Specialty restaurants with a 3 year old

[drew69]

It is great seeing babies in diapers in the pool😎

 

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Much better then the old farts in Depends in the pool!

[ExpatBride]

Much better then the old farts in Depends in the pool!

 

I haven't seen that yet :rolleyes:

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

yes I know celeb is marketing to families, just hope for one ship...just one that could be for adults only...yes I know, I can keep dreaming ...

 

I got almost the same dream: a ship for seniors only.......

 

Lets demand MORE segregation in the cruise industry! One ship for Americans, one for Europeans, one for men, one for women.. one for those who get sunburned easy, and one for those who dont, one for skinny people, and one for those with some kilos extra, and so on, and so one..

 

Kind regards,

 

Father to a 10 week old baby.

[donaldsc]

I will be travelling on Eclipse in August with my two young children (5 and 9), they eat out with us regularly and we will be taking them to Q-Sine and maybe Tuscan grill. We will also be eating in Luminae every night other than specialty nights, we will go prepared with small distractions for them, although these days we never seem to need them, they both love their food and eat pretty much whatever we eat.

 

We are as considerate as we can be, we would not take them to dinner late, generally 5.30-6pm because frankly I don't want to deal with 2 cranky tired children the next morning, if they misbehave then we will deal with it, we are aware of the fact that not everyone loves our children the way we do.

We love taking our children out to eat, they love it too, we don't want to put them in with babysitters all the time either, we want them to experience good food and nice atmosphere, more importantly we want to spend time with our children and holiday meals are a great time for us to bond and chat about whatever they want, frequently we are at the table for 2 plus hours, will they laugh loudly at times, maybe, hopefully, if they get too loud we will tell them again about inside voices, if only many adults would do the same, however as long as Celebrity allow us to do this, then we will, if the rules change we would respect that and obey those new rules, the same way I would expect anyone who doesn't want my children around would also respect that right now they are allowed, and direct their anger or disapproval at the rule makers, not at us.

 

Having said all that I do believe there should be a compromise somewhere along the way, no children after 8.30 or an adults only night is not unreasonable.

 

Your children are 5 and 9. The OP's child is 3. There is a big difference in the behavior and the attention span of a 3 year old and a 5 years old.

 

DON

[bplazo]

Your children are 5 and 9. The OP's child is 3. There is a big difference in the behavior and the attention span of a 3 year old and a 5 years old.

 

 

 

DON

 

 

Not much of a difference. There needs to be an adult only dining room

 

 

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[awhcruiser]

Never mind...

Not much of a difference. There needs to be an adult only dining room

 

 

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[griffy116]

Please dine where and when is good for you and your daughter. Those who do not like it can dine elsewhere!

 

Way too many people on this board who think Celebrity is an assisted living complex for the sedate and elderly

 

Can't believe the number of people advising you not to take your daughter. My Grandson is 23 and was cruising at 3...and YES....very well behaved during the dinners. In fact, I've been more annoyed and offended by adult behavior in the dining venues than children, through the years. It's been a great experience for my Grandson to travel, be exposed to different foods and people from all walks of life, both on the ship and the various ports we've visited. He's Diamond on Royal and Elite on Celebrity and I think your daughter will be fine. He's the youngest in our family now and we love running into young couples with small children when we cruise. Brings back many fond memories. Enjoy the cruise and the dining venues with your daughter.

[4cats4me]

By griffy116:

"I've been more annoyed and offended by adult behavior in the dining venues than children, through the years"

 

Just curious, have you ever had an adult ruin your meal by screaming and shrieking and crying nonstop during the entire meal?

 

 

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[keesar]

When our child was under the age of 5, we never took her to an upscale restaurant. We took into consideration her age and stage of development as well as being considerate of others. She was a well-behaved young child and was treated as a child. It appears that there are many who consider their children as companions.

[Pushka]

I'd certainly prefer an adult only dining room when paying for it. If that isn't to be then I trust that the crew will respond to any issues of behaviour just as they would with unruly adults. We were in a restaurant in Singapore recently where the parents thought it was ok for the kids to have a movie on an iPad with no headphones. It was so loud we couldn't hear the lovely music the restaurant was playing (Bocelli). Yes the kids were quiet themselves but not their means of distraction. Parents thought it was fine.

[crusinthrough]

I can't believe this discussion is still going on. As someone already pointed out, Celebrity welcomes children in all dining venues. To reassure their commitment to this policy for parents with children they have reduced the cost and added a children's menu.

 

Reason for not having children in speciality restaurants is really a moot if you think about it.

 

Early on someone said the experience is about 3 hours. This does not have to be the case. The length of the experience is within the waiter's control. I'm sure you can ask the waiter to bring the courses out more quickly if necessary when dining with a child.

 

 

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[NLH Arizona]

I'd certainly prefer an adult only dining room when paying for it. If that isn't to be then I trust that the crew will respond to any issues of behaviour just as they would with unruly adults. We were in a restaurant in Singapore recently where the parents thought it was ok for the kids to have a movie on an iPad with no headphones. It was so loud we couldn't hear the lovely music the restaurant was playing (Bocelli). Yes the kids were quiet themselves but not their means of distraction. Parents thought it was fine.

This reminds me of the time I went to a steakhouse on land and a man next to me was playing music with no earbuds or headphones. I had to ask the server to ask him if he would put on some earbudgs, because his music was not the kind of music I wanted to listen to when I ate my dinner. There are all kinds, aren't there. I've also been on planes where parents let their children play games with the sound on, but thankfully the Flight Attendants have asked them to turn the sound off.

[Moonlitherial]

I think it is great that you are letting your daughter experience "better" dining at her age. If more parents did this, there wouldn't be those children that don't know how to act when dining out. Props to you.

 

Exactly. My kids started going to a variety of restaurants right from the start. The key is the willingness to leave if it's necessary, either to pace the sidewalk (hallway in this case) outside for a while or to just give up and call it a night. Kids learn pretty quickly if you're consistent and they learn faster when they're younger. If you wait til they're at the defiant years to start teaching basic life skills like how to behave in a restaurant you're making your life a lot harder than it has to be.

 

I sympathize with the anti child crowd because at the root of it they're not really anti-child. They're anti bad parenting and anti pandering to bad parenting and banning children is the easy route to get what they really do want - a quiet dining experience. The problem is, it's like giving in to a tantrum. It's easy now, but every time you take the easy route it's harder to fix the root problem and it leaves us with horribly behaved people who are legally adults and now we all have to deal with them because the same pandering to bad customers problem exists no matter what age the badly behaved customer is.

[awhcruiser]

Best post so far.

Exactly. My kids started going to a variety of restaurants right from the start.

The key is the willingness to leave if it's necessary, either to pace the sidewalk (hallway in this case) outside for a while or to just give up and call it a night. Kids learn pretty quickly if you're consistent and they learn faster when they're younger. If you wait til they're at the defiant years to start teaching basic life skills like how to behave in a restaurant you're making your life a lot harder than it has to be.

 

I sympathize with the anti child crowd because at the root of it they're not really anti-child. They're anti bad parenting and anti pandering to bad parenting and banning children is the easy route to get what they really do want - a quiet dining experience. The problem is, it's like giving in to a tantrum. It's easy now, but every time you take the easy route it's harder to fix the root problem and it leaves us with horribly behaved people who are legally adults and now we all have to deal with them because the same pandering to bad customers problem exists no matter what age the badly behaved customer is.

[okieyankee]

Much better then the old farts in Depends in the pool!

Just remember that one day that "old fart in depends" will be you.

 

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[RealNorwegianCruiser]

Just remember that one day that "old fart in depends" will be you.

 

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..and please remember that we all used to be babies..

[ECCruise]

..and please remember that we all used to be babies..

That didn't go to quiet dining venues.

 

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[RealNorwegianCruiser]

That didn't go to quiet dining venues.

 

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Dont speak for all babies. Someone of us did..

[Jane2357]

I feel sorry for children growing up today. This push to have them "experience it all" while thinking this makes a well rounded adult down the road. No -- all it does is to rob a child of the wonderful, short time in one's life to be just that - a child. There will be plenty of quiet dining years to come.

Proving that your toddler old can sit quietly through a 2 hour meal is for the parents ego - not the benefit of the child who would be happier having a 30 minute meal and then playing or interacting with their parent in some way.

Yes - young children are allowed in specialty restaurants - and it is up to the parents to ensure that their children are not interrupting anyone else's meal. It is up to the other guests - to complain if said behavior is disrupting their experience.

My 2 cents.

[ECCruise]

Dont speak for all babies. Someone of us did..

 

I won't. Only for those that have ruined dining experiences for us over the years, including multiple nights on Constellation last month.

But, I know, all children are just fine little angels. It is the parent's fault, not the child.

Which doesn't change the fact that the meal is ruined.

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

But, I know, all children are just fine little angels. It is the parent's fault, not the child.

Which doesn't change the fact that the meal is ruined".

 

 

True. We cant blame a small baby.....