tonyfsu21 Posted September 17, 2018 Report Share Posted September 17, 2018 For those of you w/ young children do you include them when pre booking speciality dining? In the past I have listed them as part of the party and paid for them (ages 5 & 2) only to be refunded anyhow once we get to the dinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 1 hour ago, tonyfsu21 said: For those of you w/ young children do you include them when pre booking speciality dining? In the past I have listed them as part of the party and paid for them (ages 5 & 2) only to be refunded anyhow once we get to the dinner. No. Book for the adults, then once on board, let the restaurant know that you are bringing children. Kids 6-12 are $10. tonyfsu21 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 Leave the kids off the reservation and just show up with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatmanjack Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 We've always made reservations and paid $$$ on land via cruise planner for 3 adults- we are 2 adults and 1 child (now age 11). Specialty Places have always refunded difference for us... Don't people get concerned about seating capacity? You make a reservation for a 2-top table and show up with 2 adults and 2 kids, they might not be able to fit you in if place is booked solid... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marti314 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 if i were to book a table for two at a busy restaurant on land and show up with 4 - 5 people needing seats, I would be looked at like i was nuts first then told they would do the best they can which could mean a substantial wait time. Why the developers or contractors for the site cant add X adults Y (where Y = $10.00) children is a bit embarrassing so they can plan better. I have been to CHOPS with a 8 pm reservation only to be told (we had a lot more people show up than we expected so it will be awhile). This is a multi billion dollar company working on a low dollar IT budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mljstr Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 Please please don't beat me with a wet noodle for posting this. We usually go to Chops if we are celebrating a special occasion onboard. We enjoy the food and the ambiance-usually.The last time we were seated in the back of the restaurant near a large table of a family celebrating a birthday-which is fine! However, an hour or so into the service the small children were getting restless and tired. This particular night the kids began crying, sleeping at the table and even running around the restaurant like Chuck E Cheese's. The adults were drinking, toasting, and ignoring the behavior. Our quiet dinner was very unpleasant and I stopped by the desk on the way out to mention it. The hostess apologized and said they were busy and had no where else to seat us .I also gave it a poor rating on the post cruise survey. Somewhere I read to plan 2-21/2 hours for a meal in the specialty restaurants so please don't subject your little ones to hours of boredom and waiting for service, especially if you plan on a late dining time. SORRY SORRY SORRY DON'T KILL THE MESSENGER! Baked Alaska, Ogalthorpe Haywood, MikeK and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 I understand your frustration but not all kids behave like this. For example my son is 13 and behaves ok but when he was younger I never would have brought him to a specialty restaurant. I know better. My sisters kids always behaved at nice restaurants. It just depends so I don’t think you can generalize. Obviously parents should not bring kids there if they are going to disturb others. I hope you didn’t penalize Royal Caribbean on the post cruise survey for parents poor decision for bringing them. It’s not Royals fault. MikeK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 7 hours ago, Scatmanjack said: We've always made reservations and paid $$$ on land via cruise planner for 3 adults- we are 2 adults and 1 child (now age 11). Specialty Places have always refunded difference for us... Don't people get concerned about seating capacity? You make a reservation for a 2-top table and show up with 2 adults and 2 kids, they might not be able to fit you in if place is booked solid... That use to worry me too. But then I got the same message from Royal, to just reserve for adults. Each time I have done so, I went straight to the restaurant upon boarding to let them know. It has not been a problem for me to get them on then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 I don't deny kids can behave badly. But I also have seen far more annoying drunk adults on cruises than loud children. ABM, Oliver, JLMoran and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted September 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2018 On 9/18/2018 at 5:04 PM, Mljstr said: Please please don't beat me with a wet noodle for posting this. We usually go to Chops if we are celebrating a special occasion onboard. We enjoy the food and the ambiance-usually.The last time we were seated in the back of the restaurant near a large table of a family celebrating a birthday-which is fine! However, an hour or so into the service the small children were getting restless and tired. This particular night the kids began crying, sleeping at the table and even running around the restaurant like Chuck E Cheese's. The adults were drinking, toasting, and ignoring the behavior. Our quiet dinner was very unpleasant and I stopped by the desk on the way out to mention it. The hostess apologized and said they were busy and had no where else to seat us .I also gave it a poor rating on the post cruise survey. Somewhere I read to plan 2-21/2 hours for a meal in the specialty restaurants so please don't subject your little ones to hours of boredom and waiting for service, especially if you plan on a late dining time. SORRY SORRY SORRY DON'T KILL THE MESSENGER! We eat at 5:30pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted September 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2018 On 9/18/2018 at 11:36 AM, Scatmanjack said: We've always made reservations and paid $$$ on land via cruise planner for 3 adults- we are 2 adults and 1 child (now age 11). Specialty Places have always refunded difference for us... Don't people get concerned about seating capacity? You make a reservation for a 2-top table and show up with 2 adults and 2 kids, they might not be able to fit you in if place is booked solid... Fortunately my wife and I have the decency to book dinners at the earliest time 5:30 when nobody is dining so our party of 4 is a non issue. When we show up they open the doors for us to an empty restaurant. It’s the best way for us to dine since we don’t eat in the main dining room or buffet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mljstr Posted September 22, 2018 Report Share Posted September 22, 2018 36 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said: Fortunately my wife and I have the decency to book dinners at the earliest time 5:30 when nobody is dining so our party of 4 is a non issue. When we show up they open the doors for us to an empty restaurant. It’s the best way for us to dine since we don’t eat in the main dining room or buffet. Thanks for sharing. I m sure most parents are considerate like you but this was an especially unpleasant experience for us or I would never have mentioned it. My husband reminded me of some details I had left out. The 8-10 adults sat at a table across from us and put the 6 or so children at a separate table behind us, ergo the running from table to table. I felt The hostess should not have allowed that or should have said something to them. But it was years ago and hasn’t kept us from cruising again nor eating in Chops. I didn’t understand you were familiar with how leisurely the dining is in Chops but you are obviously experienced. I sincerely hope you enjoy your cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatmanjack Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 Found the following 'fine print' on RCCL Cruise Planner while researching upcoming cruise... [For Cover Charge Products], Children between the ages of 0-5 are complimentary and ages 6-12 are $10 per child; children must order from the kids menu. Please reserve product for all guests who wish to dine. Adult price will be applied for all guests regardless of age; the difference between the adult price and child price will be refunded in the form of a refundable onboard credit (unless booked with non-refundable credit, in which case OBC will be non-refundable). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 On 9/17/2018 at 6:35 PM, tonyfsu21 said: For those of you w/ young children do you include them when pre booking speciality dining? In the past I have listed them as part of the party and paid for them (ages 5 & 2) only to be refunded anyhow once we get to the dinner. I did not pre-book my Grandson (11YR) this summer, we just took him with us and asked for 3 places, some of the specialty dinners they charged the $10 some of them they didn't, wasn't consistent, I think it was the waiters discretion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brobbins246 Posted October 11, 2018 Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 What do you all think about child reservations for the $45 Hibachi dinner? We have five adults and one 11 year old in our group. Since the Hibachi tables are all exactly eight seats, I was afraid to only book five seats online, figuring they'd assign us with a party of three with no flexibility. So I booked all six at the adult rate. Do you know if they even have a child rate for this dinner? It seems to have different rules than the other specialty restaurants, for instance not being included in the UDP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaCruise Posted October 11, 2018 Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 We booked Chops for 4 on Mariner which included my 9 year old. Only thing isz make sure you mention any kids 12 and under. Had we not said anything they wouldn't have adjusted. But we did say and they tgen said ok and charged her $10 with remaining refund back as OBC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 11, 2018 Report Share Posted October 11, 2018 10 hours ago, Brobbins246 said: Do you know if they even have a child rate for this dinner? Yes, kids always have a special rate. Unfortunately, you cannot book kids online at that rate. It will be handled at the restaurant. If you book kids online, then you will pay the adult rate and the restaurant will reimburse you onboard in the form of onboard credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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