1yr old on Solstice. Childcare Question.

[Bellfamilybelles]

Hello all,

 

We're booked for Alaska this July on the Solstice. My husband meant this as a couples trip for my birthday, but we may have to take our youngest who will be 1yr.

 

I see on the site there is a Toddler Time session of which parents must be present. Is there any other service that would allow us alone time?

 

Thank you :D

[cruisestitch]

A previous poster gave this information:

 

 

I went on the Celebrity Equinox in August this year and was asking and asking before I went about the babysitting system and how it worked. Here is a little guide to how we found it and if anyone has an questions about the sitting or Fun Factory please ask.

 

So as soon as we got on board we went to the reception and booked all the days we wanted babysitting for. ( It doesn't matter if its sea or port days! )

You have to put down date and times! - So you need to work it out before you get there. At this point nothing is guaranteed as they need to find staff that are available.

 

The problem is that they book the babysitters day by day so you never know if you have one until they call your stateroom to confirm usually in the afternoon!

 

So you get a call in the afternoon saying that babysitters are confirmed! I usually would call and chase them up anyway. It's 2 staff per babysitting ( for legal reasons ) we had mostly 1 person from the Fun Factory and maybe someone from reception, a cleaner or even the singer from the show!

 

We usually booked for 2.5 hours which worked out about $50 a night, but if you want to come back early the will not charge.

 

We put down for like 13 nights and got about 12 nights babysitting. ( and this was in August when there are alot of kids ) Our girls were 1 and 3 at the time so we would usually get them into bed and asleep before they came but some of them would come with colouring pens and books to entertain the kids.

 

Its a good and bad system as if it works out then your fine but you can never plan anything until you have magic call!!

 

 

 

And a quick search of Cruise Critic brought up this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2332914&highlight=babysitting

Edited April 2, 2016 by cruisestitch

[Bellfamilybelles]

Thank you... I wonder why they don't keep them in the toddler room during the day?

[mtn_couple]

Thank you... I wonder why they don't keep them in the toddler room during the day?

 

They don't allow young kids in the kids club rooms without parents because they don't change diapers. All kids who go to kids club without a parent must be fully toilet trained

[Jem 12]

They don't allow young kids in the kids club rooms without parents because they don't change diapers. All kids who go to kids club without a parent must be fully toilet trained

 

 

Aswell as being toilet trained they must be able to manage completely on their own, understandable I suppose.

[kitty9]

Also, the child must be 12 months or older for in cabin sitting----they will not provide in cabin sitting if the child is under that age----some people may refer to their 10 or 11 month old as being 1, but Celebrity only sees a 12 month old as being age 1. The in cabin sitting is $19 per hour.

Edited April 3, 2016 by kitty9

[seaztheday1]

Figure out a way to go by yourselves, this will not be a holiday for you.

[eandj]

There is no way I would consider this trip a couple's get away.;)

Edited April 3, 2016 by eandj

[cb at sea]

Hopefully, you already have the child booked, in case you do need to bring him/her....as sail date gets closer, they may not allow you to add another soul to your cabin!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Yes - I agree with cb. If you want to bring your baby, make sure you add him/her ASAP. The cabins are capacity controlled. Once they reach a certain level, despite how many third and fourth berths are still available, they will cut off bookings for 3. And yes, your cabin will be considered a booking for 3 and you will need to pay crew gratuities for the baby too.

 

Just FYI - the baby's age is by his/her birthdate - so the age is whatever the child is on the FIRST day of the cruise, not the middle or end of the cruise. A lot of people don't realize that and think a birth day in the middle of the cruise is "close enough" but it's not.

 

Remember to bring an umbrella stroller or similar - it'll make getting around a big ship a lot easier. Happy sailing!

[phoenix_dream]

I am not saying this to criticize parents who brings kids onboard or any such thing. But as someone who has sailed with kids since they were 3 years old, and has been to Alaska several times, I really think you should seriously consider re-booking for another time when you can leave your baby at home. Alaska is just not very kid-friendly. I love it - it is beautiful - but most of what you might want to see and do just cannot be done with a one year old. To me, it is just too fantastic a cruise to have to be held back because you have an infant with you. If it were the Caribbean, a different story. But Alaska? I wouldn't do it.

[Langley Cruisers]

To me, it is just too fantastic a cruise to have to be held back because you have an infant with you. If it were the Caribbean, a different story. But Alaska? I wouldn't do it.

 

Sincerely curious as to why you say this? What do you feel the difference is? We have done both itineraries and yes, we do have (now grown) children - so interested to hear your rationale. :)

[Celebrity Cruises]

Hello all,

 

We're booked for Alaska this July on the Solstice. My husband meant this as a couples trip for my birthday, but we may have to take our youngest who will be 1yr.

 

I see on the site there is a Toddler Time session of which parents must be present. Is there any other service that would allow us alone time?

 

Thank you :D

 

Private, in-stateroom babysitting is open to children ages 12 months and older for a nominal fee of $19 per hour for up to 3 children from the same family. Requests must be made at least 24 hours in advance through Guest Relations. Availability for this service is limited and operates on a first come, first served basis. Private, in-stateroom babysitting is subject to personnel availability.

[DancerOT]

Is 18% gratuity automatically added on to the $19 per hour or do people typically tip (if they choose to) in cash?

[mtn_couple]

Private, in-stateroom babysitting is open to children ages 12 months and older for a nominal fee of $19 per hour for up to 3 children from the same family. Requests must be made at least 24 hours in advance through Guest Relations. Availability for this service is limited and operates on a first come, first served basis. Private, in-stateroom babysitting is subject to personnel availability.

 

This service is only available if there's off duty staff who want to do it and only at night. I enquired to have my son babysat outside of kids club hours but during the day so I could do the behind the scenes tour. They said no one was available for babysitting during the day.

[Jim_Iain]

Thank you... I wonder why they don't keep them in the toddler room during the day?

 

They don't keep children on their own until they are Potty trained.

[jsf]

Whoa...I would think long and hard about taking a one year old on an Alaska cruise or any other cruise. It would truly be a hardship on yourself and I don't see how you could enjoy yourself.

Just my thoughts,

J.

[6502programmer]

Sincerely curious as to why you say this? What do you feel the difference is? We have done both itineraries and yes, we do have (now grown) children - so interested to hear your rationale. :)

I'll share my take, as someone who's dragged kids on cruises since they were four years old.. Alaska is more about the sights and scenery versus the culture and experiences of a Caribbean cruise. The activities more common in Alaska happen at a slower pace, and will be less likely to keep toddlers engaged. It's a lot easier as a parent to drag younger kids to a beach and have them play in the sand and the ocean than it is to take them on a four hour bus ride. You will run out of fun quickly at Mendenhall--Doubly so if they've closed off the trail loop so you can't take your kid to "go look for bears" while waiting for the taxi to take you back to the port.

 

BUT, it's the parents' vacation. I'd never say "don't do it!", but I would happily say I didn't do it. Our first two cruises were before our youngest was four, the youngest we would have wanted to bring him with us. I watched my sister deal with a three year old on NCL, and it was just no fun for her, which reaffirmed for me our decision to hold off on cruising with kids.