Question about kids eating with the kids club

[caryatid]

This is our first time cruising Carnival with our kiddos, and I was wondering if some seasoned cruisers might be able to answer some questions. My kids aren't big into long drawn out dinners, they aren't big eaters and tend to get a little antsy. I, on the other hand, think that eating in the dining room is one of the highlights of crusing. I heard that I could drop the kids off and they can eat dinner with the kids club in the buffet.

 

We currently have early dining, and my question is, can I drop them off at the kids club before our early dining and then go eat with just the adults? Does anyone know what time kid dinner is and if it will work with early dining, or should we try and switch to My Time or late dining?

 

I was also wondering if the kids club was open on the first night, or does it not open until the next morning for drop off.

[mom2oneXY]

Our son is the same way. He did eat with us most nights though. Our wait staff has always loved him .I think they all dote on kiddos quite a bit...they either miss kids from back home or they know the way into the parents hearts :-) They were always great about having an appetizer out almost immediately, then they stayed a course ahead of us. We usually give DHs dessert order early so he can run DS to kids club between the meal and dessert.

 

Dinner in the lido with kids' club opens at 6:00. One of us would check him in while the other went down to the dining room to be seated. The one who dropped off was never more than 5 minutes late and the wait staff understood. They publish the kids' club meals so we picked meals we knew he would eat to guide our decisions when to use that perk!

 

An the kids club is only open for registration and touring the place the first day. Then in opens for drop off the next morning.

[brookeq]

We took the kids to dinner with us some nights and other nights to Kids club for dinner based on their menu. You check them in at the buffet area and they will take them back to the club when they are done. It’s nice to mix it up with family time and adult time.

[LMaxwell]

We took the kids to dinner with us some nights and other nights to Kids club for dinner based on their menu. You check them in at the buffet area and they will take them back to the club when they are done. It’s nice to mix it up with family time and adult time.

 

If I’m reading right the start time is same as dining room start time, or was there a buffer?

[nybumpkin]

If I’m reading right the start time is same as dining room start time, or was there a buffer?

We're beyond the kids' club meals at this point, but yes, the start time is the same. We did what one of the other posters did - one took the kids to Lido for the kids' dinner while the other went to the dining room and ordered drinks. The difference was about 5 minutes - not a big deal.

[torcruise]

Kids dinners are 6pm-6:45pm. My kids are foodies so we didn't use it much, they feed the kid low level "kids" food. Like chicken nuggets. My daughters favorite food is mussels and clams, so she is not the type! I did use it one time so I could go to chefs table. I noticed that the camp was closed just before 6:00pm that day so I had to take them to the dinning room. I don't recall if the clubs are always close before 6pm or not

[caryatid]

Thank you everyone! My kids like "kid food" and I think they will be a lot happier with a bunch of friends than at the dining room. I am a stay at home mom, so I am with my kids constantly, having a break at dinner will make it a real vacation! Good to know that you can drop the kids off and still make it to dinner on time!

[mom2oneXY]

Good for you! DH and I loved our dining room dinners alone.

 

Also, someone mentioned kids' club being closed before dinner. Our experience is that they close around 5:00 each evening and reopen at 7:00. Dinner is in the lido from 6-6:45.