Royal Babies and Tots Nursery Review for Liberty of the Seas

[mymollysue]

My family and I just got home today from a 5 night cruise on the Liberty of the Seas. My DD is 2 years old and we used the nursery on board. For those who are hesitant to leave your children there, let me put you at ease. They were WONDERFUL. My DD loved it there so much that we added hours so she could go back and play. They fed her, changed her diaper, put her in pajamas and constantly played with her. She even fell asleep there a few times. At the end of the evening, they gave me a written report of her time there which stated what she ate and when, when she went to the bathroom and when she fell asleep. They even included what toys and TV programs she liked.

 

They give us a bag to put all of her belongings in when we first arrived and then let us keep the bag to take home. They also gave our DD a little gift at the end of the cruise.

 

Each child is allotted 10 hours and after the first 24 hours, if there is more availability, you can add more hours. The fee is $8/hour. My DD was there for around 13 hours total.

 

My DD is mildly autistic and isn't speaking yet but they were able to communicate with her by recognizing her signs, and if they didn't know what she was trying to say, they asked me immediately. We were given a phone so we could call and check in and they could call us if they needed us. They didn't call us once but I called to check in a few times. The staff was truly professional and my DD had the best time there. I would highly recommend the nursery to all parents!

[crusinmama06]

Welcome back! :D Sounds like you have a great time. And thanks for your review.

[dc-snoopy]

Thanks. DW and I are currently planning our 10th anniversary (yikes! where did the time go?) and thinking of taking a cruise. However, we just had twins and they'll be 13 months old when we're thinking of going and we were trying to decide whether we should aim for a ship with the Royal Nursery or just go with the night nanny from the crew. Sounds like having both available is a real plus. Thanks!

[mymollysue]

We had inquired about a nighttime babysitter. They charge $19/hr (the max amount of time is 3h a night) and it isn't guaranteed. So you can sign up for one and then be told one isn't available which is why we chose to use the nursery instead.

[Tazboy]

What are the timings of the nursery on Liberty?

[TheCalicoCat]

Our son at 2 & again at 3 loved the Carnival camp. (no extra fee & they also changed diapers - we picked him up for meals.) So don't worry about that program either.

[mymollysue]

What are the timings of the nursery on Liberty?

 

Ok I can't guarantee these since I don't remember exactly but I know they had both daytime hours and evening hours....Something like 9am-1pm and 4pm-12. This is just a ballpark because I don't have my compasses anymore. I can tell you that we used the nursery both during the day and in the evening but mostly in the evening.

[kitty9]

This is wonderful. We'll consider that for our next cruise with my Goddaughter.

[MJPNYC]

Were there cribs in the nursery?

 

Also, not related to the nursery, but more to your overall experience... Did you have a pack and play in your cabin? Did your daughter sleep well in it? Are there mobiles or toys available for your room?

 

Did you take your daughter with you to the main dining room?

 

Thanks!

[mymollysue]

Were there cribs in the nursery?

 

Also, not related to the nursery, but more to your overall experience... Did you have a pack and play in your cabin? Did your daughter sleep well in it? Are there mobiles or toys available for your room?

 

Did you take your daughter with you to the main dining room?

 

Thanks!

 

I believe there were cribs in one part of the nursery. However, they ended up putting a mattress (with a sheet) on the floor for my daughter in the main area. I think the kids were watching Dora before bed and the staff wanted them to be comfortable. But for the little ones, they had a separate area for cribs. I also saw some staff rocking the little ones to sleep.

 

There were pack and plays available for the staterooms. They were pretty standard. My DD slept ok in it. To be honest, I think she is getting a little too big for them. There are no mobiles so we brought a musical toy that plays bedtime music. And you can check bags of toys out of the nursery free of charge to take to your room. There is also an area on one of the decks open all day for free play with a bunch of Fisher Price toys.

 

We did take our DD to the main dining room a couple of times. The staff was very good to her...called her princess, cut up her food, always brought her stuff out first. We were in and out of the main dining room in about an hour. There were plenty of kids in the main dining room. We had a 6pm dinner seating...I couldn't imagine having a later dinner than that with a 2 year old. Hope this helps!

[Nothin' But Sun]

Just the info I was looking for, for our friends whom are taking their 9 month on the families first cruise. They were only able to get late seating as they just booked for the Freedom sailing in a few weeks.

So for the 10 hours, can they book all hours for over dinner, like 8:30 to 10:30, and when do they book this. The cost is 80 dollars for the 10 hours? Any other info would be greatly appreciated.

[nivek82]

We did this as well on a recent B2B on the Liberty. The house (at night) were 5:45 to 2am but they do close an hour after the last child is picked up after 10pm. Book in advance as one night we dropped off our DD and someone walked in and they were full to 10pm.

 

They told us they could hold 6 kids and had 4 cribs. When they have older kids or more kids they take the mattress out and put them on the floor.

 

They had a sound machine in the crib area and put a hanging tag on the front door when a baby was sleeping.

 

Go on the first day at 1pm right when they open to fill out a basic "about my kid" form and book your hours. They know how many kids are on so the ammount you can book changes per cruise. In Dec we had no problems having our DD in there from 5:45 to 11 each night. You pay with your seapass when you pickup.

 

Oh you also will get a phone that you can call the nusery with or they can call you if anything comes up.

 

As our traveling party is all Diamond we basicly had the nusery paid for in after dinner drinks in the lounge. Also our child does daycare at home so this was not a big change for her.

 

They also had a bunch of toys in Cloud Nine (a room off the VC lounge) that was setup each day from 9am to 5pm. It wasn't monitored but it was a good place to take her and let her play with toys and still have great views of the ocean.

[Nothin' But Sun]

Awesome, great information, thanks:D

[sandytoes03]

Thank you for the information! Sounds fantastic!! :):)

[dc-snoopy]

Just the info I was looking for' date=' for our friends whom are taking their [b']9 month[/b] on the families first cruise. They were only able to get late seating as they just booked for the Freedom sailing in a few weeks.

So for the 10 hours, can they book all hours for over dinner, like 8:30 to 10:30, and when do they book this. The cost is 80 dollars for the 10 hours? Any other info would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have not used the nursery yet, but, while researching, saw that RCI specifies that children must be 1 year old before the start of the cruise to use the nursery. That's why we are looking at taking our cruise a couple of months after our anniversary so that our twins will be over 1 year old.

[gerif]

I have not used the nursery yet, but, while researching, saw that RCI specifies that children must be 1 year old before the start of the cruise to use the nursery. That's why we are looking at taking our cruise a couple of months after our anniversary so that our twins will be over 1 year old.

 

I think you misread - they must be a year old for private in-room sitting, not the nursery.

[Nothin' But Sun]

That's a relief, I have tooted RC so much to my friends as the cruise line to go and being able to have a few hours quiet time to walk the ship or have a drink without the little one was one of the attractions for them, along with my insistence on how the Freedom rocks:D We have cruised with our kids since they were 3 and 4 and having the option of the kids program is awesome.

[southern cruising couple]

Great information!

 

We will be taking our 16 month old on the Allure in October. Do you have to specify the days and times you want the first day you go in there to sign them up?

[mymollysue]

Just the info I was looking for' date=' for our friends whom are taking their 9 month on the families first cruise. They were only able to get late seating as they just booked for the Freedom sailing in a few weeks.

So for the 10 hours, can they book all hours for over dinner, like 8:30 to 10:30, and when do they book this. The cost is 80 dollars for the 10 hours? Any other info would be greatly appreciated.[/quote']

 

Yes you can....There were many people who did that. However, dinner time is the most popular time slot. I would definitely book it on the first day. The cost would be $80 for the 10 hours. We did tip extra on the last day but that was at our discretion.

 

Southern Cruising Couple---You should specify the days and times when you go on the first day. However, after the first 24 hours, if there is additional time available, they will allow you to book extra. We were able to get an additional 3 hours on our cruise and I bet we could have gotten more. But on that first day, they only let you book 10 hours total.

[dc-snoopy]

I think you misread - they must be a year old for private in-room sitting, not the nursery.

 

Thanks for the correction. I appreciate the info. I think we wanted the option of both nursery and in-room sitting which is where I got confused.

[jimbug]

Is there a list somewhere of which RCCI ships have the Royal Babies and Tots nursery?

[hollster8]

Is there a list somewhere of which RCCI ships have the Royal Babies and Tots nursery?

 

I think I saw that it's Oasis, Allure, Freedom, and Liberty of the Seas. I'm wondering which ships will be getting it this year. We are going on the Mariner in November and I'm hoping maybe they'll have one by then. Probably not, but I can dream, right? :rolleyes:

[mymollysue]

The Radiance and Splendour are also getting nurseries. :D

[solecito2012]

Hi I'm sailing on a transatlantic with an infant and I was wondering if there is any way to book the nursery times before boarding the ship? We did a disney cruise a couple years back with my now 5 years old and I was able to book it online. When we got to the nursery the 1st day another couple came with their infant and they had no times available. I want to avoid that.

Also my travel agent mentioned that I can request to have diapers in the room during my online check in. Any other things I should know when traveling with an infant?

Has anybody done the my family dining? Is the nursery very far from the main dining room?

Thanks for our help.

[mymollysue]

Hi I'm sailing on a transatlantic with an infant and I was wondering if there is any way to book the nursery times before boarding the ship? We did a disney cruise a couple years back with my now 5 years old and I was able to book it online. When we got to the nursery the 1st day another couple came with their infant and they had no times available. I want to avoid that.

Also my travel agent mentioned that I can request to have diapers in the room during my online check in. Any other things I should know when traveling with an infant?

Has anybody done the my family dining? Is the nursery very far from the main dining room?

Thanks for our help.

 

Unfortunately, you can only book the times when you get on the ship. I also liked the fact that with Disney you could book it ahead of time. It took some of the pressure off. On the Liberty, we got to the nursery right when it opened and had no problems getting times. Also, the fact that you are going on a TA will probably mean less children. I have done one TA and there were no infants on the cruise and only 4 children. Granted it was on Celebrity, but still I think TA's generally have less children.

 

I am not sure about the diaper situation. I carried on my DD's diaper bag so I had diapers with me at all times. Make sure to request a pack n play ahead of time. One thing I also did, was have room service bring me milk every morning at a certain time and then I stored the milk in the fridge. That way I always had some in the cabin for in the morning and before bed. I also brought a small container of dish detergent to rinse out her sippy cups.

 

Have a great trip!