Symphony of the Seas Nursery

[treefort]

Hi there, my wife both called in to RCI and talked to different representatives who bith told us that there is no drop off nursery for under 3 years old! They said there is a program where you can take our 10month old but we have to stay with her.

 

They also said that we couldnt leave our 3 yr old on the boat while we went on excursions in case of an emergency.

Our cruise is next week and now we don't know what we will do. 

 

Our cruise is next week. HELP! 

Edited January 25, 2019 by treefort

[Garyjames220]

I thought RC had a nursery for 1 year and up and you can drop them and come back

 

i would also like to no. Is this not the case ?

[Ashland]

Hmmm...On the list of which RCI ships have the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery...Symphony is definitely on that list.

 

Age is 6 months - 36 months of age.....A great option we have used when cruising with extended family that included little's in that age range.

[cb at sea]

The phone reps. know NOTHING....waste of time trying to get info from them.

[Ashland]

14 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

The phone reps. know NOTHING....waste of time trying to get info from them.

And the ones I've spoken to very recently were in Guatemala ...very nice but obviously reading from a manual. 

[treefort]

OK thank you all for correcting them! Their customer service is just brutal.

 

 

When the first rep we talked to told us that there was no nursery, we then called back twice all upset. The same guy answered both times. We hung up the first time, then the second time my wife talked to him asking him to ask a coworker or supervisor to which he then responded why would I lie to you? and sort of chuckled like other people on his end were listening. Super upset we messaged Royal Caribbean blog  and he told us they were wrong.

Super relieved but still super upset we wanted to call them back and tell them how it really is so they know, but didn't until today. We wanted to book a couple excursions through them too but then they told my wife the same thing, that there wasn't a nursery and that you couldn't leave your children(above 3) in the oceans program or whatever while on an excursion. She called me after the conversation super choked saying it's worse than we were initially told, because now we wouldn't be able to do the excursions we wanted, as well as having to take our 10 month everywhere we went on the boat. Total nightmare. My wife wants to put in a complaint and I think she should.

Thank you all for telling us what should be very clear and easy to obtain information.

[rockmom]

3 minutes ago, treefort said:

OK thank you all for correcting them! Their customer service is just brutal.

 

 

When the first rep we talked to told us that there was no nursery, we then called back twice all upset. The same guy answered both times. We hung up the first time, then the second time my wife talked to him asking him to ask a coworker or supervisor to which he then responded why would I lie to you? and sort of chuckled like other people on his end were listening. Super upset we messaged Royal Caribbean blog  and he told us they were wrong.

Super relieved but still super upset we wanted to call them back and tell them how it really is so they know, but didn't until today. We wanted to book a couple excursions through them too but then they told my wife the same thing, that there wasn't a nursery and that you couldn't leave your children(above 3) in the oceans program or whatever while on an excursion. She called me after the conversation super choked saying it's worse than we were initially told, because now we wouldn't be able to do the excursions we wanted, as well as having to take our 10 month everywhere we went on the boat. Total nightmare. My wife wants to put in a complaint and I think she should.

Thank you all for telling us what should be very clear and easy to obtain information.

Making sure you know that Royal Caribbean blog isn't affiliated with Royal Caribbean at all.  

[treefort]

8 minutes ago, rockmom said:

Making sure you know that Royal Caribbean blog isn't affiliated with Royal Caribbean at all.  

Yes, I know thanks. They had just posted(Dec31 2018) a huge write-up on the boat talking about the nursery so I then commented telling them what the rep told us and asked them for confirmation that there was indeed a drop off nursery for under 3. 

Edited January 26, 2019 by treefort

[rockmom]

4 minutes ago, treefort said:

Yes, I know thanks. They had just posted(Dec31 2018) a huge write-up on the boat talking about the nursery so I then commented asking him for confirmation. 

I have had MUCH better luck going to the official Royal Caribbean Facebook page and then sending them a private message.  It's pretty late now, but someone will likely be answering starting early tomorrow.  I don't think that they have the social media 'outsourced'.  

 

[seabeew]

Royal discontinued in-room baby sitting for under 3 year olds several months ago. Due to poor training, the reps probably didn’t know the difference. 

[treefort]

2 minutes ago, seabeew said:

Royal discontinued in-room baby sitting for under 3 year olds several months ago. Due to poor training, the reps probably didn’t know the difference. 

I had read that before initially calling and agree they were probably referrencing that but were like you said very poorly trained and wouldn't listen to me nor were they able to provide me a link or any proof of what they were saying. 

[treefort]

12 minutes ago, rockmom said:

I have had MUCH better luck going to the official Royal Caribbean Facebook page and then sending them a private message.  It's pretty late now, but someone will likely be answering starting early tomorrow.  I don't think that they have the social media 'outsourced'.  

 

We will check out the FB page, thank you! I deleted my account a short while ago but might create a dummy account for the groups and for the marketplace. They're making it hard to not be on Facebook! 

[seabeew]

47 minutes ago, treefort said:

I had read that before initially calling and agree they were probably referrencing that but were like you said very poorly trained and wouldn't listen to me nor were they able to provide me a link or any proof of what they were saying. 

 

We’re going on the Symphony in two weeks with our daughter and 6 month old grandson in two weeks. I understand why accurate information about the nursery is important. Royal Caribbean prides itself on being a family cruise line and your experience certainly does not support their mission.

 

You can email the president of Royal Caribbean’s office at mbayley@rccl.com about the fiasco with the representative’s lack of knowledge. I think his office would be interested in the misinformation that his representatives are spreading. 

[Garyjames220]

Is it 6 months or 1 year for the nursery as I have seen both online 

 

a few people say it was changed to one year. Is this true 

[spookwife]

9 hours ago, seabeew said:

Royal discontinued in-room baby sitting for under 3 year olds several months ago. Due to poor training, the reps probably didn’t know the difference. 

 actually the in room babysitting  was for all ages.  not just infants and toddlers.  

[Ashland]

7 hours ago, Garyjames220 said:

Is it 6 months or 1 year for the nursery as I have seen both online 

 

a few people say it was changed to one year. Is this true 

Still 6 mos...the earliest age at which an infant can cruise on RCI (some itineraries have an age of 12 months to even cruise).

Edited January 26, 2019 by Ashland

[treefort]

On 1/25/2019 at 9:11 PM, seabeew said:

 

We’re going on the Symphony in two weeks with our daughter and 6 month old grandson in two weeks. I understand why accurate information about the nursery is important. Royal Caribbean prides itself on being a family cruise line and your experience certainly does not support their mission.

 

You can email the president of Royal Caribbean’s office at mbayley@rccl.com about the fiasco with the representative’s lack of knowledge. I think his office would be interested in the misinformation that his representatives are spreading. 

Thank you. We just finished writing the president and will see if we get a response. I will update if we do. 

[PopeyeDaSailor]

By personal choice I would never want to get off the ship and leave a child that young alone, especially if I'm going to another country. 

[Ashland]

5 hours ago, PopeyeDaSailor said:

By personal choice I would never want to get off the ship and leave a child that young alone, especially if I'm going to another country. 

We certainly had no problem doing this in Alaska to just walk around town a bit (the Nursery was full to capacity that day) . Those little ones were much happier eating, playing & napping than being off the ship. We provided the Nursery staff with our cell number. This works out for many when/where excursions aren't suitable for this age range of children. 

 

Many families leave their children at a daycare facility when at home.....but it's always your choice of how to approach this question/situation and certainly it will be the right one for them after weighing the options.

 

RCI offers this option obviously because it's wanted and used by families.

[cantwait2cruize]

6 hours ago, PopeyeDaSailor said:

By personal choice I would never want to get off the ship and leave a child that young alone, especially if I'm going to another country. 

I was thinking the same thing!!!

[ONECRUISER]

7 hours ago, PopeyeDaSailor said:

By personal choice I would never want to get off the ship and leave a child that young alone, especially if I'm going to another country. 

Though rare have been cases of ships needing to sail away without all family members on board.

[gerif]

8 hours ago, PopeyeDaSailor said:

By personal choice I would never want to get off the ship and leave a child that young alone, especially if I'm going to another country. 

Agree. It’s one thing to walk around the port a bit where you can be back on board in a few minutes if necessary. Quite another to go on an excursion for a few hours (especially where a bus or boat might be involved). How does one even know how a three year old will like AO? Unless they are very comfortable in a daycare environment, they might just have a meltdown while parents are off the ship. 

[treefort]

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

We certainly had no problem doing this in Alaska to just walk around town a bit (the Nursery was full to capacity that day) . Those little ones were much happier eating, playing & napping than being off the ship. We provided the Nursery staff with our cell number. This works out for many when/where excursions aren't suitable for this age range of children. 

 

Many families leave their children at a daycare facility when at home.....but it's always your choice of how to approach this question/situation and certainly it will be the right one for them after weighing the options.

 

RCI offers this option obviously because it's wanted and used by families.

I can see why they are always full. We cannot wait to take advantage of the babysitting programs and go on some excursions. 

[Ashland]

6 hours ago, gerif said:

Agree. It’s one thing to walk around the port a bit where you can be back on board in a few minutes if necessary. Quite another to go on an excursion for a few hours (especially where a bus or boat might be involved). How does one even know how a three year old will like AO? Unless they are very comfortable in a daycare environment, they might just have a meltdown while parents are off the ship. 

More than likely the child would have already spent time on that particular cruise in the AO and comfortable there and with the staff.

[PopeyeDaSailor]

19 hours ago, Ashland said:

We certainly had no problem doing this in Alaska to just walk around town a bit (the Nursery was full to capacity that day) . Those little ones were much happier eating, playing & napping than being off the ship. We provided the Nursery staff with our cell number. This works out for many when/where excursions aren't suitable for this age range of children. 

 

Many families leave their children at a daycare facility when at home.....but it's always your choice of how to approach this question/situation and certainly it will be the right one for them after weighing the options.

 

RCI offers this option obviously because it's wanted and used by families.

 

I've cruised Alaska before.  And yes, if you're just getting off at say Ketchikan or Juneau and are right there in the town no problem since you're still in America, your cell will work and you could quickly get back on the ship.  But like I said if you're in Honduras relying on your American cell to work ... no thanks.  But this is a personal choice.