For those of you with little ones.....

[buzz&woody'smom]

We are cruising in the fall on the 4 day Wonder. myself, DH, Ds (4.5) and DS 17 months and 1 day old.

I was looking at pictures on Travelocity of the dining rooms etc. and started worrying about me 17 month old during supper> He is a total opposite of his older brother and as we say "quite active".

Would it be horrible to make reservations for him at Flounders say from 6:00 pm -10:00 pm say for 2 or 3 of the 4 evening?

My 4 year old has been very traumatized this year and we are wanting him to relax and really enjoy himself. His behavior is always top of the line.

What do you all think? If he is behaving can I take him Flounders later as long as I tell them and pay (i.e. he makes it through dinner so we let him stay but then want to take him to the nursery so we can take the 4 year old to a show)?

Sorry so lengthy. I am the type that has a hard time ever leaving my children anywhere but I really want to make it right for my older DS????

 

[Casey's mom]

I don't see a problem with that. You can feed your little one with room service or deck 9 food (so long as he is OK with hot dogs, burgers and chicken strips). With two little one's myself (who are actually very well behaved), I know it can be very hard to enjoy a dinner and give another child (or your spouse) attention while trying to keep a very active toddler in his chair. On our first cruise, my younger DD was 2 and she did come to the dining rooms with us (except for when we ate at Palo), but ate quickly was in Flounders from 7 to 10 each night (3 out of 4 nights). She was very happy there and she would have had no interest in the shows and other activities that we enjoyed with our older DD. Wish we were going too! Have a great trip!

 

[luckymom]

We are cruising in less than two weeks now (yea!!) with a 14mo DS. After looking at the pictures of Flounders and reading various comments on this board - I'm going to give it a try - and I'll let you know. I does sound like a great idea to put him in during the evening - you know your son best.

 

[Boomerwon]

No need to worry about sending them to Flounders and the Oceaneers Club. We sailed with DS 4 and DD 1, at the time. Took them to 2 dinners with us, then realized that they were much happier eating earlier, room service, and then going to their appropriate clubs. Made it much easier and more enjoyable for all of us. No unrealistic expectations that they would sit through a four-course meal (they are both very active and high energy). Sometimes immediately after dinner we would pick them up-depending on the activity we were going to do. Other times they would stay until 9:00 or 9:30.

We are going again in 4 weeks. They will be 5 and 2 respectively. Might try dinner with them, but will most likely let them play in the clubs during supper time and make everyone happy!

 

[mom2grace]

Just a word to the wise. Don't go expecting to get into Flounder's every night. When we sailed on the Magic it was packed with kids (in late January no less) and we were limited to 3 visits! (There was a waiting list a mile long each night!) Use it if you can, but don't be disappointed if you can't get in every night! You probably HAVE TO have a ressie, I don't think they allow "drop-in's"!

Have a great trip!

Susan

 

[Boomerwon]

We too had that experience with Flounders. (Of course, O.C. is always open to the older ones.) From what I remember, the Flounders staff had us fill out a request sheet that prioritized which nights we wanted. They said they would guarantee 3 nights, but then it was a first come first serve list after that. So we requested the first 3 nights and then when picking up DD would request the following night. They would write our name down on the list, then call the next morning and let us know if we got in. Never had one night when we wanted to drop her off and couldn't get a reservation. We were very happy with the results. Will let you know how it goes next time!

 

[luckymom]

Didn't realize it was so difficult for Flounders at night. What about morning or afternoon reservations on sea days?

 

[Boomerwon]

Of course the sea days are always the most popular, but we really didn't feel like it was hard to find open times. We did have DD go in during the day twice. Didn't seem like it was big deal at all.

 

[peg2001]

My DDs (currently 2 and 5) are pretty good but they are not angels! If we are out to eat (a frequent occurrance for us) and the food takes a long time to come, one of us usually takes the girls to the entrance area or outside so that they can stand/walk and look around rather than having to sit still at the table.

Is this possible onboard the ship? In other words, can we order our food and then have one parent leave the dining room with the children to walk around the deck for a while? Would this be inexcusably rude to our tablemates? I really think DD5 would be fine with a longish wait if we included her in the conversation but my DD2 will just be turning 3 and I don't have unrealistic expectations of how long she can sit still.

Thanks.
Peg