Which Dinner time is best w/ Kids & Do you take them or Kids Club?

[familyof4readytocruise]

For those of you with kids, how did you work dinner time with your kids? Which seating did you eat dinner at and did you take the kids with you or did they eat before you and then go to the kids clubs while you were eating?

 

Also, did you take the kids to the shows or did they stay in kids club?

 

I'm just trying to figure out a schedule and plan ahead. We will be on Freedom and my kids are 5 and 12.

 

Thanks for your imput!

 

:)

[LOST IN THE OZONE]

We were just on the Explorer and my girls (10 and 6) were both in Adventure Ocean (camp) which they both loved. We had main seating (6:00) and I think that was good for us and the kids. By the time dinner was over it would be time for them to go to the evening activities at camp. Also, some nights, my oldest went to Johnny Rockets with camp. As for the shows, I think it's case by case. The ice show was great and the girls loved it. Enjoy.

[sandy toes]

For those of you with kids, how did you work dinner time with your kids? Which seating did you eat dinner at and did you take the kids with you or did they eat before you and then go to the kids clubs while you were eating?

 

Also, did you take the kids to the shows or did they stay in kids club?

 

I'm just trying to figure out a schedule and plan ahead. We will be on Freedom and my kids are 5 and 12.

 

Thanks for your imput!

 

:)

Whenever anyone asks a question about children, sparks seem to fly. Not wanting to creat a fire, this is what we have always done...I am blessed and have had great times in the dining room with my family. I am not certain if this is because they were ALL taught/trained early in life and exposed to dining out, not just fast food places, but my family has heard lots of praise from surrounding tables during our cruises about manners/behavior. IF there were times (and there were) when someone was not acting as they should, someone (we take turns) would leave the table with them. Sometimes children become just too tired for one more thing, and sometimes dining is that "thing". As long as they all know what is expected of them and you have a back up plan (leaving the DR) in place , there should be no problem. We always try to dine early as 2nd setting is just too long for some younger children to wait. Plus, some younger ones are ready for sleep by 9pm. The children usually enjoy the production numbers (singing, dancing, etc) but even then, sometimes we have to take one back to the cabin. The Adventure Ocean program is great and sometimes the friends made there have a very big pull on the children. Sometimes they WANT to be there almost all the time. There are special get togethers with pizza and some requests for the parents to eat with the children (this is usually at lunch). YOU know your own family. If they can dine well, go for it. The memories are worth the added effort from the adults to insure they behave. Use the same rule for the shows. As long as you are willing to bend, and leave if needed, take the lttle ones. Sure someone , somewhere will glare at you but then, they will no matter what you do as soon as they see you with children. I have had people tell me how well behaved the children were and within the same hour have had someone tell me that I should have hired a sitter and left the little ones at home! (No "bad" behave occured in between!) Remember, it is THEIR cruise holiday also. ENJOY.

[cb at sea]

For a 5 year old, 8:30 pm is too late!!! I don't care how "well-trained" they are at eating out, it's still too late! The 12 year old--that can go either way. The kids tend to miss activities if you do late dining. Generally speaking, the main seating is the one for families.

[soccermom4]

We just got off the Grandeur with 4 kids (10, 9, 7 and 5). Don't know which ship you'll be on - but we tried a number of different dining combinations. We had the 6:00 seating, which was good for us. HOWEVER, being seated at 6 doesn't mean you eat at 6!! The first night we didn't think about that and the kids were starving and antsy by the time the food came. Thereafter, we made sure they had a late, somewhat substantial snack (around 4:30 - 5) before dinner. OA activities signin started was from 7 - 7:30. A couple of nights the kids skipped dessert and one of us ran upstairs with them after the main course and returned to the dining room for coffee and dessert.

 

A couple of nights (including one of the formal nights) we opted to eat in the Windjammer. That way we didn't feel as rushed and the kids didn't have to go to OA in their dinner clothes.. However, doing the buffet with 4 kids is quite a juggling act. After the first time, my DH and I decided to feed them at the Windjammer, then return after we checked them into OA and have our own dinner in peace.

 

Regarding shows - we attended one of the production shows and the magic show. Both were big hits with the kids. They started at 9, which was late for us, but what the heck...we're on vacation! OA activities ran until 10 pm anyway, so it wasn't that different. A couple of nights the youngest was getting worn out, so we'd pick him up from OA early and put him to bed before retrieving the other 3.

 

All in all, it worked out fine. We let the kids decide (within reason) what we'd do in the evening -since it was their vacation too. We all came home saying it was one of our best vacations ever!

[SilkieGirl]

We're getting ready to go on the Granduer at the end of September. We are taking a 13 and 14 yr old. They are not too interested in doing the kids club type stuff. My husband is worried about leaving them also. So our basic plan for now is to have them with us to do whatever while we're onboard. My daughter wants to do the rock wall (probably every day) as she rock climbs and can use that as practice. What else is there to do on the ship for kids? I know there are pools, but what else?

 

Mary

[FionaMG]

Unless you are 110% certain your kids will want nothing to do with kids club then go for early seating. Kids Club activities all revolve around early seating. If you opt for late seating you may find you have to take the kids to the windjammer to eat earlier because they want to have fun with their new friends, which could mean you miss out on production shows (if you like them) as these are sometimes at 7pm and sometimes at 11pm. The production shows for early seating usually start around 9 and finish at 10 just when kids club is finishing up for the night. This is why we prefer to go for early seating even though we usually eat around 8.30 at home.

[Harley-Davidson_Family]

Whenever anyone asks a question about children, sparks seem to fly. Not wanting to creat a fire, this is what we have always done...I am blessed and have had great times in the dining room with my family. I am not certain if this is because they were ALL taught/trained early in life and exposed to dining out, not just fast food places, but my family has heard lots of praise from surrounding tables during our cruises about manners/behavior. IF there were times (and there were) when someone was not acting as they should, someone (we take turns) would leave the table with them. Sometimes children become just too tired for one more thing, and sometimes dining is that "thing". As long as they all know what is expected of them and you have a back up plan (leaving the DR) in place , there should be no problem. We always try to dine early as 2nd setting is just too long for some younger children to wait. Plus, some younger ones are ready for sleep by 9pm. The children usually enjoy the production numbers (singing, dancing, etc) but even then, sometimes we have to take one back to the cabin. The Adventure Ocean program is great and sometimes the friends made there have a very big pull on the children. Sometimes they WANT to be there almost all the time. There are special get togethers with pizza and some requests for the parents to eat with the children (this is usually at lunch). YOU know your own family. If they can dine well, go for it. The memories are worth the added effort from the adults to insure they behave. Use the same rule for the shows. As long as you are willing to bend, and leave if needed, take the lttle ones. Sure someone , somewhere will glare at you but then, they will no matter what you do as soon as they see you with children. I have had people tell me how well behaved the children were and within the same hour have had someone tell me that I should have hired a sitter and left the little ones at home! (No "bad" behave occured in between!) Remember, it is THEIR cruise holiday also. ENJOY.

 

Wow! That was really well said. Bravo. My DH and I are very much the same way or at least we were. Our kids are 11 and 9 and don't pose that risk of a scene in the dining room anylonger but when they were young we also took turns taking them out of the dining room, theater, etc. I can't stand the people who stay in there and just let their kids scream and disturb the rest of the guest.

 

And to answer your question about the kids area and dining room. We had last seating the last cruise and it didn't work out for the kids. They wanted to be there as soon as the doors opened so we ended up eating in the room or Johnny Rockets or the Windjammer so they could make it on time. Next month we have early dining to solve that problem. The kids will like eating in the dining room. It is fun to just order anything off the menu. It's kind of like the Disney Dining Plan. That'll spoil ya for sure.

[babyjmomma]

Amen sandy toes and harley davidson family!! We (DH-DD-and myself) just got off the Enchantment this week...looks wonderful by the way. This was baby's first cruise (I say baby-but she is 4). We had early seating, which hurt because all our past cruises were late seating, but knew we should do early for her. Proud to say she ate in the dining room all 4 nights! She just didn't understand why she needed 3 forks by her plate and an extra one above it ;) . But we have raised her that eating out is something we cherish and can take away if needed. I read her the menu items and she told me what she wanted. Sometimes it was just a bowl of soup and mashed potatoes...but she ate it happily, waiting all the time for the brownie and ice cream she knew our waiter set aside for her. I do feel bad for the parents who struggle through dinner with their children, the seating is not for everyone. But she had never eaten in this type of environment before, and that makes me more glad she did with ease. Plus having the staff sing and dance the last 2 nights didn't hurt either!

[falcon5travels]

I have had experience with both seatings. My preference is late but with the kids it has to be early. It seems the kids miss out in the Kids Club if you do late seating and harder to get to the shows. We just came off FOS and early worked ok. We only missed the Circus Parade in the Royal Promenade. I personally find it a challenge to be ready for dinner by 6:15 after just returning from the excursions at 4:00, but that is a whole other topic. FYI: we did the ICE show on Wednesday (I think) it is the recommended time for early seating, remember you need to get those tickets on Monday at 10:00 AM. We also did Once Upon a Time show which was very enjoyable. My kids are 9, 13 and 18. When my youngest was 5, we did late seating and although I feel she missed alot in the kids club, it worked ok, since we had a standing order of Chicken Nuggets for her and she ate while we appetizers when she finished, and before our dinner arrived we took her to the kids club and we finished our meal without her, so maybe that is an option for you. GOOD LUCK and ENJOY.

[babyjmomma]

Amen sandy toes and harley davidson family!! We (DH-DD-and myself) just got off the Enchantment this week...looks wonderful by the way. This was baby's first cruise (I say baby-but she is 4). We had early seating, which hurt because all our past cruises were late seating, but knew we should do early for her. Proud to say she ate in the dining room all 4 nights! She just didn't understand why she needed 3 forks by her plate and an extra one above it ;) . But we have raised her that eating out is something we cherish and can take away if needed. I read her the menu items and she told me what she wanted. Sometimes it was just a bowl of soup and mashed potatoes...but she ate it happily, waiting all the time for the brownie and ice cream she knew our waiter set aside for her. I do feel bad for the parents who struggle through dinner with their children, the seating is not for everyone. But she had never eaten in this type of environment before, and that makes me more glad she did with ease. Plus having the staff sing and dance the last 2 nights didn't hurt either!

[piercetc4]

we did early seating with our kids - they started off cruising at ages 8 and 11 so were great in the d.r. and we did a table for 4 so we would not interupt others with our kids - great time to visit with them about the fun times they were having in the kids programs- now the kids are 17 and 14 and we are still doing early seating- they are old enough now to join us in the d.r. or to meet friends at the windjammer- will see how it goes- have a great time with your family on your cruise-

[RN7997]

We cruised on the AOS in April with 2 sons age 6 and 8. We took them to dinner with us everynight except 2. They wanted to go to Johnny Rockets with the kids club those nights and frankly ir was nice having one formal night with out them.

We chose late seating. My reasoning was we would not have to rush back on board and quickly get ready for dinner. Plus I figured if we did late than they could nap. NOT the case. Never again. I personally think I'll do early even with out the kids.

We were in the dining are everynight till about 10 or 1030. TOOO much time sitting. They were sleeping at the table and we would be too tired to do anything after dinner. I find that I always end up onboard early anyway.

Enjoy your vacation and remember you don't have to eat in the main dining room EVERY night. I think my next cruise I will try to be more relaxed about that.

Early dining is my vote.

[crusinmama06]

First of all, I'd like to say welcome to CC. :D

 

To answer your question, we always pick early seating. Then our children eat with us and the older one heads to the kids club after dinner. The younger one will now just be old enough to go to the kids club as well (she'll be 3 on the cruise)

 

Feel free to stop on over to the family cruising board here at CC. We discuss this topic all of the time and other ways to make cruising with kids easier.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

[zuscruiserz]

It truly depends on what your kids are comfortable with.

 

We are a late night family, and unless it is a school day, my teens are normally still up at midnight. We love second seating dinner for this reason. Not having to rush when getting back from excursions, sitting by an almost empty pool and relaxing, having a small snack before having to get ready for the evenings festivities are the reasons we cruise. The girls love this time also, and aren't ready to join the teen activities until after the late night dinner anyway.

 

But, we may be the exception to the rule. When I asked my family what dinner time they wanted on our Freedom cruise next year, it was unanimous - late!

 

Do what you normally do on a vacation - if you eat early, go to early seating; if later suites you, choose the second seating. Whatever you do, have a great cruise :D !

[shrimp0]

We always go to late seating in the dining room. This has worked well for us ... as our son can be quite the night owl. What we do is let him pick the nights he wants to come to the dining room with us for dinner. When we have had lively tablemates, he has been there every night ( with the exception of Pirate Night in the kids club!!!!!) On our last cruise, we had a table just for the 3 of us... so he went to the kids club 5 out of 7 nights for dinner.

What we do is take him to the Windjammer for dinner at 6ish and then bring him up to the kids club at 7. Then, we go get dressed for dinner. We will even do this on the nights when he is coming to the dining room... we will just go pick him up at 8:20 and head to the dining room. Some nights, we bring him back to the kids club before we have coffee and dessert. ( this worked out well when the girl at our table did the same thing.... we took turns bringing them up to the kids club).

But, bottom line.... do what works best for your family. If your children would fall asleep before 8:30 then opt for early... if you have children that can stay awake and enjoy night time activities... then go for late.