Cruise Arizona Posted April 12, 2007 #26 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Actually, It stands firmly behind me. or sits firmly underneath me. I sat at the table right next to Shellie and her son/nephew, I can't remember which one!!!:) Literally I was 3 feet away or less. Never noticed the DVD except when I said hello to her lovely family when I sat down at the end of dinner. Kids are definitely off of their normal patterns while on a cruise, so creative entertainment for little ones, is definitely better than having dinner interrupted with an unhappy child. (Don't forget they may have missed a normal nap because of an excursion or activity, or they may have extra energy because of an out of the ordinary nap while on an excrusion... ect.) I much prefer a quiet, entertained child to one crying, or running around, throwing food, or hiding under the table. I have heard horror stories about out of control kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmgaritty Posted April 13, 2007 #27 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Actually, It stands firmly behind me. or sits firmly underneath me. I sat at the table right next to Shellie and her son/nephew, I can't remember which one!!!:) Literally I was 3 feet away or less. Never noticed the DVD except when I said hello to her lovely family when I sat down at the end of dinner. Kids are definitely off of their normal patterns while on a cruise, so creative entertainment for little ones, is definitely better than having dinner interrupted with an unhappy child. (Don't forget they may have missed a normal nap because of an excursion or activity, or they may have extra energy because of an out of the ordinary nap while on an excrusion... ect.) I much prefer a quiet, entertained child to one crying, or running around, throwing food, or hiding under the table. I have heard horror stories about out of control kids. I do prefer the same. That's why parents pay attention to their children and remove them if they are antsy, fussy etc. Or if they are having an off day - do dinner in the room or a buffet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5ofusnow Posted April 14, 2007 #28 Share Posted April 14, 2007 We have always taken our 3 kids out to eat with us, however, we do not usually spend an hour and a half at a table. That is a LONG time for anybody to be stuck in one place if they are not happy there. I have relatives with wonderful children that could sit thru anything, not mine. My daughter, yes, but my sons, no way. Crayons only work if we are playing tic-tac-toe or something like that, coloring just doesn't interest my kids at all. Basically, we spend the whole time at the table entertaning our kids (not so much once they are 8 or 9), trying to keep them occupied and relatively quiet. My older kids have taken Ipods, Gameboys and even books (current fav), but I never thought of taking a small DVD player to dinner. I think it is a great idea, especially for the little ones! I'm not saying that they don't need to learn how to behave or that time playing games with our kids is not important. However, I would like a little down time and the chance to enjoy my dinner as well! In our case, I can also add ADHD to the mix and it really can be tough if they get restless. Our kids usually spend there cruise hanging out with us and rarely do we put them in the kids club, so they get a LOT of family attention! I would much rather see a child watching a DVD than being disruptive. I also agree that each child is different and if you are lucky enough that your child can be happy sitting that long, count your blessings. Just keep in mind, that this is a vacation and the kids are suppose to enjoy themselves too. I do have a problem with the comment about eating at the buffet if your kids want sit still that long. Babysitting is not offered at dinner time (on most ships), so does that mean I don't get to enjoy the food from the dinning room? Some kids have medical or mental reasons for being unable to maintain table manners that long, if a DVD player helps I say go for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teencruiser18 Posted April 14, 2007 #29 Share Posted April 14, 2007 My three and a half year old sister spent the first two years of her life in a Siberian orphanage. She now rarely sits still and honestly doesn't eat. I don't think she's gained much weight at all since we got her. Yesterday we were excited because she ate a little more than one piece of pizza. In the dining room she will be bored. She thinks that using her big sister's headphones is such a treat that she'll sit still instead of crying, enabling everyone else to enjoy their meal. I don't understand what's wrong with having a DVD player with headphones there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanciRDH Posted April 15, 2007 #30 Share Posted April 15, 2007 . So for those who love to pat themselves on the back for their wonderful parenting skills...God help ya if you ever get a spirited child or grandchild. :D I could have written this! My first and 2nd are exactly like yours. We took our oldest dd on her first cruise when she was 2, but couldn't take the 2nd out in polilte company until she was 6. :) We chose not to cruise until then because everyone would have been miserable. We did a lot of Disney because she just blended in with the noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseKidz Posted April 15, 2007 #31 Share Posted April 15, 2007 I shake my head in wonder at some of the comments on this thread. To be honest who cares what others think of what your doing when it comes to mealtimes ,or what you think is best to accomodate your kids. It's a holiday, relax , enjoy etc!!! YOU paid for your cruise , you worked hard for it, you deserve it. If people from the I'm a better parent than you school feel contributing to this thread and putting their tuppence worth in is valuable well ,say" thanks for your opinion, next please" Happy cruising to all you parents, you deserve a good holiday with your kids. CruiseKidz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted April 15, 2007 #32 Share Posted April 15, 2007 I could have written this! My first and 2nd are exactly like yours. We took our oldest dd on her first cruise when she was 2, but couldn't take the 2nd out in polilte company until she was 6. :) We chose not to cruise until then because everyone would have been miserable. We did a lot of Disney because she just blended in with the noise. HAHAHAHAHAHA amazing the differences huh? Now I know why we go to Disney so much...my 2 year old "blends with the noise" LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julienatul Posted April 15, 2007 #33 Share Posted April 15, 2007 I shake my head in wonder at some of the comments on this thread. To be honest who cares what others think of what your doing when it comes to mealtimes ,or what you think is best to accomodate your kids. It's a holiday, relax , enjoy etc!!! YOU paid for your cruise , you worked hard for it, you deserve it. If people from the I'm a better parent than you school feel contributing to this thread and putting their tuppence worth in is valuable well ,say" thanks for your opinion, next please"Happy cruising to all you parents, you deserve a good holiday with your kids. CruiseKidz My sentiments exactly. If people are so worried about what others are doing on a cruise then they need to vacation on a secluded island not a ship full of 4000 people as Im sure there is someone to annoy them lurking around every corner. Every child is different and every parent knows best what suits their particular child. If the DVD player allows you and your family to enjoy a nice meal together then use it. Its a vacation make the most of it. Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanciRDH Posted April 16, 2007 #34 Share Posted April 16, 2007 HAHAHAHAHAHA amazing the differences huh? Now I know why we go to Disney so much...my 2 year old "blends with the noise" LOL! Yep, we were just another family with a spirited child adding to the noise. Now she's ok with it, and enjoys the whole dining experience. July will be the test for our current youngest, she'll be 2 by then. Her personality is alot like her biggest sister, so we have hopes of pulling it off. Does anyone know what time the kids program on Carnival opens in the evening? We have 6:15 seating, but if it opens early enough I may just run her there between courses. It won't take her too long to eat since she's in that 2 grains of rice, 3 peas and a bite of meat phase, I seem to remember being able to run our oldest in after 7, but that was 13 years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusinmama06 Posted April 16, 2007 #35 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Yep, we were just another family with a spirited child adding to the noise. Now she's ok with it, and enjoys the whole dining experience. July will be the test for our current youngest, she'll be 2 by then. Her personality is alot like her biggest sister, so we have hopes of pulling it off. Does anyone know what time the kids program on Carnival opens in the evening? We have 6:15 seating, but if it opens early enough I may just run her there between courses. It won't take her too long to eat since she's in that 2 grains of rice, 3 peas and a bite of meat phase, I seem to remember being able to run our oldest in after 7, but that was 13 years ago! I can answer that on Elation, the camp was closed from 5-7. BUT I have seen other posts here that says CC was open during the early seating. I don't know if they were mistaken or not. I KNOW that Camp was closed from 5-7 on ours. Maybe it's different for different ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanciRDH Posted April 17, 2007 #36 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I can answer that on Elation, the camp was closed from 5-7. BUT I have seen other posts here that says CC was open during the early seating. I don't know if they were mistaken or not. I KNOW that Camp was closed from 5-7 on ours. Maybe it's different for different ships. Thanks...7pm works, we have the 6:15 seating I think, and I'm sure we can get her fed and make a quick trip to CC. I'm pretty sure this is the schedule they had way back when we first cruised with our oldest. I could usually eat my entree and then make it back in time for leisurely dessert, and she was happy to be with her friends. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy toes Posted April 17, 2007 #37 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Just as every child is different, every parenting style is different and every cruise line is different. If someone wants no DVDs then maybe Celebrity, HAL, Cunard or Seabourn might be more to their taste. While I would not bring one (DVD player) to the dining room, I would not be offended by on IF the sound was turned down low and headphones were worn. On our last cruise there wer 2 young teens (a 13 yr old girl and a 15 yr old boy) at the table 2 away from us. Even with the dining room noise we could still hear the movies played. NOTE: each child was watching something different. The other 2 couples asked to be reseated after the first night. That is a bit too much. A toddler or young child, why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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