out to greet the guests or say good night to parents.:D

Edited August 5, 2014 by maina
fixed typo

[balf]

 

. My stereotype (from novels and movies) of upper class British dining at home is that children don't eat with their parents but are fed in the nursery by nanny, perhaps being ceremoniously brought out to greet the guests or say good night to parents.:D

 

It's no stereotype that's about correct most everywhere here.

 

The British are very traditional.

 

David.

[maina]

Aha--mystery solved. Poster who objected to "baby in a push chair" is British and traditional about children and dining. In the U.S, we would call it a stroller. However, I did note that some of the people agreeing with the sentiment were American. :D

[Jimsgirl]

My first voyage, children did NOT dine with adults, they had heir own meal time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On my first voyage, children did NOT dine with adults. Children had their own dining time, their own menu's.

 

In the evening children had their "child sitter" in their cabins - the sitters were paid by the parents. Yes some children did have their own nannies, but otherwise the parents made their own private arrangements with the cabin staff.

 

It was understood that our children would NOT interfere with the activities of the other passengers.

 

Screaming children, children running around , or children "dumping" in their diapers , do not make for a pleasant evening. Every night was formal (with the exception of first and last, but even then people dressed well)

 

On that voyage, the Captain attended every meal, and it was known that every one in the dining room would act in a civilized manner.

[English Voyager]

It cannot be any kind of nanny.

 

It has to be a 'Norland Nanny'. :)

 

[brigittetom]

The OP was talking about a review from someone attending a dinner, formal event, in QG...I can understand how they wouldn't be thrilled to have a baby in attendance. Isn't the whole point of booking QG to have a more formal environment?

 

In Britannia, we expect to have children in the diningroom and obviously they are more than welcome since they are booked passengers traveling with their most ardant admirerers. We always have second seating so there have been very few children. We didn't love the "push chair" next to us with the invisable one playing with their iPad that was on full volume...or the one screaming thruout dinner...or the family that thought the little ones rule.

 

I don't think that there is anything wrong with people not appreciating having young children next to them for the adult dining experience that they were expecting. The children have a right to be there...but that doesn't mean that everyone has to love it, or that everyone needs to be politically correct.