Kids eating off your plate?

[rhelms]

Get a grip guy"s. You would think she was asking if her kids could eat off of your plate. OP share all you want with your child. Because i do believe it is "YOUR" plate.

[Siora7777]

Get a grip guy"s. You would think she was asking if her kids could eat off of your plate. OP share all you want with your child. Because i do believe it is "YOUR" plate.

 

I agree. Order off the kids menu free. If he wants a few bites of your food I doubt anyone will care.

Edited May 5, 2015 by Siora7777

[Illyria]

No, NCL is now charging a fee for children only if they order from the specialty menu. It is still free if they order from the children's menu.

That's probably their compromise as to not completely drive away families that want to bring their children to dinner with them. But they don't want a kid ordering from the regular menu for half-price taking up a seat of a full paying adult.

[SissasMomE]

That's probably their compromise as to not completely drive away families that want to bring their children to dinner with them. But they don't want a kid ordering from the regular menu for half-price taking up a seat of a full paying adult.

 

Well, that really doesn't make sense. They are still taking up a seat, while eating a cheeseburger instead of the specialty meal, aren't they?

[StolidCruiser]

Get a grip guy"s. You would think she was asking if her kids could eat off of your plate. OP share all you want with your child. Because i do believe it is "YOUR" plate.

 

There are many, many establishments both on land and at sea that have quite a different belief.

 

And they'd be right.

[cadien]

Well, that really doesn't make sense. They are still taking up a seat, while eating a cheeseburger instead of the specialty meal, aren't they?

 

It's only taking up a seat in Teppanyaki though. For the other specialties, they're still only using one table.

 

I don't see anything wrong with tel2's idea. Each kid is ordering a meal per the rules. If they each have bites of each other's -- adults do that all the time. No one is getting anything extra

[antas901]

Get a grip guy"s. You would think she was asking if her kids could eat off of your plate. OP share all you want with your child. Because i do believe it is "YOUR" plate.

 

If the cruise line is fine with it, go for it! Share until his little heart is content! :)

I'm laughing at the people that would be "less-than-pleased" on how you may choose to feed your child on your vacation. It never ceases to amaze me how other people get bent out of shape over the smallest things.

Enjoy your cruise and your Teppanyaki dinner(s) :)

[cb at sea]

At a REAL Japanese Steakhouse, you're going to pay SOMETHING for your child....do it on the ship, too.

[vince_g]

If the cruise line is fine with it, go for it! Share until his little heart is content! :)

I'm laughing at the people that would be "less-than-pleased" on how you may choose to feed your child on your vacation. It never ceases to amaze me how other people get bent out of shape over the smallest things.

Enjoy your cruise and your Teppanyaki dinner(s) :)

 

 

I agree....

 

Laughing at them is the best thing you can do. The poor OP apparently doesn't know this board is full of trolls just waiting to attack.

[moesyk4]

Thank you for your replies...as I thought I clearly stated, I have no intention of ordering extra food, I would just be ordering the regular dish off the menu and then splitting my meal in half for him to share with me. This is something that is widely accepted at all land based restaurants, and so I didn't know if that was true on board as well. As the PPers stated, it is irrelevant whether he takes a seat or not as he could eat from the children's menu for free.

All the land based restaurants we go to have children's menus that reflect the type of dining establishment we are at. I find it silly that A) the restaurant's children menu isn't restaurant specific and B) all the stuff on the kid's menu is pardon, but processed crap. We try to eat healthy and so do our kids, so things like mac n cheese and hot dogs are not things we serve to our kids regularly. I had no problem paying half price for him to enjoy his meal, but we had planned to go the restaurant twice, which would be $50 for a 5 year old to eat two dinners. Cruising is something we budget down to the penny, so there is no way we could justify that.

In the end, I think we will just go once and pay the $25, but it really is too bad that this policy change happened!

[LMaxwell]

Wow. This place...this is surreal.

 

OP, you sound fine and totally normal. No, I wouldn't want to pay $25 for a small child either; especially not when up until now I know it was half price. Yes, I think giving a bit to a child so they can sample something is very normal and not only would I probably not ever notice, on the odd chance I did notice I would not care or think it was my place to pass judgment on your parenting. Internet sure attracts some....vocal types.

 

Agree, they should have a specialty menu with child size portions at child pricing; not everyone wants to feed their kids the "junk food" kids menu.

 

Not sure why NCL felt the need to jack up all the kids specialty pricing instead of simply providing a portion that more met the lower price point and kids smaller appetites. Even Royal Caribbean doesn't charge kids full price for specialty dining.

 

Another cash grab by NCL. One size doesn't fit all. They had a good gig going getting families into specialty places with half price kids.

[sail7seas]

Where did I say I ordered extra so we could share with him? We ordered what we wanted and are open to letting them expand their palates.

 

I suppose you would order your 3 or 6 year old an entire plate of escargot when 1) they had never had it before and 2) you werent sure if they would even try it?

 

Please.

 

He asked what the escargot was, and what it tasted like, so I offered him one. He also asked to try one of the cone things; we hadnt planned on sharing it.

 

Oh wait, I think he also had 1 bite of my fruits de mer because he was curious, and my 3 yo had a taste of soup.

 

I guess Im "cheating the system" by letting my kids taste (not eat a meal of, TASTE) food that isnt pizza or chicken nuggets. No wonder people hate American kids eating habits!

 

Maybe I should just order them an entire plate of new to them food, refuse the kids menu, then let the restaurant throw all the stuff they didnt like away?!?

 

Seriously?

 

I suppose that if I, say, ordered a fresh squeezed juice, and let him have a sip, I should pay for 2 because he had some of mine?

 

now, if he'd tasted my escargot or fruits de mer, and decided he wanted to eat that INSTEAD of his pizza, thus making me order him his own plate, I would totally be OK with paying full price for him.

 

 

 

I don't mean to be unkind but if this is really what you meant, what would be the reason for asking if it was okay. You know that was okay. What is not okay (some here agree) is to bring children to a venue and avoid paying the required price by 'gaming' the restaurant that allows those who do pay to order a large quantity of food.

 

Sorry if I have misunderstood.

 

[Starflyr3]

I don't mean to be unkind but if this is really what you meant, what would be the reason for asking if it was okay. You know that was okay. What is not okay (some here agree) is to bring children to a venue and avoid paying the required price by 'gaming' the restaurant that allows those who do pay to order a large quantity of food.

 

Sorry if I have misunderstood.

 

 

I was not the OP. Had I been, I would have understood your response. I was responding to the "lets make specialty restaurants more adult only comment.

 

Incidentally, I agree with you about not gaming the system, as I think I made clear in my subsequent posts.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Starflyr3

[wndmom]

This whole debate is rather surprising to me, although I know it shouldn't be.

 

If the concern is that a paying spot is wasted, then the OP can order a kids meal. She/he can then share some from his plate. I fail to see what the problem is with that.

 

Now, I have two 11 year old boys, and we purchased the dining plan for all of us. If both boys are not starving (which is often the case on a cruise ship), I was going to have them share a meal. They are both paying for their spot with the UDP, but now I feel like other diners will be judging us.

 

No one knows the situations of families on a cruise ship. Let others parent as best they can, and keep the judgments to yourself.

[janpo]

My grand kids are 4 and 5 yrs old and eat hardly anything. No way would i spend $25 a dinner for them. I would have them order off the kids menu and if they wanted some of mine, no problem.

Edited May 6, 2015 by janpo

[aladin553]

I just got off the Getaway and they did not charge my 4 year old son the extra charge for eating off my plate. He also ordered from the kids menu and they didn't charge for that either. I'm not sure if that was a Haven perk or not.

[SAILPRO]

This whole debate is rather surprising to me, although I know it shouldn't be.

 

If the concern is that a paying spot is wasted, then the OP can order a kids meal. She/he can then share some from his plate. I fail to see what the problem is with that.

 

Now, I have two 11 year old boys, and we purchased the dining plan for all of us. If both boys are not starving (which is often the case on a cruise ship), I was going to have them share a meal. They are both paying for their spot with the UDP, but now I feel like other diners will be judging us.

 

No one knows the situations of families on a cruise ship. Let others parent as best they can, and keep the judgments to yourself.

 

100% agreed wndmom!

 

People need to not judge others and mind their one business!

We're on vacation and leave us alone! :D

[dna529]

Wow. This place...this is surreal.

 

OP, you sound fine and totally normal. No, I wouldn't want to pay $25 for a small child either; especially not when up until now I know it was half price. Yes, I think giving a bit to a child so they can sample something is very normal and not only would I probably not ever notice, on the odd chance I did notice I would not care or think it was my place to pass judgment on your parenting. Internet sure attracts some....vocal types.

 

Agree, they should have a specialty menu with child size portions at child pricing; not everyone wants to feed their kids the "junk food" kids menu.

 

Not sure why NCL felt the need to jack up all the kids specialty pricing instead of simply providing a portion that more met the lower price point and kids smaller appetites. Even Royal Caribbean doesn't charge kids full price for specialty dining.

 

Another cash grab by NCL. One size doesn't fit all. They had a good gig going getting families into specialty places with half price kids.

 

I totally agree. We have been cruising since 2011 with kids and are used to them eating for half price in specialties. I know mine won't eat a whole adult meal but I don't want them eating off the free kids menu either. Where does that leave us? Not going to specialties anymore with kids. I guess some people will like that!

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

[NLH Arizona]

I totally agree. We have been cruising since 2011 with kids and are used to them eating for half price in specialties. I know mine won't eat a whole adult meal but I don't want them eating off the free kids menu either. Where does that leave us? Not going to specialties anymore with kids. I guess some people will like that!

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

Not the perfect solution, but as suggested by another poster, have one child order the free child's menu and the other one a full priced meal, then split the meal and you will in essence be paying 1/2 price. Not breaking any rules, since each child is ordering their own meal.

[dna529]

Not the perfect solution, but as suggested by another poster, have one child order the free child's menu and the other one a full priced meal, then split the meal and you will in essence be paying 1/2 price. Not breaking any rules, since each child is ordering their own meal.

 

Good idea!

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Forums mobile app

[vicocala]

It says "eating off the menu" not eating off the same plate. Since they are both eating off the menu, regardless of number of plates they should both be charged according to how it is written. Whether they enforce that wording or not is their choice.

 

One thought though, do you want to teach your children to obey rules and laws or try to find a way around them? You may not mean to do that but it is something they will pick up on. Not judging, just asking.

[vince_g]

Not the perfect solution, but as suggested by another poster, have one child order the free child's menu and the other one a full priced meal, then split the meal and you will in essence be paying 1/2 price. Not breaking any rules, since each child is ordering their own meal.

 

But didn't one of the members declare that tacky? Also you can't have someone just eating a cheeseburger taking up a spot in Moderno. God forbid! I don't cruise with kids, but I surely can see where NCL is ringing the register with families.

[AlaskaAtLast]

I'm sorry if this has been asked before, and I understand this new change is just a couple of weeks old so there may not be a clear answer yet, but is it ok for children to eat off their parent's plates at a specialty restaurant? We are planning on getting the UDP (unless they take Cagney's off) and was just going to pay a la carte for our son, and most nights I'm guessing he would've just eaten off the kid's menu.

One restaurant I know he would eat off the regular menu is Teppanyaki...our city's similar restaurant is his absolute favorite place. We had talked it up to him that we could eat there a couple of times when we went and so he is super excited about it, but I just can't stomach the thought of paying $25 for a 5 year old to eat there! Before you say "well, he is eating from the adult's menu", I think it is dumb that they don't offer a restaurant specific kid's menu..at our local hibachi grill they would never offer hamburgers and french fries, they offer an appropriately priced kid sized version of their adult meals.

All that to say, I'd be fine splitting my meal with him and ordering what he wants, but I'd imagine particularly with the UDP and the opportunity to order multiple of appetizers and such (which I was not planning on doing) this could be frowned upon.

Any insight?

 

The price for kids in specialty restaurants is 50% of the adult price. So you'd pay $12.50 for your 5 year old. If he likes the food and the 'show', that doesn't sound like a bad price to me.

[NLH Arizona]

But didn't one of the members declare that tacky? Also you can't have someone just eating a cheeseburger taking up a spot in Moderno. God forbid! I don't cruise with kids, but I surely can see where NCL is ringing the register with families.

If someone thinks it is, that is their opinion and certainly doesn't mean that others have to agree with it or abide by it. Edited May 6, 2015 by NLH Arizona

[vince_g]

The price for kids in specialty restaurants is 50% of the adult price. So you'd pay $12.50 for your 5 year old. If he likes the food and the 'show', that doesn't sound like a bad price to me.

 

 

That is how it used to work. Now everyone who orders from specialty menu pays full price. There is a kid's menu available at no charge.