Not do dining room?

[mh1973]

This will only be our second cruise and first for the kids ages 10 & 12. We are cruising on the Fascination in 10 days, I am thinking of not doing the dining room and maybe just do the buffet every night. I am thinking it may be easier with the kids and the hubby is not too excited about getting dressed up every evening. Have you ever done this? Will we miss out?

[John&John]

This will only be our second cruise and first for the kids ages 10 & 12. We are cruising on the Fascination in 10 days, I am thinking of not doing the dining room and maybe just do the buffet every night. I am thinking it may be easier with the kids and the hubby is not too excited about getting dressed up every evening. Have you ever done this? Will we miss out?

 

You don't really have to get dressed up to go tot he dining room. Men can wear shorts and a polo shirt on most nights.

 

On formal nights khakis with a dress shirt is OK too.

 

I think the DR is nice to do.

[dseres]

Our favorite part of our cruises have always been dinner in the dining room. My daughters have always loved it too. Treated like royalty, something I don't get anywhere else. It's the best.

[tandemcruzr]

Depends on your definition of 'dressed up.' Elegant casual could be a blazer, collared shirt and a pair of Dockers. Other nights could be Dockers and a collared shirt minus the blazer. First night and last night could be clean jeans and a polo shirt.

 

Our choice for the evening meal is always the MDR and not the buffet.

[poobears]

We've done the DR exclusively in the past, 1/2 and 1/2 in the past and this time will probably do mostly buffet. About the same menu and while it's nice it's nothing amazing in the DR. it's about like a nice land resturaunt. We will hit formal night though just because I want a reason to dress up.

[Tammylyne]

This will only be our second cruise and first for the kids ages 10 & 12. We are cruising on the Fascination in 10 days, I am thinking of not doing the dining room and maybe just do the buffet every night. I am thinking it may be easier with the kids and the hubby is not too excited about getting dressed up every evening. Have you ever done this? Will we miss out?

 

 

I would try the dining room at least on the first night, then make a decision. That is one of the highlights when we cruise..and I have to say the waiters have always paid special attention to our little one and made her enjoy it :)

[cherylscruises]

I feel you will definately be missing out on something special if you dont try the dining room. Anyone can eat at a buffet any old time but Carnival tries to make dinner time special for you. The kids will enjoy the special treatment not to mention the singing/dancing waiters. I would NEVER miss it. The buffets ok for lunch for me.

[CWcruisers]

I did the Victory and never went to the MDR the entire week, but that is a port intensive ship and we like to partake of the local flavors. We do skip a lot of nights, but we have also been on 49 cruises, so we have done plenty.

 

Now that there is Your Time Dining, we tend to go more often. That was one of the problems before, if we were having a good time, we didn't want to stop and go to the dining room.

 

Won't your kids want to be in Camp Carnival?

[Cruiser1547228475]

Go with the flow :).

 

My wife and I enjoy ele -snip - formal night.

I just refuse to pass up lobster tails :D

 

She would choose to ,more often than I .

It really is what you guys will enjoy ,its up to you.

[Amberkin]

In my opinion, taking the kids to the Main Dining Room would be a wonderful opportunity for them to "expand their culinary tastes". They'd be able to "try" so many things that they might not have had before...and they don't have to finish them if they don't like them. At least, try it a few times. : )

[4Cruise4Fun]

I have to agree with Cheryl here. My kids are 9 and 11 and we eat in the dining room every night. They enjoy the attention they get from the wait staff, and many times the staff will tell us about their children. We don't get real dressy except for formal night. Other nights it is nice pants and shirt, or maybe a sundress for the girls. It is also nice to have dinner without someone running back to the buffet for something!

 

:) Happy Cruising!

[aubreysmom]

I think you should definitely do the MDR at least once. it would be nice for your children to experience. You do not really have to "dress up." Nice slacks and a collared shirt will do it for any night except "elegant night."

 

I think you will find the food in the MDR much better than the Lido buffet area. Have a great cruise!!! :D

[toopeachy]

Your kids will more than likley surprise you by LOVING IT! I agree with the other poster. Give it a try the 1st night. If nothing else it will be a different experience for them.

[ShedQueen77]

I'd try it a night or two and see how it goes for you. If you don't like it, you don't have to go back! :) The waiters were so wonderful with our kids (12, 7, and 5 at the time). They always addressed them as if they were capable thinkers, never talking down to them like a lot of servers do. They LOVED it! :D

[cruisejunkie5]

I have taken my boys on 3 family cruises. I have a 14 year old, a 12 year old and an eight year old and they all love the MDR. Dont get me wrong they enjoy the buffet but that is what they like for lunch. They dont mind putting on a collared shirts for dinner as long as they get to eat like little princes. My suggestion is try it at least once and then take a family vote.

[5waldos]

Lets see- carry your own or sit and be waited on. No difference in cost, better food if they bring it to you. This is really a question??? I hate dealing with the lines and the food has been sitting there for some time. MDR every night- no question. I don't cruise to do it myself. And pay my tips to thank those who wait on me.

[ginal]

We eat out about every other night here at home, so we are used to being waited on...but the MDR is more about trying different things and the experience. My boys loved it when they were younger and even in their 20's it is still the 'NOT TO BE MISSED' part of the cruise. When they talk about family vacations---always an MDR experience is replayed. The escargots when my youngest was 18 brings back memories. My husband wears jeans or shorts and polo shirts most nights. On elegant night he wears black jeans and dress shirt. I just switch out black pants and tops. Kids just need to be clean and look cute. No one is going to turn you away-regardless what you wear. We had bathing suits with coverups on elegant night on our last cruise (YUK_in my opinion). Give it a try several nights before you say no. That's what a cruise is all about trying lots of things as a family. Last cruise my husband and I had a blast pairing up for the bean bag throwing contests. You never know what will be a memory for years.

[comeon530]

I think it's great experience for young boys and girls to learn how to demonstrate their manners in an elegant setting. My son loves the MDR. He's 12 and wasn't too excited about it before our first cruise. He got into it though and had a lot of fun. The staff will show special attention to the kids and make them feel special. I would definitely take them.

 

And as the others said, you don't have to dress up each night. Just follow the casual dress code. I will also say that my son surprised me before his second cruise. He enjoyed picking out a suit and he really thought he looked hot in it. Very fun times!

[imnance]

Main dining room? Meh. I really have no desire to sit in a dining room for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. That's time I could be doing other things. Last cruise we ate there one night. Will most likely do the same in Sept.

[MrCo9]

You don't really have to get dressed up to go tot he dining room. Men can wear shorts and a polo shirt on most nights.

 

On formal nights khakis with a dress shirt is OK too.

 

I think the DR is nice to do.

If you're going to the dining room for dinner dress like you would if you were going to a nice steakhouse, not Denny's. PLEASE.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Depends on your definition of 'dressed up.' Elegant casual could be a blazer, collared shirt and a pair of Dockers. Other nights could be Dockers and a collared shirt minus the blazer. First night and last night could be clean jeans and a polo shirt.

 

Our choice for the evening meal is always the MDR and not the buffet.

 

you forgot to tell the OP about the shorts.:eek:

 

Bill

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Main dining room? Meh. I really have no desire to sit in a dining room for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. That's time I could be doing other things. Last cruise we ate there one night. Will most likely do the same in Sept.

 

I agree with you. We just cruised in December on RCI and we ate in the buffet every night. Never made it to the dining room at all.

 

Way too drawn out and then right before dessert the singing waiters and the dancing on tables. It was fun the first few times but now it's old hat.

 

Bill

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Lets see- carry your own or sit and be waited on. No difference in cost, better food if they bring it to you. This is really a question??? I hate dealing with the lines and the food has been sitting there for some time. MDR every night- no question. I don't cruise to do it myself. And pay my tips to thank those who wait on me.

 

There are lines in the buffet for dinner? If so there must be more people who don't want to do the MDR than I thought.

 

Bill

[redrob1234]

We have late dinner for our cruise in September and our 2 boys are 6 & 9. They are fussy eaters and I wouldn't expect they would enjoy sitting in a dining room for up to 2 hours. The dress code wont be a problem because I just hand them their clothes and they put them on (ahh the beauty of having boys v's girls - LOL).

 

I was planning on probably taking them to the MDR on the first night and then other nights we would take them to the buffet earlier to feed them and then get them settled into Camp Carnival for the evening so DH and I can enjoy our dinner and meet some nice tablemates.

 

Would this work? Is Camp Carnival open in the evenings?

 

This cruise is falling in the middle of a 4 and a half week vacation for us (the rest on land) and we will be eating in restaurants 3 times a day - I think I will have had enough of trying to keep their "restaurant manners" in check by then. I'm really looking forward to a couple of kid-free dinners.:D

[moviejunki]

Seven days on the Valor and my hubby and I ate in the dining room only once. The night we did decide to go service was slow and the six tablemates we had we're... um... let's just say not a good match for us. :(

 

We didn't feel like we missed out on anything. The buffet was never crowded and the food was excellent. That being said we are planning on doing half MDR and half Lido on our upcoming trip. I think it's a good idea to just give it a try and then wing it from there!:D