Baby on Board - ROYAL Princess

[adamaugust28]

Baby on Board - ROYAL Princess

Hello All - Couple of questions; will be on the end Feb royal with our 11 month old son....

 

1.) is there a baby / kids pool on the ship?

 

2.) Any rules with diapers in the pools? swim diapers? No diapers?

 

3.) Any other tips/tricks - do's/dont's? We are platinum princess cruisers

 

Thanks

Adam

[flhokie]

Baby on Board - ROYAL Princess

Hello All - Couple of questions; will be on the end Feb royal with our 11 month old son....

 

1.) is there a baby / kids pool on the ship?

 

2.) Any rules with diapers in the pools? swim diapers? No diapers?

 

3.) Any other tips/tricks - do's/dont's? We are platinum princess cruisers

 

Thanks

Adam

 

I'm not sure about number 1. As far as 2 goes, non-potty trained children are not permitted in pools on cruise ships (even with swim diapers). The only exception is if the do in fact have a separate baby pool/splash area. They are very strict about this for safety reasons. Very few ships have these types of pools so many people suggest taking a small inflatable tub for little ones to splash in.

 

As for tips, you will find a lot of those throughout this board. A few common ones are....

 

Make sure to take more diapers & wipes than you think you will need as it is not likely they will be sold onboard.

 

Take all children's medications you could possibly need (even if you've never needed them before) because they will not have those onboard either.

 

Make sure to have lots of sunblock for baby (I know many pediatricians recommend specific sunblock when very young and selections onboard are limited) and hats.

 

Take sheets for the pack n play since they put regular bed sheets on them.

 

Take a few familiar toys, blankies, etc.

 

Take extra bottles, a small dish soap & bottle brush to clean any bottles in the sink.

 

Take some familiar foods/snacks for baby in case he doesn't like the foods or gets hungry at times you are not near a food location (as a reminder, in most ports, by law, only pre packaged foods are allowed to be taken off the ship).

 

Be flexible (prepared to leave the dining room if necessary, eat at Horizon Court if necessary, change plans at a moments notice)!

 

Cruising with little ones is very different than just adults, but it is still a great vacation!

 

Hope you all have a great cruise!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

It doesn't appear that there is splash area on Royal and tots can't use the pool if they are in diapers at all.

 

Bring your comfortable running shoes! You will be very busy with a child this age. I traveled with my then 13 month old and all I did was climb stairs and chase after him for the entire trip. He loved it because it was a giant playground for him. I was exhausted.

 

Bring a laptop for his favorite DVD's because they will be a life saver. Bring some familiar toys and some new ones to entertain your child. Meal times may be difficult simply because newly walking kids want to move and don't enjoy sitting.

 

Bring an umbrella stroller- it takes too long to get from point A to point B with a toddler and they try to push the elevator buttons etc. When we prepared to leave the cabin, I'd cheerfully say "Get in your chariot" and he would climb in and I would buckle him in- he'd be excited about this adventure and I would transfer him to the high chair at the other end. After he finished breakfast, I would allow him to explore empty lounges and that sort of thing.

 

Would I do it again with a 1 year old? NO but it can be done. As for my son- he had a great time!

Edited January 10, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[kitkat343]

I'm not familiar with the Royal, as I have only sailed the Coral Princess with my (then) 24 month old son. We really loved the fact that Princess allows children under three to visit the KidZone under adult supervision. We traveled when school wasn't in session, so there were only 11 children on our cruise. The previous cruise, which was over New Years, had 150 children. The difference meant that the 4 caregivers who staffed the Kidzone when there are only 9 kids had the time and energy to try to help a 2 year old choose activities he was interested in. When my son wanted to paint, they brought him paint. If he wanted to climb around in the padded mini gym, they were able to let us in to the toddler room. You may want to call Princess to ask about the number of children aboard (some previous cruise critic members have reported that they were able to get these numbers from some lines) so you have an idea as to whether the kids clubs will be able to be less structured (they have more flexibility when there are fewer kids) or more structured (they encourage all of the kids to do the same activities when there are hundreds of kids onboard). The KidZone is probably substantially larger and nicer on the Royal than the Coral, and my son loved the facilities at the Coral Kid Zone. They had a lot of really nice developmental crafts, so if your child can paint he or she might really love it. Also, there was a tiny area behind the Coral KidZone with a tiny splash pool (which was plenty big enough for my son!) a slide and several trikes that was through a door at the end of passenger cabins on the port size of deck 12. I'm not sure if we were technically allowed there while the Kidzone was closed (I didn't want to ask) but my son really liked playing there and I snuck in there and no one ever said anything. You would need to check the pools on the Royal, but the main one under the MUTS on Coral had a large section with only 2- 3 inches of water you could walk in. Since that didn't go anywhere near my son's diaper, one day he wanted to walk in it, and we both took off our shoes and walked in it. Both of us were fully clothed, and the water was only up to my son's shins, and no one seemed to have a problem with this.

 

We had some difficulty with dining in the main dining rooms for breakfast and lunch. We were unable to communicate that we wanted them to bring us food as quickly as possible to whomever was at the table since they are used to serving everyone together. When we went to breakfast with my husband and son, and my husband went to watch my son nearby, and I asked them to please bring me my food as soon as possible. They cooked it, plated it and waited until my husband returned to bring me my food. By the time he came back (he wanted to give me time to eat), my breakfast was cold and I was unable to eat since it was my turn to chase after my son. The dining staff works very hard, but they just didn't understand my request since they are used to serving a table all at once. After a few frustrating meals, we mostly gave up and successfully utilized either the buffet or room service. We had fixed dining, and were able to explain to those waiters to please bring whatever food they had in any order since our son had a limited amount of time he could wait and he might steal our food anyway (they also happily brought Grandma a second lobster tail when my son stole her first).

Edited January 10, 2014 by kitkat343

[Kerry's Girls]

As others have stated, there will be no pool time for your child on board. You can bring a small blow up pool for splash time/bathing, and do water time in port. So the only swim diapers you need are for beach/resort time in port. That said, my girls did their first Princess cruise at 13 months (picture below) and we ended up going twice a year on Princess for a few years because we had such a good time. It's great to be able to use the kids club - they had plenty of toys my girls were interested in. We ate every meal in the dining room - much easier for us than dealing with the buffet. All the other tips you have received are great. Bring more than enough diapers (you do NOT want to run out) and a thermometer, motrin, etc. The doctors on board are wonderful and equipped for kids, but you want to be able to avoid that expense if possible.

 

The splash pools outside the kids areas are only for potty-trained kids. I wouldn't want to be the cause of the pool being closed for everyone else.

 

All the best,

Mia

[chartl]

Following this post, just booked royal princess for 03/02/2014 our Dd will be 8 months.