Premium Mariner Restaurants and pre-teens

[Matt62]

I am pleased to have found this forum.

 

We are looking at the Mariner of the Seas as our Summer vacation with the kids (after much research on various ships and various lines). The kids were very excited about their first cruise aboard the Disney Wonder over New Years.

 

My biggest hesitation about going with RCCL is the food. While some reviewers report "good" food, many are very disappointed. I live in a town with many, many gourmet restaurants and I do not expect a souffle' made for thousands to taste like one made for 2 but I will be disappointed if the food in the main dining room is greatly inferior to that on the Wonder (where we found the food to be "OK" and learned to order things that can be made well for one thousand). With that said I'd welcome comments on the food in general but am concerned about the premium restaurants and the stated "no kids under 13 policy".

 

Our kids will be 10 and 12 on this cruise. Our 12 will be 13 in Sept (and our cruise will be in July) and he looks 16. Both kids have logged many a long dinner in five star restaurants all over the US, the West Indies and in the UK. They have excellent table manners and behavior (will outdress many adults) and we would like them to join us in CHOPS or PORTOFINO at least once.

 

Does anyone know how strictly this "13 and up" policy is enforced?

 

We did not try Palo's on the Disney Wonder because they have a minimun age of 18. I do understand the appeal of kid free dining. My wife and I visit a Caribbean resort each year that allows no one under 18 for our "kid free" trip of the year.

 

Many thanks to anyone who has any feedback on the main dining food quality in general and the age situation in the premium restaurants.

 

I suppose we could drop the kids by the kids club after their meal and we could go to CHOPS without them. Which might be a good idea later in the cruise come to think of it.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Matt:cool:

 

Disney Wonder (New Years 2005-06)

Nordic Empress (1995)

Song of Norway (1991) (Re-scheduled from the maiden voyage of the Monarch of the Seas for our honeymoon given a delivery delay)

Jubilee (1987)

Holiday (1986)

Festivale (1985)

 

You can see I took a long hiatus from cruising and opted for land vacations given my dislike for "schedules" on vacations but the recent trip on the Wonder got us excited about ships again.

[snowmouse]

We have sailed both the Wonder and Mariner with our kids, now 15 and 9. We felt the food was comparable on both ships and agree with your "ok" assessment of the food. We have eaten at Palos, and Chops and Portofino's as well. All three choices are a considerable notch above the dining room cuisine. As for bringing the children to the dining room, I'm not sure you couldn't, but personally, I wouldn't. I think for many of the other diners this is their 'grownup' night out and they may not be as pleased. We have allowed our children to go to the main seating unaccompanied or order room service or hit casual dining when we 'go out alone'. They, too, are pretty well traveled and would certainly do well in the alternative settings, but I think I would feel awkward.

[Matt62]

It may be that our kids would be happier without us during a 2 hour meal too!

 

Thanks as well for your feedback on the food. It is interesting reading reviews from travelers about their opinions on food and how on the same ship in the same dining room the food can be both "horrible/inedible" and "sumptous/wonderful".

 

I think some people (new cruisers) expect the food to reflect the same level of "elegance" as the dining room or the menu itself and the truth is that it is extremely difficult to render that level of quality when you are serving THOUSANDS.

 

When I get old(er) and want to focus on fine dining, I guess we will go with Crystal or Cunard.

 

Thanks again for your reply.

[OPSoccermom]

Matt - agree with your statement above. The two of you can enjoy a nice evening at Chops or Portofino and let the kids go "out" for dinner one night - JRs, room service, Windjammer. Our kids do that at least once on a cruise, esp. toward the end of the week and have made new friends that they'd like to dine with.