Royal Tots Program - Tell me how it works? & other Qs

[OnlyMe]

Well we bit the bullet and booked Serenade sailing next May.

Our youngest will be 11months at the time of sailing and I'm hopeing to use the Royal Tots program .. thats if he cooperates of course;) .. If not, we will live:)

 

Anyways, I have a few questions about the drop off program and would appreciate any information / advice on using it.

 

My first question is re dropping them in the evening - how does it work?

DSs bed time is around 8pm .. and we would be hoping to eat after he goes to sleep ... Does anyone know if it is possible to say gat baby asleep in his buggy and then take him there ... would he have to be taken out of the buggy once there? (I think the likely answer is yes?) . If so would they allow us settle him in a cot there? Or would they settle him? ... These are probably very silly questions but I haven't used this program before so would really appreciate any help advice?

How does everyone usually do it with little ones?

 

I know we can't take a buggy into the diningroom but is it allowed in the Windjammer? I think it was on our last cruise .. What about taking DS into the diningroom in a rockatot if he is asleep .. would that be allowed?

 

Am just trying to figure out our options in advance:o

[flhokie]

You will want to check the date for Nursery on Serenade. According to the RCCL website this ship does not currently have the Nursery (the website says that it's coming fleetwide). They have Royal Tots which are programs for tots and parents together (organized programs at set times). If they do not have the nursery program you will not be able to drop off your DS.

 

We will be cruising on Allure with DD in May and plan to use both programs (Royal Tots & Nursery), but it will be our first time using it so I don't have any specific tips right now. There was a thread a few months ago on the topic with quite a few first hand tips.

 

DH and I were on Monarch in September and strollers were allowed in Windjammer (we saw several there, but since DD wasn't with us we didn't have any personal experience with it).

[OnlyMe]

Hi,

Thanks very much for your reply. Sorry, I meant Royal Tots Nursery (I think .. I get confused between which is which :o ... its the one where you drop them off I'm most interested in )

Serenade is being refurbished this month and from the works listed they are adding a Nursery during dry dock so I assumed it would start into operation once it comes out of dry dock ... you should never assume though I suppose ....

[nivek82]

We haven't used the nursery on that class of ship but have many times on the freedom and liberty. It was wonderfull! We took DD when she was awake around 6 and she would play / eat then go to bed there. (They have her a premised bottle when she was younger then had food brought in when she was older)

 

They told us that they could keep her in the stroller if she was napping but we never did.

 

They had 4 cribs and can take up to 6 (at that time) so if there were more than 4 they took the cots out and put them on the floor. The worse part was walking her back at the end of the night.

 

They give you a phone when you drop off that they will call if there are any issues or you can call if you have questions.

 

Our child does daycare at home so she is good with it on the ships. The staff is nice and its nice to enjoy an adult night. Win win for everyone!

[OnlyMe]

Thank you SO much for your post!!!

Thats great that they can stay in the buggy if they are asleep .. or that they put them to bed if not ... I would just be afraid he mightn't go down for them if it weren't us putting him to sleep. He will be with a childminder before the date we cruise but won't be used to lots of different people putting him down (he will be 11months).

 

When you say premised bottle what do you mean?:o

Do they provide food there or do you have to bring it ?

 

A question I forgot to ask - do they call you if a nappy needs changing or do they do it themselves?

 

And another question if you don't mind thats not directly related to the nursery but I'm wondering about food for him onboard .. will they puree food for him? ... I'm hoping not to give him much jarred food so just wondering ... the youngest we cruised with DS1 was 18months so everything was mashed and we did it ourselves but DS2 may well still need some things pureed.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!

[flhokie]

Family friends sailed RCCL last year with their second child and expected to have food pureed like they did for their older child on her first cruise. Unfortunately they were told that they were no longer able to do that. The ship staff told them that this was now the RCCL policy. They told them that it was a matter of safety as they couldn't guarantee what had previously been in the blender, etc.

 

That being said, you can probably pick up some food (some of the organic brands have them in pouches--better than your regular jar food) at a local grocery store before boarding. Also, they usually have a decent number of soft foods that you should be able to smash up soft enough for an 11 month old.

[Chicky2181]

My daughter was 7 months when we used the nursey last year. It was great. You have to provide all bottles and food. We brought our own jarred food from home. Although at 7 months my daughter was still primarily on formula and breast milk and some cereal. They wil keep your child in his stroller if he is sleeping when you bring him in. My daughter was never there for nap or bed time so I can't say how they got the babies to go to sleep. My girl is really friendly and has been a people person from day one. She had a blast in the nursery. We did see many babies having fits when their parents dropped them off, but it seemed the staff did a great job calming them down.

 

They also change diapers. It's basically full service. :) lol

 

All you have to do is drop the kiddo off with all his supplies.

[2CuteKiddies]

Do you reserve time in the nursery before the cruise? Is it available on the RCCL website?

We were on Disney last month and they let you book a certain number of hours before the cruise, then anything after that is first-come-first-serve on the ship. Just wondering if RCCL works the same. We're on Mariner in February.

That's too bad to hear about RCCL not doing pureed food, although our son will be 10 months on the next cruise so smashed food should be fine. Disney did puree food for him last month.

[OnlyMe]

flhokie - thank you very much for letting me know that. Its likely that DS will be on mashed foods but we may like the option of pureed also (we will know nearer the time) and if we think he will still need some pureeing I will take my mini chopper with us and could do some of his meals in our stateroom possibly.

I will certainly take some pouches with us but would prefer to just give him those when we're off the ship and give him fresh foods otherwise - but we will see ... I'm sure he won't starve one way or another :)

 

Chicky - Thats great they do the entire service :D ... I'm not sure how DS will be at 11months but hopefully he will take to it even if just for an hour for dinner.

Can I ask - did you make up formula bottles on the ship? .. If you did can I also ask where / how you got the hot water? .. On our cruise out of Southampton with them last they had kettles in the staterooms but I don't think this is standard - just for sailings out of there for the tea lovers :)

[Chicky2181]

flhokie - thank you very much for letting me know that. Its likely that DS will be on mashed foods but we may like the option of pureed also (we will know nearer the time) and if we think he will still need some pureeing I will take my mini chopper with us and could do some of his meals in our stateroom possibly.

I will certainly take some pouches with us but would prefer to just give him those when we're off the ship and give him fresh foods otherwise - but we will see ... I'm sure he won't starve one way or another :)

 

Chicky - Thats great they do the entire service :D ... I'm not sure how DS will be at 11months but hopefully he will take to it even if just for an hour for dinner.

Can I ask - did you make up formula bottles on the ship? .. If you did can I also ask where / how you got the hot water? .. On our cruise out of Southampton with them last they had kettles in the staterooms but I don't think this is standard - just for sailings out of there for the tea lovers :)

 

My daughter was on similac sensitive ready-to-feed. I purchased them in the small 8 ounce bottles, so I didn't need to refrigerate them for long. AT home I use to buy it by the quart. To heat it up I would fill the bathroom sink up with hot water and let the bottle sit in the water for a few minutes. The water was scalding hot and the formula was room temp so it didn't take long to warm up.

 

The small premade bottles are great because you can attach a nipple to the bottle, or just pour it in to your baby's baba of choice, which is what we did. They also travel well.

[Chicky2181]

Do you reserve time in the nursery before the cruise? Is it available on the RCCL website?

We were on Disney last month and they let you book a certain number of hours before the cruise, then anything after that is first-come-first-serve on the ship. Just wondering if RCCL works the same. We're on Mariner in February.

That's too bad to hear about RCCL not doing pureed food, although our son will be 10 months on the next cruise so smashed food should be fine. Disney did puree food for him last month.

 

They let you book a set amount of hours on the first day. I cant remember for sure, but I believe you could do like 12 hours. And then on day two you culd book more hours based on availability. I'm sure someone one CC could verify the number of initial hours you can book. I know it's enough to cover dinners and shows.

[OnlyMe]

Thanks again Chicky. My son is on special formula that only comes in powder form unfortunately so I may well look into taking a small travel kettle with us just in case. Its a long way off yet so might come up with a different solution yet .. all your info is brilliant ... its great to be able to figure it out in advance :)

[Chicky2181]

Thanks again Chicky. My son is on special formula that only comes in powder form unfortunately so I may well look into taking a small travel kettle with us just in case. Its a long way off yet so might come up with a different solution yet .. all your info is brilliant ... its great to be able to figure it out in advance :)

 

I'd recommend contacting the special needs department. An electic kettle might not be allowed and you might be able to arrange for them to provide one for you. You could also mix it with the tap water. It's actually cleaner and better tasting than bottled water. I've seen on TV how RCCL goes through the process of treating and purifying the water. The water also comes from the faucet very hot.

 

Maybe another solution if you can't get a kettle in is to have room service deliver hot water. Like if you needed a cup of hot tea.