Royal Caribbean in room babysitting

[nannybeth]

:confused:Hi, Does anyone know anything about the in-cabin babysitting on Freedom of the Seas? If we have early dining can we get a babysitter that early? Or do we need to wait until later?

 

Also, I've read posts that say they will send two sitters? Is that a safety thing? Have there been "issues" with just one person in the room with the kids?

 

About 5 years ago we cruised on Majesty with one child, had babysitting all set up, were dressed for dinner, when they called and said the sitter was not available. Soooo, I'm a little leary that the sitter will be cancelled again.

 

Can you set up babysitting before getting on the ship, or do you go somewhere as soon as you get on board?

 

Any advice, reassurances you can give me would be great! Thanks

[boulders]

You cannot set up babysitting before you board. You set it up at Guest Services once on board. In room babysitting is available from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

 

I just read another post that said that they are adding a nursery to Freedom of the Seas starting in March.

[nannybeth]

You cannot set up babysitting before you board. You set it up at Guest Services once on board. In room babysitting is available from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

 

I just read another post that said that they are adding a nursery to Freedom of the Seas starting in March.

I saw that...but we are sailing in August, so we are feverishly trying to potty train the little one.

 

Are you sure it's 8am and not 8pm??

 

thanks!

[boulders]

I saw that...but we are sailing in August, so we are feverishly trying to potty train the little one.

 

Are you sure it's 8am and not 8pm??

 

thanks!

 

Yes, I'm sure. We used in room babysitting multiple times on AOS two years ago. Here it is from the horse's mouth.

 

Life Onboard

 

Print This Page

 

 

Q: Are babysitters available onboard?

 

A: Babysitting is offered both in a group setting, and individually in your stateroom. In stateroom babysitting must be reserved through the Guest Relations Desk (Purser's Desk) at least 24 hours in advance.

 

It cannot be reserved prior to the cruise vacation and there is no guarantee that sitters will be available. The service is offered between 8:00 am and 2:00 am when personnel is available. Sitters will be assigned on a first come first served basis

 

Children MUST be at least 1 year old.

 

Approximate Rate: $10.00 per hour for one or two children within the same family or $15.00 per hour for three children within the same family.

 

Times and prices are subject to change without notice. Payment must be made in cash.

[nannybeth]

Yes, I'm sure. We used in room babysitting multiple times on AOS two years ago. Here it is from the horse's mouth.

thank you!!

[rolloman]

More sitters are available after 5pm as this is a shift change time.

[smann]

Just got off the Oasis and we used the in-cabin sitters. We have used this service before, so were surpised by a few changes that have made recently.

 

They are required to have two sitters in the room, you only pay for one, however. The most notable difference for us was the three hour MAXIMUM time for the service. This flustered me at first since we had planned on them being with the sitter while we had dinner,shows,casino, etc. which would be more than three hours. Since we planned on being out past midnight, we just brought the kids up to Adventure Ocean 'til around 10:30 (you pay $6/hr. after 10:00 and they will divide that by half hours) then brought them to our cabin where the sitters then watched them until we returned.

 

We were charged $12/hr., so the price was just slightly higher than what was stated on RCI's website.

 

We were very happy with the service.

[QTMichele]

:confused:Hi, Does anyone know anything about the in-cabin babysitting on Freedom of the Seas? If we have early dining can we get a babysitter that early? Or do we need to wait until later?

 

Also, I've read posts that say they will send two sitters? Is that a safety thing? Have there been "issues" with just one person in the room with the kids?

 

About 5 years ago we cruised on Majesty with one child, had babysitting all set up, were dressed for dinner, when they called and said the sitter was not available. Soooo, I'm a little leary that the sitter will be cancelled again.

 

Can you set up babysitting before getting on the ship, or do you go somewhere as soon as you get on board?

 

Any advice, reassurances you can give me would be great! Thanks

 

I know most/all of your questions have been answered, but I just wanted to chime in about my experience. I loved our babysitters on the Freedom for my 14 month old son. They came in pairs (I assume for your protection and theirs) and were very professional and friendly. The anxiety I had about leaving my baby was quickly settled. I'm sooooo glad I booked them throughout the week! Speaking of booking, go the the service desk once you board and request your times. They will accomodate almost any time/day you request if there are babysitters available (note - on our cruise they could only book 6 days out - I had to go back if I wanted a babysitter on the last day due to a computer booking thing).

 

Feel free to check out my Freedom review (in my signature) - I have some comments on the babysitting in the review and in response to questions from other posters. Good luck to you!!! :)

[nannybeth]

I know most/all of your questions have been answered, but I just wanted to chime in about my experience. I loved our babysitters on the Freedom for my 14 month old son. They came in pairs (I assume for your protection and theirs) and were very professional and friendly. The anxiety I had about leaving my baby was quickly settled. I'm sooooo glad I booked them throughout the week! Speaking of booking, go the the service desk once you board and request your times. They will accomodate almost any time/day you request if there are babysitters available (note - on our cruise they could only book 6 days out - I had to go back if I wanted a babysitter on the last day due to a computer booking thing).

 

Feel free to check out my Freedom review (in my signature) - I have some comments on the babysitting in the review and in response to questions from other posters. Good luck to you!!! :)

Michele, thank you for your post and I look forward to reading your review. Was there a 3 hour maximum time for babysitters like the other person posted, or maybe thats just on Oasis. I'd really like to have them for an entire evening once or twice.

thanks again

 

Nancy

[QTMichele]

Nancy - you're welcome! :) There was not a maximum time that I was told about when booking my reservations. (Maybe that's changed, or maybe it is exclusive to Oasis since they offer the nursery? Not sure.)

 

Let me know if you have other questions and I'll try to answer. :)

[sas80]

We have always used in cabin siutting on RCCL.

Our last cruise was in January. They didnt mention a max time limit to use but I think we only booked for 2 hours every night. 2 sitters came, you only pay for one. This is for accountability purposes. The assumtion is that all liability is reduced (yours and theirs) if there are 2 people in the room. I see it as a very good policy.

 

We will use this service again.

 

We are contemplating it for all day during our Europe cruise. We figure the kids will have a more fun time hanging out on the ship, eating and napping normally, rather than being drug around Europe with us.

 

We are first going to try to get the kids into AO but DS will only be 2 years 10 months and we are not sure if she will be potty trained by then.

 

If she isnt potty trained, and they wont take her because of age we are contemplating all day babysitting thing or dragging them with us.

[CruiserInMD]

Thanks, QT Michele, for all the great info in your cruise review. I have two questions:

 

1. What did the sitters do in your room since your DS was sleeping? I ask because my DS needs darkness and quiet (or his noise machine) when he sleeps...just wondering if the babysitters hang out quietly in the room? We have an interior so it will be tight quarters.

 

2. Was your DS walking by the time of your cruise? Mine will be 19 months on ours, so while he's not walking yet, he will be by then and I'm just wondering if you had a hard time with yours on the ship or taking him out and about if he wanted to be 'mobile'.

 

Thanks again!

[QTMichele]

Thanks, QT Michele, for all the great info in your cruise review. I have two questions:

 

1. What did the sitters do in your room since your DS was sleeping? I ask because my DS needs darkness and quiet (or his noise machine) when he sleeps...just wondering if the babysitters hang out quietly in the room? We have an interior so it will be tight quarters.

 

2. Was your DS walking by the time of your cruise? Mine will be 19 months on ours, so while he's not walking yet, he will be by then and I'm just wondering if you had a hard time with yours on the ship or taking him out and about if he wanted to be 'mobile'.

 

Thanks again!

 

You're so welcome!!! Aren't these boards great?! I would have been so lost without all the awesome advice I've gotten here over the years. :)

 

My sitters just sat on the sofas and watched TV while my son slept. We had adjoining promenade cabins so the noise wasn't an issue. Hopefully by the time you go on your cruise your DS won't be as sensitive to noise and light. Is there any way you can gradually add some background noise and light - maybe AFTER he's sleeping? Not only will this help you when you're in your stateroom, but it would be more pleasant for the sitters. Just a thought, and not a judgement! I know how difficult MY son is with his sleeping... soooo different than my girls!

 

My son was not walking; however, he wanted to get out and play/crawl/explore every chance we gave him. The Freedom is such a family friendly ship that I know you'll find places for your son to let off steam. :) You may consider buying one of those "wrist leashes" (that sounds terrible! but the "leash" straps on to a child's wrist so they can feel independent without going too far away from mom and dad). Just a thought... I've never used one, but it may take away some anxiety if you're feeling stressed about it now.

 

You're going to have a great cruise!!! Vacations with babies aren't like vacationing without them, but cruising with kids is certainly doable! Wish I was on one right now. :D

[nannybeth]

You're so welcome!!! Aren't these boards great?! I would have been so lost without all the awesome advice I've gotten here over the years. :)

 

My sitters just sat on the sofas and watched TV while my son slept. We had adjoining promenade cabins so the noise wasn't an issue. Hopefully by the time you go on your cruise your DS won't be as sensitive to noise and light. Is there any way you can gradually add some background noise and light - maybe AFTER he's sleeping? Not only will this help you when you're in your stateroom, but it would be more pleasant for the sitters. Just a thought, and not a judgement! I know how difficult MY son is with his sleeping... soooo different than my girls!

 

My son was not walking; however, he wanted to get out and play/crawl/explore every chance we gave him. The Freedom is such a family friendly ship that I know you'll find places for your son to let off steam. :) You may consider buying one of those "wrist leashes" (that sounds terrible! but the "leash" straps on to a child's wrist so they can feel independent without going too far away from mom and dad). Just a thought... I've never used one, but it may take away some anxiety if you're feeling stressed about it now.

 

You're going to have a great cruise!!! Vacations with babies aren't like vacationing without them, but cruising with kids is certainly doable! Wish I was on one right now. :D

we went on a cruise when my son was about 16 months old. I did use a wrist leash with him...it's one thing for him to run in a mall...but it's another thing to go overboard! i felt a lot safer using it.

[CruiserInMD]

Thanks again for the answers, QT Michele. A lot can change in 6 months, so we'll see how he is by then :)

[renae83]

we just got home from Liberty and we were unable to get a sitter at all!! we were the first ones to request a sitter at the begining of our cruise. We were later told that they had put a freeze an baby sitting as they were not allowing overtime for the employees.

[actuary cruiser]

I hope this is not a fleet wide issue! Can anyone else chime in on their recent experience? We are sailing in less than two weeks on the Explorer and are counting on using the babysitting for at least a night or two.

[Seraphine]

I hope this is not a fleet wide issue! Can anyone else chime in on their recent experience? We are sailing in less than two weeks on the Explorer and are counting on using the babysitting for at least a night or two.

 

 

I too am interested in this as I'm on the sailing after Actuary Cruiser's. This would seriously upset me, as I would NOT have booked with RCI had I known there was no sitting available. I'm not trying to get "rid" of my children, but I do think I deserve a few hours off a few times during my holiday!

[CruiserInMD]

I too am interested in this as I'm on the sailing after Actuary Cruiser's. This would seriously upset me, as I would NOT have booked with RCI had I known there was no sitting available. I'm not trying to get "rid" of my children, but I do think I deserve a few hours off a few times during my holiday!

 

Ditto!! This is disappointing news. I hope others have found they were able to use it. Guess I'll have to call or something before mine.

[renae83]

I called up to the day before we lest and were told it was on a first come first serve basis which is why the first thinf we did when we got on the ship was reserve the sitter. they took the reservation and called me Monday to tell me they were not able to find a sitter for the 1.5 hrs I requested this was ok by me as we were just going to do the flow rider so my grandmother was able to sit with my son, they told me they would call each day I had requested by 10am to let me know if we would have a sitter. On Tuesday morning they called and told us they were unable to get a sitter for the REST of the cruise. I was latter told by AO staff about the freeze and then someone from guest services confirmed. I called RCCL when we got home and all they said was sorry.

 

I would not have booked with RCCl if I would hav e known this. We are planing on bringing a babysitter with us next October to ensure a few free hours without the children mostly when they will be sleeping!

 

I hope that all of you have a better experiance with this service.

[Seraphine]

Renae, I'm so sorry this happened to you!

 

As a SAHM who also works part time, and has a husband who travels for work most of the time, I cherish those precious few hours when I know my kids are in good hands and I can relax and be a grown-up for a few hours. On Carnival, we were thrilled with the babysitting services, and only expected as good or better from RCI. I am livid at the thought of being told that there are no services available. I've already turned down several cruiselines because there was nothing available for children under 3... I never thought I'd have to add RCI to the reject pile.

 

I've asked my TA to please contact RCI and ask about this, and stress my irritation at the prospect (like they will care, but I want my opinion written down somewhere). I'll let you know if she finds anything out.

[Seraphine]

I called up to the day before we lest and were told it was on a first come first serve basis which is why the first thinf we did when we got on the ship was reserve the sitter. they took the reservation and called me Monday to tell me they were not able to find a sitter for the 1.5 hrs I requested this was ok by me as we were just going to do the flow rider so my grandmother was able to sit with my son, they told me they would call each day I had requested by 10am to let me know if we would have a sitter. On Tuesday morning they called and told us they were unable to get a sitter for the REST of the cruise. I was latter told by AO staff about the freeze and then someone from guest services confirmed. I called RCCL when we got home and all they said was sorry.

 

I would not have booked with RCCl if I would hav e known this. We are planing on bringing a babysitter with us next October to ensure a few free hours without the children mostly when they will be sleeping!

 

I hope that all of you have a better experiance with this service.

 

Renae, do you mind if I start a thread about this on the main RCI board, quoting your post? There doesn't seem to be any news over there on this, and frankly, I think it's something that people need to know about. Do you mind at all?

[renae83]

Please keep me updated I am curious to see if she gets a diffrent answer. They did not want to tell me anything in the begining they just said they would try to get a sitter and then the rest followed I am still very irritated by this. I hope you do not have to add them to your list. I hope everyone else has a better experiance!

[renae83]

I do not mind at all i agree with you everyone needs to know what is going on!

[Gatrcruzer]

Renae,

I am so sorry to hear about your experience! Had a very similar experience on Celebrity (Century) last December. The whole reason I had booked was because of the in-room babysitting, and when we boarded were told they had discontinued this service. Nice start to our cruise! We didn't get much help onboard, and after writing a letter to Celebrity received a note that basically said, rather unenthusiastically, "Sorry" and gave us vouchers for 10% of the cost of our cruise to use toward a future purchase. Vouchers were thrown away, will not be sailing with them again. At any rate, a warning to all parents who book cruises based on this expectation, know that they can discontinue the in room babysitting service at any time, and this has been done on both Celebrity and RCI, so make sure to have a backup plan.