Toddler Tips for RCCL Explorer of the Seas

[CTJammer]

This is a cross-post from the RCCL forum. We just returned from a five day cruise to Bermuda on Explorer with our 16 month old. Prior to going on our trip, I visited this site repeatedly for help in what to expect. I decided to post for the first time to share some of what we learned on our trip. This not meant to be a full trip report, just a summary of items of interest to parents of babies or young toddlers.

 

Strollers: I recommend bringing an umbrella stroller. We purchased one specifically for this trip, as we were worried that our full size stroller would be a tight squeeze in the ship’s corridors (we were right). We used it for walks on the deck, when the baby was asleep at our mealtime, and on shore. Having a stroller with a one-handed fold was very helpful. It allowed us to fold the stroller and carry the baby when the wait for an elevator on the ship was too long, and also to use the Bermuda bus system. The drivers asked that we stow the stroller in a bin at the front of the bus, which would not have worked if the stroller was not folded. When not in use, we stored the stroller in the folded position in the corner of our room by the balcony door.

 

Highchairs: The quality and condition of the highchairs available on the ship were poor. We encountered several chairs with missing or broken safety straps; one night, our waiter tried to convince us to secure the baby by tying the clip-less straps together! However, we always managed to get one with a working strap, although it sometimes took more than one try. The highchairs were generally pretty battered, and it was hit or miss as to whether they came with a tray. We brought a rubber mat that suction cups onto the table for the Windjammer and Johnny Rockets, which eliminated the need for a tray, but it could not be used in the formal dining room due to the tablecloths. I handed food to the baby in the dining room.

 

Dining Room: We requested a table for two (three!) for dinner and our request was honored. It was nice not having to stress out about others’ reactions to our baby’s table manners (or lack thereof). The only downside was that things were quite cramped at the table with a highchair and plates for three. Also, our neighbors had a difficult time getting out of their chairs (although they were courteous about it and we were quick to move the baby as necessary). The baby loved Johnny Rockets (the grilled cheese and the dancing) and the Windjammer was sufficiently loud and busy to keep her entertained at breakfast and lunch. In all the dining areas, the crew was very friendly to the baby and eager to make sure she was taken care of.

 

Food: There is a lot of food to choose from on the ship and we generally found food the baby would eat. The formal dining room offers a kid’s menu with chicken fingers, mac and cheese and other typical kid items. The first night I ordered two items (meat and pasta) and got two huge plates of food with fries. Thereafter, I asked for a serving of mac and cheese, a single chicken finger and whatever vegetable was being served that night. This worked very well for us. After I ordered a fruit cup for the baby two nights in a row, the fruit was there waiting for us when we arrived on the following nights. The Windjammer has fresh fruit, pasta, bread, oatmeal, sliced cheese and eggs available. Also, milk is available in the dining room and Windjammer. Keep in mind that if your baby regularly eats yogurt, the only yogurt available is non-fat—not what you want for a baby—and we weren’t able to find any cottage cheese. We probably would have brought our own yogurt and kept it in our fridge if we had known as the baby is a little fussy about her dairy! We brought our own crackers for the baby to eat as a snack, although we often used the small boxes of Cheerios available in the Windjammer at breakfast as well.

 

Stateroom: We booked a balcony stateroom. We requested a Pack n Play, but brought our own (given the conditions of the highchairs, I am glad we did). The requested PnP was not in the room when we arrived, which was fine. If you are going to use RCCL’s PnP, you may want to call to confirm beforehand. Our steward said she saw our PnP, and asked if we needed sheets (which was nice, even though we brought our own). She moved the coffee table into the closet and we set up the PnP in the front of the couch. Although it was a little cramped, it was definitely workable. I highly recommend using a PnP—it gives you a safe place to stow a crawler/walker, which is important because the small size of the cabin makes it hard to have all of the things you don’t want the baby to have out of reach. I also recommend bringing a shoe organizer for the bathroom door. With toiletries for two adults and a baby, the organizer was very handy. Like the waiters, our steward and the other stewards we saw in the corridors were very friendly to the baby. The baby loved the towel animals!

 

Pools: As is made clear on RCCL’s website and these boards, babies are not allowed in any pools. We saw one mother allowing her toddler to splash in the water slide area, but that was it.

 

Fisher Price Program: This program was not what we expected. I thought it would be like a Gymboree class, with a theme, songs, stories, etc. Instead, it basically was comprised of a bunch of Fisher Price toys in a specific theme on a play mat. There was no organization to it, although an Adventure Ocean crew member sat in the room. Also, the program is not held in the children’s area; it is held in Cloud Nine on Deck 14. Be aware that the room is not childproofed--the planters, which were on the floor, were full of small stones used as mulch and there were tables and chairs with sharp edges—and that given its location on the ship, it can be tough for a baby to walk on a rough sea day. An open play time is also offered, which is identical to the age-based programs, but with no Adventure Ocean crew member present.

 

General tips:

 

We weren’t able to find a changing station anywhere on the ship. We would go back to our room for diaper changes. We brought scented plastic bags for messy diapers, both out of courtesy for our cabin steward and to keep the cabin from smelling like a dirty diaper!

 

We brought our own dish soap and washed our sippy cups and placemat in our stateroom sink and dried the items on a towel on the desk in the room.

 

We typically use plastic bibs at home, but didn’t want to deal with washing them on the trip. We bought a package of Bibsters (disposable bibs) that worked very well (they even have a pocket to catch food).

 

We brought a small bottle of Chlorox Anywhere Spray (available at Babies r Us). This was great for cleaning a variety of items—the rubber dining mat, toys that fell on the deck of the ship, and highchairs.

 

We packed all items we thought we would use up during the trip in a cardboard box (diapers, wipes, bibsters, food). At the end of the trip, the box can be thrown away.

 

The crew will dote on your baby. Our baby was greeted with smiles and requests for high fives everywhere we went. The crew was very nice, as were the large majority of passengers. Be ready for a lot of people wanting to talk to and touch the baby.

 

We let the baby run during the day in Maharajas lounge. There is a wide open dance floor and ramps that the baby enjoyed running up and down. However, on some days the art auction is held in the lounge. At these times, we let the baby loose in the Chamber, which is totally empty during the day.

 

Be ready to be flexible. We tried to attend the shows, but often had to leave early because the baby was ready for bed. We tried to give each other time alone each day to sit by the pool, go to the spa/gym, etc. We brought our baby monitor so we could sit on our balcony after the baby went to bed at night and enjoy a drink together.

 

In short, we thought this was a decent trip for a couple with a toddler. The crew was incredibly nice to us and wonderful to the baby. However, RCCL would do well to buy some new highchairs and add some new programs—especially as babies pay the same third person rate as any other passenger. We may try Disney next to check out the other end of the spectrum!

 

CT Jammer

 

Grand Princess 8/01

Adventure of the Seas 8/02

Sovereign of the Seas 2/03

Voyager of the Seas 8/04

Grand Princess 4/04

Windjammer Legacy 4/05

Windjammer Polynesia 8/05

Windjammer Polynesia 2/06

Explorer of the Seas 7/08

[Julienatul]

After our first cruise with DD, we always bring a portable booster seat. It is much easier than hunting down a highchair and worrying about the cleanliness and straps. It folds very compact and we just hang the straps from the stroller handle to carry it around. We also brought disposable placemats. Our aquatots program was held in a lounge. I guess it varies from ship to ship.

 

Glad you had a good time. It will get easier the more you cruise. We dont have to bring half of the stuff we had to a year ago with DD now that she is 2 & 1/2. This will be her 6th cruise.

[PattyW]

Excellent post - I've cruised with my children at a similar age and agree with everything in this post (except we used the cruiseline's pnp and I've always been oblivious to the condition of high chairs)

[JohannaM]

Thank you for this information! We're only a week and a half away from our Celebrity Cruise - so it will be much the same I think. I never would have thought of scented garbage bags. ;) So that's a good tip. I still think we're going to bring the big stroller, but it's because he's a lot more comfortable in it than the umbrella stroller. Mind you we'll be using it more on shore than on the ship.

[crusinmama06]

Great review! I agree 100% that they need to implement something more for babies. I have seen reviews that the Auqa Tots program is just open play. You're right, how hard would it be to have a staff member do something like a gymboree session?

 

Welcome back :D

[Cruisin Around]

Hello,

Thank you for your post. I had a quick question. My husband and I are just TOYING with the idea of cruising next year with our son who will be almost two and half then. Obviously he will be under the age of three so won't be able to be in the program, and from what I read and thought - and now you confirmed - there doesn't seem to be a whole lot for babies/toddlers, so why does it cost so much for them! I was just wandering if you chose your cruise because you found special pricing for your young daughter or if you didn't...did you feel cheated.

 

After reading many posts here, it seems that money is no object, but for us, we have always cruised in an interior cabin and watched for deals.

 

Just wandering how you felt.

 

Thanks!

[crusinmama06]

Gina, I am not the OP but I'll see if I can help you. On all cruiselines but NCL, Disney, MSC and Costa, you will pay the same for a toddler/infant as you would pay for ANY adult being the 3rd/4th person in your cabin.

 

So let's say you bring grandma - she is the 4th person in your cabin, her price will be the same as the baby's.

 

They do this because each ship can hold so many "souls"...so you pay for the right for the child to take the place of an adult.

 

So, with that being said, do you need to pay big bucks to sail....the answer is NO.

 

At this point, RCCL is not discounting 3rd/4th rates. They seem to be pretty high right now. Maybe you could try Carnival, their rates are traditionally less. And if you went with Carnival then your child could use the kids camp.

 

I get rate specials all of the time from Carnival. Sailings start at $229 for the 1st/2nd person in the cabin and then the charge is only $179 for the 3rd (your child).

[NoelsCat]

Hello,

Thank you for your post. I had a quick question. My husband and I are just TOYING with the idea of cruising next year with our son who will be almost two and half then. Obviously he will be under the age of three so won't be able to be in the program, and from what I read and thought - and now you confirmed - there doesn't seem to be a whole lot for babies/toddlers, so why does it cost so much for them! I was just wandering if you chose your cruise because you found special pricing for your young daughter or if you didn't...did you feel cheated.

 

After reading many posts here, it seems that money is no object, but for us, we have always cruised in an interior cabin and watched for deals.

 

Just wandering how you felt.

 

Thanks!

 

 

I am not the OP either -- but I also wanted to answer-- my son was newly two on our last sailing on RC Jewel -- and I paid full 3rd person rate (which wasn't cheap, I might add.)

 

I did feel slightly cheated in that there was really not much for him: AquaTots was kind of a disappointment and offered only once per day at an inconvenient time, he wasn't allowed to swim/use the pools, he was too young for the kids programs or to use the facilities, etc.

 

However, he was doted upon by the staff and he loved the cruise -- he still talks about it. I was glad that we were port intensive too -- because that gave him lots of playtime at the beach, etc. In fact, we all enjoyed ourselves so much that we are doing it again this year ... thankfully this year he will be able to enjoy the children's activities, too! I think if he were still to be under 3/not PT, I would seriously consider Carnival for both the lower rates and the much more baby/toddler friendly kids program.

 

:)

[slpinny]

Thank you so much for posting this very detailed information. I am leaving this week on the Explorer with my 16 month old so I plan on printing out out your post and following a lot of your suggestions!

 

Thank you!!!!!!

[Cruisin Around]

Thanks to all of you - original poster or not - on your experience. We are trying to decide if this is something we want to do with our little one and your answers were great. I was just hoping that the little one had fun and was treated nicely be everyone. I realize that they are a bit skimpy on the under the age of three programs and I was wondering about it.

 

Thanks!

Gina

[gisele21]

We just off the Serenade of the Seas 7 day Alaska cruise with our 19 month old daughter. We stayed in a Royal Family Suite with my mother, my husband, my son, and my niece. Some notes I had are:

 

- I agree about the AquaTots. Ours was a mat in the middle of the Vortex dancefloor. They shouldn't even advertise this program, it's a joke. Children this age can do so much more than a few plastic toys on the ground. They can paint, scribble, do books, explore, etc. (FWIW, my 5 year old son didn't care for AquaNauts either. He's 5 years old and the 3-5 age group was really too young. Plus he goes to pre-K/daycare so he wasn't interested in a lot of the stuff. He preferred to go to the pool and spend time with us. )

 

- We used a high chair but without the tray - just pulled the chair up to the table. The first night we ordered off the kids menu but our kids didn't really like it. So after that, I ordered off the adult menu for them. My 19 year old had the cold fruit soup every night, and either a pasta or a beef or turkey dish. My son ate a lot of the salmon and pasta meals.

 

- Used Bibsters at meals

 

- We only used a sippy cup (Kleen Kanteen) for water on trips. At the dining room, my 19 month old drank out of a regular cup (with assistance from us). We learned from our son that it's easier to train them to use a cup when travelling because washing sippies all the time is a pain. We were able to get whole milk for the kids.

 

- I brought Woolite to wash things in the sink. We stayed in Vancouver for a few days before the cruise and the baby had poop/pee/food accidents so I was able to wash small things in the sink.

 

- I brought a sponge and dishwashing soap (small travel container) in case I needed to wash something.

 

- We brought a stroller (Peg Perego Aria) and a Deuter Kid Komfort III back carrier. We didn't use the stroller at all during the cruise. On the shore excursions we used the backpack which was easier, and the baby preferred it.

 

- We used the ship's Pack and Play. It was in OK condition. We wiped it down with antibacterial wipes and used our own sheets. We also wiped down the room, esp the phone and remotes with wipes.

 

- Pee diapers were not a problem. For poop diapers we dumped the poop into the toilet before wrapping it up. It helps remove a lot of the smell.

 

Hope that was helpful!

[Cruisin Around]

What does everyone use when you leave the ship for excursions? If you're going in a car or something, is there a portable seat that is good to take?

Thanks!

[gisele21]

We rented a car in Juneau. We also bought an plane ticket for our 19month old, and rented a car for Vancouver for 2 days, so we brought her Britax Marathon. We used it on the plane. We bought a bag for it that has rolling wheels - it is specifically made for the car seat. In Juneau, we rented a large van to hold all of us from Rent A Wreck. They met us at the parking lot and we installed the car seat in the van. For my 5 year old son, we brought a Safeguard Go that is a 5 pt booster than can be easily carried in it's own bag for travel. He used that in the van.