Disney dream nursery

[Goodteam]

My friend is traveling w us and she has a 1 year old who she hopes to bring to the nursery. Anyone have insight about hours, length of time allotted in the nursery etc.

We know the price and we know she can't book until 75 days away from her departure. But we don't know how the nursery program works and there Is not much info available online

 

Thanks!!!!!

[SevenWonkas]

There is a limit to how many hours you can reserve pre-cruise. I forget the number...... 6 or 8 hours maybe? Once you get onboard you can ask about booking additional hours. We went with our son twice - once in February and once in May. So not prime season. We never had a problem booking extra hours. There were a couple times we stopped by and asked if we could drop him off right then, and we could. We always did it during his nap, an a couple times during the evening shows.

 

It was open pretty late. After our bedtime, at least!

[Shmoo here]

My friend is traveling w us and she has a 1 year old who she hopes to bring to the nursery. Anyone have insight about hours, length of time allotted in the nursery etc.

We know the price and we know she can't book until 75 days away from her departure. But we don't know how the nursery program works and there Is not much info available online

 

Thanks!!!!!

 

As noted, there is a maximum number of hours you can book the nursery for pre-cruise (depending on the length of your cruise).

Max hours:

3 or 4 night cruise – 10 hours

7 night cruise – 18 hours

14 night cruise – 35 hours

 

You can book additional hours once onboard, subject to availability.

The cost is $9.00 an hour. Nursery hours can vary, but are generally 9:00 am-11:30 pm.

 

Have you checked the DCL website for info?

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ships-activities/ships/dream/youth-clubs/its-a-small-world-nursery/

[moki'smommy]

The above is correct. The nursery staff really tries to meet needs and allow you to change booked times after boarding, obviously based on their space availability. They KNOW that schedules change during travel, etc.

 

One hint--when dropping off the baby, tell them if mom is doing something specias--spa, Palo, etc. They will REALLY try to not interrupt you as opposed to mom is sitting at the pool, call if you need me at all.

[Goodteam]

The site makes no mention of a limit of hours

[Goodteam]

Where are you finding the axon in hours requirement

[Shmoo here]

Where are you finding the axon in hours requirement

 

Just "word of mouth" postings from the various forums I frequent.

[LarsMars]

We dropped our 1 year old off last Sept on the Dream and really could not have had a better experience. I think our daughter had more fun in the nursery than she did with us. The staff were nice, friendly, accommodating, patient, and attentive. I heard some other families make unreasonable requests and they declined, which made me feel good to see. They also responded to all our requests and followed all our instructions, which weren't many.

 

Our Remy dinner ran late and a simple phone call to extend was happily accommodated. I really don't see how they could have improved any without hiring an individual person to look after each child.

[moki'smommy]

If you try to pre-book more than your length of cruise allows, you'll get a message that tells you that you have exceeded to allowable time. The idea is to allow everyone to have a chance to get some hours booked before anyone can get a lot of time and fill up the schedule.

 

I have never heard of anyone on a 7 day or more cruise being unable to add additional hours after boarding, normally on day 2 of the cruise. I HAVE heard of it not being allowed on a 3 and 4 night cruise; it all depends on the number of people trying to book time.

 

At the risk of being rude though, a 3 night cruise is 2 1/2 days. If someone wants to place their child in the nursery for more than 10 of those hours, why not consider leaving the child at home with a sitter or relative OR bring grandma on the cruise? I guess I just see vacation as family time.

[kitkat343]

I emailed Disney directly to ask, and their rep confirmed that there is a limit to the number of hours you can book prior to the cruise. Similarly, RC will limit the number of hours you can book on day one of the nursery and open up the hours the next day to give everyone a chance to get some hours in the nursery.

 

"At the risk of being rude though, a 3 night cruise is 2 1/2 days. If someone wants to place their child in the nursery for more than 10 of those hours, why not consider leaving the child at home with a sitter or relative OR bring grandma on the cruise? I guess I just see vacation as family time."

 

The answer is that some people do not have grandparents who are able or willing to watch grandchildren, and I would imagine it would be nearly impossible to find a sitter for an extended trip. Please bear in mind that in some communities many people are having children later in life, and parents who have children at nearly 40 (or beyond) equals grandparents who may be facing significant health issues which would make it difficult for them to watch very young children for several days.

Edited March 30, 2015 by kitkat343

[moki'smommy]

 

"At the risk of being rude though, a 3 night cruise is 2 1/2 days. If someone wants to place their child in the nursery for more than 10 of those hours, why not consider leaving the child at home with a sitter or relative OR bring grandma on the cruise? I guess I just see vacation as family time."

 

The answer is that some people do not have grandparents who are able or willing to watch grandchildren, and I would imagine it would be nearly impossible to find a sitter for an extended trip. Please bear in mind that in some communities many people are having children later in life, and parents who have children at nearly 40 (or beyond) equals grandparents who may be facing significant health issues which would make it difficult for them to watch very young children for several days.

 

I'm quite familiar with the concept of "older" parents as I was 37 when my daughter came into my life. I think the issue lies in the varying definitions of a "vacation." I always viewed it as a break from work (I was never fully "off the clock" unless I left town). It was time WITH my family, not time away from them. Obviously, DCL allows for all sorts of parental choices with nursery and kid programming available to allow parents "adult only" time within set limits.

[SevenWonkas]

Even if you just put your kid in the nursery for nap and bed times, you can very easily go over 10 hours for a 3 day cruise. Nap time is not family time - it's sitting in the room or balcony trying not to wake my kid time.

 

The nursery is a perfect place for a young child during their nap time or prep for bedtime. Parents can still enjoy the pools/show and the child won't mess up their sleep schedule too much.