ADVICE!! Cruising with a 2.5 year old

[deanswife1990]

My husband and I are buying a family cruise for us, our DD (26), SIL (27) and 2.5 year old grandson as gift to our daughter for graduating nurisng school. We are considering Oasis, Allure, FOS or the Carnival Magic for May 2016. My husband and I have cruised both lines and enjoy each equally. DD has cruised once on RC and SIL and GS have never cruised.

 

Can someone please explain the Royal Tots program to me? Is there a charge or is it like Camp Carnival where you can drop your kids off for camp within certain times free of charge? I think they only charge for babysitting after 10 pm. I've tried to get information on RC's website but am more confused than ever.

[leaveitallbehind]

There is no charge for the program and there are hours during the day and evening with appropriate activities planned for each age group. The programs are very good IMO and are staffed by qualified individuals with child development or other similar training and experience. There also is a separate babysitting service available on a first come basis. Check into that when you are on board.

 

I know you said that you have tried to find information on the website but to be sure here is a link to the programs:

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/category.do?pagename=onboard_cat_kids_teens_and_families

[ARCruisinNana]

There is a charge for 6-36 months. Adventure Ocean (ages 3 and up) has no charge before 10pm.

Edited January 26, 2016 by ARCruisinNana

[zenworks911]

http://www.******************.com/cruise-compass

 

replace *************** with text below without the spaces:

 

royal caribbean blog

 

Third one down has lots of information on Royal Tots. If I remember right, they do charge money for 6-36 months but it isn't much.

Edited January 26, 2016 by zenworks911

[leaveitallbehind]

There is a charge for 6-36 months. Adventure Ocean (ages 3 and up) has no charge before 10pm.

 

Thanks for the clarification, although I thought the charge was for the dedicated nursery service and the babies and tots program was at n/c. But all of our kids are know adults so my information clearly may be incorrect.

[moopetguy]

From the RCI web site link previously posted, the Babies and Tots program is for you to play with your child in RCI-run activities/toys/supplies (i.e. not a drop-off service); this is complimentary.

 

If you want to drop off a child between 6-36 months (the dedicated nursery), that has the charge of $6/hr or $8/hr as indicated on the RCI web site. In-room babysitting is $19/hr and you get two sitters (must be booked in advance, and you can meet them in advance if you request it).

 

For our 2013 and 2014 cruises we used the in-room babysitting service every night so that DD could get her dinner at the Windjammer, and after getting her ready for bed in our stateroom, my wife and I could go have our dinner (second seating) in the MDR. Was pricey (2 hours per night, every night!) but worth it.

[AussieCruiser2332]

We have used the Adventure Ocean program and it is great. Word of advice if you are using the service for 6-36 month olds - pre-book your sessions at the start of the cruise as there are limited spots available for this age range. Our table mates in 2014 were sailing with a toddler that used the for fee service. They booked her in as a trial early in the cruise and when they went back after a few days to book another session they were all but full and they only had a choice of limited times.

[Tapi]

We used the Royal Babies and Tots program when we sailed on the Allure. As others have said, the program is for kids 6-36 months.

 

Before I write anything else, keep in mind that, at 2.5 years of age, your grandson will be able to participate on the Carnival Magic's kids program completely free of charge, but NOT on Royal. There will be a charge and it can add up.

 

Here's our experience with Royal Babies and Tots on the Allure:

 

- The program was a available from 8am until midnight. There were some activities sponsored by Fisher Price and Crayola that involved parent participation. These were free of charge. However, there are other activities that don't require parent participation, as well as drop off hours during the entire day and evening . For these there's an hourly charge. At the time of our sailing, it was $8/hr.

 

- We dropped our son off for 2-3 hours a couple of nights while we went out to a specialty restaurant or to see a show. The setup is similar to day care facilities back home. They will change diapers and they will feed your child during meal hours. On the nights when we dropped our son off, we saw large trays of chicken nuggets as well as assorted cheeses and fruit.

 

- The ship also had a large dedicated "free play" area with soft surfaces, toys, books, and small slides, etc. This area is available all day long and you can just walk in and let the kids burn some steam in an enclosed environment.

 

- There's a toy lending program. We didn't learn about this until the second day in the cruise and by the time we asked about it, all the toys had been checked out. So if this is something that interests you, ask as soon as you get onboard.

 

- Make reservations in advance if there are any specific times that you're very interested in. Some of the prime hours do fill up fast (specially at night, during major performances or dinner time). We saw many parents with their show reservation schedule planning the entire nursery schedule for their kids on the first night.

 

- In addition to the Nursery facilities and the free play area, the Allure also had a "baby H2O zone" with temperature controlled and separately filtered shallow pools specifically for the youngest cruisers still wearing diapers or pull ups (keep in mind that most other ships without these dedicated facilities DON'T allow small children in diapers anywhere near pools). So this area was a very welcome addition for our son.

 

- The ship also had a dedicated Adventure Ocean TV channel in-cabin with 24 hour programming. This was a welcome extra any time that we were in the cabin looking for something to keep the little guy entertained.

 

- Allure as well as a few other ships in the Royal fleet have a partnership with Dreamworks, so we also enjoyed several shows, both at the Aqua Theater and the ice skating rink inspired by Dreamworks movies like Madagascar, and How to Train your Dragon. They also had parades and breakfasts with other favorite characters from Shrek and Kung Fu Panda.

 

Overall, we had a FANTASTIC time and Royal did a wonderful job keeping our son entertained. Yes, there's a charge for the Royal Babies and Tots program, but it was well worth it. It made an already wonderful cruise even better.

[nanwel]

We took an older stroller with us - came in handy at ports to walk quickly from a to b - had to store it in the room, not allowed on balcony.

Also used it on the promenade -it is a long walk, and gd could walk, or be carried, but was happier in her stroller - she could sit and people watch. We used it at Labadee - she could be rocked to sleep and had her nap in the stroller many afternoons without us having to take her back to the room.

[MrZoey]

I agree about getting there early to sign out toys. We got a bag of toys as soon as they opened for sign up. The 19 month old and the 4 year old both loved the "new toys" for the week. We also brought an umbrella stroller because it fit thru all the doors. It was used constantly with both boys (4 year old is small).