Anyone got any good tips for Adventure Ocean on Freedom of the Seas?

[newparents]

Hi, we are travelling with DS age 5 and DD age 3 so its great that they are in the same age group, phew.

We are booked for 2nd sitting in mdr but kids will prob mostly eat in Windjammer but they will still come to mdr some nights.

If anyone has any tips or advice at all on club or just anything that worked for you, it would be appreciated.

Thanks :-)

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[cb at sea]

If you want to eat in the MDR together, then early seating will work better....everything kid-wise revolves around the early seating time.

 

No real advice....just relax, let things "flow", and enjoy!

[snorkelman]

We have brought our daughters on 7 cruises, and they NEVER enjoyed the MDR. Just too long and boring for them. IMO there is no point in forcing it for no real benefit. You will easily be able to spend quality with them many other times so that is one area where it is not worth it of your goal is for everyone to enjoy the vacation. However, if your priority is photos over enjoyment, then haul them with you.

 

IMO the dining room is a place to bring kids as a last resort, especially at the ages yours are at. They will almost always be done eating in 20 minutes anyway, so you better bring lots of stuff to keep them occupied or else your enjoyment factor will likely decline, especially if you are trying to have adult conversations with others at the table.

 

My advice is to "talk up" the kids program long before your cruise. Get your kids excited about it. As soon as you board on Day 1, after you eat, make sure that part of your ship exploration is the kids area, so they can try out the hoola hoops and other stuff and see how cool the rooms are.

 

I would not even let your kids know that they have any option other than the kids program. Then go pic them up for lunch, share experiences, and take them off for excursions, and pool play.

[sunshine0503]

We took our kids on their first cruise when they were almost 4 and 6. We had first seating for dinner and the kids came with us every night. They loved the fancy meal (although my son fell asleep at the table most nights - too much fun in the sun during the day). The wait staff on RCL Freedom was phenomenal. They brought him a folded up table cloth to lay his head on when he was sleeping at dinner. After dinner was over, he would wake up and we wood take them to the Adventure Ocean program for the evening while we caught a few shows.

 

Surprisingly, they loved spending time in AO more than with us. We felt there was a good balance between time at the pool as a family and time apart for them to go to AO and do fun stuff. They had a blast and we are all looking forward to going on the Allure in just 2 1/2 weeks. If you have any more specific questions, I can try to answer them. But my best advice is to go into it with an open mind and flexibility. You will never know if they like the dining room unless you try.

[CruisinW8]

We just took our 3 & 5 yo on their first cruise this past October. They loved the kids club. We had a late seating time since it was all that was available & they were fine. Our waitstaff were so good with them, making sure they didn't wait long and even entertaining them here & there for a few minutes. There were a couple of nights that we fed them first and let them stay in AO while we ate, but for the most part our schedules had them taking later naps which meant they were fine for dinner at 8pm. No special advice other than just go with whatever works for you & the kids.

 

 

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Edited April 3, 2014 by CruisinW8

[newparents]

We have contacted rci to change to 1st sitting, it was fully booked though so we are on a first sitting wait list so we'll see what happens.

Thankyou all for ur replies, its much appreciated :-)

 

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[pattle66]

We register for My Time Dining now we have kids. This is great for us as sometimes the kids eat in the Windjammer and then head to Adventure Ocean leaving my husband and I to eat in the MDR at a leisurely pace. If we all eat together we can book for an earlier time in the MDR. We have never had any issues just turning up to the MDR without a booking and not had to wait more than 5 minutes for a table.

[snorkelman]

We register for My Time Dining now we have kids. This is great for us as sometimes the kids eat in the Windjammer ...

 

^^ that is good advice. When we did bring our kids to the MDR, it was first seating, but it would be much easier if you had MTD instead. Also, if the kids go to AO or you go to windjammer, it isnt a big deal at all for the wait staff or your table mates if you do MTD.

[gerif]

We have brought our daughters on 7 cruises, and they NEVER enjoyed the MDR. Just too long and boring for them. IMO there is no point in forcing it for no real benefit. You will easily be able to spend quality with them many other times so that is one area where it is not worth it of your goal is for everyone to enjoy the vacation. However, if your priority is photos over enjoyment, then haul them with you.

 

IMO the dining room is a place to bring kids as a last resort, especially at the ages yours are at. They will almost always be done eating in 20 minutes anyway, so you better bring lots of stuff to keep them occupied or else your enjoyment factor will likely decline, especially if you are trying to have adult conversations with others at the table.

 

My advice is to "talk up" the kids program long before your cruise. Get your kids excited about it. As soon as you board on Day 1, after you eat, make sure that part of your ship exploration is the kids area, so they can try out the hoola hoops and other stuff and see how cool the rooms are.

 

I would not even let your kids know that they have any option other than the kids program. Then go pic them up for lunch, share experiences, and take them off for excursions, and pool play.

 

I totally disagree with this and I think the key can be found in your second paragraph. If you are going to ignore the kids in favor of having adult conversations with others of course they are going to get bored and restless. We enjoy eating as a family and kids are part of that family. I've seen families at restaurants where adults were so engrossed in their own conversations that kids were left to their own devices and, of course, started acting up. Felt pretty sorry for them and annoyed at their parents.

[ynghipfam10]

I was told by an RCI travel agent to check back with them closer to my departure time. They said that if I was on the wait list for a dining time I should call and see if I could get bumped.. Worth the call in my eyes- never hurts to ask. I'm thinking MDR my time family dining sounds like the best option.

 

I will mention that my son did a carnival cruise at 18mos, and we had the 6:30pm dining time. He did really well every night. The waiters do a great job of entertaining, and I'm sure that's on most cruise lines. They know where they get their tips... :)

 

 

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[cruiselovincouple]

Our son was 19 months during his first cruise (14 days) and the MDR was great each time we went. We did MTD and requested the same staff as much as possible. They got his food fast and we brought him some small toys to help him pass the time. They also brought courses together, per our request, like appetizers and salads. It was truly enjoyable and only once did the boy start acting up because of exhaustion and I just quickly took him back to the stateroom. We didn't even ask but the wait staff brought my meal to my hubby all boxed up ready to go. It truly made our experience special and made this anxious momma (hate bothering other people during vacation) feel at ease.

 

~Lisa :p

[newparents]

Our son was 19 months during his first cruise (14 days) and the MDR was great each time we went. We did MTD and requested the same staff as much as possible. They got his food fast and we brought him some small toys to help him pass the time. They also brought courses together, per our request, like appetizers and salads. It was truly enjoyable and only once did the boy start acting up because of exhaustion and I just quickly took him back to the stateroom. We didn't even ask but the wait staff brought my meal to my hubby all boxed up ready to go. It truly made our experience special and made this anxious momma (hate bothering other people during vacation) feel at ease.

 

~Lisa :p

 

Thats absolutely fantastic, I honestly didn't realise it was just as good as that, thats great to know, thankyou :-)

 

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