Penguiiin

In our instance.... our baby was the only baby in the room with 2 counselors.

Maybe you are right. Maybe it was just on "off night" for our daycare counselors.

I try to 100% in my job too but I know there are some days, I'm just not feeling the love.

I like the order and step out strategy to the meal time. I will have to keep that in mind. She can sit for a little while and is happy but there comes a point where it is torture for everybody.

I am aware that Disney will page for an unconsolable child as well. And I would want them too. I dont want to just leave the baby in the nursery crying.

My point and what I observed is that the Disney staff told us that they would try for 10 for 15 min to comfort a crying child and then page the parent.

The Carnival staff may have tried to divert her attention so she could/would play but it just didnt seem like they gave it much of an effort from the time that she was dropped off to the time that the phone call was received.

I'm not a meany...... I dont want to ditch the kid..... so please dont misunderstand.

I could just tell a difference with the way the staff interacted with the children. But the biggest difference this time as was pointed out..... the baby was older and more aware that she was being left. Will it always work? Probably not.... because kids are unpredictable and the innerworkings of their tiny little brains will never cease to amaze. ;)

Which ship were you on?

I'm glad it worked out well for you.

I think the time change is a better time for that age group. The other times were nap times for most kids.

I think the drop off/pick up process would have been better for us initially if it werent for the confusion of the staff with the recent policy change.

We are back from our Elation cruise.

So here is the update on the playtime for under 2's.

Playtime is from 8am to 10am.

If you stay and play with your child there is no charge. Or you can drop off for $6/hr.

When you register you are given a phone so the counselors can contact you. The paperwork that you fill out lists who can pick your child up.

They are allowing parents or grandparents only to drop off and you have to have the phone with you as well. There is a note at the door that states you have to show them the phone when you drop off.

Initially, my experience with under 2 playtime didnt go well.

We registered, received our phone, my daughter listed me and my husband (nana and pop) as the 2 additional people who could pick up the baby.

The next morning. The baby slept with Nana and Pop so Nana got up, got the baby dressed, fed baby, packed bag, and took the baby to the play area with the hopes of a few hours of peaceful pool time.

Well..... they wouldnt let Nana drop off. The first counselor said, only parents can drop off. :mad::mad::mad: Nana is fuming. I told her that it didnt make sense that you could list someone to pick up but only parents could drop off. She offered to try and call my daughter (the official mother) in her stateroom to ask permission but they had already left for breakfast. So I had to take the baby and go find my daughter so she could check the baby in.

Daughter (official mother) found. We go back up to the childcare area. To drop off. And it was now that the Camp Carnival supervisor was present. She apologized for the confusion, stated they had tried to contact me in my room so she could let me know that YES, GRANDPARENTS CAN DROP OFF NOW. It was a policy change that took place on August 1, 2010.

There were no other children in the nursery. We (official mom and the actual caregiver -nana) left the baby for playtime. Now... strike 2.... at 15 months she was content to go in the playroom on the Disney ship and didnt miss us one bit- but the counselors were very engaging and there were other children playing as well. This time..... at 19 months.... she lasted about 15 min. So just enough time for us to drop off, walk back to the room, get the phone (that we said we had when we didnt) and then go back and pick up the baby. I dont think it was anything the Camp Carnival staff did or didnt do, I just think developmentally - separation anxiety was amongst us and without other children to engage her she was scared.

We didnt try again with the nursery.

Our next cruise is on the Disney Dream and we will be traveling with a 10 month old and 22 month old and we will definately be signing up for some nursery time. I had forgotten how fast you have to eat when dining with toddlers. And since I would like to enjoy my meal and not have to entertain a 2 yo at the dinner table, pick up the dropped crayons for the 15 hundredth time, and keep her curious hands from grabbing things..... the kids will play with their shipmates while I enjoy dinner with my family.

(and yes, i know that technically this baby is the responsibility of my daughter - the official mother- but this child came into our family when my daughter was 17 and still a child herself so as a family we are raising these children together)

that's a great question, but I don't have a definite answer to. :confused:

 

I think for playtime if someone was with them it might not matter, but the child must still be signed in/out. we didn't try that scenario and the one time we saw another child there they were with a parent. Camp Carnival staff was very matter-of-fact that only a parent could sign in/out for drop off and pick up for under-2's(despite the info I received online and in an email prior to cruising). :rolleyes:

 

I didn't think the playroom had a whole lot more to offer for an under-2(other than an actual space to play) versus the toys and such that we had already brought to entertain him. (the days we left him for babysitting he was ecstatic just tossing a balloon around the whole time.) when my mom was just watching my son they played in our cabin with the toys we brought, went to mini-golf, and just roamed around the ship exploring new things and meeting people.:)

I can let you know soon. we are on Elation Aug 19. And I am technically the GRANDMOTHER. The mother is 18. So I'm kinda the parent ad lidum (ok you attorneys- correct my latin)

you sound like the kind of Mom I want to travel with! We are doing a reunion cruise next summer with a 15, 13, 9, 9, and 2 year olds, so you have been a big help to me!

Thanks.

Since I wrote this thread a lot has happened.

First we went on our first Disney cruise in April 2010. LOVED IT!!! Lucked up on a great deal one night. 5 people/ 2 rooms/ $1700.

Loved it so much that we came off the ship Disney Vacation Club members (disney's version of timeshare) and have another disney cruise booked for oct 2011.

And.... I'm going to be a grandmother again.

So we had to move our cruise up to August 19th... YIPPIE!

Our travel party should be interesting.

Me - the mom/grandmom (44)

Hubby - (46)

Mimi - my mom (62)

Daughter (14)

Son (21)

Daughter (18) and in utero traveler

Granddaughter (18 months)

Neice (16)

and 3 friends of my Daughter (19)

All total 11 people... I know.... CRAZY.... but we will have a table all to ourselves in the dining room. ;)

I get a lot of comments from family, friends, coworkers about taking my pregnant, single mother daughter on these vacations but this is how I see it...

First: Some things in life we can not choose and we learn to embrace them.

Second: I once had a conversation with God explaining that I was feeling empty and not sure of my purpose. My children were growing up and I didnt know what I was to do with my life. So God's response.... HE is "filling" my life with children again.

Third: No matter what she is still my daughter, and I love her - bad decisions and all. And soon I will have 2 beautiful granddaughters to love.

So we will be on the Elation, August 19th. And I will report back on the Under 2 playtime. If the babysitting is in the playroom, we will most likely pay the $6. I'm not sure how I feel about "in cabin" babysitting. But anyway, we plan on using the playroom facilities. We left her in the playroom on the Disney cruise for about 2 hours at night before dinner and she loved it. She needed the play time and as much as we all love her - we needed a baby break.

Thanks beachchick.

I had forgotten about the Oasis- cause its too expensive for me- looks like a fabulous ship though.... I wouldnt really care where it goes, I wouldnt want to get off the boat.

Also forgot about the Independence- if I remember correctly, its itineary is in Europe- also out of my budget.

I apologize if I sounded "entitled". I didnt mean to. I am really not that kind of person. I just think it would be a great benefit if carnival could at least make the splash zones diaper friendly. Because I choose my cruise first based on departure port, secondly ship amenities, and thirdly on itineary.

But like you said .... there are other lines to choose from. I havent even been on this cruise yet and am already planning one for next october. We plan on doing a few days at Disney resort and I have requested a quote from Disney Cruise line but I think I will look at RCCL as well- infant fun, teenager fun, adult fun and cheaper than Disney.

They aren't allowed in the splash zone? I thought they were since it isn't a pool but goes right down the drain.

I read this information here on the boards. Then I emailed Carnival and asked if children in swim diapers could use the Waterworks and was told no and was quoted the same Public Health regulation for the pools.

Thanks for the crib pictures and the October weather info.

I'm hoping for no major weather events but know they are a possibility. So we are going to book excursions through the cruise line this time. I was worried if we got diverted to another port if I had booked anything independently I would lose my money. I am making the assumption that if we have to change ports any excursions I would have booked via the cruise line would be rescheduled, rebooked, refunded or an OBC given.

No worries about the inflatable pool. You are right. I am paying full price for our infant to travel and she should have access to activities. I was feeling dissappointed that the Elation would not have the Waterworks but according to the carnival website, diapered children are not allowed in the Waterworks area. I'm sure its expensive but I think Carnival should consider installing the needed filtration system to provide water activities to the little ones. There are only 2 ships in the Royal Carribean line that offer such water activities and then you have Disney. Disney has family cruising (at least with small children) perfected. Carnival should take notice if it wants to compete in the family cruising market.

Thanks so much for the reply. I learn so much from reading these boards.

I think it makes for a better vacation to have some sort of plan and to know what is available before you go. That way your are not overwhelmed and end up just spinning in circles trying to decide what to do.

Since we dont cruise until October. I'm sure i'll have more questions. I'm researching excursions at present. Only 230 more days until my cruise!!!! I cant wait!!! I'm so sick of winter.

We are going on our second cruise. First cruise granddaughter was 6months so she just sat in her seat and was eaisly entertained. This time she will be 20 months.

So she is too young for Camp Carnival. But I have read that they have mommy and me playtime. Can anyone tell me about this?

I've also read on here that a good place to let little ones run off some energy is in the dance club areas during the daytime. Any other tips?

We plan to take our inflatable pool again. It really wasnt much trouble at all. And I did not feel like we were inconviencing anybody. We put it between our 2 chairs on the deck kinda back in the shade. Made sure we were not in the walking path. Got a "beer" bucket from the bar. 2 scoops of water from the main pool and she was set to splash. When we were finished we emptied the little pool in the shower drain by the main pool. Our little pool did double duty as a portable bath in the shower as well. Now I know that there are lots of opinions about the use of an inflatable pool on the pool deck. And everyone is entitled to their opinion but I wanted to add that our family is respectful of others and if the pool deck were especially crowded we would not use our little pool and inconvience others ..... the way I see it ... we are up long before the "party crowd" crawls out of bed and we are back in for nap when the "party crowd" is cracking an eye so it works out for both. FYI... we wont be putting her in the wading pool with her swim diapers or no diaper even though my "vacation planner" with carnival told us that it was acceptable in the children's wading pool to do so. Poop is unpredictable and I wouldnt want to spoil anybody elses vacation. One of my children was potty trained at 18 months so it is possible that she could be potty trained by the time we go but I'm not planning on it.

We didnt use a crib last time. The baby just slept in the bed with us. But I think she will do better with a crib this time. We are on the Carnival Elation. Are they the metal cribs or pack and play type?

I think dinner is under control. We eat out with her alot. She is messy but can sit with us for a least an hour meal without getting fussy and if she does one of us will politley exit with her. I usually tip extra when we go out because I know there is extra clean up required at our area. Messy is just part of learning to self feed.

Shout out to cruisinmama06...... you seem to be in the know about cruisin with kids.....

One last thing to add. This is our second cruise as I have said. I dont know why we had never cruised before. I think cruising is the best vacation money we ever spent. The last time I priced a condo on the beach for a week- it was roughly $1500 for the condo alone- our cruise for 10 people is not much more than that and we get so much more. This is our second time on Carnival but I am anxious to try RCCL and Disney, especially Disney since Disney is my first most favorite vacation spot.

We are cruisin in October to the western carribean. Barring hurricanes... how is the weather this time of year?

Oh, and I am formerly known as "Sparkie" I forgot my password and tried to reset but when it asked me to name a color beginning with the letter "y" I typed in YELLOW.... but was told multiple times that the answer was incorrect???? Who knew there was another color beginning with the letter "y"....