Grandeur Royal Babies Nursery

This will be my first time sailing with a baby. We e sailing with a ten month old on August 19 to Bermuda. I selected this ship because it has a designated babies nursery. I would love to hear of anyone's recent experience with the nursery, and especially the hours or schedule and availability.

I checked the Family Cruising Board already, so please don't scold me for posting in the Royal Caribbean section :D

Thank you!!

I think you will be pleased....the staff is very accommodating and they know what they're doing.

We have used the Nursery on many ships, including the liberty, mariner, anthem, grandeur, brilliance, freedom, and ovation, and of all the nurseries the grandeur was the worst by far. We were super happy with the nursery and staff ok all the other ships, but the staff on the grandeur was really less than stellar.

Carmen, who for your sake is hopefully not there anymore, was just awful. We were on in Feb, and every time I talked to her she just felt annoyed or inconvenienced bu any request. One time, we picked up our daughter, and we walked out of the kids program and noticed she had pooed right as we walked out the door. We walked back in asking if they could change her so we didnt have to walk all the way down to the cabin to change her as we were going to lunch, and she said no. Given she had pooed in their care and I was paying 6.00 an hour for the service, you think they would be nice enough to change her, but nope. We would do it ourselves but you are not allowed in any kid space for security reasons.

Also the nursery is incredibly small compared to the nurseries on other ships. The nursery cant be bigger than maybe 2 inside cabins put together and that is being generous. It has a max capacity of 4 babies and is closed from noon to 5 every day when we were on. Most nuseries on other ships were open from 9am-midnight. Maybe if you cruise during peak season they open more hours up. The 5 hour block from noon to 5 during the midday is one of the peak times we would put our children in the nursery as it is there nap time. To have that time blacked out everyday was sormewhat inconvenient. With a capacity of only 4 babies as well getting nursery time can be difficult. We did not have a problem as we went off peak, but during peak times, talking with the staff it can be at capacity every moment they are open.

We love cruising and our 2 year old and 6 year old have been on many. Our 6 year old is diamond with his own points and our daughter is emerald with her own points, so we have had extensive experience dealig with cruise nuseries on both Disney and RCI. We decided we were not going back on grandeur until our youngest is over 3 bc of the nursery on the ship. Our son seemed to enjoy AO more than average though, so the kids club seemed to do a pretty good job.

Your 10 month old will be in capable hands, we just felt the nursery space, minimal nursery hours, and overall service was sorely lacking on the grandeur.

Enjoy your time. A cruise is a cruise, but we felt the nursery on the grandeur was subpar, and we have used cruise nurseries extensively.

I'm concerned about the report of limited hours that Rimmit mentioned. Can anyone report back about the urrent hours? I'm very concerned about the afternoon because I wanted to do a short excursion on an afternoon in Bermuda. I hope it will be possible.

thanks,

cherylroslyn

I want to say that for port days they were opened from 1 hour before the first excursion till midnight. I did not pay attention to those hours because we have always taken our kids with us on port days. We typically use the nursery while we are at sea. I am 99 percent sure that was the times. So your excursion is unlikely to be an issue. Bermuda is a nice island and horseshoe bay beach is gorgeous. There is a small cove for babies and kids to play in that would be great for babies and toddlers. However, if you need a break which I totally understand, the nursery will be available for you.

A tip is the moment you board, once the nursery open house and registration is up, typically 1-2 on boarding day to go there IMMEDIATely. Unlike disney there is no reservation system prior to boarding. They give you 10 hours to book initially and then on the 3rd day they open it up completely. Most ships give you 15-20 hours initially but due to the low capacity on grandeur it is limited to 10 hours. We were beginning of Feb this year so very few babies and many of the parents were uncomfortable with the nursery due to the size. Sometimes they say they are not open for booking, but if you push them a little they will let you go ahead and book.

In all of our nursery usage, people are always tentative to book the beginning of the cruise. Then the last 2-3 days most parents are exhausted from entertaining their baby on a crusie for the last several days and it tends to book up at the end.

I typically ask on boarding day how many under 3 year olds there are. Typically less than half to a 1/3 will utilize the nursery. The rest either do not use the nursery or have grandparents onboard. If there are less than 12-13 babies on board with a capacity of 4, nursery time is unlikely be an issue, except maybe formal nights. If there are 16-20, nursery time could become more of an issue. While we have never used nursery time in port, I have found it to be relatively uncompetitive. The tough times are typically formal nights and any time during a sea day toward the end of the cruise.

Like I said before, we have spent thousands of dollars in nursery time, as we have no grandparents and cruising is the only time we can have a date night or have some reliable help. Most of my observations are made from off peak cruising, but even some off peak cruises have had 25-40 babies on board. Peak cruising can be insane in regards to infant numbers, and nursery time can be hard to come by.

The key is boarding day to get your "must have" time. Then on day 3 when they open up bookings completely to be the first in line that AM so you can lock down any further time.

Another thing, which has luckily never been an issue for us as both of our kids have had experience in daycare/preschool, is that if you expect your child to just go in without issue and they have never done daycare/preschool before, then that may not go well. We have had many friends that we have sold on trying out a cruise with a baby as we do it all the time, who have come back saying it was a disaster because their child would not tolerate the nursery. However, unlike the kids program in which a child has to go in willingly and not crying, a child can go into the nursery crying, however, if they are unconsolable they will call you to come get your infant. Typically they will tolerate up to 15-20 minutes of crying before they call you. In all my cruising, I have only been called once to get our child, but our kids travel extensively and know the routine. I have heard many horror stories from my friends in which their child was kicked out. I suggest if they are not used to a daycare setting, giving them a trial run in a local daycare to get them used to it.

I also recommend keeping your infant away from crowded places about a week prior to your cruise. If your baby has a cold or any signs of illness at all you will be denied from the nursey. This happened to us in 2014 and we were only able to use the nursery the last 2 days of the cruise due to illness. It is imperative that your infant stays well.

Hope this helps. Have a great cruise.

Rimmit, thank you very much for your very detailed reply to my questions. I am a little nervous that the nursery will be very hard as we are traveling in the end of the summer. But I plan to be there as soon as they open so that I can at least get the time for my jetski excursion. Otherwise we have to cancel because there are not options for a jetski and a ten month old :D!!

Thanks again for the tips!!!!

We used the nursery on the Allure in May, and had a different experience. My 9 month old grandson doesn't cry much and goes to daycare, so he's comfortable with strange people around him. On day two, an hour or two after he was dropped off they called his folks and asked them to come pick him up, as he would not stop crying and was bothering the other babies. Turns out a tooth was coming out, That changed their plans for the rest of the cruise.

My other two year old grandson used it twice with no issues, a couple of hours each time, during the day.

Rimmit, thank you very much for your very detailed reply to my questions. I am a little nervous that the nursery will be very hard as we are traveling in the end of the summer. But I plan to be there as soon as they open so that I can at least get the time for my jetski excursion. Otherwise we have to cancel because there are not options for a jetski and a ten month old :D!!

 

Thanks again for the tips!!!!

No problem. If you are there right when they open you have a 99.9% chance of getting whatever you want within your ten hour booking limit, so do not fret that. I have seen very few parents attempt to be there right when they open like my wife and I, so you will be fine, and if they say they are only open for registration, push them to let you book and they almost always will let you.

I have found it is better to book the sea days and formal nights that are late in the cruise with the initial hours they give you as those are the most competitive, but in your case the excursion is obviously the priority. Most parents are tentative to use it the first couple days, so you can often times just book those hours on the day of, without using your initial allotment.

While we have used the nursery a ton since they started having them in 2011. we are more than excited come March 2018 when our youngest will age out.

Rimmit I hope you come back!!!! So I just got a copy of the schedule on the Grandeur and as you said in one of your earlier reviews, the hours of operation are totally weird and the Nursery seems to be closed the whole time we are in the port. It does have a notation that if you have an excursion to notify Nursery staff 24 hours in advance and they will open up. I'm wondering if they will open for any excursion or only excursions booked through Royal Caribbean?

If I have to cancel my private excursion I guess I will just do it to get the babysitting because there is not much to do with a ten month old. I just wanted to take my cousin jetskiing.....it would be about 2.5 hours including travel time.

Rimmit I hope you come back!!!! So I just got a copy of the schedule on the Grandeur and as you said in one of your earlier reviews, the hours of operation are totally weird and the Nursery seems to be closed the whole time we are in the port. It does have a notation that if you have an excursion to notify Nursery staff 24 hours in advance and they will open up. I'm wondering if they will open for any excursion or only excursions booked through Royal Caribbean?

 

If I have to cancel my private excursion I guess I will just do it to get the babysitting because there is not much to do with a ten month old. I just wanted to take my cousin jetskiing.....it would be about 2.5 hours including travel time.

I am betting they would open for a non RCI excursion. With as much as we have used the nursery, I have minimal experience using it while in a port. If they had to open up at 7:30, I could see them being a little begrudging about opening up during the day for a non RCI excursion. I would be shocked if they didnt open up as I doubt they would even check in all honesty, and if it doesnt say RCI excursions only, then they cant argue against that it should be RCI only. If they are closed dueing port days, there is likely a low number of infants on the cruise, as I find it hard to believe RCI would pass up an opportunity to make money.

I hope for your case they do open up. Another option is in cabin babysitting which I have never used. It is 19/hr and never guaranteed. The ship has a pool of workers who want to earn extra in their off duty hours and they contribute to the babysitting pool. You go to guest relations when you board the ship and ask them about it. There are two at all times for safety reasons and they only stay in your cabin. Please feel free to ask any other questions.

Thanks Rimmit you are the best. We apparently don't qualify for in room babysitting because the baby must be one year. I get that......I'm sure its a liability issue.

I am sure this will be a major learning experience, and I'm just going to hope for the best. My excursion is 2:45 the day we arrive at 1 and I am able to switch it to 5:45 as well. If will still be light during that time of the year, so if I have to wait until 5, I will wait until 5 and make sure to email the tour company once on the ship.