Dining Room with a Toddler (2 year old)

[Julz226]

We're counting down the days to our first family cruise. My husband and I have cruised together 3 times in the past few years but this will be our first trip with our "souvenir" from the Carnival Glory.

 

We've always done late dining before, but in deference to his bed time, we've signed up for early dining this time around. That said, I want other people's experiences with toddlers in the main dining room (both as parents and as people who have been seated near toddlers).

 

Honestly, we don't go out to eat very often these days because dining out can be a chore with our DS. Don't get me wrong, he's very well behaved FOR A TWO YEAR OLD. He doesn't always have the patience to sit through a meal so one of us ends up walking him around while the other eats. There is also a certain amount of food that ends up on the floor. Should we just skip our meals and eat on the lido deck? Leave him in Camp Carnival for dinner? Attempt the seated dinner with an active little boy? I'd hate to be rude to other diners, especially any who may have ended up seated at our table:eek: but I also look forward to dinner in the dining room and don't want to feel exiled...

[cb at sea]

HAve no fear about taking your little one to the dining room. The waiters will fawn over him, and if you want some "finger foods" to tide him over, they will comply!\

 

They seldom seat "families" with folks who don't have kids with them...no fears on that point!

 

And sure, if you'd rather, you could feed him ahead of time and take him to Camp Carnival....your choice! But do give the MDR a try!

[Yazoo cruiser]

Just back frim the Conquest on 1/22 with our 21 month old grand daughter. There were 6 in our group and we were joined by a very nice family of 3 from Arkansas with their 5 or 6 year old. We had no problems at all. The waiters had a high chair waiting at the table every night and seemed like they really enjoyed have a young child. She ate her chicken, macaroni and other items every night. Once or twice she got a little restless. Her mom or dad would pick her up, walk her around for a couple of minutes and she was fine. Hope you have a great cruise.

[deanaw72]

I would suggest just playing it by ear. If you try the main dining room and see he just can't handle it, change it up. Maybe hit the buffet the next night, or room service then try it again. Luckily, your not forced to do anything, so just relax and go with it. Happy cruising!

[Colorado Kat]

Don't worry about it. The waiters usually adore the little ones, and they will bring something for them to eat right away. If they get fussy, take turns walking them about for a bit. If still problems, then you can decamp to the Lido deck.

 

You might be pleasantly surprised by your child. When my twins were 2, we always had complete strangers come up to us at every meal out, complimenting us on how well behaved they were.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[RivieraMaya]

I suggest a mini dvd player. Having 2 kids (one 18mo) I totally get what you are saying. Our portable DVD player has saved us more than once and can be turned down enough to not bother others. I would not feel bad at all leaving him in Camp Carnival either. You'll all be happier.

[momtoabowhead]

We did late dining with a 15 month old. It was hell. We did NOT choose the time, it was a large family reunion trip. Early dining would have been fine, though. You can do it!!

[WeatherGeek]

We've had a hit experience with this and a miss experience with this. We were on the Elation last week and it was a hit. We had early dining and were at a table with 3 other families with 3 and 5 years olds (DD is 3) and our waiter was quick, efficient and had the kids plates out to them within 5 minutes of sitting down.

 

Our miss experience was on the Triumph when DD was 2. We were at a table for 2 that had been turned into a table for 3 by placing her high chair on the open side of the table with the other side pressed up against a wall. We couldn't get into early dining due to booking last minute and they couldn't accommodate us once we got onboard, so we went ahead and gave her a late nap around 5pm so she could not only stay awake, but stay pleasant through dinner. Our wait staff was not all that attentive to us and always served our table last despite us always being the first ones there of his tables. We had to ask for my daughter's meal to come early so she could start eating each night and by the time they were singing and dancing, we had just been served our main course. He was responsible for 2 other 10-top tables of adults, none with children, so I couldn't understand why we were consistently last on his priority list especially when we were there first each night. We would get our bread and water right away and then we would not see him for 15 minutes. We were able to stick with it as DD was behaving well thanks to her nap. The last night we had previously scoped out the menu earlier in the day so we knew what we wanted before being handed a menu. We asked if we could go ahead and order right away and he seemed put off. Oh well. It wasn't a great experience but certainly didn't ruin our trip.

 

As far as the other diners, as long as your child isn't wandering around or throwing tantrums, there is no need to worry. Most people love seeing well behaved children and have no problem with them. It sounds like you have a good handle on knowing when you need to provide distractions and the fact that you're even concerned about it speaks volumes about how you handle your children in public. Too many people take a vacation from parenting while on vacation.

[5waldos]

Finger food as soon as he is seated often helps. Something to play with when he gets restless. Although not on a ship, we traveled a lot with our son at that age and always had an umbrella stroller with us. He often would take a nap through dinner so we could have a pleasant time. And if he gets too restless, he needs to go out. At a certain point it becomes useless and everyone of you will end up frustrated trying to keep him quiet and happy while you eat. And just wouldn't plan on long and leisurely dinners.

[momtoabowhead]

I always took her snack cup full of Cheerios or Goldfish - something of that sort. We always took her sippy cup. We always took her 'Puppa Dog' he goes everywhere with us. LOL. And we packed a few board books.

 

Those things make it more tolerable.

[RYPERO]

We have done the dining room a number of times with our kids who are now 4 and 2 and it has been pretty easy. Like others have said the wait staff will tend to your son's every needs and will play with them and make napkin animals and spoon tricks. We also bring lots of toys and most importantly I have found that if I stay calm and relaxed they stay calm and relaxed. Enjoy creating new memories with you "souvenir"

[gottacsun]

We cruised on the Glory last week with our 6 & 8 year olds and my sister's 1 & 3 year olds. The kids were all so good in the dining room, even though we were often one of the last tables served and dinner usually took 1.5 to 2 hours.

 

A few nights our waiter brought paper kids' menus and crayons, but I think only 2 or 3 times. The table behind us had a portable dvd player on the table a few nights for their 2 year old. A few nights someone took the baby for a short walk between courses and we usually had bathroom trips each night with 1 or more of the kids.

 

One night we all skipped the dining room because we had spent all day on the beach and were too tired to get dressed up. Another night grandma and grandpa took the 2 little ones to the buffet.

 

Also, our server was good to bring kids' meals out early. One server came by and cut my brother-in-law's food for him, because he was busy holding the baby. Another night she cut up the baby's meat so my brother-in-law could get on with eating his own meal.

[Tapi]

Our 2 year old son has sailed 3 times so far, and the best piece of advice I can tell you is to be FLEXIBLE. That starts with selecting Anytime Dining. That way you can go to dinner when YOU (and specially your toddler) are hungry and ready to go dinner, and not when the cruise line is telling you to be hungry at a specific time. As you probably figured out by now, it doesn't work quite that way with a toddler.

 

Some nights your toddler might be in the state of mind to sit through dinner at the MDR, other nights you may need to have a quick bite at the buffet or 24 hour pizzeria. Other nights you may feel the need to have an adult, leisurely night out, so you can leave your child behind at Camp Carnival.

 

Don't plan too much (as in: "On night 2 and 4 we'll go to the MDR. We will definitely go to the MDR on Elegant night." etc). Your toddler may have other plans...

[Rhitson88]

I suggest a mini dvd player. Having 2 kids (one 18mo) I totally get what you are saying. Our portable DVD player has saved us more than once and can be turned down enough to not bother others. I would not feel bad at all leaving him in Camp Carnival either. You'll all be happier.

 

 

 

Haha really?? This is a terrible idea. Walking him outside is just fine. But bringing a mini dvd player to keep him busy is only going to make the problem worse later on. Can't always have a dvd player so what happens later on if you don't have it and thats now what he wants when he eats. Anyways, your 2 yr old will be fine.

[The Wolverine]

we took are youngest on a cruise when she was 9 months.

 

we did the your time dining just because we weren't sure when she will nap and when we will have time to go do things.

 

that worked great for us, we always requested the same wait staff which we never had to wait more than 10 minutes to be seated in their area.

 

they bend over backward to make you child happy, she was just starting to eat solids, they brought her everything we asked for... after the second day, they will have her food at cooling off for her before we even got there. they knew what she might like.

 

Best experience ever!!!

[kparc]

Cruising with a toddler?!

 

My reaction - :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[momtoabowhead]

Cruising with a toddler?!

 

My reaction - :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

 

I loved cruising with DD. I enjoy spending time with her.

 

Why is cruising with a toddler so shocking?

[kparc]

Going ANYWHERE with a Toddler is SHOCKING!:eek::eek::eek:

 

I love my kids to - but :eek::eek::eek: on a cruise - on a plane - in a hotel room - you never know what you gonna get! lol

[Tapi]

Going ANYWHERE with a Toddler is SHOCKING!:eek::eek:

 

I love my kids to - but :eek::eek::eek: on a cruise - on a plane - in a hotel room - you never know what you gonna get! lol

 

Shocking, how?

 

My 2 year old has already flown over 20 times, taken several hotel vacations, 4 trips to Puerto Rico, 6 trips to Washington, DC, 1 trip to Texas, 1 trip to Disney, and 3 cruises including visits to the Bahamas, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, Belize and Honduras. We are now planning on taking him to Alaska. Guess what? I wouldn't have it any other way...! :)

 

What I find shocking are people that choose to have kids to then leave them at home because they are too much of a hassle on vacation...

[kparc]

We always brought our kids with us too!

 

and I remember :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: along with all the sweet loving moments too! LOL

[momtoabowhead]

Going ANYWHERE with a Toddler is SHOCKING!:eek::eek::eek:

 

I love my kids to - but :eek::eek::eek: on a cruise - on a plane - in a hotel room - you never know what you gonna get! lol

 

I guess I don't agree with you. Is it difficult to raise a toddler, yes. Just as difficult away from home as at home. My child isn't an inconvenience and we generally choose to take her on vacations with us. She's fun to be around.

[momtoabowhead]

shocking, how?

 

My 2 year old has already flown over 20 times, several hotel vacations, 4 trips to puerto rico, 6 trips to washington, dc, 1 trip to texas, 1 trip to disney, and 3 cruises including visits to the bahamas, mexico, haiti, jamaica, belize and honduras. We are now planning on taking him to alaska. Guess what? I wouldn't have it any other way...! :)

 

what i find shocking are people that choose to have kids to then leave them at home because they are too much of a hassle on vacation...

 

vws!!

[bjd2]

I am definitely for you dining with your little one. I hope, however, you do not do as one of our neighboring diners did and gave the little one the dome lids from the butter to bang together like a monkey. I had a huge headache after listening to this for several dinners! :eek:

[goofygal531]

If you can switch to Anytime Dining, that would be the easiest for you. You can gage your toddler day by day. Sometimes the kids eat with us, sometimes we feed them first in the buffet and enjoy a nice dinner just the two of us. When they were little, we'd put the baby in PJs and have him fall asleep in his stroller and go to a late dinner with him sleeping next to the table.

 

Anytime dining will give you the most flexibility.

[RuthlessBoss]

Cruising with a toddler?!

 

My reaction - :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Ditto

 

If people feel quality time is needed, which it is, why do it on a cruise? Does it not deter the cruise vacation itself? You certainly cannot really relax. I think some have no alternative but to take them, I just know I'd wait till they were older.