Question about in-cabin babysitting and baby monitor use

[hopesicle]

My husband and I are past cruisers and we're traveling with my parents on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas departing 4/25/10. I've read as many posts as I've found about cruising with a baby to get tips, but my parents have concerns about using in-cabin babysitters. It's just a little disconcerting to think of a stranger with your infant; even if she IS asleep she's not old enough to communicate if anything goes wrong or anything. I've come across a few reviews concerning this but if anyone can give us some more insight about experiences using this service it would be most appreciated! Our baby is 14 months old. We also want to know if anyone has experience using a baby monitor on board; my parents are 2 rooms down from us and we were wondering if the monitor would reach. If you have any advice for cruising with an infant aside from comments about the babysitting service we'd love that as well. Many thanks!

 

PS-We definitely will be respectful of other cruisers and while she's well-behaved, we won't allow any fussing or crying in the dining room or anything and are prepared to take her out if needed. Just wanted to throw that in!

[cb at sea]

I'm not sure anyone has had problems with the in-cabin babysitting....I wouldn't hesitate to use it....if they need you, they WILL find you!

No sure if the moniters will go 2 cabins away....all that metal...seems to get in the way of "transmissions"...

Just tell the babysitter where you'll be....it's not like you'll be miles away or anything!

Or, put the baby in with the grandparents while you go out....

[kitty9]

Do you realize that anyone could get into that baby's cabin and do whatever? Anyone with a master key can enter that cabin, and do you want to take that chance? I do not understand why any parent would ever even think of keeping a child alone in a ship's cabin, even if someone is "only" a couple doors away. It's not like you're at home and the baby is upstairs. My word. And no, a baby monitor would not be reliable through the steel superstructure of the ship. You're going through steel and not wood and wallboard like you have at home. I was on a ship when parents of a 16 month old kept the child in the cabin and went off on their own to the casino. A room steward heard screaming, opened the cabin door and found the child totally alone--scared to death. The parents received a very stern lecture from the ship's captain. Sorry, but no child should ever be left alone in a ship's cabin unless you have a connecting cabin and leave the connecting door open.

[hopesicle]

Thanks CB. The question about the baby monitor was posed with the thought that we would be visiting in my parents' room after she went to sleep. Obviously if the monitor won't work through the steel, that's not an option and I didn't know whether it would work, hence the question.

In-cabin babysitting is a paid service provided by the cruiseline. The reviews I have found so far of parents who have used the service have been quite positive. 2 sitters are always sent on RCL (the cruise line pays one, you pay the other) and many people take advantage of this on a night or two where there is something special going on.

The Cruise Critic message boards are an a place to exchange advice and tips. I thought the heading "Ask a Cruise Question" would be an appropriate place to ask a question that I had about a cruise since I have never cruised with an infant.

To be clear, my question isn't "should I take my baby with me on a cruise?" or "can you tell me how much of a better person you are than me and give me your opinions on my decisions."

My question was posed to those who have availed themselves of the in-cabin babysitting or know anyone who has. Sorry for any confusion

[boulders]

Welcome to cruisecritic. :)

 

In the future, you may wish to post questions about cruising with children on the Family Cruising board. :p

 

I have used in cabin babysitting on two of RCCL's ships and was quite pleased.

[Hokiefan01]

hopesicle, I understand your frustration in the question you posed. It seems that some people seemed to skip the part of you getting a in-cabin babysitter. Now I cannot answer that question as never used one or known anyone that I have cruised with to use one. But as for the baby monitor, you might be surprised that it will work. I know the portable walkie talkies work on ships so two doors away they may work. So I would at least try it, but if someone with experience has used them would be good to know. Another thing you might consider is to get a connecting room to your parents. It is just like a hotel with a inside connecting door. Normally there is no extra charge for that access, you will just need to book the rooms with that option. There are a few on each level including balconies.

[kitty9]

Hokie, the OP stated she was concerned with leaving her child with the in cabin sitting service, but then asked about leaving that same child alone in a cabin, two doors away. Does that not seem a little curious to you? That's why I probably responded the way I did. To be concerned with safety with a babysitter and then implying that the baby would be left alone in a cabin is a bit of a dichotomy, imho I did give the option of the connecting cabins, which would be the best solution. And, fyi to the OP, the babysitting services are very well used by thousands of parents and have been well received by my family members.

[mmsmithcs]

To clarify, as she stated we are thinking of leaving the baby in the room while she is asleep in the evening while we are two doors down, and as anyone with sense would assume, that is IF we get a monitorable system set up...which is the point of this post. We are not asking for opinions about whether it is smarter to pay 5 times the amount of money to bring her with us or go the cheap easy route of leaving her at home with someone.

 

Monitors are also often visual Kitty9, please think before you type, I think Solomon had something to say about that. Also monitors often do quite well through cabins in a ship as confirmed by several other cruisers, so unless you have already tried.....

 

We are talking evenings after she is asleep since we don't have separate rooms from her and won't be going to bed at 8:30. Babysitters would keep her awake so are out of the question. We normally play games with the in-laws until late in the evening so are looking at options.

 

Unfortunately, even though we reserved our rooms months ahead of time the adjoining rooms were all taken. Naturally that was our first choice, but not an option, though we will be asking about availability at port.

 

Curious? What are you saying? If you have something to say that is accusatory then say it out loud so we can have your already inappropriate post removed also.

 

Anyone else with relevant suggestions please respond to this thread which I will of course be checking regularly. My wife found the self-righteous so infuriating that she delegated this task to me. We are looking for productive suggestions and comments. Not unproductive useless drivel.

 

Hokiefan01, do you know if any walkie talkies have a monitor type option?

 

Boulders, thank you for the suggestion, I have now posted this on the other board. Also thank you for your sharing of your previous experience with the babysitting, that makes us feel much better since we have been leary of the idea of people we don't know watching her.

 

Thanks again everyone,

Mark

[luvs2travl]

Mark,

 

I completely understand your frustration. Welcome to Cruise Critic and be assured that we are a friendly bunch - really.

 

Our family members(cousin and nephew) have used babysitting services on HAL and Princess, but not on RCCL. On both the other cruise lines, the services were extremely satisfactory. On each cruiseline, the young ladies that were designated to sit, came to the cabin and introduced themselves beforehand to meet the parents and make inquiries as to where they would be on board, and when they expected to return. The parents felt very much at ease and had a relaxing evening. In both cases, the little ones were sound asleep when the parents returned. On one occasion, one sitter was reading; on another occasion, the young lady was doing some needlework.

 

It was a very easy situation all around. Now when we cruise, the kids are old enough for the Kid's Clubs which are generally open until around 9:00PM.

 

Walkie-talkies work just fine on board ship, and since baby monitors work just as a walkie-talkie does, I don't know why they woudn't be just fine to use.

 

No one is going to be going in & out of your room unless it is the cabin steward. If you hang your "DO NOT DISTURB" tag on the door, even he will not enter. I forgot to take ours off once - we left to go on shore - and came back to the room not being touched! My fault entirely, and I never forgot to take it off again! :o Your room locks are electronically monitored and there is an on-board record every time anyone's card key is used - yours or the cabin stewards.

 

I know this doesn't answer your question specific to RCCL, but maybe it helps to know that our family did have some positive experiences with sitting services on cruises in the past.

 

Keep smiling and Smooth Sailing! :)