Nursery on Royal Caribbean

We will be sailing on Independence of the Seas at the end of June. One of the upgrades during it's very recent drydock was the addition of a nursery.

Has anyone used the RC nurseries? Our daughter will be 19 months at the time of sailing and since we are traveling with our extended family, we may not need to use the nursery much, but if we did, how does it work? What are their policies if the baby/toddler is crying? Do you need to come back to change diapers? Our daughter is a climber and very active - she's our 3rd and used to playing with her big brother and sister. Will they have interactive activities for her?

Any information that anyone would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated!

:-) amcb

Thanks for posting this. I'm anxiously waiting for replies!

also going to follow! we will be on Indy in Dec with a 20 month old.

i'm on liberty on Sunday - they have a nursery and we have a 7 month old so will be able to update when we are back.

We are hoping to use the nursery both for emilie on her own and as a family

We will be sailing on Independence of the Seas at the end of June. One of the upgrades during it's very recent drydock was the addition of a nursery.

 

Has anyone used the RC nurseries? Our daughter will be 19 months at the time of sailing and since we are traveling with our extended family, we may not need to use the nursery much, but if we did, how does it work? What are their policies if the baby/toddler is crying? Do you need to come back to change diapers? Our daughter is a climber and very active - she's our 3rd and used to playing with her big brother and sister. Will they have interactive activities for her?

 

Any information that anyone would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated!

 

:-) amcb

We used the nursery on oasis when my son was 18 months and it was great. We visited the first day and we were able to schedule dates and times but you are able to try to drop off at any time. If there is space they will take them. There is a capacity though which depends on staffing. They will fully take care of your child: diapering, bottles, naps. If they need to eat you need to supply food. We would usually bring some milk and snack just in case he got hungry. I did usually call 15-30 minutes after I dropped him off to see if he settled down because he did cry when we left him. The floors have foam padding and most of the area has soft padding. There is an area with cribs and I did see parents bring their strollers for their child to sleep in too. My son loved going there after the little crying at drop off. Also you can cancel anytime without being charged which is nice because plans can always change. Enjoy your cruise!

Christina

We used the nursery on oasis when my son was 18 months and it was great. We visited the first day and we were able to schedule dates and times but you are able to try to drop off at any time. If there is space they will take them. There is a capacity though which depends on staffing. They will fully take care of your child: diapering, bottles, naps. If they need to eat you need to supply food. We would usually bring some milk and snack just in case he got hungry. I did usually call 15-30 minutes after I dropped him off to see if he settled down because he did cry when we left him. The floors have foam padding and most of the area has soft padding. There is an area with cribs and I did see parents bring their strollers for their child to sleep in too. My son loved going there after the little crying at drop off. Also you can cancel anytime without being charged which is nice because plans can always change. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Christina

That's wonderful information! Thanks so much! I'm glad to hear your son enjoyed being there. :-)

We had used the nursery for my DD who was around 1.5 at the time. The staff was very great however my DD, who tends to be difficult did not like being left there. She screamed and after maybe 40 minutes they called and we picked her up.

The room was very nice and they had lots of age appropriate toys and books.

We were on the liberty last week and used the nursery on the sea day. Was an extremely professional service. It cost $8 an hour. They give you mobile phone so they can get you if needs be. They change nappies, feed pop your little one to sleep is fantastic.

They also offer a toy lending service which was fab there is really no need to take any toys - this is a free service and all the toys are in exceptional condition.

Also in the card room during the day they set up some toys and mats so your little ones can play, this is a free service.

Also highly recommended is the puppet show imagine ocean. It is an UV show in the dark - my LO is only 8 months and she loved it although it was a little loud for her a times.

We used the nursery on the grandeur of the seas last september for our 9 month old son.

He didn't like it all that much, but we were used to that sort of reaction as it was the same in the daycare at home back then.

The staff was really nice, tried to calm him and play with him and in the end it worked quite well for a couple of hours.

We will definetly use it again this year in september and now that he's one year older I guess things will be a lot easier.

The service is excellent, as they change diapers, give food and even put the little ones to bed (there were a few of baby beds in the nursery, I guess there are more of them on bigger ships like the independence) if the dinner of the parents goes on longer than expected ;)

It's one of our main reasons why we stick with royal caribbean at least as long as we have kids under 2-3 years.

Be good if the op could feed back as I'm sailing in Indepedence 21/09/13

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Just off freedom 8/18 sailing. Nursery was amazing. Staff are top notch. They diaper change, feed, put to sleep, entertain...you name it. The $8 per hour is a steal as I pay $10 per hour for an adult sitter. If my 2 yr old was hungry they ordered her a meal from the dining rm menu or end snacks. So no food needed to be provided just a diaper bag. We did however bring our kids to the dining room. We had a private table. But we would drop them off right after dinner or I. Between dinner and dessert. They were usually ready to get to their programs right after they finished eating and were not interested in dessert. Honestly the nursery was a godsend for us. It allowed DH and I to spend time and grab a cocktail or two. I swear by it! It was my first time and I wasn't sure I'd be able to leave her but the caliber of staff was clear right away. My cruise had great availability. We walked in every time. But this will depend on your cruise so stop in day 1 to make sure it is not filling up. Our nursery had a cap of 8 kids and there were always 2 staff.

We used the nursery on Allure in May for our 2 year old DD. It was great! They fed DD dinner, played with her, etc all evening. She is not in daycare and has only been watched by family so I wasn't sure how she would react when dropped off. She went right in and started playing (not 1 minute of hesitation or tears). They engaged her right off the bat. When we picked her up they gave us a detailed report of her evening (exactly what she ate & drank, what she I'd, etc). She wanted to go back. We had the ship phone they gave us when we registered her on day 2 (able to keep it he entire cruise) so we knew they could get us if she needed us. Next cruise she will be old enough for AO, but I would highly recommend the nursery to others!

i love all the great feedback! we will be cruising with our almost 13 month old this Friday and are looking forward to giving it a shot. our little ones loves playing a the library when we take her for storytime so hopefully she will love this just the same!.. we will comment when we return.

This is great feedback. We cruise in December and again in Feb and our daughter will be 14 months and 16 months. She has only been left with family a small number of times and recently has become clingy, even crying when I leave the room. I'm hoping she will be able to enjoy the nursery. Are we allowed t stay in the room for a while with her to play and make her comfortable? If this is the case do we still pay?

We go in February on the Freedom and would love to drop off our little guy for a few hours here and there. He's 18 months and busy busy, he does not like sitting still for a long dinner. Plus we would love to see the theater shows with our older daughter (age 4). How was availability for anyone who has traveled in the 'offseason'? Do I need to race up there once I get on the ship to book time slots?

We go in February on the Freedom and would love to drop off our little guy for a few hours here and there. He's 18 months and busy busy, he does not like sitting still for a long dinner. Plus we would love to see the theater shows with our older daughter (age 4). How was availability for anyone who has traveled in the 'offseason'? Do I need to race up there once I get on the ship to book time slots?

We were on Allure during Memorial Day Week. I signed up for time by stopping by the afternoon of Day 2 and had no problem. To get the exact times you want I'd go either embarkation day or the next, but I don't see a need to race right there.

It would be great if any recent cruisers after Jan 1st 2014 could report back on their experience. RCI recently ended their partnership with fisher-price so I'm curious as to what is now being offered - activities & toy lending, etc...

We leave in 4 days on the Oasis of the Seas with our 7 month old son. We plan on using the nursery. I can give an update regarding the Fisher-price changes, or any new updates.

We leave in 4 days on the Oasis of the Seas with our 7 month old son. We plan on using the nursery. I can give an update regarding the Fisher-price changes, or any new updates.

That would be greatly appreciated! Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

We leave in 4 days on the Oasis of the Seas with our 7 month old son. We plan on using the nursery. I can give an update regarding the Fisher-price changes, or any new updates.

Thanks, we also would like to know! I loved that they were doing toy lending, hoping they still do. Cruising Allure at the end of May and my son will be 6 months.

we were on independence in december with our friends. between us we had an 18 month old boy and a 20 month old boy. we used the nursery. we mostly used it at night - a few nights of the cruise we put the boys in after dinner for an hour or 2 so we could relax. 2 nights we put the boys to sleep in their strollers and then wheeled them in and left them there for a few hours - they were none the wiser. they keep them in the strollers if you do that and then you just take them back. they will put the kids to sleep for you if you ask. they have cribs or you can just leave your stroller and they will put the kids to sleep in the stroller.

the nursery has a lot of toys and 2 people there at all times to play with the kids, sometimes a 3rd. (but we were there during a slow week). they will feed the kids but you don't get to pick the food, they just have set things delivered for each meal. (my friend didn't think her son would eat the salmon for dinner and guess what.. he did!)

there are tot activities during the day but it is not drop off, you take the kid. they are about a half hour to 45 min.

we left my son at nursery one morning for an hour so we cuold start packing. he had run of the place and was fine. they are really nice.

they will do everything - change diapers, feed, etc. you are given a bag to put anything the child may need during their stay in

we were there on an off week - we did not have to race for time slots.. HOWEVER we still did need to race for toy lending.

We leave in 4 days on the Oasis of the Seas with our 7 month old son. We plan on using the nursery. I can give an update regarding the Fisher-price changes, or any new updates.

Wondering if you had any feedback from your recent cruise? Thanks!

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I have a few nursery questions, I'm going to add them here instead of starting a new thread since they are related.

1. How is availability, specifically evenings and port days? If I go sign up right when we board should we get the times we want. We're cruising thanksgiving week, so I'm thinking there may be more babies (certainly more school-aged kids)

2. Is there a cap to how much you can book on the first day? (I.e. You can book 10 hours embarkation day and then add more if it's available the next day).

3. Do they make a decent effort to calm the kids (similar to daycare?) our baby will be right around a year old, which is when I remember separation anxiety kicking in with our older child. She would usually be fine within a few minutes, so I am hoping this won't be an issue.

Also, I'd love any updates on toy lending.

If no one replies, I should at least get some info on our May cruise for you! But I would like to know The same info if anyone has answers :)

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