Babysitting on Carnival for 2 yr 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 (Carnival, 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 :)

[jam82]

OK. I just sent a reply, but it didn't post.

 

I will try again.

 

Yes, we have used it. We love it. We have taken our two year on 7 cruises. (5 of 7 on the Ecstasy) We have two more booked. The staff is great.

 

We usually drop him off when he is awake so he can run off his energy. They have a sleeping room for the little kids, but they do let older kids in there when they want to sleep. It is very safe.

 

Buddy is a good sleeper, but he does act his age and they work with him. One time we picked him up at midnight and he was doing a dance party with the big kids. That is not the norm. We have never been paged, but they do page if the they have to. The number of kids vary day to day and cruise to cruise. If you would like more specifics, feel free to email me: jam82 at verizon dot net

[Kerry's Girls]

My twins had just turned two and had completely different reactions to the nighttime sitting. One of them was thrilled to be at the party and stayed up the entire time and the other would cry until I picked her up, and then I'd bring her back after she'd fallen asleep. They were extremely patient about crying - even during the day. They would give lots of attention and encouraged me to let them try to console my child. I know they gave it a good amount of time before deciding she would not stop. I think because they accept 2 year olds, they're used to the anxiety from kids who probably haven't ever been away from their parents yet.

 

There was always a mix of kids who were sleeping and who were awake. Only the littlest ones on my cruise were in the late night sitting group with my girls - not older kids.

 

Have a great time!

 

- Mia