Childcare aboard RCCL

[Jack1egx3]

This is the first cruise we will be taking our four year old son on and was looking for any advice, stories, details on how things work or personal experiences etc. I should also mention our little guy is a diabetic which makes his care that much more important. We plan on only leaving him there for a couple of hours at a time so we can sit by the pool for an hour or so and just have some adult time... Am I even allowed to do that (bring him in and out of the care area)? I had already spoke with RCCL about his diabetic needs and they said their staff is trained to work with children with multiple disabilities and medical needs, I will just be given a pager. Any and all advise, stories, details are greatly appreciated!! **Also wanted to mention we are going on the Grandeur if anyone has any specific details. Thank you so much!

[Spurschick]

This is the first cruise we will be taking our four year old son on and was looking for any advice, stories, details on how things work or personal experiences etc. I should also mention our little guy is a diabetic which makes his care that much more important. We plan on only leaving him there for a couple of hours at a time so we can sit by the pool for an hour or so and just have some adult time... Am I even allowed to do that (bring him in and out of the care area)? I had already spoke with RCCL about his diabetic needs and they said their staff is trained to work with children with multiple disabilities and medical needs, I will just be given a pager. Any and all advise, stories, details are greatly appreciated!! **Also wanted to mention we are going on the Grandeur if anyone has any specific details. Thank you so much!

 

You can drop your son off and collect whenever you want during open hours. They will give you a form that will allow you to notate any medical issues.

 

Enjoy your cruise

[mollyeilis]

"Am I even allowed to do that (bring him in and out of the care area)?"

 

Of course.

[kitkat343]

When my son was smaller and had his first drop off kids club experience, I called the kids club staff 15 minutes after I dropped him off just to make sure he was happy and things were going well. They were very reassuring, and it helped me relax. If it would help you, you might want to call them (don't go there if there is any chance of your son seeing you - he might want to leave if he sees you.)

[Cel_cruise]

You can take your son in/out as you want during a session....if session goes from 9-12, you can drop off at 9, pick up at 10 for towel folding demo, drop off again at 11, and pick up at noon if you want! I will say many times we made those plans and my 4 year old refused to leave the kids club and I enjoyed many things without her!!

 

I believe they do offer a snack in the kids club so you will just want to go thru the choices with the staff every drop off to make sure you are aligned on that snack choice.

 

Our ship offered pagers to 3 year olds parents and anyone else who needed one - that should be true for you as well!

 

Have fun!! Enjoy some 'me' time! It's the best part of a cruise!!

[viperrtblck]

This is Adventure Ocean we're talking about right? I forgot where, but I once read that after they close, you could continue to have your child watched until 1 or 2am I believe, for a fee per hour, OR you could have them babysit in your stateroom for an even higher fee. Does anyone know if this is accurate?

[Clarea]

This is Adventure Ocean we're talking about right? I forgot where, but I once read that after they close, you could continue to have your child watched until 1 or 2am I believe, for a fee per hour, OR you could have them babysit in your stateroom for an even higher fee. Does anyone know if this is accurate?

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Onboard+Extras&faqId=2002&faqSubjectId=337&faqType=faq

[RSLeesburg]

We have sailed on Grandeur on twice and used the kids club. Our son was one month shy of 4 the first cruise and 5 the second. He loved Adventure Ocean - especially the second trip when there were a lot more kids in the club. I have reviews of both cruises - see the links in my signature. Our son loved the Grandeur!

 

Go up to the club the day you board to register your son, and then you can talk to the councilors about him being diabetic. They do not offer the kids snacks, at least not on Grandeur. They do offer provide pagers - we were given one on our first cruise, and about 10 minutes after we left the club we got a page. We were in the Concierge Lounge, so Francis called over. Our son was lonely, as he was the only one in camp. We left CL and walked over in less than 5 minutes. By time we arrived, another child had been dropped off and our son was fine. But, because the ship is smaller, it is very easy and fast to get around if you get paged.

[viperrtblck]

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Onboard+Extras&faqId=2002&faqSubjectId=337&faqType=faq

 

$19/hour the link claims! Is that during normal day hours as well? I thought it was free during day hours but after 10 or 11pm you were charged

[JBert]

$19/hour the link claims! Is that during normal day hours as well? I thought it was free during day hours but after 10 or 11pm you were charged

 

That link is for in-room sitting. The only kids care program that comes with a charge is Royal Toys (at least it was when we had our 2 year old in there on Oasis in 2014).

[Cel_cruise]

$19/hour the link claims! Is that during normal day hours as well? I thought it was free during day hours but after 10 or 11pm you were charged

 

 

AO has 'LATE NIGHT'...it starts at 10pm and its 7 or 7.50 an hour. My kids traded all of the arcade cash I had offered to spend more time at the kids club for late night. We were on NAV...

[gerif]

$19/hour the link claims! Is that during normal day hours as well? I thought it was free during day hours but after 10 or 11pm you were charged

 

That's for private inroom sitting, not the kids club.

[RCCL Cruise Couple]

On one of our sailings we were told by RCI staff that at all levels of the children's programs and child care, the RCI staff all speak English, e. g., the staff come from the US, Canada....English as the primary/national language countries.

[skyking]

The after hours in AO are from 10pm until 2am and the cost is 7.00 per hour. Our 4 year LOVES AO and he never wants to leave, he talks about Kids Camp (as he calls it) pretty much every day.

[clm1982]

Your son will love "kids club" by 5 year old didnt want to leave most of the time. It goes from 9am-12pm, 2pm-5pm and 7pm-10pm, you can then pay $7 an hour from 10pm-2am for late night. Some nights they also have care from 5pm-7pm which they feed them, this is not every night though.

 

In room babysitting is $19 a hour.

 

Yes you can drop him off at 9am then pick up at 10am then drop him back later during opening times. I vaughly remember seeing something about a snack, was juice, crackers, fruit you tick a box to say what they can have.

[Cel_cruise]

On one of our sailings we were told by RCI staff that at all levels of the children's programs and child care, the RCI staff all speak English, e. g., the staff come from the US, Canada....English as the primary/national language countries.

 

 

The staff is all certified US teachers I believe??...Infact, the only crew we met onboard from the USA were from the AO staff! All 11/12 members of the staff we met spoke excellent English and also another language or two!

[mollyeilis]

"the staff come from the US, Canada....English as the primary/national language countries."

 

On Vision and Freedom I don't remember ANY counselors from such countries.

 

They all spoke terrific English and at least one other language, and they were fabulous, but they were from different countries.

[lauren51381]

This couldn't have come at a better time for me. Thanks for all this useful info everyone. :)