Potty Time at AO on FOS

[isk8]

I think I read this on the RCL board somewhere...

 

On Freedom of the Seas, you aren't able to go into AO to help your kid go potty. They keep parents at the front desk.

 

Is this true?

 

My son will be 4 next year on our FOS cruise, and I do expect him to be fully potty trained then (he's doing well with peepee; poop is a whole other conversation), but I don't think he's going to be that great at wiping his bottom. We were planning to stop by AO every so often to make sure he's going and to help him if he needs to wipe his bottom.

 

Can we take him out of AO to go potty and then bring him back? Is there a restroom near the entrance to AO on FOS?

 

Thanks!!!

[cb at sea]

Unless he is completely potty-trained, he won't be allowed to participate at all in the AO program. By next year, at 4, he should be totally "on his own". I wouldn't worry too much about it!

[crusinmama06]

Yep, AO on Freedom, you can't get past the front desk.

 

What you can do is to sign him out to take him to the potty from time to time. Or just wait until there is a break at AO...for instance, AO shuts down at certain times on sea days, lunchtime, dinnertime. So you can drop him off at 10am, then pick him up at noon. Then they close down again at 2 or 3pm.

 

Believe me, kids act like they can't wipe themselves. But they can. My daughter started a preschool at age 3 where she had to be totally self sufficient. She was fine. But at home, she asks me to wipe her butt :rolleyes:

[jilllo]

First off, this is my first CC post - hope I get it all done right! Secondly, thanks to all of you who contribute to the family crusing forum. Your informative posts made a world of difference for us on our first cruise with the kiddos last month. We had a wonderful time and have already booked FOS for May 09!

 

CrusinMama's post above about not being able to get past the AO front desk has me a bit concerned.

 

After a negative experience with AO Aquanauts on the Monarch of the Seas this summer, I'm approaching AO very tentatively for our May 09 FOS cruise. For next year, I had planned to stay with my kids (twin boys who will be 4 at that time) in AO until I was convinced the staff seemed capable and the activities age appropriate (the opposite of what we experienced on the Monarch). If the kids decide they don't want to stay, I'll just take them out. But after reading CruisinMama's post above, I'm thinking they won't let me stay with them to observe if they won't let me past the front desk? Do they make any exceptions with this rule?

 

I should say that whether we can use AO or not won't have a huge influence on our trip. We'll have a fabulous time either way. I was just hoping to give Aquanauts a second chance after our experience on the Monarch - but I won't just drop my kids there this time without observing first.

 

Thanks for any advice any of you can offer!

 

Jill

[crusinmama06]

Nope, on Freedom, you won't get past the front gate. They do this for the security of the other children in the room. They don't want you having access to someone else's children.

 

The only time you are allowed IN the 3-5 room is the first night for open house/registration. You can call RCCL and those customer service reps could promise you the moon and the stars but I am telling you, they won't allow it once you get there.

 

Three circumstances I remember vivedly

--I got called (they give you a cell) my daughter was crying. So I walk in the room to physically pick her up and comfort her --- "Please get back, we need to sign her out first before you can get to her."

 

--Second time, I watched a grandmother dropping off her granddaughter....the kids need to remove their shoes upon arrival....the grandmother saw the child struggling to get her shoes off so she stepped into the room to help the child take the shoes off..she was IMMEDIATLY ushered out and asked to not move past the door.

 

--Third time, I went to pick up my daughter one night and she was sleeping on the couch which is literally 2 feet from the front door. I signed her out. They cut the wrist band off of her while she slept (they wear alarm bands that need to be signed out of the AO computer before they leave the room). She was physically signed out...so I went to step into the room to pick her up and I get "NO, we will hand her to you!" :eek: Um, ok. :rolleyes:

 

I do see WHY they do this. They don't want any other adult to have access to the children. But it's unnerving.

 

So Jillo - what was wrong on Monarch? You have to share your story. I am getting more and more info that AO should be changed for the 3-5 year old group. The actvities for the younger kids in that age group (3/4) are just too much for them. On Freedom, some overbearing counselor (2nd week on the job) tried to throwe out my 3 year old because she wanted to "play on the slides instead of doing group activities" :rolleyes:

[thunderbird1]

Never been on RCCL, but I know on CCL parents are not allowed into the rooms during Camp Carnival times. After I thought about it, I completely agreed with the rule. While of course I would like to be able to be there for my child, I definitely would not want other parents (or grandparents, or guardians) in that room with access to my kids when I'm not there.

 

One dad thought his little girl was having a bathroom issue, and wanted to come in and help, but the CCL staff made him wait outside until she had finished. Like cruisinmama said, she did just fine on her own. Now my kids would just wait until I came to get them to do anything they might need help with. Not only are they more comfortable going in familiar surroundings, they're having too much fun to leave an activity for a bathroom break! Of course, they're never there for more than an hour or so at a time, so it's not like they're holding it in all day.

 

On my ds's first cruise, he was 2 and had never been away from family, so we had some issues with separation anxiety. What worked for us was going to the "toddler time" and family activities, where the whole family came into Camp Carnival for playtime or an activity. Parents were required to be present during these times, so there were no issues with strange adults having access to any of the children. I don't know if RCCL has similar offerings, but it might help your boys get used to the setting, and help you get to know the counselors, jilllo.

[crusinmama06]

Jennifer is right, and Camp Carnival is set up exactly like Adventure Ocean...neither allow you in. ;)

 

RCCL does have Family Acitivities on Freedom. There is Family Karoake, Family Dance Parties, Family Scavenger Hunt. So if you are uncomfortable leaving your twins there, consider doing the family activities.

[nothriver]

At 4 your child can wipe. Probably not as good as you'd like them to, but if needed, they can and will wipe. They get better with practice and if you keep doing it for them, they won't learn to do the job themselves. I won't admit how long I was helping my oldest child but it was WAY too long.

 

I've learned to always look for toddler size underpants on clearance. Then anytime, but especially when you are traveling, just dispose of any that show traces of your child not wiping well enough.:)

[jilllo]

Thanks for all the sound advice. Maybe I'll be able to get a sense of how the staff interact with the kids from the open house the first evening. And I will definitely check out the family activities too.

 

As for our AO experience on the Monarch. . . I'll be detailed in case if helps any other parents, but here's the bottom line - trust your gut instinct. I didn't and we could have avoided a rough morning for the kids if I'd just done what my mommy instincts were telling me.

 

When we arrived at AO to check the boys in, the staff member did not say hello or greet the kids in any way. She looked at me and just said "Are they potty trained?" This is, of course, a perfectly reasonable question and I told her they were. She scowled at me and said "No pull-ups?". I replied, "No, they are completely trained." Still not trusting me, she then reached down and patted one of my boys on the bottom to check for a diaper/pull-up. Maybe this is their standard protocol for this age group? If so it doesn't set the right tone for the day - made it seem very adversarial between the staff and parent. Anyway, still no warmth or friendliness towards the kids (or me for that matter) and then she looked at them and just said "go play". They looked at me for some guidance (uh, Mom, I thought you said this was going to be fun??) so I pointed out some familiar books in the corner, some toys that were on a table and sent them on in.

 

I should have trusted my gut instinct which was telling me this was not a good fit for my kids (i.e. an unfriendly staff member who doesn't seem interested in the kids she's responsible for). But I didn't. I pushed on thinking it would surely get better. I had been telling the kids about AO for weeks, about the activities on the Compass for the day, and was hoping they'd love it. They had been so excited as we left our stateroom to head to AO!

 

Anyway, long story short, I left the boys there and then got paged 20 minutes later. I returned to find both boys very upset and crying (not characteristic of my kiddos who are used to preschool, being away from me, etc). The staff member told me that they were playing a Marco Polo type game where she (the staff member) wears a blindfold, flaps her arms like a big bird and chases the kids around the room (her words), and they have to sit out if she catches them. She said the game must have scared them. And she was right about that - they were very frightened. In my opinion, this is a completely inappropriate game for 3-5 year olds to play with a stranger and certainly not what was advertised on the Compass for the day. I totally understand if they don't follow the advertised schedule of activities when they only have a few kids there (there were only three kids there that morning including my two), but I expect they would replace them with more age-appropriate activities - like reading, crafts or pretty much anything other than a blindfolded stranger chasing three-year olds around a room!

 

I considered going to the director of AO and voicing my concerns, but it was only a 3 night sailing and I just didn't want to spend anymore of my precious cruise time on the issue. So I didn't say anything but did write it all in detail on my cruise comment cards. As an aside, the older kids in our family reunion group (ages 8-14) loved AO.

 

Bottom line, next time I'll trust my gut instincts, have much lower expectations to start with, and ask a lot more questions about the planned activities for the day.

 

Thanks again for your responses. I really appreciate the help.

 

Jill

[crusinmama06]

Jill - Oh yeah there is NO WAY that patting a child's butt is appropriate :eek:

 

Have you considered writing a letter directly to RCCL in Miami?

 

Royal Caribbean

Customer Relations

1050 Caribbean Way

Miami, FL 33132

[cclarke12]

Was really interested to read this thread. We are going on Voyager of the Seas in September and my little boy is to young to use AO. However, having read this thread I would be really reluctant to use AO in the future. There is no way I would leave a three year old without knowing I could settle them and see how they are getting on in a new environment with new people. I understand the issue of people worrying about strangers being around, however, I would think that the youth staff should be supervising kids well and be aware of anybody being there that shouldn't. I think not being able to settle children in to a new environment is bad practice and I certainly didn't send my little boy to a nursery at home without being able to settle him, and knowing that they welcome parents to come along and see things in action. Staff are supervising children and would never leave them alone with an adult who is not a member of staff or who is no police-checked, therefore, it is not a big issue if parents want to come into the setting. If I could only drop and pick up my son from the door everyday I wouldn't use the nursery, and I wouldn't change my view on that just because I am on holiday.

 

We went on an Ocean Village cruise in July and the childcare there worked brilliantly. Parents were allowed to come in and out of the children's centre which was well-supervised by staff all the time. Parents of younger children were encouraged to come in and use the facilities, particularly, those of us with a young child that didn't want to go to the group session. As a confidence booster to my 2 year old son it was great. Over the course of a few days the staff encouraged him to join in some of the group activities while I was there and he loved it. We both got to know the staff and felt comfortable. I am not a nervous or over-protective mum - I just wouldn't leave my son somewhere with strangers where I was not allowed to see what is going on and how he is settling if I wanted to.

 

Sorry for the long post! Not meant to be a rant was just quite surprised.

[Ula]

Jill,

Your story is so sad. Have to wonder with only three children the people just wanted to chase them out and have a week off.

That is not how it is supposed to be. We did a cruise with very few children. One of the roll call people had a girl that was the only one in her age group. It was adjusted for her. She was a girly girl and formal night the club did a make over on her. She was so excited. She was in 7th grade. That is what those clubs are supposed to do.

We ran into the family a couple times a day at various things. I asked mom about the unique situation. She said they went over the days events, the crafts and dance classes for the whole ship together, Afternoons the kids club would set up t-shirt painting and jewelry making and other things with their daughter.

I did ask the girl on the last day if she had fun. She said she had a great time.

[crusinmama06]

I just wouldn't leave my son somewhere with strangers where I was not allowed to see what is going on and how he is settling if I wanted to.

 

Sorry for the long post! Not meant to be a rant was just quite surprised.

 

On Carnival and on RCCL - you CAN *see* what's going on because there are no areas in those rooms that you can't see into. You just can't be participating with your child in that room.

 

On RCCL - you can see the entire room just by walking past the front door of AO. So I can watch to see how my youngest is doing. And I check often.

 

On Carnival - on most ships you can see the entire camp room from the front gate. On the couple that had an "L" shape room, you could watch the kids on a security camera set up at the front desk.

 

So there is nothing sneaky going on that you need to be concerned with. BUT, they do need to retrain their AO staff to be more sensitive to YOUNG kids. Some of them should not be working with children...period. :rolleyes:

[wrp96]

If you have an issue with anyone onboard, the best time to take care of it is while onboard the ship. jillb did the right thing by mentioning it on the cruise comment card as those are read, but if at all possible it is best to speak in person to the offending person's supervisor while onboard. They do read the comment cards, but does that small card really have enough space to fully detail out an issue like jillb had?

 

Jillb, please write a letter to RCCL detailing the issues specifically so they can correct them for other children's sake. I feel a lot of times when there are issues with any cruiseline, it's because someone didn't take the time to nicely and politely inform them of the problem. There may have been other parent's out there previously with similiar encounters with that person but because they took the tact of oh it's just a 3 day cruise, I'll leave my child out, etc decided not to tell anyone so they were never made aware of the inappropriateness of the behavior.

[brazilgirl]

Uh oh...now I am getting worried too!

 

I will be on the Mariner of the Seas Nov.30th-Dec.7th.

 

I had a fabulous experience with the Celebrity Fun Factory in May (on the Summit).The staff was excellent , the activities were age appropriate and we (the parents) were able to come and go if needed to calm a child or to pick up a little one who was sleeping or overly tired.I really can´t say enough good things about the program.

 

I was horrified by cruisinmama´s story about not being able to pick up her daughter who had fallen asleep....get real RCI. Rules are great but common sense must be used.

 

My kids loved and I mean LOVED the Fun Factory. How am I going to prepare them for this very different , rule -laden world? All I don´t need is for my 4 year old to decide he hates the AO and not want to go. I need my alone time with my DH!

 

This thing about not giving the little ones a "warm -up "period with the parents close by is absurd, especially since my youngest isn´t 100% fluent in English...

 

Please , can anybody calm me down??Tell me positve great stories about RCI´s kids´program!!!

 

Kim

[crusinmama06]

This thing about not giving the little ones a "warm -up "period with the parents close by is absurd, especially since my youngest isn´t 100% fluent in English...

 

Don't worry about English...most of the couselors we ran into were fluent in Spanish. :D

[katerkat]

Believe me, kids act like they can't wipe themselves. But they can. My daughter started a preschool at age 3 where she had to be totally self sufficient. She was fine. But at home, she asks me to wipe her butt :rolleyes:

 

I babysat a friend's kid this week. He went potty and then told me he only knew how to wipe at his house! I told him I know for a fact that his Mommy buys the exact same toilet paper. :p

 

My son only wipes with a wet wipe, so that's our issue right now. He also holds it so he doesn't have to poop in public places. So probably won't be an issue for Camp Carnival! :rolleyes: