Past Cruiser - First Time with Kids - I have questions

[Kayla103]

Hi all!

I have cruised with Royal three times but never with the kids. We are going in a few months with our DS (5) and DD (1). I have a few questions and Royal keeps sending me to the FAQs which is not really helping me.

If anyone can give me more details on some of this I would be so grateful!

 

• How does Adventure Ocean work? Do you have a beeper, wristband, or something? Do you sign them up for times or just go and hope for the best?
• Same goes for the Nursery. How does signing them up work? I know this is an additional cost but we are thinking of doing a kid-free dinner one night. Also, are the staff trained for children and go through background checks? (Can never be too careful these days).
• Also, does the splash pad on Liberty of the Seas allow for swim diapers? I never got a true answer on this one. 

 

Thanks all!

[zaylyn2590]

I can only answer the first one. You can preregister when you check in and also take a tour on the first day. You just present your s&s card when you drop them off and pick them up. There was no sign in. They had specific hours 9 to 12, 2 to 5 and 7 to 10pm on sea days and maybe 9 to 4pm, 7 to 10pm on port days. Then they had the night owls which was from 10 to 1am at an additional costs. 

 

The staff are very much trained and very professional. My 6 year old still remembers their names and the games that they played. 

[Kayla103]

51 minutes ago, zaylyn2590 said:

I can only answer the first one. You can preregister when you check in and also take a tour on the first day. You just present your s&s card when you drop them off and pick them up. There was no sign in. They had specific hours 9 to 12, 2 to 5 and 7 to 10pm on sea days and maybe 9 to 4pm, 7 to 10pm on port days. Then they had the night owls which was from 10 to 1am at an additional costs. 

 

The staff are very much trained and very professional. My 6 year old still remembers their names and the games that they played. 

Thank you! This is really helpful!

[DavidMutchler]

4 hours ago, zaylyn2590 said:

I can only answer the first one. You can preregister when you check in and also take a tour on the first day. You just present your s&s card when you drop them off and pick them up. There was no sign in. They had specific hours 9 to 12, 2 to 5 and 7 to 10pm on sea days and maybe 9 to 4pm, 7 to 10pm on port days. Then they had the night owls which was from 10 to 1am at an additional costs. 

 

The staff are very much trained and very professional. My 6 year old still remembers their names and the games that they played. 

Thanks, very helpful!  Do they ever fill up and have to turn away kids?  If so, how often and how does that work?

[rimmit]

19 minutes ago, DavidMutchler said:

Thanks, very helpful!  Do they ever fill up and have to turn away kids?  If so, how often and how does that work?

It is possible to fill up.  How often is totally dependent on how many kids are on the boat, and how often they us AO.  Some cruises have 5 kids.  Some have 1k.  Just depends.

[Kayla103]

10 hours ago, rimmit said:

It is possible to fill up.  How often is totally dependent on how many kids are on the boat, and how often they us AO.  Some cruises have 5 kids.  Some have 1k.  Just depends.

Thank you! I don't plan to use AO often either, but would like it to be an option for him if he wants to go play with other kids.

[rimmit]

1 hour ago, Kayla103 said:

Thank you! I don't plan to use AO often either, but would like it to be an option for him if he wants to go play with other kids.

Our kids love AO.  More so than being with tbh.  Lol.  Our daughter always asks to go and would rather do that then be with us doing Trivia or something else, so you may find yourself using it more than you think.

[zaylyn2590]

13 hours ago, DavidMutchler said:

Thanks, very helpful!  Do they ever fill up and have to turn away kids?  If so, how often and how does that work?

On the 3 cruises I have been on in the last year, I have not seen this happen

[Kayla103]

This is all great to know! Thank you! 
 

Is the nursery more selective in how many? I’d assume so since they need more attention. (I’m aware of the charge for it but nice to know it’s an option for a kid break)

[rimmit]

53 minutes ago, Kayla103 said:

This is all great to know! Thank you! 
 

Is the nursery more selective in how many? I’d assume so since they need more attention. (I’m aware of the charge for it but nice to know it’s an option for a kid break)

The nursery hours can book fast.  On the smaller boats they really max out on the formal nights and day time sea days very quickly.  We always waited for them to open up to be the first to book.

 

The smaller boats maxed at as low as 4 (Grandeur).  The bigger boats could go to 12-16 if I remember.  They only allow you to book an X amount of hours on the first day depending on length of sailing.  Sometimes it was just 10,  sometimes 20 hours initially.  Then after a day they let you book as much as you want after everyone is given a chance.  If you want formal nights or sea days I suggest you book those first.

 

The nursery will always give you a Dec phone (phone that works on the ship) or a pager.  AO only if you ask, although there was times they randomly gave us one.  It was random for AO if you got a pager.

 

The staff all had training and is well educated.  Many have childhood education degrees.  
 

There was a splash pad for babies on Liberty when we went on it last on a TA when our son was 15 months old back in 2012.  I assume it’s still there.

 

If you want some more info, we used to run a nonmonetized ad free blog with lots of kid traveling info especially on cruises.  Has lots of good tips.

 

https://thesmallworldfamily.com/2018/09/19/how-to-take-a-cruise-with-a-baby-and-have-a-great-time/

 

We just didn’t have time to keep it up but there are some good articles for traveling with babies on cruise ships.

Edited March 22, 2023 by rimmit

[DavidMutchler]

3 hours ago, rimmit said:

The nursery hours can book fast.  On the smaller boats they really max out on the formal nights and day time sea days very quickly.  We always waited for them to open up to be the first to book.

 

The smaller boats maxed at as low as 4 (Grandeur).  The bigger boats could go to 12-16 if I remember.  They only allow you to book an X amount of hours on the first day depending on length of sailing.  Sometimes it was just 10,  sometimes 20 hours initially.  Then after a day they let you book as much as you want after everyone is given a chance.  If you want formal nights or sea days I suggest you book those first.

 

The nursery will always give you a Dec phone (phone that works on the ship) or a pager.  AO only if you ask, although there was times they randomly gave us one.  It was random for AO if you got a pager.

 

The staff all had training and is well educated.  Many have childhood education degrees.  
 

There was a splash pad for babies on Liberty when we went on it last on a TA when our son was 15 months old back in 2012.  I assume it’s still there.

 

If you want some more info, we used to run a nonmonetized ad free blog with lots of kid traveling info especially on cruises.  Has lots of good tips.

 

https://thesmallworldfamily.com/2018/09/19/how-to-take-a-cruise-with-a-baby-and-have-a-great-time/

 

We just didn’t have time to keep it up but there are some good articles for traveling with babies on cruise ships.

 

Thanks!  Your web site is lovely and very helpful (even though my wife and I are long past having babies) -- your photos are great and your child is adorable!

[Subman738]

I came off of the Oasis last March (2022) and granted it is larger than your ship but my 2 grandkids loved AO and a couple of days requested to go there. On one of our port days the kids stayed in AO while mom and dad went ashore for their excursion and had a good time. Like others have said you had to sign up the kids at the beginning of the cruise and at the time you had to reserve time slots when they were just starting sailing after Covid. I am sure that has slacked off a bit now. Yes the splash pad was for little kids still in swim diapers. 

[Lil_Em]

We went on Oasis with my 4 year old in January.  There were a ton of kids on board and AO was very crowded on the first night.  After the 1st night, my son was reluctant to go back.  I finally figured out the reason he did not want to go back was because there were several crying kids on the first night in the 3-5 year old group.  So...my advice for a 5 year old would be to not put them in the kids club on the first night.  He enjoyed it more on the other nights he went back.  Also, on port days, AO is open all day and will feed your child if that interests you.

[rimmit]

2 minutes ago, Lil_Em said:

We went on Oasis with my 4 year old in January.  There were a ton of kids on board and AO was very crowded on the first night.  After the 1st night, my son was reluctant to go back.  I finally figured out the reason he did not want to go back was because there were several crying kids on the first night in the 3-5 year old group.  So...my advice for a 5 year old would be to not put them in the kids club on the first night.  He enjoyed it more on the other nights he went back.  Also, on port days, AO is open all day and will feed your child if that interests you.

This is not bad advice based on how your child handles things, but it can go both ways.  The first night can often be when cliques form.  Albeit, at the age of 5 it’s less likely, but my advice for older ages, for sure is to NOT miss the first night as then your child may feel left out as people are already starting to make friends. 
 

As someone that grew up going to kids clubs on ships and now send my kids to them, that first night is so important in making friends as everyone is new to each other.

[Kayla103]

Thanks all!