Dinner with Toddler?

[BelleWannabe4]

Hi all! I've cruised with DCL several times but now I have a little one that I am so excited to bring along. We're looking at a Disney cruise with him before he turns 2. Does anyone have any tips for dinner?

When we've cruised in the past, dinner has taken well over an hour and sometimes closer to 2 hours with all adults. My son loves to eat and does reasonably well eating out...but he will not sit still for over an hour. Can we do an abbreviated dinner since we have a toddler? Is this easier at the earlier seating? We're coming from Mountain time, so that would be dinner at 3:30 pm, but we could make it work if that's the only way we can be in and out of dinner a little faster. I saw that some folks recommended the nursery, but I do think he would enjoy the dinner experience for a limited amount of time.

Thanks in advance!

 

[nikem3]

Hi all! I've cruised with DCL several times but now I have a little one that I am so excited to bring along. We're looking at a Disney cruise with him before he turns 2. Does anyone have any tips for dinner?

When we've cruised in the past, dinner has taken well over an hour and sometimes closer to 2 hours with all adults. My son loves to eat and does reasonably well eating out...but he will not sit still for over an hour. Can we do an abbreviated dinner since we have a toddler? Is this easier at the earlier seating? We're coming from Mountain time, so that would be dinner at 3:30 pm, but we could make it work if that's the only way we can be in and out of dinner a little faster. I saw that some folks recommended the nursery, but I do think he would enjoy the dinner experience for a limited amount of time.

Thanks in advance!

We sailed with our 14 month old on a week cruise in February. Typically the waiter was really good at bringing out our toddler's food first. We also were always ready to order pretty quickly and the waiter understood that our 14 month old would get antsy. Just talk to your waiter and let them know and they can definitely work with you. You can also help by looking at the menus ahead of time and being ready to order.

 

[nancipants]

We let our son (2.5 at sailing) watch the phone. It's the only way to keep him still for over an hour. He loves to eat and he enjoyed trying new foods. Our dining staff was great with him.

You could also schedule time at the nursery for partway in between dinner. That way he could experience some of it before losing patience.

You didn't say what ship you're on. Some of them have "shows" at dinner which make it easier for them to sit through a longer meal.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We took our 2 year old last month and this was the biggest thing I was concerned about.

Our waitstaff were so good, and engaged with him a lot. He asks about our assistant server all the time - they were best buds. We also brought our usual "table stuff" that we bring to restaurants with us (drawing pad, small train set, etc- we don't use electronics at meals).

Our waiter had his meal out within minutes of being seated, which helped a ton (he eats pretty slowly) and we ordered nearly immediately as well. We usually skipped a course, for the sake of time/calories.

It became so enjoyable that we only did Cabanas once and instead did table service breakfast, lunch, and dinner the entire trip. At breakfast and lunch, 100% of the time we were seated by a window that he could see out of (we didn't even ask!). That was perfect. Only twice did one of us have to leave with him early.

Hope you have a great cruise!

 

[5Texans]

We cruised when our DD was 18 m/o. On the first night I asked our server to bring out fruit ASAP. I also brought those disposable placemats with sticky strips on them so she couldn't knock the plate off the table, a REAL spill proof sippie cup (they just put a plastic lid and straw on a plain cup), and child sized silverware (although I think I've seen them give out some kid silverware). I also found a long sleeved bib which tied at the neck and back so she couldn't rip it off and ruin her nice clothes. Between the fruit and bread she was happy until other food arrived- I usually just fed her off of our plates, but a few time I asked for a specific steamed or roasted vegetable or soft fish/meat that I saw on the the menu with no sauce and they always brought it to her no problem.

Some nights I scheduled It's a small world nursery time about 45 minutes into dinner and then would leave and check her in (and the big kids into Oceaneer's Club) and come back to enjoy the end of dinner and dessert with my husband. The other nights I brought play dough or small toys like the Melissa and Doug reusable paint books (just uses water) and sticker books to entertain her and we ate a little faster and didn't linger as much.

 

[nancipants]

Ditto to the advice about bringing your own cup/straw! My son is fine with the cups they use, BUT the straws are paper and he would chew them up. (Same goes for the Disney parks/resorts.) We now bring a metal straw for him to use with their cups.

Our serving team always had apple juice waiting for him (his special treat when we go out to eat). The first night, I ordered him the cucumber roll from Enchanted Garden since he loves cucumbers, and the server brought him an entire bowl of cucumbers! He had a bowl of cucumbers waiting for him every night.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Not the same situation but on our second cruise my 5yo was pooped by the time we'd arrive for early dinner. The serving team quickly realized time was of the essence so they would quickly bring her food out and then make a bed out of 2 chairs and table cloths and she would sleep the rest of dinner away.

 

[nancipants]

Not the same situation but on our second cruise my 5yo was pooped by the time we'd arrive for early dinner. The serving team quickly realized time was of the essence so they would quickly bring her food out and then make a bed out of 2 chairs and table cloths and she would sleep the rest of dinner away.

View attachment 713698

That was almost my son the last night of the cruise. He didn’t nap on Castaway Cay and passed out around 5:15 while watching TV. I picked him up when we went down to dinner and thought he would stay asleep, but he roused up for the food and stayed awake until bedtime.