Using Babysitting for 2yr old & 4 yr old

[itzkelly]

Hi there ~ we are bringing our two boys, ages 4 and 2, with us on their first cruise in November (Ecstasy). There are a number of events and activites my husband and I would like to take part in during the evening hours, and are wondering if anyone has experience leaving children as young as 4 and 2 years in the babysitting room after 10pm. I imagine they would be asleep by then, at least my 2yr old. Would they be grouped with ALL kids in the babysitting area or is there a separate section for younger children (ones most likely asleep at this time)? From those with experience w/ leaving kids this age in babysitting, is it better to get them to sleep beforehand or let them fall asleep there (dropping them off prior to 10pm). Do many people even bring children this age to babysitting??? Should I expect a page right away if my 2yr old wakes up and cries or will they try to soothe him back down to bed? I have read during the day they do not have much patience for a crying child (due to number of kiddos in the camp)and will call once a child starts crying - since we are paying extra during the babysitting hours, do they attempt to console the child before paging the parents?

 

Worse case scenario, my husband and I can just tag-team evening activities while taking turns watching the boys in our suite (we at least got a balcony suite so as to have a place to "escape" when they are sleeping, lol).

 

Thanks so much for any advice!

 

Kelly :)

[CruisinFinsUp]

Hi,

We've used the after 10pm a few times - we have not observed any sleeping facilities at all. The kids are ususally watching a movie or playing games. They are usually just in one group because there are fewer kids. There are fewer organized activities after 10, unless its a special night - pj party or something.

 

My kids just confirmed that they've never seen any sleeping facilities - my daughter has been on 6 cruises & son on 5 cruises -- they are now 9 & 6. They love the kids clubs, but we usually pick them up at 10 because they are wiped out by then. You might want to take the kids to the cabin for an afternoon nap - then they'll be able to stay up later in the club. Talk to the counsellors the first day and ask them what they do with sleepy ones!

 

Check the "family cruising" message board for more info. They sometimes have more details on this sort of thing!

[SeaPA1]

Haven't been on the Ecstacy but we've been on the Inspiration several times when our boys were in that age range (they are 6 & 4 now). Used the babysitting late into the evenings just about every night; the kids have a lot of fun in there and often are disappointed when we come to pick them up.

 

At night, they typically have some activities, then eventually try to settle the kids down to watch a movie. Some of the kids end up falling asleep (they typically have padded mats like what are typically used for nap time in day cares, pre-school, kindergarten). By midnight, usually most of the littler kids are asleep, with a few roaming around still awake, playing with toys (those would be MY sons).

 

In all of the times we've put them in the camps, nurseries, babysitting services onboard (at all hours - morning, day, night, latenight), I think we've had a total of one call, and that was because one of the boys was sick.