Children under 13 in Portofinos????

[janice1218]

Does anybody know if children under the age of 13 are allowed in Portofino's before 7:00? I did read on the webpage that they are allowed, however when speaking with an agent, I was informed that they they may not be allowed.

 

My family is sailing on the Explorer of the Seas in June.

[Gixer]

I asked this the other day, and the answer I got was that they could as long as the reservation was before 7pm :)

[Sue L]

SOME of the ships allow younger than 13 at 6pm, you will have to actually go to the restaurant to find out. How old is your child? Keep in mind that it is a LONG dinner and if you don't think your child can sit quietly for the 2+ hours it takes to eat there then you might want to reconsider

[reallyitsmema]

The policy is children must be 13 and over. Some ships do allow kids for the early reservations.

[crusinmama06]

Yes, some do. But would your child want to sit for 2.5 -3 hours at Portofino or be out having fun with the other kids at AO?

 

I could barely sit still at Portofino. ;)

[janice1218]

My one son is 8 and he may do better at AO, they other is 11, and he really enjoys a nice meal, and will sit for 2.5 hours. I guess I will have to wait and see.

 

Do the children really enjoy AO? We have never cruised with RCCC. We have been on the Disney Cruise, and the kids didn't go to the clubs.

[teese]

Last year when given the choice my then 11yo chose AO. This year she chose to eat with us, especially since her two favorite aunts were eating with us. So we made reservations for 6pm so she could still make it to the AO activities that evening. She did fine just like I knew she would. Plus no one even asked her age at the time we made the reservation. My 16yo DS loved eating there both times he went.

 

Both of my kids enjoyed the kids clubs, but my youngest had the best time. The older teens pretty much prefer just hanging out, but the younger set really have a blast. This year my DD joined the teen activities for her age group, but last year in the 11yo AO she had a blast, I literally had to drag her out.

[jerseygirl63]

My one son is 8 and he may do better at AO, they other is 11, and he really enjoys a nice meal, and will sit for 2.5 hours. I guess I will have to wait and see.

 

Do the children really enjoy AO? We have never cruised with RCCC. We have been on the Disney Cruise, and the kids didn't go to the clubs.

Our kids (13 & 9) loved Adventure Ocean. When they were little they loved Disney but RC offers more activities for older kids. Our 13 year old at the age of 12 joined us at Portofino's because her group was not meeting until later that night and we called the restaurant and they said it was fine that she join us. I think our reservation was for 6:30 or 7:00.

[crusinmama06]

Do the children really enjoy AO?

 

Well I have the same experience teese did, I have to drag mine out of AO.

 

If you want to see the activities for each age group, go to the link in my signature marked "Kids Club Activity Schedules Here".

 

The parents on the family board have been collecting the compasses and other schedules from the different cruiselines and we have them uploaded at that link.

[janice1218]

Thank you so much for the information !!!

[ckrobyn]

Our 11 yr old DD dined with us in Portofino for a 7:30pm reservation and she loved it! We had no issues and she can't wait to eat there again! :)

[janice1218]

I am sure my 11 will enjoy it also. Hopefully this will be the night that the AO offers dining at Johnny Rockets !!!

[katiel53]

I think a lot of whether they are allowed is the age of the child and the ship. For example on Mariner we are always asked if there are children when we book. We say no, because we are all adults. I have heard people say yes there were children and were asked the age. Under 13 have not been allowed when we have been on there.

 

The cruise newspaper states that Portofino & Chops are for 13 and up. My thought would be if the restaurant isn't selling well, younger children might be allowed. If it seems to be selling quickly, then they won't as many people go to Portofino/Chops to get away from the kids in the dining room and to have a romantic dinner with only adults.

[English Teacher]

Yeah, I would never have taken my kids (much as I loved them) to a fine restaurant, and frankly, I wish more people would leave their kids home. It's a bit like being a non-dog owner; you don't want to put up with the being jumped on and barked at. My kids are grown, and I prefer an adults only restaurant when we want a romantic night out. Hope this doesn't offend anyone; just putting my two cents in.

 

Lou-Ann

[PhoenixCruiser]

RCCL recently updated the F&B Section of their Online FAQ's:

 

Q: Are children allowed to dine in our Specialty Restaurants?

 

A: Chops Grille and Portofino

All guests 13 and over are welcome; children under 13 years may book only before 7 p.m. Thereafter children under the age of 13 are not allowed. All guests under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

 

###

[lovetocruise99]

They do allow children though keep in mind you will pay the full service charge for your child even if they eat plain pasta. And don't expect any special kid's menus for them.

[macskakitty]

Like others suggested, your kids may prefer AO. Not having any children of my own, I was very happy that there were very few children on our sailing. In the main dining room, the 11 year old with us skipped dinner all but 1 night, as did the kids at the next table.

 

Imagine my surprise on disembarkation, when AO was closed to discover there were literally hundreds of children on board! They must have one heck of a program that kids never want to leave!

[hoop4321]

when booking portofino, ds was not with me. I was asked if the reservation would have anyone under 18. I answered one 12 yr old. He looked at me quite pointedly and said .......nothing. Just kept looking at me:eek: I figured it must be my turn to speak and so I said that he was very well behaved. You would not guess he was under 13. He said OK, jotted us down in the book. The night we came in he was very chatty with my family. Perhaps testing the water as the ressie was at 8:30? At Chops, DS was with me. He is already 5'7" at 12, and they did not blink an eye. For what is worth, DS likes better restaurants. His favorite is currently Ruth's Chris steak house. While we were talking about what we will do next year on the Freedom, he said he would not want to go to either Portofino, or Chops.

[Theresa522]

Yes, some do. But would your child want to sit for 2.5 -3 hours at Portofino or be out having fun with the other kids at AO?

 

I could barely sit still at Portofino. ;)

 

 

I have to agree! My daughter was 13 and hated eating at the specialty restaurant (her words..lol) Way too long and she wanted to be with her friends.

[Esmerelda]

We were on the Liberty last August. My youngest son had just turned 12 in June. We had a reservation for 6:45p for the 8 of us, no questions asked. My son totally enjoyed his meal....said it was one of the best!!

 

However, this was Chops on the ship...we never made it to Portofinos.

 

have fun!

[vator90]

I don't think I'm far off from what others on here think. We want the rules for Portofino followed. We spend all day with our kids and once or twice during the cruise like to sit down and eat with adults. With all due respect, our kids are 11 and 9, have been on 8 cruises and will not dine in Portofino or Chops until they reach the apropriate age. This is out of respect for our fellow pax as well as giving us a chance to talk like two adults.

[kacoombs]

We did Jewel when my dd was 8 months. The Schooner Bar with a great piano player was right outside Portofino (or Chops, but I think Port). The manager missed his kids in Romania and fell in love with Lily. He let us come - he could tell from the hour we spent at the bar listening to music that Lily was well-behaved.

 

Although I'm a parent, I don't really like being in kid places. DD is 4 now, she likes nicer places. I have no prob with kids going to nice places as long as they behave. And honestly, that's usually the parents' faults.

[hoop4321]

i am actually a bit torn in reguards to dining. I do respect the rules, never thought that we would be able to slide in the 8:30 spot. It was suggested, and we pounced. It never occured to me that someone might look at our son and wish that he were not there. He is an only child, has gone to private schools for most of his education, and currently is placed in gifted classes. Not saying this as bragging, but due to his size, manner of speech, everyone assumes that he is much older. When people do realize his age, through conversation, they usually are so excited and compliment him. Having just sat through an adorable child, screaming at what I hoped was the top of his lungs, ( I was wrong, unfortunately, as I learned later on:eek: ) I can see the other side of no kids at all.

[bplazo]

I think that RCCL should keep this an adult only venue with no exceptions. It is nice to be able to go to the solarium pool and know that you can avoid the children (most of the time).

[isujim]

Actually ALL of the ships with specialty restaurants will allow children under 13 before 7pm.

 

Usually however it really isn't an issue. Just returned from a b2b on Voyager within the last month and ate at Portofino's on 5 of the 14 nights, each time at 6 or 6:30pm.......in every case there were NO children on any of the 5 nights.

 

I'm sure during the summer it might be more of an issue........