Bringing non-eating children to specialty restaurants

[Valen9]

I'll be taking a 6-year-old picky eater with me on a cruise next month. We'd like to be able to take him to specialty restaurants (rather than leave him in babysitting), but we'll likely be bringing our own food. (It's all we can do to hope to get him to TASTE something off of our plates!)

 

Will we be forced to pay a cover charge for a child in this situation? Has anyone else ever encountered it? What do we tell them?

 

And yes, we're actually planning to take about a week's worth of food along for him. We'll bring his favorite brand of peanut butter and other items, and plan to get regular white bread (he's not that picky about the bread) and things like milk and hot-dogs at the buffet. We'd pack him a meal and bring it along to the specialty restaurant.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[johnql]

You won't be charged anything in your situation. In fact, he would be allowed to order off the regular Kids Menu without any charge either. He would only be charged if he ordered off the specialty restaurant's menu.

 

The one exception might be Teppanyaki, which has extremely limited seating. I'm not sure, but he might be charged the surcharge there.

[familyof4cruising]

I brought my kids to Le Bistro and my youngest was charged for a kids meal on one of my cruises. I think it varies on the ship. It was half the price of an adult meal.

[HurricaneSally]

I'll be taking a 6-year-old picky eater with me on a cruise next month. We'd like to be able to take him to specialty restaurants (rather than leave him in babysitting), but we'll likely be bringing our own food. (It's all we can do to hope to get him to TASTE something off of our plates!)

 

Will we be forced to pay a cover charge for a child in this situation? Has anyone else ever encountered it? What do we tell them?

 

And yes, we're actually planning to take about a week's worth of food along for him. We'll bring his favorite brand of peanut butter and other items, and plan to get regular white bread (he's not that picky about the bread) and things like milk and hot-dogs at the buffet. We'd pack him a meal and bring it along to the specialty restaurant.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

I'm pretty sure he can eat off the children's menu without any charge. Sorry to say this, but I wouldn't pack anything special for him. If he can't find something on the menu to try, he would go hungry. How else would he learn to like anything other than peanut butter and hot dogs?

[newmexicoNita]

I don't know why your couldn't bring him.. If he is accustom to spending a couple of hours in an upscale restaurant on land and you bring his own food to those restaurants I would imagine there would not be a problem. This might be a first for the waitstaff, moms bringing the kids food in fact as many years as I have traveled and been in the travel industry this is a first...

 

Nita

[jp2001]

I'm pretty sure he can eat off the children's menu without any charge. Sorry to say this, but I wouldn't pack anything special for him. If he can't find something on the menu to try, he would go hungry. How else would he learn to like anything other than peanut butter and hot dogs?

 

My opinion too.

[Rockwife]

My opinion too.

 

Me, three. If someone is constantly accomodated they never learn- doesn't matter what or who it is.

[jp2001]

Also, many ports won't allow you to bring any food items ashore, what will he eat then?

[CanadianTwosome]

I'm pretty sure he can eat off the children's menu without any charge. Sorry to say this, but I wouldn't pack anything special for him. If he can't find something on the menu to try, he would go hungry. How else would he learn to like anything other than peanut butter and hot dogs?

 

This came up on the family board a while ago, and a really good point was made. Kids can be picky. Some kids can be pickier than others. Is a VACATION really the best place to start getting tough about it?

 

Personally, I think vacations are the times when kids can maybe have a few less restrictions, eat food because it's yummy instead of healthy, and HAVE FUN. Depriving a child of their favourite food in order to make a point isn't going to make anyone's vacation better.

 

Take the peanut butter. Better safe than sorry! You may be surprised, though. My daughter - who is a pretty good eater but still has her finicky moments - tries EVERYTHING when she's on a cruise. It's her mission, in fact!! ha ha ha My advice would be to make the peanut butter sandwich, but keep it hidden until he's had a chance to turn down everything else. The kid's menu is pretty generic and it's included everywhere on the ship. I believe that on some ships, the specialty menu is available in kid's portions, but the regular kid's menu should still be included. I agree about Teppanyaki, though. With their limited capacity, they may charge per seat as opposed to per meal. :)

[newmexicoNita]

Also, many ports won't allow you to bring any food items ashore, what will he eat then?

this is very true. they are cracking down on this more all the time. I think mommy and daddy need to take some serious action. However, in all fairness it is her child, and she didn't ask us our opinion on this. But, I know, we can't help but give it. We had a picky granddaughter (not anymore) but I can't imagine her parents bringing her food with them. She did spend one cruise eating lots of hot dogs, baked potatoes and macarroni and cheese. I am sure she ate other things, I just remember that much..

 

Nita

[bluesea777]

Doesn't the ship have Kid's Club? :rolleyes:

[Sea Hound]

Can I bring my own hot dogs?;)

 

What will they say when I fire up the hibachi on the balcony??!?!?:confused:

 

Sea Hound:D

[donaldsc]

I had a daughter who was very picky. Our rule was that if my wife made something that was not unusual, what did not get eaten for dinner was served for breakfast. Except for when grandmother was visiting, I do not think that she got any dessert until she was 5.

 

She eventually got over her pickiness and now (at age 3-+) eats almost anything.

 

DON

[caribou9]

HurricaneSally wrote:

<<<Sorry to say this, but I wouldn't pack anything special for him. If he can't find something on the menu to try, he would go hungry. How else would he learn to like anything other than peanut butter and hot dogs?>>>

 

Amen to that.

[Tqrocks]

Wow. Non-eating children. That probably saves you a bundle. :)

[Zukeeper4]

Each time we went ashore in other countries, you could bring already packaged foods like granola bars, "snack pack" type items, you know cookie packs. You could not bring fruits or nuts, or sandwiches you made on board or anything like that. And, yes I did see people who were stopped.

 

I take my own granola bars and other prepackaged snack as I am diabetic and need to have the "right" foods available when I get into trouble. I have checked ahead at ports I'm visiting to find out the "rules".

 

I agree vacation isn't the best time to start "dealing" with an eating issue. I would be calling Super Nanny "stat" when I got home though. :p

 

Jan

[orangeh3]

I'll be taking a 6-year-old picky eater with me on a cruise next month. We'd like to be able to take him to specialty restaurants (rather than leave him in babysitting), but we'll likely be bringing our own food. (It's all we can do to hope to get him to TASTE something off of our plates!)

 

Will we be forced to pay a cover charge for a child in this situation? Has anyone else ever encountered it? What do we tell them?

 

And yes, we're actually planning to take about a week's worth of food along for him. We'll bring his favorite brand of peanut butter and other items, and plan to get regular white bread (he's not that picky about the bread) and things like milk and hot-dogs at the buffet. We'd pack him a meal and bring it along to the specialty restaurant.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

The ships do have peanut butter onboard and jelly...my husbands favorite breakfast...LOL. When we were in Teppanyaki last Feb on the Gem, one young boy in our group liked only certain things to eat. We ordered him a steak and sliced tomatoes for his dinner. The wait staff happily supplied the request and did not charge for the "seat".

What you could do is contact the ship's coordinator for special requests. :)

[SuiteRose]

We cruised a few years ago with my nephew who is now ten but was five then. He is the pickiest eater I have ever seen. He had no problem because they had plenty of kid friendly things like spagetti, chicken nuggets, french fries, hot dogs and ice cream. He has been on plenty of vacations with his parents but still says that the cruise was his favorite because of the food. He loves bread and tried calling room service and ordering a bun with no hambuger. They brought him the plate with the bun on one side and hamburger on the other. He was satisfied and his dad was happy to eat the burger. This was on another line and years before the alternative dining options.

[Fishbait17]

My children are grown now, but as children we made sure they tried everything (and I mean everything), everywhere - and taking them to Southeast Asia and Africa a few times was interesting. It's not surprising that they actually developed VERY expensive taste in food. But I agree that a vacation is probably not the best time to introduce new rules.

 

I am wondering why you would even want her to dine with you at a specialty restaurant if she won't even try the food, which is the main reason for dining there. The service is long and drawn out and can take hours, I would think she would be bored to death. The exception would probably be teppanyaki. where she would enjoy the "entertainment", but there she would probably have to pay the fee as seating is extremely limited. She would probably have a much better time in the kids club, where she wouldn't have to mind her fidgeting and manners for so long. I hope you don't take offense to that, it was only meant for her enjoyment.

 

Robin

[*Wink*]

Is a VACATION really the best place to start getting tough about it?

 

Personally, I think vacations are the times when kids can maybe have a few less restrictions, eat food because it's yummy instead of healthy, and HAVE FUN. Depriving a child of their favourite food in order to make a point isn't going to make anyone's vacation better.

 

 

I agree with CT on this one. Plus, this is not a parenting thread, it's a dining thread. IMHO, I think we should all wait to be asked for specific advice before giving it, and just stick to the OP's question.

[jzerocsk]

But I agree that a vacation is probably not the best time to introduce new rules.

 

You just gotta market it the right way. :)

 

Instead of "You're gonna eat what we say you eat" it's "We're on vacation, so we're going to try all sorts of new things. You can have the peanut butter sandwich, but you have to at least TASTE the escargot."

 

Except...maybe start with something a little less challenging than escargot. :cool:

[fin]

I don't envy you. I also don't envy the others dining in the upscale restaurant at the same time. I pity the kid.

[CruisnGram]

Wow. Non-eating children. That probably saves you a bundle. :)

 

You can say that again! My two daughters grew up going out to dinner at least once a week. And of course, when daddy or mommy got lobster,crab, shirmp or filet, they had to "try" it too. Wouldn't you know that by the time they were in kindergarten, good grades were "rewarded" by going out for lobster! I WISH they would only have wanted peanut butter many times! :D

 

CG

[logcabin]

We had 2 experiences with this. The first was 3 years ago on the Dawn in Le Bistro. A family brought their 2 young children. Neither was interested in the French food. Ultimatly, they got board sitting there and the one child spent the whole time taking "flash" digital pictures of EVERTHING. Constant flashing going on during dinner. VERY annoying. The second was last year. Again in Le Bistro where an mother had her 2 children with her. Again, these kids had no intention on eating French food. Instead, they layed across the bench seat, rolled around on it, etc. Again, very distracting and annoying when one is trying to enjoy a romantic dinner for 2 in an up-scale place.

 

My recommendation to all parents who have small children that will not eat this type of food, leave them with the babysitter. Enjoy a nice meal with your spouce and leave the kids with the sitter. This way there is no chance of them annoying anyone else, either.

[gsc500]

This came up on the family board a while ago, and a really good point was made. Kids can be picky. Some kids can be pickier than others. Is a VACATION really the best place to start getting tough about it?

 

Personally, I think vacations are the times when kids can maybe have a few less restrictions, eat food because it's yummy instead of healthy, and HAVE FUN. Depriving a child of their favourite food in order to make a point isn't going to make anyone's vacation better.

 

Take the peanut butter. Better safe than sorry! You may be surprised, though. My daughter - who is a pretty good eater but still has her finicky moments - tries EVERYTHING when she's on a cruise. It's her mission, in fact!! ha ha ha My advice would be to make the peanut butter sandwich, but keep it hidden until he's had a chance to turn down everything else. The kid's menu is pretty generic and it's included everywhere on the ship. I believe that on some ships, the specialty menu is available in kid's portions, but the regular kid's menu should still be included. I agree about Teppanyaki, though. With their limited capacity, they may charge per seat as opposed to per meal. :)

 

 

I would take the peanut butter and other food as a back up but don't take it out or let your child know about it unless you have to. I understand you want your vacation to be as stress free as possible.

 

You'd be surprised to find out what your child will eat or not on a cruise.

 

My kids first cruise, ALL one wanted was peanut butter sandwiches and the other one jelly sandwiches. :rolleyes: They got a kick out of the fact that it was a triple decker and the crusts were cut off. I had never done that at home. And it was presented on a fancy plate cut into triangles, arranged artfully. They usually eat chicken nuggets, pizza, etc. the typical kids fare but on that cruise it was PB for one and J for the other for EVERY meal. :o