Experience In Chez Jacques

[ORV]

I'm convinced Oceania was designed with children in mind. The showers on the O ships were definitely designed for 8 to 12 year olds.

 

Getting ready to shoehorn myself in one after I post this.

[anthony5050]

We were dining at Chez Jacques last night, and had a not so great experience. This was not because of bad food or service, but because of inconsiderate passengers. We had been seated for about 5 minutes when two young women came in, carrying party decorations. They wanted to drape streamers, crepe paper and balloons around their table and while the Maitre'd said ok, he also said don't do too much, as it would disturb others. The women did a little decorating, and a few minutes later, in walked the rest of their group, including a 2 year old. Well, that's when the fun started. As 2 year olds are known to do, and no one faults the child, he began acting like a toddler, screaming and yelling in a two year old's high pitched voice. Every couple of minutes, he's screech like a howler monkey, and I can tell you, every time I jumped in my chair (our table was next to theirs). When the parents couldn't get him to stop, they gave him the lovely Jacques rolls to toss back and forth----the waiters were busy picking up rolls from the floor. When that got old, they began batting a balloon around the table. And finally, they let Jr run around the tables, while the wait staff were working so hard to serve everyone. The poor Maitre'd was so flustered, he was running around to all the tables, apologizing to everyone. While we were all none too happy, we realized this had nothing to do with the staff, but with a very inconsiderate family who should have realized that a lovely restaurant like Chez Jacques is no place for a balloon party at 7:30 at night with a two year old.

 

 

If anything

[anthony5050]

We were dining at Chez Jacques last night, and had a not so great experience. This was not because of bad food or service, but because of inconsiderate passengers. We had been seated for about 5 minutes when two young women came in, carrying party decorations. They wanted to drape streamers, crepe paper and balloons around their table and while the Maitre'd said ok, he also said don't do too much, as it would disturb others. The women did a little decorating, and a few minutes later, in walked the rest of their group, including a 2 year old. Well, that's when the fun started. As 2 year olds are known to do, and no one faults the child, he began acting like a toddler, screaming and yelling in a two year old's high pitched voice. Every couple of minutes, he's screech like a howler monkey, and I can tell you, every time I jumped in my chair (our table was next to theirs). When the parents couldn't get him to stop, they gave him the lovely Jacques rolls to toss back and forth----the waiters were busy picking up rolls from the floor. When that got old, they began batting a balloon around the table. And finally, they let Jr run around the tables, while the wait staff were working so hard to serve everyone. The poor Maitre'd was so flustered, he was running around to all the tables, apologizing to everyone. While we were all none too happy, we realized this had nothing to do with the staff, but with a very inconsiderate family who should have realized that a lovely restaurant like Chez Jacques is no place for a balloon party at 7:30 at night with a two year old.

 

 

We have sailed with "O" many times and have never experienced any situation like the above. We would have gotten up and left and spoke with the Maitre'd about our dissatisfaction and told him or her that we will be back the following night to enjoy our dinner. My voice would have been low enough so that many of the other diners would have heard me. Trusting some would follow our lead and left as well. It would gotten the attention of the GM.

[Travelcat2]

Crystal has children's program on some trips with a dedicated children's play room. They offer in cabin baby sitting for a fee on all trips. To slove the dinning problem Oceania should copy their baby sitting offer. As long as Oceania takes the money people will come.

 

Thank you for letting us know this information. Now we have a cruise line to send parents with children to. It will save Oceania, Regent, Silversea and Seabourn passengers from having to deal with the issue. Crystal has large ships and apparently the room, staff and patience to handle children. If Oceania were to implement babysitting and added a dedicated children's play room, they would not see us again.

[wripro]

It sounds like the only people being "punished" were the other guests in Jacques. Certainly it is important to have well-behaved civil children that could have a quality travel experience. However, things need to be taken gradually. A parent or grandparent should ask themselves if the child has learned to sit at a dinner table without screeching or running around under normal circumstances. Then determine how long they can behave. It is asking a lot of a 2 year old to sit quietly during dinner -- it takes practice.

 

Once a child can be well-behaved during meals at home and children friendly restaurants, they can advance to more upscale dining - keeping in mind their time tolerance. Also consider what there is to do on a ship for the child to keep them occupied and allow them to burn off energy (without disrupting others).

 

Our best child-friendly cruising experience was on Disney Cruise Lines. The parents were in the theater and the Disney characters arrived and skipped off with the children to do age appropriate activities.

 

From what I have seen over the years, it is the parent/grandparent that is being a bit selfish by putting their needs before their children/grandchildren. What 2 year old would pick Oceania over Disney, NCL and other cruise lines that specialize in insuring that both the parents and children have a great time?

 

 

You are speaking with logic and reason. Parents like those the OP posted about have neither.

[globevest]

We have sailed with "O" many times and have never experienced any situation like the above. We would have gotten up and left and spoke with the Maitre'd about our dissatisfaction and told him or her that we will be back the following night to enjoy our dinner. My voice would have been low enough so that many of the other diners would have heard me. Trusting some would follow our lead and left as well. It would gotten the attention of the GM.

 

Exactly what I would have done.....

[Travelcat2]

Exactly what I would have done.....

 

Why not just go to the GM directly?

[LHT28]

We had a loud party of 8 in Polo one night at the back of the ship .. There were also 2 tables for 2 back there we had one

we were having our special anniversary dinner that night

we had the appy & the entree came we had a glass of bubbly to celebrate

The noise was so bad from the table next to us we asked for drinks chit ASAP & left

The Maitre'D came over to find out what the problem was ..he apologized

The meal was not the best either so that did not help matters

 

He agreed putting a larger table back in that section was not the best idea

 

Point is ..if you are not happy then leave or at least go speak to the Maitre'D & make your concerns known

I know people like to have good time but please be considerate of others around you

[vaitape]

We had a similar experience on our Asia cruise several years ago....in Polo. There were large contingents of alumni groups on board. We were sitting by a window in the the first part of the room. A table of 8 well-lubricated people were seated next to us.

 

We couldn't converse because they were so loud. Fortunately, we were almost finished with dinner and had the Maitre'D send our desserts to our cabin. He was very apologetic but still.....

[wally_bushy]

We cruise on Oceania partially to avoid large numbers of children. We have four grown sons and would not have considered taking them on Oceania. They were well behaved children (and adults) however we did not suffer from the delusion that our children are highlights to everybody else. We respect others and selected holidays that were suitable.

We accepted that some places were not suitable and catered for a different demographic.

The same applies for selecting places to dine.

If your children are well behaved and mannered then the comments made by other posters are not relevant but if the expectation is that all others must adapt to fit then.....

[LHT28]

The more I think about this the more I am of the opinion that Oceania should have a minimum age for the specialty restaurants say 10

I know everyone thinks their 2 yr old kids & grandkids are adorable but it is unrealistic to think they will be happy little people dining for 2-3 hrs

 

 

I see a comment card in my future ;)

[Paulchili]

We cruise on Oceania partially to avoid large numbers of children. We have four grown sons and would not have considered taking them on Oceania. They were well behaved children (and adults) however we did not suffer from the delusion that our children are highlights to everybody else. We respect others and selected holidays that were suitable.

We accepted that some places were not suitable and catered for a different demographic.

The same applies for selecting places to dine.

If your children are well behaved and mannered then the comments made by other posters are not relevant but if the expectation is that all others must adapt to fit then.....

 

+1 - well said.

All parents should love their children but should not expect others to feel the same way about them - especially if they are misbehaved and annoying.

Edited March 9, 2016 by Paulchili

[Iamthesea]

When we traveled with our children to Disney World, we stayed in a hotel that had a children's program. We would go have a nice dinner while the children had their own dining room adjacent to ours.

 

Young children are not the only annoying people in a restaurant, as someone else has already pointed out. Drunk adults can also be a nuisance!

 

 

I'm convinced Oceania was designed with children in mind. The showers on the O ships were definitely designed for 8 to 12 year olds.

 

Getting ready to shoehorn myself in one after I post this.

 

I have to share this photo of DH trying out the shower - when we arrived - for our first Oceania cruise. We could not believe how small it was compared to other cruises. He is 5'8 and 155 lbs and is standing just inside the door to the shower stall. Oceania would do well to eliminate either the tub or the shower and go with one larger shower.

[Travelcat2]

When we traveled with our children to Disney World, we stayed in a hotel that had a children's program. We would go have a nice dinner while the children had their own dining room adjacent to ours.

 

Young children are not the only annoying people in a restaurant, as someone else has already pointed out. Drunk adults can also be a nuisance!

 

 

Sorry, but, comparing adult behavior to that of a child is a pet peeve of mine. Oceania's crew/officers can easily handle drunk or unruly passengers, however, saying a word about someone's "darling little one" is another story. IMO, saying that a very small number of passengers get drunk, a larger number of children can be out of control (it is their nature and it takes them a while to learn proper behavior in public).

 

The worst behavior that I've seen from adults are those that were not drunk but had the notion that they were special and exempt from the rules set forth by Oceania (in other words, their sense of entitlement was over the top).

[wally_bushy]

Sorry, but, comparing adult behavior to that of a child is a pet peeve of mine. Oceania's crew/officers can easily handle drunk or unruly passengers, however, saying a word about someone's "darling little one" is another story. IMO, saying that a very small number of passengers get drunk, a larger number of children can be out of control (it is their nature and it takes them a while to learn proper behavior in public).

 

The worst behavior that I've seen from adults are those that were not drunk but had the notion that they were special and exempt from the rules set forth by Oceania (in other words, their sense of entitlement was over the top).

+1

Last month we witnessed a passenger walk through the food area in his bathers and open shirt with no shoes. The staff member tried to gently indicate it was unacceptable by making an excuse that perhaps he should wear shoes as there could be broken glass on the floor. The passenger followed with a tirade and his parting comment was, "I don't take orders from anybody".

Imagine living or working with that form of life!

Go figure

[Mura]

Wow. "Not taking orders from anybody" is a good way to be thrown off the ship ...

 

It doesn't happen often but it HAS happened.

 

Mura

[Travelcat2]

Wow. "Not taking orders from anybody" is a good way to be thrown off the ship ...

 

It doesn't happen often but it HAS happened.

 

Mura

 

Good point! Adults can and have been "thrown off the ship..." but I wonder how many parents have been thrown off of the ship due to the behavior of their children. Again, there is no comparing adult behavior with that of a child.

[Mura]

I know of ONE case there two families were thrown off a ship because of the behavior of the teenage sons. This was on a Carnival ship (2 years ago?) that did not permit smoking at all. Two sons were caught smoking in the cabin and both families were left at the next port.

 

But true, it doesn't happen often. And I've never heard of a case of a family being tossed because of the behavior of very young children.

 

Maybe if this DID happen, there would be fewer cases of bad behavior ...

 

Oh well ... we're not in control of these rules!

 

Mura

[LHT28]

Well I can honestly say I have not seen any adults running around the dining venues screeching or throwing bread rolls for entertainment on any of our Oceania cruises :eek:

[RJB]

Thank you for letting us know this information. Now we have a cruise line to send parents with children to. It will save Oceania, Regent, Silversea and Seabourn passengers from having to deal with the issue. Crystal has large ships and apparently the room, staff and patience to handle children. If Oceania were to implement babysitting and added a dedicated children's play room, they would not see us again.

Would not see us again either.

[bitob]

Loud and boisterous adults who are not drunk spoil a nice dinner as well. Someone who broadcasts his or her conversation to the whole room is our pet peeve. There are some people who have no sense of how their behavior impacts others. We see this often with large tables.

[Iamthesea]

Sorry, but, comparing adult behavior to that of a child is a pet peeve of mine. Oceania's crew/officers can easily handle drunk or unruly passengers, however, saying a word about someone's "darling little one" is another story. IMO, saying that a very small number of passengers get drunk, a larger number of children can be out of control (it is their nature and it takes them a while to learn proper behavior in public).

 

I agree, but I was not comparing drunk or bad behaving adults to that of a child. They can actually be worse, IMO. :eek: We experienced this when we ate in Jacques, a few weeks ago. A guy was drunk, and some fellow CC passengers had to share a table with the "loud and boisterous ". The Maitre'd didn't do a thing. :rolleyes:

[Paulchili]

We experienced this when we ate in Jacques, a few weeks ago. A guy was drunk.......

 

I wonder if he had a Prestige Drink package - all you can drink (and then some) :D

[Mura]

The people sharing the table with the drunk had the option of leaving, which is what I would have done. But I would also explain why I was leaving to the maitre d' (and quite likely someone higher up as well) and would request a reservation at another time to make up for this now unusable reservation.

 

I can think of few things worse than sharing a table with a drunken stranger.

 

OTOH, I'm sure many of you may have other suggestions!

 

Mura

[kitty9]

double post

Edited March 10, 2016 by kitty9