Baby Sitter Care

[elcuchio24]

We were looking for another cruise this fall and will have a 2 year old, who is too young for the kids club obviously. I know they have a for-fee sitter service--can anyone who has used it weigh in on the experience? Thanks!

[spookwife]

do you mean the Nursery, or the in cabin sitting?

 

not every ship has a nursery.

 

as for in cabin sitting: that's solely dependent on whether or not there will be 2 crew members who volunteer to do so when you request it.

 

most people have reported being happy with either option when they used it.

[elcuchio24]

do you mean the Nursery, or the in cabin sitting?

 

not every ship has a nursery.

 

as for in cabin sitting: that's solely dependent on whether or not there will be 2 crew members who volunteer to do so when you request it.

 

most people have reported being happy with either option when they used it.

 

We're looking at the ships with the nursery's in particular. That would be preferable for us.

[tgold]

Nursery is great! I was all set to do in-room sitting but our genie strongly suggested we first try the nursery(our son was 2). It worked out great! We would drop off after we fed the kids in the mdr. They would play with him, give him a snack, put him in his pj’s and then get him to sleep in our stroller! It was amazing! We even used it during the day to see cats. I would highly recommend bringing a Maclaren. They are small and recline.

[elcuchio24]

Nursery is great! I was all set to do in-room sitting but our genie strongly suggested we first try the nursery(our son was 2). It worked out great! We would drop off after we fed the kids in the mdr. They would play with him, give him a snack, put him in his pj’s and then get him to sleep in our stroller! It was amazing! We even used it during the day to see cats. I would highly recommend bringing a Maclaren. They are small and recline.

 

Awesome, thanks for the advice! Do you recall the cost? We are going to do it either way just curious. Also, did you have to let them know ahead of time when you were dropping your son off or did you just show up.

[tgold]

I think it is $6/hr. If I remember correctly, we went on the first day and booked out the first 3 or 4 nights. Then once we were comfortable, we booked the rest. Not sure if you have a boy or girl, but I would also recommend bringing dressy clothes for formal night for them. We have the best photos of my son in the white tux jacket and black pants. It was so much fun!

[rimmit]

do you mean the Nursery, or the in cabin sitting?

 

not every ship has a nursery.

 

as for in cabin sitting: that's solely dependent on whether or not there will be 2 crew members who volunteer to do so when you request it.

 

most people have reported being happy with either option when they used it.

 

I believe the only two ships without a nursery are the Explorer and Jewel which for some reason did not get one when they came out of dry dock.

 

The nursery is awesome, albeit not free like the kids club. $6 and hour during the day and $8 an hour at night. Both of my kids grew up in the nursery and loved it, and have just finally phased into Adventure Ocean. Thank god. I have spent thousands on the nursery. We loved the nursery and highly recommend it.

 

Just be sure to go first thing on embarkation day if there are lots of kids. Most cruises we do don't have many, and there have been times on some cruises where there are only 2-3 kids under the age of 3 to use the nursery and our daughter and son ended up being the only one. They got totally spoiled. However, nursery hours can be more competitive based on the ship and sailing if there are more toddlers and babies. Some nurseries hold 4 on the smaller ships. The larger ships can accomodate 12 or more.

 

Disney's nursery on their cruise ships can accommodate a whopping 26 infants and toddlers. It's quite an operation.

 

Nursery hours also vary significantly by ship. Which ship are you going on?

[elcuchio24]

I think it is $6/hr. If I remember correctly, we went on the first day and booked out the first 3 or 4 nights. Then once we were comfortable, we booked the rest. Not sure if you have a boy or girl, but I would also recommend bringing dressy clothes for formal night for them. We have the best photos of my son in the white tux jacket and black pants. It was so much fun!

 

Jeeeez....what a steal

[elcuchio24]

I believe the only two ships without a nursery are the Explorer and Jewel which for some reason did not get one when they came out of dry dock.

 

The nursery is awesome, albeit not free like the kids club. $6 and hour during the day and $8 an hour at night. Both of my kids grew up in the nursery and loved it, and have just finally phased into Adventure Ocean. Thank god. I have spent thousands on the nursery. We loved the nursery and highly recommend it.

 

Just be sure to go first thing on embarkation day if there are lots of kids. Most cruises we do don't have many, and there have been times on some cruises where there are only 2-3 kids under the age of 3 to use the nursery and our daughter and son ended up being the only one. They got totally spoiled. However, nursery hours can be more competitive based on the ship and sailing if there are more toddlers and babies. Some nurseries hold 4 on the smaller ships. The larger ships can accomodate 12 or more.

 

Disney's nursery on their cruise ships can accommodate a whopping 26 infants and toddlers. It's quite an operation.

 

Nursery hours also vary significantly by ship. Which ship are you going on?

 

Allure, in November. We are certainly going to try to keep sailing during times school is in session as long as our boys are young enough. I think the hourly rate is great. Pretty sure my wife won't want to be away from the 1yo more than a few hours at a time anyway. Thanks for the great info!

[rimmit]

Jeeeez....what a steal

 

Not sure if that's sarcasm, but if you have ever paid for baby sitting on land. It actually is. Especially for reliable care, not in your home, that keeps your kids occupied and happy and includes food. It's quite a bargain, and most parents would agree.

[rimmit]

Allure, in November. We are certainly going to try to keep sailing during times school is in session as long as our boys are young enough. I think the hourly rate is great. Pretty sure my wife won't want to be away from the 1yo more than a few hours at a time anyway. Thanks for the great info!

 

It's so much easier when there are less kids on board. They definitely get more personalized attention, and the crew loves babies and toddlers.

 

Our son has been in school the last two years, but we are gonna try homeschooling this year, so we can cruise and travel more.

 

The Allure will have a ton of nursery space, especially if school is in session, so the nursery time will not be difficult to come by.

 

I will say that the nursery ALWAYS gets busier as the cruise goes on. You are given a number of hours that you can book on the first day, and after that they open up booking completely. Normally 12-20 hours based on the size of nursery and ship. So it's always better to use your initial nursery hours for the later dates on the ship. Daytime during sea days is a real hot time. The other night you absolutely need to book would be formal night. That also fills up the fastest.

 

At the beginning most parents are super excited to bring their baby around the ship, and do things. As the week wears on and parenting fatigue sets in, the hours definitely start to fill up more. Often times, many parents who are to scared to put their snowflake in childcare end up caving by the end of the cruise. Especially if there are sea days at the end. I see the joys on their faces as they hit the hot tub childless.

 

Our nearest grandparents live 13 hours away, so cruises are the only time we have reliable childcare so we can have a date night or get some down time. We love cruising, and I'm sure y'all will too. Have fun!

[elcuchio24]

Not sure if that's sarcasm, but if you have ever paid for baby sitting on land. It actually is. Especially for reliable care, not in your home, that keeps your kids occupied and happy and includes food. It's quite a bargain, and most parents would agree.

 

if you have kids I cant imagine why you would think its sarcasm...we pay $300/each a week in daycare! It IS a steal...

[rimmit]

if you have kids I cant imagine why you would think its sarcasm...we pay $300/each a week in daycare! It IS a steal...

Sorry, wasn’t paying attention to who was posting. Didn’t realize you were posting previously about kids. There are many on this forum who haven’t had kids in 30+ or more years and aren’t as in tune with current babysitting and daycare pricing.

[elcuchio24]

Sorry, wasn’t paying attention to who was posting. Didn’t realize you were posting previously about kids. There are many on this forum who haven’t had kids in 30+ or more years and aren’t as in tune with current babysitting and daycare pricing.

 

Haha, for sure. I am just counting down until we only have ONE in daycare! Thanks for the advice, looking forward to using the service.