Any Recommendations for a Babysitter about RC Serenade of the Seas?

[Morguenna]

Our family of 4 will be sailing on RC Serenade of the Seas in about 2.5 weeks. We have never hired a babysitter for our kids (DD age 6 & DS age 18 months) before and are a little apprehensive about it, especially on a cruise ship. But after reading the experiences of fellow cc'er's, we think we would like to give it a try so that DH and I can have a quiet dinner in one of the specialty restaurants for one evening.

 

Have anyone sailed on Serenade recently and have a recommendation for a babysitter (a name?) so that we can try request her/him? We're primarily looking for a sitter to ride herd on our DS because DD can go to AO for a couple of hours in the evening (and have a blast doing so). At most, we're anticipating 3 hours of sitter time between 7-10pm.

 

Do sitters have to stay in the stateroom with the kids or can they take them around the ship? I was thinking about asking the sitter to take our DS to AO and let him play there with other kids while keeping an eye on him (also it being a public place reassures us a little more).

 

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

Past Cruises:

2002 Celebrity Millenium - Southern Caribbean (Honeymoon cruise!):D

2006 Celebrity Constellation - San Juan to NYC (family reunion)

2006 Celebrity Galaxy - Western Med

2008 NCL Pride of America - Hawaii for New Years!

 

Upcoming Vacations:

2009 Serenade of the Seas - Alaska - 17 days to go!

2010 Azamara Quest - Asia

[cb at sea]

Don't be afraid to hire a sitter..they are very good! And, your kids MUST get used to someone other than you----it's a learning experience....the aim of a parent is to help make their little ones independant and confident in the parent's absence!!!

EVERYONE deserves time without kids! Even parents!

And, yes--they can take them out of the cabin, if you approve.

The available babysitters vary all the time!

[beachchick]

Our family of 4 will be sailing on RC Serenade of the Seas in about 2.5 weeks. We have never hired a babysitter for our kids (DD age 6 & DS age 18 months) before and are a little apprehensive about it, especially on a cruise ship. But after reading the experiences of fellow cc'er's, we think we would like to give it a try so that DH and I can have a quiet dinner in one of the specialty restaurants for one evening.

 

Have anyone sailed on Serenade recently and have a recommendation for a babysitter (a name?) so that we can try request her/him? We're primarily looking for a sitter to ride herd on our DS because DD can go to AO for a couple of hours in the evening (and have a blast doing so). At most, we're anticipating 3 hours of sitter time between 7-10pm.

 

Do sitters have to stay in the stateroom with the kids or can they take them around the ship? I was thinking about asking the sitter to take our DS to AO and let him play there with other kids while keeping an eye on him (also it being a public place reassures us a little more).

 

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

Past Cruises:

2002 Celebrity Millenium - Southern Caribbean (Honeymoon cruise!):D

2006 Celebrity Constellation - San Juan to NYC (family reunion)

2006 Celebrity Galaxy - Western Med

2008 NCL Pride of America - Hawaii for New Years!

 

Upcoming Vacations:

2009 Serenade of the Seas - Alaska - 17 days to go!

2010 Azamara Quest - Asia

 

I'm confused about this. Your DS is 18 months old, so is not old enough to go to AO (with or without an adult). There are the Royal Babies and Royal Tots programs, but those are fairly short scheduled activities during the day.

 

I'm not sure if the sitters are allowed to take your child anywhere on the ship, but it is listed as "in stateroom" sitting. It's possible that there are liability issues with allowing the sitters to take the children around the ship. You might want to check with RCI directly.

 

I completely agree that it's a good idea for you and your DH to have a romantic, quiet time together. And it is good for children to get used to being with other adults. I've never heard anything bad about any sitter on RCI, but I don't have a name for you (because we haven't needed sitters for a long while).

 

beachchick

[Morguenna]

Thanks for your comments and encouragement. We'll give it a try next week!