Age limit and experiences with babies in MDR

[hott_michelle2001]

I am looking at cruising in May on a 7 day with my husband and DS, my son wil be 14 months old at that time. Is there a age limit on children in the main dining rooms and what have your experiences been if you have taken your children in there with you?

[KenMo]

There's no age limit in the MDR (or the Steakhouse).

 

I haven't cruised with small children...yet.

 

But I see families eating in the MDR all the time. After all, it's dinner time. Where else would one's children be?

 

Some kids eat at the buffet then go to Camp Carnival while the adults eat in the MDR, but yours will be too young for that.

 

I have noticed that if the child gets cranky, one of the adults leave the dining room with the child so they don't disturb others.

[jonathansburden]

We've taken our kids to the mdr every night since they started cruising at 6 months old. We always gave them a bottle before we went and made sure I brought things to keeep him occupied, small toys, crackers, cheerios, etc. The waitstaff has always been fantastic & loved playing with the kids :)

[Kamloops50]

We've taken our kids to the mdr every night since they started cruising at 6 months old. We always gave them a bottle before we went and made sure I brought things to keeep him occupied, small toys, crackers, cheerios, etc. The waitstaff has always been fantastic & loved playing with the kids :)

 

A lot of the wait staff miss there own kids when they are working . The financial gain to the family and extended family is huge . On wait staff told me that he was able to buy a house in Manila and also put his kids in a better school. His wages also helped his brother-in-law start a small business to help support the extended family on his DW side.

[Tbay-eh]

Our children were older when we took them so not an issue for us. I have seen children of all ages 6 mons and up in the MDR and have never really had a bad experience - most parents will remove children if they misbehave or get antsy. You have to be flexible and be patient. The Steak House is a different story and a different thread.

[starfish216]

Sailed recently on the Miracle with my niece's 11 month old son, no problem with a baby in the MDR. She did have food for him to eat and a bottle handy.

 

Also what really helps in restaurant situations, we did this last month at WDW (he was 16 months) was she downloaded to her Kindle a couple of children shows that he likes. When he started fussing or getting bored she would put on the the shows on and it would grab his attention for awhile. She was able to prop the Kindle on the table and he would watch it from his high chair. This was only done when all other means of keeping him amused failed.

 

I am not a big fan of plopping children in front of a TV but in this situation it worked wonders. It was easier to feed him while he had something to watch and the family was able to still eat together. And the other guest in the MDR had peace and quite since he wasn't fussing.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[jdvmd]

We've taken our kids to the mdr every night since they started cruising at 6 months old. We always gave them a bottle before we went and made sure I brought things to keeep him occupied, small toys, crackers, cheerios, etc. The waitstaff has always been fantastic & loved playing with the kids :)

 

That was our experience also when our children were younger.

[Tapi]

Our son started cruising at 12 months (he's done 3 cruises so far: 12mos, 17mos, and 24mos). As others have said, little ones are more than welcome. The wait staff has gone out of their way to take care of us. On one cruise, the asst. Maitre D' always insisted on carrying our son to the table in her arms. Waiters from neighboring tables would come over to greet our son.

 

With that said, there will be times when you'll be on your way to the MDR and may have to detour to the buffet instead. Even with all sorts of precautions and preparations, your dinner plans may get derailed if your little one isn't up for it. Be open to that possibility. On our first cruise with our son, we ended up at the buffet after getting all dressed up for elegant night! It was temper-tantrum night in our son's eyes.

 

About the steakhouse, yes babies are allowed, but I would not do it. It's a LONG dinner which requires a lot of patience in a mostly adult and subdued environment. It wouldn't be fair to a small child to make him sit through that, and it wouldn't be fair to the adults who've spent good money on a special dinner

[txmom11]

I agree with the previous posts. Bring something to keep your baby occupied and be prepared to bolt if necessary. We love to see babies at nearby tables. What better way to teach children how to behave in a restaurant than to actually bring them to one?

[sewut]

Another thing I've seen is parents with a small stroller. They feed the child before coming to the diningroom and the child can nap in the stroller. Try to keep to your child's schedule as much as possible.

[addicted2cruizin]

I would recommend early seating or YTD and arriving when the MDR opens.

Many of the passengers with young families tend to eat in the earlier seatings.

 

Have a good cruise!

Addicted