Dining room ideas???

[gkrnjlr]

My daughter is going to be 9 mos. when we sail and I am trying to figure out "food." She's not a PICKY eater but at the same time she doesn't like mashed potatoes (odd, huh? especially when I could live off of them!). I am trying to think of ideas for daily meals to see just how much food we should plan on bringing with us.

 

At mealtime.....do they have applesauce for kids? This would be a huge "YAY" for us. Also, what are some other foods that we could easily order for her and mash at the table for her to eat. When looking at the menus (http://www.zydecocruiser.com/splendor/menus1.htm) and are trying to figure out what foods she would be able to eat.

 

Minestrone soup.....mash it a little and she'd be able to eat that, yes?

 

What else do you think?

 

Thanks!

[beckyjohns]

I haven't yet cruised with my twin bos (now 16 months), but at 9 months they would eat things like bread, soft cheese, applesauce, yogurt, mashed potatoes. Really they would eat anything blended up, but that could be hard on the ship. The stuff listed above should be readily available on the ship, I would think. It may not be on the menu, but it's certainly in the kitchen. And don't worry about your child getting bored with the same foods every day....they don't! Find what works on the ship and stick with it each day!

[kitty9]

I think any of the soft, steamed veggies could be mashed for your child including carrots and peas. You could also try pasta--chopped small with a little sauce might be good. They do have applesauce and you could also ask for mashed bananas, peaches and even kiwi.

[mandyq]

Get a mesh feeder. http://www.munchkin.com/products/detail.html?pID=37

You can find one at Target or I'm sure Walmart carries them as well. We use the mesh feeder for our 6 month old to put in fresh fruit and you could even put in steamed veggies like carrots. This way, you wouldn't have to worry about mashing everything up. Bring some dish soap to wash in your cabin. Everything else, I would just tear into small pieces probably just a little bit of whatever you're having.

[gkrnjlr]

So it sounds like we really won't need to pack too many jars of food because there's bound be something she'll be able to eat off of our plates or *something* off of the menu?

 

We do have two of the mesh feeders and were planning on bringing those but didn't really think about it for entrees. She still has no teeth!!!! So some of the chewing foods are limited.

 

Thanks for your help!

[serene56]

Our baby was a tad older then 9 months-- we let her eat the chilled soup through a straw--she ate every drop of them

[sas80]

Royal Caribbean will accomodate all of the requests that you have.

 

You can either fax your "pureed/soft food request" ahead of time or you can Speak with the head watier once you get on board.

 

Email special_needs@rccl.com and let them know that you will be needing pureed foods on your cruise and they will get back to you with specifics.

 

It's best not to use the term "baby food". RCCL provides soft foods for special needs passengers but does not provide "spice-free" baby food. They are happy to puree food for you but it will be the same food (veggies with butter, seasoned meat, etc) that you will be eating on this ship.

 

Since baby will be eating with you in the dining room you can arrange the following nights meal with the head waiter on the previous night.

 

When we sailed with our 9 month old we pre arranged pureed food (1 veggie, one meat, one fruit) for room service delivery 3 times a day - 7:30 am, 11:30 pm and 5:30 pm. It worked out just fine.

 

The trick is to arrange it up front by way of alerting them what you need.

 

And, dont forget, tip your head waiter extra for this extra service and/or tip your room service deveiery person too.

 

Happy Sailing!

[gkrnjlr]

I was thinking that we'd try the straw and soup idea!

 

We're actually sailing on Carnival, but I am calling them now (on hold) to find out if we can request pureed food. They told me previously that they didn't have applesauce though......so I am not sure how much help they'll be.

 

Definitely worth a try though, thanks!

[sharktums]

Have you tried the mesh feeders yet? I tried starting at 7 months (with random food) till NOW at 16 months (safer way to eat ice) and I still can't get her to use them!

 

So yeah, before you bring anything extra that the baby won't use, make sure they'll actually use them!

[gkrnjlr]

Yeah we do have two of them already and she loves it when we give her watermelon and peaches in them. I'm assuming/hoping that they'll have both of those on the Lido deck.

 

Those mesh feeders are great things!