The Royal Caribbean Nursery & Daycare: Our Experience and What You Need to Know
If you’re headed on a cruise and a little worried about trusting the Royal Caribbean nursery and daycare for your little one, you’re not alone. Especially because my kids don’t go to daycare at home, I was worried about dropping our one and three year olds off with some strangers on my cruise. Spoiler alert? We had a great time with Ocean Adventures. I’ll outline the need to know before you send your little ones to the Ocean Adventures daycare.
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Why You Should Use the Royal Caribbean Nursery & Daycare
If you feel comfortable, you should absolutely consider using the Royal Caribbean child care. It will give you some much deserved and needed peace and quiet. Whether you want to relax in the spa, do one of the adult only activities, or just enjoy your lunch without a squirmy kid – the child care will be magical.
Dropping our kids off at day care allowed Dane and I to enjoy some coffee while we soaked in the beautiful Alaska cruise views. It is also a great opportunity to have a little date on board!
Our Experience with the Royal Caribbean Daycare
We were a bit skeptical going into our cruise for two reasons. One, this was our first cruise, and I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. Two, we don’t usually send our kids to daycare so it was a bit intimidating to hand our kids over to strangers. However, we had a great experience! It felt very safe, clean, and the kids had fun. Based on our experience, we would definitely recommend using the Ocean Adventures program on your Royal Caribbean cruise.
Are the Babies Separated From the Older Kids?
Yes! There are two separate programs onboard. One program for babies (6-36 months) and other programs for kids (3-5 years). There are programs for older kids too, but we didn’t experience these since our kids are younger. Each program had it’s own separate and distinct room and setup. The baby area had a dark area for naps as well as a small play area. The toddler/kid area was all one room with more areas for play.
Royal Caribbean Childcare Cost
The price of care for our baby (1 years old) was $6/hour for most of the day, but does increase by a few dollars an hour in the later evening. For the older kids Royal Caribbean daycare, the program was free (unlike most things on a cruise!) So that was a nice surprise.
We were totally surprised by how affordable (and FREE) the daycare was, but here are 10 Hidden Costs to Watch for on Royal Caribbean!
Do you have to arrange Ahead of Time?
For the Royal Caribbean babies program, you do have to arrange ahead of time while on your cruise. The reason for this is because they have a 1:1 ratio. So they need to have staff available to be taking good care of your baby. You can’t arrange ahead of your cruise, but you can set up childcare times as soon as you attend the short orientation session on the first day of your cruise. If you’re flexible, you probably won’t have trouble getting a childcare slot for your baby.
As far as for older kids, you do not need to reserve ahead of time. On our ship, they had 3 hour blocks where you could bring your kids throughout the day but it did not need to be arranged in advance.
Can I pick My Kids up Early?
Yes you can. They did call us to pick up our three year old early because he was ready to be done on one of the days. For the babies, you can arrange a longer time and pick them up early if you want. You will only have to pay for the time you use at the nursery.
How Will They Get Ahold of Me if my Kid Needs me?
This was a concern I had, especially because I wasn’t wanting to pay for the expensive Wi-Fi plan. When you drop your child off at the Royal Caribbean daycare, they will give you a special phone. This phone allows them to be able to call you, or you them if you need something. It made us feel better to have a phone in which they could reach us anywhere on the ship.
What Activities do they do?
For the babies, they don’t have any structured activities. The TV was running the whole time with Cocomelon or Ms. Rachel, but it appeared to be more in the background. Activities for the little ones were free play with available toys as well as strollers available to rock them to sleep if need be, and cribs in a separate room for a quiet nap time.
Our three year old came back to us each time with a silly hat they had made as a craft! This older group does story time, free play with toys, and a craft. He had fun with the other kids and it seemed similar to a lot of preschool programs.
What are Their Hours During Sea Days?
For the 3-5 year old kids there are generally 3 sessions on sea days, each of which are 3 hours long. It may vary slightly between ships but the sessions are usually 9-12, 2-5PM, and 7-10PM.
The hours for the Royal Caribbean nursery are usually 9AM to midnight on sea days with the later evening hours costing a little bit more.
Can I do Daycare During the Port Days?
Yes, you can use the Royal Caribbean daycare on port days. We didn’t actually take advantage of this perk, but the daycare attendants told us the hours are different on those days and they don’t have the same 3 hour sessions.
If you are using the Royal Caribbean daycare for your baby on port days, you will need to arrange this in advance because otherwise the nursery may be closed.
Looking for inspiration for your port days on an Alaska cruise? Here are our favorite things to do in the Alaska ports.
- What to do in Juneau From the Cruise Port
- 14 Affordable Things to do in Skagway, Alaska
- The Victoria BC Cruise Port With Kids: One Fun Day
- Fun Things to do in Sitka: One Day Itinerary With Kids
What to Bring
To drop your kid off and pick them up, you absolutely need your SeaPass card. They will not let you pick up your kid without it. Which made me feel comfortable that they aren’t just handing kids off to random people.
For babies you can bring a diaper bag with any items you think your baby may need. We did usually bring a bottle full of milk, but they have milk available there and some baby safe snacks which they will only give with your permission (at least that’s what they told us!)
If you’re looking for a full guide for how to pack for a cruise, check out our guide to How to Pack for an Alaska Cruise with Kids: Tips and Printable PDF
How Were the Staff?
The Adventure Ocean staff, like the rest of the the Royal Caribbean staff was amazing! They were so sweet with our kids, and I really felt comfortable leaving my kids with the staff at Royal babies and the older kids too.
Do All Royal Caribbean Cruise Ships Have a Nursery?
There are a couple ships that don’t have a nursery. The majority of them do have a nursery, but double check that your ship does have a nursery before you cruise!
Check here for a list of ships that don’t have a nursery.
Potty Training
Kids do need to be potty trained and at least three years old to attend Adventure Ocean (not the babies portion obviously). But no pull ups or diapers are allowed in the kids section.
I hope you have the best time on your cruise! Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about the Royal Caribbean daycare programs. And check out our guide to Everything You Need to Know About Royal Caribbean Cruises With Babies and Toddlers
I have read on several blogs and Reddit posts that childcare for babies was only available from 7-10pm. I am really glad to read this and hope this is true of all RC ships with a nursery now. We have a one year old that I would like to drop off during the day.
yes!! Definitely check your ship before you go, but we sent our kids there in the mornings so we could enjoy some coffee in peace! On our ship, the baby childcare was ALSO available later at night, but it was a higher fee.