Explorer - Royal Tots and babies

[Sunshine_on_a_cloudy_day]

Hi just wondering if anyone can confirm if a Royal Tots and babies nursery was added during the recent refurbishment?

TIA

[takowasabi]

I would also like to know the answer to this! Its been listed as part of the refurbishment, but until someone has actually seen it i am always dubious. We've got a cruise booked in august on Explorer.

 

Also, does anyone have any experience of using a royal babies and tots nursery on any other ships? What is the availability like? Are you rationed on the number of slots you can get for your baby, or do you generally get as many slots of you require!

 

Thanks

[metachal]

I don't know about the Explorer's update, but they have been adding them on all the old ships when they've been in dry dock so I'd be very surprised if they skipped that advertised addition.

 

We used the nursery last year on the Independence with our 2 1/2 year old. It was great! I seem to remember a limit to the number of hours you can reserve in advance on the 1st day, but we had no trouble adding/changing hours later in the week.

[Chubi32]

I am curious to this as well. We are going on the Explorer in just 18 days! How do you go about reserving hours? Any information from those who have used the program would be much appreciated!

[metachal]

I actually have my welcome letter from last year handy, so let me just type in some of the useful details for everyone.

 

There were open house and registration hours on embarkation day (with childcare open from 8pm-midnight) for checking out the facilities and filling out registration details. As of February 2014, the hourly fee was $6 before 6pm and $8 after 6pm. We did do 1 1/2 hours during the day for $9, so they were at least pro-rating for half hours.

 

On sea days, the nursery was open 9am-midnight. On port days, the nursery was open from docking until 1pm and 5pm-midnight (with a note that "If you have booked a Royal Caribbean shore excursion and need care for your child outside of our port day opening hours, please contact the nursery staff 24 hours in advance, if possible we will try and accommodate your request").

 

Registration and Booking details: "Once we have gathered medical information, child specific likes/dislikes and authorized family members and friends to pick up your child, you may begin to book requested hours in the Nursery. On Day 1 and 2, we will offer each family a set number of booking hours and later in the voyage we will open up all left over hours to be given away on a first come first serve basis. Once a Nursery session has begun, any remaining time slots will be given away at the door. However, we do highly recommend booking in advance to guarantee your child a place." (We would just called ahead or talked to them when we were already there for drop-off/pick-up to add/change later reservation hours.)

Additional Nursery Information:

"What must I bring with my child? -- The Nursery will stock a small supply of essential childcare items, however parents are required to provide any personal items their child may need during their stay including: diapers, wipes, bottles and milk, food or snack, sippy cups, extra set of clothes and personal comfort items. Please note: the Nursery cannot hold any fresh food or milk for longer than four hours." (They give you a bag when you register to bring back with supplies when you drop the kid off. They can get meals delivered for lunch or dinner in the Nursery.)

 

"Can I get off the ship? -- Parents are welcome to leave the ship while their child is being cared for in the Nursery. However, please note pagers will not work off the ship. We can take cellular phone numbers at a parent's request, but cannot guarantee we will be able to get hold of parents should we need to. Please check any shore excursions match with the Nursery opening hours." (When you drop off your child, you are given a pager phone so they can reach you on the ship. As noted here, that pager only works if you stay on the ship.)

 

"Cancellation Policy -- We require 1 hours' notice to cancel a reservation and avoid paying a fee. A charge of 50% will be charged if less than 1 hours' notice is given prior to the scheduled session."

 

"Late pick up policy -- Guests will be charged a $1 late fee each minute late per child starting at minute 16. However, guests will not be charged if a shipboard activity or shipboard purchased shore excursion runs late."

 

"Child behavior policy -- Behavior deemed inappropriate by Royal Babies and Royal Tots will not be permitted withing the facilities. We require complete family cooperation, up to and including the dismissal of any child from activities if behavior continues to be inappropriate after continued communication with the family."

 

"Infant Evacuation Plan -- In the unlikely event of an emergency, do not go to the Nursery as your child will already be en route to their assembly station. The Nursery staff will deliver your child and meet you at you assembly station." (When the child enters the nursery, they put a sticker on the back of their shirt with their name, age, room #, pager #, and muster station.)

Edited April 27, 2015 by metachal

[metachal]

(And, just to reiterate, those details I gave were from my cruise on the Independence. I assume the basic Nursery policies are the same fleet-wide.)

[metachal]

Since this in an Explorer specific thread, and not just a general Nursery thread, I did pop over the the RCL website to look at the Explorer. They don't list the Nursery as a ship feature, and it is not on the May 2015-Sept 2016 deck plans (the Nursery usually replaces the teen disco on deck 12). So it looks like the Explorer does not have a Nursery right now. They list the Royal Babies and Royal Tots program as a kid's highlight, but that is just scheduled parent/kid activities and not the nursery.

[takowasabi]

Since this in an Explorer specific thread, and not just a general Nursery thread, I did pop over the the RCL website to look at the Explorer. They don't list the Nursery as a ship feature, and it is not on the May 2015-Sept 2016 deck plans (the Nursery usually replaces the teen disco on deck 12). So it looks like the Explorer does not have a Nursery right now. They list the Royal Babies and Royal Tots program as a kid's highlight, but that is just scheduled parent/kid activities and not the nursery.

 

This is exactly what i noticed. Hence asking the question for anyone who has been on the ship since the refurbishment. The non-existence of the Nursery is going to be a deal breaker for me on my summer cruise.

[takowasabi]

Spoken to RC tonight. Explorer does not have a Royal Tots Nursery. It was decided at the last minute to not put one in on the refit.