please help this mommy!

[Icataldoboysmomma]

We are cruising with a few young children(11 months, 2-2year olds and a 6 year old)....how will we survive the long dinner?!!! We can barely make it through a 15 minute dinner at home until they want to get down, run around and call it quits. Anyone have advice on this? Suggestions on what to bring to entertain? How long does service take? Any advice would be appreciated

 

[dittymau]

Which cruise? I'll skip that one! (just kidding...)

 

[kcashner]

My first question is why you aren't waiting till the 2s are almost 3 or 3 AND toilet trained so they can be in the Oceaneer's Club....but that's not my business.

Ask your server to "expedite" the kid food. They will be done eating in 45 minutes that way. Book nursery time during dinner? At that age, they will either be with you or in the nursery--your call which.

6 year old should be able to sit calmly thru a 45 minute dinner. As soon as he i fisnished, excuse yourself and take him to the OC...then return and finish your meal. Start training them all now that they can't get down and run around while family is still at the table. Entertain with stringing cheerios on straws, etc. but encourage them to sit a little longer each night!

We were seated near a mother who let her toddler get down and run around thru the dining room. This is NOT ok. The kid was a hazard to the servers who aren't used to checking knee height before they move. I didn't want the kid's grubby hands on me, my clothing, my chair, or my plate. NOTE--this family was not at our table or even our serving area. They were just nearby in 2 of 3 dining rooms. I got to the point that I would give the kid the "evil eye" and tell him to "go back to mommy." I'm not implying that you would ever do something like this, and frankly I'd never seen it happen before. Sure was rude!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are cruising with a few young children(11 months, 2-2year olds and a 6 year old)....how will we survive the long dinner?!!! We can barely make it through a 15 minute dinner at home until they want to get down, run around and call it quits. Anyone have advice on this? Suggestions on what to bring to entertain? How long does service take? Any advice would be appreciated

If it were me, I'd book nursery time for the 3 little ones at dinner time. And I'd take the 6 year old along. If you have late dining, there is dine N play available for the kids in the kids club. At early seating, ask your server to bring the 6 year olds dinner out with your appitizers. Once your have finished your appitizer (and the little one has finished dinner) one of you can run him/her to the kids club and then return for an adult only dinner.

 

[mbjeni]

I am a mom to a 2 yr old and a 4 year old and we love taking them on cruises. This is their second cruise in a year and this age is the best! The wonder and excitement of their eyes is all that I need. However dinner is a concern and I am sure in animator a palate that they will be entertained. I have been planning on taking them to dinner until their done and then check them into the kids area if needed. But you might be surprised how awesome they can be with a lot of food from the waiters and of course entertainment. We also bribe with a little pop since we are on vacation! I would never wait until my kids are considered old enough to go! Enjoy them at this age!

 

[Weedy]

The 6 year old can go to the kids club. You can feed her/him early. There is food available on the pool deck pizza, chicken fingers, hamburgers. Fruit and milk is also available there. If the 2 1/2 is potty trained they can also go to the club. You can also book the nursery at dinner time and have a little adult time.

Disney is use to entertaining kids the servers do make dinner fun.

You can also eat dinner at the restaurant on the pool deck. It's a buffet during the day full service and night and it's a little faster then the main dining rooms. They don't serve on the 1st and last night.

Also there is always room service. It's free but you need to tip.

 

[kuhltiffany]

We bring an iPod/Iphone/Ipad with movies on it whenever the kids will have to wait for something on the cruise...

 

[ksucats]

We are cruising with a few young children(11 months, 2-2year olds and a 6 year old)....how will we survive the long dinner?!!! We can barely make it through a 15 minute dinner at home until they want to get down, run around and call it quits. Anyone have advice on this? Suggestions on what to bring to entertain? How long does service take? Any advice would be appreciated

My advice would be to bring wine on board with you and bring a big glass to dinner each night.

 

[Casemily]

Well, you're out numbered compared to whenever we've gone on a cruise, so I'm not sure if I'll be that helpful. We always bring crayons and a coloring book, some mini's (one inch tall Disney characters), a hot wheels car, and a story book or two. Plus when we're seated we usually ask for a rush on a fruit plate, my daughter loves fruit so it's another good distraction. The servers are usually pretty good at clearing and bringing the next dish promptly.

 

[newdismom]

I am a mom to a 2 yr old and a 4 year old and we love taking them on cruises. This is their second cruise in a year and this age is the best! The wonder and excitement of their eyes is all that I need. However dinner is a concern and I am sure in animator a palate that they will be entertained. I have been planning on taking them to dinner until their done and then check them into the kids area if needed. But you might be surprised how awesome they can be with a lot of food from the waiters and of course entertainment. We also bribe with a little pop since we are on vacation! I would never wait until my kids are considered old enough to go! Enjoy them at this age!

I think this is a wonderful perspective and the way I am looking at our upcoming cruise on the Magic in three weeks! I have a 2 year old and am learning that they are such sponges at this age. I think the cruise will be such a great learning opportunity for her and she will have so much fun. I do plan on asking our server if they can expedite the meal as she cant sit still for 2 hours. In addition to our normal restaurant activities ( coloring, etc) i do plan on bringing iphone if things get desparate. Better safe than sorry!

 

[kcashner]

Ah, the generation gap...I string cheerios on straws and you bring i-phones to entertain them.

 

[lorenni]

We take our 16 month old out to dinner with us maybe once a week and so far (knock on wood) I've only had to leave a restaurant once mid-meal, and that was almost 8 months ago.

It looks something like this:

1. i bring a snack for him to start on as soon as we sit down. Raisins, grapes, goldfish, etc.
2. Small toys - but I present them one at a time. So, for instance, the small dinosaur only makes an appearance once stuffing a matchbox car full of the appetizer raisins has lost it's appeal.
3. The food arrives! We are lucky in that our tiny person enjoys food so this keeps him busy for quite a while - usually long enough for us to eat.
4. Back to toys. This is borrowed time and we know it.

We are typically good for a solid hour to hour and a half. I would start practicing with the kids, if you have the time and money to do so. Maybe a once a week trip to the local burger place or pizza joint? See if you can build up their dining out stamina!

Note: I do not give him electronics during dinner. They are too expensive to replace when dropped in a glass is water, puddle of catsup, bowl of soup, etc.