20-month old in dining room?

[Bobbyjean]

We are preparing for our first cruise with our son, who will be 20 months old when we travel.

 

We have been 'training' him to eat out at restaurants and he tends to be pretty good as long as he gets some food in front of him quickly. We are wondering if taking him for a three-course meal in the dining room is just asking for trouble - I cannot imagine him sitting in a high chair for more than an hour.

 

We are a large group so could take turns taking him for walks in between courses, and waiting till the first course is served until we bring him in. How would the waitors react? Will they serve us more quickly as we have a toddler?

 

Also, do we need to pre-book a high chair?

[boulders]

We are preparing for our first cruise with our son, who will be 20 months old when we travel.

 

We have been 'training' him to eat out at restaurants and he tends to be pretty good as long as he gets some food in front of him quickly. We are wondering if taking him for a three-course meal in the dining room is just asking for trouble - I cannot imagine him sitting in a high chair for more than an hour.

 

We are a large group so could take turns taking him for walks in between courses, and waiting till the first course is served until we bring him in. How would the waitors react? Will they serve us more quickly as we have a toddler?

 

Also, do we need to pre-book a high chair?

 

They will bring bread pretty much as soon as you sit down. If you want them to serve you more quickly, just ask. In general, if there are people missing from the table, the waiters won't take the order until the missing people show up.

 

DS2 never had a problem, and our dinners on our cruise tended to be 1 1/2 hours long.

[Kerry's Girls]

We were on Princess at 13 months and 20 months - me alone with twin toddlers. Princess is known to be a bit stuffier than some of the cruise lines, but we were warmly welcomed in the dining room for all meals and I can't imagine having meals any other way. The waiters always bent over backward to make sure my girls were happy - food for the kids comes out quickly and we had more attention that I ever had sailing without children. At dinners, their highchairs and empty place settings were always there, and at breakfast & lunch (open seating) it never took long for high chairs to be set up.

 

Best,

Mia

[cb at sea]

You will not have a problem...the waitstaff will dote on him!

[beffiegirl]

Went through this several times. I just spread out his food in time. Sometimes by dessert they get bored but the servers know. They will hurry up for you. Just bring what he likes to play with thats small. My DS now is 22 mo. and only eats baby food or cereal(tell me about it) so I bring boxed cereal from the buffet, then give him jarred food , then milk during dinner, dessert he likes! He'll eat cookies. You'll be fine. I have survived 3 kids. Never missed one night in the MDR. Have fun!

[patti226]

we just sailed with my 21 month old grandson. at home he is so full of engery and really a handfull, I was quite surprised at how well he was in the diningroom. he loved the bread and the kids food came out first. The gentleman at the table next to ours even told my son, that at first when he saw the kids he thought oh no, their going to ruin my dinner, but he congradulated my son on having such good kids. at their table they had a 21 month old, a 3 year old and a 5 year old and 2 teenagers along with 5 adults

[cruisinbanddirectors]

We took our 2 year old DS last year on his first cruise. I too was nervous about the MDR, but it was fabulous. It didn't take any time for them to get him a high chair. They got his food out quickly that first night and every night after that, it was already there by the time we were ordering starters. They knew exactly what he wanted and had it right there. They really did go out of their way to take care of him/us (and not just in the MDR).

 

Good idea to just get him used to eating out. It's a bit longer than a regular restaurant, but not too bad. I'd say about 1 1/2 hour if you're not purposefully dragging it out.

 

Happy cruising!

[cantw8togo]

You may want to bring along a few things to keep him busy while waiting. Colouring books, small toys or a portable dvd player can help save your sanity during dinner.

 

It's great that you are travelling with others that can also take him for walks between courses. Just don't let him run around in the dining room as there are too many waiters with heavy trays of food and dishes for them to keep an eye open for little kids under foot. The wait staff are great with the kids and don't forget that you can order from the main menu if you want a healthier selection for them. It's a great way to get them to expand their tastes. On our latest trip, our 7yr old discovered calamari and kiwi sorbet.

 

If your youngest isn't going to last until dessert, you can ask your server to have dessert to go so that you can still enjoy it after your little one goes to bed. And if you have had a busy day and tempers aren't condusive to sitting for 1 1/2 hours for dinner, there is always room service. Be flexible, keep nap and meal times on schedule and you will have a great time.

 

Hope this helps.

 

N.

[Julienatul]

We have always eaten in the dining room. We just bring small toys, stickers, coloring papers etc. They can get restless a bit towards dessert but we just do our best to keep them entertained and if they act up walk around with them or head back to the cabin.

[Bobbyjean]

Thank you guys for the reassurance. I am quite looking forward to it now after reading your replies! :)

[NJfoodie]

DS was 14 months when we sailed on NCL last year. What helped was that w/ the flexible dining times, we tended to eat really early, usually at 5:30 as soon as the MDR opened. If this is an option on your cruise, it may be helpful to eat before the diningroom gets really crowded. The servers were wonderful w/ DS. We also had a group of adults so we would take turns keeping him entertained. DH and I would make sure that he was fed, and then at the point where he was done eating, if someone else in our party was done with whichever course was being served, they'd take DS for a few minutes so that we could finish eating. Sometimes just having a lap and someone playing with him for a few minutes kept him happy, other times one of us would walk him over to an out of the way corner by the entrance and walk around with him. Out of a 7 night trip, we had a sit-down dinner every night except for the one night where we opted to do the buffet, and he only had a meltdown near the end of the meal once because he was tired and cranky. When that happened, DH took him back to our room and I brought dessert back with me to the room to enjoy once DS was asleep.

[O2B_CRUZN]

We had no problem with our 23 month old on his first cruise. Just like other posters have said bring small (quiet) toys. We found coloring books, small magna doodle board, stacking cups, and books were great. Also an iphone with a Dora video was a life saver (with the sound turned down it didn't bother anyone). Good Luck!

[B_Mc]

We did it with a 10 month old and it was great! They brought out an appetizer (usually fruit) and bread for him very quickly and we'd take him out of his chair to walk around and just give him a break between courses. I think one night he had a break down and we left during dessert but otherwise he was fine! Dinner was usually an hour or slightly longer and we always dashed right away!

[IttaBit]

We take our kids out to eat quite a bit on weekends and I have found that helps. If they can sit through an hour, hour and a half at a restaurant, they are usually going to be ok in the MDR. I bring little toys to keep them occupied though. Also, the best invention known to modern man, an iPad...keeps children occupied for hours on end. ;)

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

My son was 9 months last year when we cruised. We eat out often at nice restaurants but I remember still being nervous about eating in the MDR with an infant. But to my surprise, we ate at the MDR every night without any issues!! On the first night, we requested a high chair & every night after that, there was a high chair waiting for him. The wait staff were fantastic with him! Sometimes dinner could run long & if I noticed my son was getting antsy, I would walk with him outside of the restaurant since our table was right by the enterance. This prevented him from getting fussy being in a high chair for over an hour. Overall, we had a great experience & can't wait for this year's cruise when he will be 21 months old :)

[Soleil09]

DS was 17 months on our last ruise and he got a bit antsy towards the end of dinner but being able to get out of the high chair helped (we were in a corner table so he wasn't in the way). The wait staff also helped to entertain him :)

If you ask for a highchair on the first night, they'll have on each night after that for you. But, beware, I don't think they clean them.