Anyone use Royal Babies nursery on Allure?

I've heard good reviews for the nursery on Oasis, but I was wondering if anyone has used it on Allure?

I would like to know too. Anyone use it?

Me too :D

We just got back on Sunday from the Allure. My 21 month old son used the nursery many times and it was great!!

If you have any specific questions, it would be a pleasure to try to answer them!

Natalie

I have a few questions. What is the cost per hour? Do they give you a set amount of hours you can use? Do you suggest as soon as we board we go schedule our times? What did they use to get in touch with you if need be(I have heard they no longer use the connect phones)? How late were they open till? Did your child enjoy it? My daughter will be 27 months when we cruise the Allure and has never been in any type of childcare setting so any information you have would be greatly appreciated. Thank so much! :D

Hi there,

What is the cost per hour? $8 per hour, billed to your SeaPass. The cancellation policy is confusing - on the little card they give you with your hours that you booked on the first day it says you need to cancel 4 hours prior or a 50% fee will be charged, in the "Royal Babies and Tots" flyer it says 2 hours and on the registration form you fill out on the first day it says 1 hour prior....! I had to cancel less than an hour before one night as we had decided to keep my son with us - I called them to notify them and they didn't charge me at all....

Do they give you a set amount of hours you can use? Yes - I believe it's 20 hours per family on the first day. By Day 3, they open up all unused hours. I didn't have problem adding hours all through the cruise.

Do you suggest as soon as we board we go schedule our times?

Yes. That's what I did on the first day. Bring your shows and restaurants reservations so you know when to reserve the nursery.

What did they use to get in touch with you if need be(I have heard they no longer use the connect phones)? I was given a phone (not sure if they call it a Dect phone - it was from Cisco...) You can set it on vibrate if you're at a show so it's silent, worked great for me. They can get in touch with you and you can call them too if you want to check on your little one.

How late were they open till? From 8:00 am on port days (9:00 am on sea days) till midnight.

On the first day, they give you a cute little bag that you use when you bring your child to put change of clothes, diapers, snacks, milk bottle, etc... Very neat! And when you pick the child up, they give you a sheet with all that your child ate, did, played with, what time they went to sleep, when their diaper was changed so you know what happened when you were away....

Natalie :)

Wow! Thanks! This was very helpful.

My little girl will only be 7 months old at the time of our sailing, so I am very nervous about the whole thing. Her grandma is coming along so I think we will use her for the bulk of babysitting time. She is not interested in leaving the ship during port days so the baby will stay with her. We would like to use the nursery for a few dinners.

A few more questions, if you don't mind....

About how big was the nursery? how many cribs?

Did it seem to be crowded? and what was the staff to baby ratio?

Thanks is advance!

-Lisa:)

Hi Lisa,

They had many cribs - I didn't count them but I think they had at least 5 or 6 of them. DS slept in his stroller, he would not have settled easily in a crib other than his so it worked out well. Just tell them to use your stroller, if that's what you want.

The nursery never seemed crowded (I only used it at night). I don't remember what they told me the ratio was but I saw as many as 4 caretakers one time for about 6 kids (but some might have been asleep in the cribs...).

We wished we would have brought Grandma also, for the days to have an extra hand at the pools and stuff, so that will be great for you. But it's nice to know that you can have dinner together with Grandma and the little one will be taken care of at the nursery. To be honest, the staff was great with the kids. My son cried when I dropped him off but was usually settled about 5 minutes after. I made sure to tell them what he liked (Baby Einstein videos) and they put it on for him right away and he was happy. I saw a few little babies and the staff played with them and there was never anyone crying when I walked in (other than my son, that is! ;) )

Wow Natalie!! Awesome information!! Thank you so much! :D

I'm attaching a link to the Royal Babies and Tots Nursery Program that I got on the first day. You can find out all you need to know about the nursery.

http://community.webshots.com/album/579507461yCwlqa

First in line!! Woo hoo thanks again! ;)

Hi Belle,

Thanks for posting those documents and answer all our questions. That was very helpful.

Did you use the nursery the first night? We wanted to go to 150 CP the first night to celebrate Mothers Day and my moms 50th b-day, but it says on the nursery schedule that it is an open house. I'm assuming they are not open to take babies the first night.

-Lisa

Lisa,

No, they were not opened the first night. They were busy registering all the babies for the week and taking down the appointments. I went in the afternoon right after boarding and also passed by at around 8 (on my way to the Adventure Ocean room to show my girls where they would be) and didn't see any babies the first night.... Maybe you can book your dinner for the following night?

There is also a neat little area in the middle of the AO section with mats on the floor and all kinds of toys where you can go with your child to play during the day or night. You can also borrow some Fisher Price toys either for the week or a few days then switch toys - that way you don't have to bring toys with you. I never had time to use either of those services, we were always too busy doing stuff, going to the pool, etc... But I saw many people using it and it was great!

I can not wait to board on May 15. I have a 2 year old and will be using the Nursery. The only thing I don't like is that I have to reserve times ahead of time. I plan on taking her to most of the shows. It is the days at sea that I was hoping for the spur of the moment drop off.

How did you decide on the 1st day of getting onboard what days/hours you wanted? Any suggestions would be helpful.

To be honest I don't think you will have anything to worry about. When I signed my daughter up there were a lot of spaces. We only used it once for my daughter but every time I walked by there to drop my other two older children off I would look in the nursery and there were never more then 2 or 3 children at a time. And I was on a sold out sailing. So I think you will have no problem getting the time you need. When I boarded around 12:30 and went straight to the Nursery because I wanted to for sure get the time I needed and I was the first to sign up my daughter. So there really is no big rush. I honestly wouldn't worry about it. You will get the time you need. :D

I have no idea what times I will need/want...lol My sailing is sold out too, hopefully there won't be too many people using Royal Nursery so I will be able to just drop her off when I want too.

Thanks!

I can not wait to board on May 15. I have a 2 year old and will be using the Nursery. The only thing I don't like is that I have to reserve times ahead of time. I plan on taking her to most of the shows. It is the days at sea that I was hoping for the spur of the moment drop off.

 

How did you decide on the 1st day of getting onboard what days/hours you wanted? Any suggestions would be helpful.

We board the week before you. We have our shows and dinners booked so we are planning to reserve the nursery for those times. I was also thinking about booking an hour each day so that I can have some adult time in the solarium. I think you can cancel and not get charged as long as you cancel an hour before your time slot. I'd recommend booking a few random time slots and as it gets closer to that time you can decide go use it or cancel. Or just take a chance and pop in to see if they have drop off availability.

Are you allowed to get off the ship with a child in the nursery?

Yes you can. The only thing is the phones they give you do not work in port so they will not have any way of contacting you.