Baby carrier at the buffet?

[milton333]

We will be cruising with our son, who will be 2. This is his first cruise, though we have traveled with him a half dozen times. I generally do not care for the fuss and duration of dinner in the MDR, and I seriously doubt that my little guy will have the patience for it. To spare fellow diners, my son, and myself, we will most likely skip the MDR, at least for dinner, and stick to more casual food options.

 

We had a thought, though, and wonder if others can weigh in. We often back carry DS in a soft carrier (Ergo). We plan to bring it on the cruise. Has anyone ever seen a child in a carrier in the buffet line? We'd rather not do the "one parent sits at table while the other grabs food" bit. Do you think we'd get booted out of the buffet or something? I can't think why it would be a problem, but maybe I'm missing something.

[discjoker]

While I can't imagine carrying my 2 year old on my back (my daughter is 3.5 now and I am trying to think back to when she was 2 and I think she was pretty much walking on her own....), I don't think you will have a problem or be "booted out" if you choose to do so. I Googled what you are talking about (Ergo) and I can't see any reason why it would be an issue.

 

Only from my experience, but we cruised when my daughter was 18 months and she did great in the MDR...you might want to try it (although you know your child's abilities and tolerances more than I do). We also did the one parent gets food (for themselves and the child), then the other would go the times we did eat at the buffet.

 

Have FUN on your cruise...cruising with a toddler is a great time.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

You might not whant to go during the busy times

[cb at sea]

The dining room is the easier option...if you request a table for only your family, you can ask the waitstaff to hurry your meals a bit. Then, they will serve you..and will have fingerfoods and stuff avail. when you sit down, so no fussy child. It's ever so much easier than lugging baby AND plates all around the buffet. Do give it a try!

 

But, yes...you can wear your carrier in the buffet.

[Woodmnky]

No problem wearing baby in the buffet, unless he is a grabber. It can be very crowded in there and somethings may be within his reach. Depending upon the time that you hit the buffet you may want to reconsider having one parent get a table with the little one while the other gets food, but not because of the baby. At peak times it can be difficult to locate a table right away and this would be an extra big pain in the you know what if you are wearing your son and carrying a tray of food around a crowded buffet while looking for a table.

 

I plan on wearing my son for much of our upcoming cruise as although I expect him to be walking by then I'm sure that his little legs will not hold out for the length of a big cruise ship, plus little slow people tend to be swept up in the mass of bigger faster people at peak times.

[jac1976]

I think it would be fine depending on the size of the buffet area. Maybe as the PPs said, just avoid the crowded times. We just cruised and I found the staff to be very accommodating where my babywearing was concerned. One day as I was boarding the ship, my DD (3.5 years old) was sound asleep on my back. I was dreading the thought of waking her up and taking her down so we could go through the metal detectors, but the staff (without my asking) told me to just keep her on my back and go through without waking her. That was very appreciated!

[Mom2B&Z]

DS2 had just turned 3 on our last cruise and I wore him in our Ergo all throughout the ship. People on CC (albeit not the family forum ;)) said no back packs anywhere on the ship, especially during embarkation/disembarkation or in crowded areas. I found the opposite to be true, in that people were more careful moving around us when DS2 was in the Ergo rather than when he was walking.

Personally I wouldn't hesistate to wear him to the buffet, it would definitely make it easier to negotiate that area. I have a hard time imagining a child on your back in the Ergo grabbing anything. We did use the one person stays at the table bit at busy times, so we knew we wouldn't be wandering the ship with four plates of food and two little boys trying to find a table, but otherwise it was fine. I do echo other comments about trying the dining room, especially if you tell the wait staff that you want to be in and out in a hurry. It may go better than you thing! DS2 was thrilled one night to discover strawberry soup :D

I also somewhat ignore the comments about doing certain things at busy times on the ship with children; as we all know, when a little child is hungry, you need to feed them. If you've done everything you can to avoid this situation, then it's survival mode and anything goes IMNSHO.

BTW, DS2 will have just turned 4 on our next cruise and I plan on wearing him again...probably for the last time *sniff*. It will probably be just for embarkation, at the airports and maybe Lamanai, but so much easier than dealing with a stroller!

[kms118]

I baby wear and hadn't even thought of this! What a great idea!