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NCL Charging for Guppies on Escape Drop off

leeker13

By leeker13,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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LrgPizza

LrgPizza

Posted
Posted
It was originally advertised as FREE. So, yes, it was nicer before it became for a fee.

 

Although I was somewhat ticked when it was rumored to be for a fee, once I learned what the services include I do feel it is good value and prefer having the option to pay for the care versus not having it at as an option at all.

 

 

Never. The Guppies programs on other NCL ships are free, as they don't involve child care. It's always been assumed this would have a fee. It's never said otherwise. I don't know how anyone would expect this to be a free service.

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MrsT3030

MrsT3030

Posted
Posted
Partially.

 

As referred to earlier I get why, I'd rather it be consistent.

 

Selfishly, DD will be 3 months short of three if we sail at our usual time next year.

 

So too little for the kids club, but would hopefully be toilet trained by then and very different from being a baby-baby of 6 months.

 

We will cruise regardless, I may not bother with the Escape next year and wait for it to be nearly new rather than brand new, as the childcare wouldn't be a perk that would make up for paying the premium of a new ship.

 

Then again I may get giddy and book it anyway cos I love a new ship!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

I'm in the same boat (pun not intended!) my DD will be 5 weeks off of 3 when we sail next year. She is long potty trained, talks as well as any 4 year old and is used to being around older kids in the childcare she attends at home. I do worry the nursery might be babyish for her. That said, I'm glad to have it available and hope she is able to enjoy it.

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  • 1 month later...
Bluefox

Bluefox

Posted
Posted

from the above poster -in case you don't want to scroll 4 pages to find it ;)

 

"It's there, I visited the Nursery on Monday. Capacity of 10, staff of 7...nice rooms. There is a fee for this area, $10 per hour for first child $8 for each sibling. Late night fee is $12 per hour for first child, $10 per hour for siblings. Reservations are needed (first come first served)."

 

Thank you for the info!

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  • 1 year later...
san92103

san92103

Posted
Posted

As a first time father-to-be in a couple weeks. My wife and I are excited to learn of this program!!!

 

We want to sail on Escape because of this feature. Not as thrilled as the limited itineraries for 09/2018. But, so be it.

 

Anyone here actually used this service and can report back on it?? A search just yielded info on it. no report per say.

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esm54687

esm54687

Posted
Posted
Why do I have to pay for an under two? :-(

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Being a traveler without kids..... I reverse that question to you.... why is the burden on me to pay for your infant to be taken care of?

 

If they don't charge you then where do you think the money for staff, insurance, diapers, and other items come from?? It comes from the cruise fees I'm charged.

 

I'm being a total devil's advocate and not directed at you (or other parents) ...... everyone can rattle of items I'm paying for but not utilizing...... but your question raises mine.

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Forums mobile app

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sabres431

sabres431

Posted
Posted
Being a traveler without kids..... I reverse that question to you.... why is the burden on me to pay for your infant to be taken care of?

 

If they don't charge you then where do you think the money for staff, insurance, diapers, and other items come from?? It comes from the cruise fees I'm charged.

 

I'm being a total devil's advocate and not directed at you (or other parents) ...... everyone can rattle of items I'm paying for but not utilizing...... but your question raises mine.

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Forums mobile app

 

 

I will counter your argument with one question. If I'm taking a child under three and paying an adult rate, since there is no discount for a child, should not their cruise fee go towards their needs? Now, as a parent of a young child, if I'm vacationing as my family I want my family together and would not use this service but I'm sure many will. A baby will not eat or drink even close to what an adult will, nor will they use the adult activities. So what is in it for them for the full cruise fare?

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esm54687

esm54687

Posted
Posted

Not an argument..... a different view that asked a legit question.

 

My feeling is if the staff is part of the DSC program then NCL shouldn't charge extra for that service. If the staff is not part of the DSC program then there should be a surcharge for use of that service. Splash Academy staff is not part of the DSC program.

 

The fact a 2 year old (or a 52 year old) doesn't eat or drink as much as a 26 year old is not a valid point about what someone is charged....

 

My point is simple: if the service provided is for a specific customer and not for the general customer than there should be a charge.

 

Give everyone prime rib but if someone wants some shrimp then charge for the shrimp.

 

Again, I'm just asking "why shouldn't you be charged?"

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Forums mobile app

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san92103

san92103

Posted
Posted

Ok let's keep this on point. This is like saying cruise lines shouldn't charge for soda or bottle water or something. Bottom line is you don't get your neighbor to babysit for free all the time. How is this different?

 

Is it steep? Yes. The question becomes, is it WORTH it? Clearly it is. And I can see why as a very soon to be parent, I want to know my son will be safe and sound while the wife and I do ANYTHiNg from a-z. Is it a bummer it costs? Yea. But oh well.

 

 

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kitkat343

kitkat343

Posted
Posted

As a parent, this is an extremely important issue for our family. Right now we are looking into booking a cruise this summer, and are thinking about limiting ourselves to Cunard, since their drop off program starts at 2, and this would guarantee we could leave our child in the program (my concern with the nurseries is not the fees, which I would gladly pay but whether or not we could guarantee our ability to leave our child in the nursery during the hours we need). I don't know if NCL lets you book nursery time ahead of time (RC does not, and Disney does, but returning cruisers get priority).

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bosco7284

bosco7284

Posted
Posted

We have used the Nursery on the Escape on two cruises. The service is great but it is also limited on times they have for you to drop off your child. The sessions are in 2hr blocks and you are limited I think to only 2 back to back for 4 hrs total. They will change diapers for free but you do need to supply your own diapers, wipes, snacks, food and drink cup. They are also limited on space available 10 kids per session so the best thing to do is as soon as you get onto the ship bring your child down to the Nursery to sign them up. As far as I know you can only book once you are on the ship and some of the late times fill up quick. They give you a beeper so if you child is to upset or cant be calmed down they will call you to come down and get your child. The staff does a great job and we have never been called down once.

 

As for people talking about the price and having to pay for the service, children under 3 you do not pay the 13.50 a day Gertuity/service charge that everyone else pays. So if you only send your child for a few session on the cruise its about the same as if you had to pay the service charge. Children 3 and over that qualify for the free splash academy program will be paying the 13.50 a day (94.50 for the 7 days) For the service charges.

 

Here is pictures of the "Menu" from our Sep 2017 cruise. Hope this helps

 

IMG_2481.jpg

IMG_2482.jpg

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sabres431

sabres431

Posted
Posted
I don't know. $10/hr is a bit less than we pay for the kiddo's daycare, Quality care isn't cheap.

Yeah, the price itself isn't bad. Even 10+ years ago when I was babysitting I was making $10 an hour or more.

 

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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted
how is the noise around the guppies area, does it cause any issues with the cabins nearby in the forward section of the ship

 

No, it is separated by a staircase and elevator vestibule and actually a decent way down another corridor. I can't see how any forward cabins would notice anything.

 

IIRC, on my cruise it was $24 for a session that was 1 hour and 50 minutes <?> or close to that. I recall it being some odd amount of time, not exactly two hours. You could have two sessions reserved at a time.

 

We ended up doing so much during the day and evening that we were pretty wiped out by 9:30-10:30PM so didn't want to be out late anyways and didn't take advantage of the service. We did go to two or three daytime stay and play hosted sessions (arts and crafts, etc.) and used the open Guppies playroom (this was a nice feature but very, very small area and not much to do. Other cruise lines the stay and play areas are significantly larger).

 

On the plus side, it's a great feature for parents who DO want to go out and know their child has a safe and caring environment. Maybe I'm more cost sensitive than others, but Carnival offers a late night service for ages 2 and up and the cost is much less. If you only use it once, not a big deal. But if you use the service multiple times the difference starts to add up.

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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted
In my area daycare rates for infants and toddlers at licensed daycare centers cost that amount.

 

Are you in S.F. or NYC, or surrounding areas? That could certainly do it. Otherwise $500 a week is pretty high compared to most areas of the country for a drop off daycare facility.

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mjkacmom

mjkacmom

Posted
Posted
Are you in S.F. or NYC, or surrounding areas? That could certainly do it. Otherwise $500 a week is pretty high compared to most areas of the country for a drop off daycare facility.

 

10 miles out of Manhattan, one of the reasons I decided to be a SAHM, child care costs here are very high.

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  • 1 year later...
lynne2fl

lynne2fl

Posted
Posted
Partially.

 

As referred to earlier I get why, I'd rather it be consistent.

 

Selfishly, DD will be 3 months short of three if we sail at our usual time

 

So too little for the kids club, but would hopefully be toilet trained by then and very different from being a baby-baby of 6 months.

 

We will cruise regardless, I may not bother with the Escape next year and wait for it to be nearly new rather than brand new, as the childcare wouldn't be a perk that would make up for paying the premium of a new ship.

 

Then again I may get giddy and book it anyway cos I love a new ship!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had ever had potty trained toddlers that had older siblings in splash academy, and wanted to attend splash instead of being in the guppies program.

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