Age restriction in Murano and Tuscan Grille

[Beachlady53]

I am booked on the Equinox 4/15 with my husband, adult children, and 5 year old granddaughter.  We wanted to book reservations in Murano and Tuscan Grille. I noticed on the cruise planner both of these restaurants have age restrictions of 13 years old.  I'm confused if this really is the policy as I have seen children in Luminae, and Blu,  younger than 5.

[mom says]

1 minute ago, Beachlady53 said:

I am booked on the Equinox 4/15 with my husband, adult children, and 5 year old granddaughter.  We wanted to book reservations in Murano and Tuscan Grille. I noticed on the cruise planner both of these restaurants have age restrictions of 13 years old.  I'm confused if this really is the policy as I have seen children in Luminae, and Blu,  younger than 5.

Luminae and Blu are not specialty restaurants. They are respectively the designated dining rooms for suite and Aqua class pax. 

[downsmead]

Possibly since Luminae and Blu are assigned dining rooms whilst Murano and Tuscan are speciality (paid for) dining

[cruisestitch]

Exactly so.

[garyl62]

21 minutes ago, Beachlady53 said:

I am booked on the Equinox 4/15 with my husband, adult children, and 5 year old granddaughter.  We wanted to book reservations in Murano and Tuscan Grille. I noticed on the cruise planner both of these restaurants have age restrictions of 13 years old.  I'm confused if this really is the policy as I have seen children in Luminae, and Blu,  younger than 5.

There is a live from the Millennium thread going now where the poster discussed taking her 9 year old to Tuscan.  You can probably read about the experience and even ask on that thread if there was any push back, questioning or special steps she needed to take to bring her daughter along.

[mikewomb]

I would not take young children on a cruise…however there are people that do. My recommendation is get a babysitter..that type of dining is not fun for children. 

[garyl62]

Well that didn't take long......🤐

[Arizona Wildcat]

9 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

Well that didn't take long......🤐

I took my children and grandchildren.  The youngest was 14.  They had a couple issues with stupid stuff the staff did not find amusing.

Garyl- I would not suggest taking a young child on a TA.  Alaska or the Caribbean very different situations.

If I was interested in taking a 5 year old to Murano there is a really simple solution - take your child and ask the Matre'd. 

[bigbenboys]

I'm sure it is out there somewhere. Murano used to be 12 and over. That went away years ago. My understand is that Celebrity does not have a age requirement anymore.

[Jim_Iain]

From this exert from Celebrity I'm making an assumption their is no longer a age restriction for Specialty Dining. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, downsmead said:

Possibly since Luminae and Blu are assigned dining rooms whilst Murano and Tuscan are speciality (paid for) dining

I don't believe either Luminae or Blu have age restrictions as they are the assigned dining rooms.   Very few children in Blu as AQ has a restriction of 2 passengers only so unless traveling with a single parent they would probably not be in Blu.  Possible exception would be a suite passenger dining in Blu with their children.

 

 

[keesar]

19 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

I'm sure it is out there somewhere. Murano used to be 12 and over. That went away years ago. My understand is that Celebrity does not have a age requirement anymore.

 

You are correct.  There used to be an age restriction but that was removed.  Thankfully, most parents have the good sense not to bring a 5 year old to a quiet restaurant for a 2 hour meal.  

[garyl62]

51 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

I took my children and grandchildren.  The youngest was 14.  They had a couple issues with stupid stuff the staff did not find amusing.

Garyl- I would not suggest taking a young child on a TA.  Alaska or the Caribbean very different situations.

If I was interested in taking a 5 year old to Murano there is a really simple solution - take your child and ask the Matre'd. 

I didn't ask the question, and I don't have a child under 28 and no grandchildren.  Not sure why you're directing anything to me, or why you feel the need to talk about different types of cruises.  The OP is on the Equinox, a ship in the Caribbean all year.

[K12Guy]

 Holy smoke. Who expects a 5 year old child to sit through a two hour dinner and not get bored and want to move around? Most folks take their 5 year old to McDonald's playland. Not the local steak house. Give it some adult thought, really.

Edited March 6, 2022 by K12Guy
typo

[downsmead]

14 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I don't believe either Luminae or Blu have age restrictions as they are the assigned dining rooms.   Very few children in Blu as AQ has a restriction of 2 passengers only so unless traveling with a single parent they would probably not be in Blu.  Possible exception would be a suite passenger dining in Blu with their children.

 

 

It was probably badly worded - I meant that Luminae and Blu would not have an age restriction but the others may. However it seems that is no longer the case based on the image you posted 👍

[killsport]

@Beachlady53 since there is no age restriction in the restaurants, it is up to you to bring a five year old. Some can handle a fancy restaurant; some can't (by the way, the same can be said for adults).

If you have taken her out to restaurants where she had to behave like you (and other patrons) want her to behave in the Celebrity specialty restaurants, then enjoy! If you think she'd have a hard time and make it difficult for you or others to enjoy their special occasions, perhaps a different venue is appropriate. For my $0.02, Murano is a lot fancier than Tuscan, and *less* appropriate for a younger child (in that the menu may not appeal as much). But that's my opinion.... Happy Sailing!

[Bead Pirate]

In Tuscan 5 times on the Connie (three weeks ago). We eat early (6:30) and three of the nights we were in there a couple had a 5 year old boy and a 7 year old girl who sat at the table next to us on all three occasions. They were delightful and very well mannered.

 

We enjoyed the conversation with the parents and the children and I was able to turn them onto the best dessert on the ship (Pistachio Doughnuts with a scoop of vanilla Ice Cream).

 

If your child is accustomed to fine dining they will be fine and the staff will go out of their way to make it fun for them.

[Virginia100]

40 minutes ago, Bead Pirate said:

In Tuscan 5 times on the Connie (three weeks ago). We eat early (6:30) and three of the nights we were in there a couple had a 5 year old boy and a 7 year old girl who sat at the table next to us on all three occasions. They were delightful and very well mannered.

 

We enjoyed the conversation with the parents and the children and I was able to turn them onto the best dessert on the ship (Pistachio Doughnuts with a scoop of vanilla Ice Cream).

 

If your child is accustomed to fine dining they will be fine and the staff will go out of their way to make it fun for them.

Correct, it’s not the age but the maturity and experience the children have had. 

[Josie201]

This is a new area for me ...  DH and I are taking our extended family on a cruise on Beyond November 2023.  At the time, there will be a 14 month old and a three year old.  I was really hoping for one night special dinner in Fine Cut (or similar).  I doubt the parents will want to leave the kids with the on-board sitters (if they even still exist), so I was thinking between the four parents they could take shifts in watching the kids so that mostly everyone could be at dinner for at least part of the time.  Maybe I should re-think this.  Any suggestions for a family dinner?.  I recognize with young kids MDR dining will not be doable most nights as everyone will have their own timetables.  I was really hoping for one night all together though. 

[upwarduk]

10 minutes ago, Josie201 said:

At the time, there will be a 14 month old and a three year old. 

So, the 14 month old isn’t yet born!!😱

[Josie201]

Just now, upwarduk said:

So, the 14 month old isn’t yet born!!😱

Yep.  Due in September.

[garyl62]

7 minutes ago, Josie201 said:

This is a new area for me ...  DH and I are taking our extended family on a cruise on Beyond November 2023.  At the time, there will be a 14 month old and a three year old.  I was really hoping for one night special dinner in Fine Cut (or similar).  I doubt the parents will want to leave the kids with the on-board sitters (if they even still exist), so I was thinking between the four parents they could take shifts in watching the kids so that mostly everyone could be at dinner for at least part of the time.  Maybe I should re-think this.  Any suggestions for a family dinner?.  I recognize with young kids MDR dining will not be doable most nights as everyone will have their own timetables.  I was really hoping for one night all together though. 

If the family time is more important to you than the venue, try to plan something in Oceanview Cafe for an evening.  Less formal, space for kids to get up and move, everyone can be together, and many times the evening menu options are very good.  While you won't have the service level of a dining room, you may enjoy the fellowship much more as everyone can just relax. Just an idea, good luck!

[Josie201]

1 minute ago, garyl62 said:

If the family time is more important to you than the venue, try to plan something in Oceanview Cafe for an evening.  Less formal, space for kids to get up and move, everyone can be together, and many times the evening menu options are very good.  While you won't have the service level of a dining room, you may enjoy the fellowship much more as everyone can just relax. Just an idea, good luck!

That is an excellent idea that I had not even considered!  The family time is more important for this one evening.  We can do a specialty dining another even with those who can enjoy the experience.  Thank you. 

[juksing]

As countless others have said it really is up to your own knowledge of your child and also your etiquette in recognizing and respecting the other guest and staff.  We have never had any issue bringing our daughter with us since she was 7 months old into any specialty dining restaurant on the cruise lines we have been on.  Even at a young age she knew it was a special dinner and loved getting dressed up and saying Hi to the other guest and staff.  Maybe once or twice we have had to take turns and take her out for a walk but it has never been an issue.  Just have a plan ready in case of a temper tantrum type issue.   As long as you and your kids are diligent in having a  respectful and pleasant meal there should never be an issue. 

 

In my experiences in specialty restaurants the things of note is the rare occasional inebriated adult cursing or telling NSFW stories loudly and also the rare evil, pre-judgment looks from people when I brought my baby/toddler into the specialty venue.  But vast majority no one bats an eye and kids and teens always seem to be extra well behaved and dressed up.

 

 

[camella]

1 hour ago, Josie201 said:

This is a new area for me ...  DH and I are taking our extended family on a cruise on Beyond November 2023.  At the time, there will be a 14 month old and a three year old.  I was really hoping for one night special dinner in Fine Cut (or similar).  I doubt the parents will want to leave the kids with the on-board sitters (if they even still exist), so I was thinking between the four parents they could take shifts in watching the kids so that mostly everyone could be at dinner for at least part of the time.  Maybe I should re-think this.  Any suggestions for a family dinner?.  I recognize with young kids MDR dining will not be doable most nights as everyone will have their own timetables.  I was really hoping for one night all together though. 

As for the onboard sitters I'm sure they still exist.  Maybe Celebrity can assist you before you board or you can contact the kid's club.  Most of the crew that work the kids club are willing to babysit for extra money.  We cruised with our daughter from the time she was a baby and never had any issues.  As she got older and was able to go to the kid's club she would disappear and hang out with her new "friends".  You could also contact the captain's club desk and ask them about babysitting.  There are moms on board that are crew who leave their children at home with their grandmothers while they are under contract.  It's hard to believe but the crew members make a huge sacrifice to work on the ships.