Carnival children's dining experience?

[jolly888]

My daughter will be 3 for our Carnival cruise in May on Celebration. She's really picky with food right now, so I'd like to know what I should expect so I can prepare her.

 

Is there a specific menu for children?

If so, what is on it and is it the same offering every night?

Will they be able to make any modifications (for example, if there's pizza available, can we specify toppings)?

Will they seat us with other children her age?

 

Thanks so much for any help!

[crusinmama06]

There is a children's menu with the usual children's fare (pizza, chicken nuggets, etc). You can order your child anything she wants off of the adult menu too.

 

On our cruise, the kid club was not open to feed the kids every night. There was a Formal night where they take the kids to the Lido deck buffet. But mostly, camp carnival was closed during dinner hours and reopens at 7pm.

 

With the 24 hour pizza place open...you can get her whatever kind of pizza she wants.

 

But it MIGHT be different on different ships.

[I&MsMom]

The Carnival kid's menu is the same every night in the dining room and includes: pizza (cheese and pepperoni), chicken fingers, hamburger, cheeseburger and pb&j. They offer a fruit platter as an appetizer.

 

As the previous poster noted, you can also order for her off the adult menu, which includes (as alternative selections every night) grilled chicken, steak and salmon. There are also steamed vegetables, rice and potatoes, in addition to the french fries served with the kid's meals.

 

You can ask for whatever the pasta is for the night to be served plain, and then add butter and parmigana cheese at the table.

 

For a look at recent Carnival menus, see http://www.zydecocruiser.com/free07/menus.htm These are from the Freedom inaugural sailing (9 nights), but will give you an idea. Menus are fleet wide.

 

Hope you all have a great cruise!

[Nebr.cruiser]

The above posters give good advice about kid's eating on carnival. Two years ago on the Triumph there were at least two (maybe three, can't remember for sure) nights that the kids could eat at the buffet with the camp counselors.

 

Also, besides the regular children's menu, the waiters will be glad to bring your daughter whatever she wants, once they know what it is. Our 3-year-old grandson had a huge plate of fresh fruit and a big serving of french fries waiting for him every night, after the first night, since the waiters knew that's mostly what he would eat. He's five now and still talks about the fruit and fries for dinner! At least he was eating half healthy!

 

We had a large family group so had our own table, but I think they will at least attempt to put families with children at table with other kids; no guarntee on that, though.

 

We took our four little kids to the Camp Carnival supper whenever it was available, otherwise we had the waiters bring their dinners right away, then took them up to the kid's club as soon as it opened, which I think was severn. (We had early seating) so we could relax and enjoy the rest of our meal. Since we had FOUR kids, ages 5,5,4 & 3 along, the lengthy dinner was seemed too long for them to sit quietly. Plus, they loved Camp Carnival and begged to go.

[I&MsMom]

As for seating, our experience in the five cruises we've taken with the children is that we have been assigned a booth for 4 each time (even the cruise I took with just myself and the kids.)

 

I've loved it. It permits a little more freedom of movement than would a chair in the center of the dining room with waiters carrying those large trays. I don't worry so much about my kids if they'd bump one of them (they'd be under the tray and largely protected from the fallout) - it's everyone else around them! :eek:

 

On occasion, my youngest (who will be 4 on our next cruise) has put her head on my lap, laid down on the bench and gone to sleep.

 

I also like a table for just us so no one else has to listen to the ever-present "if you don't eat your vegetables, you can't have dessert" speech repeated over, and over, and over! :p

[Quilting_Cruiser]

We're fortunate that our DD isn't too picky about food, but she definitely knows what she likes. When she was younger she always ate off the children's menu--hot dogs, hamburgers, etc. as previously posted. Also, mac and cheese. She's getting more adventurous now--even tried escargot on our last cruise! She didn't like it, but she tried it! :D They don't have a selection of pizzas on the dining room menu--I think your only options may be pepperoni or cheese, but that could vary depending upon ship (and, it's been a few years since we've sailed Carnival and things, of course, change).

 

On our last two Carnival cruises, she had the option to eat with Camp Carnival every night (on our first two, that was available on only formal nights).

 

We've been seated at tables of six with another couple traveling with one child. They haven't always been the same age as DD, but have been the same gender. But, we've never been seated at a table where DD was the only child.

 

Cheers!

Jayne

 

 

My daughter will be 3 for our Carnival cruise in May on Celebration. She's really picky with food right now, so I'd like to know what I should expect so I can prepare her.

 

Is there a specific menu for children?

If so, what is on it and is it the same offering every night?

Will they be able to make any modifications (for example, if there's pizza available, can we specify toppings)?

Will they seat us with other children her age?

 

Thanks so much for any help!