Royal Caribbean passenger shares cruise info parents want to know
Parents cruising with young children will surely appreciate these helpful tips and insights.
Although Royal Caribbean is well known for offering family-friendly cruises on ships full of kid-friendly attractions and activities, cruising on Royal Caribbean as a family with older kids is very different from cruising with little ones.
Families are permitted to bring children as young as six months old on board most Royal Caribbean cruises, but they’re often unsure of what to expect on a cruise with a baby or toddler.
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To help other families better prepare to sail with the youngest of cruisers, one parent with a wealth of knowledge on the topic recently shared a thoughtful post full of helpful information for parents in the Royal Caribbean community on Reddit.
“Our daughter is 14 months old and we’ve taken her on 5 cruises, 4 of which were on Royal,” SkyNo362 began. “I’ve been surprised how little information there is on traveling with children at this age, so I wanted to post our experiences and what we’ve found. We’ve sailed the Voyager, Allure (before refurb), and twice on the Utopia.”
In this parent’s opinion, the Royal Caribbean cruise experience for families with babies and toddlers can vary greatly by ship due to the availability and condition of certain things.
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Baby gear available on Royal Caribbean ships can be a mixed bag
“We will always be bringing our own pack ’n play going forward; we’ve found the condition and quality [of those available on the ship] to often be quite poor,” SkyNo362 explained. “Some have been too small for her to fit comfortably and some had had little to no padding.”
The passenger noted that asking for an alternate travel crib didn’t help.
“We’ve even asked for different ones and they usually bring something worse. It’s a pain to bring our own but they do not seem to be replaced often enough so we aren’t taking the chance anymore. This has been across all ships, even the newer Utopia.”
The passenger also shared some helpful details about high chairs and changing tables available on the ships.
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“High chairs in [the main dining room] and windjammer: mixed bag depending on ship,” SkyNo362 noted. “on Utopia they were commercial rubber made models and ready for us each night in [the main dining room] and we were so pleased.”
The passenger wasn’t pleased with the condition of high chairs on board Voyager of the Seas, however.
“Voyager though must have run out of the good ones and someone ran out to Ikea and bought a whole bunch of the $15 ones which have not held up well. One night the tray fell off.”
The parent also explained that changing table availability varies by ship.
“Utopia has them in every men’s and women’s handicap stall, Allure had them in most women’s rooms and two men’s room (they gave me a list, it was disappointing), and on Voyager no one seemed to know and I didn’t notice any in men’s rooms.”
Child care for babies and toddlers is limited on Royal Caribbean ships
The passenger also pointed out that Oasis-class ships have a dedicated play area for babies and toddlers while on Voyager of the Seas, families could access the nursery to play at certain times.
“Both Utopia and Allure have the play place where we could take her to let her play with us. Space is carpeted and much nicer on the Utopia,” SkyNo362 noted. “On the Voyager since they don’t have the play place, the nursery was available for free play when they we’re not providing baby care.”
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The parent also shared that Royal Caribbean cruise ship nurseries will let you check out a bag of toys for your child.
When it comes to child care, the passenger advised parents that although many Royal Caribbean ships offer nursery drop-off sessions for babies and toddlers, it’s important to know that availability is limited.
“Be aware that child care is limited at this age both in times and availability. There were parents we talked to who expected to just drop their little ones off whenever they wanted but between limited hours and baby care being full, [they] ended up having to miss things they had planned to do without their kids.”
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