Cruise Dining with Kids – A Detailed Review of Carnival Cruise Line’s Offerings

Intro to Carnival Cruise Dining with Kids

It’s Tyler here from TheTravelingToddler.com.  If you’re thinking about taking a cruise with your toddler, you might be wondering about the Cruise Dining Options for Kids.  In this post, I’ll give you information on Cruise Dining with Kids traveling on Carnival Cruise Lines. (https://www.carnival.com)

This review encompasses about 5 different Carnival cruise ships my family has been on over the past few years, so it should be a good representation of what you’ll find on your cruise.

However things are always changing so be sure to double check with official Carnival sources before making any definite plans.

 

24 Hour Options

In general, dining is available 24 hours a day.  While the variety of cruise dining options for toddlers are most plentiful during traditional meal times (breakfast, lunch, dinner), pizza and room service (complimentary on Carnival) are available 24 hours a day. 

The pizza is self explanatory.  The room service offerings include grilled cheese sandwiches, ham sandwiches, veggie sticks, juice, and fruit.  Ice cream (yum yum) is also available 24 hours a day, but please don’t make that your only dining option.

        

Breakfast

For breakfast, all your typical breakfast items are there.  I particularly enjoyed scrambled eggs, toast, bagels, yogurt, and bananas.  For breakfast, the cruise dining options typically do not change from day to day.

On the last day of our last cruise, they had a special breakfast themed after the classic Dr. Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham.  (https://www.carnival.com/fun-activities/green-eggs-and-ham-breakfast) They had unique breakfast items like multi-colored waffles and even Green Eggs and Ham.

 

You even got to meet and greet with Dr. Seuss characters during the breakfast.  While there was an upcharge for this event, it was a very reasonable $5 per person.

Lunch

Lunch, on the other hand, rotates through different themes every day.  There might be a seafood theme, a Mediterranean theme, an Italian theme, etc. for each day.  I can usually find a few items on the buffet that appeal to me.

Rice seems pretty standard no matter the cuisine, and I can usually find a meat or seafood offering that’s appealing as well.  They always have a salad bar with cold cuts, cheese, and fruit on the buffet as well.

 

The dining rooms are available for breakfast and lunch for those that prefer a table service experience, but I wouldn’t recommend the dining room for toddlers for those meals. 

It takes longer to order and get your food, the selection is actually more limited, and you might be seated with strangers.  All in all, it’s not a great dining option for toddlers.

In addition, the sandwich shop, the chinese food, Guy’s burger joint (yummy burger and fries), and the Blue Iquana (tacos and burritos) are usually available as an additional lunch option.  Lunch is going to be your best bet for sheer variety of cruise dining options with toddlers.

 

Dinner

For dinner, the dining rooms feature unique foods not served on the dinner buffet, so it’s really worth your while to enjoy the dining room for your dinner. 

They do have high chairs and booster seats, and a kids menu with staples like grilled cheese and chicken nuggets if your toddler is not very adventurous.

I, on the other hand, ate totally from the adult menu, and had incredible steaks, soups, macaroni and cheese, creamed spinach, baked potatoes, pasta, fruit all different sorts of ice cream, and the famous melting chocolate cake.

Because it is table service, it takes longer to get in and out so if your toddler has a short attention span, the buffet might be a better option.

Dining at Camp Ocean

Another dining option for toddlers if mom and dad want some alone time is to eat wth your buddies at Camp Ocean.  Keep in mind that while dinner is served at Camp Ocean every night of the cruise, lunch is only served on port days.

Summary

Well that’s it.  My review of the toddler dining options on Carnival.  Fortunately, there are no shortage of cruise dining options for toddlers like me.

 

Your toddler may have a more restrictive diet than I do, so as a parent you’ll have to do more planning if that’s the case.

But the standard Carnival Cruise Line dining options will be more than adequate for most kids.

Related Content

I hope you enjoyed my article about cruise dining options with kids.  Click here if you’re interested in more cruise posts.

Thanks for reading.

Tyler@The Traveling Toddler

Do you have any thoughts about the cruise dining options for toddlers on Carnival?  What are your favorites?  Leave your comments below.