Kid's Dinner on Mariner

[sshuttle]

We will be traveling with our 6 year old son on the Mariner. We dragged him to dinner every night on Disney cruise because I thought it was a "family" cruise and we should all eat together. He would have rather stayed in the kids area. Lesson learned. I do want to take him with us to dinner at least a few nights on this cruise. Are there certain nights that would be better for kids, funner entertainment menu, etc.?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Premier,Star Ship Magestic, 1990 and 1992
RCL, Monarch of the Seas, 5/1994
Disney Wonder, 5/2002
RCL, Mariner of the Seas, 5/2004

[csteinhauser]

RCCL doesn't really do much in the form of entertainment in the dining room other than the night the waiters sing O sol O mia! They used to take the kids to Johnny Rockets twice during the week with Adventure ocean but now I understand that due to the surcharge they take them to the Windjammer. Our kids went with us to dinner (we had early seating) and the waiters always made sure they were served promptly and they were done eating before 7:00. Then, either my husband or I would excuse ourselves temporarily to take the kids to the adveture ocean and then return to finish our meals. We were usually back by the time the main entree arrived.

Cindy & Jonathan

Explorer of the Seas 9/21/02
Mariner of the Seas 11/23/03
Enchantment of the Seas 11/22/04
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[mimiandpapa]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img] thank goodness---leave those rug rats at home!


what a life it is to be cruising
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[girlzillla]

We made our kids, 12 and 9 eat dinner with us in the dining room. The waiter we had on Mariner was wonderful with the kids. He brought kids menu's for the kids, only one of my kids ordered from it, and made the whole meal enjoyable for them too. My kids would usually eat and run up to the activities at Adventure Ocean. I think to eat at AO, you have to sign up in advance, we always missed signing them up for it.

Have a good trip

Mariner of the Seas 02/08/04
Navigator of the Seas 01-2003

[sshuttle]

It appears that there are only certain nights they can eat at AO, not every night like on Disney. Is that the case? It sounds like the waiters are very attentive though so he wouldn't have to sit through the entire meal unless he wanted. Any body been since the big Johnny Rockets change? Do they still eat there?

Premier,Star Ship Magestic, 1990 and 1992
RCL, Monarch of the Seas, 5/1994
Disney Wonder, 5/2002
RCL, Mariner of the Seas, 5/2004

[rjg41]

Our assistant waiter, Richard made such a connection with our two and a half year old grand daughter that when she got home to Texas she walked around the house for a few days and kept asking her Mommy, Where's Richard? We had eight grandchildren in our group with 7 of them 8 to 18 months. They behaved just fine and loved every minute. Our wait staff treated them like kings and queens.

Carnival Ecstasy, March 1993
Celebrity Millennium, Caribbean, Jan 2002
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[Folgy]

I think Richard wanted a HUGE tip and earned it too. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Alaska (my BIG 50)
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[rjg41]

I don't doubt that was partially true but I am not that cyncical. Other crew members who were not in a position to receive a tip from us also reacted especially to the younger kids. When I was walking around with the 18 month old one even told me that he had just had a new baby just after he left and that he would not see her for another 4 months. You could see it in his eyes when he looked and talked at my granddaughter how it reminded him that he had a new daughter. I think there is a side of the crew members with kids where kids on board become somewhat serogate kids for them. Reagrdless of the reason, the service was great.

Carnival Ecstasy, March 1993
Celebrity Millennium, Caribbean, Jan 2002
Coral Princess, Panama Canal Feb. 2, 2003 [url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=887097554&m=6683066607&r=6683066607#6683066607"](Review)[/url]
Celebrity Summit, Alaska Land [url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=268097554&m=1763035447"](Land Tour Review)[/url] & Sea [url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=147097554&m=2043034547"](Cruise Review)[/url], Aug. 15,2003
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[girlzillla]

I think the nights the kids could eat at AO was during both formal dinners.

I don't have an answer on the Johnny Rocket's question, we sailed before the surcharge.

There's really npo a lot of just waiting around during dinner, at least I thought there wasn't. You ordered and they bring out your food. All the food is prepared ahead of time, that really speeds it along. If your worried he might get bored, bring a few crayons with you for him to color on the kid's menu or bring a small pad of paper for him to doodle on. The wait staff won't mind.

...Sounds to me that Richard was good at his job and he knows he will probably get a better tip if he is really nice to the kids. I certainly tipped my waiter extra for the extra nice service he showed my kids.

Mariner of the Seas 02/08/04
Navigator of the Seas 01-2003

[paddy Anne]

So here's the big question????
1-Eat early dinner with our children and then send them to kids club and we finish dinner.
OR
2- Let them eat at the buffet and we eat a late dinner alone at the second seating?
This is the big debate right now. Any advice?

Carnival Triumph 04/2000
Norwegian Sun 02/2004
Brilliance of the Seas 03/2005
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[sshuttle]

Depends on if you don't mind eating late. My concern would be I go to the trouble to have the kids eat earlier so we can eat later and then end up at a late table with kids.

After reading everyone's advice I think we'll just plan on playing it by ear. The formal nights we'll let him go to dinner with kids camp, other nights with us and maybe one night we'll all go to Johnny Rockets are something. My son behaves well in restaurants but at 6:00 at night after a very long day, sitting through an appetizer, entree, and dessert may be a bit too much to ask. He won't enjoy it and neither will we.

Premier,Star Ship Magestic, 1990 and 1992
RCL, Monarch of the Seas, 5/1994
Disney Wonder, 5/2002
RCL, Mariner of the Seas, 5/2004

[julierika]

>>1-Eat early dinner with our children and then send them to kids club and we finish dinner.
OR
2- Let them eat at the buffet and we eat a late dinner alone at the second seating?
This is the big debate right now. Any advice?

I have an opinion on this. We have done it both ways with our daughter 3 yrs old and now 5 yrs old. We did late seating with her and she missed activities at AO and we couldn't completely relax at dinner as we tried to keep her happy. Next we did the late seating but fed her first at Windjammer and she had fun at AO while we ate. Much better!

Only problem was (minor, I suppose) that AO isn't offered on the first night so we had to bring her with us to dinner. This meant an empty space at our table for the rest of the week, which I would rather have been filled with a new person to meet. And the waitstaff kept bugging us to bring her back. Maybe because she is cute and charming. Probably because it increases their tip.

- Julie

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Vision of the Seas to Mexico!

[gambler]

my vote is for

1-Eat early dinner with our children and then send them to kids club and we finish dinner.

This also give you some time after dinner for the show or casino or other activities.

Monarch of the Seas 09/92
Majesty of the Seas 11/93
Sovereign of the Seas 09/94
Majesty of the Seas 11/95
Grandeur of the Seas 11/99
Grandeur of the Seas 11/00
Grandeur of the Seas 06/01
Grandeur of the Seas 02/02
Navigator of the Seas 12/02
Rhapsody of the Seas 06/03
Radiance of the Seas 11/03
Grandeur of the Seas 05/04
Navigator of the Seas 11/04

[Candleonwater]

Kids club and dinner - I know it wasn't an option for the first formal night. They only offered 2 nights where the kids could eat with AO - and they ate both nights in the Windjammer. I do have to say, that was the ONE nice thing about my daughter and I having a table for two... no waiting for others to finish their food! We ate quickly, and were out of there.

Actually, if you want to look at the AO kids compases for ages 6-8... take a look at my collection of pictures - I scanned them in...

[url="http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=11ji5lq7.2n0ztxn3&x=0&y=3z11im"]Mariner Pictures[/url]

<MARQUEE>Navigator of the Seas March 26, 2005</MARQUEE>
Mariner of the Seas 4/11/04
Disney Magic 12/01/01

[sshuttle]

Great pictures! Is there anyway to blow them up when you're looking at them, I can't read the compasses?

Thanks!!

Premier,Star Ship Magestic, 1990 and 1992
RCL, Monarch of the Seas, 5/1994
Disney Wonder, 5/2002
RCL, Mariner of the Seas, 5/2004

[Candleonwater]

I just tried, and no... if you want to give me your email addy, I can email the originals to you.

<MARQUEE>Navigator of the Seas March 26, 2005</MARQUEE>
Mariner of the Seas 4/11/04
Disney Magic 12/01/01

[teethcleaner]

Candleonwater,
Thanks for the compasses! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] I was able to print them all. We will be going on the Mariner on Dec 26 with our 2 children 12 and 7. I was able to show my 7 year old some of the things she may be doing. We are also scheduled for late seating for dinner. When we took the Disney cruise we had late seating and it worked out great for our family. The kids ate dinner with us almost every night. We will be onboard on New Year's Eve I think they will have activities for the kid's that night.

[pamelajean62]

My 2 cents...
We sailed on the Mariner in Feb. Our kids (11&12) really loved AO. We had them eat with us (early sitting) then they went to AO. What we discovered was that if they ordered off the kids menu (which BTW I thought was much more extensive than the Disney cruise kids menu) their food came almost immediately. This way they could eat and then go to AO (they were old enough to go by themselves) and we could finish our meal at our own pace. This would work to for younger kids as someone already said just have one parent take them then come back to finish dinner. Everyone was happy!

Have a great cruise!

Pam

[GaryWT]

On the 2 cruises with the kids, we ate at the main seating and then the kids were off for the night. We plan on the same for the next cruise. Some days it is the only time we see the kids. as for formal nights, lately these are the only pictures we have of the family so they will all dress up and have pictures taken and then eat with us. Their first cruise, they stayed for theentire dinner, last cruise we let them go off to OA once they were done, the oldest was able to bring the youngest to sign him in.

3/98 Grandeur of the Seas
4/00 Grandeur of the Seas
2/02 Enchantment of the Seas
04/16/05 Navigator of the Seas

[sshuttle]

You mentioned the menu was more etensive than Disney, what items did it have? My son had a terrible time eating something good on Disney. Essentially they brought him bread, grapes, and choc. milk for dinner at night. They were accomating but what I wouldn't have given for a ham or turkey sandwich on the menu!

One more question, those who took kids to formal nights, did you boys wear a jacket?

Premier,Star Ship Magestic, 1990 and 1992
RCL, Monarch of the Seas, 5/1994
Disney Wonder, 5/2002
RCL, Mariner of the Seas, 5/2004

[Candleonwater]

Well, whether or not it was more extensive is debatable. My daughter HATED the selection. The two nights we did eat in the dining room, her choice was spaghetti - hold the sauce.

<MARQUEE>Navigator of the Seas March 26, 2005</MARQUEE>
Mariner of the Seas 4/11/04
Disney Magic 12/01/01

[Ashley24]

Someone mentioned that their older child checked in the younger child. Are these different age groups in the same room? If so, are there dividers between the groups? Can someone please describe the arrangement to me? Thanks!