No nursery / No Babysitting?

[RCCL Fan]

We're going on Adventure next year and convinced some friends to join us, but they have a little one who will be 2 years old next year.

 

Too young for AO....  but I told her  the nursery is amazing and the staff is great.   They want one night maybe 2 to go to dinner kid  free.

 

I just realized there is no nursery on Adventure's deck plans.

 

I think RCI did away with in room babysitting right?

 

Are there no options for toddlers on nursery-less ships?

[Merion_Mom]

Options:

 

Take turns staying with the child.

 

Take a nanny with you.

 

Take grandparents with you.

 

Realize that life with children bears little resemblance to your life before children.

[flippergirl]

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3231

This article has the list of ships with a nursery and unfortunately Adventure does not. And you are right they don't offer babysitting so there is no child care for kids under 3. 

Honestly we booked the cruise we did specifically because not having a nursery was a dealbreaker for me. And they don't make it easy to find info about the nurseries. 

[sandebeach]

1 minute ago, flippergirl said:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3231

This article has the list of ships with a nursery and unfortunately Adventure does not. And you are right they don't offer babysitting so there is no child care for kids under 3. 

Honestly we booked the cruise we did specifically because not having a nursery was a dealbreaker for me. And they don't make it easy to find info about the nurseries. 

Yes, we went on the Navigator last month so I could check out ship and physically view the Kid’s Camp area, the Nursery and the Baby Splash Area, to be sure that it was the right ship for our upcoming Family Getaway Cruise. 

[RCCL Fan]

51 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

Options:

 

Take turns staying with the child.

 

Take a nanny with you.

 

Take grandparents with you.

 

Realize that life with children bears little resemblance to your life before children.

 

Merion,

 

I don't think our friends fail to realize "life with children bears little resemblance to life before children"

 

Our friends don't even know this is an issue yet.

 

I talked up the Royal Babies program without realizing it didn't exist on this particular ship.

 

Our friends were visiting our home,  we started talking about our upcoming cruises.  

 

They've never been on any cruise, let alone, know anything about RCI.

 

 We told them about the great services for kids and encouraged them to join us.   

 

They surprised us by saying they would love to join us.

 

I am only now realizing this ship doesn't have a nursery, something I told them it would have for their daughter.

 

My children are older than nursery age, so I hadn't paid attention when we chose this ship for our family.

 

I turned to the "all knowing and amazing cruise critic members" to ask what RCI offers, because information on the RCI website was very vague and you guys are typically more reliable.

 

 I'm sure this family will make smart decisions for them.

 

As an only child who has buried his parents, though, let me say this...

 

Every kid doesn't have grandparents, aunts/uncles, or cousins that can come along on vacation or babysit while parents go alone. 

 

Hiring a Nanny to cruise with a family isn't financially viable for all families either.

 

Not being snarky just explaining why the cruise lines options matter to some families,  it doesn't mean we're not willing to parent, just means we don't all have the same options available to others.  🙂

 

 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by RCCL Fan

[ATC cruiser]

8 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

Merion,

 

I don't think our friends fail to realize "life with children bears little resemblance to life before children"

 

Our friends don't even know this is an issue yet.

 

I talked up the Royal Babies program without realizing it didn't exist on this particular ship.

 

Our friends were visiting our home,  we started talking about our upcoming cruises.  

 

They've never been on any cruise, let alone, know anything about RCI.

 

 We told them about the great services for kids and encouraged them to join us.   

 

They surprised us by saying they would love to join us.

 

I am only now realizing this ship doesn't have a nursery, something I told them it would have for their daughter.

 

My children are older than nursery age, so I hadn't paid attention when we chose this ship for our family.

 

I turned to the "all knowing and amazing cruise critic members" to ask what RCI offers, because information on the RCI website was very vague and you guys are typically more reliable.

 

 I'm sure this family will make smart decisions for them.

 

As an only child and  has buried his parents, though, let me say this...

 

Every kid doesn't have grandparents, aunts, or cousins that can come along on vacation or babysit while parents go alone. 

 

Hiring a Nanny to cruise with a family isn't financially viable for all families either.

 

Not being snarky just explaining why the cruise lines options matter to some families,  it doesn't mean we're not willing to parent, just means we don't all have the same options available to others.  🙂

 

 

 

 

Well said

[WisconsinFan]

Although you did tell them how awesome the services for kids are and they may have been planning on it they still may want to go ahead and do this. You don't know. We never took a vacation without our kids until the last one was in college (and boy, were they surprised when we went with out them 🙂 ). Several trips were with extended family that included grandparents....but grandma wasn't on duty 24/7 and often she had to tell us to go do something and she would watch the little ones.

 

When you let them know this ship doesn't have what you thought it did, maybe volunteer to babysit one night if the couple would like to do something special. If they can't afford a balcony and you have one, maybe allow the little one to go down early in your room and let them have the balcony to enjoy (this is if you can carry the little one to bed without them waking up, not a problem at our house). If they can do a balcony, they may enjoy just having a bit of down time alone watching the world go by from their balcony.

[Merion_Mom]

24 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

Merion,

 

I don't think our friends fail to realize "life with children bears little resemblance to life before children"

 

Our friends don't even know this is an issue yet.

 

I talked up the Royal Babies program without realizing it didn't exist on this particular ship.

 

Our friends were visiting our home,  we started talking about our upcoming cruises.  

 

They've never been on any cruise, let alone, know anything about RCI.

 

 We told them about the great services for kids and encouraged them to join us.   

 

They surprised us by saying they would love to join us.

 

I am only now realizing this ship doesn't have a nursery, something I told them it would have for their daughter.

 

My children are older than nursery age, so I hadn't paid attention when we chose this ship for our family.

 

I turned to the "all knowing and amazing cruise critic members" to ask what RCI offers, because information on the RCI website was very vague and you guys are typically more reliable.

 

 I'm sure this family will make smart decisions for them.

 

As an only child who has buried his parents, though, let me say this...

 

Every kid doesn't have grandparents, aunts/uncles, or cousins that can come along on vacation or babysit while parents go alone. 

 

Hiring a Nanny to cruise with a family isn't financially viable for all families either.

 

Not being snarky just explaining why the cruise lines options matter to some families,  it doesn't mean we're not willing to parent, just means we don't all have the same options available to others.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

You asked for options.  I can think of no other options besides these because, as you have discovered, Adventure does not have a nursery and RC no longer offers in-room babysitting.

 

I am sorry if none of those options works for you.

 

I am not seeing anyone else offering any other options.

[danp2482]

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

Options:

 

Take turns staying with the child.

 

Take a nanny with you.

 

Take grandparents with you.

 

Realize that life with children bears little resemblance to your life before children.

While I'm sure he appreciated your options, no need to add your little tidbit about "life with children vs life without" That's not advice or options. It almost sounded like you were trying to lecture or scold him...

[Merion_Mom]

5 minutes ago, danp2482 said:

While I'm sure he appreciated your options, no need to add your little tidbit about "life with children vs life without" That's not advice or options. It almost sounded like you were trying to lecture or scold him...

 

It means that you make accommodations.  As the parent of older children, the OP can explain that to his friends.  There are no sitting options on the Adventure.  Period.  One has to find some other way to handle children.

 

Leave them home.

 

Take them but realize that they will be with you 24/7.

 

Trade off watching each other's kids so that it's 22/7.

 

Can YOU think of any other suggestions?

[Iamcruzin]

The only choices I see are:

1. If possible change your itinerary and ship to one that has a nursery.
2. Have the friends take a rain check for another time so you can plan better
3. Suck it up and forgo the 2 nights without kids at dinner.

Having raised children myself It was 10 yrs after our honeymoon cruise that we planned a short cruise with our then 5 and 8 yr old. I give couples a lot of credit for taking infants and toddlers on a cruise. They can be a lot of work with all of the equipment and special food they require just to visit Grandma and Grandpa. I don't regret taking a leave of absence from cruising until my kids were old enough to enjoy it as well. Had I done it sooner I would have regretted it. Instead we spent time in other ways that we all could enjoy.  Lucky for me that my kids preferred cruising over Disney.

 

Merion mom, just so it's in writing and I will be able to look back on it, If we are ever blessed with grandchildren we have no intention of being a babysitters for infants or toddlers on a cruise ship even if our kids paid our way. We will be more than happy to care for them at home while the parents enjoy themselves. Cruising is our sanctuary and our time. We refuse to be limited to actives because we are the babysitters.  I hope in the future if I post a question similar to this that you will  remind me.

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[Ashland]

We have solved this a few times...When the kids and grandkids cruise with us we opt to cruise on an RCI ship that has the nursery and AO.

[crusinthrough]

2 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

You asked for options.  I can think of no other options besides these because, as you have discovered, Adventure does not have a nursery and RC no longer offers in-room babysitting.

 

I am sorry if none of those options works for you.

 

I am not seeing anyone else offering any other options.

In addition to offering some options, you provided a snarky statement that did not add any value or option. 

[danp2482]

44 minutes ago, crusinthrough said:

In addition to offering some options, you provided a snarky statement that did not add any value or option. 

This...

[brillohead]

Take me with you, and I'll babysit the kid!  

I'm an RN, trained in CPR, and successfully raised my own child to adulthood.  At your service!

[cindivan]

We never cruised with very young kids (6ish and younger). But mainly because it wasn’t financially feasible. As our now 22, 21, and 18yo boys got older we have been blessed to have a lot of fun family times traveling together.   I thought for a long time it was good/lucky/smart that we didn’t travel as much when they were younger. 

 

But then we took a cruise with my niece and her family who had a baby and toddler.  I think the ship had childcare for that age, but they had just made the decision to enjoy the days and retire early together at night. It really opened my eyes. There are a lot of threads debating taking young kids on cruises. And certainly some people who have very strong/outspoken opinions.   Childcare options don’t have to be the decision factor on a vacation.   It’s still awesome to enjoy family without cooking, cleaning, shopping for food etc.   I learned from my niece (and other threads) it’s all about expectations and agreeing as a family what days and nights will look like. 

 

Good luck in your decision.  Sounds like you have great friends who value your friendship and I’m sure you will come to a decision that works. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Don'tNeedAName]

@RCCL Fan, I don't have any specific better answers than what has been discussed above, but we just got off of Adventure on Saturday, after an 8 night cruise with our two sons, ages 3.5 and 1.5.  (I put together a short review here, if so inclined).

 

I guess I thought it may be helpful to offer our experience that (other than the first night which took an exceptionally long time) the MDR staff were so attentive to our kids that it really was an easy experience each night.  About half the nights we did end up breaking out a tablet to let them sit in the windowsill next to our table and watch a show, but even then... they were mostly quiet, and dinner was enjoyable.  It wasn't perfect--one night our youngest did knock over a glass of red wine; luckily the wife was at least wearing an orange dress... not too noticeable!

 

 

Two years prior, when it was just our oldest son at 1.5 at the time, we were on Anthem for 5 nights.  We had planned to bring him to the nursery during dinner for two nights, and booked times as soon as we got on board.  However, the experience in the MDR was so good night 1, we went ahead and canceled the nursery to bring him with us to all dinners.

 

Obviously, you're a parent, so I don't need to tell you every child will be a different scenario, but hopefully my rambling can give a little something else for your friends to consider.  Hope you all enjoy whatever you/they end up choosing!

 

[Don'tNeedAName]

4 hours ago, brillohead said:

Take me with you, and I'll babysit the kid!  

I'm an RN, trained in CPR, and successfully raised my own child to adulthood.  At your service!

 

[Merion_Mom]

6 hours ago, crusinthrough said:

In addition to offering some options, you provided a snarky statement that did not add any value or option. 

 

You "hear" snark.

 

The fact is, I am direct.  Not everyone likes direct.  Your loss.

[Merion_Mom]

7 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

The only choices I see are:

1. If possible change your itinerary and ship to one that has a nursery.
2. Have the friends take a rain check for another time so you can plan better
3. Suck it up and forgo the 2 nights without kids at dinner.

Having raised children myself It was 10 yrs after our honeymoon cruise that we planned a short cruise with our then 5 and 8 yr old. I give couples a lot of credit for taking infants and toddlers on a cruise. They can be a lot of work with all of the equipment and special food they require just to visit Grandma and Grandpa. I don't regret taking a leave of absence from cruising until my kids were old enough to enjoy it as well. Had I done it sooner I would have regretted it. Instead we spent time in other ways that we all could enjoy.  Lucky for me that my kids preferred cruising over Disney.

 

Merion mom, just so it's in writing and I will be able to look back on it, If we are ever blessed with grandchildren we have no intention of being a babysitters for infants or toddlers on a cruise ship even if our kids paid our way. We will be more than happy to care for them at home while the parents enjoy themselves. Cruising is our sanctuary and our time. We refuse to be limited to actives because we are the babysitters.  I hope in the future if I post a question similar to this that you will  remind me.

 

 

 

When my kids were little, we adapted our vacations to what they could handle.  We didn't start cruising, in fact, until they were teenagers.

 

But I'm the wrong one to "support" you in not volunteering to watch your grandkids.

 

I took more than a year away from cruising (and the rest of my personal life) to be with my daughter's family and take care of my new grandson, full  time.  It was pure joy.  I still help out.  🙂 

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

 

When my kids were little, we adapted our vacations to what they could handle.  We didn't start cruising, in fact, until they were teenagers.

 

But I'm the wrong one to "support" you in not volunteering to watch your grandkids.

 

I took more than a year away from cruising (and the rest of my personal life) to be with my daughter's family and take care of my new grandson, full  time.  It was pure joy.  I still help out.  🙂 

And that's what most of us grandparents do...just like our grandparents did for us. It takes a village to raise a child and that special village is family. Truly blessed to have 9 grandchildren and ready and able to help with more as they come along.

[flippergirl]

8 hours ago, Don'tNeedAName said:

@RCCL Fan, I don't have any specific better answers than what has been discussed above, but we just got off of Adventure on Saturday, after an 8 night cruise with our two sons, ages 3.5 and 1.5.  (I put together a short review here, if so inclined).

 

I guess I thought it may be helpful to offer our experience that (other than the first night which took an exceptionally long time) the MDR staff were so attentive to our kids that it really was an easy experience each night.  About half the nights we did end up breaking out a tablet to let them sit in the windowsill next to our table and watch a show, but even then... they were mostly quiet, and dinner was enjoyable.  It wasn't perfect--one night our youngest did knock over a glass of red wine; luckily the wife was at least wearing an orange dress... not too noticeable!

 

 

Two years prior, when it was just our oldest son at 1.5 at the time, we were on Anthem for 5 nights.  We had planned to bring him to the nursery during dinner for two nights, and booked times as soon as we got on board.  However, the experience in the MDR was so good night 1, we went ahead and canceled the nursery to bring him with us to all dinners.

 

Obviously, you're a parent, so I don't need to tell you every child will be a different scenario, but hopefully my rambling can give a little something else for your friends to consider.  Hope you all enjoy whatever you/they end up choosing!

 

To be fair, my thoughts are based on a land vacation we took with my kids the same age this spring. The younger one slept poorly, we had a few disastrous meals, and by the end I was just exhausted and done. We did have some fun times but my vacation experience would have been vastly improved by a few nice dinners where we could actually relax. After that trip I vowed that I will not take any vacations without so type of childcare in the near future. It wasn't a cruise so not exactly comparable and maybe it makes me a bad parent but that is how I feel. 

[ONECRUISER]

16 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

You asked for options.  I can think of no other options besides these because, as you have discovered, Adventure does not have a nursery and RC no longer offers in-room babysitting.

 

I am sorry if none of those options works for you.

 

I am not seeing anyone else offering any other options.

Agree. Single Parent, 20yrs ago was Dad raising 3 young kids. First Cruise tok grandparents, after that one was just me only Adult. 2-3yr old got to like watching Main Show and Karaoke with dear old Dad. After Dinner would put her in PJ's and watch from side Balcony. Would take the 3 with me everywhere I went. Was nice when oldest got Drivers License Permit. Not that she drove alot at first, just nice when going half way across Country having an Emergency Driver with me. 

Edited August 8, 2019 by ONECRUISER

[cruisenlove]

17 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

We're going on Adventure next year and convinced some friends to join us, but they have a little one who will be 2 years old next year.

 

Too young for AO....  but I told her  the nursery is amazing and the staff is great.   They want one night maybe 2 to go to dinner kid  free.

 

I just realized there is no nursery on Adventure's deck plans.

 

I think RCI did away with in room babysitting right?

 

Are there no options for toddlers on nursery-less ships?

I just came off Adventure last week and my daughter is 15 months, there is no babysitting fleet wide and there is no nursery program on the adventure for children under 3. Unfortunately, there is NOT much for kids under 3 to do on this ship. The only thing they did have (which I found out towards the end of the cruise) was family time for toddlers under 3. they had 2 sessions a day and you basically bring them to AO and they read and play songs for 45 mins. The times never worked for us. It was at 9:15am and 5:15pm. 9:15am my baby was still sleeping and 5:15pm we were getting ready for dinner. I was a little disappointed that this is one of the only ships that didn't have the nursery nor did it have anything to do for little kids. Even the Splash zone for babies in diapers on this ship was VERY small. It held about 5 kids with their parents. I am going on Anthem & Oasis in 2020 and I am looking forward to the nursery on these ships. I hope this helps.

[ONECRUISER]

13 hours ago, brillohead said:

Take me with you, and I'll babysit the kid!  

I'm an RN, trained in CPR, and successfully raised my own child to adulthood.  At your service!

Agree. Now Im a Grandpa to 4 grand daughters. Im one gets free trips watching youngest one/ones while at Amusemeent Parks and on Cruises. Sad that they pay full price at parks when i never ride anything but oh well...