MDR with kids questions

[firsttimer2018]

We are booked on the Ruby in June with 2 elementary age kids. I have seen all the wonderful food pictures and menus posted and am excited to eat in the MDR but have a few questions.

 

What is the typical length of time that a full MDR meal takes? I have seen a few posts about 2 hour dinners. Is this typical or just someone really taking their time and enjoying the meal? The reason I'm asking is that while typically well behaved in restaurants, the kids could not handle a 2 hour dinner. Does the staff bring the food faster to groups with kids? Any other MDR dining suggestions for people that have cruised with kids are welcome.

[dfields1814]

It takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to eat in the MDR. It takes time to feed so many people at once. We took our 8 year old grandson on a cruise to Alaska. He ate with us in the MDR most of the time. When became a little bored we let him play with a video game. The table mates were good about it . They understood the problem. Another way you can handle tis situation is to feed the children at buffet or the grill or room service and then take them to the kid zone while you eat in the MDR.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

at least 1.5-2 hours. We have a 6 year old, who's been cruising since he was 3. A tablet with downloaded cartoons/games and headphones solves any problems. Nobody has ever heard a single peep out of him during the dinner time, and we've always been complimented on his great behavior. Our kid cannot go to the kid's club due to his separation anxiety, but our friends' kids are always at the club during dinner.

 

No, the staff can bring out the kids' meals faster, but not everyone's meals.

 

Other solutions:

Do any time dining and get a table for 4. This way you won't bother anyone, have to wait for anyone which can speed up the dinner.

Or ship the kids off to the kid's club and enjoy a dinner at MDR.

Or eat at the buffet as a family.

[Pam in CA]

Let the waitstaff know what time you’d like to finish dinner. They will accommodate you.

 

If you are at a large table with passengers not traveling with you, dinner will take a lot longer as chances are that someone will order all five courses. It’s the number of courses that makes the dining experience longer.

 

A suggestion is to see the Maitre ‘d on embarkation day and ask for a table with just those in your group. Either in Traditional or Anytime. The Maitre d’ has tables in Anytime for a set dining time at 7pm, after the very early Traditional diners finish dinner.

 

Our group of four did this on the Star in November. We never ordered all five courses and were usually done in about 1 ¼ hours.

 

As long as you get a table with just those in your group, you’ll be fine.

[easyboy]

You can request your waiter for priority serving for your kid. They usually accommodate it, when possible, just like for us adults when we wanted to be early at the Princess Theater to watch shows.

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

I also get a little impatient when dining takes 2 hours so I can only imagine how the kids feel.

Always have games & movies available for them and they'll probably be OK.

The waiters can only serve people so fast but when not too busy can speed things up a bit.

[Kamloops50]

We have been done in about an hour. The larger the table the longer it takes. If you take a table for your family only. You'll be able to finish faster.

[Jersey42]

As others have said, sitting at a smaller table with just your group will help. If you are just four people, this will work great. If you have a big group of 8-10, not so much. I will also second the advice of talking with your waiter. It also helps if everyone is ordering the same number of courses. If everyone orders a salad, but no soup or appetizer, things will go quicker. If everyone orders just one of these, it will be pretty much the same. However, if one of you want all three, the others will wait.

[dad2my3]

Don’t sit with other people. That will slow you down. Do any time dining, and request a table of your own. You will dine at your own pace and be finished much faster than with a larger table, where all ordering and serving will be done together. Also, if your kids get impatient and squirrelly, you won’t be worrying about how the strangers at your table might respond.

[Scrappygrrl]

Agree with others, request a table for 4 (whatever size your family is). We were in and out in an hour less (this was a week in Caribbean on Regal, Nov 2017). It was almost too speedy (per my husband), but better than too slow!

[OCruisers]

If you ask for a table for the four of you, it'll only take about an hour. ;)

[Steelers36]

Everyone on here has given excellent advice.

[Homosassa]

You have time to start having "cruise" practice where the children learn to sit at the table without the rude behavior of movies, games, and phones.

 

And before I get the angry squawking by parents, yes, I have cruised with very young children and they all could handle sitting in a MDR for dinner. It is a combination of the child's temperament and discipline and training by the parents.

[hm9912]

You have time to start having "cruise" practice where the children learn to sit at the table without the rude behavior of movies, games, and phones.

 

And before I get the angry squawking by parents, yes, I have cruised with very young children and they all could handle sitting in a MDR for dinner. It is a combination of the child's temperament and discipline and training by the parents.

 

Our family was a party of eight with three under six grandchildren. Although the meal usually lasted about 1 1/2 hours the meal began as soon as we arrived at our table. The two shrimp cocktail for each was already waiting at the table.

 

Shrimp for our table

 

Also the freshly baked Challah, the platter of lox, cream cheese, onions, tomato's kept everyone eating and happy

 

Dinner Table

 

 

Loves Mussels

 

Hungry Man

 

 

And order the kids a Volcano desert off of the children's menu

 

Volcano Desert

Our grandchildren are not allowed to bring any electronic devices or games to the dining room. They tell us all of the things that they did during the day at the kids club.

 

 

Howard

[floridalover5623]

You have time to start having "cruise" practice where the children learn to sit at the table without the rude behavior of movies, games, and phones.

 

And before I get the angry squawking by parents, yes, I have cruised with very young children and they all could handle sitting in a MDR for dinner. It is a combination of the child's temperament and discipline and training by the parents.

That's all fine as long as they don't have to begin practicing their "cruise" training at the table next to me.

Anything to keep the kids occupied and quite at the table is absolutely OK.

[cruznliz]

We took our 10 year old twin grandchildren (boy & girl) to Alaska last year. Their parents know we don't "approve" of the electronics so they only brought Kindles with them and then only read them in the cabin. We had Anytime Dining and nearly always made a reservation. We were always given a table for 4. They both enjoyed choosing their own appetizers and desserts. The boy would usually have the Kids Menu spaghetti, (a very generous portion) and the girl would order an "adult" entree. They are both good eaters so very little was wasted. I brought along a list of "conversation starters" that we used between courses at the table. Of course I can't find my list right now, but the questions can be as general or as specific as you want. I'm sure you could Google it and get a good list. For instance, what do you want to be when you grow up and why, who's your best friend and why, what's your first memory, etc. Adults at the table also have to answer the same questions. Anyway, it worked for us and we never disturbed the other diners.

[ldubs]

Let the waitstaff know what time you’d like to finish dinner. They will accommodate you.

 

If you are at a large table with passengers not traveling with you, dinner will take a lot longer as chances are that someone will order all five courses. It’s the number of courses that makes the dining experience longer.

 

A suggestion is to see the Maitre ‘d on embarkation day and ask for a table with just those in your group. Either in Traditional or Anytime. The Maitre d’ has tables in Anytime for a set dining time at 7pm, after the very early Traditional diners finish dinner.

 

Our group of four did this on the Star in November. We never ordered all five courses and were usually done in about 1 ¼ hours.

 

As long as you get a table with just those in your group, you’ll be fine.

 

Boom! - Pam hits the nail right on the head. You would do well to follow this advice.

[CruisinFinsUp]

Our family has cruised since our kids were little. We always sat by ourselves, not shared with others. We requested veggie plate for the kids and it was available right when we sat down - gave them something to munch on.

 

Often we all ate our apps and mains, the kids ate desserts too then one of us took them up to the kids club. We then -just adults - had coffee and dessert without them.

 

You might want to take them out to sit down restaurants a few times before the trip, to practise behaviour and make sure they are aware of expectations. You’ll be able to figure out if they are ok with colouring or if they need screens.

 

Depending on the timing of the kids club - they close during dinner -you may be able to feed them at the buffet if they are hungry early, and take them to the club. The timing of the club will also assist you in deciding traditional early vs anytime. I don’t know the Ruby’s itinerary for June but you’ll also want to consider port times and when you’ll be back on the ship and whether the kids will be up for a nice dinner after whatever the day had. I know ours were pretty tired after long port days and we had to adjust our meal plans accordingly on those days.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Edit -I just looked at the June itineraries -your “back on the ship” times are all over the map. I recommend you choose “anytime dining” - you can then go when is good for you, and not miss dinner if you stay late onshore or are on an excursion.

[LeeW]

With two people in Anytime we routinely get in and out in 45 minutes. The one time we sat at a table for 12 it took 3 1/2 hours. The Anytime dining rooms are also designed not to have the whole room eating the same course at the same time - you can generally order the dessert first if you want. And if you need to get out in time for a show the waiters will make it happen.

 

By the way, desserts in the main dining room are often also available in the buffet, including the Chocolate Adventures item. So if you can't stay for dessert or want a second later, head up to the buffet. Ice cream available if you ask for it.