Kids and the MDR

[ctsharpie05]

I am hoping that my kids pick new food (that they have not previously tried) off of the standard MDR menu and not just the kids meal items. I told them now would be the perfect time for them to try new things since it is included in price...they were not interested :(

I would be interested in hearing what your young ones liked in the MDr (I am sailing Royal and there is no Roll Call for my ship yet)..TIA

[travelhound]

I usually try to find something that our 4 year old dd likes off the main menu. She likes roasted chicken and fish so we've tried both of those. She had some of dh's calamari and liked it so she ordered it for herself. It was much more appealing because Daddy had it. Many dishes have mashed potatoes, although our dd is probably the only kid who doesn't like them. I told her if she tried something new she could get anything she wanted for dessert. Probably would have been the case anyway but she didn't know that. See if you can come up with an incentive. If they try it and don't like it they can always get something from the kid's menu.

 

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[bubba83]

My plan is to encourage them to try something new, even if its just a bite...otherwise they will probably pick chicken tenders and fries or spaghetti for 10 nights in a row.....

My kids will be 3 and 5.5 when we sail so I think we will offer them bites of my meal and hubby's meal to give them a chance to try new things....after all we can order as many things as we want :)

 

At home they eat what I make, they have no choice....if they tried it and don't like it then they have a pb sandwich....but typically when we go out to eat they always shout out chicken and French fries...

[travelhound]

My dd says she wants chicken tenders but then wants the crust cut off. She's only been on NCL but next month we'll be on RCCL so it will be different. One thing I noticed they have is cold strawberry soup. Get that for sure. I bet they'll like that. Our dd has liked some of the soups. She's right between your kids in age. Turning 5 in a couple of months. She just decided that she sometimes likes salad too so I think we'll try ordering that. This is after years of spitting it out. Even if they order tenders you can usually get something other than fries like fruit. And that's fruit you didn't have to wash and cut.:)

 

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[Queen of Oakville]

The quality of the food is so much better on the adult menu :D

 

My kids are 8 and 9, but since 4/5 have been ordering off the adult menu. My kids will usually order the beef entrée (prime rib, tenderloin etc.). If nothing else, they will go for the every day steak. My kids eat a lot of beef :D

 

Sometimes they will go for the grilled chicken breast. I let them have fries and chicken fingers or pizza for lunch, so dinner has to be a good meal.

 

I will often ask the waiter to make sure they have steamed broccoli with their dinner. It has never been an issue.

 

My kids will usually order a salad. My daughter has a ceasar, and my son orders it with no dressing. Sometimes my daughter will order shrimp cocktail. They usually read the menu and see if there is something they want to try. Often, my daughter will ask for a bite of my plate if she wants to try something new.

 

Dessert is always off the adult menu.

[sherryf]

On their first cruise, my kids were 2, 5 and 8. Their cousins were 3.5 and 6.5 (and a baby but he doesn't really count). I encouraged my older two to order off the adult menu, and we fed the 2 year old from our plates. My 8 year old ordered the beef dish every night - prime rib, strip steak, etc. The 5 year old ordered fish every night, which was surprising because I never made it at home and he'd only had salmon a few times at a local festival. They also had fruit as an appetizer or picked something from the menu. They both ate up their meals every night and enjoyed them very much.

 

Their cousins, on the other hand, ordered chicken nuggets every night. I kept telling their mom to have them order from the adult menu, but she said they wouldn't eat anything from the adult menu. By the 3rd night, they were whining and picking at the chicken nuggets. Grandma finally gave the 3.5 year old something from her plate... and she ate it! Nevertheless, the mom insisted that they wouldn't eat anything in the dining room and took them to the buffet for dinner the rest of the week. :rolleyes:

 

A cruise is a great opportunity for kids to try new things. Also, most menus have some plain items, such as roasted chicken breast, which is so much better than fried chicken nuggets. You can often order things without sauce too. If they don't like the vegetables, potatoes, etc. on the plate, they can just ignore them, but encourage them to at least taste things.

 

It's been nearly 15 years since that first cruise, and now when I take my (mostly) grown up kids on a cruise, they eat nearly everything in sight. They still have their own pickiness over certain items (cheese, potatoes, etc.) but they have learned to order what they like and still enjoy trying new things.

[travelhound]

sherryf,

 

I'm hoping my dd will grow up to be like your kids, which is why I encourage her to try everything. Mostly it's because I'm the exact opposite. I won't try anything. My mom only made what we liked and it was pretty limited, mostly because of feeding a family of six on a limited budget. Nevertheless, I'm not as adventurous as I would like and as an adult I think it's harder to change. The hardest part is when my dd will say, "You try it first." :)

[Syrreal]

My then 3 year old loved the escargot. He had it on the 3 or 4 out of 12 nights he was in the MDR. My older and way more picky then 7 yr old mainly ate pasta the whole time and bread but he did try some new stuff and a garlic "mushroom bit" that he accidentally got on his toasted bread when dipping it in the escargot garlic oil.

[ctsharpie05]

My dd says she wants chicken tenders but then wants the crust cut off. She's only been on NCL but next month we'll be on RCCL so it will be different. One thing I noticed they have is cold strawberry soup. Get that for sure. I bet they'll like that. Our dd has liked some of the soups. She's right between your kids in age. Turning 5 in a couple of months. She just decided that she sometimes likes salad too so I think we'll try ordering that. This is after years of spitting it out. Even if they order tenders you can usually get something other than fries like fruit. And that's fruit you didn't have to wash and cut.:)

 

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My daughter loves strawberries so I am sure she will love that. Thank you for letting me know about that. My DD just discovered salad as well! She loves Ceasar the best. Thank you for your reply.

[bubba83]

my girls LOVE fresh fruit too, I told them how much strawberries, cantaloupe, and hopefully watermelon will be available...I'm sure their breakfast and lunches in the buffet area will include a bowl or plate of fruit daily....

 

my oldest is also excited about the bacon, I don't make it often and she would eat a whole pound if you let her, HAHA

[mikesteg]

Our kids tend to get a fruit plate, sometimes a soup, pasta of the day 'dry' or with red sauce, and the veggie of the day. They are welcome to order off the adult menu, but we don't push them to try new things at dinner when getting another plate of food may well take 15 minutes.

 

If there is a fruit plate on both menus, order the one off the adult menu.

 

The buffet is a great place to try new foods. You can take a limited quantity, and if it doesn't work out its easy enough to get something else. Just about everything, including prime rib, shows up on the buffet eventually. I pretty much try everything first, and I'll tell them if they should skip something because it's poorly cooked, too spicy, whatever. That has allowed them to be fairly adventurous eaters with limited risk. The down side is that they eat up all the good stuff.... :)

[chevreuil]

When we go to a restaurant, we do not ask our 3-year old daughter what she'd like (she would change her mind a minute after ordering anyway ;) ).

We order a soup or something else that we know she likes, and 2 different entrees, and then she can pick what she wants from each of them, and we eat the rest.

 

She will be on her first cruise in May (she will be 4 by then), and I'm not sure how to handle it in the MDR. I think, we need to order something for her, for each dish, otherwise, she might not want to stay at the table for such a long time.

 

I hate to see food go to the bin, therefore, I will not let her order what she wants and then order something else, if she doesn't like it.

 

In general, she likes meat, fish, soups, curries, potatoes, pasta and some, but not all kinds of vegetable. She does not like fruit. (except for apples and pears)

[Queen of Oakville]

Food is pretty mass-prepared, so don't worry about it taking too long to get a replacement. You can always let your daughter try off your plate, and then order her own if she likes it.

 

The list of foods she eats sounds pretty adventurous to me, so I would not worry!

 

Depending on the cruiseline, most meals can be customized.

 

Royal/Carnival - they may not take the asparagus off the plate (if that is part of the meal description) but they will gladly bring you an extra plate of the veggie you desire. Sometimes, special orders are accommodated but it depends on the servers. Most prefer just to grab the plate "as is" and then bring you the replacement item you ask for. On a Carnival cruise, DH asked if he could order a lunch sandwich without the cheese, and the waiter said, "can't you just scrape it off?". On a Carnival cruise, DD wanted apples for dessert. The waiter's reply was, "it's not on the menu".

 

 

HAL/X - generally the meal will arrive as you order it with all substitutions. DD ordered apples again for dessert, and it arrived, neatly carved and fanned on a plate and some garnish too. On X, the kids customized pretty much every adult meal they ordered to take out what they didn't want and sub in what they liked, NO PROBLEM!!!

[wampuscat7]

My 1 1/2 year old daughter loved the chilled fruit soups. They're a big hit with me as well.

 

She did not like the escargot. She tried it, though!

 

The first night on Oasis, there was a yummy fruit appetizer. She ate almost all of mine, so the waiter brought two more!

[chevreuil]

@Queen of Oakville:

Many thanks for your tips :)

We will be travelling X (Silhouette), so your experience is very helpful.

Soooo looking forward to the cruise in May, can't wait!!

 

Greetings from Switzerland

(This is soooo amazing to share tips and experiences with people from all over the planet! :) )

[SadieN]

Carnival's kids menu has a banana split for dessert. Many adults order this.

[phxbne]

My daughter's 'cruise favorite' is French Onion soup - she will order it every night.

She is 10, and now gets both the kids and the adult menu - usually she chooses from the adult menu.

When she was younger, just having her try some of what we ordered worked well. I also encourage her to be more adventurous at the buffet, where she can try 'just a bite' and waste is not an issue.

She was 5 on our first X cruise - one night she could not decide on her dessert so the waiter brought her both......she was amazed!

Her most recent 'cruise find' is steamed artichoke!

Have a wonderful cruise!

[john watson]

I have been taking daughter to the MDR on cruises for over a decade, she is now 13. My strategy is to tell her to look at the main menu and I will help. Try to order something you have not previously had to see if you like it. When it arrives she has been told to try eating it and if she does not like it simply leave it, whatever course it is. Politely lay knife and fork down and sit quietly. The proviso is that if she is still hungry I take her up to the buffet later in the evening at a time of her choosing. We seldom end up there these days and she has done the escargot and frogs legs and always asks me what I think. It has worked well over the years more particularly the latter years. We never look at the children's menu now and I remind her of the "always available" fall back option if need be.

 

Regards John

Edited January 15, 2016 by john watson

[Queen of Oakville]

My 1 1/2 year old daughter loved the chilled fruit soups. They're a big hit with me as well.

 

She did not like the escargot. She tried it, though!

 

The first night on Oasis, there was a yummy fruit appetizer. She ate almost all of mine, so the waiter brought two more!

 

Another example I just thought off (relating to Celebrity) ... my son is nut allergic, so each night we order his meal for the next night, so it can be prepared in a nut-free environment for him. I noticed one night that the next night was beef wellington. I assumed it was individual portions and asked if it could prepared without the mushrooms (or maybe it was liver - can't recall!). I was told that it was prepared in large rolls and then sliced. The Maitre D asked it was okay if they reserved beef tenderloin, and prepared beef tenderloin for them. of course, I said yes, and the kids loved it!

 

If you are especially concerned (and you do not need to be!) you could always ask to look at the menu for the following evening, so you can pre-order any customizations. But I would not worry about celebrity staff being accommodating. Service is excellent!