Grandeur with kids

[jactressk]

I've been reading some amazingly detailed trip reviews from recent experiences, and looking at your Compasses. I"m excited for my trip in mid-2017, but I'm puzzled, and disappointed. It looks like ALL my son will be able to do then is walk around the hallways, and pay for him to attend kids club. There are almost no kid activities during the daytime hours, family activities seem limited to teenagers when they do exist, he won't be allowed into the pools unless we can magically potty train a 2 yr old... Even the (current) movie offerings are adult movies.

 

What is he, and by extension, we, supposed to do during the cruise?

 

Please tell me I am missing something :(

[Merion_Mom]

I've been reading some amazingly detailed trip reviews from recent experiences, and looking at your Compasses. I"m excited for my trip in mid-2017, but I'm puzzled, and disappointed. It looks like ALL my son will be able to do then is walk around the hallways, and pay for him to attend kids club. There are almost no kid activities during the daytime hours, family activities seem limited to teenagers when they do exist, he won't be allowed into the pools unless we can magically potty train a 2 yr old... Even the (current) movie offerings are adult movies.

 

What is he, and by extension, we, supposed to do during the cruise?

 

Please tell me I am missing something :(

 

A two year old remains in the care of his parents. Adventure Ocean begins at 3. His activities will be whatever you provide for him, just as at home.

 

This is true on all ships, except the newest ships that have an area for the non-potty trained.

 

Grandeur has this:

 

Babies and Tots programs

Join your child in the fun of Royal Babies® or Royal Tots® interactive playgroup sessions. Each session, held on one of our onboard lounges, offers activities that make playtime learning time as well.

[cb at sea]

Under 3's don't have much to do on ANY ship, on ANY line. Carnival and Disney both allow 2 year olds in the clubs....That's about it! A few RCI ships do have a nursery....

[leaveitallbehind]

I've been reading some amazingly detailed trip reviews from recent experiences, and looking at your Compasses. I"m excited for my trip in mid-2017, but I'm puzzled, and disappointed. It looks like ALL my son will be able to do then is walk around the hallways, and pay for him to attend kids club. There are almost no kid activities during the daytime hours, family activities seem limited to teenagers when they do exist, he won't be allowed into the pools unless we can magically potty train a 2 yr old... Even the (current) movie offerings are adult movies.

 

What is he, and by extension, we, supposed to do during the cruise?

 

Please tell me I am missing something :(

 

Just to clarify, although your child is too young to participate, the kids clubs are free - and they sponsor age group activities from 3-17 during the day and evening. The potty trained regulation is for obvious reasons....

Edited September 1, 2016 by leaveitallbehind

[Rala]

A two year old remains in the care of his parents. Adventure Ocean begins at 3. His activities will be whatever you provide for him, just as at home.

 

This is true on all ships, except the newest ships that have an area for the non-potty trained.

 

Grandeur has this:

 

Babies and Tots programs

Join your child in the fun of Royal Babies® or Royal Tots® interactive playgroup sessions. Each session, held on one of our onboard lounges, offers activities that make playtime learning time as well.

 

I think you can also borrow a bag of age-appropriate toys that can be kept for a few days and exchanged for new ones. Take him to one of the larger lounges during the day since many are unused and pretty much empty during the day, and let him play and/or "run" around. Of course, you need to be mindful of disturbing others who might be in the vicinity. You will find, I think, that he will have more to do than walk around the hallways.

[reedl]

What is he, and by extension, we, supposed to do during the cruise?

 

Please tell me I am missing something :(

To me, the time spent with family is much more important than the entertainment provided by whatever venue I am visiting. If you went pretty much anywhere else, unless they provide day care, there are very few options.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

What do you do at home? Mary Poppins isn't going to appear and magically whisk your son away so you can lounge unencumbered by the pool.

 

About the pools, would you want to swim in a pool that had poopy kids in it?

 

Your vacation is that you don't have to cook or clean whilst on board. You never, ever get a vacation from your children.

 

Just cruise with the idea that's it great someone else makes the bed and gives you fresh towels every day. And yahoo, someone else is cooking and washing the dishes. And you are with your family in a beautiful place. :)

Edited September 1, 2016 by CruisingAlong4Now

[R_i_c_h]

I've been cruising with my daughter since she was 6 months old and have always found things to do. Try the roll call to see if you can find other kids his age. Use the onboard message board to find other parents in the same boat. Bring books and games to play with. There are events like towel folding, cake decorating, and pool events that he can watch.

 

If you don't think that works for you, just postpone your sailing one year until he's eligible to attend AO.

 

Hope that helps,

Rich

[Peachy59]

I've been reading some amazingly detailed trip reviews from recent experiences, and looking at your Compasses. I"m excited for my trip in mid-2017, but I'm puzzled, and disappointed. It looks like ALL my son will be able to do then is walk around the hallways, and pay for him to attend kids club. There are almost no kid activities during the daytime hours, family activities seem limited to teenagers when they do exist, he won't be allowed into the pools unless we can magically potty train a 2 yr old... Even the (current) movie offerings are adult movies.

 

What is he, and by extension, we, supposed to do during the cruise?

 

Please tell me I am missing something :(

 

Sorry. This is why I would never cruise with a child under the age of three and potty trained. Just my opinion!

[CruisingAlong4Now]

This thread answers all your questions.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2351674.

[VASOXFANN]

Sorry. This is why I would never cruise with a child under the age of three and potty trained. Just my opinion!

 

Child free vacations! Part of the reason why I chose not to reproduce!

Edited September 1, 2016 by VASOXFANN

[clyde1509]

On Harmony at the moment. With a 2 year old grandson. There is nothing for him to do. Too young for Adventure Ocean. He went in the $8 per hour nursery. Once. They gave my daughter a walkie talkie type thing. To call her if there was a problem. The problem was....it was another child's phone. They also gave another baby some one else's dummy/pacifier. And when my grandson woke from a nap whilst strapped in his buggy they left him in it. Screaming. Whilst they tried to contact my daughter. Who had the phone for another child. Not really very good. Apart from that there is virtually nothing for him to do Which we are ok with. We can entertain him ourselves

 

 

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[ncfd32]

We took our son on a 7 day cruise on the Freedom in 3/2012. While he couldn't go to AO, there was plenty on the ship to do. Swimming, just wandering around, and playing. We brought toys, books, and a few games. It was fine.

 

 

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[Broken07]

I took my 18 month old on the Grandeur and we had a ball. Took her to the Royal Tots once for free play at no charge. She had so much fun playing on the gym mats and tot slide and playing with the toys there. We borrowed a toy bag. That was ok. But we had bought home toys, too. We also brought a small inflatable bathtub that we took to the pool deck, filled with water and let her splash around in. That doubled as a tub. She enjoyed dancing every night before dinner in the live music area. That was her favorite part. We watched the waves out the widows in the common areas. She enjoyed that, too. We made friends with some other children her age that met after dinner to dance. She seemed to enjoy it very well. We have been on a cruise twice a year, ever since. She will soon be four. Even at an older age I don't leave her more than an hour or so at Adventure Ocean, unless they are having a special party or talent show. I did pay for an hour at Royal tots when we went to Chops. She had fun, I guess because she didn't want to leave. My parents were a bit antsy about her being in a balcony room , so to make them happy, we stayed in a ocean view room. With that said, she was mesmerized by the window and spent too much time in the window ledge. All the things I worried about for her was a non-issue. She had a ball and she had an wonderful experience which i could have never predicted. It was the perfect sized ship for a little one. Enjoy your trip.

 

 

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Edited September 1, 2016 by Broken07

[Cuizer2]

I've been reading some amazingly detailed trip reviews from recent experiences, and looking at your Compasses. I"m excited for my trip in mid-2017, but I'm puzzled, and disappointed. It looks like ALL my son will be able to do then is walk around the hallways, and pay for him to attend kids club. There are almost no kid activities during the daytime hours, family activities seem limited to teenagers when they do exist, he won't be allowed into the pools unless we can magically potty train a 2 yr old... Even the (current) movie offerings are adult movies.

 

What is he, and by extension, we, supposed to do during the cruise?

 

Please tell me I am missing something :(

 

Carnival will take two year olds in the kids club - free. And I believe they change diapers.

[jactressk]

I will clarify my post. Since many of you took it quite a different way than I had hoped and disregarded my comments about the "we". I didn't ask what HE could do, I asked what we could do WITH him.

 

My sister is getting married on our sailing, so that is why my son is coming. It's not a vacation.

 

For those that answered... I'm now very nervous to take him to the daycare. Uh oh...

 

He will be getting in-room babysitting after the dinner reception on wedding day. And if I end up going scuba diving in Bermuda, there's a chance we will put him in the daycare during that timeframe.

 

I was a crew member on a Disney ship for the better part of a year. We had dance parties for families, character meet and greets, family friendly movies, games and activities on the decks for all ages, a pool for kids of all ages, etc. There was never a shortage for families with younger children to find things to do. During the DAY time hours, no less! Imagine that! I was always hearing about the fun things that even the littlest cruisers were doing.

 

Even the two Carnival ships we;ve been on have been way more family friendly than this one.

 

This particular ship... there's the club which we much pay for... and that's about it. The "family friendly" activities that I've seen in Compasses are at night after 8pm. The shows are often late, so he won't be able to see most of those (as a performer, he has seen me perform many times and is capable of sitting through a stage show), the movies are adult movies, and the pool is going to be off limits unless we can potty train him as a new 2 yr old.

 

Therefore, I'm not sure what we can do with him... walk the hallways... and eat?

[jactressk]

I took my 18 month old on the Grandeur and we had a ball. Took her to the Royal Tots once for free play at no charge. She had so much fun playing on the gym mats and tot slide and playing with the toys there. We borrowed a toy bag. That was ok. But we had bought home toys, too. We also brought a small inflatable bathtub that we took to the pool deck, filled with water and let her splash around in. That doubled as a tub. She enjoyed dancing every night before dinner in the live music area. That was her favorite part. We watched the waves out the widows in the common areas. She enjoyed that, too. We made friends with some other children her age that met after dinner to dance. She seemed to enjoy it very well. We have been on a cruise twice a year, ever since. She will soon be four. Even at an older age I don't leave her more than an hour or so at Adventure Ocean, unless they are having a special party or talent show. I did pay for an hour at Royal tots when we went to Chops. She had fun, I guess because she didn't want to leave. My parents were a bit antsy about her being in a balcony room , so to make them happy, we stayed in a ocean view room. With that said, she was mesmerized by the window and spent too much time in the window ledge. All the things I worried about for her was a non-issue. She had a ball and she had an wonderful experience which i could have never predicted. It was the perfect sized ship for a little one. Enjoy your trip.

 

 

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That's brilliant!! You brought a small inflatable tub to fill and play with?? And they let you?? He will have been in swim lessons for 15 months by then, probably diving into the pool better than myself by that point haha But if we can't potty train him in time, that is certainly something I would consider doing!! I've seen them for under $15 on amazon! we have a bigger one that we used as a ballpit, but by the time that gets inflated, he will have lost interest. I don't know if he will take kindly to not being able to go in the big pool (which is what he is used to doing for lessons), but if he gets to play and get wet, I'm sure he will be all over it. That's such an amazing tip!

 

I wanted a balcony too, but decided for a full window room instead. My kid LOVES the water, and I decided this was definitely the safer way to go haha I don't need him trying to reach for the water.

 

Thank you for the heads up on the music. As of now, he LOVES to watch people performing (I am a professional stage actor myself, and did three different shows while pregnant with him, so I guess it's in his blood too haha). So thats good to know that we will be able to find live music throughout. Those weren't really in the Compasses I saw. We are always going to see shows and concerts with him now.

 

Did you happen to do the zoo/museum excursion? Was it good?

[jactressk]

On Harmony at the moment. With a 2 year old grandson. There is nothing for him to do. Too young for Adventure Ocean. He went in the $8 per hour nursery. Once. They gave my daughter a walkie talkie type thing. To call her if there was a problem. The problem was....it was another child's phone. They also gave another baby some one else's dummy/pacifier. And when my grandson woke from a nap whilst strapped in his buggy they left him in it. Screaming. Whilst they tried to contact my daughter. Who had the phone for another child. Not really very good. Apart from that there is virtually nothing for him to do Which we are ok with. We can entertain him ourselves

 

 

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That is scary. Just scary. And not ok. At all. He will be going in there at least once, perhaps twice. We will have TONS of family on board who will all want him, but we will be taking him at least once for the wedding "after party", or do in-room babysitting. Not sure yet.

 

My husband takes him to the gym nursery from time to time here at home. Son learned to walk about 5 weeks ago, but prior to that, when they didn't want to deal with him, apparently they would strap him (at over a year old) into the infant bouncer and just let him cry and wiggle trying to escape. I can't imagine what would happen if this happened on the ship. I would be incredibly angry.

[jactressk]

This thread answers all your questions.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2351674.

 

 

Except it didn't. Thank you!

[jactressk]

What do you do at home? Mary Poppins isn't going to appear and magically whisk your son away so you can lounge unencumbered by the pool.

 

About the pools, would you want to swim in a pool that had poopy kids in it?

 

Your vacation is that you don't have to cook or clean whilst on board. You never, ever get a vacation from your children.

 

Just cruise with the idea that's it great someone else makes the bed and gives you fresh towels every day. And yahoo, someone else is cooking and washing the dishes. And you are with your family in a beautiful place. :)

 

 

 

I feel bad for you. Thank you for not reading my post and expelling your negative energy into my thread.

[jactressk]

I've been cruising with my daughter since she was 6 months old and have always found things to do. Try the roll call to see if you can find other kids his age. Use the onboard message board to find other parents in the same boat. Bring books and games to play with. There are events like towel folding, cake decorating, and pool events that he can watch.

 

If you don't think that works for you, just postpone your sailing one year until he's eligible to attend AO.

 

Hope that helps,

Rich

 

 

We can't postpone. Sister is getting married. ALL family will be on board. Not leaving him with strangers for a week. And we are flying in from California. So we aren't coming with tons of things either.

 

We are enrolled in our roll call, but it's only myself, my mom, and two others with no kids. So far.

 

I'm just a bit shocked that a cruise that advertises itself as family friendly... isn't. Adult only cruises, i totally get and understand. But this ship isn't one of them. Compared to Disney and Carnival.

 

Just wondering what we can do with him all day. We will certainly seek out some of those activities too! Thank you!

[jactressk]

I think you can also borrow a bag of age-appropriate toys that can be kept for a few days and exchanged for new ones. Take him to one of the larger lounges during the day since many are unused and pretty much empty during the day, and let him play and/or "run" around. Of course, you need to be mindful of disturbing others who might be in the vicinity. You will find, I think, that he will have more to do than walk around the hallways.

 

 

Thank you, I hope so! It's not fair to ask us to stay in our room, and we are always mindful of other people (I'm that one parent that picks up any food that my kid drops on the floor at a restaurant, and wipes the table down before the server/busser gets there... thats me). But hopefully, we will find some things to do.

 

It's hard because it's 9 months away. That's 1/3 of his life. He could be a completely different person then!

[Broken07]

That's brilliant!! You brought a small inflatable tub to fill and play with?? And they let you?? He will have been in swim lessons for 15 months by then, probably diving into the pool better than myself by that point haha But if we can't potty train him in time, that is certainly something I would consider doing!! I've seen them for under $15 on amazon! we have a bigger one that we used as a ballpit, but by the time that gets inflated, he will have lost interest. I don't know if he will take kindly to not being able to go in the big pool (which is what he is used to doing for lessons), but if he gets to play and get wet, I'm sure he will be all over it. That's such an amazing tip!

 

I wanted a balcony too, but decided for a full window room instead. My kid LOVES the water, and I decided this was definitely the safer way to go haha I don't need him trying to reach for the water.

 

Thank you for the heads up on the music. As of now, he LOVES to watch people performing (I am a professional stage actor myself, and did three different shows while pregnant with him, so I guess it's in his blood too haha). So thats good to know that we will be able to find live music throughout. Those weren't really in the Compasses I saw. We are always going to see shows and concerts with him now.

 

Did you happen to do the zoo/museum excursion? Was it good?

 

 

We are from Annapolis, not too far from Baltimore. So, we haven't done the excursion through RCCL but have been too the Zoo and to the Aquarium. Both are pretty nice and a way to get some land time before the cruise. The aquarium can be quite crowded on the weekends; but fun,nevertheless. There was no problem with us setting up the inflatable pool/tub. It has been done many times before, from many people. I actually got the idea from someone on cruise critic. It fit perfectly in the bathroom in our cabin too. She wouldn't take showers. So, the tub served two purposes. There will be a lot of live music. Music By the pool, daily and throughout the ship everything from jazz to reggae. There were a few kids movies. She loves shows too! I'm a musician so, I'm gonna say. Your son is gonna find his adventure too. She enjoyed the shows and sat without incident. Oh the acrobatic show in the centrum was nice for her too!

 

 

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[Cuizer2]

I will clarify my post. Since many of you took it quite a different way than I had hoped and disregarded my comments about the "we". I didn't ask what HE could do, I asked what we could do WITH him.

 

My sister is getting married on our sailing, so that is why my son is coming. It's not a vacation.

 

For those that answered... I'm now very nervous to take him to the daycare. Uh oh...

 

He will be getting in-room babysitting after the dinner reception on wedding day. And if I end up going scuba diving in Bermuda, there's a chance we will put him in the daycare during that timeframe.

 

I was a crew member on a Disney ship for the better part of a year. We had dance parties for families, character meet and greets, family friendly movies, games and activities on the decks for all ages, a pool for kids of all ages, etc. There was never a shortage for families with younger children to find things to do. During the DAY time hours, no less! Imagine that! I was always hearing about the fun things that even the littlest cruisers were doing.

 

Even the two Carnival ships we;ve been on have been way more family friendly than this one.

 

This particular ship... there's the club which we much pay for... and that's about it. The "family friendly" activities that I've seen in Compasses are at night after 8pm. The shows are often late, so he won't be able to see most of those (as a performer, he has seen me perform many times and is capable of sitting through a stage show), the movies are adult movies, and the pool is going to be off limits unless we can potty train him as a new 2 yr old.

 

Therefore, I'm not sure what we can do with him... walk the hallways... and eat?

 

Well this paints a different picture. Your criticisms of Royal Caribbean as far as families with children under the ago of three are certainly valid. You are probably going to have to be self reliant in this case. Bring a small inflatable pool and a few favorite games, books and movies and do the best you can. Unfortunately you cannot rely on Royal Caribbean to have any plans/games/activities that fit your particular needs.

[mad-dog74]

We were on Grandeur last month... we left our 9 and 11 year old at home with grandparents. They went on their own vacation to a couple amusement parks. The Grandeur would not have been for them. They would have been bored beyond belief. They loved the Allure and Freedom and we are all going on Harmony next summer.