Free activities/areas for 1 year old? Ovation of the Seas

[TBoneSteak83]

Hello! 

 

Reaching out to other parents of babies who have sailed on Ovation of the Seas. 

 

We have an upcoming cruise to Hawaii on Ovation OTS with a brand new 1 year old. Still crawling and still in diapers. I understand babies aren't allowed in the pools. 

 

Besides the (paid) Babies and Tots daycare, are there free play areas or activities for 1 year olds? We don't really want to leave baby at the daycare but would love to play with him at a playground if there's anything age suitable. 

 

Thanks!!

 

 

 

[TheBeardedCruiser]

I don't have an answer for you. I just wanted to commend you for wanting to vacation with your son, not from your son. I see & hear about so many parents that drop their kid(s) off for as long as possible, just to get drunk and gamble.

 

I totally understand wanting a special evening or two, so I'm not knocking child care! I've just witnessed too many kids that were being treated as inconveniences instead of memory makers!

 

I hope that your cruise is amazing!

Edited September 23 by TheBeardedCruiser

[Biker19]

8 hours ago, TBoneSteak83 said:

I understand babies aren't allowed in the pools.

Welcome to CC and coming out of a long lurk.

 

The regular pools, yes, but should be allowed in the Splashaway Bay area.

[FionaMG]

I know you're asking about a specific ship so it makes sense to have posted your question here but I was wondering if you've found the cc family board where you'll definitely be able to get lots of general information and tips for sailing with your little one.

 

Link here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/28-family-cruises/

[leaveitallbehind]

It sounds as though you are fully aware of this and your child is of the correct age will not have an issue, but just to be certain, for that itinerary your child must be 12 months old as of the day of sailing.

 

Again, only mentioning this to be sure.  Enjoy your cruise. 

[dragontrainer]

I'm going to be the person that doesn't have direct experience with your ship but answers in generalities anyway.

 

From our experience, Adventure Ocean will often have the "professional staff" areas where you can drop off children, but will also have an area with toys that are open to anyone to use.  I don't know that I'd call the ones I've seen a "playground" but they had dedicated space (e.g., enclosed room with doors) with toys.  I don't think there was a maximum age to use it, so there is the typical concern of older kids (e.g., 3-5) running around in the same space, but I'm guessing you're getting used to that in normal life.

 

If you struggle to get any direct answers from people you could try watching a video of Adventure Ocean specific to Ovation to see what it looks like.  It appears Aventure Ocean spans two decks for Ovation, so I think it's likely there will be some kind of play area (I scanned through one video quickly and it looked like the lower level had at least one room that had a small climber/slide).

 

Another thing you could see if they offer (or if it went away with Covid) are kids items you can "check out" and take back to your room.  I believe they had bags with either books, or kids toys in the past, but I don't recall the specifics.  The staff had to sanitize things after use, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did away with this, but it's work checking.  

 

Beyond what you asked, we tried to learn early where highchairs were in any dining venue.  I felt the crew went out of their way to help out people with young kids.  Our son was 19 months on his first cruise and we were able to do the main dining room for dinner.  This was before the more streamlined menus and dinner took 2 hours a night, which was a struggle at that age and there were times one of us would have to leave early to avoid disrupting other passengers.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[dcourt]

In the Adventure club area there is a toddlers playroom that parents must be present.  It has a lot of toys appropriate for the younger cruisers.  We started taking our son when he was just over a year and it was great fun for both him and us.  The floors are all rubber so soft on the knees and there was playhouses, little slides and push around toys.  You are able to check out toys to your cabin but we just always brought our own toys.  Hope this helps

[mjkacmom]

4 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Welcome to CC and coming out of a long lurk.

 

The regular pools, yes, but should be allowed in the Splashaway Bay area.

I believe it’s a small separate splash area geared to toddlers.

[TBoneSteak83]

Thank you to everyone for the replies. These are helpful and encouraging tips for new parents!